However, most of the victims were minor demons like the Hungry Ghosts. Only one or two ordinary Demon Ghosts fell, and the rest were either uninjured or only slightly injured, thoroughly enraged.

With hideous faces and blood-red eyes, those Demon Ghosts turned their heads one after another, roaring as they charged toward the mountain path outside the camp!

Groups of soldiers quickly put down their iron cannons, drew their cold weapons, and prepared to fight... but there was a figure even faster than them.

Hidechika drew her sword and, as lightly as a swallow, flew over the line of soldiers on the mountain path, landing at the forefront. With a swift motion, she beheaded the fastest and most eager rushing Demon Ghost. The sword's blade was so quick and sharp that the headless, burly body still dashed forward a dozen steps before falling headlong!

——From its neck, a fountain of blood sprayed, staining a patch of ground red.

Using the momentum of her swing, the girl had no intention of withdrawing. Instead, she spun forward, her sword flashing with a cold light, drawing a wide arc of a swirling air blade, directly and neatly splitting two pouncing small Hungry Ghosts in half, clean and swift.

A Great Hungry Ghost, larger than a human and with a grotesquely huge head as if it could swallow a person whole, let out a sharp, piercing scream. But just as it leaped, a fist-sized fireball whistled through the air, leaving a spiral of intertwined flames, and hit it squarely.

The Great Hungry Ghost, knocked down, screamed and rolled on the ground, its body catching fire. Although the remaining flames quickly extinguished after just a brief moment, half of its body was charred black. The place where the fireball hit was smoking and steaming, with skin burned so deep that no flesh was visible, turning into a charred and scarlet scorched mass!

From Gu Mo's vantage point, he could clearly see the health bar displayed above the Great Hungry Ghost's head being nearly cut in half.

He barely perceptibly frowned and again produced a talisman paper inscribed with complex patterns in his hand. With a wave, the supposedly weightless talisman paper burned instantly in mid-air, transforming into a fist-sized fireball similar to the previous one!

Bang!

It struck the Great Hungry Ghost's head once more, completely depleting the remaining half of its health bar.

Quite a decent performance, compared to the past when he had to use both wits and strength to fight against even small Hungry Ghosts, Gu Mo seemed much more at ease now. Yet, his own expression was full of helplessness.

Self-awareness is key; he intensified his training last night, maxing out the proficiency of the much dwindled "Fire Bomb Talisman," thereby truly mastering this skill. Speaking of its use, it's like the essential Fireball Technique in general mage skill sets, though in an Eastern style.

But it took two Fire Bomb Talismans to take down one Great Hungry Ghost, even with the fire attribute damage boost provided by the Guardian Spirit...

Moreover, he had yet to master special powers like Spiritual Power, unable to directly fire off fire bombs; he had to expend physical strength and spirit in advance to craft talismans to use them, and the quantity was always limited.

"Need to boost Magic Power... increase Intelligence or Spirit? Or perhaps both?"

Thinking this in his mind, he simply drew the sword at his waist and slapped a Spirit Talisman onto the blade, which suddenly emitted a faint glow over the already cold, gleaming blade. This is the Power of Prophecy capable of purifying the impure, dealing true damage to creatures of the Mortal World.

The direct attack Fire Bomb Talisman quantities were limited and had limited killing power; he couldn't go all out using them.

Another Great Hungry Ghost came at him head-on, its bloody mouth terrifyingly dreadful, its vicious lunges and chaotic bites intimidating. Yet maybe it was his muscle memory from the pain training by Minamoto no Yoshiie kicking in or perhaps his body had begun to act instinctually.

He sidestepped and dodged, and with a reverse slash during the split-second passing!

The sword was swift and fierce; amid the flashing glow, the Power of Prophecy sliced through the protective demon qi and demonic power of the Mortal World creature, the Great Hungry Ghost splitting into left and right halves, spilling guts onto the ground.

Looking back at it, Gu Mo tugged at the corner of his mouth, silently gripping the sword.

Still, this way was more effective; swinging the sword with enchantment for a hard slash was much more efficient than firing countless magic projectiles... indeed, this was the right way for a mage to fight! He realized!

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