Perched atop a massive tree, a boy held his breath, a single bead of sweat tracing a slow, shimmering line down his cheek.
The forest around him was quiet, broken only by the ghostly howling of the wind and the distant chirping of restless insects.
Tension thickened in the air like a gathering storm, heavy and unyielding.
"Boy! Come out and I'll show mercy and give you a swift death." A thick, sinister voice echoed in the forest.
Tens of meters from the boy's position, a rugged man with a savage expression strode with vigilance.
He held his wide saber, his eyes flickering right and left.
They chased him down into the Hearthgroove Forest. The hot pursuit was a cat-and-mouse race.
The gangster did not expect the weak scholar boy would give them such a tough time.
From the Clearwater Village to the Hearthgroove Forest was over 2 km.
Yet, martial artists at the Skin Tempering Realm could not catch up to him.
They were embarrassed and humiliated.
Thus, they were hell-bent on catching and making him beg for death.
Jun Wu gripped his hammer tightly, his sharp eyes like an eagle locked on the rugged man walking in his direction.
He would have confronted the five gangsters, but his injury was yet to heal.
Thus, he could only bide his time and take them out one after the other.
On the ground, the gangster did not notice Jun Wu. To him, Jun Wu was nothing but a prey that would soon be slaughtered.
Whoosh!
Jun Wu jumped down from the tree branch, swinging his hammer using the Ironbreaker Smash.
Feeling the immense force crashing toward him, the rugged man reacted quickly and threw a punch.
His face contorted with confidence. How could a mere boy withstand his punch?
Although he might be wielding a hammer—so what?
Soon, he was going to learn the hard lesson of his life.
Bang!
The moment the hammer connected with his punch, his expression changed—ugly.
A terrifying force went through his body, every fibre in his body was shaking inside out.
Ahhhhh!
A soul-rending scream tore from his lips as he was sent flying like a shattered arrow.
His arm was a bloody massacre—fist crushed, skin pulverized into a fleshy pulp.
His finger bones—phalanges—shattered into jagged splinters, blood dripping from every fracture.
But that was not all.
All the bones in his right arm splintered into a gruesome mosaic of shattered fragments.
Flesh and muscle tore apart, spilling in a bloody torrent, turning into a gruesome puddle of gore.
He crashed heavily into the ground, wailing in agony, a mangled, blood-soaked nightmare.
Now, he knew why the other team was murdered.
This was no scholar but harbinger of death.
Creak!
Suddenly, he heard the sound of branch twigs. The sound sent a jolting shiver down his spine.
He struggled to raise his head and saw Jun Wu, but his eyes were not on his face but on the heavy hammer in the air.
'Fuck me!' he thought.
Bang!
His skull shattered under the brutal force—brain matter, blood, and shattered bone fragments splashing everywhere in a gruesome, blood explosion.
It was a savage, merciless display of power.
The previous arrogant gangster was no more. What remained was a brutally mutilated corpse.
Jun Wu did not flinch while looking at his handiwork. He only glanced at him before he disappeared into the forest.
Meanwhile, tens of meters from the location, one of the gangsters heard his comrade scream and rushed forward.
When he arrived at the scene, his jaw dropped when he saw the brutal display.
"H-How could this be…" His voice trembled.
Suddenly, a horrifying force came crashing from behind. Without hesitating, he leapt to the side, trying to avoid whatever it was.
Bang!
Ahhhhh!
A miserable scream escaped from his lips. Although he managed from the sneak attack, his left shoulder was grazed.
But the graze dislocated his shoulder, sending a shiver down his spine.
Jun Wu was not disappointed that his sneak attack failed, as he was already striking with the follow-up attack.
The hammer blurred with his swing, crashing toward the gangster like a heavy mountain.
"What!" the gangster shouted, his eyes widened in disbelief.
How could this be?
However, his situation was too grim; he did not dwell on the useless thought as he formed a defensive stance.
Unfortunately, against Jun Wu's hammer strike, the defensive stance was nothing.
Bang!
The hammer crushed past his defense, splintering his right arm into bloody shreds before smashing into his chest.
Instantly, his ribcage caved inward as bones fractured into jagged shards.
His lungs, heart, and liver were pulverized, bursting into gruesome pools of blood and torn tissue.
He collapsed violently to the ground, blood pouring from his mouth, nose, and eyes.
Jun Wu walked closer to him and whispered:
"Three to go."