Chapter 348: The Mask of Hunters
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Su Ming’s hair flew in the air as he stood up once again. His hair had some bloodstains in it, and as it danced in the air, some drops of blood were blown away by the wind.
"When two adversaries meet at a narrow path and cannot back out from a fight... the courageous one will win!" Su Ming mumbled again. The sharp glint in his eyes flickered, and as he looked at the male Shaman walking towards him from 1,000 feet away, he took a deep breath of the battlefield’s atmosphere.
His entire person felt as if he had gone through an indescribable transformation. He charged forward, straight towards the male Shaman with a monstrous killing intent and a presence that said he would absolutely not retreat. With a whistle in the air, he closed in.
A cold sneer appeared on the masked Shaman’s face. His aloof gaze now contained a hint of disdain. He held this Berserker in contempt, because he only knew how to dodge and protect himself. A person like this was not worthy of calling himself a Berserker Warrior.
Even if he could feel a hint of something different in Su Ming as he approached him, the Shaman still regarded him with scorn.
The distance between the both of them continued closing up, and in the blink of an eye, they were less than 300 feet away from each other. As the Shaman dashed towards Su Ming, all the other Shamans and Berserkers who were fighting against each other moved out of the way. This happened in a corner of the large battlefield, but the duel between Su Ming and the masked male Shaman in that corner was one of the higher leveled battles among the countless number of them happening between the Shamans and Berserkers in this warzone.
This was a battle between Hunters!
If the Shaman won, then he would add another kill to his score, but if Su Ming won, then he would end this Hunter’s existence and replace him as a Hunter of the Berserker Tribe!
This sort of battle had already attracted all of the attention of the Shamans and Berserkers within that small area. Some of the Hunters from the Shaman and Berserker Tribe in the distance also looked over.
Even if the outcome of the battle would not affect the war in any manner no matter whether Su Ming or the male Shaman won in the end, to Su Ming, this was his own battle!
He wanted to overcome his fear here and win against his own mind, then from there, go through a glorious transformation and create a willpower that would turn him into a powerful Berserker!
‘I have to win this battle, I must win!’
Determination appeared in Su Ming’s eyes. He was not overestimating his own strength. In truth, his battle prowess was about equal to the male Shaman. If it was not for that strange beast roar, Su Ming would have definitely not been in such a pathetic state.
At that moment, he had already found the way to win against that strange sound, and that was… to be the courageous warrior and win!
"Kill!" Su Ming let out a loud roar, and as he took a leap forward, he flew up from the ground, charging towards the incoming male Shaman. The two of them crashed into each other like two arrows that had shot up from the ground.
BANG!
Su Ming trembled. Once he fell a few steps back, blood appeared at the corners of his lips, but there was not a hint of hesitation or uncertainty within him. He rushed out once again and crashed into the male Shaman once again.
Bang! Bang! Bang! BANG!
In the span of a few short breaths, the two of them had already crashed into each other more than a dozen times. The contempt in the male Shaman’s face was gone, replaced by a grim look. He could tell that there was something different about Su Ming. The Berserker now was already largely different from before. He no longer dodged, no longer tried to use his divine abilities, and no longer tried to blindly resist and protect himself.
There was a determination within him that made the male Shaman fearful. He had a feeling as if he was not going up against a physical body but a gigantic mountain!
A tall, erect mountain that would never crumble and shatter!
This did not mean that Su Ming’s power or his physical body had become stronger after he stood up once again. Instead, it was his gaze, his actions, his footsteps, and his expressions. All of these things had turned into an imposing presence, and the source of that presence was Su Ming’s invisible willpower.
It was as if there was a form of power that was supporting him, no longer allowing him to choose retreat, making him stand and fight to the death rather than take a step back. This willpower had turned into his presence. It was noticeable to other people, and could be especially felt by the male Shaman who was fighting against him.
"What is courage? Su Ming, answer me."
Su Ming threw a punch out. As the determination and resolution appeared in his eyes, he remembered something that had happened when he was still in Dark Mountain.
"Being courageous means not being scared when you encounter wild beasts!" Back then, Su Ming was only a tiny La Su. He answered that question with a young voice.
"That is a type of courage, but let me tell you, true courage is when you run into a powerful warrior and not retreat. You will rush out and fight to the death!
"Similarly, when you run into ten powerful warriors, you will react in the same manner, and even when you face a hundred or more powerful warriors, you will still react in the same way! Think about it, Su Ming, if the day comes when you want to protect me and have to stand before me because I am old and no longer able to move, but there are an endless amount of powerful enemies before you…
"Close your eyes and imagine it. If your choice is to stay, then you have understood what it means to be… courageous. This is what I believe to be courage!"
‘Will I die..?
‘Will I stay? Perhaps I will, perhaps I won’t. But would I leave? The answer is the same. Perhaps I will, perhaps I won’t.
‘Then I will choose to stay!’
"Courage is also a type of presence. This is not recklessness. It’s instead a presence akin to a mountain, one that will make your enemies breakdown due to your tenacity.
"Courage is also a method to subdue your enemies. It is also the characteristic you need to become an upright man when you journey through the world! Su Ming, remember my words… perhaps some day, you will truly understand it."
Su Ming’s fist rammed into the male Shaman’s right-handed punch. Sharp pain shot up his arm and he felt as if his bones were on the verge of breaking, but not a hint of withdrawal could be seen on Su Ming’s face. He rushed out instead and fought once again against the male Shaman who also did not retreat.
The more the male Shaman fought, the more fearful he became. Based on his previous deductions, he had already done everything that he usually did in a fight like this. His opponent should have been the same as many of the people he met before. First, their minds would break down, and it would then spread to their bodies. Under his relentless barrage, the desire to retreat would fill their minds and bodies.
Once this happened, then his victory in the battle would be certain!
This was his trial as a powerful Battle Shaman - to move forward without stopping! He had to overcome the fear within his heart, crush his enemy’s willpower, destroy the mind of the one who wanted to stop him, then as his enemy’s mind crumbled, he would walk towards his defeated foe!
"Courage is not recklessness," Su Ming mumbled. As he rushed forward, he swiftly twisted on his feet and imitated the male Shaman’s actions. He swept his leg out at him who did the same thing and swept his leg outwards as well.
Booming sounds shook the sky and earth. This intense battle had already attracted almost all the attention of the people in the small area in that gigantic battlefield.
It did not matter whether it was a Shaman or a Berserker, they had all seen Su Ming and the masked man coughing out mouthfuls of blood. The only difference was that one of those mouthfuls of blood had turned into blood mist before the person, and the other mouthful was flowing down along the edge of a mask.
Su Ming staggered back under the force of the blow when he landed on the ground. He shuddered, and at the same time, the male Shaman also took a few steps back for the first time. His gaze when he looked at his opponent was filled with shock.
Su Ming was still the same Su Ming. His level of cultivation remained the same. His strength remained the same. The only thing different thing about him was that he now had that tenacious presence about him.
He wanted to win. He had to win!
There was no need for him to speak. From that determined look in Su Ming’s gaze, from the presence exuded from his body, and from him charging out once again at that moment, anyone who looked towards them could clearly sense Su Ming’s fighting spirit and his determination to win!
"Fight!" Su Ming said calmly. His voice was not loud, but with the expression on his face, the instant that single word spilled out of his lips, it was as if he had turned into a gigantic ferocious beast. That beast was roaring at the skies, and as it did so, a shocking presence spread through the area.
The male Shaman gritted his teeth and red appeared in his eyes. With a low growl, he charged out. The instant he closed in on Su Ming, his red eyes flickered. He roared.
That roar was that strange one that had made had shaken Su Ming’s heart multiple times, bringing out that uncontrollable fear within him.
Almost the instant that roar started, Su Ming’s mind trembled once again. Yet this time, even though that uncontrollable and strong wave of fear rose within him again, he did not retreat. He lifted his fist, and without stopping even for an instant, like a sharp arrow that shot through terror, Su Ming took a step forward. He landed before the Shaman who was letting out that roar, then counterattacked!
That counterattack was Su Ming’s punch! And another punch! And yet another punch!
Su Ming did not know how many punches he threw. Booming sounds reverberated in the air. For the first time, the masked male Shaman was repeatedly forced back by Su Ming. He took a step back, and yet another, and as he was continuously forced back, his willpower, his confidence, and his steadfast belief as a Battle Shaman were whittled down, bit by bit, breaking down little by little.
In his eyes, Su Ming had become a true mountain, a giant mountain that could not be crossed over, could not be destroyed!
"Once you overcome your fears, once you have a taste of what courage is like, how would you feel..? I hope that when that time comes, I will still be by your side and hear you tell me how you feel." The elder’s kind and affectionate smile appeared before Su Ming’s eyes.
As Su Ming continued hurling out punch after punch while going straight up against that strange roar, he found that feeling his elder was speaking of. It was…
‘A feeling that I have won against myself.’
Su Ming closed his eyes. When he reopened them, he spread his arms wide open and no longer chased after the male Shaman. His divine sense spread out abruptly, and the small virescent sword charged out with a whistle. A large number of lightning balls gathered together and filled the area. Han Mountain Bell also manifested in the form of an illusion to charge straight towards the male Shaman.
The instant all these divine abilities appeared, they crashed down on the male Shaman who now had a large amount of blood flowing from underneath his mask and whose gaze had become muddled with a hint of disbelief within.
With a single move, Su Ming also charged out. Booming sounds bellowed into the sky, shaking the ground around the area. After a moment, a scene appeared in those who were watching eyes, one that caused almost everyone within that small area in the battlefield to freeze for a moment.
In that scene, they saw Su Ming lifting his hand, and in that hand was a head, blood dripping off it. Right then, he slowly took down the mask from that head…
A white mask with a cross shaped crack on it… a Hunter’s mask!