Chapter 472: A Pig of a Teammate

Broken stone slabs and spraying earth crashed back down in a chaotic shower. Immediately afterward, several places on the ground bulged and split open one after another. Muffled booms rolled continuously beneath the surface. A nearby building was shaken apart by the rising and falling earth and collapsed with a thunderous crash.

“Go!” Niu Youdao shouted urgently.

If they did not leave now, when would they? The group immediately flew away at full speed. But the moment they cleared the palace wall, they froze in shock. Butterfly Rakshasas were everywhere before them. An uncountable number of Butterfly Rakshasas had formed an enormous ring around the imperial retreat from far away. Even the number of Blood Rakshasas beating crimson wings was impossible to count. More Butterfly Rakshasas were still arriving from the distance. None approached the imperial retreat itself.

Instead, vast numbers remained roughly a hundred zhang beyond the palace perimeter. Some landed on the ground, others hovered in the air, all seemingly waiting for a summons. The sheer number of Butterfly Rakshasas—and especially the multitude of Blood Rakshasas—made Niu Youdao and the others' scalps go numb.

At first, Niu Youdao had considered having everyone scatter and flee separately. The Holy Rakshasa could not pursue multiple directions at once, so splitting up might allow at least one person to escape. But in the end he abandoned the idea.

The blood Yuan Gang had left on their bodies did not seem capable of influencing Blood Rakshasas very much. Niu Youdao himself aside, scattering would be far too dangerous for Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang. He ultimately decided they should remain grouped around Yuan Gang.

Now, faced with this scene and trapped inside the encirclement of an entire Butterfly Rakshasa army, there was even less reason to think about splitting up. Their only option was to break out together.

“Monkey, can you do it?” Niu Youdao shouted toward Yuan Gang.

“I'll try!”

That was Yuan Gang's only answer. He had no better option. Subduing a single Blood Rakshasa had already been somewhat difficult for him. Faced with this many, there was nothing he could say except that he would try.

Niu Youdao smiled bitterly.

Trying was all they had.

What else could they do?

Yun Ji's surprise attack had already enraged the Holy Rakshasa. Would the creature still believe anything they said? At least with Yuan Gang, they still held some faint hope that his influence over the Butterfly Rakshasas might help. As for Yuan Gang's bodily aura affecting the Holy Rakshasa herself, Niu Youdao had no hope at all.

The same logic applied.

If Yuan Gang found it difficult even to subdue a Blood Rakshasa, saying he could intimidate the Holy Rakshasa was something even Yuan Gang himself probably would not dare imagine.

“Yaa!”

A furious shriek echoed between Heaven and Earth.

Everyone looked back.

The Holy Rakshasa had already emerged from the ground. She hovered above the imperial retreat, beating her wings, silver radiance blazing around her. The sounds of fighting underground had stopped. No one knew whether Yun Ji had successfully escaped calamity or had already lost her life. The moment the Holy Rakshasa's cry rang out, every Butterfly Rakshasa around the perimeter submitted. Their movements became docile and obedient. Seeing this, Niu Youdao's heart tightened. The Holy Rakshasa's influence over the Butterfly Rakshasas was obvious enough that no explanation was needed.

He immediately feared she would order the entire army to attack. Unexpectedly, nothing of the kind happened. As Niu Youdao and the others flew toward them, the Butterfly Rakshasas ignored the group entirely. Every pair of eyes remained fixed with fervent devotion on their radiant queen hovering above the imperial retreat.

“Go!” Niu Youdao shouted again.

He urged his hesitant companions onward. They continued charging toward the encirclement. The group flew straight through the mass of Butterfly Rakshasas. Their passage caused a little disturbance, but the creatures still paid them almost no attention. Nearly all remained obediently facing their queen and did not move without permission. None of them had ever seen so many Butterfly Rakshasas behaving so submissively. From another angle, the spectacle proved the Holy Rakshasa's status within the Butterfly Dream Illusory Realm.

It gave the impression that unless their queen issued an order, none of the Butterfly Rakshasas who had come to pay court would dare act on their own. The group had just broken through the encirclement when they noticed something wrong with the Butterfly Rakshasas flying toward them from ahead.

Their direction had changed.

They looked back.

The entire ring of Butterfly Rakshasas behind them had also turned. The Holy Rakshasa was no longer above the imperial retreat.

Everyone's hearts sank.

They raised their heads.

Sure enough, the Holy Rakshasa was already above them, silver wings beating as she flew alongside the group. She had caught up without the slightest effort. She plainly had no intention of continuing to play with them. Her wings suddenly beat harder.

Silver light flashed.

She appeared ahead of the group, hovering in the air and blocking their path. Everyone immediately veered in another direction.

Silver light flashed again.

The Holy Rakshasa descended from above and once more blocked them. Her clear voice echoed through the air.

“Outsiders. Liars. Trying to run?”

The anger in her tone was unmistakable. Forced by her repeated interceptions, the group finally had no choice but to land.

Niu Youdao stared at the Holy Rakshasa and suddenly shouted, “Hongniang, take those two and go! I'll draw her away!”

He specifically called for Hongniang because her cultivation was sufficient to carry Yuan Gang, who could not fly. Combined with the talismans she carried and Yuan Gang's aura, once they escaped this place there was still some hope of getting away.

“Master Dao!”

“Master Dao!”

“Master Dao!”

All three exclaimed almost at the same time, shaken to the core. Yuan Gang was somewhat better. He knew what kind of man Niu Youdao was. When the time came for self-sacrifice, Niu Youdao had never hesitated. That was one reason Yuan Gang had always been willing to follow him. But Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang were genuinely shocked and moved. Niu Youdao actually intended to sacrifice himself to cover their escape. The ache rising inside them at that moment was impossible to describe.

Sometimes a person's true nature became clearest only when something real happened, especially in the face of danger.

“Go!” Niu Youdao turned and roared at them.

Then he lowered his voice. “This demon king's thoughts are confused. I'll deal with her. With all of you here, I can't maneuver around her. You'll only become burdens.”

“Monkey, take them and go!”

There were some things even he could not be certain of. Yuan Gang's jaw tightened fiercely.

Then he suddenly shouted at Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang, “Go!”

“Leave while her mind is still confused and before she orders the swarm to attack!” Niu Youdao urged again.

“Go!”

Yuan Gang grabbed Yuan Fang and started running first.

“Master Dao...”

Guan Fangyi called out with difficulty. Never before had she spoken those two words with such sincerity. But beneath Niu Youdao's furious glare, she finally turned and chased after Yuan Gang. When she landed beside him, she caught Yuan Gang and carried him into the air. Yuan Fang immediately flew after them.

“Do you know who you are? Do you know what that thing in your hand is?”

When Niu Youdao saw the Holy Rakshasa's gaze shift toward the three people fleeing, he immediately raised his voice and pointed at the Myriad Beasts Spirit Pearl clutched in her claws, drawing her attention back. The Holy Rakshasa seemed to have doubts on that point herself. She slowly lowered her head and looked at the golden pearl in her palm.

Then disaster struck again.

As Guan Fangyi carried Yuan Gang past one of the Butterfly Rakshasas, Yuan Gang suddenly drew his saber and slashed. With a furious roar, he hacked the hovering Butterfly Rakshasa from the air.

“Yaa!”

The creature screamed miserably as it fell. Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang were stunned almost senseless. The Butterfly Rakshasas were already showing them mercy by not causing trouble. And Yuan Gang had deliberately gone looking for trouble himself. Had he grown tired of living? The Holy Rakshasa, whose thoughts had already been drawn away, snapped back to awareness. She whipped her head around. One of her own kind had been injured. That seemed to enrage her all over again.

Her wings beat once.

In an instant, she flew toward Yuan Gang. Niu Youdao spun around and nearly saw red. Before they had even understood the situation, Yun Ji had recklessly attacked the Holy Rakshasa and destroyed any room for negotiation. Now Yuan Gang had done it again. This was no different from personally killing one of the other side's people. What negotiation was left after that?

“Master Dao, you go!” Yuan Gang shouted after striking down the Butterfly Rakshasa.

Only then did Guan Fangyi and Yuan Fang finally understand why he had suddenly attacked. His intention was exactly the same as Niu Youdao's. He wanted to sacrifice himself—and everyone on this side if necessary—to give Niu Youdao a chance to escape. The two did not know whether to cry or feel moved. It left them almost speechless. Niu Youdao did not need Yuan Gang to explain. The moment he saw Yuan Gang attack, he knew exactly what the man intended.

At that moment, Niu Youdao wanted to split Yuan Gang's skull open with a sword and see what was stuffed inside. Even now, this idiot still could not distinguish between acting on emotion and acting with reason. I can't intimidate the Blood Rakshasas. You want me to run?

Run where?

Yuan Gang had very little reason left in him right now. His chest was full of hot blood, and that was precisely why emotion had taken over.

All he knew was that with Master Dao's abilities, if he could create an opening, perhaps Master Dao would find some way to escape.

Clang!

Sword light flashed.

Niu Youdao's sword came free of its sheath. His face was cold and murderous as he flew urgently toward Yuan Gang. In Niu Youdao's own words, he did not like fighting and killing. Whenever a problem could be solved without drawing a weapon, he basically did not draw one. He rarely unsheathed his sword against an enemy and seldom did anything that displayed his edge too openly. But once he drew his sword, unless it saw blood, it almost never returned to the sheath.

The Holy Rakshasa still seemed unaccustomed to commanding the Butterfly Rakshasas. And in her presence, without her direct order, the Butterfly Rakshasas apparently did not dare act on their own. They remained obedient and submissive. Even after Yuan Gang killed one of their companions, the others still did not move to stop him. The Holy Rakshasa herself, however, was already coming to kill them. She personally rushed forward to intercept the group. In truth, even she did not understand why seeing another Butterfly Rakshasa killed made her furious.

Just as Niu Youdao had judged, her thoughts were still in chaos. She did not even clearly know who she herself was. Her anger at seeing one of her kind killed came purely from instinct buried in her bones.

Unfortunately, Yun Ji's recklessness and Yuan Gang's impulsive attack had completely destroyed any possibility Niu Youdao might have had of exploiting that confusion and communicating with the Holy Rakshasa. Niu Youdao was the one who truly wanted to cry. At that moment, only one saying captured how he felt: You don't fear a godlike opponent. You fear a pig of a teammate!

“Move!”

Seeing the Holy Rakshasa racing toward them—and knowing there was no escaping her speed—Guan Fangyi seized Yuan Gang and hurled him aside.

At the same time, she roared at Yuan Fang. A Heavenly Sword Talisman appeared in her hand. Twisting in midair, she swung toward the oncoming Holy Rakshasa and released a burst of radiance. An enormous sword-shadow rose into empty space. It seemed at once illusory and solid, like a blade carved from crystal. The sword-image was more than a zhang wide and over ten zhang long.

Hum!

The air trembled.

With thunderous killing force, the immense sword-shadow shot forward and cleaved directly toward the Holy Rakshasa. The Holy Rakshasa abruptly folded both wings behind herself. Still in midair, she lashed out with one claw. A silver claw-shadow flashed like lightning to meet the magnificent sword aura head-on.

Boom!

The explosion cracked across the sky like sudden thunder.

The sword aura shattered.

The Holy Rakshasa tore straight through it and kept coming. This attack, launched with full preparation, was entirely different from the moment Yun Ji had caught her off guard. Suspended amid rolling waves of force, Guan Fangyi was actually held aloft by the tremendous energy. Both hands moved rapidly, stirring and pointing as she guided the surging power pouring from the talisman. One immense sword aura after another rose and fell. The Heavenly Sword Talisman unleashed all twelve of its sword strikes at the same target.

The Holy Rakshasa.

Yet the strength of the Holy Rakshasa's physical defenses exceeded imagination. No wonder even Yun Ji's full-power surprise attack had failed to injure her. Her offensive power was equally astonishing. Silver claw-shadows from both hands smashed through the sword auras one after another. With overwhelming force, she tore through every strike and came straight on.

[End of Chapter 472]