The pain of having its auxiliary leg pierced made the 'Tsuchigumo' verge on madness, yet seeing the 'little insect' looking fully vigilant, it couldn't help but feel a little complacent.
'It's useless, humans can't resist my ability at all!'
What is the difference between a 'Great Demon' and an ordinary demon? Besides simply having stronger demonic power and tougher flesh, the biggest difference lies in the fact that they master some kind of special ability, and the ability it masters is 'Disease.'
And this ability probably originated from its hatred for 'humans,' right?
Back then, 'Emperor Jinmu' led his army to subjugate various enemies in Japan, and the 'Tsuchigumo' clan was one of the victims, with less than one in ten surviving in the end. Even after seven hundred years of recuperation, they couldn't recover one or two tenths of their former strength. And as a survivor from back then, it intensely hated 'Emperor Jinmu.' Unfortunately, it knew it couldn't pose a threat to the other party, so it focused its revenge on the other party's descendants.
'As long as I eat Kaguya-hime liver, I can definitely advance further. Then I will unleash a natural disaster to destroy the country that man established!!'
Unlike most great demons who pursue the growth of their own strength, the 'Tsuchigumo,' steeped in hatred for nearly a thousand years, has been completely warped. It pursues simply mass casualties. The result of resentment combined with 'spider venom' is that when it became a 'Great Demon,' it gained the ability to create and control disease.
But success is a double-edged sword. This ability is very difficult to deal with, but it cannot achieve instant killing. And the people of the Onmyōji Bureau are not slackers; once they discover a similar situation, they organize people for rescue and then use this to hunt it down. After all, if it controls disease, it must stay nearby, and its enormous size is a perfect target.
It's hard for it to fight many hands with two fists. It is not confident that it can withstand being besieged by the leader of the Onmyōji Bureau and a group of people; otherwise, it would have gone around causing trouble long ago.
And although this disease does not have direct killing power, it can weaken the enemy.
'Hmph! There's no feeling now. Later, when the diseases in your body collectively erupt, let's see how you dodge!'
Huge in size, naturally strong in defense and attack, and the large number of auxiliary legs gives it good mobility. It can be said that it is one of the rare demons with relatively comprehensive abilities, but unfortunately, it lacks explosive power. And without a doubt, Lancer is least afraid of this kind of opponent.
As long as the opponent is not overwhelmingly powerful, his 'survival ability' can allow him to find that fleeting opportunity amidst layers of killing intent.
And he also noticed the opponent's strange behavior.
'Did this guy run out of moves?'
It's not that the opponent gave up attacking at this moment, but that the attack methods were too monotonous. Attacks like spraying webs, stabbing, biting, or crushing seemed terrifying, but Lancer skill allowed him to narrowly dodge them.
Because of the opponent's strange behavior, Lancer also began to be cautious during the fight, and Lancer performance immediately delighted the 'Tsuchigumo.' In its view, the reason Lancer started to become hesitant was undoubtedly because the 'disease' it spread had begun to take effect.
Immediately, its offensive became even more frantic.
On the other side, Lancer waited for several minutes without detecting any change in the opponent. He then gave up attacking and instead focused on dodging while checking the 'System Prompt' in an attempt to find a clue. Then, he actually found a clue.
'Infected by 'Mist of Disease', conducting Constitution check. Check passed.'
Similar system prompts were almost spamming the screen, and only now did Lancer finally know what was going on with the withered plants.
Subsequently, his expression became subtle. He had been curious before why the opponent's movements were like he was throwing a fixed fight. It turned out that the opponent was relying on stacking DEBUFFs on him first.
According to the system description, once infected by this 'Mist of Disease,' the most direct manifestation is a decrease in strength and reaction ability. Secondly, it is also accompanied by a long string of DEBUFFs. Although they are all minor, they seem to be stackable, and if the opponent really stacks them up, the consequences would be unimaginable. However, the opponent probably never dreamed that his physical fitness was strong enough to resist its ability, right?
One must know that Lancer body, which only looks slightly stronger than an average person, hides a terrifying power capable of wrestling with monsters. From a certain perspective, although his race is listed as 'Human,' he has long broken through the limits of normal people.
Countless battles have endowed him with valuable combat experience, and his unwavering dedication to training since acquiring the system has given him a physical constitution incomprehensible to ordinary people. Coupled with the techniques he learned from various 'Shishōs,' his fighting style has been enriched.
Contained within his seemingly unpretentious combat is the conviction he has held until now.
A person dies when they are killed. As long as he can stab the opponent, it means he has hope for victory.
And at this moment, looking at the 'System Prompts' that were still continuously flashing, he thought of a good idea.
——————
Nearly five minutes had passed since Lancer pierced the 'Tsuchigumo's auxiliary leg, which made it take the fight seriously, yet the 'Tsuchigumo' was still using its auxiliary legs to slowly contain Lancer attacks.
At this moment, it could clearly sense that Lancer offense was not as strong as before; the frequency of attacks that could threaten it was getting slower and slower. In fact, in its opinion, the other party had not made a truly substantial attack for almost half a minute.
But it still didn't attack directly, instead savoring the pleasure of bullying the weak.
For it, 'destroying the human country of Japan' was the obsession it had maintained for nearly a thousand years. To it, nothing was happier than slaughtering humans, and nothing was more enjoyable than watching those weaklings constantly struggle.
'Struggle! Work hard! But none of this matters. Your only end is to be eaten by me!'
In its view, the other party at this moment was like a prey fallen into a spider's web, waiting for it to feast upon.
Suddenly, under its seemingly ordinary attack, the opponent actually retreated several steps. Its eyes immediately lit up. It knew that its ability had started to work.
Its huge compound eyes suddenly widened, and the fuzz on its body stood up directly. Its thick auxiliary legs fiercely pushed off the ground, and its huge, mountain-like body leaped fiercely towards Lancer.
Its terrifying mouthparts opened, revealing ferocious fangs, but just at this moment, it noticed that Lancer, who had retreated after its previous attack, had somehow assumed a two-handed spear stance again. Then, it only felt a cold gleam flash before its eyes, and at the same time, it heard a cold voice ——————
'Secret Technique · Murloc Triple Stab'
Then ——————
"Aaaah!!!"
A terrifying shriek echoed through the bamboo forest.
The long spear, completely covered by water vapor, turned into crystal clear ice under the effect of the Runic script, and the originally terrifying fangs were instantly shattered. Looking at the terrifying large mouth in front of it, he stabbed out the second thrust without hesitation. The hit compound eye instantly burst, and countless foul-smelling blood splattered in all directions, but this was not the end, because Lancer could sense that this enormous creature was not dead.
His right foot stomped fiercely on the opponent's fangs, and the 'Quinque: Owl' that had been embedded in the opponent's body was directly pulled out by him. At the same time, the surging bloody aura around his body made him look like a fearsome god.
"Your life, I've taken it."
Following Lancer declaration, the long spear in his hand did not continue to attack the opponent's forehead but instead stabbed towards the opponent's mouthparts.
Although its exterior was impervious to blades, to the extent that even Lancer full-force attack only managed to penetrate, its interior did not have such strong defense.
The long spear sank entirely into the opponent's mouth, but Lancer was not satisfied at all. The bloody aura that originally enveloped him was thoroughly poured into the Quinque in his hand.
'Woo~'
Accompanied by a strange sound in his mind, the bloody aura instantly erupted at the tip of the spear.
"Snap!!!"
A tremendous sound, like an explosion, suddenly rang out, and the opponent's tough body instantly cracked from the inside.
"Thud!!"
Standing on the corpse of the 'Tsuchigumo,' which was almost broken into two halves, Lancer also breathed a huge sigh of relief.
It seemed that he had gambled correctly this time. During the previous fight, he had already discovered that the creature's body was incredibly tough. Even when not using demonic power, it was strong enough to clash with his weapon, and after injecting demonic power, it was even harder to pierce. The thin film covering the surface acted like a buffer, so he began to consider which part to attack.
After all, acting weak is only useful the first time, so he only had one chance.
In the end, he chose the opponent's seemingly terrifying mouthparts as the breakthrough point.
Using the 'Armor-piercing ability' of the 'Secret Technique · Murloc Triple Stab' as a breakthrough, he instantly shattered the opponent's fangs, and then feigned an attack on the opponent's forehead. As expected, a large amount of demonic power was deployed there. Then, he attacked the opponent's completely undefended mouthparts again, achieving success in one strike!
However, looking at the corpse that was almost broken into two halves, his expression was extremely subtle.
"I was considering using 'Desperate Strike' to finish the job if I couldn't break the opponent's teeth, but I didn't expect this guy's luck to be better than mine..."
But thinking carefully, their luck was probably about the same?
The opponent's most terrifying ability, 'Spreading Disease,' was immunized by Lancer strong physique, and as for Lancer, he was originally just planning a vacation. Who knew he would encounter a Great Demon coming out to cause trouble?
Moreover, Lancer had a bad feeling that perhaps, this was only the beginning...
——————
After Lancer left, Fujiwara no Fuhito struggled for a long time. He was debating whether he should listen to Lancer and find a place to hide first, but after a moment of hesitation, he still decided to follow them out. After all, if he thought about it carefully, where could he hide?
This is not Fujiwara-kyō where he could rush to the Onmyōji Bureau. Now, in the wilderness, if Lancer, the 'bodyguard,' couldn't handle it, where could he go but wait for death?
However, he still somewhat underestimated the scene he had imagined.
He had just decided to set off when he felt the ground shake.
As a country with many volcanoes and earthquakes, he was very clear that the current tremor was abnormal, and the only possible trigger he could think of now was the abruptly leaving Lancer. Although this sounds somewhat incredible, his intuition kept reminding him that it might actually be caused by the other party...
With the help of several guards, Fujiwara no Fuhito and his men quickly approached the outbreak site of the battle. As for how they confirmed it?
It was simple: if the sky-high dust and terrifying sounds were not enough to confirm the exact location, then the terrifying spider, several times larger than a normal house, was the best landmark.
Standing on a small hill, Fujiwara no Fuhito couldn't see Lancer below. He could only see the huge spider seemingly attacking the surroundings crazily, but sometimes he could also see a strange light flash by. According to his guard, the true identity of that flash of light was likely Lancer.
This seemed somewhat incredible to him. After all, as far as he knew, when the Onmyōji Bureau examined Lancer, they confirmed that the other party was not a 'demon.'
'Can humans also reach this level? It's just like a monster.'
But just as he was marveling, an exclamation came from beside his ear.
"Oh no!"
"What's wrong?"
Fujiwara no Fuhito, who couldn't see anything at all, asked the guard beside him, and the other party's expression was somewhat grim.
"That Mr. Lancer was almost hit by that demon just now, but thankfully he dodged it."
The guard hadn't finished speaking when the other party's expression became extremely horrified again.
"What's wrong now?"
"The monster's claw almost stabbed Mr. Lancer... Ah!"
The exclamation uttered again by his subordinate made Fujiwara no Fuhito expression become subtle.
"Are you saying that Lancer almost got hit again?"
"Uh... yes."
Perhaps in Fujiwara no Fuhito eyes, his subordinates were making a fuss, but in fact, they couldn't be blamed. After all, under normal circumstances, they put themselves in Lancer position to watch the battle. They then found that if they were the ones on the field, they would have died countless times already.
However, dodging once might be luck, but dodging twice, three times, or even more times is undoubtedly real skill. So, after the initial fuss, they gradually calmed down. None of them, who were invited by Fujiwara no Fuhito to be guards, were truly clueless novices.
They gradually noticed the strangeness of the battlefield. After all, one side looked to have a huge advantage, yet the disadvantaged side always managed to dodge with near-misses, making one even feel, 'It should happen again next, right?'
But just as they were speculating on what posture Lancer would use to dodge the opponent's attack next, the battle on the battlefield changed 'dramatically.'
Lancer suddenly retreated several steps after blocking the giant spider's attack, and the giant spider, which had been standing in place and looked relaxed, suddenly leaped towards Lancer position.
The spider's enormous size completely blocked their view, and they watched the area where Lancer stood with extreme nervousness. With their strength, coupled with the special talismans they received from the Onmyōji Bureau, dealing with some ordinary minor demons was simple. In fact, minor demons would directly detour when they saw them. But they probably wouldn't even know how to begin attacking a monster of this size, right?
And just as they were nervously watching the battlefield below ——————
"Aaaah!!"
Accompanied by a terrifying roar, they saw the giant spider suddenly start frantically waving its auxiliary legs, and then ————
"Squish~!"
Accompanied by a strange sound, everyone saw the monster's head explode completely.
Countless yellowish-brown, strange liquids splattered everywhere, and the plants that came into contact with the strange liquid quickly died. But even so, the huge demon did not seem completely dead. Its flailing auxiliary legs frantically destroyed the surrounding environment while spreading the strange liquid within its body everywhere.
And just as they were considering whether to go down and find Lancer, they felt a chill rush towards them. Then, the raised dust gradually returned to normal, replaced by countless terrifying frost emanations spreading from within the monster's body.
"Is that demon still alive?"
"I don't know, but it shouldn't be..."
There are only a few demons in Japan related to ice, and most of them appear in winter. Their main activity area is also the Hokkaido region. Logically, there shouldn't be ice-related demons here, let alone the fact that the yellowish-brown giant spider has nothing to do with ice in any way.
Fujiwara no Fuhito and his dozens of guards stood nervously on the small hill, watching the rapidly spreading frost mist below.
The originally normal bamboo forest had been forcibly smashed into a large pit during the battle between Lancer and the Tsuchigumo, and at this moment, the interior of the frost-filled pit was so obscured that it was impossible to see what was happening.
If the terrifying roar and violent commotion before made them feel frightened, the strange silence now made them feel at a loss. They were very curious about what was happening below, but they didn't dare to go over, as they had witnessed the terror of that monster earlier.
And just as the frost mist had spread around them, Fujiwara no Fuhito also felt something was wrong, but his dignity made it impossible for him to suggest leaving.
If he had suggested leaving during the battle before, it would have been fine, but now that it seemed over, wouldn't it make him look down upon?
"Lord Fujiwara, a gentleman does not stand near a dangerous wall. The battle between Mr. Lancer and that demon seems to be over. Should we return to the camp and wait for Lord Lancer?"
And just as Fujiwara no Fuhito was internally cursing himself for having such great curiosity, one of his subordinates suddenly spoke. Fujiwara no Fuhito was overjoyed, secretly praising the young man for knowing what to do. But just as he was about to speak ——————
"Clank~ Clank~"
A strange metallic grinding sound suddenly came from behind...
Immediately, the guards who were protecting Fujiwara no Fuhito drew their swords and cautiously watched the distant frost mist.
However, from their slightly trembling bodies, it could be seen that their hearts were not calm at this moment.