Starting from Douluo Continent, I've become a god through daily check-ins.

Chapter 598 A Last Stand

Seeing Jing Chen's strange behavior, Xiao Ding and the others beside him were slightly taken aback, but they did not say anything to disturb him and stood quietly behind Jing Chen.

As Jing Chen closed his eyes, a moment later, a flicker of surprise crossed Hai Bodong's usually indifferent old face. He turned his head and stared intently at Jing Chen. In his perception, the aura of the young man before him had suddenly become extremely unfamiliar and terrifying. He frowned, muttering to himself in confusion, "How can this aura be so strong? Even I am far from a tenth of its strength. What's wrong with this guy? One moment he's only at the level of a Battle Master, and the next he's become so terrifying... truly a freak."

Hai Bodong's strength far surpassed that of everyone present, so although he could sense the increasingly terrifying aura emanating from Jing Chen, the others did not. All they could see was that Jing Chen seemed to be resting with his eyes closed.

With a furrowed brow, Rob stared at the strangely behaving Jing Chen, a growing unease creeping into his heart. He waved his hand and said in a deep voice, "Kill them!"

Upon hearing Rob's order, the dozen or so elite members of the Sand Mercenary Group behind him exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth, drew their weapons, and several of them quickly summoned their battle aura robes before charging towards Jing Chen with great momentum.

Seeing the other party's actions, Xiao Ding's face turned cold. He waved his hand, preparing to lead his men forward. However, Hai Bodong, standing to the side, suddenly said calmly, "No need to intervene, just watch."

Upon hearing this, Xiao Ding was slightly taken aback, turned his head to exchange a glance with Xiao Li, and nodded slightly. Although they were not familiar with Hai Bodong, this mysterious powerhouse, someone whom Jing Chen considered a powerhouse must be quite strong. What he could see was naturally farther and deeper than what they could see.

Stopping the crowd behind him, Xiao Ding stared intently at the Sand Mercenary Group members rushing towards him, his clenched hands glistening with sweat.

Just as the Sand Mercenaries were about to reach their attack range, Jing Chen, who had been keeping his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. A black flame flashed in his dark eyes, making them appear even more profound and mysterious.

With a calm gaze, Jing Chen slowly raised his right hand, his palm open, and a jet-black halberd suddenly appeared in front of him.

Grasping the jet-black halberd firmly, Jing Chen's aura instantly became unfathomable. Holding the halberd, Jing Chen simply swung it forward. Instantly, a jet-black, crescent-shaped halberd beam shot out towards him.

Aside from Hai Bodong, no one seemed to have reacted to this sudden turn of events. In just a moment, the group of mercenaries charging towards him were instantly cut in half at the waist.

In an instant, there was no one blocking Luo Bu's path between him and Jing Chen. Jing Chen's dark eyes could clearly see Luo Bu standing behind him, as well as the group of people behind Luo Bu whose origins were unknown.

Seeing that Jing Chen had instantly killed his dozen or so subordinates with a single strike, Rob panicked. He knew that among those mercenaries was a Battle Master! How could Jing Chen, if he were merely a two- or three-star Great Battle Master, possibly kill a Battle Master with a single blow?

"Hiss!" Hai Bodong gasped as he stared at the mercenaries who had been cut in half at the waist with a single blow. He wasn't surprised that Jing Chen could kill so many people with one strike; what surprised him was that black flames were burning on the wounds of the bodies that had been cut in half!

This tiny detail would likely have gone unnoticed by the already stunned crowd. But who is Hai Bodong?

"Dark Flame!" Hai Bodong exclaimed inwardly.

This wasn't the first time he'd seen Dark Flame. The last time Hai Bodong saw Dark Flame was because his opponent in that battle was him, and the second time was for intimidation.

This was the third time Hai Bodong had seen Jing Chen use Dark Flame. Hai Bodong understood that Jing Chen was trying to intimidate him.

Just as Hai Bodong was lost in thought, the corpses that Jing Chen had cleaved in two with a single blow instantly burst into a raging black flame! The temperature in the air instantly increased tenfold. This anomaly successfully drew everyone's attention. In the blink of an eye, the corpses were burned to ashes by the eerie black flames.

This strange phenomenon caused him to fall into a near-frozen silence. Everyone stared in horror at the burn marks that had been burned to ashes without warning, and a chill ran through their bodies.

Beside Rob, the few Battle Masters who weren't part of the Sand Mercenary Group stared blankly at the black burn marks, a growing unease creeping into their hearts. They were now beginning to realize that Rob's initial feeling might not have been wrong.

"This is troublesome," the leading man muttered to himself.

Jing Chen slightly tilted his head, calmly glancing at the dumbfounded Rob sitting in his chair. He slowly crossed the hall and stood beside Rob. Under everyone's gaze, Jing Chen lowered his head slightly, looking at Rob slumped in his seat, and coldly said, "I remember I gave you a chance last time, why are you being so foolish again?"

Rob swallowed hard, cold sweat pouring down his forehead and cheeks. Looking up at the boy's devilishly handsome face, an overwhelming chill instantly spread from his feet to his entire body, making him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cellar.

In that instant, Rob seemed to smell the scent of death. But Rob didn't seem willing to just sit and wait for his demise, and he desperately activated the battle qi within his body. Instantly, the layer of battle qi armor on the surface of his body became even more solid.

Looking at the stubbornly resisting Rob with a mocking gaze, Jing Chen snorted and slowly raised his slender hand, seemingly lightly patting Rob's neck.

With his eyes fixed on the ever-growing palm, Rob tried to dodge, but was horrified to find that his body was no longer under his control, as if it no longer belonged to him and did not obey his commands at all.

Bai Zhe's hand lightly landed on the Dou Qi armor around Luo Bu's neck. With a soft hum from Jing Chen, the seemingly thick Dou Qi armor began to melt on its own!

(End of this chapter)