Chapter 409 - Master Tactician
Chapter 409 - Master Tactician
This twist had stunned everyone. They were dumbstruck, almost forgetting to breath.
If Li Qingshan had used some kind of trick to defeat Strongboulder, everyone would have found it much easier to accept. However, he had taken Strongboulder on in his greatest aspect, defeating him with sheer strength and force. Not only had he endured the terrifying attacks, but he had even forcefully destroyed Strongboulder’s so-called indestructible defence.
All of the night roamers shut their mouths firmly, no longer uttering a single word of nonsense anymore. Suddenly, they realised that this daemon might actually become their ruler in the future. If they wanted to continue living underground, they had to be modest and courteous to the powerful.
Ye Mingzhu’s eyes glowed. If she swore loyalty to him, could he really make her ambition come true?
“Hehehehe!”
The Spider Queen’s laughter broke the silence. This brutal battle at close quarters suited her tastes perfectly. Ever since he had come underground, it had been a lot more delightful. And, he would definitely be one of the most important Daemon Generals under her command in the upcoming conflict.
Bloodshadow became more and more uneasy. If he allowed him to continue developing like this, he would definitely become a huge issue, stealing the Spider Queen’s favour away from him. He could not allow this to happen!
“Master’s invincible!” Ye Liubo was crazed, and her face had become pink. Her impressive chest heaved up and down as she felt utmost glory.
Li Qingshan sucked in a deep breath and transformed back into humanoid form. He twisted his neck and produced a series of cracks. It was not obvious, but his body was close to collapsing. If it were not for the constant support of the Strength of the Earth, he would have given way a long time ago. And, if it were not for the power of shockwaves, he had no chance at defeating Strongboulder.
However, all of this was within his plans. He was not a ruffian who would put his life on the line once he became carried away. Instead, he was a true warrior, a natural warrior. With just a single thought, all of his movements would be imbued with all the battle tactics and strategies available.
“You- you- you!”
With a great rumble, Strongboulder descended from above, landing in front of Li Qingshan. He radiated with a furious aura, becoming even larger than before. He was like a volcano on the brink of eruption. Li Qingshan happened to be standing before the volcano, such that he could be swallowed by it at any time. However, as the violent wind swept up his scarlet long hair, he remained unfazed.
“You’ve lost,” Li Qingshan said. He glanced at Strongboulder with his scarlet eyes. “Are you discontent?”
As if he had just been punched, Strongboulder took a step back and rapidly shrank until he returned to humanoid form. He collapsed on his bottom, “Yep, I’ve lost. I’ve lost fair and square.”
Li Qingshan did not use any despicable tricks or crafty schemes. He used strength to defeat him and aura to overwhelm him. Only when he said that did he feel the shattering pain of his body, which had also culminated.
“How satisfying! It’s been a very long while since I’ve been so satisfied! I have lost this time. I recognise your strength, but I’ll definitely defeat you in the future!”
“You won’t have that opportunity.” Li Qingshan raised his head with a smile, staring straight at Bloodshadow, who perched upside down from a stalactite. Then he said, “Ma’am Spider Queen, please give me a moment to rest and recover daemon qi. I’ll fight Bloodshadow after that.”
“Be quick!” Spider Queen Lolth urged. With a flick of her finger, an item landed in Li Qingshan’s hand.
“What’s this?” Li Qingshan stared at the item in his hand. It was only palm-sized, and it was crystalline, like a mushroom sculpted from white jade. The mushroom was small, but it was filled with spiritual qi greater than any spiritual herb Li Qingshan had seen before. He had no idea just how old it was.
“That’s a Spiritual Jade mushroom. It can heal your wounds and recover your daemon qi.”
Bloodshadow’s face became even more warped. His plan to take advantage of him while he was weakened fell through, but he was unable to resent anyone at all.
Clearly, the Spider Queen did not want to see a suspenseless battle. It was basically a bestowment to Li Qingshan for all the delight he had brought her.
“Thank you for bestowing me with this, ma’am Spider Queen.”
Li Qingshan immediately crossed his legs and sat down, ingesting the Spiritual Jade mushroom. Immediately, a clear, cool aura pervaded his body. He was refreshed wherever it passed by, such that even his body felt slightly lighter.
In just a while, Li Qingshan leapt to his feet, brimming with energy. He felt like he had slept for three days and three nights. His mind was clear, and not only had all of his daemon qi recovered, but there was even more than before.
“Bloodshadow, are you bold enough to face me in the air?” Li Qingshan flapped his wings of wind and rose up, pointing straight at Bloodshadow.
Everyone was surprised by that. Just earlier, he had used strength alone to defeat Strongboulder on the ground, and now, he wanted to challenge Bloodshadow—someone as swift as lightning—to a battle in the air?
The Spider Queen became even more interested. She felt like her Spiritual Jade mushroom had not gone to waste.
“This guy!” Strongboulder was taken aback before grinning and laughing aloud.
Dragonsnail, who had watched on silently the entire time, frowned. What was he trying to prove?
Li Qingshan was not trying to prove anything. He just wanted to win!
Defending tenaciously on the ground would make him undefeatable, but he would be unable to defeat Bloodshadow either. It would definitely be his loss when it came to a prolonged battle, as he would probably be the one to run out first due to their difference in daemon qi.
Once he depleted his daemon qi, he would not be able to use his innate abilities either, so being so-called “undefeatable” would turn into a joke. It would only become “unwinnable”.
Li Qingshan’s body was tough, but he was unable to rival Strongboulder. Strongboulder had transformed from a strange rock in the first place, so “toughness” was his very nature. He lacked the power to incite battle intent like the Rock of Slaughter, so Bloodshadow could treat him cautiously and avoid becoming entangled with him. If he replicated Strongboulder’s tactic blindly, he would be reduced to a plaything of the opponent.
By then, he would be getting ahead of himself even if he wanted a tie. Many of the times, tactics that seemed clever were actually dangerous traps. This was not a lack of understanding on Ye Mingzhu’s part either. Normally speaking, this was already the battle tactic that could make him last the longest.
There was a saying from his past life, “Among all the martial arts in the world, only speed is indomitable.” This was no different in the cultivation world. Even without his innate abilities, Bloodshadow’s speed was already a huge problem. Combined with his reactions, this problem became completely irresolvable. Weak mongooses were able to toy with or even prey on venomous cobras because their reactions and speed were slightly faster.
In actual battle, being just slightly faster could make all the difference in the world. To Li Qingshan, this battle was destined to be much more difficult.
In order to overcome this obstacle, Li Qingshan had chosen to take on Strongboulder in a direct confrontation. Originally, victory should have come much more easily if he used his advantages of speed and being able to ignore the Rock of Slaugther’s influence.
It was exactly with this difficult battle that he roused his fighting spirit and made the tiger demon break through to the third layer. He did this to increase his speed and reactions and make his two abilities even stronger. Only then did he have a chance at winning.
From this perspective, Strongboulder’s power from the Rock of Slaughter had instead assisted him. That was why Li Qingshan had specially reminded Strongboulder to activate this power before the “game” began.
Everything was going according to plan.