At the moment of contact, a blue wind billowed violently. Even though Evil Eminence Powerfield could serve as a defensive and offensive tool, if there was something that made Evil Eminence Field stand out as a defensive skill, it was the casting speed. After all, the ability to manifest a shield upon willing it allowed the caster to beat the attacker to the punch even in the scenario that the attack was executed first.
Notwithstanding the blue net and wind, the blade penetrated both because Mountain Monster exerted force on the same point in three consecutive bursts – one to break the shield and the other to sting.
Mountain Monster was privy to the way Abels exerted force and shielded himself – part of it was attributed to her passion for assassinating Abels. Ox Demon had also revealed the complete Evil Eminence Manual to her in the past. Howbeit, just as she studied Evil Eminence Scripture to plot her assassination, Abels was also privy to mindset.
Mountain Monster went reeling back, lips dyed read. Her dagger went so deep into the adjacent wall that only the hilt was visible.
“What’s your issue?!” A-Lan unleashed a slap across Mountain Monster’s face, dying it the same colour as her lips, and stepped in between the two.
“Why are you so surprised when my goal always was to kill him?” Mountain Monster spat a red bullet onto the ground, then turned back to Abels. “Good on you for thinking of wearing soft armour underneath. Else, I wouldn’t be the one seeing her blood.”
“Why thank you. You think you can kill me?” Abels pulled the dagger out of the wall to slice off a piece of lamb for himself. “You didn’t put enough poison in this.”
A-Lan raged, “What the heck is your issue? He never did anything to you despite you indirectly killing all of our brethren. What do you want now?!”
“Since he’s going to die in Nieyao, anyway, might as well let me do a cleaner job. I should be the one asking you that question. What’s your issue? Your husband’s lifespan too long for his liking? Why is the beast his business? You crazy? Why would you support him entering Nieyao?”
Mountain Monster’s questions stumped A-Lan.
Ming Feizhen had his sect’s duty to fulfil. Luo Ming had a vengeance to exact. Feng Xue and Moyan Luohou were citizens of Nanjiang. Evil Spirits were not philanthropists; they didn’t even call themselves heroes of justice when they robbed the rich to assist the poor. Sure, he wasn’t exactly a villain, but he definitely wasn’t accepted as an orthodox individual. What reason did he have for risking his life against a monster?
“I do have a reason.” Abels asserted, “I will never forget who ruined A-Lan’s family and homeland.”
A-Lan tearfully turned to her man.
“The one responsible for taking her ruining her life is unquestionably hiding in Nieyao or connected. If I am to find the perpetrator, this is a fight I must fight. I made up my mind to avenge her when I decided I’d take her as my wife. A man does as he says he will.”
“You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?”
“… What’s your point?”
Mountain Monster condescendingly replied, “In the past, you could shackle my limbs using Evil Eminence Powerfield before I could complete three thrusts, yet you now have to wear soft armour. You’re inferior to your past standard. So what if you train daily? How hard was it to reach the height you reached previously? How are you going to suddenly have an easier time? Ever since you suffered defeat at the hands of Shaolin’s abbot, you’ve never been the same man!”
Abels’ confidence shattered. When he crossed the border into the Central Plain, he barely escaped the Qilin Guard’s grand commander. He then lost twice to Luo Ming. Lai Jingzhen revoked his status as one of the Supreme Ten Saints in Huzhou. Ever since arriving in Nanjiang, he lost to Ming Feizhen – daily. The consistent denominator in all those matches was that he wasn’t in his best shape – or he was completely outclassed. He, consequently, didn’t suffer any mental trauma from those defeats. The one defeat that smashed apart his spirit was his loss to Shaolin’s abbot.
Abels didn’t even know he could lose so pathetically. By extension, he never imagined he’d come upon such an opponent. No matter what he tried, Shaolin’s abbot denied him with a single palm strike each time; not even Ming Feizhen managed to pull that off. The last exchange that had him regurgitating his blood crushed his spirit along with his body. When he entered Huzhou as Bodhi, he no longer had his once unshakeable confidence.
“… I knew it. I only worked under you because I lost to you. Given I’m no longer your subordinate, I need to make killing you the first thing I do. Nobody is my master, and nobody will steal my prey. Instead of dying in Nieyao, you might as well let me kill you.” Mountain Monster lifted up a candle in response to Abels’ silence. “Though this is a wine cellar, that Whatever Spirit Whatever installed a lot of secret areas.”
The ground started to shift underground, revealing an area underneath segregated by thick, heavy wooden boards.
If there was an ambush in here, my Evil Eminence Field wouldn’t be able to protect me against her ace.
When the wooden boards came off, nothing came out. Mountain Monster dropped the candle down. Abels couldn’t follow her train of thought.
A-Lan caught a whiff of the smell coming up. “There are explosives underground!”
“Bingo. I set up forty-five routes underground.” Mountain Monster flashed her pearly whites. “This will be enough to finally blow you to hell, won’t it, Abels?!”
