Chapter 24: Whoops, My Hand Slipped

“Ding! Triggered undercover mission’s second objective: rescue the prisoners. Reward is based on how many Great Fiends you freed. If all prisoners die, the mission fails.”

Azure Lion used to demand the kingdoms to attack the smaller factions. Was it to train in this Spirit Devouring Art? And with his current power, he switched to devouring Great Fiends, increasing his danger value one point at a time. Moments later it rose again showing that he could increase it without stopping.

What would happen if Archfiend Azure Lion continued to grow like this?

In a few years, his value would be over one thousand and become a Great Archfiend. Even if the other Archfiends found out his secret two years later, Archfiend Azure Lion would be close to reaching the Great Archfiend level by then, and won’t be his match.

Chen Ming understood why the Destroy the Pitfall Mountain mission had a D rating, this Azure Lion was not your average Archfiend.

Azure Lion scanned the prison with his eyes and then left on his fiend cloud.

Chen Ming flapped his wings, finding that the prisoners were at the 1st or 2nd stage of Dao Initiation realm. While Azure Lion’s power grew, he wanted to keep the other Archfiends in the dark. That was why the captured Great Fiends had low cultivation.

Chen Ming landed on a prison’s bars and listened to the mumbles of a pair of ten-foot-long white foxes laid on the ground, “Azure Lion’s cultivation is too evil, if we don’t return to White Fox Mountain and report this, then all the White Fox Mountain’s fiends will become his next meal!”

“But how do we get out of this underground prison?“

The entire underground prison was cast from molted iron then strengthened by an array. As matters stood, no prisoner would be able to break out with their low cultivation.

Chen Ming flew next to the Great Fiend guards who, like the Archfiend, were also azure lions.

Four azure lion Great Fiends made sure the Archfiend left, “Sir left, let’s take out the drinks. If we wait for Sir to finish training, we won’t get another chance!”

The leader azure lion said, “It’s important to keep guard, what if something bad happens? “

The Great Fiend who mentioned drinks replied, “What are you scared of, we are in Pitfall Mountain’s restricted area. No one comes here but the Fiend Generals and Archfiend, not to mention we have the key. Are you trying to say that a crow will take the key and then lead these prisoners through all the patrols and escape?”

Chen Ming recalled what Black Hawk told him and had a clear image of Pitfall Mountain’s defenses.

Based on the regular storyline, these guards would get wasted, and he would swoop in, take the key then free the prisoners.

An hour later, the guard would take a break when it cracked of dawn and would give him a fifteen minutes window to escape.

Chen Ming waited for these guards to get drunk, but less than an hour later, the four of them gave no sign of being wasted, “Goddammit, I knew that this could only happen to the Main Character and not to someone like me. Seems I’ll have to do it myself.”

A glimpse at their Danger value showed they were around 120, even less than Gongsun Zhi.

Chen Ming cawed a few times and flapped his wing, then the leader of the four said, “Fourth brother, grab that crow, it goes well with wine!”

The fourth brother began drooling, “Guarding here for these past days, made me forget the taste of fowl. A crow shouldn’t be bad in comparison.”

In the abyss, the fog still lingered, and Chen Ming flew inside it with the azure lion Great Fiend close on his tail. He made sure the rest of the Great Fiends couldn’t see fourth brother and turned into a human behind him, resting his Lustrous King Sword on his neck. He whispered in his ear, “Don’t scream, or I can’t guarantee my hand won’t slip and cut something that shouldn’t be cut.”

The Great Fiend turned his head but didn’t recognize Chen Ming and since they guarded this place for many days. He wore his black-feathered robe, and his human form led the guard to believe he was in the presence of an Archfiend.

This black-feathered robe was something the Great Fiends in Eagle Peak offered when he took his new position. It was one hundred percent pure black hawk plume, leaving Great Fiend Black Hawk’s skin shining as the day he was born!

Who would dare ignore an Archfiend’s threat?

The azure lion Great Fiend shivered a nod.

Chen Ming’s sword touched the Great Fiend’s neck and left a trace of blood, “Now, call one of your brothers.”

The azure lion turned his head and yelled, “Third brother, come quick, there are so many crows here.”

Third brother laughed, “Fourth brother is really useless, let me check to see.”

Chen Ming swiped his sword, cutting the Great Fiend’s neck, “Uh, whoops, my hand slipped.”

“Ding! Killed a 2nd stage Dao Initiation realm Great Fiend. Obtained 20 spiritual knowledge.”

Fourth brother collapse at his feet, while third brother was making his way through the mist towards him, “Fourth brother, where are the crows?”

As the mist retreated, a black shadow revealed itself in third brother’s eyes. He couldn’t even react to the white longsword running through his chest.

Chen Ming withdrew his sword and watched as third brother collapsed. Then smiled, since the ‘ding’ was missing, “Playing dead? Nice try, but this doesn’t work on me.”

Chen Ming waved his sword and planted it in third brother’s throat.

“Ding! Killed a 2nd stage Dao Initiation realm Great Fiend. Obtained 20 spiritual knowledge.”

Chen Ming saw the last two Great Fiend drinking. With Lustrous King Sword in his right hand and the Fire Cloud Sword in his left, the sword he tempered in the Fire Crow Art’s Dao Palace, he threw them at the guards. They sensed this and responded by raising their long maces.

But how could their current spiritual power be a match against a high-quality spiritual power comparable to that of an Archfiend?

Yes, Chen Ming already formed a Dao Seed, raising the quality of his spiritual power to that of a newly promoted Archfiend, but of less quantity.

Or else, how could his danger value reach 180, when his highest cultivation was the Fire Crow Art, at the 4th stage of Dao Initiation realm?

The Lustrous King Sword and Fire Cloud Sword sliced the maces in two.

Chen Ming controlled the swords to continue attacking the Great Fiends. They couldn’t just sit around and wait for death, so they released their spiritual power forming a round shield around their body, effectively blocking the swords from reaching them.