Chapter 10: Nine Profound Sword Formation

Words : 2580 Updated : Jan 29th, 2026

At the Hayde estate, in the conference hall. That day, the heads of the Hayde, Shirvinton, and Lapwood families-three of Seafrost's Four Great Families-gathered to discuss a major matter. Even the Thubron Alliance from Seafrost's underworld sent a representative. Pierce Looske had slain Julio Thubron that night, earning the Alliance's hatred. They came looking for revenge. As for the absent Zorn family, Pierce had already wiped them out. It was a rare sight to see the three family heads in one place. They had come to talk about how to join forces against Pierce. News that Pierce spread through Peony had already swept across Seafrost. Everyone knew he had not only destroyed the Zorn family, he also planned to eradicate the other three, because they had taken part in the massacre of the Wimple family. Lionel Hayde's brow stayed knotted as he said in a heavy voice, "The Zorn family is gone. Pierce Looske's strength is frightening. Our three families must join hands, or we will not stand a chance against him." Emiliano Shirvinton clenched his fists, a steely light in his eyes. "Brother Hayde is right. We can't sit and wait to die. We have to unite and face Pierce Looske together." Bradley Lapwood rumbled, "The Zorn family's destruction rang the alarm. He wants the rest of us next. We must stand as one and kill that brat." The Thubron Alliance envoy, Ledger Thubron, let out a cold laugh, a hint of scorn in his tone. "Pierce Looske is just a punk. If he really has that kind of power, he must have some powerhouse backing him. I heard the vice palace lord of Flowber Palace has been at his side. The Zorn family's extermination must be Flowber Palace's doing." The white-haired Ian Hayde nodded, eyes flashing. "Brother Thubron has a point. No matter how strong he is, Pierce is only around twenty. Without Flowber Palace's help, he could never have wiped out the Zorn family. As long as our three families act in concert, Pierce and Flowber Palace are nothing to fear." Emiliano Shirvinton asked in a low voice, "Then how do we move? Do we strike him head-on, or find his weakness first?" Resolute light kindled in Ian Hayde's eyes. He raised his voice. "Our three families, plus the Thubron Alliance, will each send five hundred experts. We combine our forces and encircle that fiend Pierce Looske. Two thousand men moving as one-are we supposed to fear we can't kill him?" Heads nodded all around the room. They knew that in single combat they might not be his match and could be picked off one by one. Together, they could safeguard their clans and crush that fiend. Seafrost, Drako Villa. A black tide of figures appeared before the villa. Ian Hayde led the way, with the Shirvinton and Lapwood families and the Thubron Alliance close behind, two thousand experts advancing with grim purpose. They came bristling with killing intent, ready to level the entire villa. Pierce had been waiting at the gate for a long time. He sat by a fine tea table while four handmaids, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum, attended to him. Peony stood quietly off to the side. Faced with the vast host, he stayed composed, sipping fragrant tea as if their momentum meant nothing at all. His gaze remained cool, as though those two thousand experts had nothing to do with him. Armies might have thundered; he sipped tea and smiled above it all. Seeing Pierce's arrogance, the three families' anger caught like dry grass to flame. They could not bear the feeling of being looked down upon, as if, in his eyes, they were no more than dust. "So you're all here," Pierce said lightly as he set down his cup. "Good. Very good." "Fiend, today is your death day!" Ian Hayde's white hair hung like frost, yet his voice boomed. "I will hack you to pieces and avenge my son and granddaughter!" Pierce lifted his head a fraction, eyes sweeping the crowd. A cold curve tugged at his lips, as if he were watching a troupe of clowns. "You really think this rabble can take my life?" His voice was not loud, yet it carried clean and clear across the grounds, even drowning out the clamor. Ian Hayde let out a furious laugh. "Pierce Looske, your arrogance knows no bounds. Today, we will show you there is always a higher sky and a stronger man." "Then show me whether you have the right," Pierce said. He rose slowly, tall and straight, his presence like a bared blade. Behind him, Plum, Orchid, Bamboo, and Chrysanthemum drew their longswords and took their places, forming a living wall. Peony smiled and produced a delicate dagger, spinning it idly between her fingers as if it were a toy. "Move!" Ian Hayde barked. Two thousand experts surged toward Pierce like a breaking tide. Pierce did not budge. His eyes only grew colder, as if he were looking at the dead. Just before they reached him, a wave of killing intent rushed in from every direction and swallowed the crowd. "This is-" Ian Hayde's face drained. An unprecedented sense of danger clenched at his gut. "Why do you think I waited until now?" Pierce's voice tolled like a funeral bell from the abyss, chilling to the bone. "After today, Seafrost's Four Great Families will exist no more." Even as he spoke, radiant lines of an array flared to life under the feet of the two thousand men. They stood upon a killing formation Pierce had laid long ago, the Nine Profound Annihilation Sword Formation. Pierce formed seals with both hands. The formation began to run. A solemn, murderous aura spread through the air. It was like an upside-down glass bowl sealing more than two thousand people inside. Within the Sword Formation, nine formless swords circled overhead, screeching with piercing cries that heralded death. "What is this?!" "We can't get out! What is happening?" "It's over. We walked into the fiend's trap!" "Despicable!" "Boohoo, I don't want to die!" Terror like nothing they had ever felt seized those trapped within the formation. Faces went pale. Their eyes filled with panic and despair. "Die," Pierce said. Nine torrents of sword qi fell and began the merciless slaughter. In the cramped space, men ran in blind circles, trying to flee the blades of qi. The formation seemed alive, tracking their every move. Where the sword qi passed, blood burst like flowers, severed limbs thumped to the ground. Some had their hearts pierced clean through. Some had their throats laid open. Some were hewn in half at the waist. It was carnage, a hell of blood and iron. Ian Hayde, Emiliano Shirvinton, Bradley Lapwood, and the Thubron envoy all took grievous wounds in the initial onslaught and collapsed, unable to rise. Their eyes showed fear and bitter disbelief. They had never imagined they would fall so easily to Pierce Looske. They had not thought he would employ such a method. They had expected him to fight them head-on, while their numbers ground him down. Pierce stood at the center of the Sword Formation, stern and unshaken, as if everything lay within his grasp. He watched the trapped men the way one might watch the dead. "Pierce Looske, what… what sorcery is this?" Ian Hayde asked through clenched teeth. "It is no sorcery," Pierce said with a faint smile. "Just a little gift. You like ganging up on people? Then enjoy the gift." Even a Grandmaster Realm martial artist could not escape the Nine Profound Annihilation Sword Formation. Once inside, there was only death. "Young Master, your strategy truly stood unmatched. You eliminated the Four Great Families with ease," Peony said, her admiration sincere. Pierce had laid the formation the night before. Only then had she understood his intent. Pierce smiled and kept his peace. If there was a faster, easier way, why not use it? Why slog through and kill them one by one? Those still clinging to life felt their fear crest. They finally understood what kind of man they had provoked. Their families would vanish from Seafrost that day. And Pierce Looske-this name would pass into Seafrost legend. Watching more and more men die, Ian Hayde knew he had no chance to live. His face twisted, and he broke into harsh laughter. "Pierce Looske, you think that by erasing Seafrost's Four Great Families you have avenged the Wimple family? How laughable. You will never know that someone else stood behind us, ordering their extermination." He hurled himself into a descending blade of qi. It punched through his heart. He went still. Pierce frowned slightly. So the mastermind behind the Wimple family's annihilation was not the Four Great Families. They had only been tools. The formation kept grinding. Sword qi fell thicker and faster. Each flash of light took another life. The stench of blood hung heavy over the grounds. Bodies piled high. Rivers of red ran across the stone. As the Sword Formation slaughtered, a hard light flickered in Pierce's eyes. The reek of blood choked the air, but his mind had already turned to other matters.

Chapter 10: Nine Profound Sword Formation

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