At the critical moment, Conqueror's Haki came through. Every demon, even the mighty Might Zombie commander Sima Deken, had to yield to it. Their charges were canceled, and they stood stunned in place.
Bai Xiaowen followed up with a Frost Shard to slow them down, then summoned the Vengeful Spirit and set it on Sima Deken to drain his energy!
As the enemies grew stronger, the Vengeful Spirit, once a strategic weapon, had become less and less useful. Its fixed drain of 15 energy worked wonders against level-six or level-seven strength-based bosses. It often emptied their reserves, leaving them in an awkward bind: use a skill and be stunned, or hold back and run dry anyway.
But level-nine and level-ten bosses were common now. Even strength-based ones had respectable mental strength, and a measly 15-point drain barely made a dent.
Fortunately, Sima Deken had only 29 mental strength—a disgrace for a level-ten Rare Boss. He had also spent energy on Whirling Hammer. This time, the Vengeful Spirit was certain to drain him almost dry.
By the time Sima Deken shook off the stun, he had only enough energy left for one more skill.
Whoosh!
Copper Hammer Throw! Furious, Sima Deken hurled one of his hammers. Just before it struck the Vengeful Spirit, ghostly energy erupted from it! The spirit died on the spot and returned to the Black Soul Stone.
But that also meant Sima Deken had exhausted his energy. He was now little more than a high-level foot soldier.
"Send the signal!" Sima Deken roared. He had none of a mighty warrior's pride; when he needed reinforcements, he did not hesitate to call for them.
A flaming arrow shot into the sky and burst overhead.
Soon, the ground rumbled. Ambush forces surged out from both sides of the Grand