Chapter 480 - 470: Hemophobia
Outside Three Mountains City, the fields were littered with corpses.
The fortress, built upon a solitary peak, stood towering, with three layers of walls winding around the mountain like giant serpents. Each battlement glimmered with the fragmented glow of protective barriers.
Without an Abyss Beast, a monster capable of smashing Magic Arrays to assist, the Demon Race could only rely on wave upon wave of cannon fodder troops, using their flesh and blood to gradually wear down these defensive barriers, advancing slowly and brutally.
Shi Wu focused intently on observing the battlefield situation. Judging from the outer walls, which were not yet entirely fallen, this assault should have only been underway for a few days.
His gaze swept across the various fronts, trying to find a relatively calmer area to break through the encirclement and return to the city.
Then he glanced at Puki beside him.
For some reason, Puki, who all along the way had been noisily declaring its intention to "slay all," now sat slump on the ground, tentacles drooping, short legs limp, looking dejected and almost curling into a ball.
Shi Wu took out a telepathy stone and pressed it to him, "What’s wrong with you? Are you lacking Magic Power?"
"I... I’m fine, I’m great right now!" Puki said while trying to stand up, but lost balance and fell back to the ground again.
Seeing it like this, Shi Wu felt he had seen a similar scene before... in the recruit camp...
"Could it be your first time experiencing such a scene and you’re not used to it?"
"Nonsense! I love fighting the most!" No. 9’s restless tentacles twisted into a knot, "It’s just... the ground is covered in blood, it’s a bit..."
Shi Wu was speechless as well.
Along the way, No. 9 kept boasting about fighting alongside him, making him secretly wary that this "Mushroom Race" might be a bloodthirsty intelligent demon.
Who would have thought this was its "love" for bloodshed, shouting to fight and kill, but actually fainting at the sight of blood?
Seeing No. 9 Puki languishing, Shi Wu rarely allowed it to climb back onto his head, even tying its tentacles into a knot under his chin, turning it into a peculiar Puki hat.
Fortunately, it was quite light and wouldn’t overly affect Shi Wu’s speed.
Without further delay, Shi Wu prepared to make his breakthrough!
He did not intend to wait for the current attack to conclude, as charging into the city at that time would be too conspicuous and could attract the strong among the Demon Race’s ranks.
Right now, this chaotic battlefield was the best opportunity to fish in troubled waters.
Shi Wu took No. 9 Puki on his head and circled to the west side of the battlefield.
The terrain there was particularly treacherous, and after reconstruction, it was even easier to defend and harder to attack. The Demon Race clearly didn’t want to expend too much force here, so the battle was relatively calm.
He took out a pre-prepared Magic Scroll. With a flash of dim light, his form began to twist and deform, skin covered in scales, back slightly hunched, transforming in an instant into a soldier with a slightly hunched figure carrying a shield, merging into the scattered demon squads.
Amidst them, he crouched low, imitating the Lizardman stride as he slowly moved forward.
However, the Demon Race was no collection of fools, and disguising oneself with a Magic Scroll wasn’t as deft as Edin’s mastery of Illusion Techniques.
Not halfway through his advance, a Demon Race officer riding a giant Rock Lizard seemed to sense something was amiss.
The Demon Race officer called out to Shi Wu, just about to investigate further when...
Shi Wu took the initiative to strike first. Although the demon expected an attack and raised its blade to block, it didn’t anticipate the strength Shi Wu possessed!
The Fine Steel forged Curved Saber broke with a snap, along with the skulls of both the officer and the Rock Lizard beneath him.
After dispatching the enemy in one move, Shi Wu dared not pause. Before the majority of the demons could react, he pushed his Wandering Body Step to its limit, his figure becoming a flickering shadow amidst the chaotic forces.
"Stop him!" After rushing a certain distance, demon officers from multiple directions roared simultaneously. In an instant, arrows rained down, the glow of Magic Power drawing together in the air, with a vast number of Demon Race soldiers charging straight at him.
"Chaotic Martial!"
Countless Wind Pressure Slashes burst forth from him, and under the dual empowerment of Breaking Army and Demon Slayer, the approaching demons couldn’t even scream before being shredded into pieces of flesh.
In the bloody storm, he pushed onward even faster.
However, Shi Wu’s luck wasn’t particularly good.
The commotion behind him caught the attention of Xenophon, who had just destroyed a protective Barrier.
Xenophon, having taken the blame due to the Storm Elemental Lord, had been assigned by the Prince to redeem himself by destroying the Magic Array of Three Mountains City.
This task, while indeed a significant contribution, was likewise the most grueling and taxing, even risking death.
Unfortunately, Xenophon had no room to refuse at this time.
After three consecutive days of attacks, even though his skin was thick, he had sustained a number of wounds, both large and small, and was full of pent-up frustration.
On the battlefield, the moment he spotted Shi Wu from afar, he charged over.
Shi Wu naturally also noticed the dust rising behind him, the imposing momentum of Xenophon’s advance.
In just an instant, Shi Wu realized he probably couldn’t make it to Three Mountains City before the other side caught up.
Although Xenophon couldn’t last a few rounds under the Sword Saint, that was because the Sword Saint was too strong; Shi Wu wasn’t arrogant enough to think he could defeat a Duke.
Should he use the distress signal?
If he used it, the people inside the city would definitely try to help him, but at the same time, it could become a flaw, and if not handled well, it could result in heavy losses.
If it were just himself, Shi Wu probably wouldn’t use the distress signal no matter what.
But at this moment, he was also burdened with his mentor’s life and safety!
There wasn’t much time to think, Shi Wu took out the signal device from his pocket.
At that moment, a large puff of spores of mixed colors shot out from the mushroom cap on top of Puki’s head, and caught off guard, Shi Wu inhaled most of it and was immediately choked, his eyes reddening.
"No. 9, you..."
Before he could voice his reproach, a surge of scorching power suddenly rushed through his limbs and body.
The fatigue in his body receded like tidewater, his steps became lighter than ever, and even the hand holding the sword felt a new force pulsating.
Even more strangely, while his body was in a state of intense excitement, his mind felt as though it had sunk into an icy lake, with his perception of the battlefield situation becoming even clearer and sharper.
"You’ve been strengthened, quick... quick..." No. 9’s thoughts were transmitted intermittently.
The blood splattered all over No. 9, combined with the intense battle disturbances, had the blood-averse Puki feeling dizzy like he was on a rollercoaster, making it difficult to maintain coherent thoughts.
But there was no need for him to say anything; Shi Wu put away the signal device immediately and charged towards Three Mountains City with all his strength.
This sudden acceleration surprised Xenophon slightly, the Pigman Duke shouted, his thick hind legs suddenly kicking the ground, and his massive body leapt into the air, crossing the battlefield in an instant, his Wolf Fang Club whistling towards Shi Wu’s back.
The heavy blow landed just half a step behind, the flying debris striking against Shi Wu’s back armor like raindrops. But this half-step difference allowed Shi Wu to slip into the defensive breach intentionally opened by the garrison.
By the time Xenophon roared and smashed through the Barrier, Shi Wu’s figure had long since disappeared into the layered city fortifications.
...
After a day of attacks, Blood Prince Visarius received a report that Shi Wu had broken through the lines and returned to Three Mountains City.
As a disciple of the Palace Level Sword Saint, Shi Wu obviously wasn’t an unknown nobody to the Demon Race.
In fact, Xenophon recognized Shi Wu as the disciple of the Sword Saint who almost killed him, which is why he chased so hard.
Visarius’s blood noble Ern bowed and reported: "My lord, the Sword Saint’s disciple risking entry into the city now is probably not just for simple defense. I suspect he found some way to detoxify..."
The prince’s eyes showed little fluctuation: "My Blood Poison is not that easy to cure."
As a trusted confidant, Ern naturally knew the origin of this Blood Poison.
Every hundred years, His Highness the Prince would give an Initial Embrace to a "daughter", cultivate them with great effort, and during their centennial birthday feast, consume them in a ritual.
And that special Blood Poison was one of the byproducts of the ritual.
This was a taboo known to few, even among the Blood Race.
If it weren’t for this special Blood Poison, the Sword Saint who wasn’t killed directly would probably have already fully recovered by now, cutting them down while cursing in those two magic words he knew.
But the recent series of unexpected changes forced Ern to gather his courage and speak up: "My lord, pardon my impertinence, but there have been simply too many surprises lately!"
Visarius’s gaze suddenly turned cold, the pressure from the source of the bloodline causing Ern to stiffen in an instant.
After a long pause, until Ern’s hands began to tremble, His Highness unexpectedly withdrew his gaze, patted his shoulder, and praised him: "Well done, speaking your mind deserves my favor. Indeed, there have been too many surprises lately, having one or two more wouldn’t be strange. So, I’ve already made additional arrangements, don’t worry."
Ern’s shoulders finally relaxed. Knowing the prince had set up backup plans, he uttered no more.