Chapter 275 - 271: Chickened Out

Chapter 275: Chapter 271: Chickened Out

Zuo Zhongqiu and Clooney also struggled to get back on their feet.

The three shielded themselves from the shockwave with their arms, their gazes fixed on the building. Though smoke and dust completely obscured their view, their expressions were ones of utter disbelief.

At a distance of merely a dozen meters, considering the explosive yield of missiles meant to flatten a skyscraper...

’This wasn’t some anime. The energy radiated from the high-temperature explosion and flames should have been lethal to most living things. The ’all smoke, no scratch’ trope couldn’t possibly be real, could it?’

The Magic Power signature felt much weaker, but that could have been because the three of them had exhausted most of their own Magic Power, dulling their senses.

A few moments later, the aftereffects of the explosion diminished enough for the three probationary Knights’ Perception to return to normal.

The towering television station had been reduced to ruins by the tactical missile strike, leaving only a skeletal frame behind.

Hanato Doichi stared intently in that direction, his pupils suddenly contracting.

They saw the Puppet Demon Spirit. On the surface, it looked mostly the same—the same ghastly white eyes, still covered in threads. But many of its Intentional Limbs were gone, and the eerie black Magic Power that had filled the air seemed visually fainter.

It wasn’t unscathed, but it was a far cry from being seriously injured.

The moment they laid eyes on the Demon Spirit, it clearly saw the three of them as well. But in the next instant, the terrifying Puppet Demon Spirit made a bizarre move.

It coiled countless Magic Silk Threads beneath its twisted body.

Hanato and the others had no idea what it was planning but were about to flee when the threads beneath it flashed. With a burst of Magic Power, it launched itself upward.

Like a giant spring, it catapulted the Puppet Demon Spirit into the sky and out of sight. The three were so tense they were frozen in place—not daring to run, not daring to stay still. They could only cluster together and prepare for the worst.

...

Dawn didn’t have a branch in Japan yet. So even though he knew the Puppet Demon Spirit was there, Qin Xiaoxia couldn’t immediately provide support to the three probationary members of the Knight Order.

He realized he couldn’t even catch his breath. He had just dumped the tedious work of Secret Realm Weaving on the Red Demoness.

Using his authority as Master Sage, he had just forced Gou Junbao to "donate" three full test tubes of "Descendant Essence." Before he could even begin his grand research and experimentation, he had to rush off to Japan to save the day.

Based on the intel he’d received and the feedback from the clash of his own Magic Power with that on Hanato’s team...

At least five people in Dawn could take down the Puppet Demon Spirit with absolute certainty. However, the only one conveniently available for immediate action was Master Sage himself.

The Red Demoness would have been a sure bet, but she had just left for the Atlantic Islands.

Baru, at full power and using his Magic Power, could probably handle the Demon Spirit as well.

Perhaps because their souls had once been damaged, none of the original Four Knights had successfully awakened their Magic Power.

But even without awakening Magic Power, Baru and the others had forged a different path, one of ultimate physical strength. In his Soul Burning state, even Qin Xiaoxia himself wouldn’t want to get into a brawl with a muscle-bound grizzly like Baru.

Against the Puppet Demon Spirit’s Magic Power, which was more finesse than raw destruction, the purely violent Baru would have little trouble killing it. The other three Official Knights would struggle on their own, but any two of them together would be enough.

But Baru’s time wasn’t his own. What little free time he had was dedicated to building up and training the High Knight Order. The other three were scattered across the globe, either working or in school, so their response time was too slow.

Then there was Mumu. As a Natural Spirit and Tree Shepherd, the Thorn Child had now recovered the Magic Power of his prime. Aside from Magic Power control, he surpassed the Demon Spirit in every other respect. An Elf’s Magic Power leans toward nature and Law, making it the natural enemy of the obsession-based power used by Spiritual Species like Demon Spirits.

Finally, there was Huang Jiutian. In terms of Magic Power control, quality, and quantity, Jiutian was completely outmatched by the Puppet Demon Spirit. But when it came to fighting Demons with technological weapons, Jiutian was arguably the most experienced expert on Earth. This was especially true now that his Perception had undergone a qualitative transformation—or rather, he had discovered a new way to apply his power.

His Perception, when infused with Magic Power, could even substitute for ground-to-air Radar and satellites, allowing him to mentally interfere with the trajectory of missile-class weaponry.

As long as he had military support, he could absolutely kill the Demon Spirit by leveraging his intellect and the total battlefield awareness granted by his superhuman Perception.

That just left Qin Xiaoxia himself. Needless to say, whether through brute force or cunning schemes, he was the type who could carry his team to an easy victory.

Su Su, on the other hand, still lacked the experience, to say nothing of the other Magic Controllers in the association.

Of course, there was one other bug-like existence: the "Eye of Dawn." But not only was the Magic Mirror locked away at headquarters, even if it could instantly get to Japan, Qin Xiaoxia would have to be out of his mind to send something that looked more like a Great Demon King to deal with a Demon Spirit. For all he knew, the US Army base in Japan would get spooked and launch tactical nuclear weapons.

Right then, just before boarding the plane, Qin Xiaoxia spoke to Doudou with great earnestness.

"So now you understand your big cousin’s hardship! I still don’t have enough underlings. I need to train more!"

Doudou, holding two McDonald’s ice cream cones, looked thoroughly displeased.

"Then why did you insist on dragging me along! I don’t want to go there at all! This is child abuse! You could have brought Su Su, she’d love to go with you!"

Qin Xiaoxia glanced up at the ceiling, stroking his chin in thought for a second before looking back down at Doudou.

"Hmm, you make a good point!"

But the very next second, the smile on his face twisted into a menacing grin.

"But who the hell told you to be so interested in Brother Gou’s two test tubes?! If I left you alone in the Secret Place, by the time I came back, would you have given him and Xiao Lili a thousand or eight hundred descendants?"

"Hmph!"

Doudou just snorted, saying nothing. The large lump on his head hadn’t gone down yet, so he gave up on trying to argue his case to be left behind.

"Attention passengers, flight CA999 is now boarding. Will all passengers for flight CA999 please proceed to gate 29..."

Qin Xiaoxia and Doudou, already at the front of the line, immediately started to walk forward.

"Hey there, little guy. Make sure you finish those ice cream cones before we take off!"

The young woman checking the tickets offered a sweet smile, giving Little Doudou a friendly reminder as she processed his and Qin Xiaoxia’s boarding passes.

Still fuming, Doudou just grunted, "Oh."

Then he opened his mouth wide and stuffed both cones inside, one from the left and one from the right, before wiping a bit of drool on his shirt.

"Aw gone," he mumbled.

The airline employee froze, stunned. She looked at Qin Xiaoxia and opened her mouth as if to say something.

"It’s fine, it’s fine. He’s just a bit mischievous, but he’s got great digestion..."

He then hurried Doudou along through the jet bridge, leaving the dazed woman to be snapped back to reality by the impatient passengers waiting behind her.

"Big cousin, you don’t seem to be in a rush anymore," Doudou asked, puzzled. "You were in such a hurry back at the house."

The ice cream in his mouth lasted only a few seconds before disappearing into the bottomless pit of his stomach.

"Even if I’m in a hurry, I still have to wait for the plane to get there. Besides, the situation has improved a little. It looks like that thing got spooked..."

PS: Saturday’s second Chapter.