Returning from the abyss

Chapter 1424 Continuing Battle

They clashed in close combat, swords drawn.

Lu Ning could certainly kill this demon king quickly. If she used the full power of the Frost Array, she would only need a little time to freeze the demon king into ice shards.

But then what?
To be fair, Lu Ning didn't feel she had grown much in this scenario. The increase in strength was negligible for the tourists, and in terms of mental growth, she had only overcome her resistance to the leadership team. She neither resolved the issues caused by those who had created significant chaos in the previous scenario, nor did she change anything, and she couldn't even find a way to break the current predicament—something she was originally good at—of.

While it might be easy for her to break through as an individual, it would be much harder to do so for an entire era. Lu Ning didn't dare say she had tried her best; she knew she spent a lot of time satisfying her curiosity within the scenarios rather than working hard to complete the tasks.

The sword sliced ​​through the demon king's abdomen once more, the gathered ice sending chills into his body. The demon king's movements were becoming stiff. After a prolonged battle, Lu Ning's coldness finally overwhelmed the demon king's combat growth and began to take effect.

The demon king knew he was outmatched, yet he continued to fight on. Lu Ning immediately understood his intentions. Demon troops frequently patrolled the area, and as long as the demon king held out long enough, reinforcements would eventually arrive.

Coincidentally, Lu Ning was also waiting for reinforcements.

Although her preparations involved a hit-and-run tactic, Lu Ning didn't want her team to be limited to just one tactic. She could still control the situation with these weaker demon troops, which provided a good opportunity to train her soldiers in frontal combat. For example, Tian Mengxing clearly suffered a disadvantage in his earlier clash with the Demon King, and in Lu Ning's plan, even without her, the top combatants within the formation should be able to trap the Demon King, or even kill him.

If she can't solve the chronic problems of the times, then she can leave behind something that can.

The sword suddenly pierced the demon king's throat. The demon king's eyes widened, and his fangs were instantly stained red with the blood he vomited. The cold air flowed in through the sword's edge, and beneath the finally breached skin lay the more vulnerable flesh. The icy internal force quickly robbed it of its warmth, freezing the demon king's head off his neck.

As she had anticipated, unlike the previous instances where the death of a demon leader caused immediate chaos, the death of this demon king brought no disorder whatsoever. The remaining demon army continued their fierce battle with her subordinates, with most even ignoring the outcome of the fighting on their side. As far as Lu Ning could see, her own troops had already suffered casualties; the demons' relentless attacks had exposed weaknesses in some soldiers who were caught off guard.

At this moment, the scouts also sounded a second alarm, indicating that another demon army was approaching.

They were fewer in number than this one, but they looked more elite, and the demon king leading them seemed somewhat familiar from the description.

"...Bullhead?"

The Yin General, Ox-Head, retained half of his demons, which he had brought from Fengdu, and also supplemented the demon army from the northern frontier. He had little empathy for the northern army's pursuit, but since even the most intelligent night wanderers from Fengdu had joined the demon army, he accepted the unknown law of the icy lake.

Its body has not yet transformed into a human form because it has never died on the battlefield, and its soul has not undergone a reshaping process. In the bull's eyes, this is something to boast about, since not having experienced death in battle proves its strength.

The Fengdu demons under its command were in a similar situation, though far fewer than the number it initially brought. Death was inevitable on the battlefield, and after returning to the laws of demons and being reborn, these demons would be rearranged and not necessarily added to its ranks.

Bullhead knew this was a way of weakening its forces, but it wasn't dissatisfied. The demon kings of the northern frontier were all stronger than it, so obeying the orders of the strong was in its nature. As for being sent out on patrol, that was something it couldn't be happier to do—since Horseface died, Bullhead hadn't had a companion to chat with, and it felt bored every day.

"A fight is going on up ahead? Hmph, just a bunch of people trying to sabotage the formation flags, it doesn't even count as a battle..." Minotaur said this, but he still quickened his pace. A group of burly demons followed behind him, all eager to fight, and their demonic energy was released from their bodies uncontrollably.

"Right at the mouth of this mountain pass!"

The bull-headed creature saw the demon's corpse there. It roared excitedly, pulled a heavy steel fork from its back, weighed it a couple of times, and then hurled it into the ravine. Next, it drew a pair of heavy maces from its waist with its other two arms, and with a roar, charged towards the ravine.

Lu Ning had barely learned of the approaching bull's head when the mountain pass exploded. She managed to avoid the flying rocks as much as possible. The ice wall, after blocking for a moment, was instantly shattered by the rocks. Several soldiers who were close by were hit hard before they could react. Those hit by the flying rocks were all seriously injured, and one of them was even hit in the head and died on the spot.

Yin Shuai's strength is no longer on the same level as that of ordinary demon kings. The bull's attack directly destroyed the mountain pass and forcibly expanded a pocket-shaped terrain by a large area. Its own intimidating power when it charged up was much stronger than that of the demon king who had just died at Lu Ning's hands. Moreover, in terms of physical combat power alone, it was far superior to that demon king's enhanced form.

As expected of the demon king in charge of the battle at the front of the battle in Fengdu, he is indeed very experienced in charging into battle. This preemptive strike is a move that the demon king just now could not learn.

Lu Ning immediately activated the core of her array flag, releasing the frost mist completely. With the support of the frost mist, everyone's control over the power of the ice array was enhanced to another level. However, the demons trapped in the array were not so lucky. Their bodies became increasingly sluggish, and some were even directly pierced by ice blades that grew from the ground. Then, the cursed killing weapons of the surrounding soldiers quickly finished them off.

Lu Ning forcefully hurled an ice spear, just like the steel fork thrown by the Minotaur—this was Lu Ning's counterattack. The ice spear spun, scattering countless ice shards in the air. The Minotaur and the other demons who charged forward faced the blades directly. Those with weaker defenses had more than a dozen pieces of flesh sliced ​​off instantly, while the stronger ones had ice blades pierce their bodies, the chilling aura penetrating their flesh and slowing their movements.

Only the Bull-Headed One, wielding twin maces and a steel spear, moved with impenetrable skill, deflecting all the ice blades without diminishing its momentum. When it charged into the icy array, even the icy mist was stirred up, and the icy blades it generated could not be maintained due to the turbulence. The Bull-Headed One seemed to be somewhat wary of the power of this formidable array. After entering the array, it immediately erected a shield with flowing, eerie light, then turned to look in Lu Ning's direction.

"The smell of death is strong here. Even if you hide in the formation, I will still find you."

“That’s really convenient,” Lu Ning replied.

Having seen the Yin Marshal's diagram, she knew the Ox-Head inside and out. It was precisely for this reason that Lu Ning needed to carefully consider how to deal with this Yin Marshal. Long-term life in Fengdu had made every Yin Marshal acutely aware of the aura of death. Lu Ning's icy mist couldn't mask this perception from the Ox-Head, and the death aura emanating from her was undoubtedly the strongest among those present. The deaths of two demon kings alone were enough to make her as conspicuous as the sun in his perception.

The Minotaur possesses a rare defensive ability among demons, granting it immunity to most harsh environments. Furthermore, illusions, mazes, confusion, and control effects are largely ineffective against it. Unlike some demons that require specific types of attacks to activate their defensive capabilities, the Minotaur's resistance is naturally extremely high, even immune to weakening effects.

In other words, to defeat this Yin General, one must suppress it with a force even stronger than its own.

After a moment's thought, Lu Ning smiled slightly. This was indeed a very suitable opponent. It didn't possess any particularly sophisticated abilities, nor did it have the strength to turn the tide of battle. At the same time, the Minotaur's army was very strong, even more powerful than the previous one, making it a better test of her subordinates' combat capabilities.

The longsword was covered in ice. Lu Ning leaped down with a slash, and Minotaur swung his steel spear to meet her. In an instant, the two were locked in battle. Minotaur's men also rushed into the ice formation, joining forces with the remaining demons to fight Lu Ning's men once again.

This time, Lu Ning couldn't easily take on a demon king while also protecting others. She pulled the bull's head and began to move through the mountain valley. The bull's skills were quite solid. Although it didn't have a complete set of martial arts, it was clearly from a battle formation. Its spear and mace were both weapons with great power and heavy blows. Lu Ning's ice sword was not at an advantage against such weapons. Moreover, the few times she managed to stab the bull's head, the feeling was different from before. The cold air couldn't penetrate at all.

“Old Niu, I find your scent quite familiar. Hmm… I can’t be wrong. Back outside Xingyin City, I also saw the effects of that disgusting ritual inside the city. And it seems you were involved in the battle later on, weren’t you?”

"You talk a lot."

"Ha, my old buddy was killed by your men, leaving only these two weapons. But he was outmatched, so he was killed, and I have nothing to say about it. Now that you're in front of me, even if I kill you, don't complain." Bull Head sneered, brandishing his spear and forcing Lu Ning back a few steps. He then immediately reached into the leather pouch at his waist, pulled out an iron ball, and hurled it.

Lu Ning dodged the iron ball, but not the explosion behind it. Iron fragments flew everywhere, accompanied by a foul-smelling flame that struck her. Although she managed to withstand it with her protective qi, she was still blasted several meters away.

"How about the Thunder Pearl? You guys know how to use tools, so do we. The things crafted by artisans aren't bad for the battlefield, it's just a pity that most demons can't afford them." The Minotaur grinned. "I don't care if this place can still be used as a flag-setting point. When it comes to killing enemies on the battlefield, there aren't so many rules, killing the enemy is the only way."

"That's true." Lu Ning extinguished the flames on her body, her face darkening. Luckily, the Thunderbolt Bead hadn't exploded near anyone else, otherwise its power would have been comparable to a hand grenade. The fact that they could produce such a weapon shows that the demon army's equipment upgrade speed is faster than expected; it probably won't be long before it's deployed at the demon general level.

Meanwhile, the battles of the others were also gradually becoming more difficult. Although the formation was in place, the core of the Frost Array was still in Lingjiang, used to protect the city. Lu Ning, as the one in charge, was using herself as the substitute core to exert her power, so her condition would affect the buffs received by everyone else. Although the Minotaur's subordinates were badly wounded by the ice blades within the array, those who could enter the array under these circumstances were all elite demons. In contrast, Lu Ning had far fewer elite troops under her command.

When their strengths became evenly matched, the human race's physical weaknesses began to show. The fatigue from continuous battles and the oppressive feeling from the increasingly powerful demons caused the formation to shift backward, and the icy mist had already left the mountain pass and retreated deeper into the valley.

"Several of your men have died," the bull-headed man threatened Lu Ning, sticking his head out. "Hurry up and settle things with me, or you'll be the only one who dies. Do you think there are only two patrol teams here? The number of demon soldiers is far more terrifying than you think."

"Then why don't you take the initiative to attack?" Lu Ning sneered.

The bull-headed creature wasn't stupid. Even though it had gained a slight advantage by charging into the Frost Array alone, it knew the devastating power of such an array when fought to the death. If it were to relentlessly push Lu Ning to the brink of despair and fight to the death, the bull-headed creature itself would likely not fare well either.

Especially the strange conditions on the corpses of those dead demons.

Bearing the Law of the Frozen Lake, Minotaur could sense that the corpses had become empty shells, but their souls had not ascended. This made it even more cautious in its assessment. Undoubtedly, the general before it possessed the means to kill demons belonging to the Law of the Frozen Lake, and Minotaur did not want to die by such means.

It was still stalling for time, until the next demon army arrived, until it had the fighting power to kill Lu Ning with certainty.

Both sides remained wary, sending their men into battle while keeping a close watch on each other's movements, preventing them from joining the fray.

After an unknown amount of time, sounds were heard again from outside the valley.

"You're dead." Bull Head pointed his steel gun at Lu Ning, a smug smile on his face.

"Then let's guess who's coming?" Lu Ningyi laughed. She could clearly feel a thick, bloody light approaching from outside the valley.

As dusk deepened, the setting sun shone like blood, but the earth's color was not from the sunset, but from the approaching iron hooves.

White strips of cloth were covered in dense, red, spell-like writing, then wrapped around the warhorses and riders. The leader was thin, with bloodshot eyes, but his weapon was a powerful, imposing Xuanhua axe, the handle tightly bound to his right hand with white cloth straps. The army behind him was also clad in white cloth armor, their weapons bound to their bodies, each one resembling a hungry ghost in the twilight.

A hoarse voice came from the leader's mouth, carrying a sharp, whistling sound like air leaking out—

"Qin You, the master of the Blood Transformation Array, has come to assist in slaying the demon!"