In the next moment, the Storm Warriors—undead spirits belonging to different masters—roared as they clashed with one another.
The sound of clashing steel echoed across the mountain peak. Xia Yu strolled through the chaos as if taking a leisurely walk, slowly making his way toward Himiko.
The red-eyed Storm Warriors tried to swing their weapons at him, but before they could get close, they were intercepted by the other Storm Warriors.
"What? Don't you have any other tricks up your sleeve?"
Looking at Himiko, who was floating in the air surrounded by ribbon-like blue energy, Xia Yu mocked her.
"Aaaah—!"
"Getting desperate, are we?"
In the next instant, a bolt of silvery-white lightning suddenly struck down from the cloud-covered sky. The lightning branched out like tree limbs, completely enveloping the spot where Xia Yu stood.
Lara's heart clenched at the sight, but Xia Yu, right in the middle of the attack range, simply waved his hand. A faint energy shield protected him, its light flickering slightly as it effortlessly blocked all the lightning.
"That's it?"
Seeing that her attacks couldn't harm Xia Yu at all and that even her Storm Warriors, used for her swarm tactics, had been seized by the enemy, Himiko was on the verge of despair.
She had thought that after absorbing the life energy of the living people before her, she would be able to fight the hidden enemy. But now she realized that the opponent hadn't been serious at all; he had been laughing at her from the start, as if she were a clown entertaining him.
The distance between them closed again. Watching Xia Yu get closer and closer, Himiko's face contorted, though it had already looked no different from a ghost's before.
"Damn you, Hoshi!"
Himiko threw her head back and roared. If her chosen successor, Hoshi, hadn't destroyed her body, how could she have been trapped for over a thousand years?
Her former power had gradually eroded and drained away over time. Now, she couldn't even defeat an ordinary cultivator!
After venting her rage, Himiko suddenly lowered her head, as if she had given up resisting.
Xia Yu didn't react much to this. Regardless, Himiko couldn't escape his grasp unless she chose to self-destruct rather than fall into his hands in humiliation.
Wait, self-destruct?
Seeing Himiko standing motionless, Xia Yu's heart tightened. Was she really going to self-destruct? Wouldn't that mean his trip was for nothing?
No way. When had he, Xia Yu, ever come home empty-handed? If he couldn't catch any fish while fishing, he'd at least drink two gulps of river water before leaving!
Moreover, Himiko was the big fish he had already set his sights on. He absolutely could not leave empty-handed!
Just as Xia Yu was about to step forward and investigate, the silent Himiko made a major move. The blue energy in front of her gathered rapidly and fused into her body, a sight that looked very much like the energy buildup before a self-destruction.
But the next scene proved Xia Yu was overthinking it. How could someone who would rather turn into an evil spirit just to survive choose to self-destruct when facing an unbeatable enemy?
A massive amount of energy gathered within Himiko's long-decayed corpse. The doll-like body began to crack and fall away in pieces, revealing the blue energy within.
When the energy reached a certain density, a woman emerged from the condensed power.
The woman wore a golden sun crown with golden ribbons fluttering behind her head. She was dressed in magnificent robes, her long black hair tied back, and an exquisite sun-symbol pendant hung at her chest.
She held a Sun Scepter. At first glance, she truly looked like a Sun Goddess, but a closer look revealed that it was all just a facade—gold and jade on the outside, but rot on the inside.
The woman's beauty was stunning, her face radiating a deep-seated arrogance as if everyone should bow before her.
"You..."
"Shut up!"
"?"
"I told you to shut up!"
Before Himiko could react, Xia Yu burst forward, closing the distance. While she was still dazed, he suddenly slapped her across the face.
Although she was a soul, Xia Yu had coated his hand with a layer of green mist, allowing him to strike spiritual entities.
"Stop your yapping, or I'll beat you up."
After being suddenly slapped, Himiko's eyes immediately filled with mist, making her look pitiful, like an innocent young girl.
"Still putting on an act? Do you really think I'm some horny creep who's easily swayed by beauty?"
Xia Yu gave a mocking laugh. Dressed so conservatively and still trying to "test the officials"? She was as delusional as she was beautiful!
Seeing that Xia Yu was completely unmoved by her beauty, Himiko knew things were bad. She wanted to speak with him, but seeing his fist wreathed in green mist, she swallowed her words.
He wouldn't communicate, wasn't fooled by looks, and she couldn't beat him—what kind of person was this?!
Then her only choice was... Himiko's eyes darted around as she thought about how to sneak away, but Xia Yu suddenly reached out and pinched her face, turning it toward him.
"Look into my eyes..."
Hearing this, Himiko instinctively closed her eyes. Although she didn't know what he was up to, it definitely wasn't anything good. Closing her eyes was the right move.
"Of course she closed her eyes. Another idiot."
As soon as he finished speaking, a needle-like pain suddenly erupted from deep within Himiko's mind. Invisible mental and soul power combined, tearing through her already weak soul defenses like dry weeds.
Although Himiko's mental strength as an evil spirit had long surpassed that of ordinary people, a thousand years had left her a shadow of her former self. Her desperate resistance only managed to make Xia Yu pause for a moment.
Under Xia Yu's powerful mental force, Himiko's resistance grew weaker and weaker, and she even let out an involuntary wail.
Time ticked by slowly. After about ten seconds, Himiko's defenses collapsed entirely, and she felt in despair as her soul was branded with Xia Yu's unique mark.
Once enslaved, she would no longer be herself.
"Don't look like your mother just died." Seeing Himiko's face full of despair and deathly gray, Xia Yu curled his lip. "Your worries are unnecessary. I'm not that kind of person."
Hearing this, Himiko felt even more despair. She was all too familiar with this rhetoric; she had said similar things during her reign over Yamatai.
"Alright, since you can't resist anyway, why not just enjoy it?"
As he spoke, Xia Yu reached out and patted Himiko's shoulder, giving her the look of a true gentleman.
Seeing that look and hearing his words, Himiko's heart went cold. But he was right—since she couldn't resist... Himiko silently retracted her energy, and her entire being suddenly transformed into a blue orb, shining with an azure glow like a natural gemstone.
"Uh..."
Looking at the blue orb that had suddenly floated into his palm, Xia Yu was stunned. What was this?
After carefully sensing the orb in his hand through his mental link with Himiko, Xia Yu confirmed what it was. This was Himiko's Soul Bead, an item representing the physical manifestation of her soul.
Himiko was quite clever; knowing that her ghostly appearance might easily scare others and that floating around all the time wasn't practical, she had condensed her soul into a portable physical form.
Looking at the blue orb in his hand, Xia Yu frowned in thought for a moment, then suddenly raised the Soul Orb high.
"I've captured Himiko!"