The resentment demons rolled toward the demon cultivators. The demon cultivators charged to meet the resentment demons. Ai Tuzi and her bodyguard drew swords, while the other two humanoid demon cultivators shifted to their animal forms. A giant cat and a small vermillion bird joined the deer and the iguana in charging the resentment demons.
Hui stood in the background, looking down on the battle imposingly with his hands clasped behind him, his mouth closed, and his head tipped slightly back so he could look down on the whole thing. Yes, yes, this is the pose! This is the one! Ahahaha, I am the mastermind! I’ve done my job of bringing the soldiers, and now I watch as my strategy unfolds! I’m not suited to be a warrior, no, no, no! It is my job to watch. Watch, and strategize! Truly difficult and heavy jobs. Yes, yes. It would be detrimental for me to leap into the battle. Better to sit back and watch.
The two sides clashed. Massive animals slammed into resentment demons. Hundreds of arms grappled the animals, forcing them back. The hands latched onto fur, mane, scales, antlers, and threw them down. One resentment demon rolled over the iguana, while another, holding the antlers of the giant deer, punched it with dozens of slender, pale arms.
Another resentment demon battled Ai Tuzi back and forth. Ai Tuzi slashed several of its arms in one strike, but a dozen arms cropped up where the original arms had been and grabbed for her. Nimbly, she dodged away, only to back into a different resentment demon. Quick as lightning, the resentment demon grabbed Ai Tuzi and held her still while the first resentment demon rolled over and pummeled her.
“Lady Tuzi!” the bodyguard shouted. He raced over, but as he passed, a resentment demon caught his leg and tossed him down. It rolled on top of him and squatted there, splitting in two to grin evilly.
The iguana fought its way out from under the resentment demon. Opening its jaws, it spat fire at the ball of arms.
The resentment demon raised its arms to block the fire. Annoyed more than hurt, it rolled slowly backward, while the iguana advanced. Suddenly, a second resentment demon slammed into the iguana from behind, throwing it over again. This time, the resentment demon jumped on the iguana before squatting on it.
The vermilion bird cried out. Wheeling through the skies, it looped down toward the demons and bared its claws. It snatched one of the resentment demons up and flapped into the sky, carrying the ball of arms with it.
Hui looked up, shading his eyes with his hand. Should I go rescue it? Resentment demons are pretty hardy, but I don’t know how well they drop. Do they bounce? Er… maybe I should just see what happens? It’s not as if I know how to destroy the resentment demons, and Tseng Caihong couldn’t destroy them, either. If a drop destroys them, then… I guess that’s… I mean, kind of… a solution?
Watching the resentment demon refuse to so much as put up a pretense of struggle, Hui sighed. Yeah… this isn’t going to do anything to the resentment demons.
With a shout, Ai Tuzi twisted free. Bounding to her feet, she thrust her sword at a nearby resentment demon. A beam of swordlight pierced the demon, cutting a hole neatly through its center.
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The resentment demon patted at the hole, surprised. It reached inside itself. Its longer arms gripped the steaming remains of arms and pulled them out, tossing them to the ground. As it removed the final broken arm, it shrunk in on itself, resizing itself slightly smaller. Without hesitation, it turned and looked at Ai Tuzi, then hurtled at her.
“What? Why? How can I kill you?” Ai Tuzi shouted, confused.
Not bothering to reply, the resentment demon hurtled toward her, black fingernails raking at the air as its hands closed in on her. She screamed, rushing to meet it.
Qi signatures rushed at Hui from the grass. He glanced down, staring directly at the signatures, though all he could see was grass. The signatures froze in place, quavering where they stood.
“Tired of life?” Hui asked, making his voice as deep as possible. Hey! Fuck off! Don’t come at me! Look at me. I’m standing in the back! I’m not attacking! I’m a strategist, not a fighter! Leave me alone! Hey, look. When someone stands in the background and looks down at the battle like this, you leave them alone, okay? That’s the rule! You don’t touch the strategist. Even if it’s easy, you leave him alone!
Sigh, all these people not understanding the rules of battle. Tsk tsk.
The mice hesitated a few more moments, then whirled about and fled, vanishing back into the grass.
Hui nodded. I’m glad they saw the light. I certainly could have handled a few small mice, but I’m happier to let them run away. It’s better if this world has fewer conflicts, not more! Unavoidable conflicts like the one before me aside, I’ll always choose peace. Even if it means acting like the big shot I’m obviously not!
Across from him, the battle continued to devolve into chaos. The iguana laid on its side, out of the fight, while the deer still struggled against its resentment demon. Somewhere in the distance, a large cat batted a resentment demon around like a ball of yarn. Annoyed but uninjured, the resentment demon reached for the cat’s paw every time it batted it, only to miss its grip every time. While Hui watched, the resentment demon gripped a handful of fur on one of the cat’s arms. The cat extended its claws on its other paw and slapped the demon a few times, drawing pale blood. The resentment demon snatched at its other arm, but in its distraction, the cat snatched its first arm away.
Well, that’s a real slapfest. Hui looked over at the other half of the battlefield.
Ai Tuzi and her bodyguard held off a half-dozen resentment demons. Working in concert, the resentment demons closed in from behind, only for Ai Tuzi to whip around and lash out at the demons. They fell back again, hissing quietly.
Hmm, they look busy. Which leaves…
THUMP!
The resentment demon and the vermillion bird struck down in one big mess of red feathers and paper-white arms. The resentment demon gripped the vermillion bird’s wings, claws, and beak. Splitting in half from the bottom up, it sunk down on the vermilion bird. Thousands of smaller hands pulled the bird up into the center of the resentment demon, where yet smaller hands tore it apart bit by bit and fed the bird into the resentment demon’s heart.
The vermillion bird screamed. It struggled and fought, but the resentment demon let off a thick white mist, and the bird went silent again. Feathers flew. Blood splashed on the ground. Handful by handful, the demon pulled the bird apart and devoured it.
Hui blinked a few times. Uh. Well. That’s, um. Horrifying. I’m just… going to pretend I didn’t see that. He turned away.
His eyes landed on the hostages.
Instantly, Hui lit up. That’s right! I came here to save the other disciples, not play at being strategist. Let’s go, let’s go! Leaving the resentment demons to it, Hui ran off toward the other disciples.
“Wait, wait! Gui Hui, take care! We’re trapped in a barrier!” Tian Mo shouted.
“Oh?” Hui asked, tilting his head. A barrier? You don’t say. He smiled slowly.
A shiver ran up Tian Mo’s spine. Er… that isn’t the right reaction, Gui Hui!