Chapter 560 The Situation Reversed
Before they could dodge, the black water cannon struck the Great Demon of Calamity squarely in the back.
Then, just like a water gun hitting a concrete wall, the Great Demon of Calamity, caught off guard by the direct attack, suffered no damage whatsoever. Instead, the black water cannon transformed into countless splashes of water, as if it were merely a prank, spraying the Great Demon of Calamity with a large amount of water.
It was obvious that the water-elemental Xuanwu magic that was raging so fiercely within me had absolutely no effect on countering the Great Demon of Calamity, who was supposed to be the incarnation of the Vermilion Bird's Fire.
This is probably partly because the Great Demon of Calamity did not use the Vermilion Bird's Fire.
To circumvent the elemental counters of the Four Symbols and Five Elements system, I once used "Solar Eclipse" to deal with the Great Demon Xuanwu. The black flames born from "Solar Eclipse" are a product that deviates from the essence of fire, naturally not conforming to the definition of Vermilion Bird Fire, and thus not subject to the counters of the Water-elemental Xuanwu's magic. Unfortunately, I haven't gone very far down this flawed evolutionary path of "Solar Eclipse," so the degree to which I deviate from the definition of Vermilion Bird Fire cannot be said to be very high; overall, it still falls within the range of being countered by the Great Demon Xuanwu.
The Great Demon of Calamity symbolizes the ultimate form of the "Eclipse" path, a far cry from the original Vermilion Bird Fire. The Great Demon Black Tortoise's attempt to counter it with water magic is like trying to use scissors to counter the opponent's paper in a rock-paper-scissors duel, only to have the opponent place their foot on the table. A foot cannot be clenched into a ball or made into a scissor shape, so it seems like paper, but it's still a foot, ultimately falling outside the logic of a duel.
But that alone is not enough to fully explain what is happening.
As if annoyed, the Great Demon of Calamity threw the "Eclipse" he was holding at the Great Demon Xuanwu behind him. The latter, as if acting on instinct, immediately summoned a vast expanse of black water, forming a massive defensive barrier in front of him, like a colossal city wall.
Immediately, a cataclysmic explosion occurred, and the shockwave and billowing dust engulfed the area where I and Huang Quan were.
Although defined as "me in the apocalyptic era," judging from the specific mana fluctuations and skill strength, the normal output power of the Great Demon of Calamity is roughly equivalent to my third form. The aftershocks of its skills are certainly insufficient to truly harm me or Huang Quan.
But the Great Demon Xuanwu that took the hit head-on was a different story.
I can sense that while the Great Demon Genbu has a clear hostility towards the Great Demon of Calamity, the Great Demon of Calamity lacks that kind of affection. This makes sense; the Great Demons are essentially monsters summoned by Naraku's Gospel to kill humans, and for them to fight each other would be purely self-destructive and a waste of energy. The Great Demon Genbu's actions can also be explained as "inheriting the temperament of the Navy Genbu," while the Great Demon of Calamity lacks that extraneous characteristic.
At this moment, the Great Demon Xuanwu's attacks seemed to be nothing more than a nuisance. The Great Demon of Calamity's counterattacks were as if saying "Leave me alone," and did not contain much of a serious will to destroy.
Even so, under that overwhelming blow, the defenses constructed by the Great Demon Xuanwu were completely destroyed, and more than 70% of its own body mass evaporated, leaving it on the verge of serious injury and death.
The Great Demon of Calamity is not just "not subject to attribute counters"; it's clearly the one that is countering the Great Demon Xuanwu!
Its attention turned to me again, and Huang Quan seemed to be ready to cooperate with the other party to attack me at the same time.
However, the Great Demon Xuanwu had not yet ended its offensive.
If it were a normal human or god, being severely injured to this extent, it would take a considerable amount of time to recover; but the Great Demon Xuanwu, being a strange entity, seems to have transcended that kind of logic.
It behaved like a pure aggregate of energy, or perhaps a natural disaster with its own will. After its mangled body fell to the ground, it summoned countless streams of black water out of thin air, which became the material for its body and soul. In the blink of an eye, its body was mostly restored, and without even waiting for complete repair, it roared and pounced on the Great Demon of Calamity once again.
It is said that the Great Demon possesses the property of immortality, but this super-fast regeneration ability should be unique to the Great Demon Xuanwu itself. Perhaps it will not die unless it is subjected to countless acts of destruction in a very short period of time, or unless all the parts that make up its body are destroyed in one go.
The Great Demon of Calamity undoubtedly possesses such abilities. Before, I was praying in my heart that the Great Demon of Calamity would be able to survive a little longer under the onslaught of the Great Demon Xuanwu, but now I have to pray for the Great Demon Xuanwu instead.
While the two monsters were still locked in combat, I continued my offensive against Huang Quan, who was forced to retreat again.
"Was the appearance of the Great Demon of Calamity within your expectations?" he asked with difficulty. "How did you manage to do it?"
“Just like you did,” I said.
Huang Quan's expression changed slightly.
"You haven't actually mastered the technique of controlling the Great Demon; you've only been able to exploit its patterns of action... right?" I said. "Although I don't know how you managed to make the Great Demon ignore you, it's probably related to the communication between your Fukuinin and Naraku Fukuin. As for how to make the Great Demon Genbu act according to your plan, the method is actually quite simple."
"Since the Great Demon Xuanwu has a natural hostility towards fire-type users, then by sacrificing just a few or a dozen people with relevant abilities, we can, to some extent, induce them and change their course of action."
"Anyway, people skilled in using the power of fire are never a scarce resource. Considering your power as a god, you can even temporarily grant someone the power of fire. The recipient doesn't necessarily have to be chosen from your subordinates and followers. You can just grab some survivors from outside and then control them with the power of words."
"You must be worried that Tai Sui might have left some unimaginable legacy for his confidants before he died. So you'd rather spend more effort to lure the Great Demon Xuanwu to destroy Tai Sui's army, and stick to the policy of watching from the sidelines. Even though Tai Sui's army is in such a sorry state, you haven't completely let your guard down. I don't know whether to laugh at your cowardice or praise your caution."
I think a science fiction writer once wrote something like this: weakness and ignorance are not obstacles to survival; arrogance is. A cowardly and suspicious enemy may not inspire admiration, but he is definitely a very troublesome and difficult opponent.
Huang Quan, a veteran god who can rely on others to take action rather than act personally, who can gang up on others rather than fight one-on-one, who is not hurt in the slightest by the enemy's taunts, and who even has the ability to be immortal, is probably the type that gives me the most headaches.
In comparison, Mingzhuo actually seemed to possess a certain amount of integrity. At least Mingzhuo appeared to be planning to personally avenge Xuanming after clearing the Xuanming Fire from his body, something Huangquan probably wouldn't even entertain. I even have a feeling that Huangquan might not hold a grudge even if he encountered such a situation. From this perspective, perhaps it could be said that Mingzhuo hadn't fully grasped the essence of Huangquan's way of dealing with people.
"You even know about Naraku Gospel and Tai Sui..." Huang Quan gave me a deep look. "...It seems Nijigusa has told you quite a bit. So, you should also know about Gospelin's plan, right?"
"Knowing full well that our Gospel House is the true force planning to save humanity and the world, why do you still insist on standing in our way?"
"You're only bringing this up now?" I said. "Regardless of whether I intend to stop you, you never intended to recruit me in the first place. Why is that? You recruited both Mingzhuo and the Wheel-Turning King, but applied different standards only to me?"
Seeing that I deliberately mentioned Mingzhuo's name, Huangquan showed a disdainful expression and said, "Trying to fish out extra information from me? You underestimate me too much."
Unlike his impeccable defenses in this aspect, in just a short while, his room for maneuver was getting smaller and smaller, and I was about to hit him.
I now stand above the Yellow Springs.
"...The one secretly helping you is that divine child that Yama is currently hunting."
Huang Quan clearly knew who was secretly bestowing blessings upon him, but he was too busy running around to attack the small bowl that Number Seven had hidden away.
Moreover, from the moment the Great Demon Xuanwu was suppressed, Number Seven and Little Bowl, who were lurking in the deepest reaches of spacetime, were freed from its consciousness lock. In addition, Huang Quan is no longer able to devote energy to searching for them, and the "encirclement" targeting them has completely disappeared.
Their presence vanished from the battlefield—Number Seven finally escaped this extremely dangerous area with Little Bowl.
I can still pinpoint the location of the small bowl using thermal markers and "fireflies," but Huang Quan cannot do that.
He could only sigh and say, "There's no other way... this is the end of it."
After saying that, he turned around decisively and ran away without thinking.
He even turned his back on the much younger Great Impermanence and fled in panic; he truly had no self-respect whatsoever. However, I wasn't entirely unprepared for this. Seeing this, I didn't hesitate to abandon the two monsters, the Great Demon of Calamity and the Great Demon Xuanwu, who were still locked in a fierce battle, and sped after them towards the Yellow Springs.
"Once you're forced into a one-on-one situation, do you lose all your fighting spirit?" I deliberately attacked him with words.
“Unlike you hot-blooded youngsters, what I despise most in my life is taking risks,” Huang Quan said confidently. “I only fight battles that I can win.”
(End of this chapter)
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