The piercing cry of an eagle grew closer, resonating across the island. The warriors of the Divine Realm, who had been knocked down by the sweeping tail of the dragon, struggled to their feet, their eyes alight with excitement. Reinforcements had arrived after Guluomi; they were not fighting alone!
Bellmoru fixed his gaze on the rapidly approaching figure. With the head of an eagle and the body of a lion, it was the divine beast known as the "griffin"! This creature often soared above the skies of Adverse Port and its surrounding towns, and Bellmoru had thoroughly investigated it. Its magical prowess was roughly equivalent to that of a Platinum-ranked human, making it formidable, yet it did not warrant attention from the legendary Bellmoru. The real threat was the man in black armor astride the griffin...
Divine Servant Huyan Wu!
Upon his initial arrival at Adverse Port, he had overwhelmingly defeated the Red-robed Wizard Douglas, an event witnessed from afar by both Bellmoru and King Chardon IX. There was a high likelihood that Huyan Wu's power was also on the legendary level! Bellmoru even secretly speculated that Huyan Wu might be the true ruler of the Divine Realm, with the so-called "Celestial God" merely a facade to intimidate other nations.
"Has the Divine Servant come in person?" Nalan Jie felt her heart settle.
Her orders to Adverse Port had been to summon Huyan Longzhuo for aid, but she hadn't anticipated that the one to arrive would be the Divine Realm's ace, Huyan Wu! Reflecting now, the enemy's single Deep Sea Dragon was enough to keep all the defenders of Peace Island at bay; Huyan Longzhuo might not have prevailed against the vigilant adversary in the sky. The timing of the Divine Servant's arrival could not have been better!
"The destructive power of the dragon you have witnessed firsthand. If you wish to avoid further slaughter, offer due compensation for the losses inflicted upon the Kingdom of Storms, then retreat to your homeland. I will then consider halting the dragon's actions!" Bellmoru attempted to negotiate, but Huyan Wu merely glanced at him dismissively, guiding his griffin down to Peace Island without acknowledging his words.
"You..." Bellmoru's expression darkened.
Never before had the esteemed chief wizard of the Royal Court been so blatantly ignored!
At this moment, Huyan Wu turned his attention to the Deep Sea Dragon, which was now lying on the ground. It had been hit by one of Guluomi's blasts, leaving it dazed and staggering, yet clearly not mortally wounded. Even an accidental flick of its tail sent several Divine Realm warriors flying back!
"You have many tricks up your sleeve; go deal with that old man in the sky," Huyan Wu instructed as he dismounted from the griffin, grabbing Guluomi by the collar of her dress and hoisting the small, blue-haired girl onto the creature's back. "Don't kill him just yet; the gods have their uses for him."
Guluomi glanced at Bellmoru, who wore a stern expression, and muttered with a pout, "I'd like to kill him, but I'm not sure I could manage it..." However, seeing Huyan Wu's glare, she quickly fell silent and urged the griffin to take flight.
Guluomi had sparred with this Divine Servant before, often getting soundly beaten, though not to the extent of her fear of Wang Hui. Nonetheless, she lacked the confidence to talk back. Despite old grievances with the griffin, with a common enemy at hand, there was no time for petty squabbles. It spread its wings, following Guluomi's command to ascend into the sky.
"I just need to stall for time; I don't necessarily have to win..." Guluomi's purple eyes flickered with strategy.
As the griffin soared to match Bellmoru's altitude, Guluomi stood with hands on her hips, chin raised high, declaring, "Listen up, old man across from me! I am the Guardian of the Divine Realm, the Sovereign of the Underworld, the Master of Caves, the Conqueror of All..."
Before she could finish her string of titles, Bellmoru had had enough!
"Enough!"
With his staff pointed forward in anger, circles of multicolored spells burst into light.
"Arcane Shock!"
"Arcane Barrage!"
Spectacular spells rushed towards them! Guluomi shrieked, urging the griffin to evade, while transforming her arms into multiple gelatinous tentacles, attempting to strike Bellmoru from behind, only for him to dodge with a swift beat of his luminous wings.
As the aerial duel raged on, the battle on Peace Island reignited.
Boom—
The Deep Sea Dragon, recovering its composure, spread its wings forcefully, demolishing buildings on either side of the street and burying dozens of Divine Realm warriors under rubble. It proudly raised its head to take flight when a figure clad in jet-black armor sprinted forward, gripping the dragon's tail with bulging muscles, shouting, "Down!"
Huyan Wu, with sheer brute strength, pulled the dragon back to the ground. Seizing the moment, Nalan Jie and Huyan Gui led their forces in a concentrated volley. With its wings spread wide and unprotected, the dragon was pelted by three ranks of heavy crossbows, arrows piercing its vulnerable underbelly and neck, blood spraying everywhere!
"Roar!!"
The sustained pain cleared some of the confusion from the dragon's eyes; it wondered why it had awakened from its slumber to attack this unknown city. Driven by survival instinct, it roared and exhaled a blast of icy mist!
The chilling breath spread rapidly, freezing the aluminum armor of the Divine Realm warriors into brittle rigidity, slowing their movements to a snail's pace.
[Frost Breath]!
The dragon followed with a high-pressure water spray, the water droplets turning into a hail of ice shards upon contact with the cold air, creating a blizzard across Peace Island!
The warriors gritted their teeth, holding shields to maintain their defensive line, their armor dented and some even losing their helmets, bleeding from head wounds.
Huyan Wu knew he could not let this beast continue its rampage. Releasing the dragon's tail, he leaped high, his right arm armed with an ant-like mandible weapon, striking the dragon's neck with a resounding "thud"!
The dragon's water jet was abruptly cut off, causing it to collapse, but it quickly turned its head, spewing another cold mist towards Huyan Wu!
In mid-air with no means to dodge, Huyan Wu curled up, using his left arm's shield to defend himself.
Whoosh—
The extreme cold from the [Frost Breath] enveloped Huyan Wu, freezing his armor solid. When he landed, the armor cracked with a "crackling" sound, spiderweb-like fissures spreading across it. Yet, his expression remained impassive; he shook off the ice and charged at the dragon once more!
Meanwhile, in the outside world:
Wang Hui, having just prepared a bowl of noodles, returned to the glass dome, only to find that the energy he had harvested from the sea's world had nearly replenished itself. He quickly adjusted the time inside to match the outside, observing the Divine Realm's flag, adorned with the intricate patterns of yin-yang fish and the colors orange, green, and red, fluttering over nearly all the towns of the Kingdom of Storms. Only the royal capital remained, now under siege by countless small figures in aluminum armor.
"Tsk, the Kingdom of Storms must have done something to provoke divine wrath, leading to our righteous counterattack..." Wang Hui chuckled, then his gaze was drawn to an unusual cold current in the northwest sea.
Seeing the devastation on Peace Island, his eyes narrowed.
"The one fighting Huyan Wu... is that a dragon?"