They Are Archenemies, But They Have A Child - Chapter 17

Chapter 17: The Sacrifice

Deep night.

The daytime bustle transformed into utter silence with the chime of the bell marking the second watch.

The place that was filled with singing and dancing just a few hours ago was now covered in scorching magma. Looking down from a height, the entire Ze Kingdom was no different from a sea of fire, yet the houses stood silently within it, like dedicated soldiers guarding everything inside.

Yun Qingwu stood on the covered corridor built along the mountain, silently watching the scene below. His nostrils were filled with the acrid smell of burning fire.

“A-Ze, the ceremony is about to begin, hurry over!” Meng Huang’s voice came from nearby.

“Your Highness, this is a hemp net woven with spiritual power by me. However, be aware that its effectiveness only lasts for the duration of one stick of incense.” Li Qingyang handed a palm-sized mini hemp net to Yun Qingwu.

“I understand. I will improvise later. Once Meng Huang extracts Leng Licí’s demon core, I will use this to control him. At that time, I will need you, Senior Brother, to finish the job.”

“Good, rest assured.”

Yun Qingwu handed Xiao Dao to Li Qingyang and walked towards the sacrificial court.

The central court, which could have been described as spacious, was now occupied by demons who had lost their minds. Meng Huang stood on the high platform, wearing solemn and elaborate ceremonial robes.

Demons of various shapes and forms all had blank eyes. They mechanically divided into five groups, walking around in different directions, and their core was the circular sacrificial platform in the center.

Yun Qingwu realized that they were drawing the array.

“Your Highness, look over there.” Li Qingyang’s tone carried a hint of solemnity.

Yun Qingwu looked in the direction indicated by Li Qingyang, his brows furrowing.

He saw that the silver wind chimes hanging from the eaves and under the dome suddenly swelled several times in size, turning into something resembling an infant’s cradle. Inside, they were holding one infant after another.

These infants were not the ones he saw in the cave before; these infants were living, breathing mortals!

“A-Huang, what do you plan to do with those children?” Yun Qingwu had a suspicion, but he still hoped Meng Huang would deny his guess.

“Oh, those children are the new bodies I am seeking for our elderly citizens. A-Ze, I told you I would bring the Southern Ze Kingdom back, and that naturally includes our ability for endless resurrection.”

“But these children are innocent. They also have the right to grow up,” Yun Qingwu’s tone became somewhat cold.

Meng Huang looked at Yun Qingwu for a long time, then suddenly laughed: “Yes, they are innocent. But are our citizens not innocent?”

“But—”

“A-Ze, there is no absolute fairness in this world, you should know that.”

Yun Qingwu tightened his grip on the hemp net hidden in his palm, forcefully swallowing the words he was about to say. Now was not the time to argue right and wrong.

Bang!

A loud noise broke the deadlock.

The previously stable circular sacrificial platform suddenly exploded. Amidst the flying debris and rising dust, a person covered in blood and shattered clothes appeared at the center of the array.

Despite looking battered all over, he did not appear weak at all. The vibrant red color of the blood seemed like an inscription of deterrence on his body. A pair of golden eyes had become vertical slits due to excessive murderous intent.

Just looking at him inspired a degree of apprehension.

It was Leng Licí.

Yun Qingwu looked at the blood-stained bone sword in Leng Licí’s right hand, his heart slightly shaken. Perhaps it was inappropriate, perhaps it shouldn’t be, but at this moment, he was uncontrollably moved.

If placed in his position, he wasn’t sure he could completely stabilize his mind and defeat the opponent again when facing such a nightmare for the second time.

“You were actually able to break out of the array.” Meng Huang’s expression showed a hint of astonishment, but not panic. He even applauded.

“But unfortunately, this is not the end.” Meng Huang clapped his hands together, closed his eyes, and chanted a string of spells in a low voice. A wisp of black mist ascended and quickly flew towards the large drum not far away.

“Dong—Dong—Dong—”

Leng Licí tightened his grip on the sword, his gaze cold, staring intently at Meng Huang on the high platform. Simultaneously, he dashed towards him at high speed. In a flash, a fiery red, eight-tailed fox appeared in the air. Within a few moments, only half a chi separated it from Meng Huang on the high platform. The human form reappeared, and the bone sword thrust out.

Yun Qingwu instinctively took a step forward.

With a loud bang, the bone sword was deflected, and the wielder was thrown to the ground by the huge recoil force.

Yun Qingwu stopped in his tracks.

Meng Huang chuckled, leaning down slightly in a provocative manner to look at the person struggling back to his feet: “I said this is not over yet. What you broke was merely the first array. The array you are in now is the main event tonight. How about it? Do you still have the ability to break the second array?”

With that, under the repeated beating of the drum, the surrounding demons, whose eyes were originally lifeless, gradually became violent. Their beast forms were fully revealed, and they tore towards Leng Licí.

His body, no longer maintained by spiritual power, was already overwhelmed. But Leng Licí was still unwilling to give way or show weakness. Before danger even struck, he took the initiative to swing his sword and pierce the giant bear that was attempting to pounce on him first.

But after all, the power disparity was vast at this moment. The wounded bear demon roared, and the ensuing strong pressure firmly knocked the struggling man to the ground. The demons that followed surged forward, as if the scarred and battered man before them was a delicious meal on a plate.

For a moment, the only sounds on the field were the tearing of flesh and the muffled thuds of bodies colliding.

Yun Qingwu frowned deeply, his right hand unconsciously clenching into a fist. Due to the excessive force, his thumb had marked a deep red line on his index finger, as if the blood inside would pierce the skin and stain his finger red the next second.

Li Qingyang looked at the tragic scene, merely frowning slightly. He was more concerned about the result: “That fox demon is already at the end of his rope. Perhaps today he will truly die by Meng Huang’s hand.”

With that, he shook his head, somewhat sighing: “I can’t believe the ruler of the demon realm, whom even you couldn’t defeat, will die by the hand of such a demon creature.”

Yun Qingwu stared silently at the center of the field, offering no response.

That person had not let out a single scream until now.

Stinking saliva mixed with scorching breath dripped onto Leng Licí’s face. He disgustedly thrust his sword into the opponent’s mouth, piercing straight through the throat.

However, such damage was of little help. Soon, the next wave filled the gap and swarmed him.

Familiar pain radiated from all his limbs and bones. He panted heavily, biting his lip tightly, unwilling to let even a hint of weakness escape his mouth.

He will not die!

He wants to live!

Blood soaked into the white sword body.

As if sensing the owner’s intense obsession, or perhaps the repeated resurrection in the illusion granted it more sentience, the bone sword, which was originally like a dead object, vibrated, emitting bursts of humming.

The next second, the bone sword broke free from its restraints. The blade elongated like a whip, fiercely lashing out at the cluster of demons surrounding Leng Licí. In an instant, blood splattered, and all the demons were cut in half at the waist.

Leng Licí gripped the hilt of the sword, supporting himself as he stood up.

The smile on Meng Huang’s face chilled. He waved his hand, scattering all the demon limbs and remains into the magma.

“You are truly heartless. These were all your subjects. How could you be so cruel!”

Leng Licí sneered, forcefully wiping the blood and dirt from his face, his tone calm: “Subjects? They are merely defeated subordinates.”

“Is that so?” Meng Huang nodded, striking the drum again: “Then what about this one?”

As the words fell, the bird demon, Dan Mu, covered in scars and with the head of a bird and the body of a human, walked into the array with a blank look.

It was Dan Mu.

Yun Qingwu’s eyes narrowed. He subconsciously looked at Leng Licí.

But the latter only glanced at Dan Mu, with no further emotion in his eyes.

He remembered what Dan Mu had said and felt even more that it was just her wishful thinking. How could a heartless person like Leng Licí be entrapped by others?

The previous group of demons were stripped of their spiritual power, leaving only their original animalistic brute force, but Dan Mu was different; she still retained a certain amount of demonic power.

Dan Mu flew into the air, flapping her wings. The surrounding wind rapidly gathered, transforming into ten thousand arrows shooting towards Leng Licí. Leng Licí transformed into his original form, deftly dodging.

The bone sword immediately wrapped towards Dan Mu in mid-air.

However, the bloody scene did not repeat itself.

Yun Qingwu confirmed one thing from this exchange of moves.

The bone sword currently held no genuine killing intent.

As if to confirm his suspicion, this subtle difference allowed the mindless Dan Mu, whose heart was left only with murderous intent, to find an opportunity. She twisted her body, forcing the bone sword to wrap her more tightly. Then, she mobilized the surrounding wind power and, with lightning speed, rushed to Leng Licí. In the instant Leng Licí failed to recall the bone sword, she pulled out a bird feather and stabbed it towards Leng Licí’s heart.

The forced strength instantly dissipated. Leng Licí released the hilt of the sword and fell to the ground. He breathed heavily, trying to support himself but couldn’t.

Only his eyes remained resolute, filled with hatred and unwillingness.

Seeing this, Meng Huang flew down, driving away Dan Mu, who was about to deliver another blow. He walked up to the half-dead Leng Licí, took out the already prepared demonic knife, and said excitedly: “Now, please offer your demon core. You shall exist forever with the Southern Ze Kingdom!”

Meng Huang raised the knife and lunged towards Leng Licí’s lower abdomen. In the nick of time, Leng Licí suddenly struck out, his sharply elongated nails piercing Meng Huang right through.

A scream rang out. Meng Huang staggered back a few steps, his face full of horror, but then the horror turned into hysterical laughter.

He scattered completely, turning into a cloud of black mist. The black mist instantly re-gathered, reforming into his human shape.

“I won’t die. Haven’t you tried it already?”

“Then I will kill you until you are dead.” Leng Licí coughed up a mouthful of blood, his gaze malevolent.

Meng Huang’s expression changed. Although he wouldn’t die, the external assistance he could draw upon in the array was correspondingly very limited at this moment.

When Leng Licí once again couldn’t stand up due to exhaustion, he didn’t try to get closer. He needed an absolutely foolproof plan.

“A-Ze, come over and help me, won’t you?”

He stared at the person on the ground and called out behind him.

“The day is breaking soon, A-Ze. We need to act quickly.”

That’s right, the chance to eliminate future trouble forever was right now. He didn’t have to kill Leng Licí personally, thus avoiding the taboo.

Yun Qingwu tightened his grip on the hemp net and walked into the array.

His gaze fell upon the person in the array. Leng Licí lay quietly on the ground, his golden eyes looking at him calmly. Under his clothing, torn by the fight, blood stained his overly pale skin red, mixing with his flame-like long hair, making Leng Licí’s already delicate features even more striking.

Yun Qingwu knew that the calmness was only a facade. Inside was the poised blade, waiting for an opportunity for survival in a desperate situation.

Fierce and dangerous, yet possessing tenacious vitality.

He stepped into the array.

The grip in his hand tightened slightly.

Kill him! He should have died long ago!

Kill him! This is his duty!

Kill him!

Yun Qingwu closed his eyes, forcefully swinging the magical artifact in his hand.

“Aaaahhh—”

Sounds of unwillingness, anger, and pain pierced the silence.