The Martial Emperor

Chapter 11 - The Crow Controller

The atmosphere in the forest suddenly became incredibly heavy. A cold Qi pressure crept out from behind the towering trees. Lin Feng immediately tightened his grip on his sword, standing alert for whatever was about to happen.

Shortly after, a man appeared with a casual stride. His hair was long and unruly, partially covering a coarse face filled with wicked wrinkles. He wore a broad smirk, revealing rows of untidy teeth. He was dressed in deep purple robes, and upon his back was displayed the emblem of a black crow spreading its wings.

"Those robes... the Ghost Crow Sect!" hissed Gu Yanfeng. His face instantly hardened.

The long-haired man let out a small laugh, the sound of which resembled sandpaper rubbing against wood. "Hehe, it turns out to be true. Just by messing with a remote village like this, the rats of the Cloud Sword Sect immediately come crawling out of their holes."

"Who are you?!" barked Yan Huo. "How dare you disturb our territory!"

The man spat on the ground, his gaze full of disdain. "Your territory? Perhaps once, but not after today."

"Scoundrel!" Han Jian shouted while unsheathing his sword.

"Do not talk so much, brat." The man narrowed his eyes.

He suddenly moved his hand through the air in a swift circular motion. "My crows, your lunch has arrived! Attack!"

Kawk! Kawk! Kawk!

The sky above them suddenly turned black. Hundreds of Red-Eyed Demon Crows that had previously retreated now lunged back with twice the speed. Their glowing red eyes seemed thirsty for blood.

"Everyone, form a circular defensive formation!" Gu Yanfeng commanded with a thundering voice. "Do not let a single one of them break the line!"

The six disciples of the Cloud Sword Sect immediately pressed their backs together. Lin Feng was in a fairly crucial position. He realized that the number of crows was too great to be faced through physical means alone.

"Use your runes!" Gu Yanfeng cried out again.

With his brush, Lin Feng wrote a rune in the air, and a fire vortex formed, immediately striking the crow army.

Wush!

A blaze of fire shot from Lin Feng’s hand, burning several crows in the front line. However, the flock seemed to have no sense of fear. They continued to press inward, pecking and clawing at anything within reach.

"Damn it, this level two rune is not strong enough!" Lin Feng muttered. He could feel that although his Qi was now quite pure due to the filtering technique, the limitations of the rune level he mastered made it difficult to deliver a significant impact.

"Feng! Guard your left side!" Han Jian shouted while slashing his sword in a circular motion.

"I know!" Lin Feng wrote another rune. A transparent air dome appeared, holding off the aerial attacks for a few seconds.

Han Jian and Yan Huo immediately assisted Lin Feng. The two fought valiantly on the defensive side, allowing Gu Yanfeng and the other two to prepare a counterattack.

"Gu Yanfeng, it is useless if we just keep killing these birds!" Xie Lan shouted while panting.

"I know!" Gu Yanfeng replied. His gaze was locked on the long-haired man who stood calmly while controlling the flock of crows. "We must finish off the controller. Xie Lan, Hu Tao, follow me! We split into two teams!"

"Three people defend, three people attack!" Gu Yanfeng ordered quickly. "Lin Feng, Han Jian, Yan Huo, you protect us from the rear."

"Ready, Senior Brother!" Lin Feng answered firmly.

Gu Yanfeng, Xie Lan, and Hu Tao immediately charged at the flock of crows in front. They moved with excellent coordination, attempting to surround the purple-robed man from three different directions.

The man only smirked seeing their movements. "Oh, going straight for the master? You are too confident, kittens."

"Do not talk so much! Take this!" Xie Lan shouted. He immediately released a fire element rune that took the shape of a dragon head.

On the other side, Hu Tao was not staying idle. His brush moved to form a complex script to create a sharp wind slash rune. It was a level three rune.

Gu Yanfeng himself released the lightning element; the thundering sound was deafening for a few moments.

Three different elemental attacks shot at high speed toward the man. The air around them seemed to boil due to the meeting of fire, wind, and lightning. However, the man only flicked both his hands casually, as if he were shooing away flies.

Wush!

Suddenly, a very dense dark red Qi exploded from the man's body. The energy formed a vortex around him, creating a terrifying shield.

Brak! Duar!

All attacks from Gu Yanfeng and the others shattered into pieces the moment they touched that red Qi. Not a single attack managed to scratch his purple robes.

"What?! Our combined attack was broken with a single flick of the hand?" Xie Lan’s eyes widened, his face deathly pale.

"What is that red Qi...?" Hu Tao gritted his teeth.

The long-haired man laughed uproariously, his voice filling the entire forest area. "You snot-nosed brats who only rely on rune attacks will never be able to subdue me! Your techniques are merely ornaments in front of my strength!"

He flicked his hand again, sending a wave of Qi pressure that forced Gu Yanfeng and his team to jump back to avoid a direct collision.

On the defensive side, Lin Feng watched the battle meticulously. He saw that although the man was very strong, his concentration was divided between attacking Gu Yanfeng and maintaining control over the hundreds of crows in the sky.

"These crows move based on his hand waves," Lin Feng thought. "If his control wavers, the formation of these birds will fall apart."

"Feng, focus! They are attacking again!" Yan Huo shouted as three giant crows tried to penetrate the gap above their heads.

Lin Feng reacted immediately. He released another fire blast rune, but this time he added his pure Qi capacity into the rune before releasing it. The explosion was slightly larger than before, sending the crows flying back.

"Brother Jian, Brother Huo, hold them off a bit longer! I will look for an opening to help the attacking team!" Lin Feng shouted.

"What are you doing? Do not be crazy, stay here!" Han Jian warned.

"Trust me. Brother Yanfeng needs a distraction!"

Meanwhile, Gu Yanfeng did not give up. He saw Lin Feng giving a signal through his eyes. As an experienced senior disciple, he understood immediately. He had to create an opening so Lin Feng could deliver a surprise attack, or vice versa.

"You will not be able to run!" the purple-robed man shouted.

"Who said anything about running?" Gu Yanfeng smirked.

The man was too busy boasting about his strength. "You are all just trash in front of the Ghost Crow Sect. After I finish you off, I will take your heads to—"

"Now!" Gu Yanfeng shouted.

Lin Feng released a large number of Air Dome Runes toward the flock of crows to create temporary chaos. At the same time, Gu Yanfeng darted at full speed toward the man’s back.

"What?!" The man was startled because his attention was diverted by the air explosions in front of him.

"This is the day you die!" roared Gu Yanfeng. He scribbled a rune script in the air to create a level four rune.

He released all the energy he had stored. Bluish lightning struck ferociously from his hand, condensing and forming a giant tiger head that roared loudly. The air around them seemed to crack due to the immensely large electrical pressure.

Duar!

A violent explosion occurred right on the man’s back. The purple-robed man did not have time to perfectly form his red Qi shield because the attack came suddenly from his blind spot.

"Aaakhhh!" The man screamed in shock and pain. His body was thrown dozens of meters, smashing into a row of trees until they toppled over.

Simultaneously with the controller being thrown, the control over the crow flock was severed. The hundreds of Red-Eyed Demon Crows suddenly lost their direction. They flew scattered wildly in all directions, no longer attacking in an organized formation. Some even collided with each other in the sky.

"It worked!" Yan Huo cheered while wiping blood from his cheek.

Lin Feng steadied his ragged breathing. He stared toward the spot where the man had landed. Black smoke was still billowing from there. "He is very strong. Even a level four rune might not necessarily finish him in one hit."

Gu Yanfeng landed beside Lin Feng, his body slightly weak after just draining a lot of energy. "At least his control over the crows is gone. Now we have a chance."

However, just as they could take a breath, a terrifying laughter was heard. The long-haired man began to rise again. His purple robes were now torn to shreds, revealing his pale skin.

"A lightning tiger, eh?" The man wiped blood from the corner of his lip, his gaze now turning into pure madness. "Good... very good. It has been a long time since I felt pain like this!"

Lin Feng prepared himself again. He knew the real battle was only just beginning.