Swallowed Star

by Alexander Buchanez

  "However, on the way, we encountered another rat tide. We didn't have a choice, our squad could only split up and run, making the rat tide split too! We were lucky, we ran to the highway and only a small rat tide was chasing us! While running, Wang Ke and I met this Jiang Tu guy. He pretty much went through the same experience we did".

  Wan Dong laughed bitterly as he said: "I wonder how captain and the others are doing".

  In a place with many streets and alleys, they could split up and run, causing the rat tide to split up too. However, they didn't dare do such a thing on the highway, since only the abandoned fields were beside it. It's harder for humans to sprint in these fields. And the geographical environment of the fields doesn't really have much of an impact on the rat monsters.

  That's why everyone runs on the highway and aren't willing to enter the abandoned fields.

  ���

  Luo Feng and the others arrived in the fighter resupplying base. At this time, a large amount of fighters were gathered at the gate of the base.

  "Crazy, I knew that you wouldn't die"

  "Crazy, did you see old Liu and the others in the #0231 country level city?"

  As he walked into the resupplying base, quite a few fighters who recognized Luo Feng came to give their greetings and ask questions, since a rat tide explosion is an extremely dangerous case. Thankfully, this was just a 'grade three rat tide', so it wasn't too dangerous. If it was the legendary grade one rat tide, then even the entire Jiang-Nan headquarters city would be in danger!

  "Old Wang, have my captain and the others returned yet?" Wan Dong started asking around.

  "Haven't seen them"

  "Your captain and the others aren't back, it's not recorded here"

  ......

  Today was a sad day for the resupplying base. Quite a few fighters lost their lives. As for the three wargods that entered the wilderness today, one of them was actually surrounded by the infinite rat tide and was lost in it.

  The rat tide crazily attacked with all they had, and..... killed a wargod!

  Yes, today, a human wargod has fallen!

  There aren't just soldier level rat monsters in the rat tide, there are also commander level existences. And the leader of the rat tide is extremely intelligent, once they select a target, they'll disregard everything else! It was said that while that human wargod was struggling, around ten skyscrapers were destroyed, causing millions of rat monsters to die.

  Sadly, millions of rat monsters means nothing to the rat tide which contains billions.

  Because of that......

  This wargod died!

  "RUMBLE~~~" the dark clouds rolled and the harsh winds covered the entire land. Sometimes, the sound of thunder could be heard, and with one of the thunder's explosion, heavy rain started pouring.

  On the rooftop of a villa in the resupplying base, Luo Feng sat on the balcony.

  "Captain, I'm fine, I was pretty lucky. Didn't get surrounded by the rat tide"

  "Brother Chen, yea, I'm fine"

  "Brother Tie, haha, you can hear my voice. Of course I'm fine"

  Luo Feng received several phone calls, since a grade three rat tide event only appears around once a generation. Because of that, most of the fighters in Jiang-Nan city knew what happened. Every time a rat tide case occurs, or the even more horrifying 'ant tide', many human fighters die. In this case, a human wargod has fallen. A big loss to the entire Jiang-Nan city.

  "Just a grade three rat tide caused so many people to die"

  "Then what about the legendary grade one rat tide?"

  "Or the legendary war between humans and monsters?"

  The war between humans and monsters, is the war between two civilizations, the war between two races! Once the war begins, countless kinds of monsters appear. Ground monsters, all sorts of flying type monsters, monsters that use quantity of quality, monsters with immeasurable power, burrowing monsters, poisonous monsters, monsters with flying attacks and sound wave attacks......

  The ground and the sky are covered with countless monsters. There are also burrowing monsters in the ground, and monsters in the lakes.

  Things like the rat tide and the ant nest are just a portion of them.

  This is the most horrifying war!

  "Monsters are the enemies of us humans. Right now, the monsters have complete control over the sea. On the ground, humans have the advantage. However, monsters have the advantage in the sky! Humans are forced into headquarter cities and to counter attack from there!" Luo Feng never realized this in the past. He always felt like monsters were just being slaughtered by fighters, but today he finally realized......

  Monsters are entirely capable of wiping humanity off the face of the earth.

  If humanity goes extinct, what's the point of talking about family, what's the point of talking about cultures, ethics, and morals?

  "My strength isn't enough. Not even close to enough" Luo Feng gazed at the infinite sky and earth.

  BOOM!

  KA!

  The thunder roared, and a flash of lightning came crashing down from the sky.

  "Thunderbolt....." Luo Feng stared at the lightning in the faraway sky and suddenly grasped something in his heart.

  Chapter 65: Taken Shape

  "BOOM! CRACKLE!"

  Lightning bolt after lightning bolt came crashing down from the sky. Sometimes two flashes of light will wrap around each other like snakes in the sky to form a lightning bolt. Even a horde leader wouldn't want to get hit by the almighty lightning bolt. The astonishing voltage would probably instantly turn them into dust.

  "Fierce! Sharp!"

  "Destroying everything!"

  Luo Feng sat on the balcony of the rooftop as he muttered while watching silently.

  With Luo Feng's technique training these past days, his technique finally barely steps into the 'Ru Wei class'. As for his blade technique, Luo Feng is only able to control his sword's power. After killing over 10,000 monsters, and adding the amount of control that the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade�� already needs, Luo Feng's current control over his blade is already way above Wei Tie and Wei Qing's.

  However.....

  Luo Feng wasn't able to complete the second stage of the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��. He has always wanted to complete the second stage. Know that this instruction manual is extremely powerful. The first stage gives you 140% of your original power, but the 2nd stage gives you 210%. It gives you a full 50% increase from the power in the 1st stage.

  In other words, an advanced level warrior can wield the strength of a beginner level warlord!

  And the ninth stage of the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��is 700%, which is 7x the original!

  An advanced warrior can wield the power of a beginner level warlord! This is the power of the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��. However, the only person who has mastered all nine stages in the entire world is the creator, Thunder God.

  "Yea, like this"

  Luo Feng, who was always practicing his blade technique, watched the lightning before him. As he watched, he grasped something in his heart. After a short moment, he immediately went down to the 2nd floor to get his ghost blade. After that, with his ghost blade in hand, he started practicing in the heavy rain on the rooftop!

  The lightning in the distance started dying down.

  "According to the explanation from the instruction manual, every blade master has their own conception. According to the scroll, you have to raise the limits of your blade technique to advance in the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��".

  "This lightning bolt....."

  Luo Feng started swinging his blade over and over in the heavy rain!

  XIU!

  Unlike before, Luo Feng was trying to grasp the feeling in his heart while training. The feeling he felt when he watched the lightning bolts. The quick, explosive, and extremely concise feeling. Luo Feng's blade drew a light as it slashed around.

  "Burst, burst, burst out!" Luo Feng tried to follow the feeling
in his heart to unleash another force from his body.

  "It should be like this, but, how come I can only unleash the first stage and not the second?"

  ......

  The rain was pouring, but Luo Feng was completely immersed in the world of his own blade; he had no time to worry about rain. And tonight, Luo Feng surprisingly didn't undergo any 'genetic energy' training. He just kept unleashing the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��. However, doing this over and over again caused Luo Feng's body to become very tired.

  But Luo Feng didn't want to stop. So every time he swung his blade, he simply paused a bit before swinging again.

  ......

  Dawn of day two. The rain has stopped a long time ago and a faint glow started to appear from the sky in the east. The winter's chill was already quite apparent at dawn, but Luo Feng, who was completely wet, hugged his blade as he sat on the balcony and frowned: "Just what am I missing?".

  Luo Feng himself thought that he should be able to unleash the second stage. Even the inner parts of his body were already starting to unleash a second force, but every time it seemed like it was about to come out, it fell short in the very end!

  Just missing by a bit.

  "DRIP!"

  A droplet of rain fell right into a puddle on the balcony of the rooftop. The calm surface of the water rippled and gently spread to all directions.

  "Hm?" Luo Feng felt something in his heart.

  An idea appeared in his mind. The scene he witnessed with the destructive lightning bolts..... that was extremely sharp!

  However, the ripples caused by a droplet of rain were extremely gentle.

  "Just not for long!"

  "Your body fitness level can only go so high. The ninth stage is there to give you an explosive strength seven times greater than your own. However, if you keep pushing towards that limit, how could your body withstand that?" Luo Feng eagerly stood up and, with his ghost blade in hand, directly slashed across the area in front of him. The blade moves relatively quickly in its first movement.

  However, instantly add another force! And another! Add two of them consecutively!

  The blade slashed across the air!

  "RUMBLE~" a sound rang.

  Luo Feng's right arm, for an instant, basically bulged up for a bit, clearly becoming larger than his left.

  "Just like that" Luo Feng retracted his blade and had a joyful smile on his face. Just like the smooth, gentle surface of water, the deepest parts of his body's muscles naturally connected the two forces. And these two forces instantly increased the ghost blade's speed to an amazing heights, like lightning!

  Second stage of the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��, finally completed!

  Just with his blade technique, Luo Feng is able to reach the strength of a low level warlord. Adding his Ru-Wei class technique to that, even a regular low level warlord wouldn't be a match for him.

  ����

  In extreme joy, Luo Feng ran down the stairs and immediately ordered breakfast through the phone. He happily and cheerfully finished his breakfast and prepared to undergo genetic energy training.

  "Not right"

  "My blade did get stronger, but it only has brute force" Luo Feng shook his head and immediately picked up his ghost blade again, "I am perfectly capable of controlling exactly when I exert the two forces. That way, I can make my blade less predictable".

  Luo Feng started swinging his blade in the training hall.

  Since he exerts his force two more times, Luo Feng's blade changes two more times. This is the difference between someone training in the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade�� and an average person.

  "HU~HU~" the blade was weird and erratic.

  Swing, and again!

  The images of the lightning bolts crashing down from the sky kept appearing in Luo Feng's mind. And the images of the water droplet causing the ripples, this was the feeling he was searching for everytime he swung his blade! He needs to find a blade technique for himself! The��Nine Stage Thunder Blade��simply gives him a technique to increase his force.

  Luo Feng needs to experience and find a blade technique that most suits him.

  And he needs to conceive a technique that can let his body withstand the force of the��Nine Stage Thunder Blade�� with no drawbacks.

  ......

  Immersed in the creation of his technique, the fatigue of his muscles didn't affect Luo Feng's excitement at all. Every time he swung his blade, the technique became more and more erratic. The blade even occasionally made light shockwaves from the two faint vibrations it received when drawing through the air.

  Luo Feng had no idea of how much time has passed.....

  "XIU!"

  The blade drew a light like lightning and like fog. It had some sort of feeling similar to a misty trance. But in just that instant, the blade, like a lightning bolt, disappeared.

  "It's that!" Luo Feng finally had a smile on his face. When he casually swung his blade, the muscles of his body were relaxed. He would then instantly exert a force and then go back to the relaxed state. Changing states like this over and over again will allow Luo Feng to be able to fight for a longer duration in battle.

  "According to the instruction manual, I finally got past the basic part and started on the part of conception. I just barely touched the border though" Luo Feng was extremely happy.

  What should I call my technique?

  "Since I got my inspiration for this technique from watching lightning, I'll call it....."

  "Thunderbolt!"

  Luo Feng finally had his own technique.

  "Even though my blade technique, thunderbolt, was just created, I'll keep improving it in the future" said Luo Feng silently. He lowered his head and looked at his tactical communications watch. It was already 2 PM. From last night until now, he spent almost 20 hours practicing his blade technique.

  "In just a few days, the fire hammer squad will assemble. My technique and my blade technique have improved, so I'll go back and rest for a few days". Luo Feng was in a joyful mood. After eating lunch, he gathered his things and got on a train headed to Jiang-Nan city from the resupplying base.

  Around 50 days of training and killing over 10,000 monsters enabled Luo Feng's technique and blade technique to reach new heights.

  And the blade technique he created, 'Thunderbolt', has finally taken shape today.

  Even though it was simple and plain, he created it when he was just 18 years old. Nobody could say what kind of level the blade technique, 'Thunderbolt', was capable of reaching.

  Chapter 66: Skill Test

  Yang-Zhou city's Ming-Yue sector, Luo Feng's home.

  In the lobby, Luo Feng was currently merrily eating dinner with his parents and brother. Luo Feng only stayed in the wilderness for seven or eight days the first time he went. However, this time he was gone for nearly two months. Even though they kept in touch via phone, the joy of actually meeting Luo Feng way surpasses talking through a phone.

  After dinner, Luo Hua's room.

  "Luo Hua, what are you writing?" laughed Luo Feng as he asked after seeing a word document on his brother's laptop with a lot of words on it.

  "Reviewing the losses in last month's stock and patching up my theory on the stock market" laughed Luo Hua as he replied, "Brother, this main theory of mine actually took a few months to build up. However, to actually complete it will take much much longer than that".

  Luo Feng laughed: "Luo Hua, don't tell me about this. I have no idea what you're saying anyway. Oh yea, how have the stocks been the past three months?".

  "They haven't been good, a huge drop of 10%. However, the stock I chose count as quality stocks, so with some manipulation, I was able to earn around 50% in the last three months" said Luo Hua with a face of confidence. After seeing that, Luo Feng also let out a smile. Actually, Luo Feng also researched a bit about stocks on the internet.

  As of now, the stock market is completely globalized. However, the situations in each region are diff
erent. The stock market could entirely collapse and some regions could undergo inflation. Some places could be attacked by monsters and undergo astonishing deflation.

  Under these random situations, it's extremely hard to trade stocks.

  "Oh, in other words, you earned 10 million?" said Luo Feng in a surprised tone. Since Luo Feng earned a lot from the 'hunter' three months ago, he lent his brother 20 million. Even though he had faith in his brother, it would be too risky to lend him too much money.

  "Hm, pretty good"

  Luo Feng took out his phone, quickly entered the internet bank, and made a transaction.

  "BEEP!"

  Luo Hua took out his phone and was shocked. He received a message saying that his balance has changed--"Your card ending in 3206 has increased by 50 million on 11/30 21:51��.

  "Brother, 50 million?" said Luo Hua out of shock as he looked towards his brother Luo Feng. 50 million was no small number. As of now, Chinese dollars are quite valuable. The exchange rate between the earth dollars is only around 3.5. Even for many rich Chinese businessmen and merchants, making them pull out 50 million isn't too realistic.

  "Luo Hua, keep working, I'm sure you can do it" laughed Luo Feng.

  Luo Hua's eyes flashed and he nodded seriously.

  Controlling such a huge amount of money as he entered the stock market gave Luo Hua a sense of accomplishment. For a handicapped person like him, he has made the stock market his career a long time ago. He has played through all types of stocks since a few years ago, and is finally confident in what he does.

  You can say, he already has the foundation of a master.

  However, even a master can fail in the stock market. Because of this, there is a lot of psychological pressure.

  "Don't stay up too late" said Luo Feng as he laughed and went downstairs.

  50 million, Luo Feng didn't really mind. His training in the past two months has earned him over 80 million. The amount of money he made was admirable to many fighters, but unfortunately, they can't learn Luo Feng's method..... Luo Feng is a spirit reader. And if Luo Feng really wanted to make money, he could use his spiritual force to kill large amounts of commander level monsters.