"Stop!"

The shout, trembling and weak, sounded like a desperate thing, echoing through the smog of the battlefield like a final, rattling breath.

Several giants, each standing over fifteen feet tall, stood in front of Shen Haoran.

They were the elite honor guard of the Fire Giant Tribe, their red skin slick with the sweat of battle and the soot of their own dying flames.

They pointed their massive, bone-crushing weapons, sharp and jagged obsidian clubs and rusted iron spears—directly at the lone youth.

However, one can immediately notice their trembling bodies, their grip on their weapons was unsteady, and the massive hafts vibrating against their palms, that these giants were shaking in a rhythmic tremor of pure, unadulterated terror.

Not to mention their eyes weren’t staring at Haoran at all, instead they were paralyzed by the sight behind him, at the mountains of corpses and hills of ashes that piled up in his wake.

Where the golden youth had walked, life had simply ceased to exist.

There were no wounded among the barbarians he had passed, there was only a landscape of fine gray dust and the smell of burnt flesh.

To these warriors, Haoran was not a man, he was a mobile apocalypse draped in black and gold silk.

"Move aside," Haoran stated.

His voice was not raised, yet it cut through the distant roars of the carnage with the clarity of a temple bell.

He didn’t even look at them, his gaze fixed on the gargantuan tent at the heart of the camp. "I have no interest in playing games with children."

That statement seems to anger the giant guards.

"Y-Y-You!" one giant stammered, his tusks clattering together.

"H-How dare you!" another shrieked, though he took an involuntary step backward, his massive heel crushing the skull of a fallen comrade.

However, no matter how angry they were, or how much their tribal pride demanded they strike down this "ant," they ultimately made no move to attack.

Their fear had completely overridden their bodies, and their nervous systems had been hijacked by the sheer weight of Haoran’s qi pressure, which sat upon the battlefield like an invisible mountain of lead pressing down on them.

Just the sight of him made it hard for them to breathe.

"Move."

Just then, a booming voice resounded from the center of the camp.

It was a sound like tectonic plates grinding together, deep and resonant.

Hearing that vouce, the trembling giants immediately turned and made way, their expressions shifting from terror to a desperate, fleeting hope as their chief, Korgar, finally stepped out.

Korgar was a titan among titans. His skin was the color of old, dried blood, and his body was a tapestry of scars earned in the lawless depths of the Vast Wilderness.

He looked down at Haoran, and at his height, Haoran was like an ant—a speck of dust before a boulder.

However, Korgar was no fool. He had survived long enough to recognize a predator, and he knew that this small creature was the most dangerous of the threats he had faced in his thousand years of life!

He could feel the Gold Incinerating Supreme Flame humming within Haoran’s meridians, a heat that made the giant’s own volcanic blood feel lukewarm by comparison.

He had heard of Heavenly Flames from that boy Tang Shan, such thing doesn’t exist in any records or oral legends of their tribe, and Korgar had wanted to get his hands on one.

Back then, he felt like Tang Shan exaggerated the power of these flames, but seeing it now, that Tang Shan probably didn’t even know the true power the flames.

Korgar sat down on a massive block of basalt and crossed his legs, staring at Haoran with eyes that held the weariness of a king leading a dying people. "Before we fight, I would like to have a word with you."

"...Very well." Haoran nodded, his expression one of polite, bored patience as be flicked a stray speck of ash from his sleeve. "You have my permission. Speak. But know that I will definitely not accept surrender."

Korgar narrowed his eyes, the heat from his body causing the air to shimmer. "...Why do you stop us? Your empire doesn’t care about the Eastern Region, right? You let it remain weak, and you didn’t even send any reinforcement aside from those cowards! You have such a vast land! We only want this region, and we can even sign an agreement that we will submit to the empire! We will be your shield against the wilderness! Just say the word, and the killing stops."

Haoran crossed his arms, looking incredibly bored, as if he were listening to a dull lecture rather than a plea for the survival of a race. "That’s what you wanted to ask? How ridiculous."

Korgar frowned, his massive brow furrowing. "What do you mean? Is a peaceful resolution so offensive to you?"

"This isn’t about peace or war, pr whether I want to continue or not. But we must eliminate you."

Korgar clenched his fist, "...is that so?"

"Hm. Let me ask you this," Haoran raised a finger, the tip glowing with a faint, mocking golden light. "If a strand of your hair fell down on its own, what would you think?"

Korgar blinked, confused by the analogy. "Nothing. It’s just a strand. It happens every day."

"Now, what if someone pulled that one strand and even laughed at your face?"

Korgar’s expression hardened, his jaw setting. "I will take that as a provocation and retaliate. I would crush the hand that dared to pull."

Haoran smirked, a sharp, cold expression that didn’t reach his eyes. "See? You understand perfectly. For the Empire, this region is in itself, not that important. It is a peripheral limb, a distant strand. However, the act of invading and conquering it must not be forgiven, because it is a slap to the Empire’s face. If we allow you to take even a single village without a price, then the world will think the Empire is bald. Our prestige is worth more than the lives of everyone in this region combined."

"Hmph! I see." Korgar stood up, his massive frame casting a shadow that stretched across the cratered earth as the despair in his eyes was replaced by a grim, final resolve. "Then there is no need to talk. I will conquer this land and give my people a place to live, or I will bury us all in its soil! Attack him! For those who have died, we must press forward! Do not falter! Kill the gold-haired demon!"

With that, Korgar turned around and headed to the far back, toward the ceremonial altar, where he will prepare for the most important choice of his life.

The giants roared, their fear momentarily suppressed by the command of their chief as they rushed towards Haoran from all sides, a tidal wave of red flesh and obsidian.

But at that moment, two beams of light appeared from the sky and blasted away the frontline of giants in a spectacular display of force.

As the light dissipated, Shen Tao appeared on Haoran’s left.

His Internal Energy was leaking out of his body in jagged electric sparks, the friction of his newly mastered cultivation paths creating a power that vibrated the air as glowing, vein-like lines also appeared all over his skin, pulsing with the rhythm of his heart.

Beside him, on the right, Xu Jingshan stood.

The Fourth Prince held a golden bo-staff that hummed with imperial qi, his aura at the first stage of the Nascent Soul realm radiating from his body in waves of righteous, blue light.

"Young master," Shen Tao spoke without looking back, his eyes fixed on the charging horde as he clenched his fist, the ground beneath him cracking. "Leave these giants to us."

Xu Jingshan nodded, his face a mask of heroic determination. "Once the chief is defeated, this war will immediately end. We will clear the path for you."

Haoran chuckled, the sound low and amused as he looked at the two of them—the displaced genius and the ignored prince.

Two Protagonists were actually acting as his vanguards, him, a villain, how ironic.

He stared Xu Jingshan, during these times, Haoran could already tell that Jingshan was the quintessential protagonist: righteous, hating evil, and possessed of a stubborn, unyielding moral compass.

Right now, Jingshan considered Shen Haoran a comrade in arms, a fellow defender of the realm, and Haoran found it entertaining.

So there was no need to eliminate the prince yet, after all a hero can be made for a very effective shield and an even better distraction.

Haoran took a step forward, his golden robes fluttering in the hot wind. "I do not need your help, but since you’re so eager to serve, I will grant you permission. Clear these barbarians so I may reach their chief. Try not to die, it would be a waste of the resources I’ve invested in this trip."

Shen Tao smiled, his eyes burning with loyalty. "I will not fail your expectations, young master!"

"Hm." Xu Jingshan nodded, his staff spinning in a blur of gold. "For the people of the East!"

Shen Haoran snorted amusedly, already walking past them into the chaos. "I have no expectations, but see that you do not disappoint me."

With that, Shen Tao and Xu Jingshan roared as they clashed against the giants.

Shen Tao’s fists moved with the speed of lightning, his internal energy detonating inside the giants’ chests with every strike.

Xu Jingshan was a whirlwind of blue light, his staff breaking legs and shattering obsidian weapons with effortless precision.

Haoran walked through the center of the storm, the combatants on either side of him being blown away by the shockwaves of his vanguards.

He didn’t even have to raise his hand. He kept his eyes on Korgar, who was now standing before a massive, pulsating altar of purple light.

That altar...

Haoran’s eyes narrowed.

Could that be the one that the chief will use to forcefully ascend to Saint rank?

How very....

Interesting.