Lu Ignis's appearance caused fear to grip the heart of every creature for hundreds of miles. Those unfortunate enough to be within viewing distance scrambled for cover as a collective panic set in.
"The Bronze Emperor… he's lost it!"
"RUN! It's the end of days! Nothing can survive his wrath when he's like this!"
"Why is he so angry?" A tiny mole-cricket hiding beneath a cracked boulder whimpered to no one in particular.
"He's searching… searching for someone, I think."
That insightful response, or desperate speculation was drowned out as that magnificent bronze head, adorned with a crown of gold finally settled mere feet above his terrified brat and that imposter.
Its eyes narrowed and it's long beard swayed as a dreadful hiss resounded that made even those fleeing beasts slam into each other from fear.
"What happened to Lu Lingxue, my 1022nd daughter? WHERE IS SHE?!" He stared expectantly at both the trembling bull and the serpent coiled atop its horn but received only silence as a response.
"Answer me you insects! SPEAK!" Another earth-shattering boom accompanied those words. The very ground they stood on started to liquefy and flow like an angry crimson river!
'Damn! Such power!'
Raphael swallowed hard, fear gripped his heart after Lu Ignis's massive form emerged. He didn't dare speak. How could he explain this situation? He thought desperately for an escape from the Bronze Emperor's wrath. The sheer scale of his power, the way the earth itself trembled before him, was beyond anything Raphael could have imagined.
When he heard Lu Ignis's question about his daughter, remnants of that dreadful feast suddenly felt like a lead weight. Plus his bloated belly was a damning piece of evidence he couldn't hide.
His gaze darted towards Lu Jade, a silent plea for help, but the serpent was just as terrified, coiled tightly, as if wishing he could disappear into the bull's horns. What excuse could he come with? Both of them had devoured Lu Lingxue's succulent meat.
"Hmm?" Lu Ignis waited, yet no response was uttered. He began to suspect the unthinkable. His keen eyes which burnt with the wisdom of millennia, darted to the bull's big belly and then its wings. Those weren't just shadowy appendages, they glistened with the telltale sheen of bronze scales, interwoven with crackling threads of golden lightning. It was a horrifying confirmation of his daughter's gruesome fate.
"Those scales… that lightning… You devoured her! You DARE adorn yourself with her essence?! HATEFUL!" Lu Ignis hollered then shifted his attention to the quivering Lu Jade.
"And you… You ungrateful whelp! Y-you dare to betray your own lineage for this… this abomination! You are a disgrace to your mother and a shame to every serpent in Yama Yaguai!"
Lu Jade trembled and hurriedly tried to explain, "No, F-father… please hear my side of the…"
"SILENCE!" The Bronze Serpent Emperor hated excuses.
Lu Jade was Lu Ignis's 3078th son, not his most favored, but a son nonetheless. A prince. This disrespect, this betrayal for a golden bull, his rage reached a fever pitch. This wasn't just familial humiliation. This was a direct challenge to his authority. And he wouldn't tolerate it.
Lu Ignis didn't waste his breath seeking answers or truth. "Hmph! I shall erase this despicable seed right now. DIE!"
RUMBLE! BOOM!
His massive tail which was larger than those mountain peaks they'd fallen from mere minutes ago lashed against the stormy heavens and caused multiple burning fragments of celestial bodies to break free. They cascaded toward the pair below like a deadly meteor shower.
It was death from above!
The air shrieked and was burning hotter!
"Big Brother! RUN!" Lu Jade yelled this advice while frantically pointing his tail westwards. "That way! To the Black Wind Ridge! We have to reach Emperor Qi Hawk's territory. NOW!"
"Ok."
Raphael instinctively followed his new friend's instructions, but as those burning rocks came crashing and obliterating anything they touch, he was truly baffled.
"Why there?"
"Because that old bastard hates Father's guts," Lu Jade explained while dodging molten debris, "He challenged my Father for control of the Ho Eastern territory 800,000 years ago and lost! Father took his left eye and part of his tail as punishment. They loathe each other. No war has been waged since that clash, but Father won't enter his territory uninvited."
"So that's how it is." Raphael remembered a particular story, shared with him by Butler Long about ancient emperors in those human lands before Gaia's freeze and it all started to make sense.
'An Emperor's pride. It truly knows no bounds…'
Raphael's thought was interrupted by loud hissing sounds that didn't belong to Lu Jade or Lu Ignis. He glanced back and saw Lu Pin and Lu Pan leading a horde of serpentine assassins towards them.
"It's that dammed bull, right there! Capture them! If you succeed, you'll be handsomely rewarded!"
"HISSSS!"
"HISSSS!"
"HISSSS!"
"HISSSS!"
Those promises of wealth fueled those serpentine hearts and their fangs. Such was the temptation and motivation that those glittering prizes could create.
Even in a land where the strong were meant to rule, there existed those who desired treasures. And those snakes chasing after him were a clear example.
"You pathetic foolsss from the Venom Tail Viper gang… You are all treacherous!" Lu Jade hissed back.
"Little twerp! Riding that bull's horn has given you some courage I sssee! Wait until I get my hands on you! I'll let you remember that you used to be our beating stick!" Lu Pin yelled and commanded the serpents to slither faster.
"Kill them!"
"Damn those snakes! How are they so damn fast?" Raphael witnessed his pursuers slithering up to his ass and pushed onward. He started exhausting his monstrous stamina to the very brink.
BOOM!
Meanwhile, another wave of meteors came crashing down, but they were getting fainter and their intensity was lessening. Before he could contemplate this fortunate change in their misfortune, they entered Black Wind territory.
Immediately, the air shifted. Gone was the oppressive heat and cloying scent of smoke. It was replaced by a refreshing coolness that carried the fragrance of pine needles and damp earth. It felt like breathing for the first time after being trapped in a stifling chamber. Even Raphael's powerful lungs, accustomed to the scorching air of Fire Pool depths, reveled in this newfound freshness.
The landscape was no longer a chaotic mess of fire and ash, but a breathtaking display of green. Towering trees stretched towards the heavens. Between those ancient trees, massive rock formations jutted out at impossible angles, creating a maze of shadows and whispering breezes.
The ground beneath his hooves was covered in a thick carpet of emerald green grass. It was a paradise compared to those burning lands he'd left behind in Ho Eastern.
Instead of those roaring flames, clear, fast-flowing streams snaked through the valleys, which sparkled with life. Countless fish adorned with colors that rivaled those most delicate flowers, danced and swam lazily.
Massive pillars of stones with patterns only the wind could carve, adorned the skies like eternal sentinels.
The most prominent feature however, wasn't those floating rocks or mighty trees or clear waters. It was those breezes, those winds, for this territory was always in motion.
"It truly is a land of wonder," Raphael was mesmerized by this sudden shift in scenery. However, shouts from his pursuers, brought him back to the present.
"Stinking bull! You dare to flee?" Lu Ignis was enraged. And rightly so. After all, this upstart had devoured his prized daughter and was probably already eager to shit her out somewhere. He wouldn't let them off so easily.
"Luminous Hell Blaze!"
Lu Ignis prepared to unleashed his devastating technique down on those tiny runners. He didn't care about the hundreds of innocent life he would incinerate, just as long as the eyesore disappeared.
However, from those skies, another threat came crashing down!
"Get back you stinking serpent! Or you'll be picking your scales from those trees till doomsday!"
CRACKLE! BOOM!
A massive bolt of pure black lightning came raining from the heavens. It created a shockwave that threw Lu Ignis off course.
"How dare you trespass in my territory without even requesting an audience?!" A deep, thunderous voice resonated from the depths of those clouds.
The air crackled. Winds howled and the clouds parted, revealing an imposing figure that descended with an air of unquestionable authority. It was a massive bird with feathers as black as night and wings that were brilliant white. They stretched out a hundred feet each, creating a shadow over that trembling land.
It was Emperor Qi Hawk.
A long tail, like that of a giant rat, trailed behind him, and upon his form he wore armor-plates of polished silver and black that seemed to absorb and deflect those bolts of lightning now flashing across those tumultuous skies as if by his command. And upon his left eye, where Lu Ignis' fang had left its mark, rested a black eye patch. A long, grey beard flowed down to his chest, evidence of millennia spent ruling these lands. His single, visible milky white orb, stared down at the Bronze Emperor with undisguised contempt.
He was a sight that stole the very air.
"Hmm…?" Lu Ignis's head stopped at the precipice. He stared at the terrifying entity that guarded Black Wind. It radiated an icy fury. But he wasn't fazed, not really. He wouldn't be stopped, especially with those who betrayed his lineage, within reach.
"Hmph! Damn hawk!"
"You're a bold one, Lu Ignis, invading my territories. I've told you in the past what would happen should your stinky snout crosses these boundaries again. This place is mine! You have no right."
Qi Hawk boldly emphasized his ownership as hundreds of lightning swords appeared around him. They adjusted their trajectory towards their new enemy.
Lu Ignis glared at Emperor Qi Hawk. "Thisss isss not your concern, Qi Hawk. Stand assside! I have a score to ssettle with those measly runts who ran into your territory."
"You cross this ridge and… You DIE!" Emperor Qi Hawk said plainly.
The scene was tense. Both emperors, two legends of Yama Yaguai glared at each other with the hate of a thousand years brewing. While they hovered there in the midst of those charred battleground and collapsing mountain that separated their territories… war drums started beating and calling forth a chaos those creatures below had not witnessed in millennia.