Rescue

"Bug, I'll crush you!"

Deimos pressed his advantage. His massive body leaped into the air, and his right fist smashed down toward Jin Sheng on the ground.

In the blink of an eye, a flash of sword light skimmed across the ground. Deimos's fist struck empty space, hammering a huge crater into the earth.

Deimos immediately looked to his left. Gan Jiang held Mo Ye in one hand and supported Jin Sheng with the other as he rapidly retreated.

"Little bugs, you're asking for death!"

Deimos suddenly clawed at the ground with his right hand. A massive amount of dirt instantly transformed into hard rock. Then it raised its hand and hurled the enormous boulder in the direction the three were fleeing.

Gan Jiang, who was rapidly escaping, was engulfed by a huge shadow the next second. He looked up and saw the boulder crashing down from above.

"Mo Ye, become a sword!"

He could not afford to hesitate. He released Jin Sheng, and the sword carried him into the air as he slashed at the boulder.

So hard!

This was no ordinary rock. It had been enhanced with some kind of magic.

After Gan Jiang swung his sword, his body immediately spun. When he was above and Mo Ye below, he instantly turned into a broadsword. Mo Ye, meanwhile, transformed from a sword back into a person. She gripped the broadsword Gan Jiang and slashed at the boulder.

A sword mark appeared on the boulder, but it was clearly far from enough.

In an instant, Gan Jiang and Mo Ye spun like fan blades. They alternated between being above and below, the two swords constantly switching forms. One moment Gan Jiang held Mo Ye, who had become a longsword; the next, Mo Ye held Gan Jiang, who had become a broadsword.

When the boulder crashed down, countless cracks appeared across it. The moment it touched the ground, it shattered into countless tiny cubes that scattered everywhere.

Gan Jiang and Mo Ye landed at the same time, both panting heavily. Before they could catch their breath, Deimos had already appeared before them. Looming over them, it clenched its fist and hurled a punch at the pair.

"Gan Jiang!"

"Mo Ye!"

"Life-and-Death Together!"

The two swords transformed back into human form and fell to the ground, both coughing up blood. Deimos was far too strong. Just that brief collision had already seriously wounded them.

"Quick, kill them all!" Number Nine, Zhou Tai, shouted excitedly at the sight.

Deimos paid no attention to Zhou Tai. Compared to Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, it disliked Jin Sheng even more, because the light Jin Sheng emitted when he transformed into a golden lion faintly restrained it.

The two were natural enemies, which was why Jin Sheng was its first target.

It looked at Jin Sheng on the ground and revealed a savage smile. Snuffing out a potential threat before he could grow was an exhilarating feeling.

But just as it raised its hand, strands of golden thread rapidly coiled around its body, instantly pinning it in place.

At the other ends of those golden threads, a group of men and women in Daoist robes formed hand seals with both hands. Every one of them looked grave as they gritted their teeth and continued pouring out spiritual energy.

"Good thing we made it in time. Captain Gan Jiang, Captain Jin Sheng, can you still move?" one of the Daoists shouted at Jin Sheng and Gan Jiang.

Neither of them answered. The Daoist's expression immediately darkened. This was bad—they could not restrain Deimos for long.

Of the four squads involved in the operation, two captains were seriously injured, one captain's fate was unknown, and only the Monster-Slaying Squad could continue fighting.

The problem was that the Monster-Slaying Squad truly excelled at killing and capturing monsters. Against a creature like Deimos, which had no demonic aura, their expertise was practically useless.

Of the four squads assembled this time, the Demon-Slaying Squad specialized in dealing with zombies, vicious ghosts, and wronged spirits. Jin Sheng's lion radiance had extreme suppressive power against such creatures. Once he shone, all manner of ghosts and monsters would be reduced to ashes.

The Evil-Slaying Squad was better at dealing with all kinds of giant monsters. Those enormous creatures were like livestock waiting for slaughter before Gan Jiang and Mo Ye, easily chopped into pieces.

The captain of the Sin-Eradicating Squad was Gong Qian. She was especially skilled at dealing with all kinds of evil and criminal superhumans—one punch per small fry.

Finally, there was the Monster-Slaying Squad. Under normal circumstances, they managed and dealt with monsters hiding within cities, such as fox spirits and other beings cultivated from animals into human form.

Incidentally, although Hu Tuer possessed the Nine-Tailed Fox Bloodline, she was human, not a true fox spirit.

Crack!

At that moment, Deimos's body trembled slightly, and cracks immediately spread across many of the golden threads.

"This is bad. Tianxuan, quickly take the two captains and Mo Ye away. We probably can't hold out much longer," the leading Daoist said.

The Monster-Slaying Squad had seven members, their codenames corresponding exactly to the Big Dipper.

The captain was Tianshu. The remaining members were Tianxuan, Tianji, Tianquan, Yuheng, Kaiyang, and Yaoguang.

"Captain, can you hold on?" Tianxuan asked hesitantly.

All seven of them were barely able to restrain Deimos's mind by working together. Even so, Deimos's body was still instinctively resisting. If she left, then as long as Deimos's thoughts moved even slightly, the remaining six would likely be doomed.

"At least we're standing while they're lying down. How can we stand by and watch them die? Go!" Tianshu said with a resolute expression.

He had already prepared himself. If Deimos truly showed signs of breaking free, he would burn his vital essence to restrain it and never give it any chance to attack.

The Demon-Binding Rope was a Dragon Level item, crafted from numerous precious materials. It had never failed during past monster-slaying operations. If they had not been facing the wrong kind of opponent, even Deimos would have had to submit obediently.

Tianxuan gritted her teeth and nodded. She immediately stopped supplying spiritual energy, but the moment she did, Deimos's entire body shook, and the golden threads formed by the Demon-Binding Rope began bursting apart one after another.

"Spiritual light shakes the heavenly pillar, crimson dragon stirs the essence gate; with this final breath, five fires burn the navel wheel!"

Tianshu rapidly formed hand seals, then slapped his abdomen and began chanting.

The other team members' expressions changed drastically. Tianxuan's eyes turned red as she cried, "Brother, you—"

"Enough. Carry out the mission!" A terrifying aura erupted from Tianshu. Veins bulged across his forehead as an endless stream of spiritual energy formed a golden dragon that coiled around Deimos along the golden threads.

Tianxuan bit down hard, then immediately turned and ran toward Jin Sheng...

One minute earlier.

After Yu Xian rescued a large number of team members and settled them somewhere safe, he pulled Zhang Shou, who had also retreated, and quickly flew toward the several mountains that had been blasted apart.

They definitely had no right to approach the main battlefield. Even the slightest aftershock could kill them.

But that did not mean there was nothing they could do. For example, they could save people.

The two rode Bubble down beside the third mountain that had been smashed apart. Yu Xian stepped out of Bubble, twitched his nose, then controlled a large number of sticky bubbles to begin moving the rocks.

After the sticky bubbles carried away the boulders they had adhered to, a green-skinned girl appeared before them.