By the river on Hell Paradise Island, next to a large rock, Xuanyuan Tangfeng, Situ Leisheng, and Gao Caifeng were surrounded by a group of Japanese people.
At the forefront of the Japanese ranks stood a powerful Shikigami, Amakusa Akai!
This creature was tough and thick-skinned. Ordinary swords could only leave white marks on its body, not even drawing blood.
Its strength also made Xuanyuan Tangfeng and the others hesitant to clash head-on with its spiked club using their weapons.
It pressed forward like a living shield.
Under normal circumstances, these three would have had ways to deal with this terrifying Shikigami. However, the problem was that they were all exhausted, with very little true essence left in their bodies. Gao Caifeng's talismans were also completely depleted.
In such a situation, they were helpless against this creature!
Behind Amakusa Akai stood a tall, slender figure wearing an eerie mask and holding a long katana.
This was also a Shikigami, named Karasu Tengu.
This creature was a type of Japanese Tengu from legends, said to be able to fly with incredibly strange speed. What was peculiar was that it also possessed exquisite swordsmanship.
It was even rumored that some famous historical figures in Japanese history had their swordsmanship taught by Karasu Tengu!
Just moments ago, Xuanyuan Tangfeng and the others had experienced the prowess of Karasu Tengu. This creature was too fast, its movements creating afterimages as its katana flashed up and down.
The three could sense that Karasu Tengu's speed far surpassed that of ordinary humans, comparable to a raptor swooping down from the sky!
Xuanyuan Tangfeng had even been careless and received a cut on his shoulder from Karasu Tengu's blade!
The strength of these two Shikigami far surpassed that of other Japanese warriors and espers. These two monsters were each controlled by an Onmyoji hiding behind the crowd.
At this moment, a person in the center of the Japanese ranks spoke.
This individual was in his thirties, dressed in traditional Japanese priestly robes and wearing a tall hat, the traditional attire of Onmyoji.
This person was also the commander of the Japanese team this time, a powerful Onmyoji, Asada Mai.
He was very delicate-looking, almost like a woman, a typical effeminate male.
This person was an orphan and originally had no name. Later, he was adopted by a Japanese temple. The temple people, thinking he was a girl, gave him a name that sounded very feminine, Mai.
However, no one dared to mock him because this person was the president of the Asada Shrine, one of Japan's three major Onmyoji factions.
Onmyoji actually originated from Chinese Yin-Yang techniques from thousands of years ago. Their research was also very extensive, and the Asada Shrine's primary focus was on Shikigami!
Beside Asada Mai stood two samurai clad in traditional full Japanese armor.
These two samurai held long Japanese swords, appearing imposing.
But upon closer inspection, it would be discovered that beneath the helmets and masks of these two samurai were not ordinary human faces, but skeletons.
Although there were skeletons inside the armor, it was not these skeletons that supported the armor; it was an unseen, intangible, and strange energy.
And these two suits of armor were actually a type of Shikigami, named Haniwa.
The Haniwa Shikigami possessed very strong defensive capabilities and could actively advance to draw fire for the Onmyoji, or serve as a meat shield.
Furthermore, this Haniwa was not merely a piece of defensive equipment; it also wielded a long sword, was very fast, and possessed astonishing combat power!
These two Haniwa were summoned by the Onmyoji Asada Mai to protect himself.
Although Onmyoji mastered many powerful spells, they were physically very weak.
If an Onmyoji was directly killed, the Shikigami would lose its command. These uncontrolled Shikigami would either dissipate on the spot or go berserk, attacking any living beings around them indiscriminately!
Therefore, these Onmyoji paid great attention to protecting themselves. Not only did each of them have bodyguards, but they also hid behind the ranks. Asada Mai, being particularly afraid of death, had summoned two Haniwa.
"Don't kill them all. Leave one alive to interrogate about Ling Tian's whereabouts.
I think this pretty girl is also good. Let her live a few more days and kill those two men..."
"Hai!" The Japanese subordinate responded and was about to prepare to attack Ling Tian. However, at this moment, a shout suddenly came from the crowd, and then everyone saw a corpse fall to the ground.
Almost everyone turned their heads, and they were astonished to find an Onmyoji clutching his throat, which had been cut open by something.
None of them saw a jet-black leopard with black markings slowly disappearing on a tree several meters above their heads.
This leopard was Ling Tian's Shadow Leopard. On his way back to the camp, Ling Tian encountered his people being attacked and bullied, especially since Zhang Caifeng was among those being attacked. How could Ling Tian tolerate such a thing! Thus, Ling Tian directly acted, dispatching his leopard to silently eliminate the Onmyoji at the rear of the ranks.
With the death of this Onmyoji, the Shikigami Amakusa Akai, which he controlled, seemed to have lost its backbone and stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do.
"Baka, be careful, someone is ambushing!" Asada Mai shouted loudly, warning those around him to be vigilant, mainly to remind them to come and protect him.
Just then, a whistling sound suddenly came, and three crossbow bolts directly struck the Onmyoji controlling Karasu Tengu.
The trajectory of these crossbow bolts was incredibly strange and刁钻. One bolt hit the Onmyoji's forehead, another struck his throat, and the remaining bolt was firmly embedded in his chest.
This Onmyoji died on the spot. After his death, the Karasu Tengu he controlled also seemed to have lost its backbone. Many people around made this Karasu Tengu feel very uncomfortable, so the monster flapped its wings and flew into the sky, disappearing.
"Enemy attack, baka, beware of enemy attack..."
Before the words even fell, Asada Mai and the other Japanese people witnessed the most terrifying sight of their lives!
It turned out that in the forest about a dozen meters behind them, more than thirty fist-sized fireballs were densely floating.
Beneath these fireballs, on the ground, a young man was smiling at the Japanese people.
Although the smile on his face was bright, all the Japanese people felt the killing intent emanating from him!