But fortune does not follow a man forever; by sheer bad luck, the Bear King had plunged into a state of near-total exhaustion at this precise moment…
With a deafening CRASH, there was an unprecedented, earth-shattering explosion!
The tens of thousands remaining on the ground seemed to leap up in perfect unison, both feet leaving the ground three chi high simultaneously!
Within a hundred zhang, all living things, friend or foe, were instantly reduced to ash!
The scent of roasting flesh drifted back on the wind for three li!
The Bear King roared toward the heavens, struck squarely by a bolt of lightning. Electricity coiled around his body, causing him to tremble violently. Then, with a sudden, great shout, a perfectly round glob of blood spurted violently from his throat!
As this mouthful of blood erupted, the Bear King's majestic frame finally crashed down like a golden mountain collapsing or an ancient pillar shattering!
Right at the epicenter!
“Fourth Brother!” Eagle King shrieked, his voice like bleeding lament, and with a sudden flash of his iron wings, he shot forward like lightning, desperately rushing toward that point!
“Kill!” The six Mad-Blade Ninjas positioned not far from the Bear King also spotted the catastrophe. They were overwhelmed with elation, and without waiting for the might of the heavenly tribulation to fully subside, they simultaneously raised their blades and streaked toward Xiong Kaishan at the center of the fray! Those of their caliber naturally understood that they absolutely could not allow this Bear King to recover from this single blow!
If he were allowed to recover again, this Black Bear would truly become an authentic, bona fide Saint Venerable existence! By then, the few of them left would truly be finished! Taking advantage of his current weakness, while he was still reeling from the force of the heavenly thunder, they had to strike him down immediately!
The light of the blades flashed dazzlingly!
A hundred zhang was merely the blink of an eye to the Mad-Blade Ninjas!
Almost simultaneously, six gleaming great sabers swept down, wildly cleaving toward the majestic body of the Bear King lying inert on the ground! In every eye was an expression of unbridled satisfaction! This one man alone, in the space of the last half an hour, had annihilated more than one hundred and fifty Mad-Blade Ninjas, along with nearly ten thousand elite alien troops!
Killing him now felt far too easy for him!
“Fourth Brother…” The Eagle King wailed like a tormented spirit, tears streaking his face, and with absolute resolve, he plunged forward with astonishing speed, like thunder and lightning! Just as the six great sabers were about to strike Xiong Kaishan’s body, the Eagle King let out a long cry, transforming into a colossal, pitch-black Profound Eagle, and preemptively threw himself over Xiong Kaishan!
Without the slightest hesitation!
Pfft, pfft, pfft… The six blades struck the Eagle King simultaneously!
Instantly, blood sprayed and iron feathers scattered!
Six blades, struck by six Saint Emperors acting in concert, and all six found their mark precisely! The Eagle King’s body was nearly cleaved into six pieces! Fortunately, due to his enormous size, four of the strikes landed on his iron wings; yet, two blades managed to stab deep into his physical form!
The Eagle King let out a soul-piercing shriek of agony! Then, with shocking abruptness, he sprang back up!
His pair of iron wings were now completely severed, chopped into several pieces! His body, pierced by the long blades, now spewed forth gushing blood from four openings—front and back!
Injuries like these were inherently fatal! Furthermore, the Eagle King had already consumed a Heaven-Restoring Pill! At this moment, even if Jun Mo Xie himself or the Fourteenth Lord of the Nine Hells arrived, pouring the purest Profound Energy and the world’s most precious, rarest spirit medicine into him, the Eagle King’s life could not be saved!
But the Eagle King still sprang up! Still imbued with infinite determination, infinite majesty! Using his body of tempered steel, he blocked wave after wave of desperate attacks aimed at his sworn brother, who lay unconscious on the ground!
“Fourth Brother! Get up quickly! Wake up, please…” The Eagle King’s voice sounded like weeping, yet also like a prayer, with blood tears splattering from his eyes. His iron wings were already severed into several sections, hanging limply from his body.
But when he saw another alien warrior sneak-attack Xiong Kaishan, he actually gave a sharp cry and tore off a section of his own wing. He hurled it as a hidden weapon, mixing it with the gushing blood, to intercept the enemy’s attack!
Seven alien Ninth-Level Ninjas were sliced cleanly in half by the iron wing he threw! They screamed as they fell, cut waist-high, directly in front of Xiong Kaishan’s body! The great sabers in their hands swept down, missing Xiong Kaishan’s body by a hair’s breadth!
The blades sliced so close they scraped Xiong Kaishan’s skin before plunging deeply into the earth!
The long blades shone fiercely!
“Fourth Brother, wake up…” the Eagle King continued to cry out hoarsely, desperately fighting off the attacks of the six Mad-Blade Ninjas! Flashes of bright blade light continuously struck his body, tearing away flesh and blood!
“Fourth Brother… wake up quickly…” The Eagle King could barely force out any sound; his throat was choked with blood, and the moment he released his hold, that spurt of blood would mean the immediate dissipation of his spirit!
He dared not expel the blood!
He could not die yet! His brother lay there!
In his heart, the cry raged: Fourth Brother… Fourth Brother… wake up! Your little brother… I… I can’t hold them off much longer… Self-detonation? I dare not self-detonate! I cannot self-detonate! Fourth Brother is just behind me… If I detonate, I won’t know what happens next, I’ll be completely useless! Who then will protect my elder brother?
Another blow savagely struck the Eagle King’s shoulder. He threw his head back toward the sky with a pained, muffled roar, then stretched out his neck, driving his sharp iron beak fiercely into the chest of the alien who had just struck! He impaled them completely, piercing through both front and back!
He then pulled it out, ignoring the three additional strikes he sustained, and whipped his head again, driving his razor-sharp beak toward another Mad-Blade Ninja!
His hands were gone, his wings were severed! Only this final, most primal means of attack remained!
Yet, his body remained utterly motionless—like a mountain that had existed since the dawn of time, using his magnificent physique to meticulously guard the unresponsive Xiong Kaishan!
He was absolutely determined to prevent anyone from attacking his brother, who was currently caught in a deep slumber!
In truth, the Eagle King was not the only one driven to frenzy; the remaining five Mad-Blade Ninjas had also entered a state of complete madness! Five Third-Level Saint Emperors fighting together could not break through an Eagle King who was clearly wounded to the point of deserving death ten thousand times over—yet he simply refused to die?
Blades rained down like a torrent. The Eagle King trembled, attacked, leaped, and convulsed within the downpour of steel. He could no longer feel any pain. His vision was blurred; his once keen, blade-like eyes could no longer clearly discern the faces of his enemies!
But the roar in his heart remained: Fourth Brother… Fourth Brother, wake up… Fourth Brother…
Pfft, pfft, pfft, pfft…
Finally!
Five blades simultaneously pierced the vital points of the Eagle King’s body from different directions! Two into his skull from above! Two into his heart from the chest! One into his Dantian, piercing through to his back!
The Eagle King’s entire body jerked!
Suddenly, he froze like a statue!
His body transitioned from rapid maneuvering and leaping to utter, dead stillness!
His golden-shining eagle eyes rolled upward aimlessly, staring at the two blades above his head, and then at the gleaming long saber plunged into his heart…
The Eagle King suddenly broke into a bitter, grief-stricken cry!
Two streams of tears mixed with the surging blood that had been blocked in his throat for so long, flowing out together.
The Eagle King was weeping—a cry born of infinite despair in his heart!
He did not fear death! He was not crying for himself! Because the injuries sustained at this moment were enough to kill him dozens, even scores, of times over!
Death was not terrifying! It was not worth crying over!
But he wept nonetheless, solely because his brother would finally be left without a protector!
What little struggle remained now was fueled by the final sliver of belief, the last spark of fighting will, needed to guard his brother!
If I go, who will protect you? My Fourth Brother?
He suddenly exerted his final reserves of strength and roared hoarsely: “I cannot die… I still cannot die! If I die, what will happen to Fourth Brother… Fourth Brother, wake up quickly, stop fooling around, wake up! I… I can’t hold on anymore…”
The Eagle King gradually slipped into unconsciousness, his words growing increasingly incoherent, shifting from desperate, strained shouts to mumbled self-talk. In his delirium, he even hoped that the Bear King wasn't truly unconscious, but was merely playing a trick on him…
The five long blades were subsequently drawn out from the Eagle King’s body one by one, dripping with the hot, manly blood of warriors.
The Eagle King’s body convulsed and swayed, but he remained stubbornly standing! His eyes, filled with infinite hatred and infinite concern, were fixed rigidly ahead! Unmoving!
Even at this moment, there remained upon him the regal bearing of one who could slaughter the world and dominate the universe!
Though his pair of iron wings were gone! Though his entire body was mutilated, bearing no semblance of wholeness! Though seven or eight tenths of his bones were shattered and broken!
He still maintained a standing posture—still in a fighting stance! In anyone’s eyes, he was still the Eagle King, soaring through the nine heavens!
The strongest king of the skies! The absolute overlord of aerial combat!
Even if, at this moment, he stood upon the earth!
“Roar!” The Eagle King trembled and let out a low growl, suddenly taking another step forward! His gaze was locked fiercely onto the five figures before him! Savage and brutal! This was the final flare-up of his life, and also his final warning!
A warning to the enemies before him: You cannot! Never—harm my brother!
The five Mad-Blade Ninjas suddenly felt a wave of dread and horror surge up from the depths of their souls!
The five great masters simultaneously took a step back!
“Roar!” The Eagle King resolutely took another step! His eyes remained cruel, his fighting spirit undiminished! His fierce aggression continued to erupt!
The five alien warriors retreated another step simultaneously! One of them, his knee inexplicably began to tremble slightly! To have become Mad-Blade Ninjas, they had naturally experienced thousands of battles, but they had never witnessed such a being! Such a Profound Beast!
Faced with such a brutally tragic situation, they dared not advance a single step, all cowed by the Eagle King’s infinite fighting intent!
The infinite fighting intent to guard his brother, unwavering even unto death!
Although they knew clearly that with just one step forward, with just one finger, they could bring the Eagle King before them crashing down! Ensuring he could never stand again for all eternity! Yet, for some inexplicable reason, all five of them—five top-tier masters—dared not take that final step, no matter the cost!
“Roar!” The blood that had long accumulated in the Eagle King’s throat finally erupted like a fountain, soaking the ground beneath his feet!
After expelling the blood, the Eagle King was finally about to advance another step—the third step!
But as his foot lifted, it abruptly stopped mid-air, becoming utterly motionless, as if transformed into an eternal, ancient statue!