Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

Chapter 484: Chapter 80 Reversal of Situation

Zhang Huaide and Hou Qing, one on the left and the other on the right, flanked the demon from both sides, bringing the Sword Immortal’s advantage of having long and flexible arms into full play.

The demon was howling wildly from the beating, transforming its form in various ways, trying to provoke the emotions of the two.

However, with the intelligence provided by Yan Yu, both consciously maintained their steadiness with unwavering will, and they did not give the demon any opportunity to exploit.

“Impressive, Captain Zhang!” Hou Qing suddenly communicated telepathically, exclaiming, “First tricking information out of Captain Yan and then turning against him to continue the battle. Once the rear guard of the Zhenhai Team joins in, perhaps Captain Yan will have already been defeated, and we might have the nerve center of the Mysterious Realm in our hands!”

“Watch your emotions,” Zhang Huaide replied indifferently.

“Okay,” Hou Qing quickly steadied his mind.

...

“I didn’t trick him,” Zhang Huaide explained through telepathic communication. “Captain Yan gave us the intelligence because, on one hand, he was afraid we would suffer unnecessary casualties, and on the other hand, he also wanted to use us to wear down the gatekeeper’s health. When the rear guard of the Zhenhai Team takes the field and the team regroups, they’ll come and pick the ripe fruit.”

“Huh?” Hou Qing was puzzled for a moment. “Can it be? But when you turned against him just now, didn’t he seem very angry?”

Zhang Huaide did not answer, just shook his head.

“Wait a minute.” Hou Qing finally realized, “If that’s the case, it means Captain Yan is sure of two things: one, that he won’t be defeated in advance, and two, that we can’t defeat this gatekeeper.”

“As Captain Yan said, this gatekeeper is a demon without a physical body,” Zhang Huaide communicated. “Since it has no physical form, using physical attacks from a Flying Sword against it is unquestionably the worst choice. We’ve been fighting for a while now; does the gatekeeper look like it’s about to be taken down?”

“…No,” Hou Qing, as if doused by a bucket of cold water, gradually looked more troubled.

“Watch your emotions,” Zhang Huaide continued, “Actually, what’s most suited to deal with this demon should be Captain Zhou’s Great Bright Fire, which can overcome evil and banish demons.”

“Then why don’t we let Captain Zhou…” Before Hou Qing could finish, a flash of understanding struck him.

Yan Yu had emphasized that this demon could replenish its health by absorbing people’s emotions, and clearly, Captain Zhou was not someone who could control his emotions well.

Everyone had seen how Captain Zhou reacted when the demon transformed into her deceased grandmother in front of her.

“Captain Zhou is not suited to battle this gatekeeper,” Zhang Huaide said with a sigh.

“Then let’s not fight the gatekeeper,” Hou Qing said without hesitation. “Let’s continue to pursue Captain Yan with the whole team. How about that?”

“That won’t work either,” Zhang Huaide stated. “Because the gatekeeper will go after Captain Zhou.”

Once again, Hou Qing found himself at a loss for words. Since the demon fed on emotions, the emotion-prone Captain Zhou was undoubtedly the most tempting feast in the eyes of the demon. That the demon pounced on Captain Zhou first upon the Huofeng Team’s arrival clearly proved this fact.

This meant not only could Captain Zhou not deal with the gatekeeper, but someone had to be left behind to hold the gatekeeper back, to prevent it from causing trouble for Captain Zhou… Yan Yu certainly wouldn’t do such a thing, so the Huofeng Team had to take on that task.

Zhang Huaide chose to leave Hou Qing behind because the Sword Control Technique of a Sword Immortal used the least amount of True Yuan, aiming to hold the demon in place with minimal expenditure of True Yuan until the others finished dealing with Yan Yu and returned.

But would it be enough time?

Hou Qing didn’t know if there would be enough time, but he understood that all of this was Yan Yu’s overt strategy:

All the intelligence I’ve provided you is true; you, little Zhang, are a smart one. Faced with such a situation, you’ll obviously have to divide your forces, and most likely, you won’t be able to defeat the gatekeeper here, nor will you defeat my team there. How can the five fingers, which can’t form a fist, exert full strength to vie for victory?

Damn it, this is so frustrating! This feeling of knowing you’re being calculated against yet still having to jump into the pit is super annoying!

“If only Captain Zhou could be a bit more composed,” Hou Qing couldn’t help but grumble telepathically. “If she wasn’t suppressed by this demon and could calmly unleash that Great Bright Fire, we would have won this competition long ago.”

“Watch your emotions,” Zhang Huaide said evenly. “Everyone has their weaknesses. Captain Yan’s weakness is that his unique style of fighting does not blend with the overall tactical system of the team. But as you’ve seen, his powerful independent combat abilities haven’t let this weakness affect the team’s performance.”

“It’s unrealistic to expect everyone to be flawless. Captain Yan saw through and exploited Captain Zhou’s weakness, thereby creating an unfavorable situation for us. This is not the fault of Captain Zhou herself, but rather my responsibility as the tactician.”

“Don’t say that, Captain Zhang,” Hou Qing began to persuade. “Who could have known before the match that the Mysterious Realm gatekeeper would be a demon that counters Captain Zhou?!”

“True,” Zhang Huaide said with a slight smile. “Let’s talk about it after the game. For now, let’s continue the fight.”

The two continued to use their swordsmanship, sealing off all possible routes of escape for the demon, leisurely wearing down its strength.

Meanwhile, Captain Zhou, along with Qin Meng, Tang Xiaolian, and Meng Qingxi, continued the relentless pursuit right behind Yan Yu.

Of course, it seemed impossible to catch up. In the cramped environment of the Underground Palace, it was impossible for everyone to use Sword Flight, and the Shifting Technique had a speed limit; no one could outpace Yan Yu.

At the moment, Captain Zhou was full of rage. She was aware she had made a fool of herself in front of the Heart Demon and realized that Zhang Huaide and Hou Qing had stayed behind, not to try to defeat the Heart Demon together, but rather to prevent it from affecting her performance.

Damn it!

Damn it, damn it, damn it!!

Why am I so easily impulsive, ughhhhh!!!

Of course, controlling one’s emotions is a world-class problem. Those with high EQ are born with it, while those with low EQ might struggle for decades in society and still not learn; therefore, no one could answer Zhou Hongyu’s question.

She yelled in frustration:

“Yan Yu! If you dare, don’t run! Stay and fight me one-on-one!”

“Alright!” Yan Yu actually stopped in his tracks, turned his head to look at Qin Meng, Tang Xiaolian, and Meng Qingxi by her side, “Then will you have them back off?”

“Captain Zhou, don’t get agitated,” Tang Xiaolian hurriedly said. “You can’t beat Captain Yan one-on-one. Ah, I mean, we should focus on winning the match!”

“Of course, we’d like to gang up,” Meng Qingxi interjected. “But what if Captain Yan refuses to fight? And it’s not convenient to use Sword Flight here; how long would we have to chase him?”

“How about we lure Captain Yan here pretending it’s a one-on-one duel, then attack him unfairly from all sides?” Tang Xiaolian whispered mischievously.

“That’s not appropriate,” Qin Meng whispered back. “The event is being broadcast live! It’s just a match; there’s no need to ruin our reputation over it.”

“It’s okay,” Tang Xiaolian was confident. “If worst comes to worst, I’ll sacrifice myself after the match, seduce Captain Yan, and make him write a letter of forgiveness.”

“No need,” Zhou Hongyu suddenly said.

“Captain Zhou, I was just joking, don’t take it seriously,” Tang Xiaolian hurriedly explained but then saw at the end of the corridor behind Yan Yu, the girls from Zhenhai Team had already turned the corner and collectively appeared before everyone.

Leading them was Lin Ning, followed by Chen Lingyun and Su Yunjin, with Xie Ruoxi sandwiched in the middle, and Zhao Yuanzhen bringing up the rear. With the fighting instinct of the Demonic Sect Enchantress and Lin Ning’s reaction speed, there was no need to panic, no matter what sudden situations the team’s front or rear encountered.

Seeing the Zhenhai Team’s rear guard arrive, Tang Xiaolian silently sighed.

Six against four on their side, and Captain Zhou’s True Yuan was less than half; Huofeng Team was now in grave danger.

“Let’s retreat,” Qin Meng said sternly. “I’ll cover the rear.”

“Retreat while fighting,” Zhou Hongyu commanded.

“Haha, why aren’t you chasing anymore?” Yan Yu, now backed by the girls, immediately burst out laughing arrogantly. “If you don’t chase, then I’ll have to come back, okay?”

“Ignore him, retreat,” Zhou Hongyu said again.

The cat-and-mouse roles were instantly reversed. Huofeng Team fled ahead while Qin Meng used his Dragon Elephant Nirvana Divine Skill to fall back and protect the team with his Vajra Invulnerability and his robust body, blocking all incoming attacks.

As the others retreated, they also didn’t forget to launch attacks toward the rear, attempting to halt Zhenhai Team’s advance.

However, whether it was Tang Xiaolian’s Gu Insects, Meng Qingxi’s Kongtong Seal, or Zhou Hongyu’s Great Bright Fire, Zhenhai Team countered with the simplest of means.

Su Yunjin’s Southern Dipper Galaxy Secret Art.

The narrow environment of the Underground Palace was still playing an effective role. A massive outpouring of water from the celestial river was easily sealing the corridor, making it impossible for any attack to penetrate through the countless layers of water.

“Keep on attacking,” Zhou Hongyu suddenly whispered. “Try to deplete her True Yuan as much as possible!”

No sooner had she spoken than Yan Yu’s loud commands could be heard from behind:

“Don’t let Yun Jin block every attack. Ningning, Zhao, you both help. Just intercept any Kongtong Seal with a Flying Sword, and let Yun Jin conserve some True Yuan. Don’t waste it like someone extravagant.”

“Then why don’t you help?” Zhao Yuanzhen retorted grumpily.

“Before you all joined in, I had already been fighting alone for ten whole minutes!” Yan Yu replied righteously. “I need to rest too, okay?”

“It was only seven minutes, actually,” Lin Ning also chimed in dismissively. “Captain Zhou is the one who was off the field for ten minutes.”

Hearing the chatter and laughter from behind, Zhou Hongyu clenched her teeth even tighter in frustration, yet suddenly a thought surfaced in her mind:

Perhaps, I’m really not cut out to be a captain?