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The gentle breeze blew across the valley covered in an abundance of flowers, and the surrounding forests emanated a light fragrance.
Three young men, of sixteen and seventeen years, were casually strolling along the riverside path. They were lively, chatting and laughing, as if the heavy load of wood they were carrying weighed nothing.
"Have you heard that the king is preparing for war again?" said the tallest of the three, a young man with black hair that swayed softly in the wind.
"Sure, Dennis. Do you want to join too?" replied the one walking next to Dennis, slightly shorter, with shorter, dark brown hair. His most striking feature was his intense, energetic eyes, brimming with vigor.
"Haha, if I ever become a general, Davis, you can be my right-hand man!" Dennis pointed to his chest, as if he had already become a great hero.
"No way, I'll be an even greater general than you!" Davis let go of the cart they were pushing, raising his arms confidently.
"Hey, don't suddenly let go like that!" Dennis, feeling the extra burden with Davis' help gone, scolded him.
"Haha!" Davis laughed, then promptly put his hands back on the cart. "The last war with our neighbor was over so quickly that we didn't even have the time to report for duty. If we can get to the capital sooner this time, do you think we'll make it?" he asked Woody.
"Wherever you two want to go, I'll go with you," the more tranquil Woody smiled. His light brown hair matched his easygoing demeanor, but the firm lines of his face suggested he was not as carefree as he seemed. "Or should we tell our master first when we get back?"
"Let's just go for it!" Davis was eager to put his skills to the test.
As Davis began imagining himself in the empire's warrior’s garbs, his arm was suddenly grabbed. He turned to see that Dennis had stopped, and Woody had also turned around, looking all tense.
Following their gaze, Davis saw a group of men who did not seem friendly approaching from the road behind them. They wore white shirts, blue pants, bright yellow gloves, and prominent red bandanas. Though their eyes were hidden behind sunglasses, their malicious smiles were evident.
Their leader, also wearing sunglasses, had a simple outfit - a white tank top that revealed his muscular frame, suggesting he was not one of reason.
The three young men stopped in their tracks, watching as the group advanced toward their small village, the only destination down this road.
The village was built at the foot of a great mountain, and the massive, rocky cliffs appear like a sitting lion, hence it is called the Lion Rock, and its village, the Lion Rock Village. Next to the Lion Rock Village is a forest that produces fragrant wood with a small stream flowing through it. It is beautiful and peaceful. The village is not very large, but the relationships between its villagers are closely knitted, and everyone has a deep sense of belonging, so everyone is willing to work hard to build it up.
At this moment, the thoughts of the three good friends are completely in sync. They do not know the intentions of the newcomers, so they all hope to ask them first what they are up to. If they are going to do something terrible against the village, then they must get through this group first.
The three of them put down the wooden cart they were pushing, and turned around together to face the group of people quickly approaching, until there was only about five or six meters between the two sides.
The one who looked like their leader stretched out his arm, stopping his companions from advancing, and the others immediately obediently stopped in their tracks.
"Are you all going to the Lion Rock Village?" Davis spoke first.
"Brother Mark, never mind them, let's just hurry up and complete our mission, and when the general arrives we can report our achievements," a little lackey beside him said.
The leader called Mark waved his hand to shut the lackey up, then gave Davis and the others a disdainful look and replied, "Yes, what's the problem?"
"What mission?" Davis stepped forward half a step, clenching his fists, with a somewhat aggressive posture.
"I'll tell you, we in the Empire are about to go to war with our neighbor, so we hope to be able to snatch some resources from you all. You don't have any objections, do you?" Mark said with a malicious expression.
"What resources? We submit our taxes and tributes to the Empire on time every year! The Empire can't just come and take whatever they want whenever they feel like it! You bunch of idiots, are you impersonating the Empire’s people?" Dennis shouted out his doubts.
"You little punks don't know anything. If the Empire needs it, we can completely wipe out your whole village. You have no right to refuse. If you don't obediently listen, my fists won't grow eyes." Mark raised his fist threateningly.
"Ridiculous, how could the Empire treat its people this way? I don't know what you are, but if you don't want to listen to reason, we're ready to fight back any time." Davis glanced around, and Dennis and Woody both nodded, without needing to say anything, they knew they would stick together.
"Ignorant of your own doom." Mark swung his fists and jumped in front of the three, wanting to attack, with his lackeys following behind him.
Seeing the opponents charging at them, the three did not dare slack off either. Just as Mark was almost in front of them, they nimbly leapt to the side.
Mark had not expected to need to rely on numerical superiority, thinking that as an Empire warrior, he alone would be more than enough to handle three civilians. But what he did not know was that the three young men in front of him, although they might seem like ordinary citizens, had actually received training beyond his imagination.
Woody and Dennis, likewise, relaxed their hands, but their legs shot out like lightning bolts, attacking the charging lackeys without any mercy. Kicking, stomping, jumping, each strike was full of power, and the lackeys were kicked away one by one like targets.
Mark, turning back, saw that Woody and Dennis's skills were extraordinary, but he didn't have time to admire them, because in front of him Davis was already swinging incredibly powerful punches at him. Mark hastily raised his hands to block the first strike, but was unprepared for the sheer force behind it. Mark's feet stumbled backwards several steps, and his arms were numbed.
As the captain of the group, Mark's skills were indeed better than the others, at least he did not get knocked down with a single hit like the lackeys. Seeing his men being taken down one by one, he knew he was the only one who could regain face for his side, so he gritted his teeth and fought fiercely: "Try my Crash Punch'!"
He saw the man's muscles suddenly swell, and he wielded a fierce attack towards Davis, the sheer force of his punches seeming capable of slicing his opponent in half.
It was clear the opponent's techniques were devastatingly powerful, but Davis had a smile on his face. Just as Mark was about to strike, Davis lightly sidestepped and performed a nimble backflip to evade the lethal attack, then immediately launched a counterattack: "Shrafe!"
Mark struggled to pull back his strike and turned to retaliate. His punches were powerful, but his movements were not very agile. In contrast, although Davis was smaller, his punches were faster and more numerous. The key to power is speed, and as the two exchanged blows, Davis' punches grew faster and faster, until Mark could even see a blue glow around them. After Davis' first punch broke through Mark's defenses and struck him, the second, third and fourth punches came in rapid succession. In an instant, Mark did not know how many times he had been hit, and he was sent flying backwards.
Despite the pain, Mark forced himself to stand up, only to see all his subordinates lying on the ground, while Woody and Dennis stood unharmed with their arms crossed.
"Damn it!" Mark fumed, not expecting to encounter such a formidable opponent in this small village: "Let's see my 'Body Attack'." He accelerated in two steps, his muscular shoulder charging towards Davis.
In a flash, Davis glanced over at Woody, as if seeking his approval. Woody just shrugged, indifferent.
As the train-like Mark approached, Davis quickly gathered his internal energy, and his hands suddenly emitted a dazzling blue glow. "Energy Blast!" he shouted, firing multiple energy spheres that struck Mark with thunderous impact.
The initial energy blasts completely neutralized Mark's charge, while the remaining ones slammed into his torso. Mark felt like he had been hit by several iron hammers, a searing pain spreading through his body, until he lost consciousness.
Davis looked mischievously at his two companions, but their smiles froze as they saw another group approaching, their leader emanating a sinister aura that darkened the sky.
"Not bad," the cold voice said, its low tone clearly heard in their minds despite the distance. The leader's masked face glowed with red eyes. The three involuntarily shuddered, their bodies frozen as if by ice. They knew this new enemy was on a completely different level from Mark.
Abandoning their casual attitudes, the three prepared to face the new threat. But before they could even blink, the enemy had closed the distance, his steps seemingly folding space itself.
Davis, Dennis, and Woody suppressed their fear, gathering their full power, their hands glowing blue and red, ready to unleash their strongest techniques. However, the mysterious foe was faster, appearing before them in a flash of purple light.
"Big Bang!" the enemy commanded.
Davis instinctively stepped forward, shielding Dennis and Woody behind him. A deafening explosion and a towering column of energy was the last thing they saw…
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