Chapter 70: The Squabble of Shikigami

“I know Ara is incredibly powerful; his vastness is such that a single screen can barely contain him!” the tall man, none other than the legendary Ara, declared, a small orb clutched in his hand and a look of genuine grievance on his face. “But Big Dog is handsome too, you know? With all that wind blowing, it definitely feels more… impactful!”

“What’s the point of dwelling on such things now that it’s come to this? Does your life only consist of a past, with no future to look forward to?” Kaguya, who not only rode in a bamboo treasure carriage but also held a long, rigid object — indeed, the legendary ‘Horai Steel Rebar’ — retorted.

“Thwack!” From beyond the dimensional wall, it seemed a fox’s head had developed a substantial lump.

Indeed, this was the ‘Horai Jade Branch,’ making the identity of the Shikigami wielding it abundantly clear: none other than the illustrious Kaguya.

“Tell me, why do you always pick little girls?” Hyounga, fully armored, pointed an unceremonious finger at Kaguya. “Do you have some kind of special fetish? Are you a pedophile, or do you simply like pretending to be a little girl yourself, making you a cross-dresser?”

“Didn’t your mother ever tell you that you were born with a face just begging for mockery?” Kaguya scoffed, casting a disdainful glance at Hyounga. “No wonder all the Shikigami you choose come with taunt abilities.” Her demeanor, coupled with her appearance, perfectly embodied the haughty air of a high-born young lady, yet simultaneously, she was far cruder than any true noblewoman, daring to say anything without a shred of inhibition.

Well, perhaps that unexpectedly appealed to some people, didn’t it?

“What’s wrong with me taunting? If you’re so capable, then hit me!” To be frank, Hyounga’s face was entirely obscured by his helmet, making it impossible to discern his features; nevertheless, he still possessed a mocking aura, especially when addressing certain individuals.

“You idiot! To say you have a mocking face means you’re asking for a beating! Can’t you even understand that, yet you’re still preening?” Kaguya wore an expression that clearly conveyed, ‘I don’t even want to bother with you; your combat power is far too low, and fighting you would simply lower my status, smh.’ She then raised her ‘Horai Steel Rebar’—ahem, her ‘Horai Jade Branch’—and began attacking the foot soldiers.

In truth, it was best to simply let those two bicker; after all, neither of them had any real damage output, and their minion-clearing speed was practically negligible.

Ara possessed numerous area-of-effect abilities, even more than Great Tengu, delivering sustained damage and high burst potential. His drawback lay in less stable crowd control compared to Great Tengu, but against a horde of foot soldiers incapable of proper positioning, what did unstable crowd control matter?

The mature and queenly Enenra was also a master at clearing minions. With her own Seimei Well directly behind her, eliminating any need to worry about mana regeneration, a cooldown-focused Enenra could effortlessly unleash her full arsenal of greater and lesser spirits. No minion standing before her survived for more than three seconds.

“S-should I copy your item build this time too? What are these items even for?” The player controlling Ara was, admittedly, a complete novice, a gaming rookie who understood nothing. His numerous questions were, everyone hoped, forgivable.

“These items not only increase magic power, which translates to spell damage, but they also reduce cooldowns, making them truly versatile,” Enenra explained with a fair degree of patience to Ara. Observing his utterly bewildered expression, she elaborated further: “Reducing cooldowns means shortening the time you have to wait before using a skill again. For instance, if a skill originally took ten seconds to recharge, with these items, you could use it every eight seconds, or even faster.”

“Oh, oh, I get it now. So that’s how it works.” Ara nodded, still only partially comprehending, before resuming his minion-clearing efforts.

“A poisonous flower, blooming atop fresh blood.” Shortly after the four had revived and cleared a few minions, another Shikigami emerged from the Seimei Well: a white-haired girl clad in light-colored cloth.