The Fire Bull General may not be top-tier among late Combined-Body experts, but he's still a battle-hardened veteran. Yet now, any random late Combined-Body demon can jump out and defeat him with ease.
This made the ten-thousand-man demon commanders pretty upset, but they couldn't deny Ricky the Rat King's strength. Among late Combined-Body experts, he could walk sideways—at least, none of the ten-thousand-man commanders present were his match.
"Who else wants some?"
Ricky the Rat King swept his gaze over the demon commanders with open disdain, making them all seethe with anger.
"I'll fight you!"
A figure stepped out from General Jiao the Demon Drake's personal guard.
His name was Mo Yan, the vice-captain of General Jiao's personal guard—actually stronger than Yale Jiao, but if Yale weren't the general's nephew, Mo Yan would've gotten the captain's post instead.
General Jiao, still smarting from his earlier loss of face, lit up with joy: "Good, I knew I wasn't wrong about you. If you can beat this rat-faced bastard, I'll promote you to captain!"
"Rest assured, sir—I'll make sure you aren't disappointed!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Mo Yan shot forward, twin pitch-black swords appearing in his hands.
Ricky's expression changed drastically. Forming seals rapidly, waves of energy burst from his body, forcibly expelling strands of black mist.
But his body was temporarily immobilized in midair, unable to move.
At that moment, Mo Yan appeared above him, face twisted with killing intent, and brought both pitch-black swords down like twin bolts of dark lightning.
"Watch out, Rat King!" Tiger King shouted in alarm.
Boom!
As the twin swords came down, Ricky barely managed to raise a zhenyuan barrier, but the terrifying force drove him from midair and smashed him heavily into the ground.
"Nice!"
Seeing this, General Jiao's demon officers all cheered.
Meanwhile, General Jiao's smile grew even wider.
When the dust cleared, a bottomless pit appeared in the ground. The next moment, a figure burst out of the pit, looking a bit disheveled.
Bastard, you've really pissed off your Grandpa Rat—prepare to die!
Ricky roared, suddenly transforming into his true form—a massive gray rat several times larger than a calf. The next moment, his fur bristled all over.
Pop pop pop pop!
Then, each strand of his fur shot off his body, turning into streaks of gray lightning that shot straight at Mo Yan.
Clang clang clang!
Mo Yan tried to block with his swords, but the force carried by Ricky's fur drove him back step by step, forcing him to retreat into black mist once again.
Hmph! Trying that trick again? Get swallowed!
Ricky snorted, suddenly opening his giant blood-red maw. A powerful suction force erupted from his mouth, sucking the black mist into his belly. This was a devouring divine power awakened in his bloodline after training in an immortal art taught by Ian Song—he could devour all things and refine them into his own strength.
After swallowing Mo Yan, Ricky changed back to human form and rubbed his stomach with satisfaction. "Hmph, not bad—only half full!"
"No way, Mo Yan just got eaten like that?"
Seeing this, all the demon officers looked grim, while General Jiao's face was so dark it seemed ready to drip water.
"Anyone else want to die? Please, send someone stronger this time—the last two were just warm-ups!" Ricky taunted, showing off shamelessly.
"I'll grant your wish!"
Suddenly, General Jiao strode forward.
"Crap!"
Ricky was stunned—his bravado had just run headfirst into a wall. He was confident, but facing a mid-Tribulation flood-dragon, he didn't have the guts to fight head-on.
"Die!"
General Jiao didn't care about the details. With a cold snarl, he flipped his hand and unleashed a colossal palm imprint, smashing straight toward Ricky.
"Go help the Rat King!"
Ian Song spoke.
At once, Tiger King, Eagle King, Snake King, and the other fourteen late Combined-Body experts sprang into action.
All of them had been taught immortal-grade arts and techniques by Ian Song; any one of them could sweep through Combined-Body experts, but whether they could match a mid-Tribulation foe depended on their teamwork.
Facing a mid-Tribulation opponent, none of the fifteen dared to slack off. After neutralizing General Jiao's giant palm imprint, they all revealed their true forms and unleashed their strongest states.
"Die, all of you!"
General Jiao now held a three-zhang-long Azure dragon-scale spear. With a sweeping arc, he blasted three of the demon kings away, then the spear split into cold points of light, enveloping four more.
"Outrageous!"
Tiger King roared, unleashing a piercing shockwave that struck the dragon-scale spear, making it tremble and giving the four encircled demon kings a chance to retreat.
Then, the three battered demon kings flew back into the fray.
Boom! Boom!
Explosions rang out one after another, shredding the void like tattered cloth.
Both sides grew fiercer and more reckless as the battle raged, each fighting with true fire.
At first, the fifteen demon kings were at a disadvantage, but as their teamwork improved, they gradually held their own, and after hundreds of exchanges, they even managed to slightly suppress General Jiao.
Ian Song was very satisfied with this, but General Jiao still hadn't revealed his true form. If he did, his strength would soar.
But Ian Song wasn't about to give him the chance.
The Azure Flood-Dragon Sword flashed out, turning into a blood-red beam that pierced General Jiao's abdomen. Violent power rampaged through him, and blood gushed from his wound.
The fifteen demon kings, seeing this, intensified their assault.
They battered General Jiao until he roared in fury.
Just then, a burst of intense azure light erupted from his body—he was about to reveal his true form, knowing the situation was dire. But Ian Song was ready; he struck, his sword slashing heavily across Jiao's body, forcibly interrupting his transformation and leaving a terrifying wound on his back.
"Bastard!"
General Jiao roared in fury, utterly humiliated.
[Explanatory Note: Cultivation ranks such as 'Combined-Body' and 'Tribulation' refer to advanced stages in martial training. Combined-Body is a high-level rank; Tribulation is even higher, with 'mid-Tribulation' indicating a powerful expert able to challenge armies or generals.]
[Explanatory Note: Idioms like 'true fire' or 'ran headfirst into a wall' are common in Chinese webnovels, meaning fighting with full seriousness or encountering an unexpected setback.]