As the ground rumbled vehemently, everyone lost their footing and fell about.
Boom! Crack! Crack! Krr…!!! The floor burst here and there and wide cracks emerged on it. Within half a minute, the entire floor was destroyed, the roof was already pretty much gone and the walls too collapsed partly. The wide hall was in complete ruins.
Boom!! From the center of the hall a large figure leapt up and then landed on the debris.
Khhhhh….!!! This figure screeched or growled in a strange voice. Its body was even stranger. It was a creature with humanoid muscular legs; torso shape like a tortoise, tail like a serpent, hair like a porcupine, face like a dog, fangs like a demon, claws like a crab and skin like frog. It was 12-feet-tall and its multiple spider-like eyes were emitting a deathly aura as they stared at all the cultivators around this creature.
"It's the guardian of this level! It cannot be defeated! Let's retreat!" Tengfei shouted in fear. At once many heads turned to him in wonder. Tengei had always maintained a calm demeanour and elegance even during battles and adversities. But the appearance of the guardian had shaken him thoroughly.
"Hahaha, calm down. We've had a great warm up already. Let's join hands and kill this guardian together and then claim all the resources of this level." Deodomus spoke and leapt at the guardian.
"No! Mr. Deodomus!" Tengfei tried to warn but was already too late.
Shew! A spear flew out from Deodomus's hand.
Death Spear!
Boom! The spear collided with the guardian…and shattered.
Deodomus' eyes widened. He had already reached the guardian with a sword in his hand. He could not retreat in time.
Swoosh! The guardian moved its left crab-claw to strike him. Deodomus parried with the sword.
Bam! He was flung away like a fly.
Khhhhhhh!!!!! The guardian was incensed after Deodomus' brazen attack at it. It thus started attacking everyone around it.
Bam! Bam! Showk! Cultivators were either flung away or bashed down.
"Fight! Kill this monster!" Ryuga shouted and stirred up Miang faction's courage.
"Fight! Support our leader!" Some bishop chimed in.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! Hundreds of warriors charged towards the guardian. Ryuga himself led them and attacked head on.
"Ripper Whirlwind!" Ryuga slashed at the guardian multiple times speedily and whirlwind of sharp chi arcs engulfed it. Within moments it went past the guardian but had left not a scratch on its body.
By now everyone had arrived within the guardian's attack range.
Swish-swish-swish! Long sharp tipped tentacles grew out of the guardian's back and attacked the cultivators. Some of them got injured while some dodged the menacing tentacles. But then the guardian's hair started shooting out at them like darts or arrows.
Shak-shak-shak!
"Ahh! My arm is melting!" A victim howled.
"My eyes! I'm dying! Somebody, help!"
"…" Multiple shadows emerged from Ryuga's main shadow & took a three-dimensional form. This was the shadow clone technique and what followed next was the swift decimation of these shadow clones. The guardian finally turned to glare at Ryuga.
"Well, at least I got its attention." Ryuga mumbled.
Swoosh! The guardian sprinted towards Ryuga.
Swoosh! Ryuga ran away. He was yet to gauge the guardian's prowess. Fighting up and close was too risky at this moment.
Swish-swish-swish! The tentacles reached out towards him.
Shak-shak-shak! The ripper claws ripped them to shreds but the tentacles recovered instantaneously. Ryuga now decided to use the gu worms. His body enlarged quickly and overshadowed the guardian. Even the monstrous guardian paused for a good while.
Ryuga's clothes had gotten ripped to shreds, rendering him naked. His legs were like thick pillars. His arms were like tree trunks. His body herculean and his giant loofa could put all men to shame.
Khhhh!!!! The guardian screeched and ran towards Ryuga. It then leapt up and started climbing on ryuga's right leg.
"Oi oi oi! Stop climbing on me!" Ryuga swatted at the guardian with his hand, but the guardian jumped at it and ran up on the giant arm, quickly reaching for his face. Ryuga's expression turned grave immediately.
Boom!! There occurred a thunderous sound as the giant Ryuga fell to the ground and shook up the whole level due to his weight. He had fainted!
The moment guardian had reached Ryuga's face, it released a toxic smoke from its pores which knocked Ryuga out before he could use the Healing gu on himself. Thus, Ryuga lost the fight before even using all his trump cards. A battle was always unpredictable. Not always would one get a chance to reveal their trump cards.
"What an idiot." Lyra scoffed before stretching her sexy body. "Maiden clan!" She shouted.
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! Dozens of women flew over and landed near Lyra, half-kneeling on the ground. Their bodies were shivering with excitement. Lyra's call had deep meaning. Ever since Maiden clan's fall and its rescue by Xiao, things had not changed for them. They had passively submitted to various men who used their bodies for pleasure and dual cultivation. Even the chief/leader Inez had turned into a whore, not willing to lead Maiden clan again. But now that Inez was dead, Lyra was technically the new leader. Like Inez, Lyra had not shown any desire to raise the Maiden clan back to its former glory.
Until now.
As Lyra summoned the survivors of Maiden clan, this made clear her intention. She was going to reassemble her clan. These women will strive to regain their former glory! Thus, all of them were thrilled and excited.
Lyra gazed over the 3 dozen women and internally sighed. Once their clan members numbered up to almost a thousand. Now only 37 remained. Of course, there were more of their clan sisters back in mount Mao, serving as sex slaves in different clans; but this here was the remainder of the main force of Maiden clan. They were truly at the brink of extinction!
Swoosh-swoosh-swoosh! More and more women flew over. They numbered up to 60 and landed around Tian Mei in a defensive formation. They were the remainders of her followers.
Lyra and Tian Mei exchanged glances before nodding at each other. They were going to cooperate and bring down the guardian.
"Charge!" Lyra shouted and led the Maiden Clan.
"Support them!" Tian Mei bellowed, following close behind with her followers. These two groups maintained some distance as to not mess up each other's formation and assault technique moves.
Khhh!! The guardian moved faster than before & met the incoming groups.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Thwok! Bang!
Women flew left and right as they were kicked and struck away by the monstrous guardian. Lyra alone managed to stand her ground and attacked back.
"Meteor Punch! Meteor Kick! Meteor Guillotine!" Lyra used one powerful move after another.
Bam! Bam! Bam! Crack! The guardian parried until its left crab-claw got cracked.
Khhh!!! It screeched while its meaty serpent-like tail coiled around Lyra's body, squeezing her hard.
"Urk…haaaa!" Lyra groaned and shouted, summoning every bit of her energy to break free. Guardian too exerted strength.
Swish-swish-swish! At this moment, Tian Mei's followers reached the guardians and attacked from all sides with long flexible swords.
"…" Tian Mei concentrated on her dantian while observing the ongoing battle. Her followers had swarmed the guardian like ants attacking a large frog. But this frog was poisonous and had many abilities.
Fwish-fwish-fwish! Tentacles emerged again and slashed like whips at the women.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Swish!
"Ahh!" The women shouted and screamed as they were struck from their blind spots and were injured by the sharp tipped tentacles. Then the tentacles cut through their clothes and joined together to form thicker tentacles and assaulted women's private parts!
"Ahhn! Let go!"
"Vile beast! You will die today!"
"Ahhn! Not there! Ahh!"
"Ahh! Oh fuck yes!"
This scene would be amusing if not for the overbearing stench of death in the level.
"Water Phantom!" Tian Mei shouted and an orb of water appeared around her. This orb not only protected her but also allowed her to use all sorts of mid-ranged attack moves. This was Tian Mei's trump card.
Swish-swish-swish! Sharp blades of water flew at the guardian and cut down its numerous tentacles repeatedly, freeing the women. At the same time, several litres of water poured down on Lyra, covering her in a thin protective layer and also making the serpent tail grip loosen around her.
"Haah!" Lyra exerted all her strength and freed herself. Then she grabbed the serpent tail and pulled.
Swoosh! The guardian was startled as its large body was pulled away, swung around in circles, and slammed to the ground!
Bam!!! As the floor shook heavily, Lyra pounced on the guardian again, bashing him down while Tian Mei attacked from above. Her water orb was floating up with her. Water continuously detached from it, taking form of darts, arrows, pikes, and whatnot. These water attacks however were getting vaporized after hitting the guardian. The size of the orb around Tian Mei was also reducing continuously.
Meanwhile the injured women healed themselves and attacked the guardian together from all sides. Maiden clan regrouped for the same. And while these women were fighting, the men were tending to their wounds and scrutinizing the abilities of the guardian.
"It is indeed like you said." Ming Sheng spoke to Tengfei. "The guardian can develop a counter to the techniques thrown at it. It is highly intelligent!"
"Yes, its body temperature has apparently risen, and the water attacks are vaporizing away, similarly, Lyra's strength had little effect on it. It simply developed more strength to counter hers. And there's still more. Till now, it has only been warming up. It will soon start revealing its real terror." Tengfei said gloomily.
"Just what is a guardian anyway?" Deodomus asked casually as she approached. Both Tengfei and Ming Sheng turned to look at him incredulously. Deodomus was the one who started this battle, but was flung away too easily and now he was casually asking about the guardian while others were fighting tooth and nail with it?
"This man…he has a habit to stir up trouble and watch from the side-lines for amusement!" Both Tengfei and Ming Sheng thought.
"So? What is it?" Deodomus asked innocently.
"…We don't know. It could be a mutated beast." Tengfei said. "A human cannot possess all so many beast traits."
"What if this is a case of someone using multiple brute force techniques together?" Deodomus asked. Some brute force techniques allowed users to obtain beastly traits or even completely transform into beasts for a while. The latter type were unique though.
"Not possible." Ming Sheng said. "Every brute force technique makes the user's energy to go crazy but in a specific flow. This flow can be obstructed and replaced by another flow if the same user activates a different brute force technique. At one point, only one beast-like brute force technique can be used. There are only so many meridians in human body after all."
"I see." Deodomus uttered and stared at the ongoing fight calmly. Tengfei and Ming Sheng exchanged glances.
"Aren't you going to help them? You're the strongest here." Ming Sheng asked.
"Haha, they've got it under control." Deodomus said casually while the guardian was smashing Lyra on the floor repeatedly and Tian Mei was unable to stop it.
"How does that look like under control?!" Ming Sheng shouted in his mind before shaking his head. Deodomus could not be relied upon. Then…
"Help me locate a few certain people." Ming Sheng whispered to Tengfei who nodded in turn.
-----
"Drizzling Death!" Tian Mei cried out and her water orb flew away entirely, targeting the guardian from above and rained down needle sharp water drops. Tian Mei had her right hand clawed towards the water, controlling all its drops. These drops would become harmless when falling on Lyra but pierce into the guardian's skin.
Khhh!!!! The guardian screamed. It felt an irritating prickly pain and took to scratching its ugly skin; letting go of Lyra who sprawled on the floor in defeat. Then the guardian glared at Tian Mei and leapt at her.
"Ugh." Tian Mei retreated. Her trump card move consumed too much energy and required focus. She was currently exhausted and sluggish.
Swoosh! The guardian reached her and swung its arm, grabbing her in its crab claw and snapped hard.
"Ahhhgh!" Tian Mei screamed.
"Let her go, you beast!" A woman immediately shouted from behind.
"Protect our leader!" Another one roared and all of Tian Mei's followers attacked the guardian with weapon-based techniques. But they all lacked the required strength to harm the guardian.
Swoosh! Bam-bam-bam! The serpent tail swung swiftly and knocked all the women away. Meanwhile the crab claw's grip tightened around Tian Mei's body. She punched at it, trying to loosen the grip but failed. Her ribs were moments away from breaking. At this point, it was do or die.
Splosh! She transformed into water and splashed down on the floor before slithering away. The guardian stared at the sundress on the floor in astonishment. It could not understand how Tian Mei just disappeared.
Sploosh! The water transformed again into Tian Mei. But she had not moved far enough from the guardian. She now had no energy left in her. She panted while half-lying, naked on the floor & looked at the guardian weakly.
Khhh!!! The guardian leapt at her while screeching.
"Yeti Power!" Deodomus suddenly appeared in front of the guardian and yelled, transforming into a muscular large 7 feet tall yeti.
Bam!! Deodomus directly rammed onto the guardian, flinging it several feet away. He then quickly turned around, grabbed Tian Mei and Lyra & ran away.
"…." Everyone was confused as to what Deodomus' strategy was. First, he initiated the battle. But then stayed in the back while others fought the guardian. Then he suddenly appeared to save two bishops and then ran away again. Regardless, the fight went on.
"Everyone, surround the guardian!" Tengfei shouted.
"Go! Go! Go!" Ming Sheng shouted as he finished healing chosen few warriors. They were all bishops from different factions who had been injured greatly in the previous battle. At present, they became the crucial force to fight the guardian. Ming Sheng was still healing others. There were still large number of warriors who were not helping. Most of them were the Raiders who didn't know what to do now that the Trinity was dead and Xiao was nowhere to be seen; while Ming Sheng had seemingly defected to enemy factions. Nothing was explained to them, so they all assumed one thing or another and considered Ming Sheng a dangerous traitor. Regardless, they were not inspired to fight the creature called guardian. An army without a leader is merely a disoriented pack of sheep.
-----
Meanwhile Deodomus landed outside the ruined hall and scrutinized Lyra and TIan Mei. Lyra had sustained mild scratches. Her body was Valkyrian after all. Tian Mei was pale and trembling. She had exhausted all her energy. Deodomus took his time checking her out as she was completely naked. Deodomus had no particular fetishes about body shapes. He had fucked all types of women. Tian Mei's petite body looked like Princess Yana's from Gen state. Remembering her, Deodomus wondered where Yana would be now.
"T-thank you." Tian Mei spoke at this point with hesitation. She had never met a good man. Deodomus' act of saving her life created a deep impact on her. Though she was still slightly apprehensive. Regardless, she needed to thank him at the very least.
"You're welcome." Deodomus said smilingly. "Are you hurt anywhere?"
"No, I'm fine." Tian Mei said weakly.
"Hmm, please take these yang pills and yin water." Deodomus produced a few pills and a small glass bottle of yin water. Then he looked at Lyra.
"How are you faring?" He asked rather casually. He knew Lyra was strong enough.
"I can go a few more rounds." Lyra said while frowning. She was worried about her clan sisters/followers. They were all lying here and there, groaning in pain or unconscious.
"Hmm, if you want, you can rest in my spatial ring. Both of you could provide me backup when I fight the guardian." Deodomus proposed.
"And when are you going to do that?" Lyra asked. She knew Deodomus had only been evading battling the guardian.
"Once I'm done gauging its abilities." Deodomus said seriously. "The guardian has the ability to counter all the techniques thrown at it. Even if it hasn't fully revealed that. I'm the strongest here. If it develops counter to my abilities; then who can defeat it?"
"..." Lyra and Tian Mei stared at Deodomus. He seemed to be a laid-back unreliable scum during this battle but all along he had no intention of avoiding battle. He was simply gauging the opponent.
"Very well. Let's go into his ring." Lyra said to Tian Mei who nodded in reply. Both got warped into Deodomus' ring right afterwards.
-----
"Haahhh!! Keep attacking it!" Rage shouted and lunged at the guardian.
Bam! Bam! Bam! His punches, each stronger than the one before, pushed the bulky guardian backwards.
Swish-swish-swish! Several sharp-tipped tentacles moved towards Rage from all directions.
Shink! A large scissor cut them as Ishita attacked from above and landed near Rage. The two of them had developed a good coordination. Ishita protected Rage while Rage fought the guardian. There were other bishops too, attacking it in turns & thus providing support.
But all that they could do was maintain a stalemate. They were unable to really harm the guardian who seemed to possess rapid regeneration ability.
-----
"How are you feeling now?" Ming Sheng asked Lifen. She sighed and blinked.
"There is no pain. My eyes & forehead even feel cool. Thank you doctor." Lifen replied.
"No worries. How capable is your observational technique?" Ming Sheng asked.
"It is Empyrean grade." Lifen replied. "I'll go aid the other bishops."
"Thank you. I'm ashamed to have to ask you of this despite your injury." Ming Sheng apologized.
"Don't be. You've treated my eyes and saved Xiurong's life. We owe you much. Fighting the guardian is our responsibility anyway since we came to support Xie faction. Please take care of sister Xiurong." Lien said before flying away to join Rage, Ishita and others.
"..." Ming Sheng stared at Xiurong who was lying unconscious on the floor. Her dantian had been crushed by Ganza. There was no way she could cultivate ever again. Even her life was in danger. Ming Sheng had stabilized her condition in the nick of time but he was solemn. Xiurong was a warrior woman. Someone who cultivated up to the Master realm, became an elite and had a blazing career in the Consulate. Now she was a cripple and with her beauty, she was bound to face hell. In fact, Ming Sheng could already sense many cultivators hanging nearby, waiting for a chance to snatch this beauty.
"... Perhaps I can..." Ming Sheng thought of something before glancing at Ganza's corpse. He pulled Xiurong into his spatial ring and then did the same with Ganza's. Then he flew out of the hall. His observational technique confirmed that no one was following him. The unknown troublesome cultivators from before had given up the moment Xiurong was stored into Ming Sheng's ring. Nobody wanted to fight this Empyrean doctor who could backstab his own comrades and had them killed. He was dangerous!
Flying straight into the wilderness, Ming Sheng secured a spot and set up a small strategy to camouflage his surroundings. Then he laid Xiurong and Ganza side by side. Next, he started undressing Xiurong.
Xiurong had an attractive body with fair skin, tight breasts, firm hips and toned navel and thighs even though she maintained an overall petite figure. Ming Sheng got an erection staring at this beauty. He could not help but grab his crotch and stroke it a few times. But then he calmed himself, taking deep breaths and got down to work.
He cut off ganza's clothes and then using special knife, he slit both the cultivators' navels. Firstly, he spread open Xiurong's belly and carefully took out her shattered dantian after severing all the meridians connected to it. Then he did the same to Ganza's dantian which had gone dormant and couldn't function without spiritual force.
'Spiritual force' was a term Empyrean doctors had coined but hadn't deciphered it entirely. A dantian works as long as a person is alive. Once they die, the dantian goes dormant. No amount of chi influx could awaken it. Then in time as the body disintegrates, the dantian fades out from existence. So, the Empyrean doctors concluded that it is the force of a soul that keeps a dantian awake. They named it the 'spiritual force'. It was a vague concept though, not having any proofs or much research done into it.
Xiurong's dantian was destroyed. There was no harm in removing it. Thus, Ming Sheng went ahead with the operation. He was using Ganza's research to perform dantian implant. It hadn't been successful in the past. It probably wouldn't now either. But there was nothing to lose.
As Ming Sheng placed the dantian inside Xiurong and connected the meridians to it, time passed by. It took almost half an hour to complete the operation. Ming Sheng sewed up Xiurong's belly. Then he placed his palm on it and tried to infuse his energy into her dantian.
It didn't work. His energy surely got into Xiurong's meridians but could not reach the dantian.
"There's no telling what the reason could possibly be." Ming Sheng thought with a frown. "The dantian needs to be awakened. It perhaps only needs a directed burst of energy influx. But how to do it? Pills are useless. Their energy won't be focused towards the dantian and won't come out as a burst. Then...what to do?"
Ming Sheng stroked his beard while thinking and soon the idea came to him.
"...." He stared at Xiurong's naked body and then sighed. "This is for her own good. I'm sure she'll forgive me." He convinced himself while taking off his clothes. He was going to fuck her in her sleep!
Before long, Ming Sheng was raping…no; 'healing' Xiurong with his long angular penis. He did it in missionary position to avoid any unwanted disturbances to the newly implanted dantian.
Shwap-shwap-shwap-shwap! Wet sounds occurred as Ming Sheng fucked Xiurong's tight vagina which was naturally leaking out yin fluids.
"This woman, hehe…" Ming Sheng thought. "She hasn't had sex for at least a decade! Her yin chi is so abundant that it is finding excuses to flow out."
This was true. Xiurong had trained herself hard and abstained from sexual practices. She had also developed immunity against all aphrodisiacs and thus could retain her natural yin chi for long. But this had led her personal life to deteriorate. She fell out with her husband due to lack of sex between them and then she spent a decade, holding herself back still, without any intimacy with anyone. Currently she was as good a yin resource as Tian Mei!
Fwap-fwap-fwap! "Huff! Huff! Huff!"
Ming Sheng enjoyed himself well, harvesting all the yin chi that was flowing into him from Xiurong. Plus, Xiurong was so tight it could be compared to a virgin.
For a long time, Ming Sheng fucked Xiurong and continuously supplied her body with his yang chi. This was a gradual slow influx which could be compared to a low-grade yang pill. He also kept a close feeling about Xiurong's chi flow. It was slow and obstructed at several points. These points were all in the meridians around dantian which were damaged earlier but while implanting the new dantians, Ming Sheng had fixed their ends. But there was still residue from earlier and hence had caused obstruction in chi flow.
Slosh-slosh-slosh-slosh! Ming Sheng picked up the pace, fucking Xiurong faster and faster.
"Oh, I'm coming!" He soon exclaimed and shot a thick load of semen inside Xiurong's vagina which got filled to the brim as Ming Sheng kept ejaculating while still pistoning in her. The pressure inside the vaginal cavity kept increasing just as the pressure of yang chi in Xiurong's meridians increased and then with a jolt and a burst, semen flooded into Xiurong's womb and yang chi flooded into the new dantian, activating it!
Crang!! A muffled sound echoed in Xiurong's inner ear. She had not only acquired a functional new dantian but also broken through to level 4 Master realm!
"Urgh…" At this point, Xiurong awoke slowly and saw a naked old man clung to her with his semi-flaccid penis lodged deep inside her.
"Ehehe. Hello there." Ming Sheng smiled awkwardly. He hadn't expected Xiurong to wake up at such a point.
"…YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Xiurong shouted with spit flying and she let her chi burst out, pushing Ming Sheng up in the air a bit before Xiurong raised her leg and kicked the ghost out of him.
Bam!! "Gwoh!" Ming Sheng went flying and broke through the strategy barrier, colliding against a thick tree before slumping down in pain.
"….!!" Xiurong paused in shock. "How the hell…" She muttered while scrutinizing herself.
Level 4 Master realm, undamaged dantian! As she discovered her status, she glared at Ming Sheng & then at Ganza's corpse; then the thin cut on her belly which hadn't completely healed just yet. She stared at Ming Sheng again, feeling complicated.
"Did you…" She uttered.
BOOM!! The level up above broke apart with an explosion. Fire, smoke, debris and rocks flew everywhere before falling down like a rainfall. Cultivators followed suit. Many of them were dead, some burning and screaming. Some trying to just escape.
Swoosh! Ming Sheng landed near Xiurong. He had quickly donned on a choga.
"I request your assistance. I have implanted Ganza's dantian in your body so your cultivation level should still be the same as before. Please lend your strength in the fight against the guardian."
"…" Xiurong stared at Ming Sheng. He hadn't apologized to her about raping her in her sleep. But she didn't put feel hatred for him. She owed him way too much for saving her life and healing her from a crippled state. So, what if he raped her? If Ming Sheng asked for sex as compensation, Xiurong would be willing to be his cumslut for years.
Xiurong nodded and flew into the sky to fight the guardian that must be in the level above that still had some land left. Meanwhile Ming Sheng moved around speedily, administering first aid to all injured cultivators while checking if any of the dead ones were really dead or could be revived. There were more than a hundred of them. It was too much for one doctor. But this doctor carried the Empyrean title and was an elite cultivator. He healed more people in a minute than one could count!
"What happened up there?" Ming Sheng asked an unknown cultivator.
"The guardian…he's too strong. The bishops are dying…" This cultivator spoke before fainting.
"…" Ming Sheng administered the necessary treatment before handing this person to another cultivator and asked them all to retreat. Then he flew straight up and was shocked to see the scene inside.
Guardian was hovering in the air while hundreds of corpses littered the destroyed ground. Amidst the corpses was Ishita who had also perished. She was literally fucked to death by spiked tentacles!
The only warriors standing now were Ryuga who had awoken at some point; Lifen who was exhausted; Rage who was riddled with injuries and hence was strong as hell, Xiurong who seemed fine, Tengfei who was directing all these people to launch organized attacks. Yes, despite the grudges and disordered fighting earlier, now all these people had joined forces. Tengfei knew the most about the guardian, so he was instructing others how to tackle its various assaults. Ming Sheng landed beside him. Tengfei couldn't dare to split his attention to greet him. Ming Sheng watched silently. In such a team fight, he had to do his role of a healer right. So, he didn't dive into battle but waited patiently. Rage could need healing, but his strength was crucial in this fight. The angrier he was, the stronger he'd become. I was necessary to disturb his angry mood.
"Raging Tiger's Roar!" Ryuga shouted aloud and his voice turned into a sonic beam and struck the guardian heavily.
Boom! The sonic beam reflected and blew Rage away while injuring others as well.
"You saw that?" Tengfei asked while sweating profusely.
"Yes. Just what have we awakened? This is not even the highest level. Why does something like this guardian exist?" Ming Sheng muttered.
"It never showed such prowess before…" Tengfei uttered. "We need a Sage realm warrior to handle it.
"Speaking of them…they haven't been around for a really long time, isn't that right?" Ming Sheng uttered.
"…" Our prophet left me in-charge and left for a meeting.
"Similar were prophet Shyaren and Damian's actions." Ming Sheng spoke.
Boom! Boom! Grahhh! Rage was roaring aloud and moving at sonic speed. Attacking from all sides. At once, Ryuga stared at him with deep intent. In their previous life & death kind of battle, Rage had not revealed such sound-based moves. Was he holding back earlier? Did these moves have adverse effect on him so he couldn't use them? Or did he just evolve his technique by merging it with another technique? Ryuga didn't know. Only Rage could tell and right now he was battling the guardian in a frenzy.
Unbeknownst to others, air had begun to revolve around this level as if a storm was starting. There were faint vibrations in the surroundings, small particles were shaking and floating. The bishops became increasingly tensed, staring at the guardian. It was no longer just developing different ways of countering the techniques thrown at it; it was directly reflecting them! This was a huge problem. A being neither human nor beast was displaying the traits of being…undefeatable!
How do you kill something that can reflect all your attacks?
Rage fought tooth and nail. He seemed heroic and brave though inwardly he was panicking. He too had realized that the guardian was seemingly becoming an undefeatable being. Or perhaps it already was? There was only one way to check. Rage had to go all out. Even if it cost him his life, he had to do it. Fighting is what warriors do. So, Rage fought and fought. But all his powerful moves were reflected and deflected. Many of them hitting him directly, injuring him gravely. Blood and meat splattered; bones cracked. Within a minute, Rage was left with only one arm intact. All his limbs were broken and crooked; his torso riddled with grave injuries. Blood flowing down continuously as he flew at great speeds.
"He's going to kill himself! What are you doing?! Support him!" Ming Sheng shouted.
"Haaahh!!" Ryuga roared and transformed into a naked giant. His hands turned into spiked claws with metallic luster; his injuries healed rapidly, his dantian overflowed with energy. He was at his peak, using all of his gu worms. He attacked the guardian with great killing intent *& momentum.
Whoosh!! The winds grew stronger, turning into a tornado around the level and entering it too, making even large rocks fly around. Only now did the bishops notice. Outside, everyone looked up in terror. Some got afraid and decided to creep away, some gritted their teeth and clenched their fists.
"This is no longer about resources or treasure; vengeance or dominance…" Someone spoke.
"They are all fighting that monster. All the bishops, regardless of their affiliations. How can we cower down?" Another cultivator spoke. They exchanged glances and nodded before flying towards the floating level. Like them, many others flew up too.
Meanwhile Deodomus crouched near Ganza's corpse and smirked as he stole his spatial ring.
"Hehe, finders keepers." Deodomus said to himself, not caring about whatever was going on in the level.
"And here I thought that you might take care of the alliance in my absence." A voice suddenly called out from behind. Deodomus turned around and his eyes widened.
"You...!" He uttered.
------
Inside the level, Ryuga had grabbed the guardian in a tight grip. The guardian had enlarged to 5 times its size but was still small compared to the giant Ryuga. Its tentacles on its back were clutched tightly between Ryuga's chest and guardian's back, unable to break loose and harm anyone. Its crab claws tried to cut Ryuga's hands but failed due to Ryuga's hard metal-like skin. Its tail alone swished around and whipped at Ryuga continuously, unable to do real damage. Ryuga was trying to crush the guardian to death. No special moves or anything. Just pure strength!
"Attack! Everyone, attack!" Tengfei shouted, no longer keeping calm. He and Ming Sheng joined the fight along with Xiurong, Lifen, Rage & 3 other bishops from Miang faction. All sorts of moves were unleashed upon the guardian. Explosions occurred continuously.
"Support the bishops! Give it your all!" Someone shouted. More and more cultivators were entering the destroyed hall in droves. They were the bravest of souls, unwavering in front of danger. They all launched their trump card moves. Weapons clanged, energy flashed, explosions multiplied. Many moves missed the target and struck at Ryuga instead, but he endured it & didn't let go of the guardian.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Fire, mist, poison, swords, arrows, smoke; screams and shouts…it was an intense battle at its peak.
KHHHHHH!!!! The guardian screeched aloud, sending out ripples of sonic waves.
Booom! Boom! Booom! Just now it displayed neither a counter, nor a reflection but a 'recreation' of Rage's sound moves!
All wavelengths of sounds chaotically danced around. Cultivators fell like dead birds, bleeding from their ears, nose and eyes. Even the bishops felt dizzy and nauseated. Ryuga's grip finally lessened just enough for the guardian to break free!
KHHHH!! It roared and turned around, leaping at Ryuga's chest and unleashing all sorts of moves at him. The tentacles stabbed Ryuga's chest, the tail developed spikes like demon club gu and drilled a big hole in his side, poison was released inside Ryuga, claws scratched his skin off, soundwaves assaulted his head, He wobbled and took a giant step back. Boom! The ground thundered under his foot.
"Oh no…" Tengfei lamented. Ryuga was out of commission now.
But just then, Ryuga radiated great tenacity and grabbed the confident guardian with both giant hands.
Khhh!!! The guardian's arms were free, it attacked Ryuga's giant fingers, hands and roared at his face, throwing sound beams one after another.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
"…Do it…! RAGE!!!!" Ryuga shouted with all he had. The guardian's multiple eyes widened and spiralled around as it sensed Rage's fierce aura coming in from behind. Currently with countless injuries, being at the door of death; Rage was extremely furious! He was brimming with strength that could put most Sage realm warriors to shame. He was really really powerful!
"HAAAAAA!!!!" Rage flew at breakneck speed. The guardian squirmed desperately but Ryuga didn't let it slip out.
A single punch stormed towards the guardian. It was glowing like a meteor, there was a fire trail behind Rage, caused from friction with the particles in air. Time seemed to slow down but in less than a second, Rage's punch had reached the guardian's head.
BOOOOM!!!! A deafening sound echoed everywhere. Everyone's ears buzzed as they saw Rage blowing the guardian to smithereens before decimating Ryuga's hands, arms and then blowing a hole into his giant chest and then breaking through everything in his path before plunging into the ground.
Booom!! Another explosion occurred at the base of the level as Rage's body pierced through it and fell from the sky. His entire arm was destroyed, and his body was all broken. It was unknown whether he was even alive or dead.
"Tch…" Deodomus frowned before flying towards him and catching him mid-air. Even if Deodomus hadn't truly taken part in the fight, he had seen this last glorious fight of Rage and Ryuga. There was no one who would not be moved after seeing how bravely they took down a seemingly undefeatable enemy.
Swoosh! Ming Sheng came flying from the same hole in the level's bottom and charged towards Rage with intention to save his life. As he took him from Deodomus, the latter flew up to protect Ryuga's life. Ryuga was crucial in Deodomus' control over Miang faction; or whatever was left of the faction; for whatever nefarious plan he and Shyaren had been brewing in the shadows all along.
BAMM!! Ryuga's giant body collapsed on the ground. He seemed dead. Deodomus charged towards him. So did Tengfei while the other bishops tried to wrap their heads around what had just transpired. Rage and Ryuga destroyed the guardian. Though the support from all the other bishops and cultivators was also crucial in this.
"Sister Xiurong!" Lifen finally got the chance to greet her comrade. "How are you able to fight?! Did Ming Sheng…"
"Yes! He healed me!" Xiurong said smilingly.
"Oh, I am so glad! May Gods bless that old man!" Lifen hugged Xiurong tightly.
"He did rape me in the process though." Xiuron said begrudgingly.
"Err.." Lifen was stumped.
"It's alright. Sigh. I'm glad I can continue being a cultivator." Xiurong smiled.
"Ehe…yes." Lifen smiled awkwardly. She too was happy though that Xiurong was safe and still capable.
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"He's still alive." Tengfei said as he poured down all the healing potions he had hoarded up over the decades. Deodomus was doing the same. Even if they weren't doctors, they had several healing pills and potions stocked up. Almost every cultivator would keep some for emergencies as they were always fighting for different-different reasons. And they would all obviously have proficiency in first aid.
Ryuga was slowly shrinking in size. Since Giant gu needed conscious supply of energy to stay active. In absence of it, its effects got cancelled. Tengfei and Deodomus stared at Ryuga with worry. His injuries were life-threatening. The only Empyrean doctor around was currently trying to save Rage's life. He could not spare his attention anywhere else like before as these injuries were too severe.
"Sigh, they are both heroes." Tengfei spoke. "We will honor Rage and Ryuga & sing their tales in the Consulate for years to come."
"…" Deodomus did not respond. His expression was grave.
"The windstorm…it hasn't stopped." He finally spoke. Tengfei froze in realization; his eyes spreading wide and his perception serenading the entire level with observational technique.
Gluglugluglug…pieces of meat and blood started hovering up and gathering, rapidly joining together to form a grotesque figure in the air.
"What the hell…" Xiuron uttered staring at this scene.
"This can't be…" Someone fell to their knees in exhaustion.
Up in the air, the meat tissues regenerated rapidly, taking form of the guardian!
Meanwhile, Ryuga was also healing but comparatively slowly. His Healing gu preserved his life but was not fully functional due to lack of energy in Ryuga's body. Deodomus and Tengfei did not know the secret about gu worms so they couldn't realize that they only needed to provide energy or any chi to Ryuga in order to heal him faster.
Regardless, all eyes were at the mangled squirming tissues and bones that took the grotesque form of the guardian.
"We're doomed…!" Someone exclaimed. No one objected.
Clatter…kriiinnnng!! Metallic sounds occurred as an armoured person dragging a greatsword on the ground walked in the direction of the floating guardian. All heads turned towards him. He was… Silver Knightmare!
"He's awake!" Lifen shouted.
"That's right! We still have Knightmare!" Xiurong was elated. These two women felt a rush of energy and stood up.
"Silverians…! They are back!" Someone exclaimed, almost tearing up.
"But they are injured and exhausted." Someone pointed out. "Can they defeat the guardian? It took Sage realm level power to bring it down the last time!"
"…"
"Let's evacuate." Tengfei spoke somberly to Deodomus while lifting human sized Ryuga up. Silverians may have returned but they were not in their peak. They could not possibly defeat the guardian.
"Yeah, you do that." Deodomus said with a light smile. "I'm gonna go kick some ass. Can't let my woman outclass me, hehe."
"? What do you mean?" Tengfei frowned.
Clop-clop-clop! Metallic boots sounds echoed as a woman clad in armour from head to toe, walked in. Only her beautiful face was visible to reveal her identity.
"She…she's back! Xiao has returned!" Someone shouted.
"Xiao has returned! We still have hope!" Someone cried.
All eyes stared at Xiao. Currently she was wearing a black metal armor with a small green cape on the back. Her helmet had a crown-like shape on the top. chainmail protected the joints while her long sword was shining bright. She looked majestic but also…sexy! The armor was figure hugging tight! And it was seemingly custom made to contain all the curves of Xiao's figure. Her cape only reached down to her waist, unable to hide the big round hips, Her breastplate was protruding out, unable to hide the fact that Xiao had four huge breasts! At once, men forgot their pain and the guardian's danger. Their lust blew up like an explosion as they stared at this possible clothing of a magnificently gorgeous woman!
Xiao continued to walk, not noticing all the gazes on her. She passed the Silverians and took the lead. Deodomus joined her from a side. Other cultivators started doing it too, as though hypnotically drawn towards Xiao.
Khhh….. The guardian looked down upon the humans. The humans glared up at it.
"Kill!!" Xiao roared, aiming her sword towards the guardian and leapt off, flying straight up. Everyone flew behind her. Another round had begun in this unforeseen battle against the guardian.
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Author's ramble:
Alright, Xiao is back! So much stuff is gonna happen now kekekeke -evil laughter-
Sigh, I did not think that this guardian battle will become so unnecessarily long though. And there's more of it? Ugh. I'll try to end it quickly and get on with...hold on, I'm getting smart ideas to cut the chase and jump to the real battle, hmm... but we'll miss out on the fun stuff then. Well, I'll ponder over it, Don't mind me lol
& if there were multiple errors in this chapter, that's cuz i proofread while half asleep. At some point I even switched Rage's technique to Koldorus' lol; before realizing the mistake. It woulda been a blunder lol.
If you folks come across some plot hole, please point out so I can fix them. Thank you. :D