Chapter 222: The Demon King Bai Fu in Villains’ Eyes, Scarlet Leaf Ascends to Calamity
Abyss Stalkers were a particularly unique kind of Starry Behemoth, adept at spatial travel and capable of initiating it in an extremely short time.
To prevent Moxin and Garrett from realizing the unfavorable situation and escaping on the Abyss Stalker, Bai Fu deliberately disguised herself as Centurion to contact Moxin before the actual fight began.
"You two, I already know what happened on your end. Just hold on for three more minutes, and I’ll arrive at the scene. By then… hehe, I’ll make Bai Fu unable to live, unable to die, and show her what true hell is!"
This sinister voice instantly agitated Garrett.
Garrett hated her to the core—if it weren’t for Moxin and the Abyss Stalker arriving in time, he would have died just like Rolf and Sorell in the ambush by Bai Fu and Cecia.
"Only three minutes, huh?"
Garrett’s fighting spirit surged.
He turned to glance at Moxin. Both were quite interested in that line—"show Bai Fu what true hell is."
Having suffered so many setbacks at Bai Fu’s hands, letting her off without experiencing the full torture suite of the Eighteen Types of Weapons would be too lenient. They could even make a video of the process and stream it online to shatter the resolve of everyone in the Gateway Cluster who opposed the Secret Tower.
"Commander Centurion, rest assured. Holding on for three minutes is no big deal. Who knows, maybe by the time you arrive, we’ll already have captured Bai Fu alive."
Garrett glanced back at that massive ship’s cannon.
Ambushing Bai Fu with the main cannon mid-duel might seem dishonorable, but come on—they were terrorists. Honor? That’s not part of the job description. Besides, in this battle, it was clearly Bai Fu who first disregarded combat etiquette. He had no psychological burden; all he needed to do was buy enough time to activate the main cannon.
"We’ll stall Bai Fu. The Abyss Stalker will handle Cecia."
With the task divided, Garrett leapt forward like a soaring rocket, charging toward Bai Fu.
Bai Fu calmly turned off her communicator.
She had asked Garrett and Moxin to hold out for only three minutes because the ship’s main cannon required 2 minutes and 20 seconds to initiate. She had also reserved an additional 40 seconds for aiming.
"No need to go all out—just stall."
She said to Cecia at her side before flying straight toward Garrett and Moxin.
Halfway there, she summoned Little Black Foxtail. As for her Psychic Legion, since most units lacked flight capability, she only summoned non-humanoid true spirits like Falling Devilstone and Void Mana Orb to assist.
That was more than enough.
She wasn’t here to demonstrate her combat power—just to stall. If she appeared too strong, she might scare Garrett and Moxin into retreating.
If it weren’t for the existence of the bizarre Abyss Stalker, Bai Fu wouldn’t have needed such a complicated setup. With her current power, if she went all out, she could easily make Garrett and Moxin flee in panic.
Four figures clashed in the starry sky, flashing like lightning. Though there was no deafening explosion, every spectator felt as if a war drum was pounding in their chest—hearts thumping wildly. It was intense.
"Can we win?"
Members of the Secret Tower aboard the ship felt like they could barely breathe.
"We’ll definitely win!"
A nearby gunner patted his comrade on the shoulder. He was just as nervous, but beneath the tension burned a thrilling excitement.
This was it—the critical moment!
This wasn’t just the decisive moment in the year-long grudge between the Secret Tower and Bai Fu. It was also his personal turning point!
If Bai Fu were captured alive in this battle, as the one who manned the cannon, he would become famous across the galaxy, the superstar among all villains in the Gateway Cluster!
What? The main cannon was AI auto-aimed, and hitting Bai Fu had nothing to do with him?
"Don’t be ridiculous! Just tell me—who pressed the launch button for the main cannon?"
The gunner trembled with excitement.
He felt it—his blood was boiling, his will ignited!
He envisioned his glorious future as the new galactic superstar.
"Ten seconds left!"
The gunner reminded everyone with a trembling voice.
Ten seconds passed in a flash.
Garrett and Moxin, upon receiving the alert, were on edge.
It took less than a millisecond for the ship’s cannon to hit its target after firing. They had to escape before it fired. Waiting until the beam was launched would be too late.
But fleeing directly would arouse Bai Fu’s suspicion. The best way to escape was to get beaten up by Bai Fu so it would appear natural.
Garrett and Moxin exchanged a glance and simultaneously flanked Bai Fu and Little Black Foxtail from both sides.
They seemed aggressive and fully powered, but in reality, they were only using survival tactics. Thus, the moment they engaged with Bai Fu, they were instantly blasted away by the combined force of the Forcefield Advance and Psychic Burst.
As they were thrown back, blood spurted from their mouths and was instantly vaporized by the searing psychic energy.
Garrett and Moxin were both heavily injured. After all, Bai Fu’s innate trait inflicted percentage-based blood-burning. Yet both wore radiant smiles.
"Haha! Bai Fu, you fell for it!"
"Like to set traps, huh? This time it’s your turn!"
Garrett and Moxin were itching to rush up and bind Bai Fu the moment the cannon’s energy depleted.
Considering her past feats on Shudun Star, they knew this cannon wouldn’t kill Bai Fu—but it would definitely leave her severely injured.
At that moment, at the edge of his vision, Garrett saw Cecia suddenly abandon the Abyss Stalker and rush toward Bai Fu despite sustaining injuries.
Oh? Trying to shield Bai Fu with your own body?
Such touching affection!
But useless. With Cecia’s speed, she’d never reach Bai Fu before the cannon struck.
It was decided—he’d torture Cecia and Bai Fu together. Let the galaxy see the cost of betraying the Secret Tower.
Roar, Main...
Hmm?
Suddenly, Garrett and Moxin noticed Bai Fu’s smile turning even brighter as she turned her head toward Cecia.
Both sensed that something was off. But at this point, all they could do was follow Bai Fu’s gaze.
Then, they saw it—a beam tens of meters wide surged from the left of their view like a tidal wave, unstoppable.
The beam pierced through space, through the Abyss Stalker’s head armor, and shattered their mental defenses!
They stared in horror as the Abyss Stalker twisted and writhed under the blast’s impact.
Sound couldn’t travel in space, but every onlooker could almost hear the Abyss Stalker’s agonized wail in their minds.
Then—
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh—"
Garrett and Moxin screamed through the broadcast channel, voices filled with anguish, as if it was they who had been struck.
Why wasn’t Bai Fu the one hit?
Why...
No, no more questions. It was all Bai Fu’s fault—definitely!
Damn it!
No wonder Bai Fu ran out to duel them so boldly.
No wonder she didn’t pursue after knocking them away.
No wonder Cecia suddenly left the Abyss Stalker despite being wounded.
These two super schemers had planned the same trap they had!
Garrett and Moxin felt their hearts bleeding.
The situation was now utterly dire. The Abyss Stalker had taken a direct hit. If not dead, it was definitely too injured to escape with them. If it died here, even if they killed Bai Fu, they’d still face punishment from the Secret Tower Lord.
Now, their only hope lay in Centurion, who had contacted them earlier and said he’d arrive in three minutes.
Three minutes had passed.
Garrett was about to contact Centurion when his communicator lit up—Centurion was calling.
"Commander Centurion, where are you now?"
"Where? Aren’t I right across from you?"
Across?
Garrett and Moxin froze. They looked up and saw Bai Fu waving her communicator with a grin.
What the f—
Their blood pressure skyrocketed. If not on the battlefield, they might’ve fainted on the spot.
They understood everything now. That Centurion earlier was Bai Fu in disguise. They’d been acting in her palm this whole time.
What a joke.
Garrett and Moxin were completely lost.
Despite Bai Fu being prettier than the most popular idol, she now appeared like the most terrifying demon in the universe.
And it wasn’t just them—everyone on the ship was gripped by fear.
What now?
Damn it, why were they the ones sent to deal with Bai Fu? And whose bright idea was it to target her in the first place?
Wait, wasn’t Cecia one of the first to propose it? And now she’d defected to Bai Fu?
Damn it!
No one was more terrified than the gunner.
Victory! Haha, a real win! Once word got out, he’d be known across the entire Gateway Cluster.
Bombing your own ace combatant and primary transportation tool—was that insane or what?
But this kind of fame wasn’t what he wanted at all!
Amid the chaos, Bai Fu made her move.
Beating the downed dog—her specialty.
She first took control of the other Secret Tower ships and bombarded the Abyss Stalker with every weapon available, determined to finish it off. Then she, Cecia, and Little Black Foxtail charged at Garrett and Moxin from three directions.
At this point, there was no need to hide their strength. The goal was clear: eliminate Garrett and Moxin.
…
Meanwhile.
Over a hundred million kilometers from the rendezvous point—
Centurion floated in the starry void, face dark as he looked at the completely ruined ship ahead, wrecked by an explosion in both thruster and power core.
The explosion power of the ship wasn’t actually that strong. After all, real self-destruct modules were never actually installed on ships. But with the ship blown up, it would now take him a great deal of time to rendezvous with Daken and the others. Though he himself was fine, many of his subordinates had died in the blast.
“Damn it! If I find out who did this, I’ll rip out their intestines and use them as rope to strangle them!”
After several minutes of furious cursing, Centurion once again tried contacting Garrett and the others. To his disappointment, there was still no response. However, when he reached out to Daken, the communicator finally connected.
“Lord Centurion, something big happened. Lord Rolf and the others were all killed by Bai Fu. Garrett and I split up to flee. I just tried contacting Lord Garrett but couldn’t reach him either.”
“What?”
Centurion’s eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
After failing to get a response for so long, he had already suspected something was wrong. But hearing confirmation still felt unbelievable.
Even if four S+-level combatants plus an Abyss Stalker couldn’t beat Bai Fu and Cecia, they shouldn’t all be dead, right? Was the Abyss Stalker just a display piece?
He didn’t buy it. There had to be something more going on.
“Where are you now? Come pick me up!”
Centurion urgently called for Daken.
A dozen minutes later, Daken piloted a ship over and picked up Centurion and his surviving men.
This was Centurion’s first time meeting Daken. So even when he noticed Daken seemed a bit stiff, he didn’t find it suspicious. Instead, he just told Daken to stop trembling and hurry up to take him to Bai Fu.
Daken responded at once.
After rotating 180 degrees in space, the ship flew toward the destination Daken had given.
Centurion sat with his arms crossed, fury suppressed in his chest, already planning how to deal with Bai Fu.
What he never imagined was that Daken had already been controlled by Bai Fu using Descent of the Deity, and was now flying him in a completely wrong direction.
After flying for a long time, the ship reached its destination.
Looking out the porthole at the empty starfield, Centurion’s expression darkened. “Didn’t you say Bai Fu was here? Where is she?”
Daken quickly said, “She really was here earlier. Now, I’m not sure, I...”
As he tried to explain, Centurion’s communicator suddenly rang. The caller ID showed Garrett.
“Commander Centurion, I’m currently being chased by Bai Fu. The location is...”
After rapidly reporting the coordinates, Garrett was about to say something when he suddenly shouted.
“Crap! Bai Fu’s caught up—talk later!”
Beep—beep—
Centurion stared blankly at his communicator, then motioned to Daken with his chin. “What are you spacing out for? Hurry and go rendezvous with Garrett.”
“Y-yes.”
Daken obeyed immediately.
Then, Centurion realized he had been duped again.
“Tch—”
His breathing grew extremely heavy, his whole body on the verge of exploding with rage. In the end, he still suppressed the fury and kept trying to contact Garrett.
He called for a full three minutes before finally receiving a text reply from Garrett.
It was a new coordinate.
Garrett claimed he had nowhere left to run and was temporarily hiding on a small asteroid. If Centurion didn’t come, he’d die there.
Centurion was already beginning to feel something was off, but he only had two options left.
Either go check the coordinates Garrett sent, or leave and return directly to the Secret Tower headquarters.
After much deliberation, he chose to go check.
Having been toyed with for so long, if he didn’t go, he’d never be able to swallow the anger for the rest of his life.
Another half hour passed.
Above the asteroid.
Centurion, wearing a cold expression, messaged Garrett.
“I’m here. Where are you?”
Garrett sent another coordinate—this time pointing to a specific spot on the asteroid.
This time, Centurion didn’t move. Instead, he told Garrett to come meet him.
Garrett was silent for a long time before finally replying.
“Too bad. I was planning to piss you off a little more, but it looks like you suddenly got smarter. In that case, no point continuing the act. What do you think of the grave I picked for you?”
Staring at the message on his communicator, Centurion’s teeth clenched with a grinding sound.
Whoever you are—I’m coming to kill you now!
Centurion shot out from the ship. He held nothing back. After gathering power, he stomped hard on the asteroid beneath his feet.
The asteroid was only several hundred kilometers in diameter, and with that stomp, the burst of Esper Power almost blanketed the entire surface. Though the area with true Ground Fissure power was just the center, the whole asteroid trembled under the force.
On the surface, massive cracks opened up in the blink of an eye—wide enough to swallow entire buildings. From these rifts erupted torrents of molten iron magma, looking from afar like a full-blown doomsday scene.
“So this is Calamity-rank?”
Bai Fu clicked her tongue in secret.
With her current power, she could summon a legion of psychic storms and easily sweep across dozens of kilometers, maybe more. But compared to Centurion’s destructive force, she still fell short.
Of course, this gap also stemmed from her being a Psychic Specialist. In most cases, their destructive capabilities were weaker than other offensive professions of the same level.
In the past, if Centurion had flexed like this, she would’ve run immediately. But this was no longer the past—today, she had the big boss, Scarlet Leaf, holding the field!
She wasn’t dragging Centurion around in circles for a game of cat-and-mouse. It was to buy time for Scarlet Leaf to ascend to Calamity, and for the Tiane Eye Alliance, the main civilization of the Tiane Galaxy, to send reinforcements to surround Centurion.
If Centurion died here, it would be a heavy blow to the Secret Tower!
Don’t be fooled by Scarlet Leaf’s recent promotion to Calamity—her stats were in no way inferior to Centurion’s. The Void’s bonuses were simply too strong.
“Go!”
Scarlet Leaf glanced at Little Black Foxtail beside her.
Years of stagnation, frustration, and burden—all cast off today. Now, she just wanted a proper fight, to declare her rebirth with whirling energy and the sweeping elegance of a firebird!
Little Black Foxtail nodded and was the first to charge out.
Her job was to draw Centurion’s attention and create an opening for Scarlet Leaf.
After all, the mission was to kill Centurion—not just let Scarlet Leaf enjoy a good fight—so tactics were still needed.
“Bai Fu?”
Seeing Little Black Foxtail suddenly charge out, Centurion froze for a moment, then burst out laughing.
“So you finally show yourself. Lured me here to a trap, did you? It’s meaningless. I’ll show you the difference between Calamity-rank and S+-rank. No amount of prep can bridge this gap!”
As he bellowed, an invisible domain of force swirled around his body.
In truth, he wasn’t as calm as he looked.
Bai Fu wouldn’t show herself unless she had some confidence. But as long as he could capture her alive, nothing else would matter.
With that in mind, Centurion went all out, charging at Little Black Foxtail like a tiger pouncing from a mountain.
Little Black Foxtail calmly threw out a pile of Prayer Cards.
In an instant, thousands of psychic summons surged before her. Her Psychic Legion had formed. At the same time, her body glowed with the light of a psychic shield.
Facing Centurion’s reckless charge, Little Black Foxtail didn’t retreat at all. Instead, to Centurion’s surprise, she chose to go head-on.
So bold?
Think you can block my attack just because you blocked the ship’s cannon?
Centurion laughed in anger.
He pressed down with an invisible palm from midair. A terrifying pressure dropped, forcing all floating psychic summons and Little Black Foxtail herself to the ground. The already-ruined land cracked even more.
Strike while they’re down.
Centurion didn’t hesitate, launching a full barrage of royal tactics. Blow after blow of gravitational force slammed into Little Black Foxtail.
From the moment she cast the Prayer Cards, her body was immobilized for over ten seconds. Her shield shattered. Her second health bar was depleted. Her main health bar dropped rapidly—her life on the brink.
“That should be enough.”
Centurion suddenly swung his right arm upward.
Under the force, Little Black Foxtail shot into the sky like a cannonball.
Centurion spread the fingers of his right hand. Just as Little Black Foxtail’s neck was about to fall neatly into his palm, a blinding red light suddenly burst from the molten magma deep within the asteroid.
In the next instant, a firebird flickered several times in the void, appearing in front of him almost like a teleport.
His eyes widened.
From within the blaze emerged a figure—fiery and bold like a phoenix—raising a ten-meter-long ship-cutting blade and swinging it down on him.
“Bai Fu is under my protection!”
The blade trailed a kilometer-long firelight. The flame wrapped around like ribbons, obscuring Centurion’s vision and engulfing his body.
When Centurion finally came to, he stared blankly at himself.
His right arm was gone—blood gushed from the severed stump.
He was injured!
A chill shot from his tailbone to the top of his head. Cold sweat drenched his back.
Maybe... he was going to die here today.