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Someone’s coming for Lucia; they know she’s a squirrel! Is it the immortals my grandfather said would come? A white streak flew across the sky, heading straight for us. Lucia grabbed the person that she was practicing Soul Scour on and lifted him over her head. The white light struck the man, and he exploded into a fine red mist, not leaving any solid particles behind.
“Holy crap! Is that an immortal!?”
“Err, Boss, you or I could do that to a sky-realm expert just as easily. If it really were an attack from an immortal, we’d’ve been vaporized too,” Mrs. Feathers said. “But, uh, what did this person mean when he said you were a foul squirrel?”
Following the red light, two figures appeared: a man and a woman. The man was standing in front of the woman. He was holding a greatsword that was larger than himself, and his white robes were streaked with black lines. His hair was an unruly mess, and just like his clothes, it was white and black as well. “It means exactly what I said!” he shouted and pointed his sword at Lucia, holding it with one hand. “She has the blood of a squirrel flowing through her body!”
Mrs. Feathers stopped sticking so close to Lucia’s leg and took a step away. “Boss, is that true?”
“Uhh, nope.” Lucia shook her head. “I’m a foxkin.”
Mrs. Feathers inched back towards Lucia’s leg and raised one wing at the duo standing in the air. “You hear that? My boss isn’t a squirrel! Squirrels went extinct eons ago.”
“Hu Shen,” the man said and grabbed his sword’s hilt with both hands. Pressure flooded out of him, the same kind that squished me when I suggested Lucia Soul Scour Mrs. Feathers to get rid of her memories. He must be a quasi-immortal like Mrs. Feathers said. That’s a relief. If it’s just a quasi-immortal, Lucia should be fine. “While I fight the squirrel, you distract the phoenix. Be careful, it’s a quasi-immortal.”
“Understood,” the woman standing behind the man said. A greatsword appeared in her hands as well, and her body shifted into the same stance as her master. “What about her?” she asked and jerked her head towards me.
“An earth-realm expert has no right to interfere with our—”
“Flaming Hammer!”
There was a burst of light as Lucia’s hammer, wreathed with phoenix flames, appeared over the man’s head. There was an explosion of qi when her hammer collided with the man’s half-raised greatsword. With an earth-shaking impact, the man shot into the ground, leaving a deep pit just a few meters away from me. I took that chance to teleport towards Mrs. Feathers, who shielded me from the shockwaves.
“Flaming Hammer!”
“Tiger Maul!”
Unlike her master, the woman was ready for Lucia’s attack. Their weapons collided, and just like her master, the woman was sent straight into the ground as well, entering the same pit as the poor man before her. There was the sound of bone smacking against bone followed by two yelps. An instant later, the two victims appeared on the ground, having teleported out. The man shot to his feet, his qi flooding out of him. He seemed completely uninjured, but I couldn’t say the same for the woman next to him. “Squirrels love despicable sneak attacks! It’s just as the records say!”
“Fuck you! You attacked me first!”
“That’s…! That’s because you’re a squirrel! If you were anything else, I—”
“I already said I was a foxkin!” Instead of teleporting or flying, Lucia seemed to be running on the air. “Flaming Hammer!”
Lucia’s hammer descended and crashed into the man’s sword, but this time, he didn’t budge. The shockwave from the impact launched the woman into the air, and Mrs. Feathers turned into a red beam of light, heading straight for her.
Everything’s happening too fast. What should I do? The man was right, I really don’t have the qualifications to interfere in this fight. The only thing I can do is get on our flying boat and head to a safe distance to watch. I’m slightly concerned. Even after taking one of Lucia’s surprise attacks, the man isn’t injured, and he’s even fighting against her without losing his ground. Their fighting styles are surprisingly similar too: heavy weapons swinging and colliding over and over again with absolutely no finesse.
In the air, Mrs. Feathers was overwhelming the woman but unable to land a decisive blow. The woman was focused completely on protecting herself from Mrs. Feathers’ flames. It seemed like her greatsword had the ability to control fire, and it was even influencing Mrs. Feathers’ attacks. The woman diverted a stream of phoenix fire and retreated, wiping the sweat on her brow in the same motion. “Why are you helping a squirrel? Don’t you know squirrels can’t coexist with other beasts? In their eyes, every creature is meant to be eaten.”
Mrs. Feathers glanced at Lucia and the man. They were still swinging their weapons at each other, but the man had lured Lucia far away, presumably to lower the collateral damage of their fight. Mrs. Feathers snorted. “If Boss says she’s a foxkin, then she’s a foxkin. Didn’t you hear her say it herself?”
“All squirrels are liars.”
Mrs. Feathers snorted. “I can say the same about you wingless creatures. Enough chitchat!” With a shriek, Mrs. Feathers grew to the size of a mountain. A layer of flames covered her right wing, and she slapped it towards the woman as if she were swatting a fly. Even from this far away on the flying boat, a wave of heated air washed over me. Luckily, we’re in a secluded area. If this were a city, most of it would’ve been turned to ash. The power of a quasi-immortal is truly quite scary. A screech echoed through the air, and my eardrums nearly burst. “You wingless creatures always target my butthole! Why!?”
It seemed like Mrs. Feathers was a bit preoccupied, and Lucia was locked into a deadlock with that man, who turned out to be surprisingly strong. What can I do to help? Sister Ilya did say she equipped this boat with an anti-Lucia cannon, but would that be enough? Also…, once I fire it, I’ll become a target when those two realize I’m a threat.