Rescue

"Die like a bug, you insect!" Pressing his advantage, Deimos leaped into the air with his massive body and drove his right fist down toward Jin Sheng on the ground. In the blink of an eye, a streak of sword light skimmed across the ground. Deimos's fist struck empty earth, blasting out a colossal crater. Deimos instantly looked to his left. Gan Jiang was retreating swiftly, holding Mo Ye with one hand and supporting Jin Sheng with the other. "Little insect, you have a death wish!" Deimos viciously clawed into the ground with his right hand. A massive clump of soil instantly hardened into solid rock, and raising his arm, the demon hurled the boulder toward the trio's path of retreat. A split second later, a massive shadow loomed over the fleeing Gan Jiang. Looking up, he saw the boulder crashing down from above. "Longsword Mo Ye!" With no time to hesitate, he let go of Jin Sheng and was carried aloft by the longsword, slashing directly into the rock. *So hard!* This was no ordinary stone; it had been imbued with some kind of magic. The moment his slash landed, Gan Jiang spun in midair. As he shifted above Mo Ye, he instantly transformed into a broadsword, while Mo Ye shifted from sword to human form, grasping the broadsword Gan Jiang to cleave into the rock. A sword mark appeared on the boulder's surface, but it was clearly far from enough. In an instant, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye began spinning like fan blades. One above and one below, alternating positions, the two swords shifted constantly—one moment Gan Jiang held Mo Ye in longsword form, the next Mo Ye wielded Gan Jiang as a broadsword. By the time the boulder hit the earth, countless fractures webbed across it, and upon impact, it shattered into a sea of tiny stone cubes that scattered everywhere. Gan Jiang and Mo Ye landed on the ground simultaneously, both panting heavily. But before they could even catch their breath, Deimos loomed before them, throwing a downward punch from above. "Gan Jiang!" "Mo Ye!" "Together in life and death!" Clasping hands, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye threw each other forward with combined force, instantly transforming into a longsword and a broadsword that shot toward Deimos in a crossed strike. The two swords collided with Deimos's fist. In an instant, both were sent flying backward, their blades riddled with cracks. Crashing to the ground, they reverted to human form, both vomiting a mouthful of blood. Deimos was simply too strong; a mere clash had already left them grievously injured. "Quick, kill them all!" Zhou Tai Nine shouted excitedly at the sight. Deimos paid Zhou Tai Nine no heed. Compared to Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, he detested Jin Sheng even more, because the light Jin Sheng had emitted when transforming into the golden lion vaguely counteracted his power. The two were mutually incompatible, making Jin Sheng his primary target. Looking at Jin Sheng on the ground, he flashed a vicious grin. Smothering a potential threat before it had fully matured was an intoxicating sensation. Just as he raised his arm, however, golden cords rapidly coiled around his body, pinning him in place instantly. At the other end of these golden cords stood a group of men and women dressed in Taoist robes. Their hands formed seals, and each wore a grave expression as they gritted their teeth, pouring out spiritual energy. "We made it just in time! Captain Gan Jiang, Captain Jin Sheng, can you still move?" one of the Taoists shouted toward Jin Sheng and Gan Jiang. Neither replied. The Taoist's face darkened further. They were in serious trouble—they couldn't bind Deimos for long. Of the four squads participating in this operation, two captains were severely injured and one captain's fate was unknown; only his Monster-Slaying Squad could still fight. The problem was that the Monster-Slaying Squad's true specialty lay in slaying and capturing monsters. Against a creature like Deimos, which possessed no monster aura, their skills were completely mismatched. Among the four assembled squads, the Evil-Slaying Squad specialized in dealing with zombies, fierce ghosts, and vengeful spirits. Jin Sheng's Lion's Majesty held absolute supremacy over such entities; the moment he shone, evil spirits and vile specters would be turned to ashes. The Wickedness-Cleaving Squad was better suited for dealing with massive beasts; in the face of Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, colossal creatures were usually like livestock awaiting slaughter, quickly chopped to pieces. The Crime-Purging Squad was led by Gong Qian, who specialized in crushing evil, criminal Transcendents—taking down small fry with a single punch. Lastly was the Monster-Slaying Squad, which typically handled and managed monsters lurking in cities, such as fox spirits and other animals that had cultivated into human form. Incidentally, though Hu Tu'er possessed the Nine-Tailed Fox bloodline, she was human, not a genuine fox spirit. *Crack!* At that moment, Deimos's body trembled slightly, and cracks instantly surfaced across many of the golden cords. "Not good! Tianxuan, hurry and get the two captains and Mo Ye out of here! I'm afraid we won't hold out much longer," the leading Taoist said. The Monster-Slaying Squad consisted of seven members, whose code names happened to match the seven stars of the Big Dipper: Captain Tianshu, followed by Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang. "Captain, can you all hold on?" Tianxuan hesitated. Right now, all seven of them focusing their power together was barely enough to suppress Deimos's consciousness, and even so, the creature's physical instincts were fighting back. If she left, Deimos would need only his thoughts to stir even slightly to spell doom for the remaining six. "At least we're still standing while they're down! How can we just leave them to die? Go, now!" Tianshu said with resolute determination. He had already prepared himself mentally. If Deimos showed any signs of breaking free, he would burn his life essence to hold him, refusing to give him any opportunity to attack. The Monster-Binding Rope was itself a Dragon-rank artifact forged from countless precious materials, previously invincible in operations against monsters. Had their specialties not been mismatched, even Deimos would have had to submit obediently. Tianxuan gritted her teeth and nodded, immediately cutting off her output of spiritual energy. But the moment she stopped, Deimos shuddered violently, and the golden cords of the Monster-Binding Rope began snapping and bursting apart. "Spiritual brilliance shakes the heavenly pillar, the scarlet dragon stirs the gate of essence; with this single breath, five fires kindle the navel chakra!" Tianshu's hands rapidly formed seals, and striking his own abdomen, he chanted aloud. The other team members' faces shifted dramatically, while Tianxuan's eyes reddened as she cried out, "Brother, you—!" "Cut the chatter! Carry out the mission!" A terrifying aura erupted from Tianshu as veins bulged across his forehead. An endless stream of spiritual energy coalesced into a golden dragon, slithering along the golden cords to coil around Deimos. Tianxuan gritted her teeth, wheeled around, and sprinted toward Jin Sheng... One minute earlier. After rescuing a large number of squad members and placing them in a safe location, Yu Xian grabbed Zhang Shou, who had also retreated, and flew swiftly toward the shattered mountains. They certainly had no business approaching the frontline battlefield, where even the slightest aftershock could kill them. Yet that didn't mean there was nothing they could do—for instance, they could rescue people. The two landed beside the third mountain that had been smashed through, riding in a bubble. Stepping out, Yu Xian twitched his nose, then manipulated a mass of adhesive bubbles to begin moving rocks. After the adhesive bubbles hauled away heaps of stone, a green-tinted young woman appeared before their eyes.