The long blade angled downward. Chu Lian lifted her head and looked coldly at the undead surrounding her without attacking. She understood clearly that they were wearing down her stamina, waiting for the moment she revealed a flaw so they could strike all at once.
Even zombies would develop intelligence once they reached Spirit-tier, let alone these undead creatures who relied not on burned-out brains but on their souls to think. Tactics such as exploiting an enemy's weakness or surrounding without attacking were far too simple for them.
In the air, Yukari Yakumo held a parasol. One hand rested beneath her chin as she crossed her legs, carefully observing every movement of the girl below, inwardly clicking her tongue in wonder.
"I originally thought she was merely a lucky girl who obtained the qualifications of a Spacetime Traveling Merchant. I didn't expect her to be someone both favored by the world's fate and burdened with a sinful curse."
"Oh, right. I remember now. Before meeting her in Origin Land, I think I peeped at her through gaps a few times. Well, since she didn't speak ill of me, I didn't pay much attention. I never thought we would meet again in another world."
"Let me think... back then, aside from a few peculiar traits—and her flat chest—she was nothing like she is now."
"In terms of strength alone, she was merely at the level of an ordinary human girl in Gensokyo. Now she's quite impressive. At the very least, she's no weaker than some of the lesser great youkai."
"I don't know the reason, but such growth speed is truly astonishing. I really want to capture her and study her properly."
"I suppose she wouldn't mind. After all, she dared to sell my doujinshi—right in front of me, no less. Isn't that courting death? Little girl, just who gave you the courage to act so boldly?"
"That scene just now wasn't bad. Daring to act and daring to take responsibility—far stronger than those soft, timid girls. Even facing so many enemies, even knowing she might die here, she still refused to change her attitude."
"She knew I was watching. She knew that even that little skeleton couldn't save her, so she simply sent them away."
"But I didn't expect that girl who clearly acted like a subordinate would have such a relationship with her. 'When I return, I'll hold the grandest wedding and marry you.' Even I can't bear how sweet that is."
"And honestly, am I really that bad? To think of me as some dark villain. I'm a maiden—a maiden. I still possess the modesty and kindness a maiden should have. How could I possibly do something like that?"
"But I'm broad-minded. Since your actions pleased me, I won't fuss over it. I really want to see how you overcome this calamity. With so many monsters here, even a true great youkai would struggle—let alone you, who haven't reached that level yet."
"If you truly win, I'll consider letting you go. After all, someone this interesting—if I break you all at once, that wouldn't be any fun. It's better to take things slowly."
"Yawn... when I go back later, I should visit Yuyuko and tell her about this so-called End Legion. Gensokyo has been quiet for far too long. It's about time those lazy ones started moving. I just hope the other side is strong enough."
"I don't have much hope. One of the so-called generals of the End Legion was crushed after I didn't even use thirty percent of my strength. So boring. Even Reimu could have dealt with them easily. What power do they really have? It's doubtful."
"Still, after a thousand years of Gensokyo, it's always incidents and more incidents. Perhaps an external invasion would make them more alert. As youkai, how can they eat and sleep all day? Sleeping nine-tenths of the year is truly disgraceful."
"Hmm? I wonder if Yuyuko would eat the souls of these little ones. I kind of want to bring her here. With so many souls, it should at least fill her up a little, right? Hmm... or should I wait? I'm afraid she'll devour everything. That would be troublesome."
"Little girl, do your best. Thanks to the trouble you stirred up, I've found myself a rather amusing toy."
After yawning, she refocused her gaze on Chu Lian below.
The girl beneath her was already doing her utmost to slaughter the undead, yet their numerical advantage made it impossible for her to eliminate them quickly.
It wasn't as if she hadn't tried using Teleport to retreat far away and fire arrows from a distance. But these undead, cunning even in death, would instantly sink into the Shadow Plane the moment they sensed an attack they couldn't withstand, denying Chu Lian any chance to finish them off in one strike.
The liches hidden within the black mist did the same—either concealing themselves or directly using flash magic to avoid her attacks, rendering her shots meaningless.
Up until now, she had only managed to eliminate a handful of enemies. It could be said that in the same span of time, this was the least she had ever achieved in battle. Combined, these enemies might not even rival a half-step Heaven-tier giant dragon.
But their numbers were overwhelming, and they were exceedingly crafty. Agile movements and layered skills left Chu Lian flustered and on the verge of madness.
"Haa... haa... haa..."
She panted heavily. Although her magic power recovered quickly, the depletion of her stamina was unavoidable. Chu Lian knew that if she continued entangled with them like this, the final outcome would be her defeat and death.
Of course, she could choose to continuously use Teleport and flee. But she understood that as long as the mark given to her by the source of the aberration remained, the result would be the same no matter where she went. She might as well stay here.
"Hey, you seventeen-year-old girl watching the show up there—are you really going to let them bully me like this? If you want me dead, then do it yourself. I'd rather die by your hand than by theirs."
Using her long blade for support, Chu Lian looked up at the languid Yukari Yakumo and called out.
"Little girl, I won't help you. The disaster you brought upon yourself must be resolved by you. That's what you said earlier, wasn't it? Don't tell me you've forgotten already?"
Yukari yawned again, refusing to intervene.
"That was just playing the hero. You know how it is—in that kind of situation, you have to act as brave as possible to win a beauty's heart. But now it's just the two of us, and we're not even close. No need to keep up appearances."
As she blocked with her blade, Chu Lian's tone grew freer and more reckless.
Even if she couldn't survive this calamity, so what? Right now, she only wanted to savor the battle properly—even if it was her last.
"Such a contradictory little thing..."
Shaking her head, Yukari raised her hand—then slowly lowered it again. It wasn't time yet. She wanted to see just how long this girl could endure.
"This is ridiculous..."
The long blade slipped from Chu Lian's grasp. She sensed her body. The remaining stamina would not last much longer. Since she could no longer rely on physical strength to swing her blade—then she would rely on magic power instead.
The Devourer's Soul Orb appeared in her hand. The nine snow-white tails she had concealed extended once more from the slit of her qipao, and a pair of white fox ears stood perked atop her head. She was entering her fox spirit state.
"That is? The same fox clan as Ran? No... something's off. She's a Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox? That's a higher lineage than Ran's—though both are fox spirits. My, I never expected her true form to be this."
Of all present, the most astonished was Yukari Yakumo.
Her shikigami (pet), Ran Yakumo, was a nine-tailed fox spirit as well. Strictly speaking, she belonged to a fox lineage one tier below the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox, on par with other branches such as the nine-tailed demon fox. But since they were all of the fox clan, they naturally shared similar traits—most notably an exceptional sensitivity to energy.
Using this form to fight... it must be because her body no longer has the strength to wield weapons for long.
However, with her current level of power, instantly killing these monsters in a single strike would likely be difficult.
And indeed, just as Yukari had guessed, none of the fox spirit state's individual skills exceeded a thousand in maximum single-target damage. To kill an enemy, she had to combine her attacks with Bewitching Sorcery, which had a thirty-second cooldown, to eliminate one at a time. Otherwise, before she could execute a proper combo, they would slip away. In the end, both sides would simply waste magic power without achieving anything.
Yet right now, this was all Chu Lian could rely on.
With this, she still had a chance. With anything else, she did not.
Using the Seraph-Type IS Armor would be suicidal. The source of the aberration would immediately judge her strength as Earth-tier and dispatch a swarm of Earth-tier powerhouses. At that point, escape would be impossible.
As for the Seven Illusions Bow, its fatal flaw was the lack of target-locking ability. A slight dodge from the enemy rendered it useless. The rest? Better not. With Yukari Yakumo—whose allegiance remained uncertain—present, those methods were merely last resorts.
After half an hour of entangling combat, weaving through the undead legion using her spirit-like movements and occasional spatial shifts, Chu Lian had only managed to kill a little over fifty undead using Bewitching Sorcery once every thirty seconds. Meanwhile, she had nearly exhausted all her stamina and could only stand in place, gasping for breath.
"Looks like I can't avoid using my final trump card..."
It was only a little past eleven at night. Waiting until the next day for the Mystic Eyes of Death Perception to refresh its five uses was likely impossible. If she did not use the remaining two now, she might never find a more suitable moment.
"Looks like I have no choice but to step in."
The Folding Fan of Silence rose to cover the lower half of Yukari Yakumo's face as her gaze sharpened. Genuinely intrigued by Chu Lian, she had no desire to see the girl die just yet and was preparing to intervene.
But just as both of them resolved to reveal their final methods, a wondrous dragon's roar suddenly echoed behind Chu Lian. The sound was somewhat soft, yet it carried supreme majesty.
Space rippled like water. A massive dragon head emerged out of thin air beside her. Its body was composed of azure spiritual power, yet covered in a layer of black-red scales.
Chu Lian recognized them at once. They were the scales of that Earth-tier peak giant dragon. She had thought they were gone, yet they had been drawn to Nina instead.
She could sense that deep within the dragon's form, a small figure was curled up.
"Nina..."
At her soft call, the dragon immediately transmitted a surge of emotion akin to excitement.
Then it opened its mouth. A sphere of black energy condensed within. Chu Lian was intimately familiar with that power—it was the giant dragon's ultimate ability, destructive particles capable of annihilating everything.
Time and space solidified. The undead, the corrupted monsters, even the bone dragons circling in the distant sky—all were frozen in place.
The dragon manifested by Nina transformed the black energy sphere into a beam and unleashed it.
The energy ray effortlessly destroyed everything before it. For five full seconds, the destructive particles swept forward, shaving away a thick layer of earth from the graveyard as if it had simply vanished from this world.
All the undead in the air were erased. The skeletal remains of the bone dragons crashed to the ground. Of the liches, only the staffs in their hands remained. Seven or eight tenths of the other undead perished. Even the location that had been continuously transmitting reinforcements was reduced to a deep crater. Clearly, that had been Nina's primary target.
Chu Lian stared blankly at the scene before her, momentarily speechless. She turned toward Nina. The dragon gently dipped its head, then withdrew back into space. From beginning to end, not a single word was spoken.
Yukari Yakumo was also stunned.
What is going on? This completely defies expectations.
Little girl... you truly are mysterious beyond measure.
Slowly descending to her side, Yukari Yakumo looked at her, lifted the girl's chin, and asked,
"I suddenly find myself extremely curious about you, little girl..."