Old Ray and I walked over slowly. Ahead, Tammy Blade had already moved ahead of us. I noticed that tonight, her expression was different from the Tammy Blade we'd seen before.
Usually, Tammy Blade is cheerful and always joking around, but tonight, there was a murderous aura about her—a cold, chilling presence.
In the distance, the rumbling of the earth could already be heard.
“That thing is fast,” Old Ray said. I nodded. It was even faster than last night. Yesterday, we’d gone with Old Eccentric and only reached the edge of the pit after a long walk. It took a while before the Desire Fiend crawled out of the chasm. But tonight, Old Ray and I were still in the woods when we already heard the rumbling.
Finally, I saw her. Tammy Blade strode forward, the Hidden Saber in her right hand, held in a reverse grip and gleaming coldly as it rested on the ground. Her broad back and the slightly curved blade—over a meter long, inscribed with Tibetan script—looked imposing.
With a roar, the ground began to tremble. It was the Desire Fiend. Its crimson eyes stared directly at us, and I realized it was focused on me. It desperately wanted to devour me.
“Heh, it’s been a long time since I fought you. I bet you’ve been enjoying yourself, haven’t you? It’s been decades—those people you devoured, their screams still echo in my ears. Monster, you may be invincible, but there’s a fire burning in my heart...”
Tammy Blade shouted and charged at the Desire Fiend, Hidden Saber in hand.
With a heavy thud, the Desire Fiend charged toward us.
Old Ray and I watched quietly as the sounds grew louder. Tammy Blade had already reached the Desire Fiend, but tonight, the monster didn’t even care about anyone trying to stop it. Its eyes remained fixed on us.
“Gesar, grant me your strength...”
Suddenly, Tammy Blade leapt high into the air, both hands raising the Hidden Saber, and slashed fiercely at the oncoming Desire Fiend.
With a thunderous crash, the Desire Fiend was instantly cleaved into four pieces and came to a halt. The massive stone fragments shattered and fell to the ground. As soon as Tammy Blade landed, she quickly leapt back.
“If you fight it like that, the thing will just grow stronger and stronger,” Old Ray said worriedly.
“If you keep doing this, the Desire Fiend will only get tougher,” I shouted.
Tammy Blade turned her head.
“I’m not an idiot. Just watch and see.”
As she spoke, the shattered stone fragments began to gather in midair. Just as they started to re-form, Tammy Blade leapt up again and slashed at the mass of stone, scattering the fragments in all directions with a crash.
“Heh, I figured it out a long time ago. As long as you can’t reform into a monster, you won’t get stronger.”
I was stunned, watching Tammy Blade as she burst out laughing.
Whenever the stone fragments started to take shape, Tammy Blade would leap up and hack at them, scattering them back into pieces.
Just when I thought the night was almost over, the stone fragments suddenly changed direction and flew into the chasm.
“Trying to escape? Not so easy,” Tammy Blade shouted, rushing forward.
With a roar, the Desire Fiend crawled out of the chasm, swinging its fist at Tammy Blade. Without hesitation, she slashed at its fist with the Hidden Saber, shattering it into stone fragments, then struck hard, chopping off both its legs.
Its massive body pressed down on Tammy Blade, but she quickly turned and sprinted back with all her strength.
The Desire Fiend lay on the ground, roaring furiously at Tammy Blade.
Tammy Blade looked completely at ease, raising the Hidden Saber as the sound of stone striking stone echoed. The Desire Fiend’s severed legs reattached themselves, but without missing a beat, she swung the Hidden Saber at it again.
The Desire Fiend’s newly reattached legs were chopped off again by Tammy Blade.
Apparently enraged, the Desire Fiend pounded the ground in front of it with its fists, producing a series of heavy thuds.
“It’s useless to fight back. Heh, this is what I’m doing tonight, and it’s working pretty well. All I have to do is keep chopping off your legs.”
Tammy Blade burst out laughing, but suddenly, without warning, the Desire Fiend let out a roar. With a deafening explosion, stone fragments shot out in all directions like bullets.
“Careful, Ethan,”
I nodded. As the stone fragments flew toward us, Old Ray and I had no choice but to turn and run.
Something strange happened—the flying stones, in a chaotic pattern, came straight at us. Old Ray and I hadn’t run far before stopping. Above our heads, the stones started to merge together.
Tammy Blade was already rushing toward us.
“Something’s wrong.”
The stones above us formed a mass as large as a small hill. Old Ray immediately crouched down, and without hesitation, I climbed onto his back. He carried me as we dashed into the forest.
The Desire Fiend fully reformed, slowly shifting its shape. Tammy Blade arrived and leapt high, raising the Hidden Saber.
Suddenly, a golden light appeared in the sky. Tiny points of light—Sanctified Prayer Beads—glimmered as Vincent Swallow stepped onto them and leapt to the Desire Fiend. The beads began to merge into a Lotus Platform. He sat atop it, raised his hand, and the massive Celestial Monk’s Vestment unfurled, instantly wrapping around the Desire Fiend.
“Celestial Monk’s Vestment...” Vincent Swallow shouted, as Tammy Blade struck. With a boom, I saw the Celestial Monk’s Vestment wrapping the Desire Fiend contract inward, then bulge outward toward us, as if bearing a tremendous force. Even the Desire Fiend inside was impacted, and I saw the imprint of a fist appear.
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“Why are you interfering, Vincent Swallow? Didn’t we agree that I’d handle tonight alone?”
Vincent Swallow sat quietly atop the Lotus Platform. After a while, he split himself in two, and his real body stepped onto the Sanctified Prayer Beads and landed on the ground.
Tammy Blade looked furious, but Vincent Swallow just smiled.
“Calm down, Tammy Blade. Your attacks are the fiercest of the five of us, but this thing is smarter than we thought. Your tactics won’t work on it. We’ll need to rethink our team assignments going forward.”
Vincent Swallow spoke, but Tammy Blade still looked indignant. With a swipe, she stabbed the Hidden Saber into the ground and looked up. On the Celestial Monk’s Vestment wrapping the Desire Fiend, the imprints of fists appeared one by one.
“Tonight, I’ll just have to tough it out. Tomorrow morning, we’ll reassign the teams in detail. It’s better to split shifts between the first and second half of the night. Giving it all to one person will wear them out. And your attacks, when you go all out, are just too conspicuous. Plus, when you get heated, you don’t care about anything else. If I hadn’t come tonight, Ethan Zhang would probably have ended up like the others...”
“Enough, I’m going back to sleep.” Tammy Blade said, picking up the Hidden Saber and walking away slowly. I noticed a faint trace of sadness on her face.
I looked at Vincent Swallow, wanting to ask, but he just shook his head.
“Go on, you two should get some sleep as well. Ethan, after lunch tomorrow, meet me by the river. I’ll tell you a bit about her.” He sighed.
Back at camp, I glanced at the Vermilion Bird hanging from the tree, its crimson light flickering like a tiny lamp. It wasn’t asleep yet, staring at us blankly.
I sat by the fire, warming myself for a moment before lying down.
“Zhang Qingyuan, this group won’t last much longer. You’d better think it over—let me down. With my help, you’ll last ten days, no problem.”
The Vermilion Bird whispered. I glanced at it, then closed my eyes and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, after breakfast, we gathered around the Desire Table. Everyone looked grim, and Vincent Swallow’s dark circles made him seem especially exhausted.
“I don’t know why, but it’s far more draining than I imagined,” Vincent Swallow said.
“I feel the same. How could that thing be so strong? Just decades without fighting, and it’s this powerful.”
Old Eccentric spoke, and I hung my head in guilt.
“We need to split into teams in detail,” Vincent Swallow said, squatting down and arranging five leaves, then picking up two smaller ones.
“Zhang Qingyuan, you and Old Ray have to join our operations. If we keep going like this, we won’t last twenty days.”
I nodded.
“What should we do?”
“First, Old Ray, how fast can you run? Do you think you can outrun the Desire Fiend?” Vincent Swallow asked. Old Ray nodded, then shook his head.
“Unless someone helps from the side.”
“That’s what I thought too,” Mr. Blackmask said, and Vincent Swallow smiled.
“Tonight, Ethan, you’ll have Old Ray carry you while someone keeps watch. In a crisis, they’ll step in and hold off the Desire Fiend so it can’t catch up. All you have to do is run circles around the chasm. Mr. Blackmask, you’re in charge tonight.”
Vincent Swallow said, and Mr. Blackmask nodded.
“After that, we’ll split Mr. Blackmask and Tammy Blade up, pairing each with one of us for the night. Don’t engage head-on—that’ll just wear you out. Combining strength and defense makes things easier, and that way, we won’t be exhausted after just six or seven days.”
Everyone nodded. Tammy Blade said nothing, devouring her food in silence.
Then Vincent Swallow stood up and gave me a look. I limped after him.