𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖𝟎
“This is. . . . . .!”
It was obvious without thinking about it. The battlefield where the enemies had been fighting a moment ago was completely in Xue Laifu’s grip.
This place is now a realm dominated by the great yokai.
Just like Baekryeo who handled great power in the imaginary space, it was clear that he would be able to show his boundless power here.
“Kukukuku! Power is overflowing!”
Feeling a sense of euphoria just by being in it, Xue Laifu laughed out loud and looked at our faces that had shrunk.
“No one who opposes the master of the blood can be free!”
Whoooosh!
Swish!
The moment Xue Laifu roared, the overwhelming demonic energy around us pressed down on us, taking away our energy.
Of course, the one who received and absorbed it was Xue Laifu, so it was clear that we would constantly be robbed of our strength in this space.
「𝙉𝙤. . . . . .𝙉𝙤𝙩 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙤𝙛 𝙞𝙩.」
I only felt a strange sense of powerlessness at first, but surprisingly, my energy stood tall like a mountain, not getting caught up in Xue Laifu’s tricks.
In addition, most of my colleagues who came here through Sancheon’s secret arts were mostly okay, so it seemed that the conceptual law that we benefited from in Baekryeo’s illusory world was protecting our bodies.
「𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙡𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙡𝙙 𝘼𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙮 𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙨𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙞𝙨 𝙖 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙗𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙚𝙘𝙝𝙣𝙞𝙦𝙪𝙚, 𝙨𝙤 𝙝𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙣’𝙩 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨 𝙪𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙭𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙨.」
Among them, Arietta and I seemed to have more free time, so I could see that resistance to forbidden arts also had an effect.
Xue Laifu, who seemed to sense that, was also greatly surprised and calmed down his excitement.
“. . .I see. So that’s how it is. Now I understand why Baekryeo disappeared. External existences are truly amazing. But what do you plan to do?”
As he said that, Xue Laifu turned his gaze slightly, and there were other colleagues who looked frustrated.
Echinacea Lianqi, who was originally a high-ranking yokai, and the divine beast of the Yonggol Taoist priests seemed to be able to withstand it, but the others were definitely being suppressed by the power of the Blood World Array.
We don’t have much time.
It was clear that we had to decide the match before he sucked up all our energy.
Realizing this, Ha Sa-dam was the first to show his determination.
“It seems meaningless to just stand still. While our energy lasts, we will somehow reduce his stamina!”
“T-That’s right! We can endure it for a while! We’ll attack together during this gap!”
Ha Sa-dam and Geum Sah-yang quickly summoned their energy, and Pae-yong and Oh-cheon also joined forces with them to prepare for an attack.
“Groooan. Today, I will ride the tightrope in the sky. We, the five great masters of Yonggol, will also add our strength!”
Whoooosh!
The shamanism of the Hawon Clan’s generals, and the mysterious techniques of the Yonggol Taoists, sharply pierced Xue Laifu’s gap.
No matter how powerful Xue Laifu is, he is an individual. So it would be difficult for him to easily withstand the combined attack of such well-honed masters.
But unfortunately, that was about it. The power of Xue Laifu, who had already established his own territory, had clearly transcended the limits of an individual.
“Kukuku! Is this all!”
Pop.
Puhaaaak!
As he spewed out cursed blood once again, half of the attacks were immediately nullified, and a gap was created.
And this time, Xue Laifu’s arm, which had suddenly started to grow, instantly grabbed Hong-gyun’s neck.
Thud!
“Kuaaagh! W-Why can’t I stop it. . . . . .!”
“Don’t you understand yet? The difference in rank has already widened.”
The other four Taoists hurriedly restrained Xue Laifu’s arm, and their divine beast emitted a golden light and enveloped Xue Laifu’s body with a huge energy.
『Keeeyah!』
Kwaaang─!
With a tremendous shockwave, Xue Laifu’s new body was pushed back. But that was it.
“I can handle it now.”
Kwang!
The divine beast that had been knocked to the ground let out a painful scream, and the Yonggol Taoists were trembling, unable to shake off Xue Laifu’s arm.
In the meantime, Arietta appeared out of nowhere.
“Bloodline.”
Shwiiiiish!
Seogeuk─!
Threads of blood filled with energy wrapped around Xue Laifu’s arm that had grabbed Honggyun several times and tightened.
As the cross-section of the arm was barely cut, Hong-gyun gasped for breath, and Xue Laifu tilted his head as he regenerated his severed right arm.
“Even with such a big difference in strength, you can do this much. Kukuku. Now that I see it, you are quite similar to me.”
“. . .Nonsense. We’re different.”
“That’s right. But in a sense, you already know that what I said is true.”
Arietta, like Xue Laifu, is an existence whose flesh and spirit have been transformed by forbidden arts.
It seemed that such a trait was exerting its own strength against Xue Laifu.
“But already. . . . . .The others seem to feel a gap that they can’t fill.”
“. . . . . . .”
As he said, the five great masters of Yonggol and the generals of the Hawon Clan seemed to have recognized an insurmountable wall in the battle a little while ago.
Their fighting spirit had not disappeared, but the desire for victory was already fading from their eyes.
“H-How can you have such a strong power. . . . . . .”
“It’s difficult. I don’t want to admit it, but our abilities can’t reach him.”
Even the upright Ha Sa-dam frowned repeatedly, wondering if there was anything else he could do.
And Xue Laifu also began to push us, as if he wouldn’t give us any leeway.
“Kukuku! This time, receive my attack!”
As Xue Laifu stretched out his hands to both sides, the crimson demonic energy scattered around was condensed and created countless chains.
Shwiiiiish!
Shwiiiiish─!
Whether it was created by combining the shamanism of his previous life and his abilities as a yokai, the chains multiplied without any spells or incantations and began to glare at us.
At that, Cheong Juhwa closed her eyes tightly and shouted.
“Azure Dragon!”
『. . .I needed a little more time to prepare, but I can’t help it.』
Whoooosh!
Blue smoke flowed out of the Blue Heart Jade that Cheong Juhwa had around her neck, and soon it took on a huge form.
Azure Dragon, who had absorbed Yeouiju in the battle with Consort Hwi last time, was once again revealing his true power.
“Bring down the thunder of annihilation!”
Kwarrung─!
Jeojeojeojeong!
In an instant, dark clouds covered the sky, and strong winds and heavy rain began to pour down.
In addition, the blue-white thunder struck down and broke the chains, and for a moment, I felt the energy of Xue Laifu, who had been consuming the space, subside.
Azure Dragon was originally a divine beast that drove away evil and negativity. It was showing its power without any filter in this fight.
“Verdi, can you help Azure Dragon?”
『Yes. This is not the time to sulk, so I will do what I can.』
Verdi, who had manifested through nature spirits, floated in the air and began to assist the disaster that Azure Dragon had invoked.
Then, a mysterious power was added to the pouring rain, and the thunder and lightning, which had increased in variety, began to attack Xue Laifu in earnest.
“Groooan!”
Even Xue Laifu seemed to have not expected this kind of counterattack, so he turned the chains into defense to block the thunder and raised his left hand and shouted.
“These are also external existences. . . . . .Then, I offer the mark of exploration as a sacrifice, and the sky will close!”
Whoooosh!
Swish!
As Xue Laifu used some kind of technique, a crimson seal rose from him and a black curtain began to cover the sky.
Its area was local, but it definitely covered the entire range of the Blood World Array, so the thunder and rainstorm that Azure Dragon had invoked soon disappeared.
『Wha. . . . . .! Can a mere yokai wield this much power!』
『As I heard, he was a great sorcerer even in his previous life. It’s really difficult to deal with him by changing his perspective.』
Azure Dragon was astonished, and Verdi also sighed as if he had been hit.
Especially since Verdi had rarely admired his opponent’s technique, I could feel how great the knowledge and power that Xue Laifu had accumulated was.
「𝘿𝙞𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙪𝙡𝙩. . . . . . .」
For some reason, Xue Laifu was very wary of me, so it was difficult to inflict proper damage even if I moved my shikigami around openly.
Even the curses I used, which made use of my karma value that I was so proud of, I don’t know how much they will work on Xue Laifu now.
「𝙃𝙚𝙠𝙩𝙚𝙡’𝙨 𝘿𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙝 𝙏𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙨𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙢𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙗𝙚 𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙤 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙖 𝙨𝙞𝙜𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙗𝙡𝙤𝙬. . . . . . .」
His defense is too solid. As long as he is wary of me, I won’t even have a chance to make a move unless I create a sure gap.
Sensing my hesitation, my colleagues who had gathered around exchanged glances and began to speak.
“. . .It’s clear that ordinary attacks won’t work.”
“I’ve never seen an opponent who doesn’t show that much of a gap. . . . . .The spells are also so complete that I can’t see any loopholes to break through.”
“I don’t know for sure, but we have to make a move now that he used such powerful spells. Oppa.”
Each and every one of them was right.
Xue Laifu was not an existence that could be dealt with by individual firepower, and it was clear that we had to move now that Azure Dragon and Verdi were using their power to contain him.
Seeing that the opinions were, Yoo Ha-on uttered the one word that everyone was thinking inside.
“Each of us should use our best spells and combine our strength at once. That’s the only way.”
The meaning was clear.
The group nodded their heads and soon dispersed and began to close the distance with Xue Laifu.
Xue Laifu was surprised and shot out a few more chains, but everyone somehow managed to avoid them with their own methods and approached a sufficient distance.
Shin Pyo-eul, who had been saving her strength until then, took care of the chains that she had not been able to handle with her spell, Eight Trigrams and Celestial Heavens Art Torrential Downpour.
“Now!”
Han Seo-ah was the first to take action.
Seizing the opportunity when Shin Pyo-eul blocked the chains, she, who had already recited the incantation in advance, shot a strange spell at the dozens of iron chains that Xue Laifu had created again.
Whoooosh!
“Pressure!”
Bang!
Crash!
Then, surprisingly, the chains that seemed like they would crush us right away transformed into all kinds of flying creatures and fluttered around, blurring Xue Laifu’s vision.
It was a perfect realization of the transformation spell of the witch Verdi, which we had obtained by conquering the labyrinth before.
“What the. . . . . .!”
Even Xue Laifu was confused for a moment, and Yoo Ha-on aimed for that gap precisely.
“Faithful Broken Shadow!”
Whoooosh!
Zzeeeeng!
The most simple and pure grand spell I used against Luke before.
However, when Yoo Ha-on’s Anti-Demon trait was mixed in, Xue Laifu couldn’t help but be surprised by its power, which was beyond his imagination.
“O blood! Consume the Mark to protect me!”
Thud!
It was definitely the power of Anti-Demon, which suppresses all evil and negativity, but because there was a considerable gap in ability, the result was a perfect draw.
A situation where there seemed to be no more tricks.
Cheong Juhwa, who had been running, took out a long object from her arms.
It was the treasure that symbolized the Cheong family, the highest-ranking weapon with a long history.
It was the Blue-White Sword.
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