novelraw Chapter 689: An Epic Meeting
Chapter 689: An Epic Meeting
Tao Gong's petite body danced gracefully amidst the sky full of floating Crevice bubbles. Her skirt, stained with quite a bit of blood, clung tightly to her small frame, but it still seemed to restrict her movements somewhat.
These Crevice bubbles were all manifestations of Dalasgon's Authority, projections of the subconscious minds of many living beings in Reality. However, this by no means implied that Dalasgon's Authority was related to consciousness. More specifically, Dalasgon's Authority was actually related to [Projection].
Therefore, when Fisher previously engraved the "Circle Head" using the image of Dalasgon's incarnation, it wasn't actually "Soul", but "Crevice". Under the influence of the Crevice's power, things that couldn't be seen normally would be projected.
The subconscious bubbles at this moment, and what Fisher thought of as "astral projection" back then, were actually all symbols of Dalasgon's power.
And right now, as Fisher below awakened Dalasgon's Authority, the entire ecosystem of the Crevice also became exceptionally lively.
The panic of the citizens on the battlefield of Saint-Nazareth below, their adoration for Elizabeth, and their hatred towards the Wutong Tree invaders—all transformed into bubbles of emotion that surged towards the sky, obscuring Tao Gong's footsteps as she pursued the Chaos of Usurping Life.
The appearance of Usurping Life was almost identical to hers, both incredibly petite. Once it darted into this sky full of bubbles, it became very difficult for Tao Gong to find its traces, infuriating her to no end,
"You small fry!! Get back here right now!!"
She roared like this, simultaneously raising her chubby little hand. The power of "Past" was instantly activated. In an instant, this domain of heaven and earth, whether it was those bubbles or the upward-moving Usurping Life, uncontrollably flowed backwards in time.
Although Tao Gong's current rank was insufficient, when it came to the comprehension of power, almost no one in this world could surpass her. In the blink of an eye, she grabbed hold of Usurping Life, whose rank had already slipped to begin with.Watching that blood-red little figure begin to fall, Tao Gong finally sneered and leapt up, grabbing it fiercely to prevent it from rising again and approaching Dalasgon's main body,
"Usurping Life!! My mother died because of you!! You vile beast! You kept me alive to revive me today, did you think I would still give you a chance?!"
Gnashing her teeth, Tao Gong dragged the blood-colored elf, whose appearance was identical to hers, down with her. As they plummeted, Tao Gong's vicious punches rained down one after another, all landing on the illusory facial features of the Usurping Life incarnation. She wished she could grind its bones and scatter its ashes.
Thousands of years ago, the World Tree was destroyed because of Usurping Life. She exhausted all her strength to annihilate the matured host of the Completion Handbook, only to see the Completion Handbook on them about to randomly transfer to some place in the world upon the host's death.
By a strange combination of circumstances, in order to stop the Life Completion Manual from continuing to circulate, she picked up that Completion Handbook, and was ultimately driven mad by Usurping Life's Chaos.
Tao Gong blamed herself. Blamed herself for not holding out longer against the Chaos of Usurping Life, for not protecting her siblings well, for not protecting her homeland from sinking to the bottom of the sea.
Now, she finally had the chance to purposefully settle scores with the poison that had infected this world.
"Bang! Bang!"
The Peach Blossoms on Tao Gong's hands continuously bloomed and burst apart. Every attack contained the full force of her chest full of anger. She hammered the incarnation that was forged into the appearance of an elf—originally composed of flesh and blood water—until its head continuously burst apart, emitting crisp cracking sounds.
"Buzz!"
But the very next second, a pale, stitched-together palm suddenly grew out of Usurping Life's facial features, steadily catching Tao Gong's descending fist, causing her to freeze slightly.
At the same time, a hoarse, grating, and distorted voice also transmitted from within the incarnation's body. That voice was similar to the timbre Tao Gong heard when the World Tree communicated with her, yet it sounded so weird and eerie,
"Tao... do you know... why... why were you so easily affected?"
That's right...
Tao Gong remembered now...
Whenever her will was firm, the Chaos of Usurping Life would always use the hallucination of her mother, the World Tree, to break her soul, causing her to be silently polluted by Chaos without realizing it.
How could Usurping Life not understand that Tao Gong, as the eldest daughter of the elves, had such a resolute will? But whenever it simulated the voice of the World Tree, or simulated the voices of her dead siblings to speak with her, her will would waver...
What an exquisite and effective method this was!
"That's because... you... are easily infected..."
"You... small fry!!"
Instantly, blue veins bulged on Tao Gong's face. The Peach Blossoms all over her body were dyed blood red, and her entire childlike, agile eyeballs also instantly bulged, covered in bloodshot vessels. She once again raised the small fist in her hand upwards, but the incarnation of Usurping Life beneath her was no longer putting up zero resistance.
Instead, countless elven flowers instantly and grotesquely blossomed on its figure, and the faces of Tao Gong's deceased elven acquaintances gradually emerged on its body. Their faces were livid and purple like corpses, but in the next moment, they simultaneously opened their eyes and shrieked at Tao Gong.
"Ahhhh!!"
Tao Gong painfully covered her ears and violently retreated. The size of the Usurping Life incarnation before her also gradually swelled. Countless severed elven limbs extended from its body, like patchworks, tearing at Tao Gong's limbs and face, trying to swallow her into its belly,
"Come... come... I'll let you reunite with your kin..."
"Come quickly... Sis Tao..."
"Big sister!!"
"Small fry!!"
Tao Gong gnashed her teeth and struggled violently, her face also torn to the extreme of distortion. Then, in the next moment, she bit down hard on the tip of her tongue and spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
The Usurping Life incarnation was slightly stunned, but immediately following that, that mouthful of fresh blood was like soil growing Peach Blossoms. One grew to two, two grew to three... until it formed an endless, boundless stream of Peach Blossoms.
The Peach Blossoms ferociously drilled into Usurping Life's body, causing it to struggle in a distorted manner, continuously transforming towards the "past".
The arms that had just grown out were all forcefully folded back, yet its body was still moving forward. Moving forward while going backward, the dual directional movements of future and past tore Usurping Life so much that it was unbearably painful, emitting intense, crisp "clatter" sounds all over its body.
But as it slightly raised its gaze, Tao Gong—with the appearance of a toddler yet a face full of ferocity—arrived riding a strong gust of wind. With a mouth full of fresh blood, she smashed a punch onto its body, directly piercing through its entire torso and bursting forth with countless sprays of gore.
"Die!!"
"Rumble rumble!!"
Compared to the life-and-death struggle on Tao Gong's side, Aris's side seemed exceptionally calm. The reason was none other than the incarnation before her being truly... too much of a slacker.
Aris originally thought its rapid ascent towards the sky was the same as Usurping Life, aiming to assassinate Dalasgon, and came specifically to stop it. She didn't expect that the moment this guy left Heon's line of sight, it was like an employee slacking off. It ran slowly, and its direction was wrong too, as if it was looking for a good place to slack off from work.
"..."
What exactly is going on with this [Chaotic Guidance]? Are we not fighting or what?
Ahead, that ball of golden thread flew around haphazardly. Aris followed behind, continuously bombarding it utilizing the power of Destiny. As a result, it merely narrowly dodged, not even fighting back when the threads on its body were scorched. Who knows if it was waiting for the clock to strike so it could clock out from work.
This running was quite a marathon. Chasing and fleeing at top speed with all their might, while simultaneously being obstructed by the countless bubbles of the Crevice, left both sides panting for breath.
Aris gnashed her teeth, looking at the golden ball of thread flying around and fleeing madly ahead. She then looked down at Fisher battling the phantom of Pandora and Heon, and even thought in her heart about whether she should just turn around and help Fisher instead.
He was under the most pressure over there, and it was a one-versus-two. However, he was the only one capable of mobilizing Dalasgon's Authority, and with Asuka's magic, he was actually beating the phantom of Heon and Pandora to the point where they couldn't fight back for a moment. Moreover, once she turned back, and the Chaotic Guidance before her struck directly at the enemy's heart killing Dalasgon, that would truly ruin the big picture...
"Fuck..."
Aris had no choice but to continue chasing the Chaotic Guidance before her, but still couldn't hold in her anger and let out a curse word,
"The incarnations of the other gods are already struggling, yet you're still running. Just how long are you going to keep running?!"
Provoked by Aris, the Chaotic Guidance ahead flew into a rage... flew into a rage for a moment. Instead, it shivered, and then cowardly scampered off even faster like a puff of smoke.
The direction of its flight was also completely devoid of any pattern. On the contrary, the further away from Dalasgon, the better. It seemed it still wasn't time to clock out yet.
"Your mom!"
Aris was so furious her face turned livid and white. It was more like she was the one who had been provoked, anger welling up inside her. She could only continue chasing it.
Simultaneously in Saint-Nazareth, after Elizabeth issued the strategy to expel and shift the battlefield, the street battles between the Naris army and the Wutong Tree fell into an anxious situation of mobile warfare. But overall, the pressure on Valentiina's side wasn't considered too great.
Firstly, having received Elizabeth's order to avoid fighting in residential areas to prevent harming Naris citizens, Valentiina's side also shared the same intention. Therefore, their exchanges of fire were all stopping after a brief attempt, hitting a round and moving a round, fundamentally not fighting with real force.
Secondly, the Flagship Cardinals of the Sanctuary researched by Alagina were indeed too powerful. Not only was their firepower extremely fierce, but they could also control the airspace. They might not have had any countermeasures against someone of Valentiina's high rank, but dealing with human armies was truly too easy. A single Cardinal could even suppress an entire army corps, greatly alleviating the pressure.
Valentiina led hundreds of people moving rapidly across the empty streets, constantly vigilant against potential attacks from the surroundings. But because of the Cardinals in the sky, the Naris forces maintained a certain distance from them.
At this moment, they had completely left the residential area and entered the Cathedral District. Another few miles ahead would be the perimeter of the Golden Palace.
"Everyone, recount our numbers while moving. If I'm not mistaken, the Naris forces definitely also want to fight a decisive battle to the death with us on the perimeter of the Golden Palace."
"Yes!"
"Alagina, what about the energy of the Cardinals? Is it sufficient?"
Alagina checked the instrument in her hand, her eyes flicking as she replied,
"Fighting in rotation, the lowest only has forty percent left, and the highest still has seventy."
This couldn't be helped either. The amount of energy required by Flagship Cardinals was too massive. Earlier, suppressing the Naris army with firepower didn't rely on ammunition, but on the Cardinals' Particle Weapons. According to David, these were modified by his parents. Although the energy consumption had been reduced, it was still greater than normal operational requirements.
"... Should be enough. They aren't chasing us anymore either. Looks like they've been beaten into fear by us."
Alagina looked at the silent streets around her, her gaze however turning slightly somber. She always felt an ominous premonition in her heart,
"This kind of Particle Beam Weapon, we discovered it together with the Black Chief back when we were in the Stormsea. Naris should also have it, but just now I didn't see a single one. This is very strange."
"Is this very strange?"
"This is very normal. The reason flagship units can be equipped with Particle Beam Weapons of this level is because of the new structure designed by the angels. But if Naris also has such technology, it's impossible they wouldn't use it. However, they need a much larger vessel to mount this weapon."
"Much larger?"
Upon hearing this, Valentiina also abruptly halted her footsteps. Her heart shivered slightly, suddenly understanding why the surrounding army was no longer following them.
"Buzz buzz buzz..."
Right at this moment, an ethereal sound of machinery operating drifted over from the sea surface, stirring up layers upon layers of sea waves.
"No no no... the Naris forces mounted this kind of thing onto their naval vessels. In passing, we just ran out of the residential area, so they have no scruples now. Of course they will..."
"Rumble rumble!!"
The next second, the entire sky suddenly became exceptionally bright. Upon the distant sea surface, countless massive beams of light shot up into the sky, streaking heavily towards Valentiina's group below.
"Move quickly!!"
Valentiina realized what had happened very quickly. In the instant the crowd behind her hadn't even reacted, the wings on her back abruptly unfurled. A sonic boom resounded, and her entire being shot past like lightning, blasting away all the surrounding troops, moving them away from the spot they were standing on.
Sure enough, a mere moment later, those beams of light had already cut across several streets, melting and severing all the buildings in that sector.
"Cough cough!!"
Amidst the misty dust and smoke, the Wutong Tree crowd erupted into a fit of coughing and wailing. Covered in dust, Alagina also hurriedly supported herself up utilizing the Ice Prince Sword in her hand. Just now, she had summoned the Ice Prince Sword to cast a layer of ice armor over everyone, ensuring no one was crushed to death during Valentiina's desperate relocation.
She stared blankly over there, speaking solemnly to Valentiina,
"The Naris forces have also improved upon the Cardinal technology, it's just that the path they took is different from our intelligent Cardinals. They are using these things as weapons of war..."
Yes, even if Alagina possessed the legacy of David's orthodox angelic Cardinal technology, the humans who obtained damaged Cardinal technology over these years weren't fools either. Through opening schools and recruiting talents widely, they also developed a tech tree for Cardinals, and even took it a step further upon the foundation of the original technology.
Alagina spread her fingers, rapidly calculating,
"Such a volume of particles, even by conservative estimates, requires a vessel with a displacement of 4000 tons or more by Naris naval standards, which means only a Heavy Cruiser can mount it. The Royal Guard of Naris has seven heavy cruisers, which means..."
Valentiina didn't understand these things, but she still understood what Alagina was trying to say,
"In other words, there are a full six more attacks exactly like this one?"
"More than that, this is a cycle. Calculating by system time, six launches total one cycle. Not factoring in energy, by the time the cycle finishes, the Particle Cannon from the first launch would have just finished cooling down..."
"... Then I'll go destroy those ships in the coastal waters first."
"I'll send flagship units to help you. They are already networked and can be operated remotely."
"No, they stay here to protect you guys. I'll just be a moment and..."
Just as Valentiina and Alagina were planning their next move, several foul-smelling objects high in the sky were suddenly birthed from the illusory Crevice, falling down like someone giving birth. Looking up, they were an unbelievable sight: spherical objects of grease and filth mixed with a thick aura of Death and Chaos.
"Swoosh swoosh swoosh!!"
Immediately after, those chaotic grease balls smashed toward the urban area of Saint-Nazareth. One or two even smashed into the residential area, but most still landed right next to their group of uninvited guests.
"Awoo awoo awoo!"
Those rotting-smelling meat balls emitted earthquake-like tremors the moment they landed, causing the entirety of Saint-Nazareth to shake violently. Valentiina and Alagina covered their mouths and noses to resist the pungent stench, yet found it completely useless. No matter what, that filthy stench could still be smelled.
And those giant spheres covered in yellow oil were actually more like individual eggs. Very quickly, terrifying auras transmitted from within them, and lifeless, rotting corpses climbed out from inside. Their ranks all far exceeded that of ordinary humans, struggling to stand up and lumbering toward the Wutong Tree group's direction.
"Are those sent by the Chaos above to help Elizabeth?"
Alagina was in somewhat disbelief, while Valentiina just raised her hand. The Moon Princess Sword manifested abruptly, and a pure crescent of moonlight instantly sliced open more than half a street block, cutting a nearby rotting corpse that hadn't even stood up completely yet into two halves.
"Awoo awoo awoo!!"
But shockingly, Valentiina's attack proved absolutely useless. On the contrary, it caused the corpse that was cut in two to separate, each half growing into an identically powerful individual.
"These guys are immortal?"
"Thump thump thump!"
Meanwhile, on the distant sea surface, the sound of Particle Cannons charging up transmitted over again, pressing down on everyone's hearts like a death warrant.
This was bad. They had wolves in front and tigers behind. They were truly in a dilemma...
Valentiina gnashed her teeth, hesitating for a moment, but ultimately decided to execute the original plan first,
"Alagina, I'll leave this place to you first. Avoid frontal combat and wait for my return. I'll go handle those naval vessels at sea first."
"Mhm, okay."
"Awoo awoo awoo!"
Ahead, the rotting corpses were already surging madly towards them, unable to wait. Isabel and Ocie immediately rushed forward with blades drawn. However, even Ocie's Phoenix Raiment had no effect on them whatsoever, let alone Isabel.
With a single slap, Ocie was sent flying out unsteadily, flapping her wings. As for the other Cangniao-zhong, there were even those who were directly grabbed and dragged down by the leaping rotting corpses. This caused Valentiina, who was just about to leave, to abruptly halt her footsteps once more.
No, she couldn't leave. They couldn't deal with these things...
But what about those naval vessels at sea?
"Boom!!"
"Buzz buzz buzz!!"
Just at this moment, an incomparably violent explosion abruptly drifted over from the distant sea surface. Valentiina stared blankly and looked up at the sky, only to see high up amidst the sky full of smoke and dust, a light wrapped in steam and flames shot out violently like a spinning top shooting star, soaring up carrying countless scattered ship components with it.
That light... did it just directly pierce right through a naval vessel?!
What exactly is that...
"Buzz buzz buzz!"
That shooting star in mid-air continuously spun, seemingly having already discovered the situation below. Following that, its main body didn't move, yet a steaming Longspear shot downwards like a sun-piercing arrow. The sky-filling fiery waves fell instantly with a crushing, mighty force, piercing through and blowing away an entire street's worth of rotting corpses, kicking up tremors echoing down the entire street.
"Rumble rumble!"
Amidst Valentiina's shock, that Longspear returned to its owner in answering the call from the extreme distance. Then, the crimson shooting star high in the sky plummeted down heavily, landing on the roof of a nearby building, kicking up a large amount of dust.
"No need to worry, Dragon Court reinforcements have arrived!"
The one who spoke was unexpectedly a female voice, high-pitched and resonant like fire.
Valentiina and Alagina were instantly touched by a simultaneous telepathic connection. They both raised their heads to look upwards, only to see a bright red cape fluttering in the wind. Donning armor rich in Southern Continent colors, gleaming under the sun, a head of rose-fire crimson long hair gently cascaded down. Yet, contrary to that, a long tail curled up behind her...
That was a very powerful Dragon-kin...
Valentiina and Alagina simultaneously thought the same thing.
"Are you... the rumored Dragon Queen of the Dragon Court, Raphaela?"
Earlier, upon learning that Fisher could bring in the Dragon Court as reinforcements, Valentiina actually harbored some doubts. Although it was said that the Dragon Court had also suffered greatly under the West Continent and Naris for a long time, the prospect of the Red Dragon Court lending their full support just from a single letter felt a bit too...
But now, upon seeing the fiery, radiant Dragon Queen, the doubts in Valentiina's heart dissipated into thin air instantly.
This woman before her... was definitely one of them too, right?...
"Ah, I am. Greetings, friends from the Northern Border."
Raphaela smiled faintly. The way she looked down from above, brimming with radiant energy, was in far too stark a contrast to the genuinely disheveled Valentiina and Alagina below. It was simply like divine troops descending from the heavens.
Valentiina quietly shot a glance at the Alagina beside her, only to find that she was also looking over expressionlessly at the same time, her meaning unclear.
Forget it...
Business first right now...
Mhm, business first.
"Many thanks to the Dragon Queen for coming to our aid in this crisis. If it weren't for you, we would probably be facing more misfortune than fortune by now."
Valentiina pursed her lips, raising her right hand and subconsciously rubbing the ring on her hand. The glint of that ring catching the sunlight instantly grabbed Raphaela's attention.
"..."
She raised an eyebrow, stabbing a Longspear into the floor beside her. It seemed she only just now realized after the fact that this Phoenix before her seemed to have some sort of unspeakable, ambiguous connection to the father of her child...
"Not at all. Think nothing of it."
She coughed lightly, offering such a polite platitude while simultaneously rubbing her own lower abdomen.
"Queen Raphaela, my husband is still above fighting against Chaos, and we are here drawing Elizabeth's attention. As for the enemies at sea, we genuinely lack the means to handle them simultaneously as well. Might I ask..."
Your husband?
This time, it wasn't just Raphaela; even Alagina next to her also turned to look at her expressionlessly.
Raphaela's action of stroking her lower abdomen came to an abrupt end, and the tail gently swaying behind her also stopped moving.
Good, very good, husband is it? Fisher, you just wait...
I'll sort out the business with Elizabeth first, then I'll settle the score with you later.
She even has a ring. So to sum things up, you fulfilled your promise to us about not marrying Elizabeth, but the one you actually married is someone else entirely, is it?!
Raphaela marked down a fault against Fisher in her mind with a fake smile. But of course, she knew this wasn't the time to talk about this. Plucking up the Longspear beside her, she turned to look at the Naris navy already engaging the Dragon Court vessels on the sea surface.
The Dragon Court's ships were far too primitive. They simply couldn't put up a fight against the ironclad heavy cruisers and light cruisers of the Naris navy. She absolutely had to get over there.
"Awoo awoo awoo..."
On the street, the corpse she had pierced through with her Longspear jittered its body and shockingly stood up again. She sighed, and could only prepare to set off once more,
"Of course, leave the ocean side to me. As for Miss Phoenix's side, our Dragon Court also has another helper coming over to assist you guys, so there's no need to worry."
"Eh, a helper?"
Raphaela nodded, offering no further response. The steam on her body erupted forth violently once more. With a "boom," she shot off the ground, speeding toward the direction of the ocean.
Watching that Dragon-kin leave, Valentiina was still curious about which helper the Dragon Court had dispatched, and how they would meet up...
Yet, from the street not far behind them, a panting, soft and delicate voice suddenly chimed in,
"Uhm... everyone! Please... wait for me! I've been looking for you guys for ages!"
"Heave-ho, heave-ho... heave-ho..."
Valentiina and Alagina turned their heads, only to see a girl with a giant whale tail running with difficulty towards them on the street behind them. Judging by the clothes she was wearing, she seemed to be a priest from the Dragon Court...
"Uhm, you are..."
"Heave-ho... ah, uhm, allow me to introduce myself. I... I am a priest of the Dragon Court, a Whale-kin named Jasmine. Hah... actually I arrived here even earlier than the Dragon Court's ships. Hah... it's just that I came from the water. After coming ashore I've been looking to regroup with you guys. Hah... but you hadn't teleported here yet. And after arriving you were in constant mobile warfare. I could only... hah... deal with enemies while searching for you guys, so I was delayed a bit..."
Valentiina and Alagina looked at the panting Jasmine before them. They could tell her rank was actually very high, but Jasmine was actually holding back when dealing with those Naris soldiers. Moreover, she wasn't just looking for Valentiina and the others; she was also looking for her sole enemy, Elizabeth.
And as Jasmine panted, her overly expansive bosom delivered a rather significant shock to Valentiina and Alagina, who were truly a wide expanse of flat land in comparison.
Valentiina and Alagina stared dumbfounded at the truly lovely Whale-kin breathing out a fragrance like orchids before them. At that very instant, they seemed to understand everything, and subsequently grew reticent and tight-lipped.
"..."
"Eh, uhm... Miss Phoenix? Miss... Captain?"
But the innocent Jasmine, still dull and not fully grasping what was going on, spoke up again to greet them. Valentiina was silent for a moment before abruptly asking,
"Uhm, Priest Jasmine, please allow me to ask, what is your relationship with Fisher?"
Beside her, Alagina also shot a concerned glance over. Neither expected this question to make Jasmine blush right on the spot,
"Eh, eh, eh! Me and Fish... Teach... Teacher, that..."
"Alright, you don't need to say it. I understand."
The battle on the ocean was still ongoing, and the walking corpses and Naris reinforcements behind them were also arriving. Valentiina already knew in her heart, so there was no need to press the issue further.
Thereupon, she merely smiled amiably, extending her hand towards Jasmine,
"Hello, Priest Jasmine. I am the leader of the Wutong Tree, Fisher Benavides's wife, Valentiina of the Phoenix Species."
"Hello to you... eh?!"
Jasmine blankly extended her hand to shake Valentiina's. But halfway through the handshake, she realized something was wrong, and looked up at her blankly.
Don't mind her. One trick serves all.