“Feel grateful and honored that you can become a stepping stone in making this sovereign stronger, lower-tier species.”
“Rustle.” The crack in its abdomen parted open to reveal a large malevolent maw.
“Zzzzt…!” The silent, large meatball in the corner suddenly began to emit blazing fluorescent light from within.
“Hmm? That worm hasn’t been liquified yet??” Lan Yu slightly furrowed his brows.
“Crackle…” Cracks appeared on the shell of the meatball, as a few strands of a scorching radiance passed through its fine crevices in an unstoppable manner and incessantly expanded outwards.
“Crack, crack… Boom!” The noise of an explosion shook the entire sewers. A large amount of radiance bloomed outwards in an instant, as a large hole broke off from the meat shell and sent pieces of shattered meat splashing in all directions.
“Uwooooooh!” Before Lan Yu could even react to what had happened, an iron tower burning with holy fire burst out from within. Its speed resembled the quickness of a lightning bolt flashing through the skies and dancing sparks coming out from flint, making it difficult for one to ascertain its trajectory.
“Clank!” The sound of metal hitting a fleshy body resounded.
Lan Yu collided head-on with the silhouette speeding towards him. With his entire body pinned down by shoulder armor, he ferociously slammed against the wall.
Ji Bai moved his shoulders around slightly upon seeing the smashed-through wall. Towing Ke’er and Blue – who had fallen unconscious on the ground – to the same spot, he placed them down in a neat and comfortable manner.
“Ugh, cough, cough… Wh-What?? How is this possible??” Lan Yu clutched his heart, as he struggled to lift aside the shattered wall pressing down on him while coughing blood.
“You lowly filth, how dare you injure me! You-…” Lan Yu fell into a daze upon seeing the tall and sturdy silhouette standing in front of him. His memories when he had been a human instantly rushed forth within him.
“K-Knight King?! You… You’re still alive??” Lan Yu touched the back of his head in a fit of headache, seemingly recalling something.
“Ohh! I remember now… How could I possibly forget such an important thing?? This sovereign being wants to overthrow the Temple Association and set up a new form of government, a government that is absolutely fair and impartial… How could I forget that?” Mumbled Lan Yu to himself.
“When your obsession becomes too deep, your urges will become instincts that shackle you.” A muffled, low but heavy voice reverberated out through the seams of Ji Bai’s helmet.
“Wrong! You’re gravely mistaken. It is precisely because of this obsession that I’ve managed to come this far today… The power to compete against the federation as an equal!”
“Radiant Knight… Do you really not harbor any thoughts regarding the Temple Association that is now rotten to its core? Or is an honorable knight king like yourself going to wallow in the mire together with them?? ”
“Of course not.”
“In that case, why don’t you join me in overthrowing the federation!” Lan Yu extended his clawed hands with his bell-shaped eyes wide open.
Ji Bai went silent for a moment before slowly shaking his head.
“You’re overestimating yourself.”
“What?? Are you trying to say that this sovereign being is still not strong enough!?” Asked Lan Yu in anger.
“I don’t negotiate with ‘inhuman’ beings.”
“Inhuman?? …Hahahahaha! What a jest! Am I not a human as well??”
“Is that so? Pardon this humble self for being unable to see that.” The dark-silvery helmet tilted to the side.
“Ha-ha! You keep claiming that I’m not human, but what are you protecting?? Two demons? Is this what a paragon of virtue like yourself should do??” Lan Yu contemptuously pointed at the pair of cat and dog girls sleeping at the corner.
”They are much more human than you are.” Stated Ji Bai seriously.
“Someone from the human race might not necessarily be considered a ‘human’. As it turns out, some demons can fall in the category of humans too.”
“And you… have long deviated from the original path.” Ji Bai supported his sword with his left elbow as he aimed its tip at Lan Yu.
“Haha! When all is said and done, did I deviate from the path or has your mind been clouded by demons?”
“Don’t you think that you’re a bit too talkative?”
“You might be right about that… You’re the same as that old fogey, stubborn and unreasonable!”
[Destructive Class—Imprisoning Shackles]
As if someone was pulling on them, metallic chains covered with inscriptions emerged from the ground, one ring after the other. They then coiled and winded around Ji Bai, emitting a black fog.
To casually pull out a Destructive Class magic like this, the strength Lan Yu possessed at the moment probably put him in the middle stratum of second-tier species, or even at its peak.
Ji Bai did a somersault, temporarily avoiding the strips of metallic chains that were craftily attacking him and incessantly increased the distance to them.
“It’s useless… You’re just a human. Are you really hoping that you can outrun [Magic] with your speed?”
Things went according to Lan Yu’s expectations. Even though Ji Bai was dexterous, he was unable to escape the pursuit of the metallic chains.
Seeing that he couldn’t escape, Ji Bai turned around and raised his fang-shaped longsword.
[Watcher’s Fury]
“Naive! You actually dare hit them head-on with a mere crushing class skill? Seems like a knight king is merely just that.” Said Lan Yu in a disdainful manner.
“Boom! Clang!… ” The large sword carried the momentum of a warhammer as it collided against the thick metallic chains, causing a shower of sparks to burst out along with a clamorous metallic-collision sound.
However, Ji Bai suddenly retreated upon hearing the sounds of chains twisting their way around an object; His fang-shaped longsword had been swept away by the metallic chains.
“You’ve already lost…” Before Lan Yu could continue, he noticed, to his surprise, that Ji Bai’s abruptly retreating figure didn’t stand still after being disarmed; On the contrary, he had used the force of impact to charge towards his position.
The sun cross on his shoulder armor glittered with brilliance as radiance filled the engraved symbol.
Renowned for its capability ‘to destroy a small city’, [Disaster-class] Magic was best described as a killing move hard to grasp even for ordinary demons, and one needed to meet many varied requirements before they could cast it.
In order to unleash a [Disaster-Class] Magic, Ji Bai had borrowed external powers to a certain extent. Because of that, its power would be greatly reduced when used a second time.
However, its might was still superior to a sword technique.
[Disaster Class — Radiant War Chariot]
‘So, he was using the sword as bait to buy himself time. Did he use the force of impact to approach me before unleashing a physical attack?”
The instance Lan Yu saw through Ji Bai’s plan, he had already been pinned down by the latter’s shoulder armor and knocked flying.
A mouthful of putrid blood flowed out from Lan Yu’s mouth as his blood and energy surged upwards.
“Cough, cough, cough.”
…The distance he had been thrown back rendered him incapable of launching an offensive against Ji Bai in such a short amount of time.
‘Good, very good! You’ve planned it through very comprehensively. That is, if you haven’t brought any burden along and were alone.’
“Clang… Thud!” The fang-shaped longsword was released by the metallic chains and let out a sound as it hit against the ground.
“Knight King, in the end, you’ve overlooked something!”
The metallic chains that had released the longsword speedily wrapped around the unconscious Blue behind Ji Bai’s back, constricted her body, and lifted her up into the sky.
Only then did Ji Bai realize what was going on behind him. Remaining silent, he looked at Blue floating in the air.
“He- Hehe, hahaha! Didn’t you want to save these two demons? Why don’t you try and cut through this [Magic] chain then! Hihi, I suggest you better not make any unnecessary movements, otherwise…” The other metallic chain extended outwards and forcefully tightened itself around Blue’s neck.
“Well, I also don’t want to strangle such a cute puppy, so you’d better not act blindly without thinking…”
Ji Bai was silent.
“What will it be?? Is the almighty knight king going to try to save them again? Hahahaha…!” Lan Yu wretchedly walked towards Ji Bai while releasing a peal of hearty and raucous laughter.
“Hahahahaha-… Geh!” Lan Yu’s laughter suddenly came to a stop.
The rod end of a sickle had ferociously stabbed at his chin, smashing his incisors into pieces.
“Noisy! Do you want me to record your laughter and play it back for you to hear?”
“Ee-uugh?…” The sudden arrival of a young and puerile voice slightly stunned Lan Yu.
Before he could even come back to his senses, his sight was obscured by a group of small scarlet bats. Following this, a bat-shaped shoe whose sole was imprinted with a small rabbit incessantly grew larger in his vision before intimately coming into contact with his face.
“Heave-ho~ Let me bestow Mister Rabbit onto you!”