Chapter 1054: Value of Hostage
The Demoness was, of course, no match for the Red Spider Lily.
The netherworld flowers in front of Zhao Ruoxi withered one after the other as hollow defects appeared on the flowing radiance—it was as though the stream of light was being bitten off by an invisible beast. That raging deluge of light was reduced to a trickle by the time it was in front of Zhao Ruoxi.
What little remained of the flowing light was completely extinguished when the little girl blew on it.
Such a result was extremely unexpected. Everyone had personally witnessed just how powerful the Demoness’ all-out attack was. Who would’ve thought Zhao Ruoxi would actually block it so easily. She didn’t even need to put in that much effort. The red spider lilies near her had mostly withered, but there was still a sea of flowers on the ground. Those countless flowers stopped Edward’s group from making any rash moves.
Anwen’s expression was serious. “No, this isn’t right! The Red Spider Lily is so much more powerful than stated in the Evernight Council’s records. Otherwise, Ge Situ simply couldn’t have returned. How could she bring such a magnum into the Great Maelstrom?”
Eden said anxiously, “Whatever the reason, she’s already here. What do we do?”
Anwen laughed wryly, pointing at the sea of flowers. “What else can we do? The terror is real.”
Eden glanced at the floral expanse in silence.
The Demoness’ silhouette gradually emerged in the air and said in a serious tone, “You’ve already awakened the Red Spider Lily’s final form?”
Zhao Ruoxi smiled faintly. “I don’t have any origin power, I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
The energy around the Demoness rippled briefly. “Fine, we admit defeat. This Constellation Well is yours.”
Zhao Ruoxi revealed a mischievous smile. “Admit defeat? How can it be that simple?”
“Then what do you want?”
Zhao Ruoxi pointed at the Demoness and gestured with a curled finger. “I’m quite intrigued by you. They say the stronger a demonkin is, the more beautiful. Who knows if that’s true or not. How about this? Disperse your demonic energy and get naked, let me check you out and touch you to my heart’s content. Then, I’ll let you go.”
“If I refuse?” The Demoness was quite calm, but her killing intent filled the earth and sky.
“If you’re not willing, that’s fine, too. Half of those below will return with their lives, but you’ll lose some skin even if you don’t die. That is unless you escape from the Great Maelstrom. I can catch you anytime if you remain here, so I’m sure to strip you bare at one point.”
Who would’ve thought this perilous situation would turn so weird? The expressions of Anwen and the other Evernight experts turned fairly odd. Many of them had lived under the Demoness’ shadow since a young age and were filled with reverence for her. None of them had ever had any inappropriate thoughts about her.
Even Anwen, who many people considered the Demoness’ future companion, had firmly rejected this rumor. He knew deep down that this rumor would only bring him more trouble, and the Demoness had reminded him of the consequences more than just once. Her methods usually involved all kinds of taunts and sneers, leading up to a challenge and spar. This so-called sparring was nothing but a one-sided beatdown, and how intense the beating was dependent on her mood.
The Demoness had finally met someone who was even more overbearing and dangerous. The Evernight experts felt complicated emotions, so much so that some were secretly looking forward to whether the Demoness would undress.
People of sufficient strength and stature, like Edward and Basil, had seen the Demoness’ true appearance. People like Twilight, though, didn’t know what she looked like, and the further removed ones had never even seen her shadow.
Anwen was helpless to offer any assistance against absolute power. Many others were secretly delighted about the Demoness’ predicament and waiting to see how she would get herself out of this mess. As for helping or fleeing, neither was an option for the moment. With Basil’s broken leg as a living example, no one dared to take the lead.
The reason was simple, whoever escaped first would be targeted by Zhao Ruoxi. The Evernight experts had seen the difference in strength and knew that being locked on meant death. Zhao Ruoxi herself had said that she could kill half the people here, which meant that the other half would have a chance at escaping.
After a good while of silence, the Demoness said, “Are you that confident?”
Zhao Ruoxi chuckled. “I have no power at all, everything is the Red Spider Lily’s power. So, I don’t think my confidence is worth a mention. I just feel that this gun is strong enough to suppress all of you. If you don’t want to be bullied, you can die.”
The Demoness said calmly, “You might be able to bully them, but I’m not so easily intimidated.”
Zhao Ruoxi laughed. “Dealing with them isn’t called bullying, it’s called slaughter. If I’m not wrong, most of the top members of the younger generation are gathered here. Your faction will suffer greatly if I kill just half of them, not to mention a complete massacre.”
“What does that have to do with me? As long as I’m around, what does one more or one less of them matter?”
“Oh?” Zhao Ruoxi pointed at Anwen and Eden. “These two fellows as well?”
Basil heaved a sigh of relief, with an ashen-faced Eden glaring at him.
“They don’t matter.” The Demoness was calm.
“Very well.” Zhao Ruoxi smiled charmingly. “Since you say so, I won’t be holding back anymore. But I wonder what those old men from the Evernight Council will think when they find out that you could’ve saved two geniuses by undressing but refused to do so.”
The Demoness said coldly, “Do you think I care about those old bastards?”
Zhao Ruoxi’s smile remained unchanged. “Do you think I care about the current you? Since you’re not willing to undress, then you and your clansmen can die.”
Hundreds of red spider lilies appeared around her, and the sea of flowers on the ground began to ripple as well. It seemed the netherworld flowers would begin to wilt at the very next moment.
Edward and Basil looked tense as they waited for developments. Anwen and Eden wore unsightly expressions, but they really didn’t know if they should attack. Even if they wanted to, they couldn’t lock onto Zhao Ruoxi at all—who knew if that young girl in the air was genuine or just a shadow?
Even Anwen couldn’t figure out how the Red Spider Lily had devoured the Demoness’ energy in the battle just now. Without knowing the mechanism, there was no way to defend against the attack.
They could neither attack nor defend. This was a situation of sure-loss.
The Demoness said after some silence, “How can you be sure I don’t have ways to deal with you?”
Zhao Ruoxi chuckled. “The only way to deal with me is to get naked and let me do as I wish.”
The demonic energy around the Demoness surged wildly. “Look at who this is before speaking.”
With that, a certain person appeared between the Demoness and Zhao Ruoxi.
The latter was stunned.
This person waved his fan gently as he said with a wry smile, “Ruoxi, I’m truly sorry.”
Who else but Song Zining could act so romantic despite being a captive? He looked rather relaxed and didn’t look like he was wounded at all, but a dozen streaks of demonic energy were flickering around him, ready to turn into sharp blades that would dice him up.
Zhao Ruoxi waved at Song Zining. “You recognize me?”
Song Zining laughed wryly. “Not only do I know you, but I’m also acquainted with Qianye as well.”
Zhao Ruoxi nodded, and then said to the Demoness, “This fellow is quite shameless, who do you want to trade him for?”
The Demoness said word by word, “I want everyone and the right to use half of the Constellation Well.”
Zhao Ruoxi broke into a laugh. Even her pale lips seemed to turn brighter. “Why do I feel that he’s not worth that much?” She then scanned the people on the ground. “Let it be, let’s grab a random person to trade.”
The Evernight Experts felt a chill run down their spine. They might have a fifty-fifty chance of escaping under a frontal assault from the Red Spider Lily, but they would surely turn into cannon fodder if they were to land between the two wrathful women.
A bright red flower appeared amidst the people. It hovered one meter above the ground as its petals stretched out like threads. Edward and his group became tense, almost as though they had come face-to-face with a great enemy. They had to utilize their defenses, but they were also afraid that they would draw the danger onto themselves by using too much power.
The Demoness didn’t care about their survival, but she couldn’t really let Zhao Ruoxi take them hostage. Following a cold snort, the demonic energy around Song Zining became clearer and began contracting tangibly.
Song Zining still looked quite carefree, but his right hand could no longer move his folding fan. Faint crackling sounds could be heard as countless fissures appeared on the fan and blood dripped down from his fingernails down to his wrist.
Zhao Ruoxi pursed her lips in feigned distress. Song Zining returned a wry smile but didn’t say a single word. This owner of the Red Spider Lily looked pure, gentle, and dreamy-eyed, but her emotions had never fluctuated.
The Demoness remained silent as well, bringing things to a stalemate.
“Stop right there!”
A gloomy voice arrived from a distance. This person was still several hundred meters away when he said the first word but had arrived at the scene when the last word was uttered. Qianye’s silhouette flickered thrice and appeared beside Zhao Ruoxi like an illusion.
The Demoness’ energy began to rage around her. “You still dare to show yourself? You think I can’t kill you?”
“You wouldn’t wait until now if you could.”
“Then we…”
Zhao Ruoxi cut off the Demoness. “Enough, you can try killing him if you dare!”
The Demoness’ icy aura suddenly rushed to Song Zining. “It’s fine if I kill this one, right?”
She never finished her sentence, and the eruption that ensued wasn’t from the demonic energy around Song Zining.