Chapter 290: Two Tigers Fighting

After saving Li Luo and clearing away the incoming Otherkind, Jiang Qing and her group quickly returned to the high walls of the stronghold.

As for the other Otherkind, because the Smiling Demon and the Three-Tailed Giant Beast were locked in a fierce battle, they had no time to pursue, merely lingering for a moment before scattering.

Li Luo's return drew the attention of everyone.

Whether they were students from the Second Star Hall or the Third Star Hall, they all looked at the extremely exhausted Li Luo with eyes full of admiration and gratitude.

They were all very clear that Li Luo had saved everyone in this stronghold.

If he hadn't risked great danger to execute a plan that everyone had deemed a fantasy, then by now, they would all likely have been torn apart and devoured by those Otherkind.

Everyone knew that if they could truly return safely to the Saint Profound Star Academy this time, Li Luo's reputation within the academy would inevitably soar.

And the academy would likely grant him commendations and rewards.

From now on, Li Luo would be a bona fide rising star of the Saint Profound Star Academy.

Jiang Qing helped Li Luo to a stone stool on the high wall to let him rest, and only then did the crowd gather around.

"Li Luo, you really are something else. You actually managed to lure the Three-Tailed Giant Beast over. How did you do it?" Tian Tian looked at Li Luo with a strange glint in her beautiful eyes, praising him repeatedly.

Li Luo pondered and said, "As soon as it saw me, it chased me relentlessly. I suspect it's jealous of my looks."

Tian Tian giggled, and the others also wore smiles. Before, they might have thought Li Luo was thick-skinned, but now they found him humorous, showing no double standards at all.

"It's a good thing that for this purification mission, the Captain insisted on bringing you along. Otherwise, if you hadn't been here, we probably all would have died here."

Qiu Bai also sighed and said, "As expected, the Captain is invincible and never wrong. I feel ashamed for having questioned the Captain's decision earlier."

Tian Tian gave him a look of disdain; that flattery was too stiff.

However, who could have imagined that the one to finally save this stronghold from a desperate situation would not be Jiang Qing or Duze Honglian, but a freshman entering the Dark Cave for the first time?

Li Luo's performance this time was truly incredible.

Bai Meng and Xin Fu also squeezed over.

The young girl's pure and sweet face was filled with adoration as she said, "Captain, from today on, you are my idol in the Saint Profound Star Academy."

Li Luo waved his hand modestly.

Beside him, Xin Fu also sighed, "Captain, the moment you left the stronghold, I had even prepared your epitaph. But it's fine, there will always be a time when such things come in handy."

Li Luo's face darkened, and he stared at Xin Fu with an unfriendly gaze. Was this kid cursing him?

If he didn't know how to speak, he should learn from Mengmeng.

However, with waves of voices expressing gratitude and goodwill constantly coming from all around, Li Luo had no choice but to ignore this downer, Xin Fu, and greet them with a smile.

Duze Honglian stood on the periphery of the crowd, arms crossed, watching this scene with a cold gaze. Li Luo's popularity and reputation were clearly skyrocketing at this moment.

Yet, regarding this popularity and reputation, even though Duze Honglian and Li Luo were considered enemies, she couldn't find any fault with it.

Because this was something Li Luo had traded his life for.

The courage and audacity involved were enough to make one take notice.

Previously, Duze Honglian hadn't really taken Li Luo seriously; she only viewed Jiang Qing as her greatest rival. But after this stronghold crisis, the level of danger she attributed to Li Luo in her heart had suddenly spiked.

Compared to the radiant and sharp-edged Jiang Qing, this young master of the House Luolan appeared exceptionally low-key and inconspicuous, but in reality, when it came to the level of danger, he was no lower than Jiang Qing.

No wonder that in the half a year since he appeared, the situation of House Luolan had gradually stabilized.

Previously, she had thought it was solely Jiang Qing's ability, but looking at it now, this Li Luo also deserved much of the credit.

Duze Honglian's eyes flickered, but in the end, she said nothing. Li Luo had saved the stronghold this time; in a sense, she owed him a favor.

Of course, turning enemies into friends was impossible, because the difference in their positions meant they were destined to be enemies.

The bustle on the high wall continued for a long while, and finally, as the sound of violent energy explosions came from the distance, these gazes shifted toward the raging battlefield.

Li Luo, having rested for a while, also stood up and came to the edge of the high wall, looking over there with Jiang Qing and the others.

There, the beast and the Otherkind, two non-human entities, were locked in a fierce slaughter. The violent energy and the dark, sinister power of evil thoughts collided repeatedly, and the commotion caused by this tore the plain outside the stronghold into a riddled mess.

Every violent collision made everyone's eyelids twitch.

That kind of power was truly tyrannical to the extreme.

"How is it? Who will win?" Li Luo asked.

Jiang Qing watched for a while and said, "The Three-Tailed Giant Beast has a great advantage. This essence beast's strength is quite extraordinary. The rumors that it was attempting to break through to the Marquis level appear not to be entirely false. From the very beginning of this battle, it has been suppressing the Smiling Demon."

"And although the Smiling Demon is a Great Disaster-level Otherkind, it is inferior in terms of pure frontal combat power. Furthermore, the Smiling Demon used its source of evil thoughts to break the stronghold's purification barrier earlier, consuming quite a bit. Now that it is fighting the Three-Tailed Giant Beast, it is at a significant disadvantage."

Finally, she concluded, "If nothing unexpected happens, the Smiling Demon will eventually fall to the Three-Tailed Giant Beast."

"However, although the Three-Tailed Giant Beast has the advantage, it will likely pay a heavy price to kill the Smiling Demon."

Hearing this, Li Luo's eyes flickered. This matched his initial prediction; the result he hoped for most was one dead and one injured.

And when the Three-Tailed Giant Beast was also injured, the sealing artifact in his hand would be able to come into play.

How truly exciting.

Under Li Luo's anticipation, time gradually passed, and the battle between the Three-Tailed Giant Beast and the Smiling Demon became increasingly white-hot and bloody.

Both sides exhausted all their means, completely blinded by bloodlust.

The earth was a mess. On the massive body of the Three-Tailed Giant Beast, hideous wounds appeared, deep enough to see the bone, while black energy flowed through the wounds, eroding its flesh.

The Smiling Demon's situation was even worse. On its sturdy, small-giant-like body, claw marks had almost torn it apart. If not for the fact that Otherkind were inherently twisted and strange, these injuries would have been enough to claim its life.

But even so, it was now completely crippled.

The Smiling Demon's cervical spine had been shattered by the Three-Tailed Giant Beast, and it stood with a twisted body. The evil energy flowing through its entire body had become exceptionally weak.

Yet its gaze remained locked onto the Three-Tailed Giant Beast with extreme rage.

It had almost had it in its grasp today, but at this most critical moment, this beast had ruined its plans.

Hee hee!

The Smiling Demon shrieked, emitting a strange laugh. As its laughter spread, the countless Otherkind around became restless, as if driven by some force, and suddenly rushed over.

It seemed they were going to swarm the Three-Tailed Giant Beast.

The Three-Tailed Giant Beast let out a furious roar, its scarlet beast eyes looking at those Otherkind, and its massive body seemed to be burning with flames.

An astonishing ferocity erupted.

Under this ferocity, even those Otherkind faltered for a moment, but their charging speed did not slow down; instead, they suddenly accelerated.

Then, like a black flood, they rushed straight past the two sides of the Three-Tailed Giant Beast...

The target they were rushing toward was not the Three-Tailed Giant Beast, but the crippled Smiling Demon!

Judging by this posture, it didn't look like they were there to heal the Smiling Demon.

The Smiling Demon seemed to have sensed something and immediately let out a furious hiss, the strange smile on its face showing a hint of panic.

But its hissing had no great effect. The Otherkind surged over rapidly, and even though waves were wiped out by the Smiling Demon, they kept coming one after another, eventually turning into a black flood that submerged the Smiling Demon.

Immediately after, shrill screams rang out.

Li Luo and the others watched helplessly as the previously invincible Smiling Demon was directly torn apart by those Otherkind.

Some Otherkind snatched up the Smiling Demon's tattered flesh and fled into the distance.

It was as if it were a feast.

Li Luo and the others couldn't help but gulp. This was the backlash from the Otherkind... The Smiling Demon originally possessed a suppression over those low-level Otherkind, which allowed it to force them to obey its commands.

But as it was crippled by the Three-Tailed Giant Beast, its pressure began to weaken.

Its body, instead, became a treasure coveted by other low-level Otherkind.

Thus, the backlash finally erupted.

These low-level Otherkind, in their fearless charge, finally tore this Great Disaster-level Otherkind apart alive.

The flood of Otherkind that had filled their vision quickly disappeared.

The entire world became empty once again.

However, no one in the stronghold cheered because of this.

Because they all saw that, as the Smiling Demon was torn apart, the Three-Tailed Giant Beast, covered in hideous wounds, slowly turned around.

Those scarlet beast eyes, filled with endless cruelty, were cast toward the stronghold.