141 Welcome back (2/2)

Oh how he was wishing to see these two again and his wishes were granted. He was going to snap them to pieces limb by limb.

Hartley had black lines across his scrunched forehead as he glanced at the shifting flashes of lights and finger gestures from the beast-man.

After a few fluid hand gestures, the black scaled beast-man had the dormant fire elements in the air churning towards himself.

In a blink his right arm had a red glow from elbow to finger tips.

The mammoth axe Instantly glowed red with sizzling heat glaring off it.

Another few hand gestures and the beast-man legs were glowing green.

Hartley and Zhi Ruo were stood at the edge of the beast-men's former sacred ground.

Looking around, there was still evidence of the collapsed basin and the destruction left behind by the couple when they crossed over to the pocket dimension.

While it had been ten years in pocket dimension for the couple, Hartley remembered it was only ten days for the beast-men, and it was not enough time for frayed tempers to calm.

Hartley had no time to tangle with this matter. He immediately engaged his time domain, instantly everything froze turning the world monochrome, losing all sound and colours.

With everything frozen in stunning black and white detail.

Hartley saw a white ghost-like silhouette move from the black scaled beast-man body, slashing his giant axe from high-left to low-right with lightning speed. The earth cracked under both their feet from the pressure exuded.

Hartley flinched back by reflex. It was the first time he'd seen anything move in his monochrome world.

A few seconds felt like an hour in the moment.

He was taken back at first before realising the white apparition would fade away like smoke at the end of the move and restart again.

Incredulously this was a prediction of the opponent's future action.

If the black scaled beast-man was as capable as the apparition, then Hartley was glad he hadn't taken any chances.

It was time to apply a dose of ruthless pragmatism.

When it came to the beast-men Hartley knew talk was useless.

Their years of hatred for humans had poisoned their minds, they could not be reasoned with.

Hartley had to punish the monkey to warn the chickens.

Diplomacy would get him nowhere with the beast-men, he had to show them who had the bigger fist.

Three steps and the distance was closed, Hartley raised the open palm of his right hand, fingers pointed to the sky.

His left hand languished by his side to make three gestures quickly, a black orb crackled like electricity as it burst into existence hovering in front of the open palm.

Hartley's black hair fluttered as his blue elemental power gushed from his palm and weaved around the crackling black energy.

His right hand came forward and rammed into the right breastplate of the black scaled beast-man.

There was flash of blue and black light.

Time was restored with an explosion, everyone including Zhi Ruo was swept off their feet without warning. Shattered pieces of the beast-man scales flew every. The black scaled beast-man was unconscious before he even landed.

Bang! The earth rattled when the black scaled beast-man finally landed twenty meters away. He fell like a crumpled piece of fabric, sending massive plumes of dirt and dust from the crater he dug with his unconscious body.

Shattered scales crumbled from his body and everything around him was charred black and smouldering like ignited coal.

The beast-men gathered around picked themselves off the ground and gaped at the scene, the ones who were still rushing to the scene stopped in their tracks.

They collectively inhaled a cold breath and took a step back, they all just witnessed the powerful black scaled beast-man getting slapped to sleep. He laid twisted and unmoving In the smouldering crater, chest heaving up and down.

Everything was silent, dust swirled through the air and the whirring wind hummed a tune, this was an opponent none of them wished to fight, they were satisfied with the fact that the human looked ready leave.

After Zhi Ruo got her feet, Hartley rushed over to make sure she was ok.

Zhi Ruo turned her nose to the sky and harrumphed.

”Lets see if you carry on bullying peaceful people.” She said as she stared down the beast-men who were all as docile as domesticated cats.

Hartley wrapped an arm around her waist, pushed himself into the air and soared a thousand meters in a blink. Then disappeared in flash of blue.

***

The light came in from the full moon. Everyone was in the beautiful chamber of the lounge where the huge windows allowed the moonlight to illuminate the interior.

The concrete pillar in the middle of the room housed a fireplace with orange flames dancing. Not for the warmth but for stretching the light.

The shadows were relegated to the far end of the room.

.... ”Welcome back my lord” Fu Qian dropped to a knee in a formal knight salute, followed by the rest of the elites in the room.

”Rise” Hartley instructed. ”Do away with those formalities from now on.” Hartley told the handsome middle aged man and the elites.

Those things had stoked his ego once, but now they were unnecessary procedures that wasted time. Hartley considered himself a much more mature man now.

Hartley sat beside Zhi Ruo with a cup wine, he sipped as he listened to reports of happenings in the country.

Alric, Qin Li, Fu Jiannu, Fu Qian, the elites and the servants had eyes planted on the couple.

They all noticed something different about Hartley and Zhi Ruo, they just couldn't identity the difference. They went on a month's long secret trip and came back so different? Where did they go