Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Chapter 391: Chapter 87 The Usage of the Demon King
 

After repulsing the third wave of attacks, Liu Longtao still stood at the top of the central staircase, hands behind his back, calmly looking down and quietly regulating his True Yuan to recover.

“Damn it, they’re just like cockroaches—no matter how many you kill, the same number comes back…”

As Lord Master was cursing inwardly, he suddenly heard a ghoul’s voice beside his ear:

“Master said, please conserve a bit of your True Yuan and don’t squander it too fiercely.”

“Heh,” Liu Longtao said with a cold laugh, “I still have at least seventy percent of my True Yuan.”

He disdainfully glanced downward and began to calculate again in his mind.

Though the Samurai profession within the Onmyoji system had short limbs, with the enhancement to the Marrow Cleansing level of external Spiritual Energy density, this profession’s rugged and durable characteristics were further strengthened. Unless struck directly by Red Dragon Patrols the Heavens, it was basically impossible to kill them on the spot.

Considering the high consumption of Taoism Method, merely injuring or even repelling the Samurai was undoubtedly unprofitable—I may have abundant True Yuan, but that doesn’t mean I can waste it like this.

What’s more, if the enemy notices that our True Yuan is waning, they will definitely intensify their offense quickly.

Princess Jiang Hai should have anticipated this point, right…?

Liu Longtao remained silent, circulating his heart method secretly, and summoned a red fire dragon once more, crashing it down toward the staircase in front of him in a sweeping motion.

Chen Lingyun stood at the front gate of Departure Palace, calmly observing the battles to the front, front left, and front right, holding the Divine Evil Prayer Beads in her hand, slowly rotating them without saying a word.

Although the enemy seemed to be focusing their main attack at the front, where Liu Longtao was, they had been frequently probing both the left and right staircases all along.

If Su Yunjin and Yang Linhui showed even the slightest sign of True Yuan deficiency, the enemy would surely immediately divert forces from the center to launch a full-on fierce attack on the flanks.

So, should I deliberately lure the enemy deeper in?

With this thought in mind, Chen Lingyun gently tapped the Prison Banner on the ground, and soon a ghost hurried back to her side.

“Go see how Yan Yu is doing,” she instructed.

Behind Departure Palace, Yan Yu was toying with his opponent with ease.

Every time Shenyuan Simie summoned a Shikigami, it would be destroyed by Yan Yu within half a minute. Although his summoned creatures were carefully selected and of high quality, most of their combat power lay in their mutual coordination and cooperation—summoning magic, of course, was to play the numbers strategy.

However, the environment here was far too cramped and flight was prohibited; even if two Shikigami were summoned at the same time, only one could engage in close combat with the enemy, completely unable to utilize the tactical advantages of the Shikigami Style.

Shenyuan Simie could only retreat while fighting, continuously summoning new Shikigami to attempt to delay and obstruct Yan Yu’s aggressive momentum, already harboring thoughts of withdrawal.

Although the paper effigy substitution technique was available, it would, after all, waste a paper effigy—if escape was possible…

Shenyuan Simie suddenly vaulted over the railing next to him and leaped toward the pond below, already drawing out a talisman paper and pinching it between his fingers.

Support me, Niu Gui!

A burly Shikigami emerged below and looked up to support Shenyuan Simie in mid-air, then forcefully twisted its neck to throw him outside the pond area.

Ha-ha, I’m out of here!

Just as Shenyuan Simie felt assured of his escape, being thrown out, he suddenly took a heavy hit on his back, nearly making him vomit his lunch.@@novelbin@@

He crashed hard onto the ground, wanting to roll up and get to his feet urgently, but was stepped on by Yan Yu, who sealed his meridians with Runescript and then bound him tightly with rope.

The Huang Tingjian sword flew back to Yan Yu’s side from afar. As soon as Shenyuan Simie vaulted the railing and pretended to fall into the pond, Yan Yu had seen through his intentions and commanded the Huang Tingjian sword to fly out, lying in wait like a hunter for a rabbit.

When he was pushed out by the Shikigami, the Huang Tingjian sword, like hitting a baseball, struck him right back.

Yan Yu sealed his True Yuan, tied up his limbs, and then dragged him straight back to the front gate of Departure Palace.

Zhao Yuanzhen exclaimed in surprise, curious to know:

“Who is this?”

“A nobody!” Yan Yu answered.

“A nobody then just kill him, why drag him over here?” Zhao Yuanzhen immediately lost interest.

Shenyuan Simie, lying on the ground tied up in ropes, revealed a sneering and disdainful smile:

Pretend, keep pretending! Pretending not to know me, huh?

“This is a big fish, we can’t kill him.” Chen Lingyun said with a smile, “If we killed him, we’d be letting him off too easy.”

“What do you mean?” Zhao Yuanzhen asked curiously, “Are you going to flay and debone him, seize his soul and spirit, and torture him slowly?”

Chen Lingyun’s smile stiffened because she knew the Demonic Sect Enchantress wasn’t joking with the latter half of her sentence.

“Let me think about how to deal with this.” Yan Yu, one foot on Shenyuan Simie’s back, pondered aloud, “How about we chop off one hand first and see if it triggers the straw-man death-replacement spell?”

“You can give it a try.” Shenyuan Simie said with a smile, still speaking in that awkward Lu Country accent.

Yan Yu hesitated for a moment. This guy’s combat ability wasn’t actually that strong; what really reached the level of a Demon King was his ability to cling to life—for example, the straw-man death-replacement spell. If he were to chop off his arm and it triggered the spell, allowing this guy to slip away, that would be unfortunate.

Hmm, could he be bluffing?

While he was still pondering, he heard Liu Longtao’s telepathic message coming from ahead:

“How did you all end up capturing this bastard?”

“This guy was trying to sneak up on us from behind, but I caught him.” Yan Yu suddenly had an epiphany, “I got it! I just thought of a historical anecdote!”

He beckoned Ye Jun over and gave him instructions via telepathy, then shouted:

“Old Liu, move aside, I’m about to throw a bomb!”

Liu Longtao instinctively retreated to the side, only to see Shenyuan Simie, bound in ropes, rolling down the steps—another end of the rope was held in Yan Yu’s hand.

The samurai below were getting ready to charge again, but were stunned to see someone rolling down from above. They thought the Rikoku Cultivators had invented some sort of “meat bomb chariot technique.” One of them hastily lifted his samurai sword, ready to strike, only to be forcibly pulled aside by a companion who scolded:

“Are you crazy? That’s Lord Shenyuan!”

Dressed in the alternating red and white, wide-sleeved garb of an Onmyoji, Shenyuan Simie was almost as recognizable as the samurai in their armor and helmets, so everyone quickly recognized him and rushed to catch him.

But then Yan Yu tugged on the rope, and Shenyuan Simie’s momentum stopped, and he was quickly pulled back up.

The samurai couldn’t just stand by. If they didn’t show utmost effort in rescuing him, Lord Shenyuan might take revenge afterwards. After all, the Demon King was notoriously fickle, and with the straw-man death-replacement spell, he was sure to survive and settle scores later.

Without thinking, three or four samurai made a dash to snatch Shenyuan Simie, only to be struck squarely by Liu Longtao’s Red Dragon Patrols the Heavens, all of them turned to char.

Somebody reported the situation to Xiandao Jingyin, which enraged her, and she roared:

“Kill Shenyuan! What is everyone doing?! He has the straw-man death-replacement spell. If you kill him, he’ll just come back. If you don’t and he suffers at the enemy’s hands, it will be your fault!”

Ninja and Onmyoji quickly sprang into action, no longer rushing to attack the cultivators above the steps, focusing all their firepower on Shenyuan Simie instead.

Yan Yu unleashed a Curved Curse and, with a powerful pull on the ropes, rapidly dragged Shenyuan Simie back, throwing countless attacks onto those below and leaving Shenyuan Simie battered, unable to utter a single cry.

“Massive attack!” Xiandao Jingyin ordered again.

Thus, everyone unleashed their stored up spiritual energy, sending sword swarms and various spells en masse, creating a dense barrage. Unbeknownst to any observer, it might have looked like Xiandao Jingyin and Shenyuan Simie had a feud, with her commanding the Onmyoji to mutilate him without mercy.

Shenyuan Simie also struggled ceaselessly, trying to catch the steps to prevent being dragged back by Yan Yu.

Just as he was a short distance from the top and about to be struck by the attacks, suddenly, a barrier of light enclosed him, guarding him tightly!

That’s when Shenyuan Simie truly coughed up blood: he had already intimately collided face-first with the stairs, losing a few teeth, and now he simply spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva, looking angrily at the incoming attacks that threatened to topple the barrier of the Xuan Guang Ruler.

Hmm? Looks like it might break?

Hope ignited in his heart as the barrier finally shattered under the onslaught.

However, in the next second, Yan Yu exerted all his strength and in one swift motion, dragged the helpless Shenyuan Simie back to the top step and flung him behind a railing where the enemy couldn’t reach, saying:

“This method won’t work. I originally thought we could use him as a shield to force the Onmyoji to hold back. Turns out they were keen to kill him first thing.”

“Since that’s the case, let’s turn their plan against them,” Chen Lingyun said with a smile, “We might as well use him to attract their firepower, what do you think?”

Yan Yu was utterly amazed: I envy how quickly your mind works!

“This girl has some wickedly devious thoughts,” Liu Longtao quietly telepathed to Yan Yu, “Watch out, Old Yan, don’t let her sweet exterior fool you.”