The first to notice it was Luo Qingqing, who was standing in a room on the inn’s top floor.
“We’re in trouble.”
“Is that… a fiend?” Luo You’er, leaning against the window frame, said in bewilderment. “Didn’t people say that there won’t be any fiends in the Night of Great Desolation?”
“Yes, according to the book.” Luo Qingqing frowned. “But what exactly is the situation in the Mountain Tilting Formation, I’m afraid only the upper management of the Privy Council will know.”
Compared to the succubi, the fiend had a bigger size and was more destructive. Even the light wouldn’t affect it as much. Among the various evil spirits, the fiend wasn’t the most unpredictable and dangerous to deal with, but it was one that the candidates didn’t want to come against. Their bigger size meant that the walls weren’t going to be as effective. And if they created a shadow behind them, the succubi would take the advantage to advance very quickly. In that case, their defense could be easily overwhelmed.
“I told you not to listen to that guy!” Luo Fengqing immediately complained when he came back into the room. “If we had placed our defense in the well tunnel from the beginning, you wouldn’t have had to worry about whether a fiend would appear at all! What are you going to do now? It might not be too late to go to the well tunnel now!”
“Fengqing, there are so many succubi out there…” Luo You’er reminded him. “And all the entrances to the well tunnel have been sealed.”
“I told them to leave one open. Of course, the Fang Family doesn’t know this.” Luo Fengqing looked at her. “I know you’re very talented and have hardly ever encountered any difficulties on the cultivation path. I agree I’m not as outstanding. But, after all, I’m a few years older than you, and I know more about how wicked people can be. If the defense fails at any spot, your backup plan won’t work at all! All the other candidates won’t retreat orderly to the center. They will just scream and run away! They will kill anyone who stands in their way. To them, you will become eviler than the evil spirits!”
“So, you left an entrance open without notifying me?”
“If I told you, would you have agreed?” Luo Fengqing said, “There’s nothing else I can do! The last time you listened to me was years ago! Qingqing, you’re not the only one trying to think for our family.”
Luo You’er interrupted again, “But everyone joined different groups, how are we going to call them back? We can’t just run away alone, right?”
“I have made preparations,” Luo Fengqing said confidently as if everything was under control. “I have already informed some of them to watch for the signal. Green flames on top of the inn, and they will bring along the other members of our family and evacuate!”
“Is this what you were working on before?” Luo Qingqing asked, slightly surprised. She thought he was just angry with her and refused to meet her for the past few days.
“It’s never wrong to have more plans. I can guarantee, in only seven minutes all our members will be gathered and we can head to the well tunnel!”
He informed only most of them, not all of them.
Luo Qingqing closed her eyes. Of course, he didn’t inform her close friends like Luo Tang and Luo Changtian who had absolute faith in her. Or they would have told her about his plan long ago.
“As for the succubi outside, you don’t have to worry too much. Without us, the defense will immediately collapse.” Luo Fengqing paused before continuing, “The other candidates are all useless, so they will just end up scattering all around, running for their own lives. They will be the decoy, attract the attention of the succubi, and we will take the chance to head towards the well tunnel.”
Everyone in the room looked at Luo Qingqing.
Wicked people and useless candidates… But the person that wants to escape most desperately… Isn’t that you, Fengqing?
Luo Qingqing opened her eyes, but she didn’t look at Fengqing anymore. She directly instructed Luo You’er. “Watch your brother Fengqing closely. Don’t let him near the torch with copper powder or anything…”
Luo Fengqing’s expression changed instantly.
“Then, what about you?” Luo You’er asked in surprise.
“I’ll go support Fei Nian. It’s indeed hard to stop a fiend, but it’s not without a chance.” Luo Qingqing said word by word, “Judging from its size alone, it’s not to the point where it needs a top-grade mystic to defeat it.”
“But I can’t win if Fengqing wants to fight me…” Luo You’er was on the brink of crying.
“Then just stand there and ask him to hit you.” Luo Qingqing drew her wooden sword and walked toward the door without looking back. “I really want to see if he’s cold-hearted enough to leave everyone behind and leave Qing Shan Town alone!”
…
“That thing is coming toward the western wall, should we… temporarily retreat?”
Zhang Yan, who had just been showing off a moment ago, was already hiding behind the walls.
In fact, it was not only him. Since the appearance of this unusual monster, everyone was frightened. Clearly, no one was confident that they could take out this one as easily as a succubus.
This is probably what Li calls a fiend, Xia Fan thought. According to the Privy Council’s classification, there was no essential difference between a fiend and a succubus. It was only larger. But Xia Fan felt that this evil spirit approaching them was much more than just bigger.
Its core was a thick cloud of black smog, mixed with all sorts of debris. But it was darker. If the succubus was a shell enclosing the dark smog, then the fiend was shrouded by smog.
Even creepier was its appearance.
At first glance, it looked like a mutated spider. It had six limbs, but at the tip of each limb was a human-like hand. It was crawling over, but one could not tell where its head was. The most bizarre thing was the six succubi tied to its flat abdomen, each hanging by its neck. As the fiend moved, the succubi just dangled around. It was like a moving gallows.
Despite being illuminated by torchlight, it didn’t become as sluggish as the succubi. It still slowly and steadily advanced toward the fortress. In less than a few minutes, it had closed in on the western wall.
“Don’t panic!” Fei Nian returned to the western wall. He cast Flying Flower Flame head-on at the fiend which was as tall as the wall. The blinding stream of flame blasted on the back of the fiend, exploding into many smaller streams that flowed along its back. It was like painting a flower.
Under his leadership, several members of the Fei Family also launched their attacks. Instantly, a huge surge of flames and explosions ensued. Under such a blow, the fiend not only stopped advancing but also backed off a few steps.
“It’s just a big-size succubus. Dealing with it is no different from dealing with a succubus. As long as you don’t let the fiend get close, it won’t be able to hurt you!”
Seeing that the situation was as Fei Nian had said, a few bold candidates also picked up herbs and talismans and began to cast their spells at the enemy two or three meters away.
At this moment, the fiend suddenly stood up on four limbs and lunged straight toward the walls!
These walls were just made of brick houses joined together. They weren’t proper stone walls. Under the impact, part of the wall collapsed!
The planks laid on top of the wall were the first to break, followed by the horizontal wooden beams. These beams were only meant to hold up the roof. They were never meant to withstand a monster crushing into them. Then, bricks started falling off piece by piece. With a huge boom, the first line of defense had been breached.
And the candidates at the site of the collapse weren’t doing well. Before, they were dealing with the stiff and sluggish succubi, so they were totally not used to reacting to a fast movement. At least two groups fell off the wall, and one guy might have been seriously injured by a falling brick hitting his head.
Fei Nian dodged the blow, but there wasn’t much space for them to maneuver on the top of the wall. He couldn’t reach the intact area in time and began falling down. He quickly grabbed on to a beam that was snapped in half and protruded out from below the ceiling.
So, there he was, dangling in midair and vulnerable.
The fiend let out an ear-splitting whistle and raised its front palm…
Just in the nick of time, a blue figure scurried in between…
Luo Qingqing arrived in time!
With a bright flash of silver light, she brandished her sword toward the fiend’s approaching palm.
And with a slash, the fiend’s palm was instantly cut off.
The fiend’s severed limb spewed out a cloud of black mist. It screamed miserably and pushed itself away from the wall, allowing Fei Nian to free himself and return to the ground.
“So powerful…”
“Is this the strength of the most outstanding prodigy of You State?”
Many gasped in amazement when they saw her swift and clean movements. But she wasn’t relieved at all. She quickly turned around and shouted at those on the wall worriedly, “Quick! Light more torches and don’t let the succubi come close!!!”
But it was too late.
Xia Fan noticed that as the western wall collapsed, two torches had been destroyed, and the ground below was suddenly darker. Around the fiend, the shadows were clearly darker. Although the surrounding torches could still shine at the area, the succubi within were moving much faster than before.
In just under ten seconds, the succubi previously lingering under the wall zoomed through the shadow and appeared at the top of the walls. Xia Fan didn’t even see how they climbed up the walls!
“Heaven Technique… ah…!”
“Get out of there!”
“Where’s the backup group?”
“HELP!!”
It was a mess…
The candidates who had previously mocked the succubi now became the succubi’s prey. Their clumsy spellcasting skills were too slow. The succubi’s attacks were simple and effective; they only had to get close to the candidates and the black mist would entangle their targets. Layer after layer and the poor guy would be engulfed. Once swallowing the candidate, the succubi would be rooted at the spot and began expanding. It was like a pitch-black cocoon.
“Forget about spells! Inject your Qi into your wooden sword and keep your eyes on the target before striking!” Luo Qingqing slashed a pouncing succubus while shouting.
She was in a very dangerous situation. The site of collapse was the darkest place. Dealing with the succubi was already a handful, but at the same time, she also had to watch out for the fiend that had begun crawling back into the opening.
“Why isn’t the replacement group coming up…” Luo Tang couldn’t help but turn to see what was going on and then immediately froze in place.
Xia Fan followed her gaze and his heart sank.
On the west side of the square, the backup teams were nowhere to be seen. The moment the wall collapsed with a bang, the candidates stationed there had already fled.