The one-eyed man swiped his blade across Hao Xuan's neck in one smooth motion.
Hao Xuan who could barely even talk was relaxed at first because no matter how powerful a mere mortal was, they would never be able to even pierce his skin. But when the first surge of pain traveled through the nervous system and reached his brain stem, Hao Xuan's eyes widened in shock.
Each and every single nerve ending in his body lit up like a Christmas tree, firing at their maximum speed. This was one of those moments that Hao Xuan was 100% sure that if he didn't do anything right this instant, he would die by the hands of this nobody in front of him.
Time seemed to have slowed down as he focused on the blade had already cut through the first layer of skin. Using the last bit of strength, Hao Xuan sent out two messages through his soul connection.
The first one was to Barracus.
"Defensive measure to maximum!"
And the second one was a summons.
As soon as Baracus received the message, the nanotech that was always circulating in Hao Xuan's bloodstream gathered the wound on his neck and formed a layer of razor-thin armor beneath the skin.
The blade moved across the layer of metal that had blocked its advance, creating red sparks in the dark night.
Time returned to normal, or rather, Hao Xuan's returned to normal.
"Wha-" the one-eyed man stumbled and fell face-first into the ground with aching wrists. It was like he had struck his blade against an anvil and the rebounding force was enough to make him lose his balance.
All three of the hunters were shocked by the sudden turn of events. The middle-aged man was the first one to react. he reached out into his loose shirt and took out a small dagger. With the speed of a leopard he struck, aiming for Hao Xuan's eye.
But this time the result was much different. He had only taken a single step forward when his mouth fell open from incredulity.
The one-eyed man jumped back to his feet, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! KILL HIM!" he shouted upon seeing the middleaged man's dazed expression.
He bent down and picked up his sword ready to strike again when his gaze finally landed on the faint green figure behind Hao Xuan.
The Abrasive Jadeblood Scorpion King that Hao Xuan barely ever called out was standing behind him. (Chapter 301 for description).
The Scorpion King's massive body straightened up, reached a size of more than 3 meters. A single arm of his was larger than even Hao Xuan who was the tallest person here.
His tail that looked like a long and thin veiny leaf raised up into the air behind him. A gust of wind ruffled the middleaged man's hair, making his close his eyes by instinct.
And when he opened them again, the body of the young man that was keeping an eye out more than 15 meters away from them was now hanging from the end of his tail.
The young man was just as shocked as the other two. One second he was standing so far away, and the next he was suspended in the air.
He looked down at the green tail that had pierced his chest and just like that, took his last breath without even realizing how it had come to be.
The other two wanted to make a run for it but seeing that they couldn't move an inch. Every single hair on their bodies stood up like a needle.
One look from the scorpion king was enough to render them completely defenseless.
The scorpion king opened his mouth and swallowed the young man's corpse in a single gulp. He closed his eyes as the crunching sounds of breaking bones and exploding organs came from his now expanded gullet.
The middle-aged man's knees went weak and he fell to the ground while letting out a hysterical laugh. He had lost his mind.
The scorpion king finished eating the young man within a few seconds and looked towards the other two with an obvious expression of greed.
"N-No, Pl-please!" the one-eyed man dropped to his knees and kowtowed in front of Hao Xuan.
Hao Xuan looked up. His own face was drenched in sweat, turning a shade of blue and red from the extreme pain that was rampaging through his body.
"Leave....him," he mumbled gesturing towards the one-eyed man.
The scorpion king's body vanished from behind Hao Xuan and reappeared above the middleaged man. This time he didn't bother killing and straight-up swallowed him alive. His muffled screams came from the Scorpion King's mouth for a couple of seconds before they too were overtaken by the crunching noises of his bones being crushed to death.
The one-eyed man lost control of his bladder. He was trembling from head to toe.
****
Authors Notes:
Scorpion King: https://urlzs.com/p1WpK
(W and K are capital)