Chapter 9: Twin Lotuses

"You're from the Demon Tribe!" Icara suddenly sneered. "I once heard Ortega say that only the blood of the Demon Tribe can awaken the soul of the Demon Sword. It seems that you approached Yilian to find a companion for yourself."

Li Bing shook his head repeatedly, feeling wronged. However, there was nothing he could do about the fact that the body Chidan had created for him had properties of the Demon Tribe.

"What can you do? What's your innate magic?" Icara looked at Li Bing with interest, as though examining a fine sword.

"I don't know any magic," Li Bing answered honestly with a sheepish grin.

Icara walked directly towards Li Bing and pressed her demonic right hand against his forehead, her expression darkening.

"There's not a single trace of magic power in your body! You must have forcibly removed the magic-suppressing collar!" Icara smirked. "You really are lucky. I've seen demon slaves who tried to break free from the collar. The best they could hope for was their soul being shattered, reduced to a drooling idiot, paralyzed. Those with weaker mental strength died before the collar was even removed... The pain from the elemental backlash is truly..."

Li Bing shuddered at Icara's words. But then, without realizing it, he felt Yilian gently take his right hand.

Yilian gazed at him with her enchanting eyes and softly said, "Be a man, don't cry."

Li Bing nearly passed out from happiness at that moment. However, the dizziness he felt on his face seemed like a painful memory to Icara.

"A useless fool!" Icara insulted him bluntly. "You can't protect Yilian. I won't let someone like you have her! You're lying about the old mage sending you here. You must have freed yourself from the collar and stolen a teleportation scroll to escape."

Icara was clever, and Li Bing thought so too. At least her reasoning was the most consistent with his current situation, so Li Bing lowered his head in agreement. But the word "useless fool" still annoyed him.

If he wanted to stay, he had to have some skill!

Li Bing thought for a moment. Besides reading a lot of miscellaneous books, he didn't really have any special talents. But maybe he could try...

"War is the matter of a nation, the way of life and death, the place of survival and extinction. It cannot be ignored..." Li Bing started reciting *The Art of War*. When he was young, he used to read all kinds of books, and he still remembered a lot of it. His new body's brain felt sharp, and many of the memories that had been hazy before became clear, even down to the last time he had wet the bed.

"Too bad... such a brain and translation skills aren't enough for me to pass the English level four exam..." Li Bing thought regretfully, but he kept reciting *The Art of War* with growing fluency.

Icara was initially puzzled, but as time passed, her expression shifted to one of astonishment. Finally, when Li Bing finished reciting that section, she excitedly turned to Yilian and said, "A genius! A military genius! I feel like I wasted my time in military academy! Demon slaves really are geniuses! Sister, I admit him as my brother-in-law!"

At the end, Icara softly added, "Yilian, now you have a companion."

The tenderness in Icara's eyes now was worlds apart from the murderous aura she had before! Li Bing sighed in relief. Although these two beautiful women seemed to have many problems, at least he wasn't going to be kicked out as a useless person to wander the streets.

Li Bing's relief didn't last long, though. A strange occurrence took place. The undead army atop the peak grew larger, and their once fading bodies became clearer. They began to slowly encircle the three of them.

Icara picked up a sword and pointed it at the undead army, shouting, "Fall back! Fall back!"

But the undead army continued to close in, getting closer and closer. Icara and Yilian's expressions grew darker, while Li Bing felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity. These undead seemed to be filled with deep resentment and obsession, much like his past self. Driven by this strange feeling, Li Bing began to walk toward the undead.

As he walked, the undead halted, and a skeleton knight wearing a silver crown dismounted. He slowly knelt before Li Bing and reverently kissed the sleeve of Li Bing's robe.

Suddenly, a brilliant light burst forth! The robe made of pure energy, constructed by Chidan, transformed into strange beams of light. The light grew brighter and denser, eventually enveloping the entire peak.

While people down below marveled at this spectacle, the three of them saw the skeletons of the undead begin to grow flesh, hair, and skin. The restless spirits that had surrounded them began to calm down, merging with their blood-red armor and weapons to form a deep green, with bizarre yet beautiful patterns sprouting across them. Even the skeletal horses began to transform...

"The Bloodflame Legion salutes the Demon King!" As countless green-armored soldiers knelt in unison, the three of them finally realized what had happened.

Li Bing understood the situation best. His body was now only wearing a tiny undergarment transformed by the Demon Sword. The robe made of pure energy had constructed the new bodies of the undead, bringing these warriors back to life!

His body was like Tang Seng's flesh! Li Bing suddenly shuddered. If just one of Chidan's robes had such great power, what about his own body? It would be like a bite of Tang Seng's flesh that grants immortality!

"Prince Charlemagne Best of the First Flame Empire, with the Twelve Halls and the 9,659 warriors of the Bloodflame Legion, pledge our loyalty to Your Majesty. Thank you for granting us rebirth!" The silver-crowned knight, now revived, looked quite handsome. Although he was probably in his thirties, his short, stylish black hair, gleaming black eyes, straight nose, thick lips, and rugged face still made him look like a strong man who could charm many naive young girls.

"Bloodflame?" Li Bing paused for a moment, "Why not change the name to the Greenblood Legion? After all, the armor's color has changed... Also... can someone lend me some clothes?"

Li Bing's last words were tinged with a hint of crying. In this situation, all he could think about was finding some clothes to cover his embarrassment.

"Thank you for the name, Your Majesty! We will follow you to the death!" Prince Charlemagne expressed his gratitude again, but Li Bing wasn't really paying attention to him anymore. He noticed that Yilian and Icara were gone.

"You go help extinguish the fire first; we'll discuss matters later." Li Bing showed no concern for his subordinates, though their sudden appearance was perplexing.

Exposed and vulnerable, Li Bing ventured to search for Yilian and Yikaloo. Most occupants were now engaged in firefighting efforts, leaving the castle's upper floors deserted save for the recently resurrected undead legion.

He finally detected faint feminine moans echoing through a corridor. His primal urges surged to life, straining against the restrictive enchantment of his blade's undergarments.

Creeping toward the source, Li Bing gently pushed open the chamber door and peered through the gap.

Scattered garments littered the floor. Two pale figures writhed together on a grand bed in carnal union. This illicit spectacle both startled and aroused him – the entwined women were unmistakably Yilian and Yikaloo.

Yikaloo's lips brushed the roseate peaks of her companion's chest as she whispered, "Yilian... I'll always protect you, sister swears..."

Yilian responded with breathless whimpers, her trembling hands occasionally caressing Yikaloo's grotesque obsidian right arm while her body quivered with carnal rhythm.

Icarus's tongue skillfully caressed Elaine's body. Remarkably, she managed to speak amidst the intimacy: "Elaine, that Li actually revived those undead... For you, I'd betray divinity itself. Li must be a gift from demons..."

"Sister... Did father's diary truly record me as a demon's thrall?" Elaine's delicate frame shuddered violently before collapsing, uttering words that filled Li Bing with pride: "When Li and I confined the demon to hell, it felt even more pleasurable than this."

Icarus's expression darkened. Without another word, she entangled their legs in rhythmic friction until the room again resonated with tantalizing moans.

Peeping through the door, Li Bing abandoned all thought of retrieving clothes. Driven by primal urge, he charged toward the bed like a ravenous tiger. As the door burst open, Icarus's face contorted with ecstasy, surprise, and shame, while Elaine practically moaned her request: "Li Bing, won't you send your demon into sister's hell too? We've always shared our treasures."

Soon the room echoed with soul-stealing cries anew - now accompanied by a man's primal grunts.