Hello, dear readers! Here's chapter 135 part 2! Hope you'll enjoy it!
What's new: I've been almost completely overwhelmed these last two weeks. So my writing speed has been much slower than I would have liked... Oh well, that's the end of the year holidays for you. But, I still managed to write the last chapter for book 2 (chapter 147). Book 2 was a challenge but I'm glad about how it turned out. I've learned many things and got much better at weaving story than when I was writing book 1. With all that accumulated experience, Book 3 is sure to be even better, with many more interesting events, characters and cultivation parts. In any case, I'll still persevere and we'll see how it will turn out in the end.
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Bright Star City, Bright Star Island, Flowing Stars Archipelago, Earth
Omniscient P.O.V.
Of course, some geniuses like Sergei and Ling, because of their monstrous combat power and Low Tier 4 profession attainment, were also placed in the same category as those Void Seed cultivators, but until they broke through to the Tier 4 Rank, they would only be considered as the lowest among other Kings and Queens.
After all, in the cultivation world, cultivation Level and Rank became more and more important the higher you went, with cross-Rank or even cross-level defeat becoming more and more difficult, if not completely impossible.
It was the same thing for the different professions.
The current situation was a perfect example: Though Sergei and Ling were as strong as an average Low Void Seed cultivator, anyone slightly stronger than that level could crush them easily, let alone a Mid King Grade Sword Fish Demon Beast like the one Lydia Silvenir was currently facing, while they both waited tensely without being able to provide much help to her.
Indeed, while the three other battles were happening elsewhere, that ferocious-looking Sword Fish gazed at the Moon Elf with undisguised desire while saying.
"Little Lady, why not follow me back to the Frost Beast Palace and become one of my mates instead of risking your life here? Fighting me will only result in you being killed and devoured by me. Not that I would mind, but I'm sure the other option would be more enjoyable for you, don't you think?"
As those words reached her ears, Lydia's mind turned more and more sluggish as if that Beast's voice had a strange hypnotic effect.
Fortunately, she had never been a greenhouse flower, having killed more than a hundred King-Grade Demon Beasts during her long life.
Although all of them were Low King-Grade, the opponent's energy fluctuations indicated that it should have only recently reached the Mid King-Grade.
Thus, she had enough confidence to be able to stall the enemy long enough for reinforcement to come to her aid.
As for defeating him?
The probability of that happening was extremely low.
After all, at their level, unless the difference in power was massive, defeating someone was extremely difficult, let alone someone at a higher level.
It was especially the case with those Demon Beasts whose gigantic bodies contained an almost endless amount of vitality.
Having similar combat power and trying to exhaust the beast to death?
Before that happened, the Beast would exhaust you to death first.
Of course, there were exceptions, such as monstrous geniuses whose bodies were as or even more powerful than Beasts of the same level.
However, even though Lydia's Physique was more than decent, she was nowhere near that level.
'Well, if that young man and that Giant Race female redhead were at the same cultivation level as I am, they might be able to crush that fish without too much trouble, right?'
She wondered, while a thought from her prompted a giant Silver Moon to appear in her Soul Space, eroding the wave of barely visible swords affecting her consciousness.
Unlike what his species' name implied, this particular Sword Fish Demon Beast seemed to focus on Soul Spell instead of Physical Sword Spell or Technique, which was why she had been briefly affected by the Beast's attack.
However, she was quick to regain her bearings and react appropriately, using a Yin Soul defensive Spell.
Seeing the mix of surprise and disappointment on the other's Fish face, Lydia replied, her tone as cold as ice, matching her expression.
"I'd rather die than be the mate of a disgusting fish like you."
Pausing for a second, she then shook her head slightly and added.
"Actually, there's no way you can harm the young ones with me here. Why don't you surrender yourself to the Federation's authorities? Although it might not guarantee your survival, the odds would still be much higher than waiting after your... 'Teammates' are killed by the Federation's cultivators."
Would that even be possible?
Even Lydia did not believe her own words.
If that Fish dared to surrender, his fate would definitely be gruesome.
At most, he would be spared from torture, but he would still be executed.
Actually, both sides acted relatively similarly when it came to taking prisoners, with the overwhelming majority being executed and then turned into cultivation resources.
The only exception to that was some occasional occurrences of Demon Beasts enslaving some attractive Humans and Spiritual Beasts through using some sort of Soul Slave Skill.
Following that, those poor souls were used as unwilling sex slaves, enduring the worst abuses until the Beasts grew tired of them and devoured them to fuel his/her demonic cultivation.
Of course, some Humans might be no better than those deviant Demon Beasts, but that did not make the situation more bearable for those victims.
Seeing the female Moon Elf refusing did bring a trace of disappointment to the Sword Fish's Heart, though he was not overly surprised.
After all, who would willingly surrender to a Demon Beast, especially when the difference between their cultivation level was not very large?
'It's such a shame that this mission is so time-sensitive. Otherwise, that little Moon Elf girl would definitely end up in my fins. After all, I did play with a few ordinary Elves before, but Moon Elves? Those are too rare... I wonder what she tastes like... No matter! After killing those few brats behind her, the rewards I'll receive would surely be enough to grow multiple levels. With a stronger cultivation, why worry about finding some beautiful females to play with?'
The Demon Beast Commander pondered, his thoughts as wicked as his appearance, before he decided to stop waiting and flew toward the beautiful woman, its bone-sword-nose stabbing toward her, the extremely sharp sword's size as large as a building, creating a strange dichotomy between her less than two-meter-tall size and the hundreds of meters long and tens of meters large fish-sword rocketing in her direction.
Seeing the Beast's action, Lydia immediately mobilized the Fairy Dust Shop to separate this piece of Void, encompassing herself and the Demon Fish to protect Demian and his group.
Though the shop was merely a Mid Tier 4 Void Storage Artifact, with its main function being to separate pieces of Void like the one she placed the young man and his group inside of, if the Demon Fish wanted to breakthrough and reach Demian's piece of Void, then he would either have to kill her or his strength would have to cross beyond the First Void Layer into the Second Void Layer.
However, if that disgusting fish was that strong, Lydia was certain he would have crushed her already instead of trying to convince her to surrender, though the attempt was clearly half-hearted.
Once that piece of Void was separated, the white-haired female elf let out an inner sigh of relief, her mind now focused on casting her Yin Shield Spell, which materialized a bright silver white sphere emitting a Soul-eroding cold around her body.
A fraction of an instant later, the mountain-sized sword fell on the Yin Sphere, covering it several times over despite its point being the sword's thinnest part.
From the point of impact, a colossal shockwave erupted, powerful enough to shake the entire piece of Void they were in, though it was far from enough to destroy it.
At most, it could be considered having almost reached the Peak of the First Void Layer in terms of strength.
As for Lydia's Yin protection Sphere, some cracks appeared on the surface, but a slight thought and her Void Elemental Energy repaired them almost instantly.
'Alright. If that's all he has, stalling him will be easy.'
The Female Moon Elf concluded with relief after testing the other's strength.
Although that attack was merely a probe, the difference between the Demon Fish's full strength should not differ by much.
At least, the chance of having an Entry Second Void Layer strength was pretty much nonexistent.
Feeling reassured, the beautiful woman then started to mobilize her Mana, casting the Yin Reflection Spell on herself, turning her body ethereal, which boosted her flying speed by several folds.
With her newfound speed, she kept appearing and disappearing around the demon Beast's large head, taking delight in the irritated expression plastered on the other's face.
'Who said I should stay still and take a beating just because I can't match that fish's body strength?'
She exclaimed inwardly, her smile a picture of cold amusement.
Of course, besides her illusion-like movements, she did not forget to pelt the Behemoth with Spells after Spells, from the Yin Eroding Wind Spell, to the Yin Soul Spike Spell, with even a few Yin Soul Bewildering Spells thrown in for good measure.
Truly, Moon Elves may be beautiful, but they were also incredibly deadly with a great affinity for Soul-related Spells.
Thus, the Demon Fish's previous attempt at beguiling her was really laughable, and the only reason that the attempt had any effect at all was simply because of the fish's higher cultivation level.
However, that was it, something that the Demon Beast, for all its innate disdain for anyone else but those stronger than him, knew perfectly well.
After all, despite their rarity, the Moon Elf race and their Soul-Affinity characteristic were relatively well-known.
That was the reason why, after trying his luck with a Soul Spell, which failed miserably, the Demon Fish immediately leveraged his own advantage: His extremely powerful body.
However, the result was less than ideal, bringing frustration to the previously confident Demon Beast.
'Fuck! That bitch is stronger than I thought. It's a good thing that she's merely a minor Outer Elder from that Tier 6 conglomerate, or I'd probably lose my life here.'
Unlike those weaker Forces, the direct disciples from Tier 6 Powers, besides possessing monstrous combat power, also carried extremely powerful trump cards, which allowed them to easily win cross-level challenges, even killing those a major level above them.
That being said, the Moon Elf woman may not be a direct disciple, but both her movement Spell and attack Spells were extremely refined, completely enough to stall him for a long time, though the damage she inflicted on his body, due to his colossal height, was too low and quickly healed by his boundless Vitality.
Only her Soul Spells were effective, slowly adding some slight damage over time.
It was a stalemate, and unlike her, if the situation continued, the chance of successfully completing his mission would grow weaker and weaker, while high-level reinforcements were bound to arrive.
If that happened, failing the mission would be the least of his concerns, and even surviving would become a challenge.
From what he knew, secretly dispatching two Emperor-Grade Demon Beasts for this operation was already the limit for their side, so they could not expect any reinforcement from their side, unlike those from the Federation.
After all, each Tier 5 Being in a Tier 5 Force was a defensive pillar, so any of them moving away from the place they were supposed to protect was a massive risk in itself, one that needed to be carefully measured before being taken.
Fortunately, the Demon Beasts had a slightly higher overall cultivation for those at Tier 5, so as long as the mission was accomplished quickly, everything should be manageable.
That was the thing, though.
He was now stuck fighting against that female Elf with no way to accomplish the mission.
'Damn it! If it goes on like this, there's no way I'll be able to kill those brats! I really wanted to avoid using that Talisman, but she leaves me no choice... Since that's the case, don't blame me for killing you while I'm at it! You should've accepted my offer!'
He decided inwardly before sending a Voice Transmission to Lydia's ears.
["Blame yourself for what I'm about to do!"]
While speaking those words, the Fish's expression was ferocious. Hearing the implied threat, Lydia suddenly felt a sense of foreboding, the latter growing stronger as soon as she saw a Talisman emitting powerful energy fluctuations appearing in front of the ferocious Demon Beast.
Sensing the crushing Aura erupting from the deceptively small Item, a feeling of despair surged in her Heart.
'Why would he have a Peak Tier 4 Talisman?!'
For all her reluctance, she knew that in front of that Talisman, no matter how much she tried to defend, she could only die helplessly.
In hindsight, it was not exactly surprising for the ugly fish to receive a Peak Tier 4 Talisman.
After all, having merely a Low Mid King-Grade cultivation, it would be too easy to be hindered by any unexpected factor.
However, with a Peak Tier 4 Talisman, unless a Peak Void Seed cultivator appeared to defend, anyone else would be obliterated in an instant.
Seeing the Peak Tier 4 Water Typhoon Spell materializing a brief instant after the Demon Fish activated the Talisman, Lydia finally let go of any hope of surviving she previously harbored, leaving only a thought as her eyes slowly closed.
'It seems like I won't be able to avenge you. Mother, Sister... I'm sorry...'
As the Typhoon Spell was closing in on her lonely figure floating motionlessly in the expansive Void, many old memories resurfaced in her mind, bringing both sadness and relief.
Sometimes, death could be a release from the pressure of the Mortal World. With Death, everything disappeared.
Good and Bad, Love and Hate, Frustration and Contentment, Despair and Hope.
Hope...
Both as fragile as glass and as solid as the strongest metal.
When Hope disappeared, Life ended.
At times, however, when Hope had seemingly vanished, it could still reappear in the most unexpected way.
With one's Hope being successively extinguished before being rekindled, don't you think that Life gained a particular flavor?
Beautiful and Wild, only at that moment could one realize how intoxicating living truly was.
["You can rest now, young lady. I'll deal with the rest."]
It was when those few words reached her ears, along with the Spell inexplicably vanishing from her Senses, that Lydia's Hope rekindled, realizing that Life did, in fact, possess a particular flavor.
Unexpected, indeed...