Chapter 15: Keeping His Word

To most people Zax was an anomaly. As such, the Derneldar founder could not comprehend him properly, yet he still thought that he figured him out. Don, too, thought like that at first, but then Zax broke her strongest defensive formation.

The strong do not give much credit to the weak until they are defeated.

"Founder!"

The cries of all the retreating Derneldar Mist Users resonated all at once.

"Puh!"

A mouthful of blood gushed up and out from the Derneldar founder's throat to the ground. Just a bit faster before the he, too, met the ground while his body convulsing.

'Terrifying!' Zax extricated the stone blade from the bones in his hand and threw it to the side. 'If I didn't counter with the Kinetic Force this knife of his would have sliced me as if it was passing through water... ' He thought as his heart was pounding and he stared at the Derneldar founder in his last moments.

"Bastard! You dare injure my founder!" Suddenly, the Core Master named Lu Gan yelled in rage and many of the Mist Users seemed to emphasize, releasing their auras with vengeful spirits.

"Hmph!" Zax snorted. "Come at me if you don't know what's good for you". He said in an indifferent tone.

How many he killed did not bother him, but wasting his time on weaklings was meaningless, which is why Zax did not attempt to pursue. His sole concern was the Derneldar founder, and now that death was approaching the old man, no one but his two targets was important.

"Everyone, we must save the founder!" Lu Gan yelled. The other three Core Masters shared the same thought along with their handpicked Mist Users that they assembled for the failed trap to restrain Zax.

"Fools..." The weak voice of the Derneldar founder spilled out with the stream of blood that continually flowed out from his mouth. He saw his blood related Core Masers, the last pillars of his family, and the men and women his family cultivated for tens of years, willing to throw away their lives for him and he could do nothing but gaze at them with grief in his blurred eyes. Who better than him knew the state of his body right now? The explosive strike of the young bodily cultivator blew his heart. If it was not for his high level of cultivation, he would not even stayed alive to watch all he built falls and crumbles.

"Han Pei, Lu Gan, I will obstruct him while you two take the founder to the second escape route!" Del ordered and without waiting for the other two's approval, he set his azure aura ablaze and bolted toward Zax.

"Hurry! Support elder Del!" Those at the Mist Lord level led the rest of the remaining first realm Mist Users after Del.

"Damn it, you all!" Han Pei roared. At this moment, position, status and cultivation were all secondary to the preservation of the Derneldar family.

Due to the great and many losses the calamity known as "Zax", caused to the Derneldar family, every one of the surviving Mist Users on scene was of outmost importance for the future of the family. Though most of these men and women were, up till now, part of the private military force of the Derneldar family, they all had the potential to branch out in other significant fields that could benefit the family.

Han Pei and Lu Gan had no choice but to accept Del's sacrifice, but they were reluctant to have further losses.

"Fall back!" Del shouted at the following Mist Users. "Wolerbeng, initiate the residential defensive formation!" His command reached the ears of the leading Mist User, a tall, blond haired Mist Lord.

"Del Ram!" Wolerbeng halted, spreading his arms to the sides with golden light forcing everyone behind him to stop as well; he looked at Del's back in bitterness. "Initiate formation Red Lines!"

Everything took place in a matter of couple of seconds. Zax, next to the Derneldar founder, stood and watched with expressionless eyes the Core Master, Del, commanding and bolting toward him with the resolve to confront him at the cost of his life.

Behind Del were the other two Core Masters, the only ones that still advanced to his direction.

"Useless, the old man is dead whether you like it or not". Zax said, not caring if they listened to him or not.

He knew just as well as the Derneldar founder the current state of his body. Even if his heart was pierced, being a bodily cultivator or not, he would also have nothing else to do but patiently wait for death.

ROU!

A terrifying sound suddenly resonated as Del's aura burst out like the roar of a mighty beast.

"... ?" Zax frowned.

Del's speed and intensity of mist energy suddenly surpassed his peak and his skin began to flash in azure luster.

WHOOSH!

The smooth cement ground torn under Del's furious steps as the violent and bellicose eruption of mist energy continued to grow stronger.

BOOM!

A pulse released from Del's body and the distance between him and Zax shortened to little over a meter.

Zax clenched five fingers and Del raised his right arm to defend from the Kinetic Force.

The left fist landed and let loose the Kinetic Force. Del gritted his teeth as his right arm collided with the fist. An extraordinary power stunned Zax as he felt his fist and Kinetic Force being parried.

BOOM!

Despite Del's efforts his right arm shattered to smithereens.

"Ahhh!" Del bellowed. He caught Zax with his left hand and actually pushed him back.

"What?!" Zax could not believe Del's display of strength.

When Zax probed him with his Soul Sense, he found out that Del's level of cultivation was at the Beginner phase of the first level of the Core Master realm. Now, though, it was beyond his previous estimations. It was as if he was forced back by the all out attack of an Intermediate, no, Advanced phase first level Core Master. Standing firmly was not enough to resist.

Dragging Zax tens of meters from the dying founder, Han Pei and Lu Gan arrived next to their family founder and picked him up carefully with their mist energy.

'From where, in the name of the Supreme Rulers, his power is coming from?!' Zax had a bad premonition as he felt odd fluctuations radiating from every pore of Del's body.

BOOM!

His palm struck Del's left arm and it exploded, but Del just bit his lips and slammed Zax with his chest, taking him outside of the Derneldar residential area.

As they exited the residential area, behind Del's back and in front of Zax's eyes, spiraling red lights condensed around each of the twelve villas.

"Let me go!" Zax aimed both of his hands to crush Del's skull.

"DIE!" Drawing Zax farther, Del yelled as his body released a blinding azure glow from his dantian.

'Not good!' Zax eyes widened as the first rays of azure mist energy pierced through Del's abdomen. Instantly he drew back his hands and clenched his body.

BOOM!

A ball of fist size azure magmatic flames expanded from Del's dantian to a diameter of hundreds of meters like a scorching blue sun.

The explosion shook the ground to a distance of several kilometers from the blue ball of flames and produced strong turbulences that could topple buildings for hundreds of meters.

Around each of the twelve villas the spiraling red lights, the Red Lines formations, absorbed the shock waves of the explosion with immense difficulties.