Translated by: Yunichan
Edited by: Rango
TLCed by: Shiro
Yue Yang continued to observe the Marquis of Zi Jin and the Blood Scythe Demon's facial expressions .
The Marquis of Zi Jin's face did not show terror, but he looked a little disturbed and gloomy . It was evident that the appearance of the Little Thorny Flower Demoness was not a small blow to him .
As for the Blood Scythe Demon, unexplainable fear had crept up on its face . Even Yue Yang felt shameful for it . How could a Gold-ranked Level 7 beast like itself actually be afraid of a Bronze-ranked Level 1 Little Thorny Flower Demoness? Even though this Little Demoness had a large arsenal of moves and was nurtured with Demon King Ha Xin's arm, it was ludicrous that she caused so much terror to it .
Xiao Wen Li gently tugged the corner of Yue Yang's shirt . Yue Yang understood what she mean . She indicated that she was about to execute a surprise attack .
At this moment, on the other hand, the Marquis of Zi Jin seemed to be a little indecisive .
Should he summon a beast to continue the battle, or should he leave instead?
He was unable to make a decision . If he left now, nobody could stop him . However, to let the little Innate thief who was already bruised and battered get away just like that was really a pity . Now, he was this close to finishing him off . If he allowed this little Innate thief to level up further, perhaps today's battle outcome would not repeat itself if they met again in the future . Human warriors tend to level up fast, especially for Innate Rankers . Such a young Innate would surely rapidly progress up the ranks… If he did not kill him off now, and if they met again in future, he could not bear to think of the outcome then .
But even if he summoned another beast, would he be able to defeat this little Innate thief?
It was hard to say!
With the assistance of the little loli serpent demon, he would most likely get caught up in yet another new round of hard battle… What the Marquis of Zi Jin was the most afraid of was not Little Thorny Flower Demoness, but Xiao Wen li, who had till now kept a low profile .
He felt that this baby loli serpent demon was actually the most formidable enemy . She was even more terrifying than the crafty little Innate thief!
Not only was she a Guardian Beast, she also possessed a Grimoire and even had [Binding] Inherent Skill… Unless he killed the little Innate thief, it would be impossible for him to kill her. Just having these two Stone Element Medusa and Storm Mermaid alone was already hard enough to deal with .
With the instinct of a Ranker, the Marquis of Zi Jin sensed that this little loli serpent demon still had a reservoir of power hidden inside her . She was definitely still concealing her true strength, waiting to give him a ruthless strike .
Hence, he was stuck in a dilemma .
To leave, or not to leave?
While the Marquis of Zi Jin was still thinking with a serious expression on his face, Little Thorny Flower Demoness had already ignored the difference in ranks, and initiated an attack against the Gold-ranked Level 7 Blood Scythe Demon .
Her body still situated on the flower terrace, her infant-like little hand pointed .
Ten stalks from the stalk cluster rapidly extended to ten or twenty meters long and launched towards the Blood Scythe Demon . Numerous secondary bodies curved and revolved in mid-air like green giant serpents, coiling and shooting themselves towards the Blood Scythe Demon . The two soulless Thorny Flower Demons were the wildest ones, shooting high up into the sky, bending over and hanging down as they became green giants which engulfed all living things, charging down viciously .
The Blood Scythe Demon's reaction made Yue Yang's jaw practically drop to the ground, because it actually deserted the Marquis of Zi Jin right in front of the latter .
A Gold-ranked Level 7 demon was actually afraid of a Level One Bronze-ranked Thorny Flower?
If these words were to travel to the ears of others, out of ten thousand people, ten thousand and one would not believe it!
The stalk cluster, which was as thick as a large bowl, did not actually pose much of a killing threat towards the Blood Scythe Demon . However, its use was not to kill, injure or devour, but to entwine . Although the Blood Scythe Demon was seriously injured, it still retained considerable battle strength . Especially in a situation where it was intent on escaping, it waved its Blood Scythe about and the stalk clusters of the Thorny Flower were cut off as if they were grass being mowed down, scattering everywhere on the ground . Even the four secondary stalks that were as thick as a water bucket were also unable to defend itself against the Blood Scythe as they were snapped in two by a swing of the Blood Scythe, even if it was slightly more difficult to cut them . Only the two Thorny Flower Demons were barely able to defend themselves . Even when their bodies had suffered two slashes from the scythe, they still continued to pounce towards their enemy, using the stalks which served as their upper limbs to encircle the Blood Scythe Demon's body .
Unknowingly, countless white spores started to float down from the sky .
The moment these spores came into contact with blood stains or armour fragments on the ground, or the surfaces on the ground that had been bombarded by skills during the battle, Spitting Carnivorous Flowers and Carnivorous Thorny Flowers started to grow from them .
On the other hand, the Thorny Flower stems that were cut off and laying on the ground started to grow roots and were reborn, forming new Thorny Flowers .
The more the Blood Scythe Demon tried to cut, the more Thorny Flowers bloomed on the ground .
In the blink of an eye, a mini sea of flowers had formed .
These countless Thorny Flowers extended their stalks, twisting and twining as they unfurled towards the Blood Scythe Demon's body . Many of the Thorny Flowers which encircled it bared their fangs and opened their mouths wide . No matter whether it was the skin, the armour or the energy from the demonic flames ignited by the Blood Scythe Demon, they devoured everything entirely… Such a barbaric way of consumption made even Yue Yang, who was usually extremely brave and unafraid, to shiver involuntarily .
The Blood Scythe Demon did not stop waving around the Blood Scythe in his hand, using its utmost efforts to break away from the thorny chains, as it hacked at the long stems of the Thorny Flowers which seemed to surround him everywhere .
Normally, a Gold-ranked Level 7 beast like it was so highly ranked that it just needed to swing its Blood Scythe a few times to entirely defeat other beasts .
Unfortunately, he was now up against a Little Thorny Flower Demoness which was entirely immune to being hacked or cut off, and also had a terrifying speed of growth . It was practically a tragedy for him . However, if there was no one else to help, the single efforts of the Little Thorny Flower Demoness would perhaps be insufficient to kill it off . After all, their levels were too far apart .
Its true misfortune, however, started from the single golden arrow shot by the Stone Element Medusa .
The golden arrow whizzed and pierced right into the Blood Scythe Demon's right leg . At that moment, its entire right leg slowly started to petrify .
Taking advantage of this, the secondary stalks of the Thorny Flowers unleashed [Take Root] in its leg, directly growing new Thorny Flowers from within its right leg . There were thousands and hundreds of stalks that twined and entangled with each other, tying the Blood Scythe Demon to the ground .
The Blood Scythe Demon howled in pain . Lifting its Blood Scythe in madness, it looked like it wanted to chop off its own right leg .
However, Yue Yang might possibly be the world's most shameless guy who was an expert in dealing extra blows to an enemy which was already in a disadvantageous situation . When he saw that the Blood Scythe Demon was stuck, he immediately rushed over to make its life more difficult .
He first used his Giant Club to hit the Blood Scythe away, then he struck the club squarely in its face… In the two seconds where the Blood Scythe Demon was disoriented by the blow, the Thorny Flower stalk clusters, secondary stems and the two Thorny Flower Demons entangled themselves around the Blood Scythe Demon so tightly and thickly that only its head was left outside . Yue Yang then snatched the Blood Scythe from it very despicably and then threw this dangerous weapon into the lake . Losing its most compatible weapon and being tied by countless dense and thick flower stems made the Blood Scythe Demon let loose an earth-shattering howl of despair…
Even though it had lost its weapon, endured serious bodily injuries and had its entire body wrapped around by stalks without an inch left, the Blood Scythe Demon was still a Gold-ranked Level 7 demon and thus still had terrifying amounts of energy left . Even when it was tightly trapped, it was still able to forcefully struggle free of the Thorny Flower stalks, one at a time .
At this moment, however, Yue Yang wouldn't hold himself back for it . Upon seeing that this fellow was about to struggle free of its reins, he quickly took out the Dragon Slaying Dagger and frenzily started to stab it multiple times .
The Blood Scythe Demon's fresh blood that spurted out further spurred on the vigorous growth of the Thorny Flowers . Every small piece of meat or armour that Yue Yang managed to slice out was devoured by the Thorny Flowers . Some of them even sunk their mouths into the wounds to nip at it .
The power of the demonic flames had no use on them at all . There were numerous big mouths waiting to devour it .
Every time the demonic flames were ignited, countless mouths pounced on them to take them in .
On seeing this, the Marquis of Zi Jin's heart grew cold . Now, he understood a little why such a small Thorny Flower could kill off two Blood Prison Demon Kings and the five thousand elite soldiers of the Demonic Legion . The reason was simple . It was a battle between a natural predator and its prey . How could the prey defeat its natural predator? That could not be achieved by mere battle strength, because their predators had too many characteristics that neutralized the prey's techniques… The demonic flames which served as protection for the demons' body, their tough, rock-solid demonic bodies, immense strength, and terrible power of their weapons were all completely ineffective against the Thorny Flower . Thorny Flowers could devour the demonic energies in the demonic flames, and they could also swallow and digest the tough, rock-solid demonic bodies . The immense strength that the demons were proud of were completely useless against the soft and supple strength of the Thorny Flowers . As for their weapons, they were also obsolete as Thorny Flowers could grow at fast speeds and could even grow from within the bodies of their enemies…
There were simply too many Thorny Flowers . Once their numbers reached a certain quantity, their destructive power could overpower level differences and overwhelm all obstacles .
Even though the Marquis of Zi Jin could no longer exert his control over space, his Inherent Skill to teleport could still be used after it was accumulated for some time .
He drew a circle with his hand and turned the space within it into a vortex . He got ready to enter the vortex and appear at its corresponding exit . This was a special teleportation skill that he had only managed to master after training hard for fifty-odd years . Even if he could not control space, he could still use it to teleport and leave without a hitch .
When he had completed half of the teleportation process, as he just started to enter the vortex halfway and his back still outside, Xiao Wen Li made her move .
She already had intentions to launch a sneak attack earlier, and she had already waited for a long time… Now that her opportunity emerged, she immediately took action!
The precision with which she seized opportunities was ten times faster than Yue Yang who had for all this time been using his [Divine Vision] to observe the Marquis of Zi Jin's actions . She used her [Binding] Inherent Skill and simultaneously chopped down on the Marquis of Zi Jin's demonic wings with her Dual Icicle Blades . At the same time, the Storm Mermaid's golden trident penetrated the Marquis' back, and by then, the Stone Element Medusa's second golden arrow had already hit the Marquis of Zi Jin's demonic tail .
The Marquis of Zi Jin's teleportation vortex immediately shattered into pieces . The recoil of the teleportation failure and the three heavy blows taken on his back caused immense pain to the Marquis of Zi Jin .
Yue Yang was in front, Xiao Wen Li was behind, and there was still the Little Thorny Flower Demoness at the side .
By now, the Marquis of Zi Jin could no longer afford to protect his Demon Abyss Ranker's ego . At the first chance he got, he escaped towards the direction of the volcanic crater where there was nobody to stop him .
Yue Yang and Xiao Wen Li immediately pursued him . As for Storm Mermaid and Stone Element Medusa, they could not keep up with the pace . Instead, they turned to attack the Blood Scythe Demon which was still stubbornly resisting its binds . The Marquis of Zi Jin was neither able to fly nor had time to teleport and escape, hence he could only run . Behind him, Yue Yang whipped out his Crescent Blade and slashed at him wildly as he chased after him . Compared to his barbaric swings, Xiao Wen Li's attacks were more efficient . Every attack she executed froze the Marquis of Zi Jin for one or two seconds . However, the Marquis of Zi Jin's protective demonic flames could thaw the ice very quickly . Also, he was fleeing for his life with all his might . Adding to that was the fact that his huge size gave him a large advantage in the mountainous road upfront . Hence, he was able to escape from the attacks of the two .
Even so, he had suffered a couple of heavy hits on his back by Yue Yang . In his entire life thus far, the Marquis of Zi Jin had never been in such a sorry state before .
But now in order to live, his only option was to run .
The little loli serpent demon still had some strength left, and was still preparing to execute some of her frightening attacks . As an extremely strong ranker, the Marquis of Zi Jin instinctively felt danger incoming .
Hence, no matter how much Yue Yang jeered at him or lashed out at him, and no matter how much he attacked him, he completely ignored it .
Just a mere Crescent Blade would not cause any fatal wounds to him .
That brat currently also did not have much strength left . Furthermore, he did not dare to use his Hui Jin Magic Blade for fear of recoil and was devoured himself instead . Normal physical attacks would only cause flesh lacerations, which were only exterior physical injuries to him . The Marquis of Zi Jin swallowed his fury and escaped to the mountain peak . When he saw the bubbling lava at the crater that was boiling ceaselessly and hence forming a dead end, and was immediately pleased .
He leapt towards the volcanic crater .
In the air, he opened up his injured demonic wings, preparing to flap them with all his might, to fly out of the crater and escape from this place ...
"Your end is here!" Yue Yang and Xiao Wen Li were waiting for this exact moment . both of them jumped onto the Marquis of Zi Jin's back at the same time .
Yue Yang, who had been holding back his final bout of [Innate] Sword Qi till now, explosively released it .
A bloody hole was created on the Marquis of Zi Jin's back .
Xiao Wen Li stabbed her Dual Icicle Blades into the hole, enlarging it and further damaging the wound on the the Marquis of Zi Jin's back . At the same time, she gathered a ball of pure white light that was even brighter than the aurora lights, and channeled it into the Marquis' wound yet again… Yue Yang and Xiao Wen Li then leapt upwards together . When they were still in mid-air, the Marquis suddenly furiously turned back his body . His pair of demonic claws raked forcefully towards the two people, as if he wanted to drag the pair into the clutches of death together with him .
But he forgot that Xiao Wen Li was the original possessor of the [Binding] Inherent Skill .
Xiao Wen Li's round eyes grew big as she glared at him .
His demonic claws froze in motion in mid-air, missing the two people by a mere hair . As the Marquis of Zi Jin's body started to fall, its claws dropped powerlessly .
With a rumble, the Marquis of Zi Jin fell into the pit of lava .
Yue Yang and Xiao Wen Li who were both standing at the edge of the volcano were completely exhausted, and almost fell to the ground in weariness .
But because they were concerned with the final outcome of the battle, they persisted in observing the Marquis of Zi Jin in the lava pit below .
If, even after such a combination of tricks and attacks, the Marquis of Zi Jin was still could not be killed, they really had no other choice but to use Yue Yang's Teleportation Scroll to escape… The Marquis of Zi Jin who fell into the boiling hot lava struggled to get up, but the white light that had been channeled by Xiao Wen Li into his back mutually opposed his demonic Qi, igniting a gigantic explosion .
Yue Yang and Xiao Wen Li both watched as the Marquis of Zi Jin's giant body fall into the blood-red lava . Within a blink of an eye, he was engulfed by the lava, only leaving a green wisp of smoke rising in spirals into the air .
Xiao Wen Li was so exhausted that she could not say a single word . She directly dissolved into rainbow light, floating into Yue Yang's body to hibernate .
Without her help in this battle, Yue Yang would have been utterly defeated by the Marquis of Zi Jin who had resumed the use of his demonic body .
After killing the Marquis of Zi Jin, Yue Yang pushed down the excitement in his heart, and staggered down the mountain slope . Finally, he fell down next to the lovely and soft body of the mysterious beauty . He hurriedly took out a medicinal stone from his Lich Ring and kneaded it into fragments, giving both of them medical treatment at the same time… If they postponed their treatment any further, both of them would die! At this time, however, as Yue Yang was using all his strength to fight and hit the Marquis of Zi Jin into the volcanic lava, the Little Thorny Flower Demoness had miraculously started to evolve .
From a Bronze-ranked Level 1 Thorny Flower Demoness, she evolved into a Silver-ranked Level 1 Thorny Flower Demoness .
Also, the change was quite a drastic one . Yue Yang realised that this Little Thorny Flower Demoness was previously only about seven or eight years old in appearance . After not seeing her for just a moment, she had already grown into a child that was about ten years old in appearance . She had also grown taller in height . what kind of growth pill had she taken?
The Blood Scythe Demon was still tirelessly struggling, and had yet to be entirely devoured .
What was happening here?
Yue Yang was still in shock, when he suddenly realised that this Little Thorny Flower Demoness had stuck out her tongue, and was licking up the blood stains from his and the mysterious beauty's body . She looked like a greedy little cat who was stealing fish to eat . Yue Yang was instantly furious . "You little vampire! Scram, otherwise I'll beat you up!"
The Little Thorny Flower Demoness seemed to be very afraid of Yue Yang .
Seeing that he had blown his top, she was immediately so scared that she scampered her little feet back to the flower terrace, naked and shaking her little butt .
After the little disturbance caused by her subsided, Yue Yang realised there was something wrong . Why were the Thorny Flowers grown from the spores beside him different from normal Thorny Flowers? The Thorny Flowers beside him were blood-red in colour, and even had a golden mark on them . What was going on?
Was it because his own blood had such magical properties, or was the mysterious beauty's blood special or rare?
If the mysterious beauty had not sustained such serious injuries and was near the point of death, Yue Yang really wanted to strip her clean and peel her like a little lamb, and study her body in detail …