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While Wang Tianming lingered in the Seimei Well as a disembodied soul, the other four had already regenerated, manifesting anew above its depths.
He hadn’t quite caught what they had discussed earlier, his mind a maelstrom of confusion.
The enemy’s exorbitant strength had sent him into a frantic panic, akin to a wild, untamed horse.
****
Four distinct figures emerged from the Seimei Well: the adorably guileless Raccoon Dog, clutching a wine jar; Shiro Mujou, brandishing a soul-summoning banner and adorned with a towering hat; the Blade Oni Princess, resplendent in gold, who dragged a greatsword as tall as her own stature; and Ebisu, who, astride a colossal golden fish, proudly hoisted a carp streamer.
“Clink!” A crisp, glass-like chime resonated through the air.
The formidable shield, woven into existence by Seimei’s Word Spirit: Guard (TL Note: A magical barrier spell), had finally splintered under the assault of the Nine-Tailed Cat.
The Nine-Tailed Cat stretched languidly, a triumphant purr in her voice. “Finally broken, meow.
Now it’s time to bring this to an end, meow!”
“Hahaha! Terror descends!” The usually verbose man, known for his inherent cowardice, had deployed Hyounga equipped with pure HP gear as his second Shikigami.
For his third, he’d once again selected a tank Shikigami, the Raccoon Dog.
Yet, unexpectedly, this time the Raccoon Dog charged directly into the fray the moment it manifested.
The Raccoon Dog, still clutching his wine jar, let out three booming laughs before executing a mighty leap.
He vaulted from the Seimei Well, landing directly beside the Nine-Tailed Cat, and with a single, powerful knock-up, sent her hurtling skyward.
“Hah!” The Raccoon Dog immediately took a deep swig of his wine, then unleashed a fan-shaped torrent of flames directly at the Nine-Tailed Cat.
This devastating combination utilized the Raccoon Dog’s third skill, Century-Old Brew (TL Note: A skill that involves drinking aged wine), in conjunction with his second skill, Fire of Strong Liquor (TL Note: A skill that involves breathing fire after drinking), inflicting magic damage proportionate to a percentage of the enemy’s maximum health.
A closer look revealed that the Raccoon Dog had, surprisingly, foregone purely defensive gear this time.
Instead, he wielded a magic artifact like Yamabuki Flower Ash (TL Note: An item that deals percentage-based damage based on the target’s HP), designed to inflict damage proportionate to the target’s health.
Evidently, this Raccoon Dog was a formidable magic tank, equally adept at weathering blows and dishing out punishment.
It appeared the Raccoon Dog was truly committing to a do-or-die strategy this time, prepared to burn his bridges entirely.
With only one Shikigami left, his demise would spell utter and irreversible defeat.
“Drink, drink!” The Raccoon Dog punctuated his cry with a hearty burp, as a luminous yellow circle flared around his form.
The instant the Nine-Tailed Cat touched down, the Raccoon Dog brought his wine jar crashing against the ground, and with this decisive strike, the Nine-Tailed Cat was instantly stunned by the skill Drunken Slumber on the Battlefield (TL Note: A skill that stuns enemies in an area).
The Raccoon Dog proved truly valiant in this encounter, his performance utterly eclipsing that of his two predecessors.
Yet, the damage output of a magic tank, while respectable, remained somewhat insufficient.
Despite the considerable damage Zhen had inflicted upon the Nine-Tailed Cat earlier, the Raccoon Dog still found himself unable to deliver the fatal strike.
“Soul Guiding Spirit!” At that very moment, a cool, young man’s voice resounded.
It was the white-haired Shiro Mujou, striking in his white robes, who appeared.
Raising his soul-summoning banner, he swept it forward, and a circular magic array, precisely guided by his will, descended to envelop the Nine-Tailed Cat’s feet.
This was Impermanent Life Snatch (TL Note: An ultimate skill that creates a damaging area-of-effect that follows the user), Shiro Mujou’s ultimate technique.
The circular magic array was inextricably linked to his movements, trailing his every step.
Thus, regardless of where the Nine-Tailed Cat attempted to flee, so long as Shiro Mujou pursued, the array would relentlessly persist, its effects continuously manifesting beneath her feet.
“How utterly unwilling, meow…” Shiro Mujou, a formidable damage-dealing mage, proved too much for the critically wounded Nine-Tailed Cat.
She simply could not endure the relentless onslaught of Impermanent Life Snatch, and thus, with a profound sense of reluctance, she finally collapsed.
“Blade Oni Princess, go!” Even as Shiro Mujou delivered the final blow to the Nine-Tailed Cat, he simultaneously issued a command for the Blade Oni Princess to engage Great Tengu.
The Blade Oni Princess, ever obedient, immediately dragged her formidable greatsword and surged towards Great Tengu.
Finding the distance too great for a direct strike, she activated her third skill, Blade Assault (TL Note: A skill that allows a quick dash forward with a sword attack), propelling herself directly into Great Tengu’s path.
“Thwack!” The Blade Oni Princess, whose gear was optimized for pure physical damage, brought her blade down upon Great Tengu.
That singular, devastating strike instantly claimed one-fifth of Great Tengu’s formidable health.
This was a testament to the enemy Shikigami being colossal, super-sized entities; against a regular Great Tengu, that same blow might well have cleaved its health in half.
Great Tengu, recoiling from the searing pain, wisely opted against a direct clash with the Blade Oni Princess.
Instead, she swiftly prepared to retreat.
Yet, in that precise instant, Shiro Mujou materialized like a specter behind the Blade Oni Princess, then unleashed two small imps hurtling towards Great Tengu.
This was Shiro Mujou’s first skill, Soul Guiding Technique (TL Note: A skill that launches imps to extract an enemy’s soul).
Unimpeded by minion waves, the two imps effortlessly found their mark on Great Tengu, subsequently extracting a translucent, ethereal duplicate of her soul.
While attacking this ephemeral soul would proportionally transfer damage to Great Tengu’s physical form, that wasn’t the primary objective.
The soul possessed very little health, and even its destruction would not be enough to fell Great Tengu herself.
The crucial point, however, was that Great Tengu was now actively retreating, attempting to escape.
In that regard, the objective had been successfully accomplished.
As Great Tengu moved beyond the soul’s tethering range, she inadvertently triggered the secondary effect of Soul Guiding Technique: the target was stunned.
‘My apologies, Great Tengu, but even an enhanced version of you is nothing more than five slashes away from oblivion before my Blade Oni Princess!’
The stunned Great Tengu, now utterly helpless, resembled a beauty disrobed before a lecherous gaze, left with no recourse but to yield to the Blade Oni Princess’s arbitrary slaughter.
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, After Running Away, the Sadistic Heroines All Went Crazy is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : After Running Away, the Sadistic Heroines All Went Crazy
