At first, the Guardian Golems weathered the flooding sea that poured out of nowhere. Massive volumes of water boiled into steam upon contact, but the Guardian Golems' smoldering bodies were gradually cooled down, the red-hot magma darkening to dark black. They stumbled, their steaming bodies shrouded by thick fogs as they were swamped by thousands of liters of water.
But just like rock, they didn't move. Stationary, unyielding and calm, they allowed the water to wash over them, riding out the currents as they were submerged. Their movements were sluggish, slower than before because they weren't used to being underwater and also perhaps because the heat in their bodies had diminished greatly.
However, if they thought they had endured the worst of the storm, they were sadly mistaken.
"Second stage," Long Wang said. Like the Atlanteans, he knew how to breathe underwater even though he was in his human form. I had learned the same breathing technique from Myria, but it appeared that Long Wang operated a more advanced version of that technique, one probably engineered for dragons. He was smiling as he did a few gestures with his hands, probably a way to control and activate the spirit array.
My guess was right.
Several water dragons materialized in the water, each about as huge as an Abyssal Serpent. Bellowing silently, they rushed through the tides, sending enormous ripples and waves, before they collided against the stationary Guardian Golems. Rock split and towering silhouettes burst, with debris and sand drifting away from the points of impact.
Still, the Guardian Golems endured, mostly intact despite suffering damage from the water dragons' erosive attacks. Long Wang didn't look surprised, seeming to have already anticipated such a difficulty. At a gesture, his multiple water dragons coiled around the Guardian Golems, crushing them under tremendous pressure. As expected, though, the sturdy forms of the Guardian Golems held against physical forces, the indomitable spirit beasts refusing to break or budge.
"Don't worry," Long Wang assured me, his eyes still focused on the enemy in front of us. "Water is super effective against fire and rock type Poke…I mean spirit beasts. It'll take a while because Guardian Golems have exceptional high defense and special…I mean elemental defense, and beefy HP, but…"
"HP?" I repeated incredulously. "Dude, this isn't a game."
"Just a manner of speaking," Long Wang said with a cough. I tried not to roll my eyes, knowing that Long Wang was currently playing the latest iteration of a certain pocket monster capturing and training game. Something about scarlet and violet versions. As long as it kept him happy when he was assuming a human form, I didn't care. Keeping his morale up and him distracted from thoughts of treachery was to my advantage.
He wasn't Dominique, after all. And he was a dragon butler, not a Naga maid. At least he wasn't the Devil Butler. Zhuo Fan was awesome, but he wasn't someone who would be contented as remaining a steward, given how he used to be the demonic emperor, Zhuo Yi Fan. Speaking of which, they have up to 350 chapters on the Web Novel website, so you can read it if you want. Provided you saved up enough fast passes, of course.
"Uh, can you focus on the mission, my lord? No one's paying to advertise other stories in the middle of a battle."
"Sorry." I cocked my head to the side and watched the Guardian Golems slowly worn down by the water dragons. "But what exactly do you need me to do? It seems like you have the matter well in hand."
"Perhaps you could refrain from daydreaming while I do all the work, my lord? And once my role here is done, it's your turn." Long Wang's lips quirked slightly. "Don't forget, even if I defeat these spirit beasts, you still have to forge a spirit contract with them."
"Understood." I returned to the present and studied the still forms of the Guardian Golems. Two of them were crumbling under the immense pressure, devoured by the relentless water dragons. The surviving five were slowly succumbing to the arcane magics of Long Wang's spirit array, and I quickly made my move.
"System."
-Understood. The user wishes to forge a spirit contract with the remaining five Guardian Golems, correct? Please confirm. –
"Yeah, confirmed."
Five pillars of azure light flashed, ripping apart the five water dragons and taking Long Wang by surprise. Still, even as he shook his head in astonishment, he relaxed when he saw the runic patterns materialize over the five Guardian Golems. They dropped to their knees, their movements in the water still sluggish, and bowed their heads in submission.
"You have succeeded, my lord."
"Yeah. They have taken a bit too much damage, though, so I'll send them back." I snapped my fingers and the Guardian Golems vanished in large geysers, causing the tides to churn violently. They would be placed near the gates of my dungeon and given time to recuperate.
Now, for the main mission.
"Please wait a moment, my lord." Long Wang must have sensed my intention when he spotted me looking at the wall of debris that separated me from the lava pools and the demonic cultivators. He swung his hands and the tidal waves roiled about under his control, smashing the rock aside and streaming toward the other side. The demonic cultivators turned around, caught off guard, only to scatter when water dragons crashed upon their position.
"How?!"
"Where are the Guardian Golems!?"
"Were they all destroyed!? That's impossible!"
"Nothing is impossible," Long Wang said as he strode forward. He lowered his head and gestured toward me. "My lord is invincible."
"No, I'm not."
"Even if you aren't you shouldn't let the enemy know that," he whispered, annoyed. I shrugged.
"Humility is a virtue. And they wouldn't believe you anyway."
"That's true."
"What are you guys muttering among yourselves?!" One of the demonic cultivators yelled. He leaped forward, demonic qi swirling around him and turning into long, extended claws. Before he could reach us, however, my azure arrow found its mark and obliterated his chest. His smoking corpse fell to the ground, a huge hole in his torso.
The other demonic cultivators tensed, not believing their eyes. Long Wang scoffed at their reaction.
"Don't worry, my lord. They are mostly Yellow ranked cultivators. I only detect two Mystic ranked cultivators among their number, and they are no match for you."
"That's good," I replied before raising an eyebrow. "Wait, no match for me?"
"Of course. It's your turn to fight now, my lord. I'll deal with the small fries. There is no need for you to waste your time with such weaklings. I will reserve the honor of facing strong opponents for you, my lord."
"You know I don't care about honor," I grumbled. Long Wang shrugged.
"Honestly, it's because I spent too much qi on setting up the spirit array, so I think you're in better shape to deal with the stronger enemies."
"Then just say so from the start. I won't be angry if you give me a good reason." I glanced back at the lake of water that had just formed in the section behind us. "I assume they are out of range of the spirit array?"
"That's right. But I can still do this with the array, within limits." Long Wang twirled his hand about, and several water dragons reared up.
"All right then. Let's do this." My glasses could read the qi signatures of the foes and measure an estimate of how much qi they emanated. I picked out the two strongest ones, who were most likely the Mystic ranked demonic cultivators Long Wang was talking about, and fired my arrows at them. As I expected, the two of them blocked my shots.
That was fine, for I only planned to provoke them into attacking me.
"You!"
"Bastard!"
Funnily enough, the two strongest demonic cultivators didn't actually look like demons like their fellow comrades. There were no horns or protrusions. They actually appeared like normal humans, with average looking builds as opposed to the swollen or bloated bodies of the other demons.
Interesting. I supposed that Mystic ranked demonic cultivators had better control over their demonic qi than their Yellow ranked counterparts, allowing them to contain the vastly more destructive powers and retain a human looking appearance. But they couldn't be underestimated, of course.
The two Mystic ranked demonic cultivators leaped at me, their frames glowing hellishly. In a flash, they transformed from normal looking humans to hideous monsters. Their skin was as black as iron, their hair lengthened and stood out as spikes, and claws sprang out of their fingers. The aura they emanated was a lot more potent than the rest, befouling the surroundings and even causing the rocky ground below their feet to crumble.
"Do you think we will allow you to ruin our plans?!"
"How dare you shoot at us?! Courting death!"
The two of them descended upon my position, but I quickly backed off, firing another barrage of arrows that exploded harmlessly against their now steel-hard skin. They stumbled and dropped back to the ground, landing with enough force to leave smoking craters, but were otherwise unscathed apart from purpling bruises and scratches.
"Hah! What do you think you're doing? Are you trying to tickle us?" One of them scoffed. His friend, who sported an ugly mustache over his now grotesque features, pulled his fanged lips into a sneer.
"If it's a long-range battle you want, I'm more than happy to indulge you!"
Swinging both of his arms, he pulverized the ground and sent double arcs of destructive demonic energies. I recognized the technique as Demonic Illusionary Saber, which was capable of cleaving boulders and slicing an armored truck in half.
It would be bad if I let the damned thing hit me.
Darting to the side, I responded with another couple of arrows that slammed into his temple like bullets, causing him to reel and curse in agony. Pressing a hand to his smoking wound, my target hissed maliciously.
"Stop running around and fight us like a man, you weak coward!"
I gaped at him for a second, unable to believe his audacity. "I don't want to hear that from you guys, who are ganging up on me!"
While we dueled in the distance, the Yellow ranked demonic cultivators pulled up for a flanking maneuver, eager to help their chiefs deal with me. However, water dragons descended upon them, and a few of them vanished screaming into the liquid jaws, their bodies pulped by immense pressure.
"Sorry," Long Wang said, stepping in front of them and accompanied by a pair of swirling water dragons. "But your opponent is me. I won't let you interfere in my lord's battle."
The dozen or so of them exchanged wary glances, but one of them snorted.
"There's only one of him and so many of us! What are you guys afraid of? Even if he's in a higher cultivation realm, he's still greatly outnumbered! We have a chance!"
"Yeah!"
Long Wang clicked his tongue in annoyance as he retreated while simultaneously sending his pair of water dragons back. this time, the Yellow ranked demonic cultivators wisely scattered, minimizing their casualties. Taking directions from their leader, they spread out in a ring, forcing the water dragons to split their attention. The steward sighed wearily and shook his head.
"This is going to take a while. They might not be very strong, but they are cunning."
Even so, he knew it was only a matter of time before he eliminated the Yellow ranked demonic cultivators. as for me, I couldn't hold out against the pair of Mystic ranked demonic cultivators and was forced to retreat. Even as I evaded their ranged demonic illusionary sabers, I could hear insults and taunts from beyond the fourth dimension on how weak and pathetic I was.
Apparently, certain people were demanding that I instant-kill two demonic cultivators who were in the same realm as me, and when I was having trouble, they were frustrated at how "weak" I was. Did they not know how cultivation realms or power levels worked? Were they even in touch with reality? Why were they expecting me to curbstomp every opponent in my path?
That said, I couldn't keep running away forever. Skidding to a stop, I shouldered my bow and drew my sword just in time to meet the claws of the mustached demonic cultivator. Azure qi flowed around me, turning into a freezing current before I shoved him off. My opponent yelped as he crashed against the cave wall, half of his body covered in ice.
"What?! That brat actually has such strength?!"
His friend continued throwing demonic illusionary sabers at me, but I cleaved them apart with my sword. Stepping forward, I executed Flowing River Clear Sword and sliced apart his qi before slashing at his chest. He parried the blow with his crossed claws, only to be hurled back from the impact. Water continued to rage around me in a clear torrent, taking a life of its own.
"Careful," the mustached dude snarled. "This brat is also Mystic ranked like us!"
"He's only beginner Mystic rank," his friend snapped, wiping the blood from his mouth. Rising shakily to his feet, he gathered more demonic qi that continued to corrode his surroundings. "And there are two of us. There's no way we can lose!"
"I don't know about that," I replied and twirled my sword, adopting another stance of Flowing River Clear Sword. "A battle between cultivators is way more complex than just measuring each combatant's cultivation realm, after all. We'll have to see if you guys have the brains to outsmart me too."
"What did you say?!"
"I'll tear your mouth off, brat!"
Roaring furiously, the two Mystic ranked demonic cultivators lunged forward, only for me to meet them midway with my glowing sword. As we clashed in the middle of the cave, our collision generated enough force to blow up rock and shake stalactites loose.
But the duel between us was far from over.