Forty millenniums of cul.., p.175
Forty Millenniums of Cultivation, page 175
Ten minutes later, Li Yao, who was rushing in the forest, was alerted of something behind him and noticed the two haunting 'tails'.
Chapter 253: Two Demon Generals? Die Now! |
"Someone's following me!"
Li Yao bit his lips so hard that blood was flowing out.
The pain refreshed him and calmed him down.
"This is the edge of the Dark Desolate Domain. Neither a general-king level mutant lion dragon nor demons that are even stronger than it should appear in this place.
"The only reasonable explanation is that a powerful infiltration squad was hunting the mutant lion dragon, which led the squad to this place when the squad discovered me.
"They're afraid that I might expose them when I get out of the forest. So, some of them were sent out to kill me.
"But their main force must be still chasing the mutant lion dragon.
"In such a savage thunderstorm, a king-level demon beast such as the mutant lion dragon is not that easy to capture. It's not likely that they're giving up the hunting just for me."
"Therefore, my pursuers won't be numerous."
"Unfortunately, with the electric net formed by the Thunder Echo Wood, there's no way to fly in the sky. The communications have been jammed, too.
"At my current speed, it will take at least thirty minutes for me to get out of the forest, which is more than enough for them to catch up with me.
"Only by killing them can I avoid being killed."
There was coldness in Li Yao's eyes. He recalled the days when he was hunted by the gangsters in the magical equipment graveyard.
With death at his doorstep, he felt like his body was burning. Glancing around, he noticed a thorny bush and hid himself in it before covering it with camouflage cloth.
"Swoosh! Swoosh!"
One minute later, two figures flashed dozens of meters away from the bush and continued searching to the foot of the mountain.
The intense air of demon on their bodies alarmed Li Yao. Neither was the information displayed on the Demon Beast Detector very pleasing.
"Two demon generals? Good for you!"
Li Yao knew that the two pursuers wouldn't be delayed for long by his ploy. They must be experts in jungle hunting, and the only reason that they didn't discover him just now was because they thought he would try everything he can to get out of the mountain and didn't bother to check the place where his scent stopped.
But it wouldn't take long before they found out that he was hiding somewhere instead of running.
Li Yao was going to make best use of the time when they were stuck by their error.
Jumping out of the bush, he dashed in the direction where the two demon generals just came and went back into the depths of the mountain.
While he was rushing in the forest, he checked the magical equipment that he carried.
Thankfully, besides the crescent saber and the portable crystal railgun, he had brought a lot of miscellaneous escape magical equipment, in case there were any emergencies in the Thunderous Sound Mountain.
Moreover, out of the instinct of a lunatic bomber, he had also carried 50 Thunder Palms that were specially designed to work with crystal suits, as well as 10 Hellfire-Lightnings.
Ever since he killed that low-level demon general with a Hellfire-Lightning in the battle of Verdant Tarn City, Li Yao had developed a 'bad' habit. He couldn't enjoy his food or sleep tight at night without several Hellfire-Lightnings in his pocket during real battles.
"Come on, jerks. Let's do this."
Li Yao sneered. He scanned every plant in the forest looking for the perfect spot for an ambush while he was on the run.
Soon, he stopped at a place where there were more Thunder Echo Woods than any other place that he'd come by.
"Shua!"
A shivering Iron Anteater hiding in a tree hollow was dragged out.
This demon beast looked like a small-size boar with an extremely long nose. It lived on the Iron Ants in the tree holes and had an amazing speed.
"Puff!"
Li Yao pierced his saber into the bottom of the Iron Anteater.
The demon beast's long nose turned rigid and purple, and it started whining.
Li Yao took out a crystal box which used to be the container of the crystal railgun. He pressed it hard, and the shell of the crystal box was cracked. Then he tied the box to the back of the Iron Anteater.
Spurred by the pain from its bottom, the Iron Anteater fled deep into the forest the moment it was relieved to the ground, leaving a trace of blood and spiritual waves.
Li Yao glanced through trees, branches and bushes and drafted a deadly trap in his brain.
Ten minutes later, the two demon generals appeared from the darkness quietly.
They'd never expected that their prey would suddenly go backwards. However, there was no frustration in their eyes, but excitement, as if they had discovered an interesting toy.
Blood Hand sniffed. "He went to the left. I can sense the scent of blood vaguely, as well as some distant spiritual waves."
Night Owl blinked his dimly yellow eyes and shook his feathers. He remarked,
"That can't be right. This human being, although weak, is very shrewd. He got away from our perception just now, and it doesn't make sense that he exposes himself so easily right now. The scent of blood is superfluous, too. He is in a crystal suit, why on earth would he be bleeding?"
Blood Hand nodded. He squinted and sniffed more carefully. Then he concluded, "It's not human blood."
Night Owl grinned frighteningly.
"That means this human being wanted to give us a wrong impression that he was fleeing into the forest in this direction. But he should be aware that the ruse wouldn't fool us long and we would catch up with him eventually.
"Therefore, it's quite possible that his true purpose is not to run away, but to set up traps on this route and kill us."
The two demon generals looked at each other and sped up to the direction where the Iran Anteater had fled.
Passing by a place where the Thunder Echo Woods were extremely dense, Blood Hand smelled something and twisted his body weirdly to the above of a Thunder Echo Wood. He roared, "This is the place!"
Night Owl screamed and came to a halt. He shook his arms, unleashing almost a hundred grey feathers from his body, which flew into the woods like bullets.
"BOOM!"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The twenty Thunder-Palms deployed in the woods were triggered by the feathers and exploded at the same time. They melted into a giant fire ball and floated to the sky. The ball then was torn into pieces by the electric net over the forest.
At the same time, a scarlet figure dashed out of branches and ran away, only to be caught up with by the two demon generals who had been long prepared for his appearance.
It was exactly Li Yao!
Blood Hand howled horrifyingly. The red fur on his paws stood up like venomous iron needles. With a strong scent of demonic energy, he punched the back of the Bloody Blade Battlesuit hard.
The demonic energy, flowing through the needle-like furs, pierced Li Yao's spiritual shield and left deep traces on the battlesuit.
Night Owl shrieked, too. His dim eyes suddenly turned brighter than ever with a freezing coldness, which directly launched a soul attack penetrating through the crystal suit.
The prey in the Bloody Blade Battlesuit seemed to have been overwhelmed by terror from the soul attack and couldn't defend Blood Hand's attacks. In less than 10 seconds, the crystal suit was already on the verge of falling into pieces.
"Swoosh!"
The prey seemed to be too scared to fight anymore and started running away in desperation, only to leave his back wide open for the two demon generals.
Blood Hand and Night Owl both grinned and sprinted.
However, right before their paws were able to push into the back of the Bloody Blade Battlesuit, the ancient crystal suit accelerated and miraculously dodged the deadly attacks with a perfect small-scale movement.
Blood Hand, Night Owl and Li Yao landed simultaneously.
It was not until they reached the ground that the two demon generals discovered that they had fallen into a swamp.
The swamp had used to be a muddy area and only became a temporary swamp due to the pouring rain. It had the same appearance as the ground nearby. One could never tell that it was a swamp without careful examination.
And as it happened, their prey was outside of the swamp.
Such a small swamp was far from enough to trap two demon generals. The best thing it could do was to delay them for about a second.
But during the one second when they were stuck in the swamp—
"Ahhhhhh!"
Night Owl wailed and jumped out of the swamp up into the sky!
Blood Hand was slower than him. He didn't notice anything wrong until the volcano eruption in the swamp took place. His eyes were blinking in fear, but it was already too late.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
This was Li Yao's real trap. He deployed thirty Thunder-Palms plus five Hellfire-Lightnings in the bottom of the swamp.
The ferocious spiritual energy surged in spasm and swallowed Blood Hand in a dazzling light ball.
The power of crystal bombs could be maximized in a swamp because of the limited space. Sturdy as Blood Hand may be, the bottom half of his body had been shattered and the upper half tossed away by the blast before falling to the ground. There was no indication of vital signs on him anymore.
Night Owl's legs were damaged, too.
But he had detected the danger faster and flown to the sky. Also, legs were not that important to him since he was a bird-type demon. He was ready to tear the sordid Refinement Stage Cultivator into pieces.
"Pa!
"Pa! Pa! Pa! Pa!"
Right then, countless flash bangs with blaze rune arrays on them exploded among the branches around Night Owl, illuminating the place as if it were a bright day.
Night Owl's big yellow eyes turned grey like light bulbs that just cracked.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
The portable Shattered Star Bombarder on the Bloody Blade Battlesuit fired dozens of heat streams instantly.
Night Owl roared. Although he couldn't see anything, he dodged the heat streams flexibly like a ghost and moved higher and higher.
"Wicked human! Don't count on that crystal railgun of yours too much!
"Once my vision is restored, I will tear you apart! I will—"
Before he could finish his word—
"BOOM! CRACK!"
A lightning split the sky and thundered down. The Thunder Echo Woods reverberated and a brilliant electric net was formed.
Unconscious of his whereabouts, Night Owl stopped on a branch of the woods, which happened to be the center of the electric net.
Night Owl was electrocuted.
This was Li Yao's true purpose.
Use flash bangs to blind the demon general temporarily, fire the crystal railgun to disturb his senses of spiritual energy, then lure him to a higher place among the branches.
This way, even if he wasn't killed immediately, he would've been shocked by the electricity, and Li Yao would've seized the opportunity and performed the Thunderous Tornado Saber Art on him to cut him into pieces.
But Li Yao didn't need to act anymore since he'd died from electrocution instantly.
Chapter 254: Strong Desire to Survive |
"Pa da!"
The fried carcass hit the ground and broke into pieces.
Li Yao walked to the dying wolf demon calmly.
The lower half of the wolf demon's body had been already shattered by the explosion in the swamp. He leaned the upper half of his body against a tree, shaking in great pain.
Never did he expect that two demon generals would be killed by a Refinement Stage Cultivator!
"You're dead for sure!
"Young Master Wang Ji won't let you go, wretched monkey!
"Young Master Wang Ji will kill you and all your companions after he tames the mutant lion dragon!"
Knowing that death was drawing near, the wolf demon declared in anguish.
Li Yao said nothing and stood ten meters away from the wolf demon. He fired the Shattered Star Bombarder nonstop, raining shells upon him.
"Shua!"
The fur on Blood Hand's body stood up. Together with a thin shield formed by the remaining half of his battle armor, he was able to hold back the first few attacks.
A moment later, the shield exploded. The cannonballs reached him unstoppably and blew him into the trunk. After dozens of strikes, the wolf demon was no more.
Li Yao found himself too tired to go on any longer. At first, he was on one knees. Then he leaned forward uncontrollably. He felt that his body did not belong to him anymore. There was no strength at all. Hundreds of crystal bombs seemed to have detonated in his brain, making him unable to think.
This battle was truly dangerous.
Although he'd successfully killed the two demon soldiers with a series of traps and power of thunder, he had paid a high price, too.
Attacks from demon generals were not that easy to defend. Demonic energy of the wolf demon's strikes at the beginning had permeated into his body and caused inner injuries.
Had his body not been strengthened by the Thousand Tempering Hundred Refining technique, which made his defense ability much higher than common Refinement Stage Cultivators, his bones and organs would've already been broken into pieces.
The soul attack launched by the bird demon was also a hundred times more dangerous than the soul attack by the large-eyed ape in the Devil Flood Dragon Island.
Had his soul not been cleansed by Ou Yezi, whose remaining strength was protecting his brain, he would've become mentally deficient!
Although he won the battle in the end, he felt awful. An unknown fire seemed to be burning inside his body, making his mouth dry and his head dizzy. Deep down his throat, blood was trying to flood out one wave after another.
"No. I can't stay here for long."
Li Yao activated the healing rune arrays inside the crystal suit. A gentle green light flowed all over his body. Then he felt a prick on his spine, through which a lot of medical liquid was injected into his body.
Like a long-expected rain after a drought, the medical liquid was absorbed by his cells greedily.
Li Yao waited patiently.
As much as he wanted to rush off immediately, he had to wait for the medicines to suppress his injuries so that his combat ability could be partially restored.
Otherwise, there would be no chance that he could walk out of the Thunderous Sound Mountain alive.
Countless strong demon beasts were waiting to rip apart his crystal suit and devour him.
This place had the remaining scent of two demon generals. Common demon beasts wouldn't dare to come close.
Ten minutes later, preliminary treatment was completed.
Li Yao's brain was clearer. He struggled to rise up and checked the status of his crystal suit.
Thankfully, since he had always kept the critical parts of the crystal suit in mind, the wolf demon only managed to destroy the plug-in modules. Key components of the crystal suit were not affected.
However, some ancillary magical equipment had malfunctioned due to the corrosion of demonic energy and the intense impact.
"Young Master Wang Ji? He sounds like a big shot from the demon clan. Leading an infiltration squad to hunt a demon-king level wild beast in the Heaven's Origin Sector, he must be really strong.
"I need to find an instructor as soon as possible. We may be able to intercept this infiltration squad."
Despite the sharp pain, Li Yao didn't dare to stay any longer and rushed to the outside of the forest in the healing mode.
Three hours later…
"Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!"
Li Yao was breathing heavily after running for a long time. He felt his heart was going to burst out through the crystal suit at any time.
Shortly after he stood beside a Thunder Echo Wood and covered himself in camouflage with stealth rune arrays, a bunch of Inferno Fenrirs, whose tails were burning in purple flames, passed by and leaped into darkness with scary howls.
Li Yao knew it was not good.
He had lost the way.
With the compass rune array inside his crystal processor, he could get out of the forest as long as he stuck to south.
However, the direction that the rune array guided was completely wrong, maybe because of the spiritual energy chaos under the extreme weather, or maybe because it had been interfered by the demonic energy in the previous fight.
Thunderous Sound Mountain was not a single mountain. It was the collective name for the hundreds of mountains that were very close to each other in the area.
While Li Yao thought he was coming close to the foot of the mountain, he was, in fact, moving towards the deep inside of the mountain and ended up in another highland.
There was no way to turn back now. Many strong demon beasts in the Thunderous Sound Mountain had got their eyes on him.
Under the pursuit of the demon beasts, he had absolutely no chance to change his direction. After getting rid of seven or eight waves of demon beasts, he was completely lost and arrived at the center of the Thunderous Sound Mountain where barely any human being had ever set foot in.
"These demon beasts have been stimulated by my blood and gone mad. They won't let me go easily!"
After a two minutes rest, Li Yao started running desperately again.
His body was exhausted, but his head was clearer than ever, like a burning torch, although running of fuel, was brighter towards the end.
To avoid being followed by the demon beasts, he even took a risk by moving forward by leaping between the branches of the Thunder Echo Woods. The electric net was literally at his fingertips as he went on.
Right then—
"Ho!"
An earthshaking roar echoed on a peak far away, as if a thunder had brewed on the ground and hit the sky.
Thunder in the sky were eclipsed and went silent for over half a second.
