Chapter 233 – Waiting for an Opening
Even from a distance, Tang Wulin could make out the majestic figure of the Blazing Demon Lion King. Currently, it was engaged in battle with a group of seven soul masters.
He signalled for his teammates to halt. Raising his right hand, his purple soul ring appeared, its light dim and suppressed. He wrapped a strand of Bluesilver Grass around a thick branch and swung himself up.
In an instant, he recalled his soul ring, a purple light twinkling in his eyes as the Purple Demon Eyes activated.
From this vantage point he could see everything in a two hundred meter radius, not to mention a perfect view of the battle.
Although one lion lay motionless, seemingly dead, the rest of the pride assaulted the soul masters in a frenzy.
Spirit energy swirled around the soul masters, a testament to their strength.
As he observed the battle, Tang Wulin discerned the power levels of this group of soul masters: all seven were three-ringed Soul Elders and two of them possessed a purple soul ring each. They appeared to be around twenty years old.
It was clear that they were prepared to take on this Blazing Demon Lion King.
Including its deceased member, the pride was composed of sixteen Blazing Demon Lions. Standing in the middle tyrannically was their gigantic lord. Such a beast emanated pure might.
Tang Wulin couldn’t help but suck in a deep breath as he took in the scene of the battlefield. Reality was cruel. He had guessed that this pride might have had multiple thousand-year lions. Only now did he understand just how formidable this pride was.
Among the remaining fifteen Blazing Demon Lions, there was a total of four at the thousand-year level—three lionesses and their king. The king’s gargantuan size suggested that it was an extraordinary thousand-year level beast.
If its strength surpassed three thousand years, then this pride of lions was a walking calamity.
Tang Wulin gestured with his hands, motioning for his teammates to be patient and not be hasty.
If these was a real battle between humans and soul beasts, they would certainly do their best to save the other team, but this was the spirit ascension platform. Death had no true significance here. What mattered was how much spirit energy they could absorb. For this reason, Tang Wulin was the picture of patience as he monitored the present situation.
His judgement was correct. It was evident that the group of soul masters had underestimated the pride.
Under the lions’ fierce assault, casualties occurred one after the other.
Whether it was close or long-ranged combat, Blazing Demon Lions excelled at both. Scorching flames enveloped their powerful bodies. Each lion was about the same size, their flame’s color serving as the only indicator of different cultivations. While the hundred-year lions were dressed in a bright red blaze, the thousand-year lions were swathed in yellow flames.
The four flaming yellow lions stood out amongst the pride. Unfortunately for the team of soul masters, they had provoked the wrath of the lions after killing one. The group was now surrounded, all avenues of escape cut off.
That being said, they were not weak. Despite suffering casualties, the soul masters managed to inflict grievous wounds on the lions.
Members of both sides continued to collapse one by one, trading incapacitating blows. Yet, it was clear that the humans were losing ground.
Tang Wulin continued to wait. He knew that provoking such a powerful pride was akin to playing with fire, but now that this team of seven had weakened the lions, things were looking more favorable for class zero. The could play the role of a scavenger, swooping in to seize the spoils of war after both sides had finished laying waste to one another.
Tang Wulin descended from the tree without so much as a peep, whispering a few words into Xie Xie’s ear.
Though Xie Xie grimaced as he listened, he still nodded in the end, even flashing a big thumbs up at his captain. A moment later, he vanished into the blanket of darkness.
Night had swept down at full blast, stretching far and wide. Such a sky was moonless, murderous winds howling through the air!
Turning to face Xu Xiaoyan and Gu Yue, Tang Wulin instructed them. Following that, he snuck toward the battleground with Gu Yue at his side, blending in with the surroundings and taking advantage of the thicket’s shadows.
Three of the seven soul masters survived, one whose injuries were nothing to scoff at. As for the lion pride, there were two wounded thousand-year lions and four deceased hundred-year lions. Although the wounds were not fatal, they restrained their strength.
The leader of the surviving soul masters was a tall and sturdy young man approximately twenty years old. He had a head full of spiky yellow hair, muscles swelling under the influence of his martial soul. Standing at two-and-a-half meters tall, he resembled a behemoth.
He gripped a long metal rod in his hand. The rod stretched over four meters long with an enlarged tip, dark vascular lines running along the sides. From his blacksmithing experience, Tang Wulin understood that it was made of hundred refined metal. Considering its sheer size, the rod must have weighed at least five hundred kilograms.
That this young man acted as the vanguard was the sole reason why the soul masters had held on for so long, even to the point of wounding the lions.
His identity as a power-type soul master was evident. Despite the rod not being his martial soul, he gripped and swung it to ward off the lions, his body exuding a yellow glow.
The giant youth crushed the skull of the first lion he had killed. As such, the surviving members of the pride were both cautious of and focused their attacks on him.
By his side, a girl conjured up shields of white light, protecting him from the lions’ barrage. Even so, exhaustion weighed down on her. Blood trickled down the corner of her mouth while her shields became progressively weaker.
“Big brother Kun, I can’t hold on any longer,” the girl said urgently.
With a roar, the youth swung the rod and staved off three charging lions. In a muffled voice, he said, “Our luck is pretty bad to meet such a powerful Blazing Demon Lion pride this time. You guys leave first. I’ll kill one or two more for vengeance.”
The girl nodded and pressed the escape button on the back of her hand. The pain they felt in the spirit ascension platform was no joke. No one wanted to experience being torn to shreds by lions.
She disappeared in a flash of light.
Apart from the giant youth, only a slender agility-type soul master remained.
All of a sudden, the thousand-year Blazing Demon Lion King leaped toward the robust youth, spurring a shout from the young man in return. Yellow light erupted from his body, his veins jutting out as he waved his rod with all his strength.
However, the lion king was sly and his charge was a feint! In mid-air, it changed directions in an instant.
Obviously, this feat was impossible to accomplish by itself. No, it received the help of a thousand-year lioness. The lioness had pounced into the king’s body, striking the male full force at the agility-type soul master.
This redirection was too abrupt for the agility-type soul master to react to. He was engulfed in crimson flames instantly. All he managed to do was slap his escape button.
At last, the sole survivor of the group was its leader.
Just as he was about to succumb to despair and resolve himself to fight to the death, a blue vine shot out from the distance.
The vines burst out of the ground and bound the ferocious soul beasts.
Each vine was a thick as a child’s arm, sparkling limpidly as if carved from crystal. Faint rays of light twinkled within them.
The pride of Blazing Demon Lions stiffened before the vines obstructed their movements.
To let such an opportunity slip by would be a crime. Without missing a beat, the young man charged forward and smashed open the skull of a hundred-year soul beast, sending its brain matter splattering through the air.
Like a flash of lightning, he turned around and clubbed the head of another thousand-year lioness.
The Blazing Demon Lions called upon infernos to disintegrate the blue vines. Unfortunately for them, the vines released their holds before burning to crisps.
Snarling, the majestic thousand-year Blazing Demon Lion King charged at the youth, but was locked in place by a golden vine. Though the other lions continued attacking, their combined strength paled in comparison with the king’s.
At that moment, icy-blue lights showered down upon the lions like heaven’s retribution.