Mantis's sudden attack completely caught Ikenouchi Maki off guard. In her eyes, Mantis was just an innocent, pitiful commoner who had run away from the village. This claw struck her solidly, creating a burst of sparks and blood.
Wait, sparks?
Looking at the flying Ikenouchi Maki, Mantis scratched her hand. She felt that the sensation of that strike was not quite right; there was no feeling of flesh and blood, but rather as if she had clawed a metal plate.
She felt that something was amiss and was about to go for a finishing blow when she saw Ikenouchi Maki had already stood up, so she had to give up.
Ikenouchi Maki, feeling the burning pain in her back, sharply inhaled a cold breath and stood up, wincing. This power, if she hadn't cautiously worn the golden silk soft armor given by her master, she probably would have lost her fighting ability by now.
Fang Wuwei had given Ikenouchi Maki a lot of things before he left, as this place was truly too dangerous. The so-called golden silk soft armor was actually just a chainmail, but with special materials. He had no use for it since he had Susanoo, so he gave this item to Ikenouchi Maki. He just didn't expect it to be used so soon.
Ikenouchi Maki grimaced as she stood up, slowly turning her head to look at the 'innocent, pitiful commoner,' Mantis. This claw made her very angry, but also very puzzled.
"...Why?"
"Why what? Of course, I want your bracelet!"
Seeing that her sneak attack had failed, Mantis didn't get discouraged. She squatted down and put the hand that had just scratched Ikenouchi Maki to her mouth, licking the remaining blood. So delicious...
"No... what I'm asking is..."
Ikenouchi Maki had vaguely guessed who this person was. This person had no ninja headband, so she couldn't be a ninja. Her master had also said that their mission to cross the Other World was to slay 'Other World enemies' to protect the safety and existence of this world. She hadn't understood it before, but now, she had finally seen the so-called Other World enemies with her own eyes, and then thought of the fox demon causing trouble inside...
"Why are you destroying Konoha Village?"
Looking at the girl who seemed full of anger, Mantis suddenly smiled. Mantis's smile was not particularly beautiful, nor was it ugly, but in Ikenouchi Maki's eyes, that smile was so evil and nauseating.
"You are truly naive... Why are you even asking such a question?"
Mantis straightened up, looking at the already enraged Ikenouchi Maki with a mocking gaze.
"Of course, for profit! Those lives, those lowly inferior species, those humble, low-level inferior species who don't know of the Main God's existence and have never stepped out of this vast universe in their entire lives, are only fit to become points on our panels! To become the power that accompanies us! They are nothing but a group of meat pigs... And so are you!"
Ikenouchi Maki was angrier than ever before, and her body began to tremble with rage.
"And... don't you think so? The screams of those meat pigs, how beautiful, how wonderful..."
Mantis spread her arms, morbidly joyful under the moonlight, as if describing the most beautiful thing in her life.
"I... I love seeing them struggle so much..."
Ikenouchi Maki looked at the disgusting scene before her, silently pulling out the Fu Chen Blade from her spatial bracelet. She gripped it tightly with hands trembling from anger. As Maki breathed steadily, a Ripple appeared on the blade, generating a surge of energy.
She was so angry she couldn't speak; she only wanted to defeat her now.
The screams and wails from Konoha Village echoed in her ears. Ikenouchi Maki assumed her starting stance, stomped her foot heavily, and charged towards Mantis, raising a whirlwind. The Ripple transmitted throughout her body, strengthening it. She swung a horizontal slash at Mantis, who naturally back-hopped and landed a short distance away.
Ikenouchi Maki didn't stop, quickly rushing forward to deliver another slash. Mantis reached out to block, but easily caught the blade, gripping it firmly.
Seeing this, Mantis became even more arrogant, the mockery on her face intensifying. Such a weak creature, such an inferior species, should indeed be trampled under her feet like mud.
Before she could crush the blade in her hand, Ikenouchi Maki's expression hardened, and she injected a changed Ripple into the blade.
Silver Ripple Dash!
Ripple energy that can be transmitted through metal, and this arrogant enemy before her was the perfect target.
The Ripple traveled along the blade and into Mantis's hand. A sharp pain in her hand made Mantis reflexively let go and step back two paces, but the Ripple didn't disappear there. Ikenouchi Maki had injected a large amount of Ripple, which had already penetrated Mantis's body through her palm. Although it couldn't travel very far, it was continuously damaging her muscle tissue.
Feeling the pain coming from inside her arm, Mantis's face suddenly filled with extreme rage.
Clearly! Clearly, it was just a meat pig! A lowly inferior species! How dare... How dare?!
Mantis's emotions were somewhat out of control. Her mental state was unstable, and in fact, it was precisely because of this that she was assigned as a scout by her captain, often not participating directly in combat. Such a somewhat mentally unstable individual, once things don't go her way, can easily harm both others and herself.
Ikenouchi Maki, having escaped Mantis's tight grip, immediately took a large step back to create distance, crouching slightly to stabilize her stance, and held her blade defensively towards Mantis. She was calmer now than before, but her desire to defeat Mantis had not disappeared.
Ikenouchi Maki, silently breathing in place, maintaining a steady breathing rate, transmitted the gradually recovering Ripple throughout her body, beginning to restore her stamina and the claw wound on her back. Her body gradually returned to its peak, and her injuries were slowly healing.
The already somewhat insane Mantis had no intention of giving Ikenouchi Maki this opportunity. Although she didn't know what she was doing, this inferior being had actually injured her, so she deserved to die.
"You bastard!!"
Mantis, ignoring the Ripple tearing at the muscles of her arm, roared and charged madly towards Ikenouchi Maki. She had already lost some of her sanity; all thoughts of missions and the Main God Space were now thrown to the back of her mind. All she wanted to do now was disembowel and brutally torture this person, making her regret why she had offended her in extreme pain.
That's how lunatics are.
Looking at the madly charging Mantis, even Ikenouchi Maki couldn't help but swallow. As the saying goes, the strong fear the aggressive, the aggressive fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the suicidal. Now, Ikenouchi Maki was the reckless one, and this person before her was suicidal. This madness... My god, she was completely insane.
Mantis, at full power, suddenly let out a high-pitched roar. The sharp sound pierced Ikenouchi Maki's ears, making her mind suddenly go blank. Her vision instantly went dark, and when it returned to normal, Mantis was already in front of her face, clawing at her.
She was coming to disfigure her. Ikenouchi Maki understood, but she couldn't dodge this claw. Mantis's speed was faster than hers.
A pain on her face. Even though Ikenouchi Maki quickly retreated, she couldn't avoid the strike. Her face was directly hit, and one side of her face was already torn open. Fortunately, no organs like her eyes were hit. But at this moment, Ikenouchi Maki felt more pain in her heart than on her face; she cared deeply about her cute and beautiful little face. Although she had her master's Stone Wing, she was still furious.
So, as soon as she stabilized herself, Ikenouchi Maki swung her blade in a pre-emptive strike, hitting Mantis directly in front of her as she rapidly charged, adding another wound and also obstructing her.
The Ripple began to move across her face, gradually healing the continuously bleeding side of her face. Although it would ultimately require the Stone Wing to fully recover, stopping the bleeding was more than enough.