Chapter 136: Majesty Piercing the Heavens

"It’s charging! Dodge, Xiao Yuan!" In the rearview mirror, the fierce silhouette of a wild boar could be seen hurtling directly toward them from behind.

"I see it." Zhuang Xiaoyuan jerked the steering wheel, causing the truck to drift toward the right. The wild boar, surging with ferocious momentum, thundered past the left side of the truck. With a dull thud, the boar’s bones grazed the vehicle, nearly causing Xiaoyuan to lose control and veer into the wilderness beside the road.

After rushing ahead of the truck, the boar slammed on its brakes, pivoted, and faced them once more. It pawed the ground violently with its right hoof, poised for another charge.

"There’s no other way, Xiaohui. We’ll take one each." With a firm grip on the wheel, Xiaoyuan steered the truck straight at the boar. Her eyes were locked ahead, but her tone held a hint of resignation as she spoke to Wen Hui.

"So, I’ll take on the boar, and you handle the rats?" Wen Hui glanced at the rapidly approaching boar, then back at the swarm of rats closing in, and nodded.

"No, you handle the rats. I’ll take the boar." Xiaoyuan shook her head, rejecting the proposal and offering the opposite arrangement.

"Ah, but you have that ice ability—you could freeze them. If I have to deal with the rats, this is going to be..." Wen Hui shrank back, looking reluctant.

"Come on, just go deal with the rats. The transformation I just released can't be used continuously, and you’re the only one who can handle that many at once. They’re just rats; just blow them all away. Don’t be afraid." After offering a word of encouragement, Xiaoyuan quickly spun the wheel as the boar closed the distance. At the last possible second before they collided, she veered off the road and brought the truck to a halt in the field.

The boar, caught up in its charge, failed to notice the rats trailing behind the truck. Under Xiaoyuan’s careful calculation, the two Bone Demons collided with each other.

"Honestly, I hate rats! Hurricane Spin-Lance!" Surrounded by a refreshing green breeze, Wen Hui launched herself from the passenger seat. The green storm swirling in her hands formed a small tornado, which she unleashed upon the colliding Bone Demons. The swarm of rats was scattered, sending countless tiny bone creatures flying everywhere. While the boar Bone Demon took the brunt of the wind attack without sustaining any real damage, the sheer force of the impact sent it flying far away.

Zhuang Xiaoyuan jumped out from the driver’s seat and brandished a brand-new card—one she had acquired just last night. It depicted a young girl dressed in a white nightgown. "Divine Armament, Divine Descent Transformation!"

A familiar golden light erupted, and Xiaoyuan’s form shifted rapidly. This time, however, the faint golden glow seemed infused with streaks of vivid red.

As the light faded, she stood dressed in a white, nightgown-like dress, with a red ribbon tied at her waist into a massive bow and a white nightcap atop her head, also adorned with a red ribbon. Her crimson eyes radiated a sense of disdain, as if looking down upon ants. Most striking were the pair of bat-like wings protruding from her back; a non-human girl had been born from the light.

"Mere ants, daring to be disrespectful to me? I shall let you lowly creatures witness why I am known as the Ever-Fresh Crimson Young Moon." She stepped out of the golden light, flapped her wings, and ascended into the sky, gazing down at the scattered Bone Demons with immense majesty.

*This is the majesty of an Ojou-sama,* she thought to herself. Yet, the very next second, she dove back into the car faster than she had emerged. "Curse the sun! Why is it daytime right now?!"

"Xiaoyuan, what are you doing? That boar is coming back!" Wen Hui waved her wind-enveloped lance, dancing back and forth to keep the small bone creatures from regrouping. In the distance, the boar that had been knocked away was already scrambling to its feet, pawing the ground in preparation for another charge.

"No choice then. Red Sign: 'Red Nightless City'." A slender, fair hand reached out the window, and a crimson spell card flickered in her palm. As she released the card’s power, her divine energy plummeted instantly, and the rate of depletion accelerated. The cost, however, was worth it: a thick, eerie crimson fog erupted from the card, spreading across the area in moments. The bright sun in the sky was swallowed by the strange mist, plunging the surroundings into a dim, crimson twilight.

"Hmph, even the sun dares to obstruct me? How audacious." Flapping her bat wings, Xiaoyuan finally soared out again under the cover of the red mist.

"Oink! Oink!" The boar Bone Demon grunted, already standing and charging straight toward her.

"Lowly creature, you dare provoke me? Taste my power!" Noticing the boar’s movement, Xiaoyuan flapped her wings and dove head-on, her small, fair fist swinging toward the beast.

*BOOM.* A violent crash echoed out, and the boar Bone Demon was sent flying once more. Though its entire body was made of hardened bone and possessed immense momentum, it was still just a boar. Even after being empowered tenfold by its transformation into a Bone Demon, it was no match for a five-hundred-year-old vampire. As it flew through the air, cracks were clearly visible on its skull; had she put a bit more strength into the blow, it might have been destroyed.

"Ugh... ow... I, I’m not hurt! It didn't hurt at all!" Xiaoyuan tucked her left hand behind her back, nursing her right hand, her eyes welling with tears as she bit her lip. Seeing Wen Hui’s gaze fixed on her, she shouted loudly, her behavior entirely transparent—a classic case of "the culprit protesting his innocence."

"...But it really looks like it hurts. Bone demons are all bone, after all. Besides, if it doesn't hurt, why are you hiding your hand?" Wen Hui waved her Hurricane Lance, scattering the approaching small bone creatures, and looked at Xiaoyuan with an expression of "that looks painful."

"They are but mere ants; it didn't hurt at all! See? I'm completely fine. Ugh." Provoked by Wen Hui, Xiaoyuan thrust out the hand she had been hiding, trying to act as if she were unbothered, though her reddened hand and teary eyes betrayed her.

"Pfft." Seeing her like this, Wen Hui found her incredibly cute. Despite trying to act so imposing, she was as afraid of pain as a child.

"Don't laugh! You mere human, how dare you mock a descendant of the noble Scarlet Devil clan!" Xiaoyuan’s face flushed with irritation as she stood with her hands on her hips, glaring at Wen Hui.

"Oink!" The boar, having been knocked away again, rose to its feet, apparently furious at being ignored. It let out a deafening roar to assert its presence and began charging at Xiaoyuan once more.

"You really never learn, do you? Just as expected of a lowly creature. Night Sign: 'Vampire Raid'." Turning her indignant gaze toward the charging beast, Xiaoyuan raised her hand, and a black spell card appeared between her fingers.