Stepping on the Demoness to become the strongest

The Ancient Isle Chess House, two sat opposite each other.

"It seems you're not at all worried about your brother," Xiandao Jingyin played a piece and suddenly spoke, "During the battle with the Ezo in the past, you suffered a crushing defeat. Now that your brother is leading a team to Black Dragon Isle, aren't you afraid they might encounter the Dragon Soar Team?"

"Why should I worry?" Shenyuan Simie picked up a paper Nuo mask with a smiling face and covered his own face, "I've passed on my method of using paper effigies to cheat death to him."

"You're really generous," Xiandao Jingyin was first taken aback, then became surprised.

"He is my own brother after all,"

"Why don't you treat your father the same way?"

"Because he's not worth it," Shenyuan Simie tapped on the chessboard with his finger, "Xiandao, look here."

"The world is like a chessboard, and all living beings are like chess pieces. Everyone has a role they must play. In the past, the Shinyori family took pride in their legitimate descendants, looked down on the illegitimates, and treated the children of affairs with the utmost disdain. Why?

Because the family head relied on his legitimate wife, favored his concubines, and treated his mistresses like doormats to be discarded at will... In other words, the Shinyori family is like a chessboard, and what role each person plays is ultimately up to the family head. He bestows honor based on the closeness of blood ties, and nothing more."

"But times have changed; no longer is bloodline prized, but strength is honored," he picked up a chess piece and said with a smile, "My brother has become an Onmyoji, while my father is nothing but a decrepit and useless mortal. It's obvious who is more worthy."

"If I am the one making the moves, I will have the old man leave the stage and let the young and vigorous take the lead. No other reason is needed; I am the strongest, I can decide with one word."

"Don't be too confident," Xiandao Jingyin said sternly, "He's not just your brother; he's also taken two hundred men with him, all elite hands from the bureau. If they really get intercepted by Lu Country and are annihilated in the north, even killing him afterward will not make up for the Yin Yang Bureau's losses."

"Xiandao, you really are dense," Shenyuan Simie slowly stood up, "Even in chess, we know to exchange pieces, yet why do you not understand calculating losses and gains when it comes to people? Even if we speak purely in terms of cultivation progress, my brother's strength and value as a high-ranking Onmyoji are incomparable to those two hundred men, even if they were all bound together."

"It's not for my brother to keep those two hundred men safe, but for them to give their lives if necessary, to ensure that my brother doesn't encounter the slightest harm. The knight can be sacrificed, the bishop can be lost, even the rook may be lost, but only the king must not die."

"The one who can truly determine the outcome of the game is only the king... only the king! Hahahahaha! To fight for kingship!!!"

Laughing loudly, he strode away, and from a distance, one could still hear his unrestrained singing:

"Let millions weep, as the jade shatters and the spirit cannot find its way home, crying until dawn..."

"This madman!" Xiandao Jingyin couldn't help but curse, taking out a mobile phone to make a call.

"Hello?"

"I've spoken to him. He said he passed the paper effigy technique to Shenyuan Guang."

"Yes, hmm... He must be confident, I guess; he seems intent on supporting his brother, not pretending."

"Understood, we will have to see how the other side reacts."

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Two teams of Cultivators arrived at Amur City, where the leader of the witch coven, the "Faceless One" Anastasia, personally came to welcome them, preparing a lavish banquet and drinks for the Lu Country Cultivators.

"No need for food," Yan Yu waved his hand, "Military matters are urgent, let's hurry to Black Dragon Isle, fight, and head back."

Anastasia was a bit astonished and looked at Anna.

Anna could only go over to translate and explain that Lu Country was still wary and wanted to make it a swift battle, to avoid getting too entangled—attacking Black Dragon Isle directly to force the Gilyak Bear People to send reinforcements was deemed the quickest solution.

Although it was somewhat impolite, the Gilyak were indeed a pressing concern for the Amur witch coven, so Anastasia didn't say much more, simply letting Anna explain the intelligence in Lu Country's language.

"The Gilyak Bear People are a branch of the Transcendent werewolf system, mainly originating from animal totem worship," Anna clapped her hands, and two witches brought up a captive bear person.

The adversary was about two meters tall and extremely hairy when transformed, with arms thicker than the thighs of ordinary people; ordinary ropes simply couldn't bind him. He was chained up with steel after having his hands and feet broken, pressed to the ground by two sturdy witches, still struggling unwillingly, with a ferocity in his eyes.

"The threat of the bear people lies in their extremely strong defenses; it's very difficult to kill them even in human form, and even more so once they've transformed," Anna took a handgun from a witch beside her and fired a shot at the bear person's head.

The bullet lodged in the adversary's skull, failing to penetrate completely; the bone density was comparable to reinforced concrete, provoking him to struggle even more.

"Next up, they have enormous strength." Anna handed the pistol back to her comrade, signaling them to take the captive away and execute him, "A direct hit from him means a fracture at the least, and more likely it's goodbye to a part of your body."

"Besides that, there's the beast poison. If you get scratched or bitten by a bear person, it's pretty much the same as with werewolves; you get infected and slowly start turning into a beast. The bear people are stronger than werewolves, though, so usually, you'd be dead before an infection could even become an issue."

Yan Yu fell silent for a bit:

"Strong defenses, huge strength, nothing else, right?"

"That's all." Was that not enough for Anna's heart? It was like infantry coming up against a tank; if you can't break the enemy's defenses and they can one-shot you, what's the damn point?

"How many people are we talking about on the other side?" Ye Jun asked.

"Roughly two thousand, not counting any secret forces," Anna replied, "Some of them are new Transcendents who survived the beast poison transformation; they might not be as strong as a regular bear person, but they're no pushovers."

"What about their distribution?" Liu Longtao inquired.

"Half and half," Anna said, "Half are on Black Dragon Isle, the other half came over to the mainland... But we don't have satellites or anything, we figured this out through divination, so make your own judgement."

"Old Yan, the numbers she's giving us are pretty much in line with what the Privy Council's satellite group reported," Liu Longtao quietly conveyed to Yan Yu, "Actually, the majority of the enemy is concentrated in Sakhalinsk, probably around six or seven hundred people."

"And the Mysterious Realm?" Yan Yu asked, not betraying any emotion.

"The entrance to the Mysterious Realm we're heading to is within an eastern lagoon, less than 30 kilometers in a straight line from the city," Liu Longtao replied.

"So you're saying, if we can't deal with the Transcendents in the city, it's very likely they'll ambush us on our way into the Mysterious Realm, or even break in and interfere with our mission to slay generals and capture flags," Yan Yu mused.

"Exactly, my idea is to have these witches launch an attack on the city, using a feint to tie the enemy forces down near the city," Liu Longtao suggested.

"Bear people are close-combat tanks, witches excel at long-range control; in group combat, the latter might be at a disadvantage," Yan Yu had a sudden epiphany and said to Liu Longtao, "How about this, Old Liu, you stay in the city and support the witches in battle, and I'll lead the team into the Mysterious Realm?"

"Old Yan, that's not very fair now, is it?" Liu Longtao quickly objected, since the words he wanted to say were taken right out of his mouth, "City warfare is so nasty, and the bear people are all tough as nails. I'd rather go fight in the Mysterious Realm against the Onmyoji."

"We've got all girls here, and you're a big, burly man—can't you make some concessions?" Yan Yu urged earnestly, "Act like a man, don't be so petty!"

"F*ck, I'm a proponent of equality, emphasizing equality between the sexes, don't you try that talk on me," Liu Longtao chuckled, "How about you ask your blonde sweetheart? Whichever team she wants for support, that team will stay outside and fight the bear people."

"How could that work?" Yan Yu was definitely not going to agree to that; if Anna got to choose, wouldn't the answer be obvious? She would definitely want to stay with her dear brother Yan Yu, "Anna, being an international friend and all, how could she be involved in the decision-making of the Lu Country's teams? It wouldn't be right, it'd break the rules."

"International friend, my foot; she ran all the way to Jinling Prefecture just for you, and you're telling me you're just ordinary friends?" Liu Longtao teased, "Wow, talk about fickle. A girl travels thousands of miles to see you, and you can't stay outside and keep her company?"

Yan Yu took the boomerang of sarcasm silently, his expression unchanging:

"The battlefield is no place for personal feelings. Having a distraction when life and death are on the line hampers rational decision-making. No, I can't stay with her; I have to go fight in the Mysterious Realm."

"Then what about your private relations with those golden hairpins in your team?"

"Shut up, you Jing dog; don't you slander my integrity!"

The two were at each other's throats over the transmission, and they got nowhere. Ye Jun, although unaware of the specifics of their argument, could guess they were at it again, sniping at each other, and impatiently conveyed:

"Stop fighting, if you have a dispute, ask the Privy Council!"

"Now that sounds good to me, I unequivocally support the decisions of the Privy Council," Liu Longtao grinned and pulled out his phone to call his dad.

Yan Yu watched him from the corner of his eye, staying quietly aside.

"Hello." Liu Longtao relayed the situation and at first, his face showed disbelief, then a "hold on, let me get this straight," and finally an expression of speechless defeat.

What did that mean?

Yan Yu was to lead the team to fight in the Mysterious Realm? And that was the will of whom?