A heat wave struck, and the scorching high temperature instantly evaporated the ice crystals within the freezing mist. These ice crystals were already minute, so upon encountering a bit of high heat, they evaporated easily.
"Ren!"
After shattering the ice pillars attacking from above, Kocho Shinobu exclaimed in surprise, while simultaneously heaving a sigh of relief in her heart.
Although she was unclear about the special abilities of that ice mist, the opponent was an Upper Rank evil demon; she could not afford to underestimate a single move.
"Miss Shinobu, be careful. The opponent is Upper Rank Two; his strength is definitely above Akaza's!"
Ren arrived in front of Kocho Shinobu with his heavy sword in hand. The scorching Crimson Blade radiated a terrifying heat, like a massive furnace, bringing an unprecedented warmth to Kocho Shinobu, who had just severed the ice pillars.
"Humph, I don't care what number Upper Rank this guy is, I will sever his neck with my own hands!"
Kocho Shinobu said angrily, while sheathing her Nichirin Sword. She silently mixed poisons within the scabbard, preparing for the next wave of attacks.
"..."
Looking at the furious Kocho Shinobu, Ren sighed helplessly in his heart. He had originally wanted Kocho Shinobu to retreat, but it seemed impossible now; she was completely overwhelmed by anger.
Moreover, she had not yet stored poison within her body, so she could absolutely not be a match for Doma.
"In that case, let's attack together. I will hold him off. You look for an opportunity to inject poison into his body. As long as your poison has even a slight effect, I can seize the chance to deal him a fatal blow!"
"Alright!" Kocho Shinobu nodded.
"Oh my? Planning to attack together? No problem at all. This little sister is absolutely no match for me; you look much stronger!"
Doma focused his gaze on Ren for the first time and spoke in a sickly, affectionate tone.
"Besides, Lord Muzan specifically named you for me to kill. I can't let that personage down, you know."
"Heh, sending two Upper Ranks in a row to deal with me... Muzan really thinks highly of me!" Ren sneered, thinking that in Muzan's eyes, he must look like a second Tsugikuni Yoriichi.
"That's right. After all, you were even able to defeat Lord Akaza. You are a major threat to us! Blood Demon Art: Lotus Ice!"
Suddenly, Doma fanned his iron fans rapidly. In an instant, the wind swept away the scattered clouds, and streaks of extreme freezing mist roared toward the two of them. The biting cold wind made it feel as if they had fallen into an ice cellar, and layers of white frost began to form on the ground.
"This move again. This guy's ice Blood Demon Art is truly troublesome!"
Kocho Shinobu cursed silently. Just the spreading cold wind already made her feel a bone-piercing chill. If she were to stand inside that extreme freezing storm, she feared her lungs would freeze.
"Troublesome? Wrong, it's not troublesome at all?"
Ren smiled, not taking this move seriously in the slightest. Instead of retreating, he advanced, taking a deep breath and swinging his heavy Nichirin Sword. He charged straight into the extreme freezing mist and then slashed horizontally.
The heavy sword in Crimson Blade mode was incomparably scorching. The rapid swings whipped up waves of heat that collided with the extreme freezing mist, cancelling each other out.
"Wind Combat Technique: Crimson Blade · Fire Dance Whirlwind!"
Ren continuously swung his sword to chop and slash, creating heat waves that evaporated Doma's ice mist, all while constantly closing in on Doma.
"What amazing swordsmanship, to actually create such scalding heat waves. As expected of the swordsman who defeated Lord Akaza! Since that's the case, I'll have to bring out my true skills too!"
As Doma spoke, he hopped and skipped backward, maintaining a distance from Ren. He wasn't a fool.
His skills were almost all long-range attacks. Engaging in hand-to-hand close combat with Ren would be tantamount to a rat licking a cat's butt—looking for excitement.
He waved his fans again, sending out blasts of bone-chilling wind while simultaneously creating countless ice crystals. The ice crystals transformed into a dozen ice vines wrapped with ice lotuses, which then shot out abruptly, attacking Ren and Kocho Shinobu from the front, left, and right simultaneously.
"Blood Demon Art: Lotus Vines!"
"Humph, I already told you, in front of my Crimson Blade, your ice Blood Demon Art is completely useless!"
"Crimson Blade · Fire Dance Whirlwind!"
Ren swept his sword horizontally again. In the blink of an eye, he unleashed three consecutive heat waves that turned into scorching shockwaves, clashing violently with the ice vines.
As the heat waves continuously impacted, the cold, hard ice vines gradually melted and became fragile. It only took a tiny amount of external force to shatter them.
Just then, Kocho Shinobu, who had been following closely behind Ren, suddenly leaped up, jumping in front of the ice vines. She drew her sword and slashed with lightning speed.
"Insect Breathing: Dance of the Mantis · Phantom Flying Scythe!"
Clang, clang, clang!
Several crisp sounds rang out, and the vines were chopped to pieces by Kocho Shinobu's sword.
At this moment, Ren followed up again, leaping past Kocho Shinobu in one go, swinging his sword at Doma.
"This guy is really amazing. As expected of the person who could kill Lord Akaza, he really has some skills! Blood Demon Art: Scattering Lotuses!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
Doma fought while retreating, simultaneously waving his iron fans. Hundreds and thousands of ice lotuses shot out like hidden weapons, cutting through the air like throwing knives and steel needles, suddenly shooting toward Ren and Shinobu.
These ice lotuses were exceptionally sharp. Although they couldn't be said to slice through iron like mud, they could easily pierce through tree trunks. If one were hit by dozens of ice lotuses, their body would absolutely be turned into a hornet's nest.
"Miss Shinobu, let's exert our strength together and break these annoying lotuses!"
"Okay!"
The two attacked simultaneously. Ren was responsible for creating heat waves to weaken the attack power of the ice lotuses.
Kocho Shinobu, on the other hand, swung her blade rapidly, chopping the incoming ice lotuses into a sky full of ice and snow. Immediately after, the two closed in on Doma again.
With the two attacking together, Doma was no match at all and could only keep retreating. Soon, he was forced into Blackwater Lake.
The radiating biting cold froze the already bone-chilling lake water solid, providing a platform for the two to stand on.
Ren forced Doma back once more, and at this time, Kocho Shinobu had finished mixing her latest poison. She immediately slashed at Doma.
"Today I will avenge my older sister!"
"Insect Breathing: Dance of the Centipede: Hundred-Legged Zigzag!"
Kocho Shinobu stomped powerfully on the ice surface, taking the opportunity to leap and attack Doma, however...
Bang!
Suddenly, the ice surface beneath Kocho Shinobu's feet couldn't withstand the powerful force of her stomp and snapped abruptly. She stepped into empty air and fell into the freezing lake water.
The bone-piercing cold instantly invaded her blood and internal organs, causing Kocho Shinobu to shiver uncontrollably, rendering her immobile for a moment.
"Miss Shinobu, come up!"
Just then, Ren suddenly reached out and grabbed Kocho Shinobu's collar, dragging her out of the lake water like catching a rabbit.
"Thank you, Ren..."
Kocho Shinobu said with lingering fear. In this cold lake water, she couldn't exert any strength. If Ren hadn't grabbed her in time, she feared she would have sunk to the bottom of the lake.
"It's okay. The ice here is very thin. Even though your body is very light, don't stomp on the ice surface with force."
"Hehe, just this won't do! Blood Demon Art: Wintry Icicles!"
Doma suddenly waved his iron fans with a smile, looking as if his scheme had succeeded. He knew he wasn't Ren's match, so he had lured him into Blackwater Lake to use the power of the water against him.
As he cast his Blood Demon Art, countless ice spikes rained down from the sky, smashing toward Ren and Shinobu. Although Ren swung his sword to block, Doma's target was never the two of them, but the ice surface beneath their feet.
In the end, the ice beneath them shattered completely, and Ren and Kocho Shinobu uncontrollably fell into the lake.
[Reviews - Power St0nes - Comments are highly appreciated to keep me going.....(+50 chapters) patre0n.c0m/talecrafter]