Chapter 223: The First One
“Is this the power of a top-tier Psychic?”
The young girl stood in place, staring absent-mindedly at the giant snake and the large Buddha entangled mid-air like ancient beasts, as if their residual shockwaves could tear the ground apart.
According to the intel Kazumi collected, Psychics were a group of practitioners who had gradually faded from modern society solely to protect the so-called Spirit Realm. While the power they wielded might have far surpassed ordinary people, it was still far inferior to that of ability users who were heroes.
But the battle in the distance had completely shattered the young girl’s innocence. Every collision of the mountain-sized bodies erupted with astonishing airwaves, and the ground grazed by energy was directly blasted into deep gullies, filled with scattered architectural debris and broken earth everywhere.
[What kind of true strength do top-tier ability users possess? It seems the strength level I previously conceived was not set high enough….]
The young girl lowered her head, her black cloak fluttering with the airwaves from the distance. If the Psychics she had always regarded as weaklings possessed such immense power, then where did the upper limit of the strength of the true top-tier heroes lie?
“Whoosh—”
Of course, in such an environment, no one would allow the young girl to stand leisurely in place contemplating matters.
A silent silver-white beam shot towards them under the cover of night, its target being the head of the black-robed figure standing in the shadows.
“Clang—”
A crisp collision sound rang out in the shadows. The hard wooden arrow, due to its momentum, shook uncontrollably at its tail. Its sharp tip, however, was embedded in the black coffin that suddenly rose before it.
“So my mission is to deal with these small fry?”
Looking up at Masashi Sakuraba, who was still fighting the giant Buddha, the coldness in the young girl’s eyes did not diminish. Her emotionless gaze fell upon the few people charging at her. She pointed her right hand suddenly, and countless black shadows scattered from beneath her cloak.
“Boom!”
Brilliant blue fireworks suddenly exploded on the ground. The intense heat and light even injured some of the Psychics in the rear.
“What’s going on?!”
The sudden change from behind caused the leading swordsman to stop his charge. He glanced worriedly at the golden Buddha entangled by the giant python in the distance, then turned to look at the few people behind him where the incident had occurred.
“Lord Tachibana, it’s the crows. The crows are blocking the signal flare launch.”
The Divine Officer at the rear, who was releasing green energy to heal his scorched wounds, said to the leading man with some pain in his expression.
“What!”
The swordsman raised his head sharply, only to discover that the heads of a few people were already covered by dense flocks of crows. Their scarlet eyes were like ferocious malignant stars, constantly swirling in mid-air.
“Hayami, Hayami, you two try to clear the flocks of crows and find an opportunity to launch the signal flare! Everyone else, follow me, take him down directly, and then go support Master Ku!!”
Looking at the flocks of crows circling continuously in the distant sky, the swordsman immediately understood the opponent’s intentions.
As long as such a flock was in the air, it would be impossible for them to launch the signal flare that could notify reinforcements from other places.
Moreover, Master Ku was clearly at a disadvantage in the current battle with that enemy. If the distress signal could not be sent out in time, Master Ku, who was already advanced in age, would likely be in mortal danger!
Similarly, if the strong practitioner wielding the poisonous snakes was able to disengage, none of them would be able to escape.
After quickly issuing several orders, the swordsman made a hand seal with his right hand, and ethereal blue energy flowed from his fingertips into his eyes. He activated his spiritual sense and charged towards the black-robed figure controlling the strange coffin.
“Shishishishi—”
Arrows wrapped in white energy shot towards Kazumi like meteors, but they were all blocked by the black coffin controlled by the young girl from afar.
After gaining more proficient control over the Death Aura, Kazumi’s methods of using the black coffin became much richer. With herself as the anchor, she could remotely control the black coffin’s movement faster through the Death Aura, making it very practical for both offense and defense.
The defensive capabilities of the black coffin itself were also exceptional. The arrows with the annoying white energy, upon contact with the black coffin, were instantly purified. The energy on the arrows dissipated, leaving only the original physical kinetic energy to impact the black coffin.
However, for Kazumi, this was merely a small test of her abilities. She dared not use the black coffin as a shield without restraint. Although it seemed quite sturdy now, if it were to be blown up by some powerful attack one day, causing the entire territory to collapse, she would have nowhere to go to cry.
The heavy coffin lid detached directly, and the Death Aura, mixed with the appearance of skeletons and souls, madly vented out. Finally, condensed by the young girl, it transformed into countless sharp arrows and burst towards the few people before her.
“Is this the power of the Underworld?!”
A beam of ethereal blue light flashed, and a black corpse crow diving down was directly cut into two. The swordsman leaped back, dodging the attacking Death Aura, and turned to look worriedly at his teammates who were unable to advance under the barrage of attacks.
“Riko, cover me!”
After a few simple hand gestures, the swordsman, as the captain, quickly laid out a simple combat plan.
The hand seal reappeared in his left hand, and his originally deep blue eyes ignited with blue flames. His movements seemed to have accelerated considerably. He flipped out of cover, attracting all of the opponent’s attention, and charged towards the young girl’s location.
The shrine maiden holding the longbow silently nodded. She then used the arrow blade to cut her finger. Blood beads dripped onto the three arrows in her hand, dyeing the originally brown arrows blood-red. She drew the longbow taut, and three red beams of light shot towards the surging black and green barrage before her.
“Boom! Boom! Boom!”
Huge explosions rang out in the night. Holy energy directly cleared the Death Aura in this area, while the swordsman continued his previous running posture, rapidly approaching the young girl.
As if sensing the opponent’s attempt to get closer, Kazumi first condensed several arrows and attacked the man before her. On the other hand, she linked up with the black coffin beside her and pulled it towards her location, intending to guard against possible close-range attacks.
“Swish!”
A dazzling blue sword light flashed, but it was not aimed at the well-prepared Kazumi, but at an empty space beside her.
Before she could even voice her confusion, the young girl felt that the black coffin she had linked to suddenly lost control, and her manipulation of the Death Aura slowed down considerably.
She hadn’t expected that the swordsman’s ultimate goal wasn’t her at all, but rather the subtly profound connection point between herself and the black coffin that he had aimed for from the beginning.
“Tomomuro!”
The burning blue flames in the man’s eyes slowly dissipated. With his shout, the monk, who had already prepared himself according to the tactical instructions, lunged towards Kazumi’s location, wielding his staff.
His sturdy arms gripped the immensely heavy staff. His exposed muscles contracted as if breathing. Every step he took in his run was in harmony with a certain rhythm, as he continuously accumulated power. Like a rampaging elephant, he charged madly towards Kazumi’s location.
At this time, the young girl seemed startled by the sudden change, standing there stunned with no reaction.
“Roar!”
A sound like a lion’s roar erupted from the monk’s mouth. The accumulated power was released from his legs. He crouched down, wanting to exert force and smash this heavy blow onto the young girl’s head.
[Hooked.]
But in everyone’s surprised eyes, the black-robed young girl’s left hand subtly curled a tiny bit.
The ground the monk was standing on suddenly sprouted four thin and dry arms, which tightly grasped his feet, fixing his momentary exertion of force. The immense power and the chosen attack interval even left him no time to react. He was directly dragged into the soft earth, leaving only a bald head sticking out.
“Not good!!”
The sudden world-turning dizziness made the monk immediately sense that something was wrong. Golden Buddha light erupted from his body, attempting to break free from the restraint beneath his feet.
But the terrifying sinister aura surrounding his body seemed to freeze the energy within him. No matter how hard he chanted the Heart Sutra in his mind, he could not mobilize it. His powerful body became a burden for the first time. He could not break free from the arms that pierced his flesh no matter what.
The black coffin, which had seemed to have lost its energy, was somehow reconnected to the black and green Death Aura, and was pulled back towards Kazumi’s location at an extremely fast speed.
Finally, it fiercely collided with the bald head.
“Bang—”
A sound like an inflated balloon being crushed echoed before the young girl’s eyes. Red blood mixed with white liquid splattered onto her black cloak.
The cloak, originally like a dead object, seemed to have opened some mechanism and began to squirm like a living creature, devouring the liquid on its body bit by bit. It also seemed to have become excited from feeding, as it swayed left and right even though there was no wind around.
Extending her right hand, she gently wiped away the liquid that had accidentally splashed on her cheek. The young girl slowly raised her head. Half of her cheek was revealed beneath the black robe, showing a faint smile of pleasure. Her icy words carried a hint of morbid madness. Her eyes beneath the cloak stared fixedly at the surprised faces before her, and her thin lips spoke faintly.
“The first one.”
