"This bitch…. She clearly knows what I mean but she keeps taunting me."
When Lilith heard the low murmur from Shangguan Bing Xue, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly in surprise.
Although the silver-haired beauty's voice had been low enough to go unnoticed, it was impossible for it to slip past the senses of an existence at Lilith's level. It was just that even Lilith herself doubted her ears for the first time as she somehow could not believe that this Shangguan Bing Xue was cursing so casually.
Maybe her personality is different from what she shows in public? Maybe Shangguan Bing Xue's personality is different from what Lilith thought? Or could it be that this is the real personality of the existence known as Shangguan Bing Xue when she…? A thought popped into Lilith's head and quickly took root, causing a complicated look to flash in her eyes.
From the very beginning, what Lilith had been trying to do by teasing Shangguan Bing Xue in such ways was to try to get clues about how far the relationship between the ice princess and Bai Zemin had gone. After all, Lilith clearly remembered how that night when she told Bai Zemin about the existence of the Firmament Fragments she also warned him about his attitude towards women; she even told him that his show of care and special kindness could be misunderstood, which in the future could give him a lot of problems.
However, since at the time of her departure both Bai Zemin and Shangguan Bing Xue had grown considerably closer, Lilith did not believe that more than a month later the relationship between them would not become even closer. After all, Shangguan Bing Xue was possibly the only existence capable of actually helping Bai Zemin; even Lilith could not compare in this aspect since all she could do was give him information, unlike Shangguan Bing Xue who could fight side by side with him.
'I didn't expect things to turn out like this in such a short time.' Lilith didn't know how to feel as she watched Shangguan Bing Xue drawing her sword and rushing towards her glaring at her like an enraged lioness.
'It's all that little shameless man's fault.' Lilith clenched her teeth secretly as she raised her left hand calmly.
In the ruby-colored eyes of the charming succubus, the silver radiance of Shangguan Bing Xue's sword covered by some kind of skill was reflected. It was as if the world was slowing down for her, but in reality, it was just that Lilith was moving too fast compared to the laws of the Earth let alone compared to Shangguan Bing Xue.
Boom!!!
An explosion of frost covered the area in fog as the sword of Shangguan Bing Xue met Lilith's hand. The temperature of the area immediately plummeted and the entire width of the bridge for 500 meters long obtained a thin layer of ice on the surface.
It was only when the frozen air particles reflected in the eyes of Shangguan Bing Xue under the glare of the sun that she realized what she had just done and was immediately hit by a wave of guilt.
"What… What did I just do?" Shangguan Bing Xue whispered with her eyes wide open.
Her entire body shuddered in fear as she took two steps back. Realizing that she had lost her sanity for a moment and attacked a living being who despite taunting her had not committed any crime worthy of the death penalty, Shangguan Bing Xue was immediately overcome with regret.
She naturally did not believe that a woman who appeared casually would have the strength she claimed to have. Shangguan Bing Xue knew better than anyone how powerful she was and how lethal her attacks were; even a Second Order peak beast would be cut into two pieces if it did not fight back let alone the frail body of a human woman!
Soon, however, Shangguan Bing Xue realized that her regret was unnecessary and that perhaps the one she should be worrying about was herself instead of others.
"That from now was Frost Rebuff in conjunction with a bit of Blizzard? You really do grow up fast. As expected, I guess I should say."
Lilith's slightly lazy voice reached Shangguan Bing Xue and out of pure instinct, she leaped back as she raised her sword in a defensive stance.
Swoooooosh!!!
The blue eyes of Shangguan Bing Xue widened as shock knocked her. Under her disbelieving gaze, the frost fog was swept away by forces outside of nature and what was hidden within was immediately revealed.
Standing there, Lilith had her left hand extended forward at shoulder height. Her index finger pointed upward and her red eyes were looking appreciatively at her.
Shangguan Bing Xue's natural sense of danger was triggered as never before when the realization of what had actually happened during that brief second came upon her.
She… This woman… Had stopped her physical attack powered by two magic skills just by using one finger…? When this question was born inside Shangguan Bing Xue's head the very brain that gave birth to such a thought refused to believe it.
Shangguan Bing Xue was 100% sure that even Bai Zemin could not take that attack of before with his bare hands so casually and refused to believe that someone more abnormal than him would appear in China.
Perhaps out of instinct or perhaps feeling overwhelmed and embarrassed, Shangguan Bing Xue pointed her sword towards the sky and called out::
"Ice Swords!"
Her angelic voice was not different from the song of a seraphim and surrounded by the sea as the sunlight hovered over her made her look like a true goddess who had descended upon the world to eradicate evil.
Lilith felt the mana inside Shangguan Bing Xue's body stir and her magical power exploded into the sky.
"Forget it, it's pointless." Lilith shook her head as she watched tens and then hundreds of silver-transparent swords taking form in the sky.
"Go!" Shangguan Bing Xue ignored Lilith's words and swung down her sword fiercely as she gave the verbal command.
However, something Shangguan Bing Xue did not expect happened.
"I told you… It's pointless." Lilith looked at Shangguan Bing Xue with indifferent eyes and said in a cold voice, "Don't you ever listen to the words of others? At the end of the day, you are still an arrogant brat who after gaining some strength thinks she can do as she pleases."
Shangguan Bing Xue looked up to the sky in disbelief and her eyes twitched due to the shock.
The ice swords that she had invested over 90+ Mana points into, far from obeying her previous command, were no longer even pointing towards the enemy; they were now pointing towards the ground directly over the position she was standing on!
Her magic attack was stolen and was now being used against her!
Shangguan Bing Xue lowered her gaze from the sky and looked at Lilith in shock and disbelief. What kind of force was this? It was completely beyond anything Shangguan Bing Xue could comprehend!
But the strangest thing of all was that unlike the fear she felt when the emperor of the asura race appeared before her and Bai Zemin in Oblon World, Shangguan Bing Xue could not feel the slightest danger or fear towards the woman who called herself Lilith.
Seeing that Shangguan Bing Xue was looking at her with surprise but there was no fear in her eyes, Lilith could not help but feel a little upset. Therefore, she decided that scaring this woman a little to make her be more cautious from now on would not be a bad step to take.
"Since you attacked first, I can now attack with complete freedom."
Lilith's cold voice resounded as if it was the only truth in the universe. The entire world fell silent and the warm winds blowing in the sea stopped flowing as if the reality had frozen.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!….
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!…
…
"Plant skill?" Shangguan Bing Xue muttered as suddenly hundreds and soon thousands of sea plants broke out of the sea and jumped onto the bridge.
These aquatic plants were clearly beings without intelligence as the magic power around them did not belong to them; Shangguan Bing Xue was certain of this fact because if that terrifying magic power was from the aquatic plants, then they would probably be the rulers of the sea with ease.
As Shangguan Bing Xue watched as half of the aquatic plants stood behind Lilith, several tens of the ones behind her soon made their move.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!…
Dozens of plants used whip-like limbs and slashed towards Shangguan Bing Xue, to which she immediately responded by slashing with her sword at lightning speed.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!…
To further increase Shangguan Bing Xue's shock, those weak-looking plants were actually covered in layers of mana that had transformed their bodies into creatures terrifying enough to completely ignore the edge of her sword!
All she could do was fight futilely and drain more and more Stamina and Mana, relying solely on her spectacular sword skill to keep her afloat.
Then, Shangguan Bing Xue realized that before she realized when, her body had been forced back so far that she could now feel a hand right behind her neck.
"You see? No matter how hard you try, the current you single-handedly is capable of this much."
Lilith's voice was lazy and slightly derisive.
Shangguan Bing Xue lowered her sword and did not panic. She didn't look back or make another move as she said coldly, "Even if I can't beat you now, I definitely will in the future."
"Oh?" Lilith raised an eyebrow and her lips curved slightly upwards. "That confidence of yours is even higher than my confidence when I started to evolve."
Lilith could feel how high Shangguan Bing Xue's pride was. The pride of the woman whose life was in her hands was so high that only those who had never in their lives known defeat after experiencing countless battles for centuries, millennia, and even millions of years possessed.
"But…" Lilith's voice turned slightly cold and the murderous intent she released was enough to make Shangguan Bing Xue's legs waver for a brief moment, "What makes you think you'll get out of here alive after you attacked me?"
"Call it instinct or whatever you want…. I know you won't kill me no matter what." Shangguan Bing Xue replied calmly. She did not feel nervous at all despite the situation she was in.
Smiling teasingly, she said indifferently, "If you hurt me, I wonder how you will explain that to Bai Zemin when he wakes up?"
"…" Lilith was a bit tongue-tied at Shangguan Bing Xue's shamelessness. "You know… You're quite shameless. Where's all that pride from before?"
"If you want to blame someone then blame that little bastard lying on the ground behind you." Shangguan Bing Xue snorted and for some reason, her voice sounded irritated now that she was talking about Bai Zemin. "He always says that the real winner is the one who survives regardless of what needs to be done. Besides, ten years is not too late for a maiden to have her revenge. I will definitely make you pay for this humiliation today, Lilith."
"Or maybe I should call you Lili?"
Lilith's red eyes widened slightly and a flash of surprise shone in her gaze. She let go of Shangguan Bing Xue and subconsciously asked, "How do you know?"
Shangguan Bing Xue turned around to look at her face, noticing that they were both the same height. In response to Lilith, she snorted again and sneered, "Even if we put aside the weird similarity in both names, from the beginning it has always seemed suspicious to me how it is possible for Bai Zemin to trust in an unknown woman so much. But now many things are starting to make sense to me."
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