The bodies of the three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions were covered with black battle-armor, and thus they were able to hold on for an even longer period of time than Bebe.
“Linley, we can’t hold. Retreat, hurry!”
The three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions were also forced back by large amounts of blade chops from the Abyssal Blade Demons, and they fled into the tunnel, their bodies also matted with blood. With each member of the rearguard having retreated into the tunnel, their defensive perimeter was naturally shrinking.
With the Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions gone, Linley immediately retreated into the tunnel entrance as well.
“Kill him!” countless Abyssal Blade Demons howled, raising their sharp long blades and chopping towards Linley.
“Not good.” At the same time, more than ten Abyssal Blade Demons were chopping towards Linley from every which way. Above, below, in front, on each side… more than ten Abyssal Blade Demons in total, with each blade possessing lightning-fast speed. Too fast!
Linley’s Bloodviolet sword and adamantine heavy sword were only able to kill two of the Abyssal Blade Demons, while the other ten or so blades landed on Linley’s body simultaneously!
“Bang!” The Pulseguard Defense, which was already at the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World – 64 Fused Waves’ immediately collapsed.
“Not good.” Just the momentum force from those ten blows had sent Linley flying backwards, while at the same time shattering the draconic scales on Linley’s body, sending blood everywhere. The green light of the Pearl of Life was constantly flashing, however, and Linley’s body replenished at an astonishing rate.
“Can’t hold any longer. The others should have been able to flee a good distance by now.”
Linley scurried into a tunnel as well.
“Grrrrrrrrrr!” The many Abyssal Blade Demons roared as they charged towards the tunnel as well. At the same time, a large number of Abyssal Blade Demons clustered outside the valley also charged towards the tunnel.
“Pursue them!” countless Abyssal Blade Demons roared with anger.
Linley turned to glance, and saw the bloodthirsty, wild look in the eyes of those Abyssal Blade Demons.
“Rumble…” Instantly, earth elemental energy wildly began to gather, and a large number of giant stones formed behind Linley, instantly sealing off the tunnel in its entirety. As Linley continued to fly, countless boulders continued to appear out of nowhere behind him.
Earth-style instacast spell of the eighth rank – Rubble Rain.
“Although the Blackscale Scorpion’s tunneling speed is the fastest out of all of us, this world is a world of metal, and even the ground is made of metal. His tunneling speed is definitely inferior to his flying speed. All we can do right now is to try and hang on.”
Linley continued flying while sealing off the tunnel behind him.
“Swish!” From behind, a large number of Abyssal Blade Demons were still flying forward.
These Abyssal Blade Demons didn’t pay any attention to the boulders Linley was using to stop up the tunnel, just using their heads to ram straight through them. The sharp blades atop their forehead instantly split the boulders apart, and they continued to pursue at high speed.
However, although they were able to easily destroy the boulders, their speed was still affected.
Linley hurried towards the experts up ahead. After all, in terms of flying speed, they were moving much faster than the Blackscale Scorpion. Desri, Fain, and the others were flying shoulder to shoulder, while the Blackscale Scorpion was ahead of them, tunneling through.
“What should we do?” Linley asked frantically.
At this time, there was a large number of Abyssal Blade Demons in hot pursuit.
“In terms of speed, underground, we’re traveling more quickly than the Abyssal Blade Demons, so we should be able to shake them off. After shaking them off, let’s go look for the divine spark,” Desri said. This was the decision that the various experts had agreed on.
Even now, they didn’t want to give up.
When they had drawn near that Deity’s corpse just now, they had used their spiritual energy to search it. That Deity’s corpse had been split open by the head long ago, and the divine spark had been taken. The corpse was nothing more than a tool used to attract their attention!
While Linley’s group continued to make their way underground at high speed, in the air above them, countless Abyssal Blade Demons were densely clustered, with three blood-red Abyssal Blade Demons leading them.
“It’s about time. Children, ten every ten kilometers. Head out now,” the leading blood-red Abyssal Blade Demon said loudly.
Flying at high speed, the Abyssal Blade Demons formed into squads of ten, and one squad of Abyssal Blade Demons after another dove directly underground, easily driving through the metallic floor and beginning to tunnel underground. A squad was inserted every ten kilometers, and of course, in the air coming down, they flew far faster than Linley’s squad tunneled.
“They want to flee from underground?” The physically small leader, that blood-red Abyssal Blade Demon, laughed coldly.
“Hrmph. We have over a million citizens. Within ten thousand square kilometers, we will set up a heaven-encompassing web. How can they possibly flee?” another blood-red Abyssal Blade Demon said.
The third Abyssal Blade Demon laughed loudly. “I’ve arranged a tribe of over ten thousand Abyssal Blade Demons to guard the entrance back to the tenth floor. No matter where they run, they will die!”
If Linley’s group knew that this eleventh floor had over a million Abyssal Blade Demons, they probably would have given up long ago
But they didn’t know!
In the valley, there were actually only a hundred Abyssal Blade Demons who had managed to fight with Linley, the three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions, Fain, Bebe, and Olivier. The others hadn’t been able to squeeze in, due to space limitations.
But despite that, Linley’s group had been forced into a sorry state.
The eleven experts tunneled at high speed as the scorpion’s tail of the Blackscale Scorpion continued to spin at high speed, easily opening the path for them. The speed at which he did this… was far faster than the speed at which those Abyssal Blade Demons behind them were splitting aside those stone boulders.
“It seems we should be able to throw the Abyssal Blade Demons off after all.” Fain grew slightly calmer.
“Not good.” Linley suddenly raised his head. Not just Linley; Desri, Fain, and the others raised their head as well.
In but an instant…
“Rumble…” The metal above them collapsed, and nearly ten Abyssal Blade Demons charged out towards them. These Abyssal Blade Demons discovered Linley’s group, and immediately let out excited, high-pitched roars. “Roaaaaaaaaaar!”
The sound of that roar caused the metallic ground to rumble, spreading through the area. The sound waves travelled much faster through the metal than through the air.
Underground, a large number of Abyssal Blade Demons were searching at high speed.
“There.” A large number of Abyssal Blade Demons simultaneously flew towards the location where the sound came from, and some even predicted where Linley’s group would head next, heading there to block them.
“Clang!” The adamantine heavy sword struck against the body of an Abyssal Blade Demon, shaking it into tiny pieces, but Linley felt pain in his waist, as he had been chopped by a blade. With a furious roar, Linley swung his sword with a backhanded blow. Although the draconic scales on his body were destroyed time and time again, each time they instantly healed.
Bellowing, Linley forced the charging Abyssal Blade Demons to retreat, one after another.
Right now, Linley’s group of experts was suffering the constant attacks of a large number of Abyssal Blade Demons who were assaulting them from every direction. Linley was the only one blocking from his side, but despite that, all of the experts in Linley’s group were in a sorry state.
“Bang.” Fain an
d Olivier were smashed against a nearby stone.
“Back to the tenth floor!” Desri said in agony.
Fain, Rosarie, Tulily, the three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions and even Linley were stunned. The goal they had for five thousand years, were they to give it up now? But more and more Abyssal Blade Demons were pouring in, and they were almost unable to hold on.
After all, the battle was attracting more and more Abyssal Blade Demons to head in this direction.
And worst of all, aside from Linley and Fain who could instantly heal, the others had to rely on Desri’s healing spells, but healing spells, in this sort of high-speed battle, were simply too slow.
With a vicious backhand blow, Fain killed another Abyssal Blade Demon, and then roared in pain, “Back!”
“Back,” Tulily growled as well.
Nobody was willing. Their hearts were unwilling!
But more and more Abyssal Blade Demons were coming. They truly weren’t able to hold on any longer. If it wasn’t for Linley, who was able to take on a third of the Abyssal Blade Demons by himself, they probably would have been doomed long ago. Despite that… right now, they were like a tiny little ship in the howling sea.
They could capsize at any moment!
They had no choice!
“Back to the tenth floor.” The Blackscale Scorpion immediately began to change the direction in which he tunneled.
“Quick, don’t waste time. If we delay, there will be even more Abyssal Blade Demons. I can’t take much more.” Linley only felt as though countless blades were flashing in front of him. Growling, Linley stabbed out with Bloodviolet while swinging with his adamantine heavy sword, but despite that, he was still knocked flying by the chopping blows, with blood once more matting his entire body, and even his white bones showing through.
Green light swirled around him, and Linley’s body quickly recovered.
“You won’t be able to flee,” a cold voice rang out as a blood-red Abyssal Blade Demon suddenly dove into the tunnels.
“Not good.” As soon as Linley saw this blood-red Abyssal Blade Demon, he knew that the situation had just gone from bad to worse.
“The first one to die will be you.” Wielding that blood-red long blade in his two hands, the red Abyssal Blade Demon stared coldly at Linley. The other Abyssal Blade Demons all respectively parted for him, instead wildly attacking Fain, Tulily, and the three Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions.
33
Life and Death
From time to time, Desri would use his spiritual energy to attack.
This battle was simply too intense!
“Slash…”
Space itself seemed to be sliced through, as the blood-red long blade transformed into a bloody saber-flash, piercing through the space between the red Abyssal Blade Demon and Linley, arriving in front of Linley in an instant.
With the adamantine heavy sword in one hand, and Bloodviolet in the other, the Dragonblood Warrior, Linley, let out an angry snort, and the adamantine heavy sword in his hand struck out gracefully, seemingly slow but actually fast, clanging against that blood-red long blade. ‘Clang’. Linley felt as though a mountain had smashed against him.
“Slash!” He couldn’t suppress the blood that bubbled up, and blood burst forth from his lips.
Even the draconic scales on the right hand wielding the adamantine heavy sword had been shattered from the vibration, but moments later, Linley’s injury healed at an astonishing rate. Linley himself didn’t pay attention to a minor wound like this.
“Hrm?” Linley was staring at the blood-red Abyssal Blade Demon, waiting to see what the result would be.
The attack he had used just now was the one he had used to kill the Flame Tyrant, the most powerful blow of the Profound Truths of the Earth.
The body of the red Abyssal Blade Demon quivered like a steel wire, and with that quiver, a hint of golden blood appeared at the corner of its mouth.
“You really are powerful.” The red Abyssal Blade Demon stared coldly at Linley.
Linley was secretly shocked. “No wonder he is the leader of the Abyssal Blade Demons. His body is far more powerful than the bodies of those ordinary Abyssal Blade Demons. Despite taking my full strength blow, his body wasn’t shattered to pieces. The bodies of metal creatures are indeed far tougher than the bodies of humans.”
“Growl…” The red Abyssal Blade Demon’s eyes were filled with flames, and it tightened its two-handed grip on its blood-red long blade.
Within the tunnel, both suddenly flew towards the other at high speed.
“No matter what, I have to kill him this time.” Linley had made up his mind.
The wind suddenly emitted an ear-piercing, desolate howl. Linley and the red Abyssal Blade Demon once more clashed, and this time, Linley used Bloodviolet as his primary attack. In the blink of an eye, ten million devilish violet sword flashes appeared, arcing through the air like the countless tendrils of the Queen Mother.
Space itself suddenly froze, and the red Abyssal Blade Demon also felt that its own flying speed had just dropped dramatically.
“Hrmph.” A hint of bloodlust appeared in Linley’s eyes.
He immediately activated the baleful aura within Bloodviolet with his now extremely pure spiritual energy. This was the first time Linley had utilized the baleful aura of Bloodviolet after reaching the Grand Magus Saint level, and this time, the baleful aura was fiercer and more explosive than ever before! A blood red air, almost physical in substance, suddenly attacked the red Abyssal Blade Demon.
“Ah!”
The red Abyssal Blade Demon suddenly had the feeling as though he were facing one of the most powerful fiends of the distant Abyss, and the terror that he felt sprang from his very soul, causing his originally mighty blade blow to hesitate slightly.
“Wait, not right.” Unfortunately, the baleful aura was just a remnant of its owner that had been left in Bloodviolet. Bloodviolet’s original owner didn’t himself appear. The red Abyssal Blade Demon quickly recovered, but by the time he did, he saw a pair of bloodthirsty eyes and a single flash of violet sword light.
“Die!”
Those ten million sword flashes had already combined into a single violet sword flash. The Abyssal Blade Demon, earlier affected by the baleful aura, had raised his blade to block, but the sword flash had already arrived before his eyes.
“Slash!”
The sword light flashed through the neck of the red Abyssal Blade Demon, and as it did… a metallic head was sent flying away, its eyes filled with awe and disbelief. And then, the lifeless corpse of the red Abyssal Blade Demon fell to the ground.
No matter how powerful the Abyssal Blade Demon was, it wasn’t a Deity, and it didn’t possess a Pearl of Life. With its head gone, it died within seconds.
The attacks of the surrounding Abyssal Blade Demons suddenly came to a halt.
All of the Abyssal Blade Demons stared in disbelief at the scene. Fain, Desri, Olivier, and the others, who had been in dire straits from the sudden attack of the Abyssal Blade Demons, also felt astonished. They, too, had discovered… that Linley had killed that red Abyssal Blade Demon.
“Quick, flee,” Linley’s voice rang out in the minds of everyone.
Fain, Desri, and the others immediately recovered and hurriedly fled through the tunnels.
Up in the air above, countless Abyssal Blade Demons flew about, while in the middle of that horde was two small, skinny red Abyssal Blade Demons. The two leaders had already received the news from their subordinates.
“Schuler actually died,” the red Abyssal Blade Demon on the left said in disbelief.
“It was the Draconian.” A cold light flashed through the eyes of the red Abyssal Blade Demon on the right. “Earlier in the valley, that Draconian already made a big impression on me. His body should have a Pearl of Life in it. He was heavily injured by our children several times, but in an instant, he recovered.”
“The main problem is that they are underground. That makes things troublesome
.” The left Abyssal Blade Demon shook his head.
“Underground, there is no line of sight at all, and the spiritual energy of our children can only stretch for a few meters. In a fierce battle such as this, that sort of radius is useless,” the right Abyssal Blade Demon said. “In addition, there’s only so much space in the tunnels. At mostly, only ten or so of our children can engage in battle against them at once.”
Although an enormous number of Abyssal Blade Demons had also gone underground, their line of sight was obstructed, and in addition, Linley’s side was moving at high speed. There were only so many Abyssal Blade Demons that could attack them at once.
“Let the children of one tribe entangle them, while we constantly keep an eye on their movements,” the right Abyssal Blade Demon said coldly. “Whether it is to find a divine spark or to return to the tenth floor, they have to eventually leave the underground area. As soon as they do…”
The eyes of the left Abyssal Blade Demon also flashed with a cold look.
“Quick, quick.” Linley’s group of experts were frantic.
In the tunnels, every so often, a nearby wall would suddenly be pierced through, with a large amount of Abyssal Blade Demons pouring through afterwards.
“Fortunately we are underground. If we were above ground…”
If countless Abyssal Blade Demons charged at them together from all directions… Linley shuddered, just thinking about that terrifying scene. At the entrance to the valley, the combined attacks of just around ten Abyssal Blade Demons had knocked Linley flying with their chops. If he hadn’t had a Pearl of Life, Linley probably would’ve died long ago.
Although Linley’s spiritual energy could only encompass a very small area here, upon reaching the Saint level, their mental imaging abilities were extremely powerful. For example, Linley was able to mentally replay the ‘Profound Truths of the Earth’ and further refine it. In the minds of Linley’s group of experts, the location of the exit to the tenth floor was clearly marked, and they also knew exactly where they are and what direction they were flying in so quickly.
Gods of Yulan: Book 4 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 26
