Chapter 28: The Mantis Catches the Cicada, While the Yellow Bird Is Behind (Part 1)
Dozens of soldiers stood on the city walls, stretching their necks to watch the performance of Ji Ma. Her wings spread wide, stretching further, with a wingspan of over six meters, she circled above the Sinuous Demon’s army, calling out and showing the light from the steel tip of her weapon. Behind her followed a large group of quick pink fury demons, chasing each other.
Ji Ma sometimes dove, sometimes circled, sometimes dodged, and sometimes opened fire, creating quite a lively scene.
Saint Henry stood here, gazing at her fiery red figure. As she spun around, firing her weapon, he muttered, “She is, although a demon king, so beautiful.”
Kailen knocked on his helmet with the hilt of her sword, making a ringing sound.
Henry questioned, “What are you doing?”
“Just checking if you’ve been enchanted.”
Henry hastily turned his head, “No way!”
Kailen said, “Witch hunters! Witch hunters! There’s someone corrupted here.”
Henry’s face flushed in fear as he reached out to cover Kailen’s mouth; strangely, the agile Kailen was actually covered by Henry’s hand.
A sinister voice emerged: “Where are the ones to be burned?”
The witch hunter Arkanis appeared from nowhere, his scarred face scanning the surroundings with ill intent, as if looking at firewood.
“No one!”
A man and a woman replied in unison.
Arkanis leaned against the city wall, squinting as he asked, “What are you covering her mouth for?”
“Just…,” Henry hurriedly said, “playing around.”
“Playing around?”
Henry regretted it; the wood elf Kailen had nearly made him pay dearly for his status as a foreigner over a month ago.
“Yeah.”
Henry looked at Kailen in surprise, his heart stirred. Could it be that she had some interest in him like others said? Did this exotic race find him intriguing?
Henry changed the subject, “Have you found your caravan yet, Lord Van Helsing?”
“Sure.” Arkanis faced Van Helsing, casually chewing on a twig. “Of course, I found it. It’s well hidden here by the bridge. If you ask me, that bunch of Sinuous Demons are all idiots—so close to their camp, and yet no one noticed my caravan. How lucky! Even the pony was not overlooked.”
What Arkanis didn’t know was that if he wielded a pickaxe and casually dug around the caravan, he could surely unearth a corpse of a Sinuous Demon follower.
If he was lucky, he might dig up two, since over a hundred bodies of the Sinuous Demons had been buried; before they died, they were fortunate to contribute their blood to the revival of some bloodline progenitor.
Kailen asked, “Do you know that demon king?”
When she was still so short, Arkanis pointed with his index finger at the silent butcher engineer nearby, “I’ve seen her.”
“Monkey!” The butcher engineer turned his head, holding a pencil in his hand, drawing a gun on paper; his dwarf face was flushed. “If I chop off your knees, you’ll know who’s tall and who’s short.”
Arkanis replied, “A little taller than him.”
The butcher engineer raised his thick middle finger at Arkanis.
“At that time, she was just a little succubus with limbs as thin as straw.”
Arkanis said, “She ran behind the hero; we worked together for a while. She didn’t look like a newborn succubus at all, quite experienced and shrewd.”
Henry was quite surprised, mainly because these words came from the witch hunter’s mouth. He blurted out, “Could she have some evil plans? Just left to her?”
“She was just at bronze level before.” Arkanis said, “Now she’s reportedly at diamond level, still a major demon? It’s possible; she’s still a demon king. We’re just grateful she’s temporarily on our side thanks to the hero’s ferocity and stamina.”
“And what about later?”
“Who knows?” Arkanis said, “I see the hero can manage her now.”
“How long have you known her?”
“Two or three years, who remembers such a long time?”
“Two or three years?” Henry asked again, “From bronze to diamond in two or three years? Your family?”
Arkanis looked somewhat displeased: “Who the hell remembers that much? Anyway, her leveling speed is just fast.”
Kailen said, “I’ve lived so long and never heard of anyone leveling up that fast. It must be secretly divinely blessed.”
“But she doesn’t have a single divine mark on her.” Arkanis said, “Besides, what do you, a country bumpkin, understand?”
“What country bumpkin?” Kailen said angrily. Since the last time, she thought her home of High Elves—Ossuan, was in the east, while the empire was in the south. Everyone had accepted her rural girl status.
Arkanis mockingly imitated her tone: “Ossuan is in the east, it must be. I’m an elf; how could I not know where those white-feathered high elves reside?”
Kailen drew her sword, pointing it at Arkanis: “Try saying that again! Do you believe I’ll cut your mouth off and bury it under a tree for fertilizer?”
“Country bumpkin.”
Kailen made her words good, slashing at Arkanis with her sword.
Arkanis’s figure transformed into a shadow, the sword passed through the shadow, and in the next moment, the shadow disappeared as if he had never appeared.
“Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Not far away, the sound of gunfire erupted.
The butcher engineer quickly picked up his binoculars, focusing on Ji Ma.
In the automatic rifle in her hands, the corner of her mouth lifted, and her face showed an infatuated smile:
“Eh, the mustache is up, oh, my sweetheart.”
While saying this, she vigorously rubbed her big belly.
Ji Ma’s legs kicked in the air to ballet while firing her red automatic rifle at the enemy and cheering them on: “Kill her! Kill her!
Kill the fakes! Kill the usurpers! Kill the frauds!”
She’s truly annoying!
…
She’s really great.
Ji Ma’s ballet-like figure, gun in hand, appeared in a glass orb.
That was a glimpse of the future.
The ever-changing demon king widened his avian eyes, looking at the glass orb that could glimpse the future, even though it could only present “fragments” of the past. But that was enough.
Of course, that alone did not satiate his desire.
After divination, he knew that this glass orb came from another cunning succubus.
She was actually bestowed with such a divine object, one that ought to be embedded in her eye socket! Only then could its value be maximized, and it wouldn’t be easily lost.
But she didn’t.
What infuriated him even more was that he had overheard the will of the master of cunning change, which actually required him to contribute his troops to assist that succubus named Ji Ma.
The ever-changing demon king couldn’t help but feel jealous. He had only just learned about Ji Ma; such a young succubus had grown so powerful in just a few years, becoming a demon king, occupying a corner of the world stage.
This must be the grand scheme of the master of cunning change.
Regarding the grand scheme of the master of cunning change, the ever-changing demon king had never held much respect—except when there were benefits involved.
A not-so-bold but rather audacious thought emerged in his mind.
Why not intercept the opportunity specially granted to Ji Ma by the master of cunning change and take it for himself?
This ever-changing demon king had little faith in her master; in fact, among the major demons and followers who believed in the master of cunning change, few were there. In such a “smart” circle, faith meant one thing—
You are a fool.
Only fools could not think for themselves, and thus they would foolishly entrust everything to a master.
Without saying a word, the ever-changing demon king personally picked at his avian eye, placing the glass orb into his blood-soaked eye socket, the blood and flesh wrapping around the glass orb amidst a burning pain.
The ever-changing demon king opened his glass orb eye, seeing the future; through the blood-stained glass orb, he saw it. The perfect brave soul was amidst the throng of physically and psychologically twisted Sinuous Demon minions.
This hero left a deep impression on the ever-changing demon king; in the last trap he set, surrounded by soldiers and magic attacks, he had still failed to retain him, merely polishing his armor.
But in the future granted by this glass orb, he saw the hero wounded and exhausted. And that demon king Ji Ma was also seriously injured, but they had won, killing the legendary demon lord known as the “Eternal Dancer.”
When was this?
The ever-changing demon king hurriedly asked.
If he could grasp this opportunity, he could kill demon king Ji Ma and seize the blessing bestowed upon her.
In that fragment of the future, the two looked at him in unison; the ever-changing demon king could sense the surprise and unease behind their eyes.
The segment was so clear that the ever-changing demon king could even see in their pupils the reflection of blue feathers and a beak.
It was him; the glass orb revealed the future to him, showing him that he must grasp the timing.
The glass orb dimmed.
The ever-changing demon king smiled; he extended his avian tongue, planning to lead a crack team to a distant place to claim the gift bestowed by fate.
The troops gathered.
Standing on the floating disk were the doomsday knights, one floating fire god, and a group of fireflies.
The ever-changing demon king, with his claw-like finger, flipped through his magic tome, somewhat absent-minded, in response to the pink demon holding a dagger below.
Why did foolish Ji Ma refuse the blessings bestowed upon her by the master of cunning change? Why didn’t she place the glass orb in her eye?
After thinking it over, the ever-changing demon king reached only one conclusion.
Demon king Ji Ma was afraid; she didn’t look like a smart person, more like a foolish one—her hands filled with violent and bloody weapons were the best evidence.
She worried about being played around.
The ever-changing demon king silently laughed.
Patients usually die quickly. He was not worried that killing Ji Ma would anger the master of cunning change. Such things were very common.
Nothing could outwit the plot; since he could conspire to kill demon king Ji Ma, the blessings of the master of cunning change should rightfully be inherited by someone smarter and craftier.
As his thoughts flowed, the magical winds around flooded like a storm.
The ever-changing demon king sang, he opened his magic tome, a glowing sphere appeared, and with a wave of his hand, he struck the glowing sphere, causing it to expand and explode, revealing a crack.
He and his carefully chosen troops surged into the rift.
At the same time, Ji Ma was still discussing how to save Ivan with George.
The ever-changing demon king believed that in a few days, he would grasp the right moment to appear and take Ji Ma’s blessings.
