The one-tailed fox was thoroughly pleased with itself.
Yu Ji had distanced herself from the mortal world, perhaps to escape the fickleness and deceit of humanity. Though she knew the world was treacherous, her heart remained too pure—adorably so, compared to the cunning of the fox spirit, Su Daji.
'I was careless! I forgot this fox excels in illusions!'
Yu Ji seethed inwardly, cursing herself. She knew full well that this fox didn't even need to fight directly—its illusions alone had seduced kings into abandoning their duties. Its mastery of illusions was truly unparalleled.
It's truly tragic for those kings bewitched by the nine-tailed fox. From the moment they encountered her until their deaths, they never even touched a single finger of this fox. They died without ever realizing they were trapped in an illusion, believing instead that they had enjoyed the service of a beautiful woman, only to bring about the ruin of their kingdoms. They arrogantly claimed to love beauty more than their realm, unaware that the real nine-tailed fox was merely watching mockingly from the sidelines, observing the king perform a one-man show with his illusions.
For this Su Daji, it was pure delight.
In her nine-tailed form, the fox's illusions were nearly impossible to resist.
Yu Ji fell victim to this very trick. She never imagined that the single-tailed fox appearing before her was an illusion from the start, and such a masterful one at that. The fox had never intended to fight Yu Ji—her sole objective from beginning to end was to capture Roy!
Seeing Su Daji approach Roy, Yu Ji panicked and began burning her lifeblood, ready to unleash her full power regardless of the cost to rescue Roy from the fox's grasp and reduce this wretched creature to ashes.
"Yu~ I'd advise you not to move~" Su Daji winked at Yu Ji and blew her a kiss, giggling coquettishly. At the same time, she flicked her right hand in front of Roy, scattering a cloud of powder from her smooth palm.
'Poison?'
Roy tensed at the sight of the fox's toxin and prepared to dodge. He had no intention of testing whether his "Holy Son's Body" could withstand it. However, after a quick analytical glance, his vast knowledge and wisdom instantly deciphered the poison's properties.
This toxin appeared to be a product of immortal alchemy—absolutely lethal to ordinary humans. Even Roy's Campione physique would be affected, though such effects would be negligible for a Godslayer. Moreover, Roy possessed an authority that completely nullified all curses and poisons.
"Isaac's Redemption" inherently purged all negative statuses. After evolving into "Holy Son's Repose," this authority not only cleansed debuffs but could even resurrect the dead. Rising from one's coffin had become routine for present-day Roy.
Deeming the poison harmless, Roy allowed Su Daji to dust it across his face before silently activating his authority to neutralize it.
"Yu~ Don't move recklessly~ This poison was accidentally created by immortals during their alchemical experiments. Even they would exhibit signs of 'Celestial Decline' upon exposure. Since those immortals have long left this world, the antidote has been lost. Only I possess a small supply now. Mmm, I call it 'Immortal's Bane Vein'—quite a lovely name, don't you think?"
Assuming Roy was already poisoned, Su Daji casually draped her jade-like arm around his neck. The contact between her snow-white skin and Roy's neck felt exquisitely smooth, while a faint aphrodisiac fragrance—likely the fox's natural scent—drifted from her body.
Alas, though her figure was enchanting and her beauty unparalleled, she was a flower covered in thorns—one could even say her heart was as venomous as a scorpion.
"What do you want, you fox?!"
Yu Ji had been thrown into disarray by Su Daji's words, panting heavily, her chest heaving, her crimson eyes bloodshot, her delicate face twisted with fury.
"If you dare harm the king in the slightest, I'll tear you to pieces!"
Yu Ji spat out in rage, but no matter how furious she was, she dared not move recklessly—not when Roy was being held as Su Daji's "hostage."
"My, my, Yu, you still haven't learned how to speak properly," the one-tailed fox said leisurely, utterly unfazed. She studied Roy with amusement, sizing him up. "Hmm… truly a handsome young man. Hearing you call him 'king' reminds me of how I once addressed King Zhou. The world blames me for the fall of the Shang dynasty, but how could I possibly wield such power? If not for King Zhou's own failings, his kingdom would never have crumbled."
"I actually agree with you on that. The fall of the Shang dynasty had little to do with you—it was King Zhou's own doing."
Roy nodded in agreement. People often blamed beauties for the ruin of kingdoms, but to pin the collapse of an empire on a single woman was nothing short of laughable. Rome wasn't built in a day, nor did a dynasty fall overnight. Every fallen kingdom was the result of accumulated flaws over time—and, of course, the failures of its last ruler.
"My, my, the king speaks so wisely~ It makes Daji's heart flutter~~" The one-tailed fox cooed, her voice dripping with honey. A slender finger traced Roy's cheek as she pressed her voluptuous body against him, letting him feel her curves through his clothes.
'Did you mix up your lines?'
Roy remained unruffled, even finding the leisure to quip inwardly.
"My king, don't listen to her! She's using bewitchment on you!"
Seeing Roy's gaze grow seemingly "dazed," Yu Ji cried out desperately, her eyes brimming with tears.
As if snapped back to reality by her voice, Roy's momentary "daze" vanished. He glanced down at the fox in his arms and sighed. "…See? You've made my Yu Ji cry."
Su Daji frowned, puzzled as to why her charm had failed, but she didn't dwell on it. Instead, she giggled sweetly. "…Tears? Soon, my king, you'll see Yu shed blood instead. And perhaps then, it'll be you who weeps. So, why not choose me instead~~"
Her tone darkened abruptly at the end—less a seduction, more a threat.
Roy studied the fox in his arms deeply before chuckling and shaking his head. "…Whether my Yu Ji sheds blood or not, I can't say. But you, fox spirit—you're about to bleed."
"!!!"
The one-tailed fox, derived from the true nine-tailed fox, suddenly felt a surge of ominous premonition and instinctively tried to retreat. But she was so close to Roy—how could she possibly react in time? The moment her guard rose, she felt an excruciating pain in her abdomen, as if her body had been pierced!
Roy showed no mercy, delivering a devastating punch to Su Daji's stomach that bent her body like a shrimp.
This was no ordinary fist—it was one of Roy's authorities, the Hand of Jacob!