Chapter 516: Natural Enemies
Translator: Pika
Pei Mianman figured that her opponent was an undead creature, so it was probably scared of fire. With that reasoning, she summoned a flame dragon and sent it flying towards it.
The skeletal warrior also sensed danger. It spun around, retrieving a spherical shield from its waist. The shield looked small at first, the size of a small disc, but it immediately spun, fanning outwards to become much larger. It turned into a meter-wide shield that blocked all of the incoming flames.
Pei Mianman was astonished. She was about to command the flames to go around the shield, but with a shake of the skeletal warrior’s arm, countless sharp teeth emerged around the rim of the shield.
Even Zu An’s eyes grew wide when he saw this. Didn’t they only find bronze artifacts in Yinshang? How the heck did this thing get its hands on something with such advanced technology?
The stalwart skeleton sent the shield spinning through the air. The spherical shield sliced through the air, flying straight at Pei Mianman. The shield flickered with a vicious metallic glint, and the whoosh that it made as it cut through the air was quite frightening as well. It was clearly powerful enough to slice whatever—or whoever—it hit into two.
Pei Mianman twisted her upper body to the side. Her body bent elegantly like a willow branch, displaying her incredible flexibility. The shield whizzed right past her.
However, this round shield seemed to have a pair of eyes. After it flew past her, it spun around, slicing at her from the opposite direction.
Fortunately, Pei Mianman was prepared. With a tap of her toes, she flipped backwards, barely evading the shield.
Even so, a part of her dress could not avoid the spinning shield. The shield’s sharp edges sliced through it, cutting it right off.
Pei Mianman’s face paled. She would have lost half her leg if she had been even a moment too slow.
That skeletal warrior grabbed the returning shield, then flung it out again.
Pei Mianman’s entire body surged with black flames, and her movement speed increased as well. She dodged to the side, but that spinning shield pursued her relentlessly.
Zu An leaped in to attack the skeletal warrior as well. He noticed that the red lights in its eyes were flickering, and attributed this to its need to control the flying shield. He was worried about Pei Mianman, so he attacked the skeleton to try and distract it.
The skeleton brandished its spear about, creating a zone around him that Zu An could not enter.
Zu An had already suffered a heavy blow in the first skirmish, and he knew that he wasn’t a match for it in terms of power. As such, he used Sunflower Phantasm to split himself into two and attack it from different directions.
That skeletal warrior’s head tilted to the side, confusion somehow swirling within its red eyes. How did this person suddenly split into two?
Despite this, it swung its spear without hesitation, slicing both figures in half.
However, it was given another shock, because it did not feel like it was cutting through flesh. Instead, it only sliced through empty air.
A third Zu An appeared behind it, and the Tai’e Sword cut straight across its neck.
The Tai’e Sword was incredibly sharp, and Zu An had attacked with a good amount of his strength. He didn’t believe that it could withstand this blow, no matter how tough its bones were.
A skull landed on the ground and rolled around.
The shield, which was still spinning in midair, went out of control as well. It lost its ability to continue attacking, burying itself into a nearby wall.
Zu An rushed over to support Pei Mianman. “Manman, are you all right?”
“I’m okay.” Pei Mianman gave that skeleton a fearful look. “We might already be dead if it had decided to ambush us by the gate.”
“Which is why our luck is actually pretty good.” Zu An chuckled. He walked over to the wall to examine the stationary shield. He had witnessed the power and intricacy of this thing just now. This was definitely an excellent defensive tool and a formidable weapon. He wondered if there was a way he could use it himself.
He reached out his hand to remove the shield. With a sudden whoosh, the shield began to spin again, freeing itself from the wall. Zu An dodged to the side in alarm. His head had almost been sliced in half!
“What the heck? Is this weapon intelligent?” Zu An looked at the flying shield with shock.
“Ah Zu, over there!” Pei Mianman’s voice contained an unmistakable tremble. It was as if she had seen a ghost.
Zu An looked over and shuddered. The skeletal warrior’s headless body hadn’t fallen. Instead, it was walking around. When it got near its head, it squatted down and felt around on the ground, as though it couldn’t see. Even though its head was within reach, it was still slightly off, and couldn’t quite find its head.
Zu An immediately snapped out of his daze. He shouted and charged at it, sword in hand. Unfortunately, that spinning shield flew between the two of them, blocking his path.
*Clunk!*
Sword and shield collided with a muffled crash. Zu An took several steps back, his arms sore.
The headless skeleton had finally found its skull. It picked it up and placed it on its nec, then twisted it, as though aligning the wound.
White light flashed on its neck, and the massive cut disappeared, as though nothing had happened. Red light flickered to life within its eye sockets, and its spear stabbed towards the two of them again.
Zu An dodged to the side. “Does this thing never die?” he exclaimed in alarm. “How the hell am I supposed to beat that?!”
Pei Mianman replied with a strained voice. “Let me see if I can burn it to ashes with my black flames. I refuse to believe that it can revive itself after that.”
A burst of flame rushed towards the skeleton.
This time, the skeletal warrior didn’t have its shield to defend itself. Instead, it stomped on the ground and leaped upwards.
The two of them were stunned. Its speed was much faster than expected, nothing like the clumsy skeletal warriors that they were used to.
The three of them quickly got into a massive tangle. Pei Mianman sent her flames burning towards their opponent, yet it always managed to stop them using its vicious attacks.
The skeleton’s attacks were just too strong for them. It wove its spear about itself in an intricate series of patterns, creating a zone several meters around it that they could not breach.
Such a weapon, with its long reach, was normally weaker in close combat, yet when they finally managed to close the gap after considerable effort, they were confronted by the spinning shield, which served as both offense and defense. It was like a very deadly hedgehog! The two of them had no idea what to do.
After several more exchanges, Zu An and Pei Mianman were both hit, and crashed into a nearby wall. Fortunately, the two of them managed to evade the sharp edge of its blade at the last second, saving themselves from being ripped apart.
The skeletal warrior turned around, ready to pursue them again.
Suddenly, a chorus of wails came from a distance away, accompanied by the thudding of heavy footsteps.
All three of them turned around. Five taoties slowly trundled in.
The skeletal warrior ignored the two of them, and pointed its spear at the approaching. Even though it was made of bones, both Zu An and Pei Mianman could still see that it had gotten serious.
The newly-arrived taoties did not spare a glance at Zu An, charging towards the skeletal warrior instead.
Zu An was surprised. “That’s way too strange. The taotie is a glutton by nature—shouldn’t it be more interested in fleshy bodies like ours? Why did it go straight after that skeleton?”
“The Shang people were fond of capturing taotie and training them to use in battles against surrounding nations,” Pei Mianman mumbled in reply. “However, the taotie are incredibly cunning and vicious, and were unwilling to let themselves be used like that forever. The soldiers of the Shang army killed many of them, but many of their soldiers were devoured by taotie in return. They are natural enemies who will fight to the death as soon as they encounter each other.”
Zu An felt his eyes go wide. “How did you know all of that?”
Pei Mianman had a confused expression on her face. She rubbed her forehead subconsciously. “I don't know. My mind was flooded by a multitude of scenes in an instant. They were unfamiliar, yet somehow familiar as well. I replied on instinct when I heard your question.”