Its beak and claws were like five sharp lances.
Luo Shuangyue had no doubt about the damage this thing could cause.
After all, in theory, this monster, which might be classified under the broad category of birds, was now something akin to a Transhuman.
It had lost its reason, driven by the bloodthirsty desires within the Demonic Energy, becoming nothing more than a pitiful, disposable pawn.
Its life was already on a countdown.
Even without Luo Shuangyue’s intervention, it would die soon enough from the conflict caused by the Demonic Energy contaminating its body.
Shua!
Several faint black lines flashed across the air.
The diving Demon Bird’s movements froze instantly, and in the midst of its fall, its body silently split into several pieces.
Blackish-red, foul-smelling blood rained down on Luo Shuangyue, making her expression turn helpless.
“Zheng!”
Of course, it wasn’t Luo Shuangyue who had dismembered the Demon Bird’s attack.
Her original plan was to simply crush the Demon Bird’s skull when it got close.
That would have been the most convenient and cleanest way.
As for the risk… This Demon Crow had no means of magical attack, and its physical attacks could not harm Luo Shuangyue in her current state.
Even if her head were pierced right through, she could still smile and pull this little bird’s head off its body.
Yet her perfect plan had been thoroughly ruined by Zheng, and the clean solution she envisioned had turned into the mess she was in now.
Drenched in filthy crow’s blood.
“Sorry, I just acted on instinct…” Zheng, who hadn’t been splattered by blood, looked apologetically at the girl whose clothes had been stained dark red.
She knew full well that Luo Shuangyue was much stronger than herself, and also that this big crow couldn’t possibly hurt Luo Shuangyue.
But seeing it lunge at her, she still couldn’t help but use her ability.
“Forget it, it’s not anything troublesome anyway.”
What could Luo Shuangyue say? Zheng had acted out of good intentions; she couldn’t scold her for that.
As for being drenched in hot blood—well, it wasn’t a big deal. She’d just eat the blood.
As for her clothes… She was currently wearing the same kind of dog-black cloth as Xiaozi.
It barely counted as clothing at all, so if it got dirty, so be it.
“Sigh, the Demonic Energy content is so low, there’s hardly any value in eating this.”
Having absorbed all the blood from her body, Luo Shuangyue clicked her tongue in disappointment.
The Demonic Energy, mixed with the stench of blood, provided a disastrous taste experience.
She had no intention of trying to eat another one of these big birds that crossed her path.
“Xiaozi, do you want some?”
To avoid the awkwardness of having to look after two burdens in the middle of a fight, Luo Shuangyue had been quite generous these past couple of days and hadn’t absorbed from Xiaozi at all.
Instead, she’d even given some Demonic Energy to her, so that the girl now had enough strength to escape if needed.
There was no way to rely on this girl in a real fight—if she could run away, that was enough.
“Luckily, her ability is perfectly suited to escape. Otherwise, I might as well dig a hole and bury her.” Luo Shuangyue, who absorbed from Xiaozi every day, had naturally already figured out Xiaozi’s ability.
Her power to mimic another’s ability after eating something hadn’t disappeared with her change in race.
After biting Xiaozi for a whole month, Luo Shuangyue had gotten to the bottom of her powers.
“No, I’m not hungry.” Xiaozi shook her head.
She wasn’t unable to express her own opinions; on matters the girls could discuss, Luo Shuangyue still encouraged her to speak up.
After all, Luo Shuangyue’s current aim was to raise this child and see just what kind of magical creature she could nurture in the end.
“Alright, let’s just leave this thing here and keep moving forward…” Luo Shuangyue’s words trailed off, as a chill suddenly crept up from the base of her spine.
Something’s wrong. Danger!
She instinctively summoned a small, delicate dagger and, trusting her intuition, stabbed behind her in a certain direction.
She didn’t use her familiar scythe, because her instincts told her the source of danger was very close, and her large, accustomed weapon couldn’t be used effectively at this distance.
The short dagger, wreathed in black-violet Demonic Energy, shot straight toward a spot in seemingly empty air.
Just as it was about to strike, a pale hand streaked with crimson patterns emerged from the void, grabbing Luo Shuangyue’s dagger in its grasp.
“Little one, don’t be so hasty. Eh?” A languid, lazy voice drifted from the air, but after half a sentence, it suddenly faltered.
“Um, is your hand alright?” Luo Shuangyue’s mouth twitched as she watched the hand gripping her dagger, already being slowly corroded by the black-violet energy.
She could more or less guess what this hidden person had planned—probably to show off in front of her with a flashy ‘barehanded blade catch.’
Well, she had caught the blade, but her hand had been sliced, and the Demonic Energy Luo Shuangyue had infused into the blade was invading her body.
“Not bad at all, little one.” The mysterious figure, her perfect entrance ruined, no longer bothered to hide.
She stepped out from her concealed space.
As she did, she forcibly expelled the black-violet Demonic Energy that had invaded her body, forcing it out to form a tiny Demon Butterfly outside her body.
With a gesture from Luo Shuangyue, the little butterfly obediently returned to her side.
Meanwhile, her eyes remained fixed, wary, on this mysterious woman.
This one was absolutely a Demon Emperor whose power was no less than Anxing’s.
She could be negotiated with, and she wasn’t displaying clear hostility.
Luo Shuangyue quickly judged that this woman likely belonged to the same Dark Star’s Faction as Anxing.
The very same faction that believed in unity and was secretly preparing to strike against the Sanctuary.
“Who are you? Are you the companion Senior Anxing mentioned?” Having reached a preliminary judgment, Luo Shuangyue spoke up at once, taking the initiative.
Her question was not only about the other’s identity, but also made it clear to the woman: we’re on the same side.
Sure enough, at Luo Shuangyue’s words, the woman’s expression immediately turned disappointed. “Tch, already beaten to the punch?”
She had expected to be preempted, but actually hearing the answer she didn’t want from this girl still left her somewhat unhappy.
She’d planned to act mysterious, shock these three youngsters, and win them over.
Who could have guessed these little ones had already seen the world.
What a pity.
“My name is Manzhu, I’m Anxing’s colleague.” The woman tossed the dagger back to Luo Shuangyue, and asked casually, “Where’s Anxing now?”
Realizing there was no more fun to be had here, she lost interest in the trio before her.
After asking where Anxing was, she planned to leave right away.
As for these three, who cared?
Their abilities were so mediocre—if not for the fact that her senior had specifically instructed her to recruit and bring back ones like them, she would have made a move long ago.
Magical creatures were cold and ruthless by nature. ‘Kinship’—such nonsense—was something only fools like Anxing would believe.
Manzhu wouldn’t disobey her senior’s orders, but she certainly wouldn’t go out of her way to cooperate, either.
Since these three were recruited by Anxing, their safety was her responsibility, not Manzhu’s concern in the slightest.
If they were unlucky enough to encounter Combat Troops from the Sanctuary and died, well, so be it. Not a big deal.
“We don’t know. We separated from Senior Anxing earlier.” Luo Shuangyue shook her head and pointed toward the area where the blackness was thickest, “But I guess Senior Anxing will be there. She said her task is to recruit newly-born kin, so she definitely wouldn’t leave at a time like this.”
“Heh, I know that even without you telling me. Whatever, I’ll go find her myself.”
With a flick of her black-and-red skirt, the woman snorted coldly and vanished from the three’s sight.
Luo Shuangyue stared in the direction the woman left for a long while in silence.
Suddenly, she realized that the organization Anxing mentioned might not be as united as it seemed.
Take this Demon Emperor Manzhu just now, for example—she had shown obvious dissatisfaction toward Anxing.
It was almost as if she looked down on her, or thought she was a fool. In any case, their relationship was clearly not good.
Yet she hadn’t actually attacked them, which meant the organization’s rules still held some weight.
“Hmm, maybe I can use this later.” Stroking her chin, Luo Shuangyue muttered softly.
Compared to Anxing, Manzhu’s personality was much more flamboyant and distinctive.
The clothes she wore truly deserved to be called clothing, unlike the rags Luo Shuangyue was currently wearing, which were just meant to cover herself.
A bad personality might be the effect of Demonic Energy, but knowing what clothes look good—perhaps that meant this Demon Emperor had gone further down the path of ‘humanity’ than Anxing.
But that was a concern for the future. For now, it was time to focus on the major event about to unfold.