Chapter 36: Three Days Without Sheathing the Blade—Exterminate Every Creature of Darkness!
"Respected Human Lord, your courage and benevolence have conquered us. We are willing to follow in your footsteps and fight by your side for a lifetime."
June 3rd, 307 of the Dark Calendar—a date destined for the history books. It was on this day that Su Mu met the most loyal companions and comrades of his life: the Panda Warriors.
At this moment, more than six thousand Panda Warriors, led by their chieftain, knelt on one knee in unison before Su Mu. Su Mu was only twenty years old that year.
They were natural-born warriors with a complete array of military units. Beyond the three thousand infantry swordsmen, there were two thousand Panda Cavalry, along with over three thousand panda mounts.
They were like a gathering flame, and when dispersed, like stars across the sky.
When mounted, they could help Su Mu conquer the world; in times of peace, they were first-rate experts at chopping wood, clearing forests, or fishing in the rivers.
"May the light endure, and may the flowers of peace never wither."
"Move out."
Su Mu was always calm. Even after recruiting such a vast army of warriors, he only allowed himself two seconds of excitement before leading the Panda Warriors onto the path of conquest.
Their motto was simple: "No sheathing our blades for three days; we shall slaughter every dark creature within the territory."
...
District D4, Goblin Territory.
A group of disgusting goblins lay sprawled on the ground, bellies exposed to the sun. As a tribe of mere Silver-rank experts, the goblins were of no consequence in this Dark World, but that did not stop them from amusing themselves.
"Hey, buddy, have you heard? A formidable human lord has arrived in our region. He started a massacre the moment he showed up. Not only did he wipe out the Koster family, leaving only that female vampire Emily alive, but he also declared the surrounding forty miles as his domain. I’ve never seen such an arrogant human."
"So what if he's arrogant? This is the Dark World. I bet he won't last a month."
"Exactly, exactly. He surely won't last long. But let’s stop talking about that damned human and talk about Emily. I saw that female vampire once—her figure is truly beyond words. Don't you want her, brother?"
"Heh heh, of course I do! But unfortunately, we’re goblins; we’re no match for her!"
Just as the two goblins were lewdly daydreaming about the female vampire, a burly Panda Warrior holding a single leaf suddenly appeared before them.
"Ah! A Panda Warrior!" The two little goblins jumped up in terror.
"Do not fear. My Lord sent me to ask you one question: are you damned goblins willing to roll away thirty miles from here? From now on, no dark creatures are permitted to exist on this land."
"Bullshit! This is the territory granted to us goblins by the Fallen Knight Wang Yu. You pandas want to seize it? Watch out, or Lord Wang Yu will wipe you all out!"
"Wrong answer. You may die now."
After this brief exchange, the leaf in the Panda Warrior's hand fluttered to the ground. Immediately after, over two thousand Panda Cavalry charged in from all directions.
Pandas are omnivores, but they are also apex predators in the food chain. If a panda flies into a rage, even lions and tigers must give way.
The same principle applied in the Dark World.
The terrifying Panda Warriors were like a torrent of steel, crushing the earth instantly. Most of the sunbathing goblins were trampled into paste.
Occasionally, any who managed to escape were skewered into the sky by the six-meter-long spears held by the Panda Warriors.
After a moment of commotion, the entire goblin territory fell into a deathly silence, littered with the dismembered limbs, minced flesh, and disgusting green fluids of the goblins.
The strongest of the goblin race, a Silver-level 6 Goblin King, had his head hung high upon a tree trunk by the Panda Warriors.
"Burn it all down. I don't want the Lord to see this filth when he arrives."
Seeing the carnage, one of the Panda Cavalry frowned and said coldly.
BOOM!
As the Panda Cavalry rode off, the entire goblin territory was engulfed in a raging inferno. According to their original plan, the cavalry moved on to annihilate the next dark tribe—the Dark Iron Wolves.
...
Just as the Panda Cavalry were trampling the goblin tribe, the Dark Three-Headed Lion tribe also met their doom.
Following the same procedure, a Panda Warrior holding a leaf appeared before the Lion King to ask if they were willing to leave.
When the Lion King replied "No" and the leaf fell to the ground, the outcome was sealed.
By now, of the thirty-thousand-strong tribe of Three-Headed Lions, fewer than three hundred remained, slaughtered by the three thousand Golden-rank Panda Warriors.
They huddled in the corner of a valley, surrounded by the towering, ferocious Panda Warriors.
"Lion King, are you willing to leave? Do you really want to throw away the lives of your entire tribe here?"
The Panda Warrior, known as Pan Shuai, flicked the blood off his massive iron sword and asked coldly.
"Pah! Traitor of the Dark World! You and that damned human lord of yours will surely be turned into specimens and nailed to tree stumps by the Dark Lord!" the Lion King roared in grief and fury.
SWISH! A flash of light, and all three of the Lion King’s heads were severed.
"Slaughter these foolish lions," Pan Shuai ordered impatiently.
The sounds of killing lasted for a while, then quickly faded into silence. Every Dark Three-Headed Lion in this territory had been eradicated.
"Let’s go. Find the Swamp Crocodiles. It’s all marshland there, so everyone be careful," Pan Shuai commanded his subordinates as he casually pulled a piece of bamboo from his pocket and began to chew on it.
...
"You damned human lord, the God of Darkness will not let you go!"
At the Dark Giant Scorpion tribe, the Queen—a Platinum-level 4 expert—was pinned to a tree by the long blade of Ba Dao Zhan.
All four thousand of her subordinates lay dead behind Su Mu and his party. Before her death, she uttered the most vicious curse.
"Little Divine Dragon, kill her."
Su Mu didn't even bother to look at her, turning his back and walking away.
WHOOSH!
The Little Divine Dragon, hovering in mid-air, unleashed a blast of dragon fire. The once incredibly powerful Dark Queen was reduced to ashes amidst her wails.
"If curses were effective, would we even need war?"
"Ba Dao Zhan, Little Divine Dragon, let’s go. To the next territory."
Su Mu remarked indifferently, and with his companions, he continued his advance.
...
June 3rd, 307 of the Dark Calendar was also a very special day for the entire northeastern corner of the Dark Forest.
On this day, all dark creatures in Districts C and D of the northeastern corner met their doom. A human named Su Mu, leading a group of Panda Warriors, was hunting them everywhere.
Those guys were simply too terrifying; even the weakest among them was at Golden-rank 4. It was a crushing, total slaughter.
Su Mu's name began to spread quietly through the Dark World, to the point where, many years later, some dark creatures would still tremble in fear at the mere mention of his name.
Three days later.
By the banks of the Rhine River.
Su Mu had finally realized his wish to expand forty miles to the east. With the City Lord's Mansion as the center, an eighty-mile radius was now his territory.
All dark creatures within the domain had been cleared out. Any occasional stragglers would simply be targets for future hunts.
Beyond this Rhine River lay the territory of the Fallen Knight, Wang Yu.
Standing by the riverbank, Su Mu gazed at the black castle on the opposite shore.
It was Gothic architecture—a style Su Mu quite liked—shrouded in black mist, giving it an eerie and terrifying atmosphere.
At the highest point of the castle, the Fallen Knight Wang Yu met Su Mu's gaze. Wrapped in black iron armor and wearing a black iron mask, he looked like a giant forged from steel.
Suddenly, Wang Yu raised his right hand and slowly drew it across his throat, performing a throat-slitting gesture.
"Hah," Su Mu chuckled softly at Wang Yu's provocation, muttering to himself:
"Just you wait. That Gothic castle of yours will be mine sooner or later."
Su Mu turned his panda mount around and shouted to the thousands of Panda Warriors behind him: "Let’s go, we’re heading back to our territory. That is your new home."
Given his current strength, Su Mu certainly wouldn't force a direct confrontation with Wang Yu. He would wait for the day the Dark Tide arrived.