383: Igarashi Hayashi: All of you, die!

All members of the Self-Defense Force immediately sprang into action, tightly surrounding the Sakura Country leader, forming a dense defensive circle.

They raised their firearms, vigilantly observing their surroundings, not daring to relax in the slightest.

However, to their surprise, the Self-Defense Force members seemed to have completely forgotten about their captain lying on the ground; not a single person went to help him up.

The poor captain could only lie alone on the cold ground, groaning in pain, making whimpering sounds, and continuously struggling to crawl towards the Sakura Country leader's position.

Trails of blood were left behind wherever he crawled, exceptionally noticeable.

"Leader... help... help... help me..."

Just then, the little people on the divine tree all opened their eyes, revealing fierce gazes.

They leaped down from the divine tree and rushed towards the Self-Defense Force like specters.

The Self-Defense Force soldiers tried to resist, but these little people possessed extraordinary strength, and the situation instantly became one-sided.

The Self-Defense Force fired their guns, constantly retreating, and everyone's face was filled with terror.

Meanwhile, the Self-Defense Force captain, whom no one had attended to, had long since become a meal for the little spirits.

The Sakura Country leader's eyes widened, watching all this in disbelief.

He realized he had caused a great disaster.

He struggled to get up, wanting to escape the scene.

But how could the little people let him go? They quickly caught up to the leader and tackled him to the ground.

He screamed until his voice cracked, continuously firing at the little people, but the little spirits were too small and too fast; nine out of ten bullets missed, and one even hit the air, knocking down a power line.

His body was covered in bite marks from the little spirits, and strangely, even though the wounds were less than two centimeters, they bled incessantly.

The little spirits on his body kept attacking and biting the Sakura Country leader all over.

The wounds on his body grew more and more numerous, and soon his clothes turned into a red blood-soaked garment.

Under prolonged bleeding, even if he wasn't killed by the little spirits, he would die from excessive blood loss.

People panicked, scattering in all directions; the initial joy was instantly replaced by fear.

At the same time, the big tree began to emit a bloody Aura, and the surrounding air became heavy.

Faintly, it was as if countless pairs of blood-red eyes were watching them...

...

Just then, Igarashi Hayato descended from the sky and landed beside the Sakura Country leader.

His katana directly swung a blade towards the little spirits on the Sakura Country leader's body; the little spirits sensed the danger and immediately bared their teeth, retreating backward, their bright red eyes glaring fiercely at Igarashi Hayato.

With the attacking little spirits gone, the Sakura Country leader immediately got up, trembling as he grabbed Igarashi Hayato's arm and moved behind him, looking in horror at the little spirits in front of Igarashi Hayato.

These were not little spirits; these were man-eating spirits!

He swept his gaze across the scene; the Self-Defense Force was almost completely wiped out.

Out of twenty to thirty people, only five or six were still struggling on the ground.

Igarashi Hayato's eyes were cold; he looked at the surrounding little spirits and whispered, "You monsters, how dare you harm innocent people. Today, I will make sure you all die, die, die!"

With that, he flashed, rushing towards the little spirits like a gust of wind.

The katana in his hand gleamed with cold light, each swing carrying a sharp Aura.

Seeing this, the little spirits dodged one after another.

But Igarashi Hayato's speed was extremely fast; in the blink of an eye, several little spirits were cut down by his blade.

Seeing this, the Sakura Country leader's heart ignited with a glimmer of hope.

He shouted loudly, "Igarashi Hayato, get rid of... get rid of these damned monsters!"

Igarashi Hayato frowned slightly; facing about twenty-plus little spirits, with their overwhelming numbers and only himself, it was truly difficult to carry out the Sakura Country leader's command.

He turned to the Sakura Country leader and said, "Leader, take your people and leave here, the farther the better!"

"There are too many monsters; I am too busy to Clone myself and fear I cannot protect you adequately."

The Sakura Country leader nodded repeatedly, quickly leading the remaining few people to flee the scene.

At this point, only Igarashi Hayato and a group of little spirits remained on the field.

Igarashi Hayato focused his energy, dealing with the little spirits' attacks.

He nimbly moved among the little spirits, his blade flashing, and little spirits continuously fell.

However, the number of little spirits was truly too great, and Igarashi Hayato gradually felt strained.

Just then, he noticed the change in the divine tree.

The bloody Aura grew even more intense, as thick and oppressive as fog permeating the air.

Igarashi Hayato felt a strong sense of unease and fear surge in his heart; his samurai intuition told him he had to leave this place as soon as possible.

He dared not delay any longer and quickly turned to leave.

Just then, he estimated that the Sakura Country leader and the other Self-Defense Force members had already left far away, and he also unhesitatingly picked up his katana and followed suit, leaving this strange place.

The little spirits then turned their attention to the corpses of the dead Self-Defense Force members on the ground.

These Self-Defense Force members had been killed by the little spirits earlier but had not yet become their feast.

Now, they finally had the opportunity to taste this fresh food, each of them eating with relish, thoroughly enjoying this lavish meal.

And the dead little spirits vanished from the ground in a flash, and surprisingly, the number of crystal-clear, alluringly fragrant Spiritual Qi fruits on the divine tree had increased!

It was as if the life energy of these dead little spirits had been transformed into nourishment for the divine tree, allowing more Spiritual Qi fruits to be conceived and grow.

A moment later, the little spirits, satisfied after their meal, flew back onto the divine tree.

They reverted to their usual cute appearance, snuggling together, and entering sweet dreams.

No one noticed that the divine tree had undergone a subtle change during this bloody incident...

It had grown a little taller, but this change was so minuscule that it was imperceptible.

...

On the other side, Jingcheng.

Western sea area.

Hu Bingbing hummed a song as she flew into the sky above the sea, observed the sea surface, and then happily came near the sea area.

She took out her precious fishing rod, put the Yao Beast meat made into bait on it, and then cast it with all her might, hitting the bullseye.

Suddenly, a huge wave rose on the sea surface, and a gigantic whale leaped out of the water.

Hu Bingbing looked at the whale in surprise; even though she had seen all sorts of giant Yao Beasts, she was still extremely surprised to see it now.

The whale was estimated to be about forty-four meters long, its immense size like a huge mountain.

The whale opened its mouth and let out a low roar, a powerful current of air rushing towards her.

Hu Bingbing steadied herself; she felt something contained within the whale's Aura.

Spiritual Qi?

She wasn't quite sure.

Ever since the world ascended, the entire world had undergone tremendous changes.

Wherever there was abundant and concentrated Spiritual Qi, various Yao Beasts of different temperaments would be born.

Some Yao Beasts were fierce and brutal, while others were gentle and kind...

Even if the Aura in the whale in front of her was Spiritual Qi, it wasn't too surprising.

She looked at the whale circling the sea and sighed, "Brother, if you do this, my fish won't bite."