Chapter 280: Desperate Situation

Boom!

Outside the stronghold, a terrifying hurricane of energy swept through at this moment, the earth being torn into deep furrows by the violent impact.

The moment the two collided, Jiang Qing'e's slender figure was sent flying backward as if struck by a heavy blow; as her delicate body landed on the ground, she plunged her heavy sword into the earth, carving out a bottomless trench.

*Cough.

Jiang Qing'e coughed violently, a mouthful of fresh blood spilling from her lips, and the Light resonant power radiating from her body became extremely chaotic at this moment.

This was a sign of having suffered a heavy blow.

Clearly, the Smile Demon's previous palm strike had directly severely wounded Jiang Qing'e.

However, Jiang Qing'e paid no heed to her own injuries; she immediately raised her head and looked toward where the Smile Demon was. That previous attack was the strongest strike she was capable of launching.

That was her peak strike.

The Smile Demon had used the weakening of its own power as bait to lure her into attacking, a possibility Jiang Qing'e had anticipated, yet she had still struck without hesitation.

That was because she understood in her heart that while this move was perilous, it also contained an opportunity.

An opportunity to break the deadlock.

If she could succeed, they would no longer need to passively wait for reinforcements that might not arrive for an unknown amount of time, and the crisis of the stronghold would be solved.

If not, given the many bizarre methods this Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon had displayed, Jiang Qing'e did not have much confidence in being able to hold out for these few days with the help of the stronghold's defensive light barrier.

Therefore, she had to take the risk.

Jiang Qing'e's gaze fixed on the previous position, only to see the Smile Demon's figure standing there; on its bizarre smiling face, a golden crack had appeared, and the crack was slowly moving downward, as if it were about to split it in two.

At the site of the crack, golden flames were still burning.

The Smile Demon stroked the crack on its face with its pitch-black palm, appearing to tremble slightly; clearly, it had underestimated Jiang Qing'e's power, never expecting that a mere human at the Earth Fiend General stage could wound it to this extent.

The opponent's Light resonant power was shockingly pure.

Within the stronghold, many people also noticed the golden crack on the Smile Demon, and their pupils immediately widened, their expressions beginning to turn ecstatic.

Had that Smile Demon been severely wounded by Jiang Qing'e?

If so, Jiang Qing'e's gamble this time seemed to have paid off!

Under the gaze of those many nervous and expectant eyes, the golden crack on the Smile Demon gradually widened, as if it were about to split it in two.

However, it was at this moment that the Smile Demon suddenly erupted with a low, violent roar.

An astonishing power of malice erupted from its body, forming what looked like a black vortex.

Then, everyone saw other Otherworldly Demons pouring out from the surrounding black fog like a tide, only the direction they were surging toward was where the Smile Demon stood.

As soon as these Otherworldly Demons touched the black vortex around the Smile Demon, they turned into wisps of black airflow and surged into the Smile Demon's body.

Subsequently, the gradually widening golden crack began to show signs of healing.

Jiang Qing'e and the many eyes within the stronghold saw this scene, and all their expressions turned much uglier; the tenacity of this Great Disaster-class Otherworldly Demon's life force was simply terrifying.

Roar!

The Smile Demon was driving many Otherworldly Demons to sacrifice themselves to heal it, but it was clearly also extremely furious at this moment; after all, this injury was quite severe and would affect the evolution it had been brewing.

It had not expected that deliberately luring Jiang Qing'e to attack would lead to such consequences.

If it had known this earlier, it certainly would not have been willing to pay such a price.

But regret was useless now; it could only first break through this stronghold and devour all these fresh pieces of meat to compensate for its own losses.

The Smile Demon let out a piercing shriek, and immediately, some hideous and twisted Otherworldly Demons darted out from the pervasive black fog like lightning, pouncing directly toward where Jiang Qing'e was.

Jiang Qing'e was the strongest person in this stronghold; as long as she was killed, the stronghold would lose its support.

Jiang Qing'e was already severely wounded, making this the best time to kill her.

And when those many twisted Otherworldly Demons darted toward Jiang Qing'e, many students in the stronghold also realized its intent and immediately cried out in alarm.

Li Luo's figure shot out, his hands gripping his twin blades, his expression as gloomy as water.

"Captain!" Bai Mengmeng called out in a hurry; with Li Luo's strength, if he rushed out, he would be unable to protect even himself.

But at this moment, Li Luo clearly could not care about that; he could not sit by and watch Jiang Qing'e be mauled by those Otherworldly Demons before his eyes.

However, just as Li Luo's figure had rushed onto the high wall, a fiery red shadow suddenly darted out ahead of him; while in mid-air, a red whip lashed out, quickly wrapping around Jiang Qing'e's waist.

With a tug of the red whip, Jiang Qing'e's figure was pulled back, flying in reverse.

Duze Honglian landed back on the high wall, the red whip in her hand pulling Jiang Qing'e back, and then she supported her.

"Saved you once, we're even now," Duze Honglian said coldly.

Jiang Qing'e did not respond, only gazing with some regret at the golden crack on the Smile Demon's body with her golden eyes; although this attack should have caused it severe damage, it had not killed it as she had hoped.

The crisis could not be considered resolved.

Li Luo's figure appeared beside Jiang Qing'e, and looking at her somewhat pale jade-like face, he asked with concern, "How are you?"

Jiang Qing'e sensed the injuries within her body; the Smile Demon's previous palm strike had caused her internal resonant palaces to shake violently, and now her resonant power was in a state of chaos.

She was not lightly wounded.

Jiang Qing'e sighed softly and said, "What a pity."

She had originally wanted to take this opportunity to end the battle, but she had fallen just short; now, severely wounded, her combat effectiveness was greatly reduced, and she could no longer pose any threat to that Smile Demon.

The situation seemed to have become even more dangerous.

"You've already done very well," Li Luo said, holding Jiang Qing'e's small hand to comfort her.

"Stop with the lovey-dovey act; that Smile Demon seems to have been truly enraged," Duze Honglian, who was to the side, glanced at the two of them and said with an unpleasant expression.

The two looked up and indeed saw that the Smile Demon was expressing extreme fury over Jiang Qing'e being rescued; it let out a piercing roar toward the stronghold, the sound waves deafening.

Although it had repaired its fatal wounds after devouring a large number of Otherworldly Demons, it had still suffered some heavy damage, and it understood that these people in the stronghold were waiting for reinforcements; once those reinforcements arrived, its wishes would likely fall through.

Therefore, after hesitating for a moment, a fierce intent flashed in the Smile Demon's scarlet pupils, and the next instant, its body suddenly began to swell violently.

Its body below the head completely exploded, as if turning into black flesh and blood, which was swallowed in one gulp by the bizarre smiling face.

Immediately following this, the bizarre smiling face began to gradually expand, turning into several dozen feet in size and hovering in the sky.

The bizarre smiling face let out a piercing laugh, and then its mouth, filled with black sharp spikes, opened wide, and a thick, black aura surged into the sky.

These auras formed a black cloud, and a moment later, black raindrops fell from the black cloud, covering the sky and earth.

Those raindrops were thick and foul-smelling, appearing to contain immense destructive power.

*Sizzle, sizzle!

The black raindrops landed on the light barrier, immediately emitting a sizzling sound, with black currents of air attempting to invade, only to be quickly dissolved by the purifying power within the barrier.

But there were too many black raindrops, constantly weakening the power of the light barrier.

"This is its source of malice..."

Duze Honglian looked at the black raindrops falling to cover the sky, her face turning slightly pale as she said, "It seems this Smile Demon won't stop until it breaks the stronghold."

"At this rate of erosion from the source of malice, the purification barrier may not last until reinforcements arrive."

Within the stronghold, an atmosphere of panic was also spreading, as anyone could see that the Smile Demon had unleashed its ultimate move.

Everyone held a pessimistic view of this.

Bai Mengmeng, Xin Fu, and Yi Lisha, along with Si Qiuying and the others, also arrived on the high wall, looking at the black raindrops falling from the sky with somewhat pale faces.

Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e also watched this scene in silence.

"This Dark Cave is truly extremely dangerous; coming in for the first time, we might just be wiped out," Li Luo said with a bitter smile.

Jiang Qing'e gripped Li Luo's hand with a bit of force and whispered, "Don't worry, I won't let you truly die here."

In her eyes, there was a hint of determination.

Li Luo looked at her; he understood Jiang Qing'e all too well. If it truly reached that desperate moment, she might exhaust everything to send him away.

It was just that she might pay with her life as the price.

Li Luo did not want to see that scene; he looked up at the purification light screen being eroded by the black raindrops and suddenly asked, "How much longer can this purification light screen hold?"

Jiang Qing'e looked at him in confusion and said, "It should be able to hold for three more days."

"Three days..."

Li Luo's eyes flickered slightly: "If it works, I should be able to make it in time."

Jiang Qing'e's willow brows furrowed slightly: "What are you planning to do?"

Li Luo gave a bitter smile and sighed.

"I want to go find reinforcements."