Chapter 704: Chapter 704. Facing the Holy Mother

The four, who had just been beaten back by Mu Qin, displayed frowning expressions. Hou Huang, Huang Ti, and Dim Loog had tasted Mu Qin’s power before. But from the clash just now, they realized Mu Qin had not yet used her true power when they fought her.

“Old king, are you sure you want to join this fight with only one arm like that?” Mu Qin asked Huang Ti. Her tone sounded playful.

“For the sake of the world, I must,” Huang Ti replied.

“Well said!” Zhang Daofeng exclaimed. “Again! I will take point. The three of you support me!”

He revealed his weapon, which looked like a giant ink brush. Fire burst at the tip of the brush as he swung the weapon. It left a trail resembling a river made of flames.

Mu Qin’s hair moved by itself as the Hieophant approached. Zhang Daofeng was very fast. His swings seemed to come from everywhere. In a short instant, the air around Mu Qin was filled with innumerable swirling rivers of flames left behind by the brush.

Despite the fast attacks, the brush never reached Mu Qin’s body. Her hair parried each slash. The flames from the slash couldn’t affect the hair. Mu Qin never budged from her position. It was only her hair that swirled around her, blocking every attack.

Those attacks included Dim Loog’s arrows of light. His art allowed him to excel at long range. Against such a dangerous foe, he used his long-range advantage to the fullest. Yet, none of his arrows could penetrate Mu Qin’s defense. Mu Qin’s hair could split and dealt with attacks from multiple directions. Even a few threads were enough to deflect his arrows.

Huang Ti had only one hand, so he avoided close combat. He used elemental support to augment Hou Huang’s arcane arts.

Hou Huang also opted for long-range attacks. She conjured several flying metal blades. These metal blades were coated with Huang Ti’s sand. The sand seeped into the metal blades. The silvery color of the metal blades was replaced with brilliant gold. It also grew bigger and sharper.

Hou Huang sent the metal blades forward. The metal blades assailed Mu Qin from different directions as if they were controlled by multiple swordsmen. Her control was similar to the Flying Sword art. However, they also failed to trouble Mu Qin. She remained still while her hair did all the fighting.

“Have you forgotten that you never win against me in our spar?” Mu Qin asked Zhang Daofeng, who was still fiercely attacking with endless slashes. The rivers of flame he conjured had become so numerous that Mu Qin seemed engulfed by a dense fireball.

Mu Qin turned her head. The motion caused her hair to spin like a turbulence. The energy it created blew away the rivers of flame.

She finally moved. Leaving behind an afterimage in her original position, she zoomed to Zhang Daofeng’s side. Zhang Daofeng was surprised but could still react accordingly. He moved away while using his brush to sweep away Mu Qin’s hair that tried to grab him.

They zoomed around the place at high speed. Hou Huang and Dim Loog struggled to keep up using their long-range attacks.

Zhang Daofeng was fast but still couldn’t outrun Mu Qin’s speed. With his brush busy parrying Mu Qin’s hair attacks, he couldn’t stop Mu Qin’s palm that targeted his chest. The palm finally hit.

Mu Qin didn’t show a thrilled expression at the success. That’s because she felt a counterforce opposing her palm. A tiny explosion of light erupted from Zhang Daofeng’s chest. This explosion generated enough force to push her away.

Zhang Daofeng retreated. He touched his chest. A talisman became visible before it turned to dust.

“I know I am not your opponent. That’s why I made preparations,” Zhang Daofeng said.

“… Automated defense talismans?” Mu Qin uttered. “I did read a report about you researching that method. I never heard that you have succeeded.”

Zhang Daofeng smiled. “There are a lot of things I hide from you.”

“Apparently so,” Mu Qin said. “But if you think that is enough to face me, you have another thing coming. All your talismans do is defense, and how many did you equip into that robe of yours? There is a limit to perishable tools. Sooner or later, you will run out of it. What then?”

“We will defeat you before that happens,” Zhang Daofeng said.

“That is very optimistic of you. I might even call it delusional.”

“We will see who is delusional!” Zhang Daofeng exclaimed before charging back.

The fast-speed exchanges were repeated. Zhang Daofeng fought Mu Qin in close combat while the three sovereigns supported from a distance.

Saint’s Rest’s citizens watched the battle from the ground. They were unsure what to do. Some wanted to help the Holy Mother, but aiding a demon was a stigma that would brand them a sinner to everyone in the world. Some wanted to help the Hierophant, but they couldn’t bring themselves to lift a hand to attack the Holy Mother. While they were conflicted about which side to help, they all knew they would perish if they dared to join the fight. The battle up there was way above their limit.

The Martial Realm Soldiers hovering above the city wall had the same thought. They wished to aid their sovereigns, but they knew they would only throw their lives if they interfered. Even someone as strong as Jiang Tong couldn’t last long when he inserted himself into the previous battle. Unless they received a direct order, they would remain on the sidelines.

The battle continued to rage. In a short time, Mu Qin had again landed two palm strikes on Zhang Daofeng. He avoided suffering a wound due to the defensive talismans hidden on his robe.

Mu Qin didn’t just target Zhang Daofeng. She continued moving around while fighting him. Her movements left multiple illusions. Thanks to her remaining close to Zhang Daofeng, the others always knew her position, until one time when Zhang Daofeng’s ink brush slashed past her. The fact that his brush didn’t hit anything solid showed that the Mu Qin before him was an illusion.

“Look out!” Huang Ti exclaimed. He used his sand to push Hou Huang aside just as Mu Qin was about to strike her.

Huang Ti knew Mu Qin’s true position because he spread his sand in a wide area. Within the sand domain, he knew the movement of each grain of sand. Any object that pushed the sand would alert him.

He managed to save Hou Huang, but not himself. After Mu Qin missed her target, she proceeded onward and changed her target to Huang Ti, who was behind.

In an act to defend himself, Huang Ti conjured a golden wall made of earth. Sadly, the golden wall didn’t last long. Mu Qin’s hair pierced through the wall and ripped it apart in a split second. He then saw her palm coming for him.

He tried moving away while drawing his sand for protection, but he knew it would not be fast enough. He didn’t think he would come out of this unscathed. However, a blue figure suddenly inserted itself between him and the Holy Mother.

Mu Qin’s palm struck an energy shield. The impact blasted the energy shield, but it managed to stop the palm from advancing further. The owner of the energy shield, the Beta Puppet, was shoved by the force.

Zhang Daofeng caught up to Mu Qin then. He resumed his offense, preventing Mu Qin from chasing Huang Ti.

Huang Ti caught the Beta Puppet before it flew too far. The energy shield in his arm slowly reformed. The shield was dim and wouldn’t block any serious attack. It might have successfully blocked Mu Qin’s normal attack, but it wouldn’t be able to do it twice in a row. It needed time to reform its shield before it could block again.

“Thank you,” Huang Ti told the one who had sent the Beta Puppet to protect him.

“We are in this together,” Amon replied. He stayed far in the back. Unless he used the Elder God Veil, he had no chance of surviving if he inserted himself among these monsters. He remained reasonably close so he could give better commands to the Beta Puppet.

“You people are not bad. I want to see how long you can last,” Mu Qin said. The speed of her hair increased, further pressuring Zhang Daofeng. A part of her hair even elongated and reached for Hou Huang, who stayed at mid-distance.

While she thought she had the upper hand, the heat from Zhang Daofeng’s flames suddenly intensified. That was not the only thing that surprised her. In between the scorching flames, she sensed a raging stream filled with water elements. This surge of fire and water broke through her hair’s defense, which until now had never been breached.

She was forced to use her hands to block the incoming fire and water. Her hand made contact with a pair of circular metals with sharp edges. Her energy protected her hands from getting cut, but the power of the two elements slightly suffocated her.

During this momentary stun, Zhang Daofeng’s ink brush slipped in and struck her stomach.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep