“Something’s wrong! Retreat! Retreat by water!” someone shouted.
They headed directly for the Forbidden Sea behind them.
There was no other way. The four guild leaders had them surrounded inland. If their Shikigami were still with them, they could have broken through together.
But now, their only option was to escape back by water and flee for their lives.
Huh?
Giving up just like that?
They’re quitting way too easily!
Then again, you couldn’t really blame them. The four guild leaders of Longxia were nearby, and now there was this bizarre Necromancer who could actually control their Shikigami!
Their already tense and fearful hearts were utterly shattered.
Scared out of their wits, they turned to run!
Lu Ran was just about to cast Death’s Coils to stop them.
Suddenly, the Carp Spirit, who looked like a young girl in a red short skirt, raised her small hand and waved it.
A huge wave immediately rose from the sea, crashing down right on top of the group of Onmyoji! It blocked their escape route!
“Boss, it’s your Carp Spirit! What are you doing?!” someone cried out in panic upon seeing this.
The owner of the Carp Spirit was, naturally, the leader of this group.
A short man with a bit of a mustache.
He glanced back. The Carp Spirit, which he could usually control effortlessly, had now gone berserk, summoning massive waves to block their retreat.
Simultaneously, strange bubbles began forming in front of the Carp Spirit, drifting slowly towards them.
The mustached man tried to exert control again, but his commands vanished without a trace, like stones sinking into the sea.
Most crucially,
Their skills came from their Shikigami and coordinated attacks with them. Once they lost control of their Shikigami, most of their skills became useless!
They were left with only the most basic attack methods from their beginner days!
“It wasn’t me! I can’t control the Carp Spirit anymore! Everyone, run for your lives, scatter!” the mustached man yelled in desperation, seeing no other way.
But it was already too late.
The group of Shikigami behind them pounced. They fought fearlessly and recklessly, attacking without any semblance of order, throwing out every skill they had in a desperate, all-out assault!
After all, the command Lu Ran had given them after taking control was to kill these Onmyoji.
They were simply carrying out the order to the best of their ability—direct and straightforward.
It was chaos by the seaside, with over a dozen Shikigami going all out!
Lu Ran watched, marveling at the sight.
He asked over the team comms: “Xinxin-jie, why aren’t these Onmyoji fighting back? Are they reluctant to hurt their own Shikigami? But the Shikigami are trying to kill them now.”
Liu Xinxin replied: “Those Japanese don’t understand sentiments like that. The reason they aren’t fighting back is that they’ve lost their skills. Many of the Onmyoji’s skills require controlling their Shikigami to activate, including some combination attacks with them. Now that the Shikigami are controlled, most of their skills have been rendered useless. All that’s left are some basic attack skills.”
In other words, they wanted to resist but couldn’t!
“To think Lu Ran can actually control Shikigami… it’s really… unbelievable!” Ye Hongyi murmured.
“Those Japanese are in for a world of trouble. Nationwide, Lu Ran can probably control over ninety percent of their Shikigami, right? The Onmyoji, once hailed as their powerful signature class, was their pride and joy. But from now on, the Japanese will be absolutely nothing in front of Lu Ran.” Lei Tai laughed heartily.
“That’s enough. To avoid drawing attention, Lu Ran, clean up the scene.” Yu Cangqiong, his face beaming with a happy yet cautious smile, reminded them to protect Lu Ran’s secret.
Although Lu Ran was nearly invincible now,
It wasn’t yet time for his true power to be fully exposed.
Hearing this,
Lu Ran nodded.
Skeletons collectively charged forward, launching indiscriminate Corpse Explosions on the dozen or so Onmyoji!
At the same time, he cast Bone Storm.
This was purely to test the effects of the Sea-Calming Trident.
Anyway, the opposite direction was the Forbidden Sea. Even if the Trident’s effect wasn’t great, the Bone Storm would just spread out over the sea, so it didn’t matter.
And it turned out that the Sea-Calming Trident was indeed tailor-made for Lu Ran.
Similarly, it required no complicated maneuvers. Just a single thought, and the cast Bone Storm could precisely cover a small area, engulfing the dozen or so men.
Seeing this, Lu Ran finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Corpse Explosions combined with the small-area Bone Storm stacking repeatedly finished off all those Onmyoji.
But now a problem arose.
Although the dozen or so Onmyoji were dead, their Shikigami remained on the spot, not disappearing!
Four Shikigami had died in the earlier melee, leaving twelve behind!
They now stood obediently in front of Lu Ran, watching him and awaiting his commands.
Lu Ran was a bit stunned. He checked his skill panel, but couldn’t find a way to lift the control?
And also…
“Why are these Shikigami still here?” Ye Hongyi came over and asked in surprise.
“I’ve fought Onmyoji before. When the Onmyoji die, their Shikigami are supposed to vanish, right?” Lei Tai also asked, puzzled.
“The issue is, when the Onmyoji died, the Shikigami no longer belonged to them. It seems Lu Ran’s control skill isn’t temporary manipulation, but outright seizing ownership of the Shikigami, complete control!” Liu Xinxin analyzed.
Lu Ran listened, his mind reeling.
Remembering something, he said, “What about Landor before? You know, that Necromancer Summoner who was the first to die in the duel arena. After he died, the summons I controlled disappeared.”
Liu Xinxin asked back: “Did they vanish the moment he died, or did they disappear when the duel arena settled and the data was cleared to reset the room?”
Hearing Liu Xinxin’s question,
Lu Ran had a sudden realization.
He said, “Now I remember! When Landor died, the undead summons that killed him didn’t vanish immediately. So they were cleared away when the room was reset?”
But Liu Xinxin shook her head.
She explained: “Not necessarily. Summons of a Necromancer Summoner are different. A Summoner can summon and dismiss their summons, but for a Necromancer Summoner, the things they summon have specific durations based on their type. So, even if you seize ownership, they will still disappear when their duration ends.”
Then, Liu Xinxin looked at the Shikigami before them.
She continued: “But these Shikigami are different. They are permanent entities bound to the Onmyoji. When not in use, the Shikigami are stored in a Shikigami space, similar to the effect of a Treasure Gourd.”
Lu Ran understood that.
But the current problem was, what should they do with these Shikigami?
“If you like them, you can keep them to play with. If not, just kill them,” Yu Cangqiong reminded.
Hearing this, Lu Ran raised his eyes and scanned the group.
Holy crap, each one is seriously ugly!
But when his gaze finally settled on the Carp Spirit, his eyes lit up.
The Carp Spirit, with her maiden form, although she had a fish tail, her upper body was delicately shaped just like a human girl.
She had large, dewy eyes, black hair and pupils, with long, straight black hair cascading down her back, reaching past her buttocks.
This one can stay!
“This Carp Spirit… has pretty good quality, we can keep her. But the fish tail… won’t it attract too much attention?” Lu Ran asked, turning his head.
