1625 Distress and Vengeance

Finally, Xia Fan turned his gaze toward Light. The scrawny youngster was startled, but soon dropped his head low, not daring to look Nikai and Xia Fan in the eyes.

“Who was it that told you to lure us to that Demi-dragon lair?”

Xia Fan’s voice was not loud, but it exerted immense pressure on Light. He was experiencing a serious mental struggle before he ultimately answered dejectedly, “It was Mousse.”

Mousse?!

!!
Xia Fan and Nikai were stunned. Never in their wildest dreams would they have expected that Mousse would be the one who wanted them dead!

Mousse was the guardian of the Shimmers, and the most powerful and influential individual in the entire race, aside from the Principal!

“Did he tell you why you were doing this?” Xia Fan continued to ask.

Light nodded, “Mousse said that the Shimmer’s kindness had been taken advantage of, and that the Demon Slayer Legion never intended to come and save us, all the while we are bitterly waiting in the darkness, risking our very lives to scout for them.”

“Mousse said that he has already found a reliable collaborator that would bring us away from the darkness, to where we will see real light, but this collaborator of his requested two things.”

Xia Fan furrowed his brow, “Was one of it the lives of me and Nikai?”

“Yes.”

“Then what’s the other?”

“Our god. He wants to capture our god.”

Xia Fan was speechless. The foolish smile of Icy Rain appeared in his mind. He was a very kind and innocent Elemental!

Xia Fan chuckled bitterly, “So that is why we had no idea why the majority of warriors from so many of the tribes we scouted were missing… They must have gone to lay siege to Holy Spring City, right?”

Light suddenly lifted his head with a serious look on his face, “I really have no idea where the tribal warriors have gone. Could they really have gone to besiege our city? Many people will be killed at that rate, and they promised that we would be brought away from this place, not get killed.”

“You… You fool!” Nikai was livid. As a lady, she was not used to cursing others. It took her a very long time before she could come up with a term to mock someone.

“You’re too naive. The entire Shimmer race is too naive! To think Mousse would be so brainless, to randomly trust a promise made with someone, believing they would keep their word,” Nikai bemoaned the idiocy of the decision.

Xia Fan sighed, “It isn’t just any random person. If I’m not mistaken, Stanley is this collaborator they are talking about. Scarlet Blaze Demon King Stanley!

“After the Demon Palace collapsed, Stanley did not return to the second level, but came to the buffer zone via a secret passageway. Furthermore, he started conspiring to capture the Water Elementals.

“I’ve not seen Icy Wind, but we are well acquainted with Icy Rain, and he is definitely not your usual Water Elemental.

“Icy Rain is a mutant Water Elemental, an amazing evolved lifeform. His size, and his energy reserves, if detonated, could very well cause the entire buffer zone to collapse. That is why Icy Rain is of terrifying strategic significance to the Thirteen Demon Kings!

“Furthermore, Icy Rain is a simple soul, and could very easily be manipulated. If such a powerful Water Elemental were to fall into the hands of the Demons, the consequences would simply be unimaginable!”

Turning to Le Jiajia, Xia Fan said, “Perhaps that is the reason why Lejiajia was controlled to make her way to the buffer zone. The mysterious individual going up against the Thirteen Demon Kings discovered that we had no means of stopping the Scarlet Blaze Demon King Stanley with just our strength alone, which was why they sent us reinforcements!”

Nikai was silent. There was no proof needed to see just how powerful Icy Rain was. He was a mystical sapient lifeform, and it was fortunate that he had low intellect and was not aggressive, otherwise there might not be anyone in this world that could stop the rise of that mutant Water Elemental.

After all, even the most basic Water Elemental was at the standard of a human peak level war god. No one had any clue what rank Icy Rain was at. Perhaps he could have even surpassed the limits of known ranks!

Xia Fan got up, stretching his arms and legs.

*Smack*

Unexpectedly, Xia Fan abruptly slapped Light hard, applying so much force that his right cheek swelled and saw stars, leaving him in a complete daze. He looked at Xia Fan, confused.

Nikai and Lejiajia were at a loss over what to do. Neither understood why Xia Fan would just suddenly lash out like he did; both of them had thought Xia Fan was someone kind and cheery, thinking that Xia Fan had already forgiven the poor young boy, but what was with this situation now?

Could Xia Fan be ruthless enough to still want Light dead?

Xia Fan smiled, then pointed at himself, “My clan’s conviction is to always repay enmity with a vengeance. Whoever dares take a stab at us would be met with the total eradication of their clan!

“I am not killing you today, but I’m not about to let you think you can get away with no consequences after doing a bad thing. This slap is the price you paid for tricking me.

“From today onward, remember this well: there’s a price to everything!”

Light was initially shocked, but soon, tears rolled down the corners of his eyes. It might have been the most important lesson he had been given in his life.

Nikai and Lejiajia’s eyes lit up as the image of Xia Fan appeared even taller in their hearts.

What a statement! This was a man who was truly far too special, willing to retaliate and kill decisively, yet he was also capable of demonstrating such warmth toward others.

“Let’s get going. Mousse has already betrayed everyone: Holy Spring City, Icy Rain, Traveling Buddha, and the rest of the Shimmers. They must be in grave danger now,” Xia Fan said.

Holding Light in hand while carrying the two beauties Lejiajia and Nikai on his back, Xia Fan accelerated into a beam of light and disappeared into the darkness.

…

Battle Buddha descended as golden light danced in a furious fury!

Like a god of death, Traveling Buddha stationed himself steadfastly in the center of the city, engaging in a bloody brawl with enemies that came swarming from all sides while he directed the crowd to flee underground.

The Holy Spring was under the city, a large and sturdy space that could act like a complex maze, or a shelter able to contain all the citizens of the city.

Right now, the gates that lead to the Holy Spring were open, and people were quickly passing through.

The situation was dire, yet the Shimmers were not panicking.

Heeding the commands from the Principal, the children helped the old, while women carried the young, heading underground in an orderly fashion. It showed that this sapient race was far more civilized than humans!

“Where’s my younger brother?” Icy Wind came rushing over to ask Traveling Buddha.

“Ah, your younger brother is too much of a coward, so I sent him underground or he would end up using his body to protect the citizens of the city,” Traveling Buddha said. “His personality makes him unsuited for combat. The only thing he was able to do was to act as a protector.”

Icy Wind nodded. Hearing that his younger brother was fine and had already gone into hiding underground made him feel far more at ease.

With a whoosh, eight shadowy figures suddenly came charging over. Traveling Buddha’s golden light swelled, even as Icy Wind solidified the water molecules to form a sword, instantly slashing at the interlopers.

Traveling Buddha stomped on the heads of their corpses and knitted his brow. “These are White Bone Regiment warriors. Though their combat strength isn’t worth mentioning, their numbers are plentiful.

“Look at that white bone sword on their backs. It’s said that they are made out of the spines of their fathers or brothers, containing the power of hatred and malice.

“The White Bone Regiment is the exclusive forbidden army of the Thirteen Demon Kings. If they are here, then that means a Demon King is not far away.

“Why is Xia Fan still not back yet… If he’s not around, yours truly can’t demonstrate the full potential of my strength. I’m too used to partnering with that man!”

There was a crunch as another hundred of the figures made it past the city moats, all of them charging straight for Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind. The two repeated what they had before, and with the assistance of the Shimmer warriors, they were ultimately able to fend off the enemy’s assault.

“It is very likely that the people that were living in the tribes of the buffer zone have already sided with the demons, which was why they are now working together with the White Bone Regiment and attacking the city,” Icy Wind deduced.

Traveling Buddha scratched his head vigorously, “It’s too bad there’s nothing we can do right now, aside from holding our ground.

“Look over there, in the darkness beyond the moat. All those green eyes gleaming in the dark. I’m afraid there are several million enemies just waiting for us to enter their encirclement.”

Icy Wind raised his head and looked up.

“Above us is the White Bone Regiment, and around us are the warriors of the tribes. Looks like the enemy is planning to trap us to our deaths here. None of them appear to be in a rush to attack. That is either because they know we have nowhere else to go, or they are currently waiting for even more powerful reinforcements to arrive.”

Just as Icy Wind finished speaking, part of the dome above collapsed with a rumble, several hundred more undead warriors from the White Bone Regiment falling from above.

The duo was helpless. All Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind could do was lead the very low-ranked Shimmer warriors to dive into battle once more, destroying their enemies after great effort.

Looking around themselves, they saw the city was in ruins. Broken buildings and wall remnants were everywhere, while blood flowed like rivers on the streets. The corpses were piling up into little hills, making for a gruesome sight.

Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind could still barely hold on given their current circumstances.

Icy Wind was a Water Elemental, and he had the amazing ability of creating replicates himself.

Those replicates were fighting hard at the city moat, stopping a good majority of the tribal army from reaching the city.

Only a small portion could slip past and threaten the city guards while Icy Wind struggled to keep them all at bay.

“Say, as a Water Elemental, aren’t you a bit too foolish? It would be great if your younger brother could join in on the battle, lending us a powerful hand, but right now, we’re having a very hard time fighting,” Traveling Buddha complained.

Upon mention of his younger brother, Icy Wind immediately revealed compassion in his eyes as he shook his head. “No, Icy Rain is too weak. Though he’s physically strong, his mind is that of a three-year-old child, someone who would faint immediately at the sight of blood. He has not been able to bring himself to crush even an insect since he was a babe.”

Traveling Buddha pouted, “Of course Icy Rain doesn’t have to do anything, since he has an elder brother like you doting on him. If you ask me, what he lacks is training.”

“When my parents died, I promised both of them I would take care of Icy Rain.”

“In order to protect your brother, you ended up throwing yourself at every sign of danger?” Traveling Buddha frowned. “Why are you just like the Skywings, willing to die just to protect your family? But it’s too bad that you are not as strong as him in terms of combat strength.”

Icy Wind did not speak again. He had a very reticent personality, and he would accomplish something no matter what once he set his mind to it.

—

The situation was turning from bad to worse. The coalition force of both the White Bone Regiment and the tribal army were not the main forces attacking this time around. They appear to be waiting for something.

If Traveling Buddha could get in contact with Xia Fan, he would immediately know the answer to that question.

There was still a terrifying swarm of Demi-dragons hiding in the darkness, and they numbered in the millions, with a wide range of species.

The plan to kill Xia Fan and Nikai might have failed, but that Demi-dragon army was now hurrying over.

The moment they joined the fight, given the strength of both Traveling Buddha and Icy Wind, there was no way the two would stand a chance to emerge victorious.

The Holy Spring City that was founded in darkness was in grave danger!