264 Chapter 264: Spiritual Sain (2/2)
”The both of you,” the ninja dude drawled. ”Don't even think of getting away.”
As if to prove his point, the rest of the ninjas dropped down around us, encircling the both of us. The wind dude cocked his head at me, and I reluctantly lowered my bow, dismissing it even. A few of the ninjas were readying their throwing knives, preparing to throw them at me if I so much as twitch.
Whatever.
”The Spiritual Road is now completely controlled by Ji Xuan,” the ninja dude with the sword sneered as he continued to wave his weapon threateningly at Lilith. ”Nobody will save you.”
If he expected me to buy that bullshit, he would sadly be disappointed. I was sure my friends, at the very least, wouldn't follow. Not unless they had already been eliminated, but I trusted them enough to know they wouldn't fall so easily.
But saying all that was meaningless, not when they had us cornered. Or at least it seemed that they had us cornered. However, I knew Lilith well enough – she would have a plan to get her out of this. And she was counting on me as well.
That was the reason why she approached me for help in the first place.
All we needed was to buy a bit of time. Since time was the one thing that summoners needed the most. Besides the mana required to cast the summoning spell and maintain the Soul Beasts' existence, of course.
”You want my blood token or something?” I asked, moving my hand toward my pocket. ”If I give you my blood token, you'll let Lilith go?”
”Don't be absurd. What can so many of us do with your one blood token?” the guy evidently had no idea that I actually had eleven blood tokens on me. Still not enough to share amongst themselves, but I wasn't going to tell him that. ”No. Ji Xuan has already ordered that you, Richard Huang, must die here today.”
”Huh?” my jaw dropped. ”Why?”
”Who knows? Ji Xuan probably sees you as a threat…a romantic rival for Lilith, I suppose? If he wants Lilith for himself, of course he'll want to eliminate you.”
Then they ignored me. A few of them were approaching Lilith with lecherous expressions.
”Hey, brothers. What do you say about us having some fun with her?”
”Good idea. Everyone, let's enjoy ourselves before we hand her over to Ji Xuan.”
”It'll be a waste to not take advantage of such a beauty.”
”Seriously?” I snorted and somehow managed to draw their attention back to me, focusing on the guy who told me of Ji Xuan's order. ”That's not the reason. I'll tell you the real reason.” I began jabbing my finger at each and every one of them. ”It's simply because you're all one-dimensional villains from a third-rate cultivation novel who exists solely to justify the protagonist murdering them. You're deliberately created to be as flat and despicable as possible because you're just forgettable two-bit characters who will never appear again in the story. So your minds are filled with nothing but murder and rape so that I can justify myself in killing you guys.”
”…huh?”
They all gaped at me.
”Who the fuck are you calling one-dimensional villains?!”
”Who the hell is forgettable?!”
”What do you mean by our minds are filled with nothing but murder and rape!?”
”Are you seriously asking me that question?” I buried my face in my palm. ”Or are you lacking in self-awareness? You're trying to murder me for no reason other than because some idiot who deludes himself into thinking he's a bigshot asked you to, and you're trying to rape a girl here, and you still don't understand that is villainous behavior? And ever since you guys showed up in the story, have you actually done anything significant that isn't attempted murder or attempted rape? And you claim that your minds aren't filled with nothing but murder and rape? That has to be the greatest bullshit I've ever heard in my life.”
”SHUT UP!”
”Oh, I've touched a nerve, eh?”
”WE TOLD YOU TO SHUT UP!”
All at once, the ninjas threw their knives, kunai, shuriken and daggers at me. I rolled my eyes and completed a single spell. A chibi Black Tortoise appeared over my shoulder, even as I drew Gan Jiang. Azure mana rippled through the length of my blade, and I stabbed it to the ground to erect an ice fortress that surrounded me.
The ninja weapons all struck the frost barrier and bounced off harmlessly.
”You…! If you don't surrender, we'll kill your girl!”
”She's not my girl, and you don't have the ability to kill her anyway.”
”Huh?” the sword ninja snarled, and then he thrust his sword forward at Lilith's neck, but by now she had suppressed the electricity that had been paralyzing her body and picked up her crimson sword to deflect it to the side. Looking up, she smiled.
”You guys have given me too much time.”
”?!”
A fiery meteor descended upon the battlefield, and an explosion rocked the clearing while gouging out a crater from the earth. A dozen ninjas were scorched by the sudden arrival of Lilith's Hellfire Bear, a few of the immolated ninjas screaming as they rolled around on the ground desperately to put out the flames. The rest of the ninjas spread out immediately as they faced the ferocious Hellfire Bear, while a few of the blackened ones managed to pick themselves up.
”The Hellfire Bear…!”
”She summoned it!”
”Don't worry!” the guy with the sword shouted. ”It's just one Soul Beast! If we work together, we will surely be able to overcome it!”
”Oh? Then what happens if you have to face two Soul Beasts?” I asked, an amused smirk on my face.
As if on cue, Vermillion Phoenix erupted from the heavens and descended, bathing the entire clearing in superheated flames.