Volume Two: The Devil’s Game Chapter Twenty-Five: Turning the Trick Against Them

Seeing that smile on the warden’s face, Lu Yi’s expression changed at once.

“Little thief, you took the bait.” In each of the warden’s eyes, a streak of red light burst forth. The crimson glow spread outward, but even faster was the purple wave of energy erupting from his body.

The instant that wave swept over him, Lu Yi felt his movements grow sluggish, as though he had been plunged into a viscous liquid.

Then the red ripples struck him as well, and in that instant his body became unbearably heavy; his feet sank several inches into the earth.

In a few strides, the warden came before Lu Yi. His face twisted into a savage grin as he raised his great blade high. “Did you think I had truly lost my reason? I’ll wash away my shame with your life.”

“Mine Alone, One-Blade Severance.” The warden roared, and purple blade aura immediately shrouded the long blade. For a heartbeat, Lu Yi felt as though the heaven and earth around him had been veiled in purple. He tried to flee, but that crushing heaviness made movement difficult.

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: Streamer!”

“Warmhearted Man: Tsk, tsk. Dying beneath this move would still be worth it.”

The blade aura tore forcefully through the air, forming a purple V of light in the sky. Lu Yi’s expression changed drastically. He hurriedly drew out the Demon Hunter and held it before him.

“So it was that thing? Too late. Too late.” The warden bellowed, bringing the blade down without the slightest hesitation.

Before the long blade even landed on Lu Yi, its power had already been laid bare. The ground around them cracked again and again, then was blasted into the air by the violent surges of energy.

The blade came straight down upon the place where Lu Yi stood. In an instant, the earth quaked; a fan-shaped stretch of ground split, shattered, and burst apart, while clods of soil and chunks of stone were hurled skyward amid beams of blade aura that shot into the heavens.

“Ah!” Shen Yixue crashed heavily to the ground and spat out a mouthful of blood. Earlier, when she had used her ability to interfere with the warden, she had been caught off guard and swept up in the two waves of energy as well. Even after sensing the danger, it had been too late to evade.

The livestream fell utterly silent. After a moment:

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: Is the streamer dead just like that?”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: No, no, it can’t be like this.”

“Warmhearted Man: It was inevitable. That attack was even stronger than the one used against the Pursuing Wind Squad. Lu Yi doesn’t have any skill item that allows instant relocation; if he took that hit, he’d be dead for sure.”

“Gold Gatherer: Tsk, what a pity. He had the upper hand too. If he had kept wearing the warden down slowly, he might still have had a chance.”

“Minister of Ink: Exactly. If the stream hadn’t been filtered for information about the warden, the streamer would have known he had a trump card and could have prepared in advance. Victory would not have been impossible, but the outcome is already decided.”

Shen Yixue braced herself weakly with one hand on the ground. Lu Yi was dead; that last strike had certainly annihilated him on the spot, leaving not even ashes behind. Then the next one to suffer would be her.

“Hm?” The warden turned and glanced at Shen Yixue.

Shen Yixue coughed up another mouthful of blood. Part of it was because she was indeed badly wounded, but more importantly, she was afraid. She had been stunned by the strength the warden had displayed.

Seeing Shen Yixue’s state, the warden bared his teeth. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he looked at the clouds of dust before him. “Ha, ha... At last, my vengeance is complete.”

Yet even as he spoke, a change occurred within the dust.

A figure burst forth at high speed, a pristine white dagger in hand, slashing for the warden’s throat.

“What!” The warden’s expression changed drastically. He tried to raise his blade to defend himself, but the previous skill had consumed far too much energy. His arm trembled, and in that single instant of error, the figure had already drawn the dagger across his throat.

The figure came to a stop behind the warden.

It was, of course, Lu Yi. His clothing was intact, and there was not even a trace of dust on him.

Lu Yi tilted his neck and said with a faint, amused smile, “You were pretending to be foolish, and I was no different. I simply played along.”

“Unharmed?! No!” The warden’s face was filled with disbelief as he collapsed heavily to the ground.

Lu Yi’s livestream, as well as the main stage, erupted at once.

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: I... I... I can’t believe it. This is unbelievable.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Haha, I told you the streamer wouldn’t die so easily.”

“Gold Gatherer: He took that move and came away without a scratch? This...!”

“I Am a Husky: I’m starting to suspect the streamer joined the wrong side. With strength like that, he should have been the warden.”

“Yandere Fairy: I never expected this. The streamer was hiding his strength so deeply. But you’re right—having him chase the other contestants would be incredibly exciting.”

“Black Phosphorus Sauce has gifted Streamer Lu Yi 2 evening gowns.”

“Sweetheart Yiyi has gifted Streamer Lu Yi 3 puppies.”

“Sweetheart Yueyue has gifted the streamer 3 evening gowns.”

“Luo Liufeng of Black Sand City has gifted Streamer Lu Yi 1 skeletal warhorse.”

Listening to the barrage of comments in his earpiece, a faint smile rose on Lu Yi’s face.

He walked back to the warden’s side. Looking at the corpse that had already been cleaved into two halves, he said softly, “You said you’d be locked in mortal struggle with me until the end. Then let me see how this fares.”

As he spoke, he drove the Demon Hunter into the warden’s chest. At once, pale white patterns began to spread outward from the blade, rapidly branching in all directions.

When this was done, Lu Yi went to Shen Yixue’s side. He crouched down, affixed a healing talisman to her, then held out a hand. “How is it? Are you badly hurt? Can you still stand?”

Shen Yixue looked at him with a complicated expression. “You can even kill an opponent like that. It seems I worried for nothing.

“I suppose even if you fell into molten iron, you could still get out unharmed. And even if I hadn’t stepped in just now, you still would have been able to deal with the warden.”

Lu Yi smiled. “No. Your help was very important. I can indeed make myself leave molten iron safely, but that method can’t be used too many times. If I had used it then, I would have had no choice but to withdraw for the moment and wait for another chance.

“As for your attack just now, it was extremely timely.

“I had intended to try killing the warden from the beginning, but he had an extraordinarily sharp sense of danger. Even though I could gain some small advantage, it wouldn’t change the overall situation.

“More importantly, as I fought him, the warden was growing stronger as well, while the time left to me kept shrinking.”

“It was precisely because you acted that the warden set up a trap and used that extremely draining skill. Only then did I find an opening. So thank you.” In saying this, Lu Yi was thanking Shen Yixue, and also explaining things to the viewers in the livestream.

Shen Yixue turned her head and was silent for a moment. “So that means I was quite crucial after all.”

“Of course.” Lu Yi smiled.

Shen Yixue smiled back, then held out her hand, letting Lu Yi pull her up.

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: Streamer, how did you survive that attack, exactly?”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Right. You said so much, but you still haven’t explained the most important question.”

“Handsome Boy, You’re So Naughty: Hehe, streamer, don’t keep it bottled up. If you tell me, I’ll meet you offline.”

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: No way, we can’t hand the streamer over to you. He wouldn’t like a queen type at all.”

Lu Yi’s face darkened, but after a moment’s thought, he still took out an item.

It was a purple flower.

“This one. It can grant me a single layer of protection.”

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: What is that? I didn’t see anything that could do that at all.”

Hearing the various questions in the livestream, Lu Yi explained further, “This item has another function as well: it can transform a living being into a demon through a special ritual.”

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: Transform into a demon? It’s her!”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: A ritual?!”

Lu Yi nodded. “That’s right. It’s a ritual item, one with a transformation effect. It can provide one instance of defense. That should seem acceptable, shouldn’t it?”

“Minister of Ink: Indeed. An item capable of resurrecting and transforming a person into a demon blocking one attack of that level is not excessive at all.”

“Yandere Fairy: No wonder I felt that ritual back then was rather hasty, even somewhat incomprehensible. So the crucial ritual item had already been placed on the streamer.”

Hearing that comment, Lu Yi gave a slight nod. That was the true reward for that ordeal.

“Warmhearted Man has gifted Streamer a Black Valley warhorse.”

“Black Phosphorus Sauce: Huh? Flame Demon, you actually sent a gift? Weren’t you the one who—”

“Sweetheart Yiyi: Exactly. That really surprised me. I thought you were going to say something like, ‘The streamer just relied on a few items; nothing special about that.’”

“Warmhearted Man: Items are items. Some people, even with the same items, still couldn’t accomplish what the streamer did. He did it. He is a brave man. Giving a gift to a warrior does not shame the name of the Flame Demon.”