1622 A Goddess’ Kiss
Countless Demonic Demi-dragons had Xia Fan and Nikai surrounded. It turned out that they had gone in a dead end. Whether Xia Fan chose to press forward or retreat, he would find himself surrounded by tens of thousands of enemies. From the very beginning, the person who had planned this conspiracy had no intention of letting Xia Fan leave with his life.
A Demonic Demi-dragon let out a roar and lunged toward Xia Fan and Nikai with its rotting body.
Xia Fan leapt high up in the air with a soaring fist, connecting directly with the head of the incoming Demi-dragon. He was someone who had killed the Demonic Dragon Flame Soul before, so these Demi-dragons that were several grades lower were definitely no match for him.
Still, the difference between individual strength could be made up with numbers. Xia Fan was surrounded all around, above his head, and even beneath his feet. All he saw were black figures forming a wall that obstructed his path. Even if their bones broke, they would not allow him to escape!
!!
Xia Fan ran in the Skywing Clan’s signature oblique acceleration, an attempt to break through the enemy’s defense line. He then swerved out from the gaps like a crescent moon scimitar.
But it was like the Demi-dragons could predict Xia Fan’s actions in advance; there were countless Demi-dragons no matter which angle he charged toward. They would constantly attack wildly, breathing out devastating dragon’s fire from their mouths. They did not care that they could not make out Xia Fan’s figure and just kept unleashing their dragon’s breath in sweeping motions.
The barrage of dragon’s breath forced Xia Fan back time and time again. He had no choice but to retreat to a relatively safe corner, which happened to have a pack of Demi-dragon there, allowing him to create some space by killing them.
As long as Xia Fan continued to remain in the Demi-dragon’s encirclement, those creatures were not in any rush to attack. It was like they were being secretly controlled by some commander, constantly tightening the enclosing net to the point where Xia Fan and Nikai were pushed closer and closer to the walls behind him until there was hardly any gap between.
“They can home in on your blood,” Xia Fan panted heavily as he spoke to Nikai. “Your arm’s injured, and it’s bleeding. Though they can’t see me as I move, they are able to sense your position and distance through your blood.”
Nikai reached a hand to her shoulder. Thick blood was flowing from a cut she had received in battle. She had no idea she was wounded until Xia Fan mentioned it, and only then did she feel its stinging pain.
“You’re a member of the Demon Slayer Clan, and they have been on the frontline of the battle against the Demons for many years. The smell of their blood could very well be etched into the very genes of demonized creatures. The moment the enemy encounters you, they immediately turn manic. It’s very easy to prove this hypothesis too, all I’ll need is a drop of your blood,” Xia Fan said.
He used a short dagger and smeared a bit of her blood on it. He then threw the dagger away with a forceful swing of his arm.
*Chunk*
In the time it takes for a flint to spark, this dagger with Nikai’s blood was sticking into the chest of a Demi-dragon. All the other Demonic Demi-dragons around pounced toward it, attacking their comrade indiscriminately.
They used their sharp fangs to tear at their comrade’s flesh and bones, ignoring the hoarse cries from it as they turned the Demi-dragon stained with Nikai’s blood into just bones.
The Demonic Demi-dragons flicked their tongues, a menacing green glow emitting from their eyes. Just that bit of Demon Slayer Clan blood was not enough to satisfy them. Right now all they felt was an even more ravenous hunger for Nikai’s blood.
With that hypothesis confirmed, Nikai paled.
She looked at the slender man who had been carrying her this entire time. He did not say much, but he had never been wrong. When she was trapped in the Demon Palace, Xia Fan helped her escape, every step she had covered correct right down to the centimeter.
It was as if Xia Fan had magical eyes that were always able to discern the truth. Such an ability helped him along the path when fighting against the Demons, allowing him to get further and further along. But right now, Nikai was becoming a burden to him, and was dragging him step by step into the darkness.
Suddenly, Nikai hugged Xia Fan tightly from behind, as if he was her first love, both nervous and shy as she hugged her boyfriend tightly. Though she was no way proficient with what to do, Nikai’s body still subconsciously wrapped herself onto Xia Fan like a water snake.
Xia Fan felt his muscles tense up. As a single man, he was not used to such intimacy with the opposite sex, and this was clearly not the time for hugs!
“Goddess, you couldn’t possibly be giving me a pathetic little hug because you think that we’re about to die, right?” Xia Fan mocked her.
Living on required faith, and Xia Fan was actually really good at motivating others. He had used his own humorous words to soothe the frayed nerves of his comrades. The reason he had not done that before was all because his partner had been Traveling Buddha. Traveling Buddha had not cared about anything all his life, not heeding life or death in the slightest. There was absolutely no need to motivate him at all, since he was someone who would only get more excited the more dangerous things got.
Meanwhile, Nikai was a woman who had no will of her own. At home, she would obey her seniors and elders, and in the Legion, she would listen to her superiors. After falling down to the buffer zone with Xia Fan, she had obeyed everything Xia Fan told her.
This so-called goddess was nothing more than an obedient baby that had never expressed her own opinions. Even if it was her choice of suitors, Nikai would also be walking on eggshells, where it depended whether her family elders would be satisfied with them and not her own desires.
Nikai had been living for others her entire life. Everything she did was out of fear of losing face for her family, so she studied and learned to be conscientious, all so she could live up to her teachers’ intentions.
Every day she would put on fancy clothes and dress herself up like a lady. Just getting her hair and make-up done would take over ninety minutes, even thinking about it felt like a hassle. Even just a casual stroll down the street meant she needed to sit in front of the dresser and be crowded by a gaggle of servants. She was like a pet doll playing dress-up, dolled up in a manner she had no say over.
If she was given a choice, Nikai wished she could be like any ordinary girl in Subduing Demon City, wearing short shorts that exposed her thighs and a pair of flip-flops to walk down the street to a dirty stall so she could buy ice cream. Later, she could join her female friends and laugh happily, discussing the most eligible bachelors in the city without caring about the looks people would throw their way.
Nikai had never been to a bar or a nightclub. She wanted to get in a sexy dress and flirt with men in nightclubs. She wondered what it was like to dance alone in the middle of the dance floor, letting loose while dancing to the rhythm of the music.
Still, that was ultimately just a fantasy of hers. She cared too much about her family and how others saw her. To borrow a term from novels, she was bound by her character design. Although she had a pair of magical wings, they could not give her freedom.
There were another few more oblique movements as Xia Fan desperately tried to carry Nikai out of the Demonic Demi-dragons’ encirclement. But the creatures had already been incited after catching the scent of Nikai’s blood, and in order to gain a taste of said blood, they were unafraid of death, boldly using their bodies to stand in Xia Fan’s way.
Xia Fan tried to use his Beast King Records to control the minds of the Demi-dragons, but it was too bad that they were still Demi-dragons, an existence that was almost on par with dragons. They were highly resistant to his attempt, and since they had already been demonized, the Beast King Records could only induce a temporary mental shock, something completely incapable of turning the tide of the battle.
Nikai was leaning on Xia Fan’s back, distinctly feeling his heart beating faster and faster, his ragged breath becoming more burdened. High speeds meant a crazy rate of energy consumption, and Xia Fan kept using his precious Grade Nine energy crystals to replenish his energy, which was on the brink of collapse.
He had no qualms. During the prolonged fight, Xia Fan kept chatting with Nikai, cheering her up with his humorous words. He was clearly already working very hard, yet there was still no glimmer of hope of their survival. If she was not there, Xia Fan ought to have been able to carve a path out with his speed already, right?
“Don’t say such silly things. In my family, we don’t ever abandon our comrades!” After hearing Nikai asking him to leave her behind, Xia Fan immediately shook his head and said decisively, “Don’t worry. A boat would naturally straighten once it reaches the dock; there will surely be a solution eventually.
“But at this sort of time, I really do miss that rascal Traveling Buddha. Using him as a human shield, these guys would be no match for me!”
The more nonchalant Xia Fan appeared, the more Nikai felt bad deep down. She cherished this time she had spent together with Xia Fan, because it was the happiest period of her life.
Hearing Xia Fan tell her jokes and drinking the tea Traveling Buddha brewed. Whenever the two quarreled, these peculiar men would always leave Nikai laughing out loud.
In front of Xia Fan and Traveling Buddha, Nikai did not have to care about her image as a refined lady. Neither thought it weird when she appeared in her swimsuit bathing in the pool before, almost as if they felt like that was how life was meant to be lived in their eyes. Surely there was no need to split the pool up between men and women, right?
It would be great if she could remain here in the buffer zone and never return back to Subduing Demon City!
But now, Xia Fan and she were on the verge of death. No matter how hard they tried, there was no way for them to shake off the Demonic Demi-dragons hunting them. Even if Xia Fan would never admit it, Nikai could clearly tell that this was all her fault. The Demon Slayer blood coursing through her vein was driving these Demonic Demi-dragons insane, and what they wanted was her. Were it not for her, Xia Fan could surely escape from this predicament!
He is so fast and so dashing, with such great acumen and also so humorous…
“Hug me tight…” Nikai suddenly hugged Xia Fan firmly on his back without sparing another thought. She did not say a thing as she reached her head over and parted her pale lips to kiss Xia Fan squarely on his chapped lips.
Nikai was about to die. She had no desire to die without even having her first kiss.
Taking advantage of Xia Fan’s momentary daze, Nikai pushed him away with sudden force and with a small knife, cut the straps on his back and unfurled her mystical wings.
