VBNWDW - Chapter 85
Chapter 85
The bone wings beat down forcefully, and a fierce wind churned the shattered clouds. The hundred-meter-long body, its lines both fluid and powerful, stirred up a torrent of elements. Its claws, carrying a destructive force, slammed down.
The God of Light immediately raised his right hand. The six wings behind him unfurled, their white feathers rustling in the strong wind as all the light elements in the area gathered in his palm.
With a loud cry, a Holy Sword condensed from light elements appeared. He gripped the longsword and slashed at the dragon.
—Bang!
The dragon's claw and the Holy Sword collided. The sound wave alone formed an invisible torrent that spread out violently. The magnificent city below was struck by the shockwave, and a one-inch-wide crack instantly appeared on the stone city walls, threatening to spread further.
The razor-sharp dragon claw and the sword blade were locked in a stalemate mid-air. They appeared motionless, but if any creature dared to approach, it would be instantly shredded by the rampaging elements without a chance to escape.
Both the dragon and the god were testing each other.
Although the dragon possessed a formidable body and was a rare space-elemental dragon with talent and abilities far exceeding others of its age, it was still young.
If the true God of Light had descended, it could only have taken a beating before howling and rushing back to Dragon Island to call for reinforcements. After all, he was a true god born in the primordial era who had perfectly mastered the laws of light. To be defeated by a dragon whelp would be the greatest joke in the world.
But a mere projection was different. Though it was comparable to a demigod, there were varying levels of demigods.
The opponent's form was reflected in its gilded eyes. The body, which looked imposing and magnificent, was actually somewhat illusory. Especially up close, it was impossible to see his face clearly, and the feathers behind him blurred into one.
Even his eyes, the clearest feature, were lifeless—a sheet of gray-white, as if he were acting solely on the Temple's demands. This meant the projection was truly just a projection, devoid of any of the God of Light's will.
In an instant, the great dragon understood. Its claws suddenly exerted force, pushing the Holy Sword upward and away.
Before the other could react, the dragon spun around, its tail covered in inky scales whipping toward the God of Light's projection. The space in its wake tore open. There was no doubting the power of this tail whip; if it landed on a plain, it could instantly smash open a bottomless chasm.
The projection of the God of Light dared not underestimate it. With no time to raise his sword to block, he could only use his forearm to parry.
—Boom!
Another deafening roar. The people of Anthelia were deafened by the blast, and the infants, as if suddenly jolted awake, began to wail.
Under the immense force, the God of Light was forced back a step, stirring the long river behind him into turbulent waves.
The dragon did not pause. The surrounding space shattered into countless mirrors, enveloping the God of Light from all sides. Each mirror reflected the dragon's figure. Under the illumination of the light, its obsidian-like scales appeared even more splendid and mysterious. Before the horrified eyes of the crowd, the thousands of dragons in the mirrored spaces whipped their tails once more.
But this time, the God of Light was no longer passive. Light elements suddenly erupted, directly blocking the attack that wove between illusion and reality.
Then, he gripped his sword with both hands, raised it high, and brought it down in a diagonal slash. Though it was formed purely of elements, it was sharp enough to slice through space itself.
The great dragon could not dodge in time and could only turn its body to evade.
The blade scraped past its scales, creating a stream of sparks and a piercing screech.
The dragon's body was indeed formidable, remaining intact even under such an attack. But that didn't mean the dragon felt no pain.
It let out a thunderous roar and swiped its claws at the God of Light again.
As the elements vibrated, the sky was distorted and shaken. The rain that should have been falling was intermittent; sometimes it poured down like a deluge, other times it hung suspended in mid-air, and at times it even evaporated into nothing.
At this moment, humanity finally understood its own insignificance. Their supposedly great city-state could not withstand a single blow from these beings.
All they could do now was kneel on the ground, squinting up at the sky with hearts pounding in terror.
But the movements of the dragon and the god were so fast that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't see clearly. They could only guess at the general situation from the spatial rifts that suddenly tore open.
After an unknown number of exchanges, the massive black shadow was finally swatted a hundred meters away by the sword blade. The projection of the God of Light retreated ten steps, flickered visibly for a moment, and then became even blurrier. The Holy Sword in his hand shattered inch by inch, vanishing without a trace.
Seeing this, the Head of the Temple clapped a hand over his mouth and began to cough violently. Blood spurted between his fingers and trickled down.
Duke Naist collapsed to the ground, knowing that this last resort was also useless against the dragon. If the projection was depleted and disappeared, they would be completely helpless!
He screamed frantically, "Damian, hurry up and think of something! If the God of Light is shattered…"
Before he could finish his sentence, both the dragon and the god turned to look at him.
There were no flashy moves. With just a glance, his body was disintegrated by the laws of nature, dissipating into the air.
Meanwhile, the Head of the Temple witnessed this and didn't even have the courage to intervene. Blood stained his magic robe, leaving a gruesome mark.
He gritted his teeth, a look of grim determination flashing in his eyes, and began to chant a sacrificial incantation known only to him. At the same time, an anomaly occurred in every Temple of Light throughout the Roy Kingdom. All the Gifted who believed in the God of Light suddenly felt a pulling force, as if their life force was flowing toward the projection.
"Head…"
A white-haired old man beside him cried out in fear, "I… I feel like…"
Before he could finish, his life seemed to reach its end, and he died instantly.
All the elders of his age died in the same way. Those who were younger or had reached a certain level of power and possessed longer lifespans barely survived, but their faces had aged, as if their vitality had been snatched away in an instant.
And yet, the projection became more solid.
The great dragon would not stand by and watch. With a sweep of its gaze, a thick killing intent rushed toward him.
A bone-chilling cold surged up his spine. Damian was shocked to find that the space within ten meters of him had been sealed, devoid of any elements.
The sacrificial incantation naturally dissipated on its own, but the lives that had been lost did not return. The Temples of Light across the nation dimmed, and some even began to crack and crumble.
The projection of the God of Light was also affected. It suddenly let out a muffled grunt, and a hint of confusion appeared in its gray-white eyes.
The great dragon had no time to worry about what was happening below. It charged desperately toward the phantom of the God of Light, knowing that if anything else went wrong, it might have to suffer injury to repel its opponent.
But because of its haste, it overlooked the strange change in the God of Light.
He seemed to be pondering something, and made a decision just before the dragon crashed into him.
"Seal!"
He shouted coldly. The wings behind him flapped, and a terrifying divine might cascaded down like a tsunami, instantly condensing into a dazzling magic array that shot toward the dragon.
The great dragon suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of crisis, but it had been moving too fast and too urgently to stop itself from ramming into its opponent. It could only let the magic array descend upon it.
—Rumble!
The light was so blinding it brought tears to everyone's eyes. The elements within a hundred-meter radius thinned, creating a sense of panic. The cries of children grew louder. The ceaselessly flowing river was shaken to a halt, and rats hiding underground scurried out in alarm.
As the gray mist dissipated and elements from afar rushed in to replenish the void, only the figure of a great dragon remained a hundred meters above.
The god… was defeated.
A deathly silence fell. Even the children had their mouths covered by their parents to stifle their sounds.
Gods could be defeated?
The belief etched deep in their souls was shattered. Their faith in the God of Light collapsed, and the people fell into a bewildered trance.
Just then, the clouds that had been pushed aside gathered again, and the heavy rain resumed. In the darkness, it was hard to tell whether what had just happened was a dream or reality.
The great dragon flicked its tail, seemingly unharmed, and proceeded to execute the remaining members of the Naist Family as before.
But as for the people of the Temple, it merely gave them a faint glance, as if it had other plans for them.
Then, with a beat of its bone wings, the great dragon vanished from sight.
Thunder and lightning returned. Rainwater flooded the streets, pouring into the massive craters where the Council families had disappeared. Anthelia had never been able to handle heavy rain; after a while, the rising water would submerge the steps and flood the houses. Now, however, those bottomless pits served as perfect reservoirs.
Back at the Iliana Family estate, Ivo, her face growing paler, suddenly looked up toward the palace, a hint of worry in her eyes.
She was linked to the dragon by a master-servant contract, so she could naturally sense that the dragon was not as relaxed as it appeared. It seemed to have suffered a severe injury, but the contract's limitations prevented her from knowing more or being able to help. In fact, when she had been unable to bear the influx of souls earlier, the dragon had even diverted its attention to help her.
As the last soul was torn from its body, she waved her hand and collected it into a gray crystal. Inside, thousands of souls twisted and wailed in agony, yet Ivo's expression remained calm, as if those inside were not her blood relatives.
Then, she turned and strode over the haphazardly piled corpses, moving outward at great speed. Mo Wen quickly followed behind her.
"Where are you going?"
Without looking back, Ivo immediately replied, "The Queen's palace."
The familiar room was still lit by a warm lamp, and a faint fragrance filled the air. A corner of the thin blanket on the bed was turned back. If not for the mess nearby, which proved what had happened earlier, one might think the room's owner had just stepped out and would return shortly.
The silver-haired woman in the black dress staggered for a moment, then pitched forward and fell to the floor.
Unable to stand, she managed to push herself into a sitting position, leaning back against the wall. Her gilded eyes lost their focus, her thin lips trembled slightly, and her hair, soaked by the rain, left dark water stains on her dress.
If she had another twenty thousand years, plucking a few feathers from the God of Light on a whim would be no big deal. But she was only six hundred years old now. Being able to contend with a projection of a main god was already something to boast about, not to mention that the God of Light had sent down a sliver of his will at the end.
At this thought, Yueqing's expression darkened, a trace of fear flashing in her eyes.
That fellow had clearly recognized her as a dragon, but to punish her for destroying his Temples in an entire kingdom and causing him to lose a portion of his power of faith, he had used the residual power of the projection to form a sealing array.
Thinking of this, Yueqing couldn't help but close her eyes to feel it. The magic array that had once condensed in the air now appeared above the Tree of Genes inside her body, suppressing a portion of her power.
She tried to resist, but the array suddenly lit up, and the aura of light surged, lashing back at her.
Yueqing's lips grew even paler. She silently committed this grudge to memory. When she had the chance in the future…
She gritted her teeth and tested her strength. At most, she could only wield the power of an eighth-tier being. If she exceeded that, the magic array would retaliate, pinning her down completely.
Yueqing couldn't help but curse. She had originally planned to punish all the Council families and then take the time to slowly use her elements to corrode and eliminate the poison in Metis's body. But now, with her strength greatly reduced, this task had become difficult.
After all, Metis was only an intermediate mage with a fragile cub in her belly; she couldn't withstand any turmoil. If she made even the slightest mistake…
This poison was extracted from an extremely troublesome magical beast and then enhanced by an alchemist with various poisonous herbs. Once poisoned, the toxin would instantly cover the Tree of Genes. When the tree died, the person would die. The creator had once boasted that even a god couldn't last a quarter of an hour against it. While an exaggeration, it hinted at how difficult it was to deal with.
For instance, Metis had collapsed without any warning. If the black dragon hadn't been by her side to intervene immediately, Metis would have already stopped breathing.
But even so, the dragon couldn't eliminate the poison in a short amount of time.
Furthermore, due to her limited strength, the dragon could no longer transport people through space to instantly reach Dragon Island. If she flew there directly, Metis would probably perish on the way before they even arrived.
Besides, even if Metis made it to Dragon Island, given the temper of those old stubborn dragons who valued their young so much, how could they possibly allow a pregnant Metis to leave? And the dragon gestation period was long. By the time Metis returned to her homeland, the Roy Kingdom might not even exist anymore!
Could Metis accept that?
Wouldn't her ideals and her ambitions all become a joke?
So this was the powerlessness of the weak…
Yueqing's headache intensified. Her brow furrowed tightly as she found herself in a dilemma.
The heavy rain continued to fall, forming a gray, misty curtain outside the window.
After a moment, Yueqing let out a turbid breath, determination flashing in her gilded eyes.
Space warped for an instant, and the unconscious Metis appeared in Yueqing's arms as elements began to surge.
The rain fell harder and harder, showing no sign of stopping. Someone approached outside, raised a hand to knock, but then stopped, turning to stand guard at the door instead.
Mo Wen also sensed that something was wrong. Her expression turned extremely grim, but she didn't dare to barge in. She could only stand guard with Ivo, turning her head from time to time to look at the silent room.
At some unknown point, the black clouds finally dispersed, and the pale white of dawn appeared on the horizon. A new day had quietly arrived, but Anthelia did not come to life with its usual bustle. Every street was silent, as if everyone had fallen into a deep sleep, afraid to wake up.
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