“Clap, clap, clap.”
The sound of slow applause drifted from behind Lilith.
Lilith, who had just begun to fly off, looked back in confusion.
A man had appeared on a thick horizontal branch of a giant tree below. He had seemingly come out of nowhere.
He was tall and dressed in ornate, dark purple robes.
Most striking was the pure white smiley-face mask he wore, which gave him an exceptionally eerie appearance.
He continued to clap as he slowly walked through the air toward Lilith.
“Hehehe... Your skills are quite impressive, young lady.”
Lilith blinked and looked around. Confirming there was no one else nearby, she pointed at herself. “Are you... talking to me?”
“Of course.”
The masked man stopped about twenty meters away from her in mid-air, his hands clasped behind his back.
“Besides you, who else in this vicinity could have so quickly dismantled the elaborate layout I prepared for others?”
Lilith was even more bewildered. She scrutinized him carefully.
“Who are you?” Lilith asked bluntly. “Did some new actor wander onto the wrong set?”
The masked man: “...”
He paused visibly, seemingly caught off guard by her reaction.
However, he quickly regained his composed, leisurely posture and let out a light chuckle. “You are quite the humorist. But before we discuss my identity, shouldn't we first talk about your feat just now?”
He extended a hand, gesturing toward the forest below.
“To be able to clear all the magical beasts we deployed in this area in such a short time... Even that precious Rank 7 Great-Horned Rock Demon was slain by a single strike from your sword.”
A hint of admiration entered the masked man’s voice, though it was overshadowed by a cold, scrutinizing tone. “...Heh, if I’m not mistaken, your strength must be at least at the peak of Rank 8? Perhaps you’ve even touched the threshold of Rank 9? Such a surprisingly young powerhouse.”
As Lilith listened, things felt more and more off. She couldn't help but wonder to herself.
“Is this guy... a bit touched in the head? He's just been monologuing to himself since the start.”
“Wait,” Lilith finally caught the main point. “Did you just say... the magical beasts you deployed?”
“Precisely.”
The masked man gave a slight nod, a trace of undetectable pride in his voice. “For today's plan, we captured and enhanced over ten thousand magical beasts.”
“Among them, that Rank 7 Great-Horned Rock Demon was a core combatant we meticulously bred. Originally, they were meant to riot tonight. By attacking from both within and without in coordination with our main force, we would have seized the Elf Royal City in one fell swoop...”
His voice gradually turned frigid.
“...Unfortunately, all of that was ruined by you.”
Lilith: “...”
She was silent for a full three seconds.
“Look, just speak like a normal person.”
The masked man seemed to choke on his words again.
He was likely accustomed to people being intimidated when he revealed his power, not being dismissed for his choice of words.
He fell silent for a moment, deciding to drop the elegant villain act.
“It means,” the masked man’s voice suddenly turned bone-chillingly cold, and at the same time, a massive, terrifying pressure erupted from him as the center!
Birds fled in panic, and beasts on the ground prostrated themselves. It was the pressure of a Rank 9 powerhouse, enough to make a regular Rank 8 find it difficult to breathe.
He raised a hand and pointed at Lilith, dark energy that made the heart palpitate condensing at his fingertip.
“I went through a lot of trouble to catch so many magical beasts, deploy them in this area, and even breed a Rank 7 just to attack the Elf Royal City.”
His voice was filled with murderous intent over his ruined plans. “And just like that, you destroyed everything.”
Lilith stood her ground, looking at the masked man.
“You want to fight? So you're the one who put those things there,” Lilith’s voice also went cold.
“Do you have any idea how much time I spent clearing that junk?! My vacation was ruined by the magical beasts you released!”
The masked man: “...”
His raised finger trembled slightly; he was clearly fuming.
He felt his dignity as a villain was being severely challenged.
He decided to use action to shut this arrogant woman up.
“Hehehe...” He laughed from sheer rage. “If the magical beasts are gone, I can catch more. But today, you must die.”
As soon as he finished speaking, his right hand suddenly clawed at the air beside him!
Space was torn open, and a pitch-black rift bloomed by his hand.
He slowly pulled a long spear, entirely black, from the rift.
The spearhead pointed at Lilith, radiating an eerie aura.
“To die by my hand is an honor for you.”
The masked man’s voice regained its condescending composure, as if he could already see the outcome of Lilith’s heart being pierced by his spear.
Lilith looked at the intimidating black spear.
She was silent for two seconds before sighing and rubbing her temples. “I’m telling you...”
Lilith’s voice was full of exasperation. “Why do you villains always like to cause trouble while people are on vacation?”
She raised her right hand, fingers splayed, and aimed it at the masked man.
“Whatever, let's just get this over with.”
The masked man: “?”
“Are you kidding me?”
Losing his temper completely, the masked man immediately raised his spear and hurled it.
The moment the spear was about to hit Lilith, her right hand quickly snatched it out of the air.
The masked man tried to pull it back, but found that he couldn't move it even a fraction of an inch.
And then...
The masked man suddenly felt a tremor from the spear that had accompanied him through years of battle. To his horror, he watched as the indestructible black spear began to shatter, starting from the tip.
The entire process was incredibly fast and... completely irresistible.
The masked man: “!!!”
He froze in place, staring down at his empty right hand, his mind a complete blank.
His artifact... was gone?
Just then, Lilith’s voice rang out again, sounding a bit impatient:
“Hey, put some effort into it.”
The masked man snapped his head up to look at Lilith.
A chill instantly flooded his entire body.
To be able to decompose his artifact so effortlessly... this was definitely not Rank 8! Not even Rank 9!
He had bitten off more than he could chew!
“You... who exactly are you?!” For the first time, there was a noticeable tremor in the masked man’s voice as he instinctively took a step back.
Lilith didn't answer; she took a step forward.
As if facing a great enemy, the masked man instantly pushed his Rank 9 magic to its limit, condensing shields around himself while retreating rapidly.
And then—
Pop.
The shields surrounding the masked man, along with the white smiley-face mask on his face, turned to dust at the same moment.
His true face was revealed: a middle-aged man whose features were etched with terror.
The masked man: “............”
“You... you can't kill me! I am the Ninth Seat of the Shadow Council! If you kill me, the Council won't let you get away with it!” he roared, though his voice shook.
“Shadow Council?”
Lilith thought about it. She hadn't heard of them.
She waved her hand as if shooing a fly.
“Fine, looks like you don't have any other tricks. Scram, don't waste my time.”
The masked man shuddered. He didn't even dare to leave a parting threat. He turned into a streak of black light and fled toward the horizon at ten times the speed he had arrived, not even daring to look back.
After he had cleared the forest, he gasped for air.
“Damn it, I have to report this to the leader. I'll make sure she's torn into a thousand pieces—”
Just as he gritted his teeth and prepared to keep going, a thin line of blood suddenly appeared, stretching from his chest down to his thigh.
He looked at the line in confusion, then began to vomit blood. “Wh... when...”
Before he could react further, his body split apart along that line of blood.
Lilith watched the black speck disappear into the distance and curled her lip.
She wasn't some saint; when someone brought trouble right to her face, she was definitely going to deal with it.
She shook her head, feeling a bit bored.
She stretched, and her mood brightened again.
“Alright, alright, it really is time to go back now! Dinner! Here I come!”
...
...
...
Rate on N.U.
