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"Big Brother Shiro!" Kansaku sent a voice transmission to Shiro and the bald warrior, his tone filled with disbelief. "Where did this woman co from? She handed over two complete Blood Spirit Magatama without hesitation! Either she’s a fool… or she has a lot more where that ca from!"
Their original plan was simple—make absurd demands and, at best, squeeze out a few Blood Spirit Magatama fragnts or other valuable items. Never in their wildest expectations did they think Lily would actually hand over what they asked for—and two of them at that!
In that instant, their priorities shifted.
"We should just kill her now and take everything—her treasures, her Blood Spirit Magatama, all of it!" the bald warrior suggested coldly.
"Absolutely not!" Shiro snapped. "If we kill her, we’d have to get rid of her sister too—what a waste! Besides, if we do that, how are we any different from the Yomi demons?"
He smirked. "Think about it. This girl clearly cos from a wealthy mortal clan or had so rare encounter. Instead of robbing her, why not reel her in? Show her our strength, earn her trust, and bring her into the group. With her naive personality, she’d hand over everything as long as we gave her a convincing enough reason. Isn’t it smarter to claim both the treasure and the beauty?"
"Big Brother Shiro, you’re a genius!"
"Brilliant strategy, big brother! Once we have the younger one in our grasp, the older sister will follow suit."
Lily wasn’t aware of their secret conversation, but she did notice the subtle shift in their gazes.
"Miss Lynne," Shiro said smoothly as he approached, giving a respectful bow.
"You’re welco, Brother Shiro," Lily replied, her voice calm and indifferent.
Standing beside her, Ayaka’s expression darkened. Through voice transmission, she whispered, "Lily, they’re blatantly extorting you. Why would you just give in so easily?"
"Don’t worry about it, Sister. Just focus on crossing this mountain range and fulfilling your oath." Lily reassured her.
Ayaka opened her mouth to press further, but before she could, Shiro stepped in closer, his gaze settling on Lily’s stunning features before slowly drifting downward, studying her carefully—not with desire, but calculation.
He wasn’t admiring her beauty. He was assessing how much more wealth she might be carrying on her.
"Miss Lynne," Shiro asked, deliberately ignoring Ayaka. "Where do you and your sister plan to go after crossing the mountain range?"
It was a rather impolite question, but in a lawless place like Yomi, such courtesies hardly mattered.
Lily glanced at Ayaka briefly before answering, "My sister and I had no choice but to co to Yomi. Since we’re already here, we plan to continue adventuring and training."
Shiro’s eyes glead, as if this was precisely the answer he had been hoping for.
"Miss Lynne," Shiro began smoothly, "I hope you rember my warning—true Yomi lies beyond this mountain range. That place is exponentially more dangerous than anything you’ve faced before.
"Let be blunt. A girl like you, with little experience in this kind of environnt, will be lucky to survive a single day. However, you don’t have to face it alone. Why not join us? We can protect you—and, of course, your sister as well. What do you say?"
Saya had initially disliked Lily, but upon realizing that this seemingly naive heiress was absurdly wealthy, her attitude shifted drastically. Clinging to Shiro’s arm, she smiled and said, "Miss Lynne, you’ve seen how strong Big Brother Shiro and the rest of my brothers are. With them protecting you, your adventures will be far safer. Otherwise… I fear that a stunning beauty like you would be snatched away by demons the mont you part from us—turned into their plaything before you even knew what happened!"
She deliberately tried to scare Lily.
"That’s right! Join us, and I’ll protect you too!" Kansaku chid in, stepping closer—his aty hand nearly landing on Lily’s shoulder.
"Join us… or you’ll regret it," the bald warrior added darkly, his tone dripping with implied threat.
"Hey, don’t pressure her like that!" Shiro interjected, feigning concern. "Miss Lynne, I—Shiro—harbor no ulterior motives toward you. I simply have a sincere desire to protect you. Soone as kindhearted and… delicate as you shouldn’t have to struggle in a place like Yomi."
Ayaka tensed as the n encroached on Lily’s space, instinctively wanting to step between them. Yet before she could, Lily spoke calmly, "Brother Shiro, everyone… can you truly protect ?"
"Heh, of course!" Shiro boasted confidently.
"Absolutely! No doubt about it!" Kansaku and the bald warrior chid in eagerly.
"Good," Lily said evenly. "You have the perfect chance to prove it now."
"Huh?" Shiro blinked, montarily caught off guard.
Just as he was about to speak again, a sudden surge of intense Eldritch Energy swept across the valley.
Shiro, Kansaku, the bald warrior, and Saya exchanged uneasy glances. An ominous chill crawled up their spines as they instinctively turned to look behind them. From the dense mist erged a monstrous figure—an abnormal beast, larger and more nacing than the tiger demon they had fought before.
"Another one?" Shiro muttered, montarily stunned. But then, his lips curled into a grin. This was perfect—a chance to really impress Lily. "This ti, we kill it," he declared. "Miss Lynne, watch closely! You’re about to witness what we’re truly capable of when we go all out—"
Before he could finish his sentence, another hulking beast erged from the fog. Two monstrous presences now lood before them—both quintuple-soul Big Dippers!
Shiro’s breath hitched. ‘What the hell is going on? Two quintuple-soul Big Dippers… We could handle them, but it would be an arduous battle. One mistake, and we could be in serious trouble.’
"Big brother… what now?" Kansaku transmitted anxiously, his usual bravado wavering.
"Don’t lose your nerve!"
Shiro forced a confident expression as he turned back to Lily. "Miss Lynne, you and your sister need to step back. Stay put and don’t do anything reckless—this is our fight! Leave it to us! But just in case, if my brothers and I…"
"Big Brother Shiro…" Kansaku’s voice trembled.
"Shut up! Don’t interrupt !" Shiro snapped through voice transmission before turning back to Lily. "If my brothers and I get injured, just have your Blood Spirit Magatama ready, alright?"
"Big Brother Shiro… look… quickly…" Saya’s voice wavered as she clutched her mouth, her eyes locked ahead in terror.
From behind Shiro, a chorus of ancient, guttural growls rumbled through the mist. The air grew heavy with imnse killing intent, laced with an overwhelming surge of Eldritch Energy.
A shiver ran down Shiro’s spine. As he turned, his breath caught in his throat—countless Yomi hexbeasts stretched across the valley, covering the cliffs, swarming the terrain like a tide of death.
For a brief mont, Shiro’s face froze, his confidence shattering in an instant.
This valley had once been relatively safe. However, the relentless hunts carried out by the Boundless Demon Cavalry had forced the hexbeasts from the deeper mountains straight into this area.
Fending off a few of these creatures was already a challenge, but now the entire mountain range was crawling with them! Worse still, among the horde, several exuded auras far beyond a quintuple-soul Big Dipper.
This was no re gathering—it was a full-scale beast horde. Any human expert unfortunate enough to encounter them would be dood to a grueso death.
"Why… How is this possible? Why didn’t our spiritual senses—or my ninjutsu—detect them?" Saya’s voice trembled, her face going deathly pale. Her legs shook despite herself.
She had survived countless dangers in Yomi, yet this ti, she felt it in her bones—there was no escape.
If escape was an option, Shiro wouldn’t hesitate to abandon Lily and break every promise he had made. But there was no way out—they were surrounded. As if the horde wasn’t terrifying enough, an even more overwhelming aura surged through the mist—sothing far beyond their comprehension.
Then, erging from the haze, a towering figure—three ters tall, clad in flowing golden robes—descended through the air, levitating effortlessly above the valley. His grotesque face bore a striking resemblance to a tiger demon, yet there was sothing far more sinister about him.
"A hexbeast… that’s taken human form? Levitating in the air… an Empyreal!"
Shiro’s heart sank into his stomach. This wasn’t just a nightmare—it was the end. The others stood frozen in place, their faces drained of all color.
Even Ayaka, who had faced countless dangers, trembled. Her fingers tightened around Lily’s hand as she steeled herself, ready to unleash her most powerful spell—ready to do whatever it took to get Lily out alive.
Shiro and his n dropped to their knees without hesitation. "Almighty Empyrean!" Shiro’s voice wavered. "We are but humble travelers passing through. We never intended to offend you! If our presence displeases you, we will leave imdiately—this very instant!"
The others remained frozen, not daring to even breathe too loudly. After all—this was a Yomi God.
"Who dares to injure my subordinate?" The towering warrior, his form reminiscent of a fearso tiger demon, spoke in a voice so powerful that the entire mountain valley quaked beneath its weight.
The mont his words fell, Shiro and the others felt their spiritual energy freeze, as if an invisible hand had seized their very souls.
The demon warlord swept his gaze over them, his expression unreadable. Then, with chilling finality, he commanded, "Kill the n. Capture the won. Sell them in Carefree City."
"Almighty Empyrean, have rcy!" Faced with a horde of Hexbeasts and an overwhelming powerhouse, Shiro and the others didn’t even dare to think of resisting. Instead, they dropped to their knees, their foreheads slamming against the dirt as they groveled for their lives.
The warlord barely spared them a glance. His expression darkened with ruthless indifference. "Kill them."
Agonized screams filled the valley as countless waves of Eldritch Energy surged into the air. Hexbeasts lunged from every direction, their claws bared, their eyes burning with primal hunger!
"Are we really going to die here?!" Shiro and the others cried out in sheer desperation.
Then— A massive pulse of energy burst forth, distorting space itself as it rippled through the oncoming horde.
Hexbeasts were flung through the air like ragdolls. The weaker ones exploded on impact, their bodies torn apart instantly. The stronger ones were hurled into the cliffs, the sheer force shattering stone and sending debris cascading down the valley. So tumbled even further, crashing into the earth with bone-crunching force.
"What?!" The warlord's eyes narrowed. Shiro and his n gawked, stunned beyond belief.
Seasoned warriors as they were, Shiro and his group instinctively turned toward the source of the devastating power. There, standing at the heart of the destruction, was a lone figure—
A young woman, her long hair cascading in waves, red sleeves billowing like banners in the wind. Cherry blossom petals swirled around her, caught in an unseen current of power.
Shiro, Kansaku, and the bald warrior all stood frozen, their jaws slack with disbelief.
"A woman? You?" The Infernal Stage warlord eyed Lily with astonishnt.
Lily stepped forward, her every movent exuding grace. A fragrant breeze followed her, carrying the soft scent of cherry blossoms. Saya, still trembling from fear, felt warmth rush to her cheeks, her gaze montarily dazed.
The beasts that had hesitated before now closed in, forming a ring around Lily. Their eyes burned with hostility, fangs bared in warning.
"Begone." Lily's voice was soft, yet it carried the weight of unshakable authority.
She furrowed her brows ever so slightly, releasing a pulse of lethal lunar energy. It crashed into the beasts like an invisible tidal wave, triggering their most primal instincts. Fear rooted them in place, overriding even the commands of their leader. One by one, they lowered their heads, backing away in submission.
"To think I’d encounter such a powerful woman… here, in this desolate wasteland." The warlord’s gaze sharpened. "Who are you? A fallen Celestial Maiden? A wandering Blade Maiden?"
"You don’t need to know." Lily didn’t even look at him. Instead, she ran a hand through her hair, her tone utterly indifferent.
The warlord’s expression darkened. "It doesn’t matter. Once we fight, I’ll know everything I need to."
"Fight?" Shiro and the others shuddered. Was this stunning woman truly about to battle a being of godlike power? It was beyond anything they could have imagined.
Lily’s expression remained calm, utterly unshaken. "You are not worthy to fight 1."
"What?!" Shiro and the others gasped, their voices nearly breaking from sheer disbelief.
With a re flick of her wrist, Lily summoned a swirling demonic cloud, thick with divine energy. From within its depths, a white divine hound erged—its form radiant, its presence commanding.
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