ROAAAAAR!
A draconian roar echoed through the desert, radiating like an invisible and overwhelming explosive wave. Within that place surrounded by a grand formation, thousands of red arrows cut through the skies, launching cultivators into the air, spitting blood, like kites whose strings had been cut.
Chaos reigned as the most powerful cultivators felt their bodies and souls tremble in the struggle to resist. A dark dance of destruction and fury shook their convictions. The air was imbued with the bitterness of blood, and hopelessness hung like a shadow over everyone. Humans or other races, all were struck by an oppression that made them feel on the brink of explosion.
In the skies, a figure over three meters tall, covered in green and black scales, spread its wings. The space around it was fractured, and infinite webs of energy emerged. That peculiar-looking creature burned its bloodline and energy to the maximum. Rays of energy pulsed around it, distorting the fabric of the universe, while its black flames devoured everything in their path.
"STAY STRONG!" A thunderous voice echoed among the cultivators, who fought desperately. "He can’t sustain this for much longer! This is the last one!"
Suddenly, a white arrow streaked through the skies with infinite force. Immaterial and indescribable, it was visible only to the eyes, but its presence was omnipresent, connected to all laws and space. It was invincible and impossible to dodge.
This content is taken from freёwebnovel.com.
CRACK!
In the next instant, the sound of scales shattering and black blood spurting was witnessed by all below. The draconian beast was mercilessly pierced in the center of its chest.
"Hahahah! We, of the Sacred Leaf, shall triumph!" A ridiculous voice echoed from a great distance. It was a mischievous-faced elf, contrasting with his natural beauty.
BOOOOOOM!
The response came immediately from the skies. A black explosion spread like a supernova, covering everything in its path. Desperate screams echoed from all sides.
"Damn it," muttered the elf, quickly moving to protect himself.
The black wave seemed about to swallow the entire desert. But, within seconds, amidst the total darkness, a dozen multicolored glimmers appeared in all directions. A divine presence emanated from each one; soon, the black power was contained and then dissipated by a sacred breath.
In the skies, several cultivators fell powerless onto the sands. They were all at the elemental level of the Spirit Fusion Realm. They burned the small trace of divinity from their souls in exchange for expelling that devastating manifestation.
"Attack!" Roared a human, leaping into the air, followed by thousands who did the same.
Deryu’s eyes turned icy, his body covered in black blood. On his back, firmly grasped, was a small, completely red and wounded human, forcing herself to remain conscious. Her injuries were severe, but she refused to give up until the last moment.
’Deryu... don’t do this... if you surrender, they may spare your life. You must wait until the master returns.’ A weak voice echoed in the wyvern’s mind, which trembled furiously.
He opened his mouth and immediately burned his life force. A dragon’s breath spread over the cultivators in all directions, claiming many lives.
The wyvern took a deep breath, feeling half of his life extinguished. He turned his gaze to a distant point where the city walls still stood firm. As long as Ruri didn’t fall, the people inside the city would be protected by the defensive formation. She had studied that entire formation over the years and almost completely mastered it. Ruri was the one who commanded and kept it connected to her life. No one else could do the same, and her studies in formations were essential for everyone’s survival up to that point.
Right in front of the city gates, a two-and-a-half-meter black body lay stretched out, its scales scattered in all directions. Around it, numerous chains wrapped around. It was Runula, who had fought until the last moment but had been captured by the enemies while still alive; now, she had no choice but to die dishonorably.
Deryu flapped his wings and flew in a direction. By a stroke of luck or fate, a new holy arrow passed just meters away from him. The wyvern advanced, facing an infinite amount of beasts and humanoids attacking him relentlessly. After a few hundred meters, he spotted what he was looking for among the distant dunes.
In his eyes, everywhere, lay piles of bestial hybrid bodies; they were his fallen companions in battle. Scattered everywhere, numerous half-wyverns and half-demons knelt, chained but still alive. They were considered valuable resources, and the enemy had prioritized capturing them alive.
In a more isolated spot, small figures were kept together, surrounded by cultivators with various auras. The power emanated by them was unimaginable.
Amidst the countless battles, Deryu recognized well who they were. They were all elders of the twelve families, all at the elemental level of the Spirit Fusion Realm. Even though Ruri and the city’s main warriors were at the elemental level of the Body Destruction Realm, they hadn’t lost. It was a shocking and unbelievable miracle; no matter where this story is told, no cultivator could believe it.
Their teamwork was unbelievable and perfect, combined with extraordinary and impossible-to-exist techniques and the protection of the city’s mystical and strange formation; all of this ensured hegemony and survival in battles. It was a defensive fight; protecting a castle was often simpler than invading it. However, whenever a battle ended, they lost some members, and the resources to recover slowly dwindled.
Theoretically, it was impossible to kill these divine-level cultivators, only to survive. However, they weren’t the only ones who appeared. In addition to those who had already burned their divine souls before, a dozen of these elders had already engaged in the war but met a dry and desperate death.
How was this possible? The answer lay on the wyvern’s back. At some point, Ruri realized they would be defeated shortly and decided to change the course of the battle. She alone eliminated these cultivators with a single blow, catching them off guard and fleeing. She learned to use the Eternal Bond on her own... at the cost of everything she held most precious: her life, her soul, and her mind.
In this last battle, she couldn’t use that technique anymore without immediately dying. Even if everything came to an end, in her precarious condition, maybe she could live for another year. However, if she died now, the entire city formation would collapse. It was decided then that they should fight without using that technique.
In the end, they, who could no longer fully recover their Qi, were finally crushed. Ruri tried to fight, but could barely move her body. Thus, she remained on Deryu’s back, providing support with the beast tamers’ technique.
Everyone had already accepted death as inevitable long ago. However, unfortunately, all their honor and will were crushed. The enemy was much more sinister than they imagined. Using chains made of an unknown material in this world, none of the main warriors were allowed to die.
Currently surrounded by these elders were all the city’s leaders and main generals. They were kneeling, looking like hedgehogs with long needles stuck all over their bodies.
These were the torture tools known as Soul Erosion Needles. They were coated with a painful poison that could slowly corrode a person’s soul, causing an intense pain that surpassed any physical pain.
This pain was unbearable for most people. Even high-level cultivators would struggle to endure more than five of them. Many would die from the pain before their souls were truly destroyed.
However, to the surprise of these elders, even with their bodies completely covered by these needles, their pain resistance was absolutely shocking. Some were unconscious, but the elders continued to interrogate them in the worst possible ways. This last battle had lasted for three days now, and no one had uttered a single word, no matter how many tortures they inflicted.
The elders were now facing the dozens of people who were watching them coldly, a young man with multicolored hair looking at them as if they were eager to tear them apart at the first opportunity. Then, everyone felt a fluctuation on the horizon and saw the Wyvern approaching.
"Still not done with everything? What a waste of time. Who’s going?" An elder spoke dryly, as if someone had interrupted their fun.
The elders sighed lightly until one of them said, "Whoever defeats that Wyvern gets to keep it. Do you want to start a war among the twelve families?"
The one who spoke first smirked sinisterly. From the start, neither the leaders of the families nor the central elders were allowed to participate in this war. The enemies were just cultivators from an ascending planet. If the main members were to participate, it would be a disgrace to the four divine families of Empyreans.
Although the four families did not actively participate in small matters like these, their eyes were always on them. So, to save face after using that divine formation to trap them, the twelve families used the excuse that everything was an internal dispute or game among themselves.
The rules were simple: the clan that defeated someone got to keep the prize. All captives had an owner. But this Wyvern was such a coveted treasure by everyone that it was decided no elder could claim it; only the common members would have to compete to see who would defeat it.
To the people of the city, this was a war. However, the twelve families weren’t really giving it their all; they were just having fun and training their members amidst the bloodshed. After all, the twelve families were obliged to watch over this ascending planet. Thus, resources were limited, and their main gain came from the young disciples who ascended to the divine world. This ’game’ was a rare luxury training for them, and there was still the promise of receiving some treasures.
"Well, we have to act. Shall we all go together then?" An elder spoke lightly, and everyone agreed.
Deryu looked at the elders, then saw all those imprisoned and emanating endless fury. They all fought to their last breath, just to not dishonor the whale. But now, they were captured; this was a massive humiliation for them. The intentions of the Wyvern became clear to Ruri on his back.
’My little one... do you want to set them all free?’ Ruri murmured softly, and the response came with a positive snort. ’Alright, let’s die together. With both of us exploding with everything, it will be impossible for those captives to survive tied up. It will be a dignified end for everyone.’
Deryu saw the elders move, then flapped his wings, burning all his last strength to gain more speed. He was rapidly approaching from above the imprisoned people.
At that moment, Ruri rose on her pet’s back, using her last strength. She looked up and took a deep breath. She wanted to reminisce one last time, her most precious memories.
There were moments when she was freed from the Divinestone clan and lived freely, being pampered and cared for by someone... then came the memories of when she realized what she felt; it all happened the first time they arrived at the desert city. It all passed slowly in her mind, making her lips curve into a brief smile. Those were the memories that comforted her and gave her strength to carry on every day. And this would be the last time she would recall them.
It lasted only a few seconds, until Deryu’s entire body trembled violently. All the elders attacked together, but he charged forward without caring about his body. With his sacred blood, he didn’t die immediately; all he wanted was to get close to the people. The cost was the destruction of almost his entire body.
He found himself in a good spot and waved. The last thing that crossed Deryu’s mind was the image of that little Wyvern. She would be the survivor in his place and should live until that evil whale returned.
Then, the pair roared simultaneously, and their bodies lit up together. Their cores vibrated in an imminent apocalyptic detonation.
All the elders felt a deadly presence above their heads and widened their eyes. They feared that Wyvern would do something like this as a surprise. But, as it was only him, they were confident they could block it. But now they saw their mistake.
"That human... her core is bigger than that Wyvern’s? That’s impossible!" the elder spoke in shock, and they all turned and ran to the opposite side without hesitation.
With the two together, and Ruri having an even larger core than Deryu, even if the leaders of the families were here, they wouldn’t risk staying. The destruction these two could cause couldn’t be measured.
The world fell silent, the space and the entire desert seemed to feel a destruction like the end of the world.
Ruri closed her eyes and felt her body crack alongside her pet. A subtle tear ran down her eye, and a lack of will engulfed her in her final moments.
Crack! Crack!!
BOOOOM!!!