Ugh!
The soldier regained consciousness after an hour, noticing that he had been brought into the shelter, and taken care of by the children that used their limited nursing capabilities to deal with his wounds.
He groaned and got up, observing the terror-stricken expressions of everyone, asking in a hurry, "What happened?"
In response to his question, a student pointed at a TV screen in the shelter. The news anchor in it was being chewed by the monster while any soldier that tried to combat it was swiftly killed.
Bullets just bounced off its carapace. The monster was wider and bulkier than the one he had killed, 'It would take armour-piercing rounds to go through such a carapace. Dammit, the higher-ups took too long to deploy the big guns and now the casualties are incomparable.'
He gritted his teeth and got up. His injuries were minor, and after being bandaged, he was able to move. But after taking a couple of steps, he felt weak all over, experiencing an intense sense of hunger.
It was as if he hadn't had a morsel for days, "Some…food."
"We have rations here." A middle-school student said in a hurry and brought a bunch of canned food that the soldier popped open and devoured like a maniac.
He ate four times his usual, burping contently, feeling strength return to his body. Moreover, he could feel a warm sensation in his abdomen and as he focused on the tip of his finger, a blade of energy extended out of it and vibrated at a high frequency.
"What's that?" The student that brought him the canned food asked curiously.
"I'm not sure," The soldier said, "But it's thanks to this that I managed to take down that monster."
"Will I be able to use it too?" The student asked in worry, "My parents…are still out there."
"If I was as strong as you, would I be able to protect them?"
"Protecting people is a soldier's duty. You all are my responsibility." Saying so, the soldier got up and looked out of the shelter, observing a couple of monsters running about in the apocalyptic street full of wreckage, bullet holes, and abandoned vehicles.
He focused on the corpses of his comrades, noticing the walkie-talkie of the team captain, 'With that, I'll be able to contact HQ. But, I should do it without alerting those monsters.'
Boom!
Right as he was about to head out and grab the walkie-talkie, a monster burst through the walls and collapsed on the floor.
"Is everyone alright?" A middle-aged teacher panted as he asked in a hurry.
The soldier stared at the monster's intact figure, shouting in a hurry, "Don't stand next to it. Hurry and evade! It's wouldn't die from something like that…"
"No, it's dead." The teacher said and pointed at its orifices, "The substance leaking out is its brain matter. I destroyed its organs."
"You destroyed its organs? Without damaging its carapace?" The soldier stared incredulously as he inspected the corpse and determined that the teacher was right, "How?"
"Martial arts," The teacher sighed, "I come from a long-standing family of Martial Artists. With the advancement of technology, we Martial Artists were gradually forced backstage. But,"
He stared at the corpse, "It seems we need to make an appearance once again."
"Can you teach me the method you used?" The soldier asked in a hurry, "Their carapaces are only getting tougher."
He caused the energy to form a blade on his index finger, "I'm only able to make this somehow. But I know nothing about this energy."
"Qi," The teacher said, "It's Qi."
He then patted the soldier, "Creating a blade out of Qi requires exceptional control. You're innately talented, young man."
He smiled, "I'll teach you the Organ Crushing Palm."
"Can you teach us too?" One of the students asked, "There are too many of us for just the two of you to protect. We can at least do something."
"It takes years to control Qi…never mind," The teacher calmed down and realised the gravity of the situation, "I'll teach you the tricks necessary to protect yourself."
He beckoned the closest student and spoke while touching his wrist, "Only someone with a Dantian can cultivate Qi and become a Martial Artist…That's great, you have a Dantian."
He inspected the second student, muttering in surprise, "You have a Dantian too. It's great, since only one in ten thousand has a Dantian."
When he checked the third student, his face scrunched up as he hurriedly inspected the fourth, fifth, etc. commenting after a minute had passed, "E-Everyone…everyone here has a Dantian."
"What's…happening here?" The soldier expressed shock, "Didn't you say only one in ten thousand has a Dantian? What does this mean then?"
The teacher turned silent as he continued to inspect the students before sighing as he stared at the sky, "The world is changing. It's the dawn of a new era."
"What do you mean?" The soldier frowned.
The teacher calmly touched his wrist and nodded, giving his comment, "Everyone has the same amount of Qi. It's someone a Martial Artist gains after training for a year."
He pointed at the soldier, "You have one year's worth of Qi."
He pointed at a student nearby, "You have one year's worth of Qi."
He extended his arms wide and stated with an incredulous expression, "You all have a year's worth of Qi."
"I'm not sure what's happening, but it's a relief that we all seem to have a fighting chance." The soldier patted his chest.
"Okay, I'll teach you all an evasion and attack martial art." The teacher began to instruct the students.
He then approached the soldier to say, "It's for the best we stay in the shelter."
The teacher dragged the monster's corpse through the hole in the wall and made it sit outside, with its back covering the hole. He whispered, "It's chaos everywhere. We'll simply add to the casualties if we move around recklessly. It's for the best we stay put here and wait for the government to launch an assault against the monsters."
"Are you worried about your family?" The teacher asked, "I'll try my best to protect this place while you go to meet your family."
"No, sir, I'll be fine." The soldier shook his head, "Abandoning my duty is a disgrace. That's what my dad always said and followed. Besides, my family lives in an army facility, so they'll be safe."
"That's reassuring." The teacher sighed in relief.
The news broadcasted on the TV experienced a change as the bulky armoured monster was suddenly diced into two. A woman sauntered into the frame, wielding a long sword as she stared at the camera, "Everyone, rest assured."
"The Martial Artists will deal with the monsters."
The sight of such a fearsome monster being slain caused the mood to brighten as the children regained hope. The screams of the monsters echoed in their surroundings, of wails as they were being put to rest one after another by the hiding Martial Artists that had decided to come to the limelight once again.
…
"It's done." Balveta grinned upon seeing the public shift, "Since the Martial Artists have killed a monster that modern firearms struggled to destroy, they are being viewed as superior now."
"But it's not enough, right?" Arak said as he looked around, "This world is still technologically centred. Martial Artists would only become integrated into society after this. They won't become the core as what the Murim necessitates."
"That's even simpler." Balveta grinned as stared at a group of crows and snapped her finger, turning them all into System Hosts.
Immediately, their bodies grew to become dangerous creatures whose feathers sparked with black lightning. Followed by an ear-splitting cry, the crows took off into the sky and sped at twice their original speed.
Caww! Caww!
The first place they arrived at was a power grid, latching onto the cables as they began to consume the electricity. There was no change in the current at the start but as more and more crows arrived, the current dimmed before soon, it was fully cut off.
The same situation was happening in every power grid in the world.
The crows also scratched and pecked any solar panel they came across, not to mention attacking all the power plants. In a matter of hours, the world was plunged into darkness.
"Once the electricity is cut off, technology is rendered obsolete," Balveta commented casually, creating various monster species that selectively targeted aspects of power generation. This way, unless all monsters are killed, it would be impossible to resume power generation.
And to prevent the monsters from getting overwhelmed, Balveta targeted the weapons depot across the world, causing the majority of the hot weapons to become scrap. Even the monsters targeting the cities attacked the guns and other hot weapons with priority.
As a result, the soldiers were forced to wield Qi as the Martial Artists that came out from hiding taught them the techniques necessary to defeat the monsters.
Monster waves formed, reducing entire cities to ruins as the survivors were forced to migrate. In a matter of days, society collapsed as from a technological age, they regressed to the stone age.
And the more the convenience brought about by technology disappeared, the more people were forced to use their bodies, which caused them to look at martial arts favourably, for it strengthened their bodies.
The thought processes of the people took a global shift as Arak unleashed his power, causing the balance to tilt in his favour as the laws of the world resisting his influence were crushed with brute power, "This world is now mine."
