Chapter 77: Your Are Not Far From Death

He Lingchuan was taken aback, a chill running down his spine as delayed fear crept in. Sun Fuping had come terrifyingly close to scheming all of them to death. If luck had not tilted in their favor at just the right moments, his mother and younger brother might have had to hold a memorial for him and his father next year instead of birthdays.

Still, he was not worried about the old bastard pulling off any last-minute reversals. After all those spells that he had cast and the injuries he had suffered, Sun Fuping should be running on fumes now.

Situ Han added, “We teamed up with the black flood dragon, and now Nian Songyu’s so mad he’s nearly coughing up blood.”

He Lingchuan looked down. And sure enough, the tide had turned. The Gale Army was working in perfect sync with the black flood dragon, relentlessly suppressing Nian Songyu. The Heishui City troops atop the walls were even throwing in the occasional volley for good measure.

“Wait, is that the same flood dragon from earlier?” He Lingchuan finally noticed what had changed. “That’s a real dragon now, isn’t it?”

When he had last seen the black flood dragon, despite its name, it had looked more like a horned serpent. Now it had grown four legs, the straight horn on its head had branched like antlers, and a long dorsal fin trailed down its back.

In short, it had transformed into a dragon!

He had not dared hope that he would witness a true dragon in this lifetime, even after having already transmigrated into this wondrous world. After all, dragons were said to dwell in the spiritual mountains and marshes, and no one had seen one in centuries.

“How’d it transform?”

“The Gale Army merged into its body. There should have been about thirty thousand of them that merged into it all at once,” Situ Han scratched his head. “And then bam, it transformed into what it looks like now.”

Oddly, the transformation had actually made it a bit smaller, but it also clearly made it far more agile.

After transforming, the role it assumed had changed as well. It was no longer lunging and launching melee attacks as it had earlier. Instead, it now hovered above the battlefield, chanting one incantation after another, casting buffs over the Gale Army and the summoned demon apes.

One moment, it granted allies the lightness of swallows, the next, it amplified their brute strength, or hardened their skin to the toughness of iron fir wood. A brilliant light covered the battlefield, boosting the combat power of their entire side. Where each soldier could once take on one foe, now they could take on three.

And Nian Songyu was alone.

With his strength waning while the enemy’s waxed, it was like measuring seconds in agony. Every passing moment was a struggle for survival.

Even the living soldiers atop the city walls were left dumbstruck.

Situ Han could not help but mutter, “Did it just steal the state preceptor’s job?”

What the black dragon was doing now was actually what a state preceptor was meant to do in battle. The wide-area support-type spells that it was casting now were generally referred to as blessing spells, and the more people such spells were being cast on, the more magical energy they consumed. Even in Sun Fuping’s prime, he could not sustain more than three or four such spells at once, and that only for a thousand-strong unit.

Compared to that, this black dragon cast its spells as if sipping herbal tea, effortlessly and seemingly inexhaustibly.

Looking down at Nian Songyu, He Lingchuan could not help but feel impressed. Though the man was hanging on by a thread, surrounded, he still held his ground. If it were him in Nian Songyu’s place, he figured that he would have long since been reduced to nothing but a pile of flesh.

And yet Nian Songyu had held out for over a quarter-hour, unleashing one spectacular technique after another. No one could even tell if they were martial techniques or divine techniques, only that the display left spectators dizzy just trying to keep up.

The square by the southern gate had already been pummeled nearly a full three meters deep into the ground. It was unclear whose attacks had caused the depression, though it was likely a product of both sides’ sheer power.

Nian Songyu himself was drenched in blood, with wounds of every size gushing crimson down his limbs, and yet he continued to fight with fierce intensity. Earlier, he had been able to heal Sun Fuping’s injuries with a casual wave. But now, he could not even patch up his own, drained of the last of his energy reserves.

The black dragon tried to reason with him, “Your body is on the verge of collapse. Why not surrender your projection? Spare yourself the pain.”

But in response to this, Nian Songyu smashed a gigantified demon ape to pieces with a backhand blow and growled through clenched teeth, “So it was a trap! You wanted to have us send down a clone from the start!”

Just as the words left his mouth, the Gale Army’s cavalry officer charged in with a saber and cleaved off Nian Songyu’s left arm!

Blood gushed from the wound like a fountain. Nian Songyu staggered back two steps, his head spinning and his vision swimming. It was only by planting his blade into the ground that he managed to remain upright.

He had been fighting with twin blades all along. Now that one arm was severed, his combat power had more than halved.

With how uncontrollably he was bleeding, he had already lost over half his blood. At this rate, even if he stopped fighting and lay down for emergency treatment, there was no saving him.

Nian Songyu’s body was finished. Its gaze swept across the living atop the city wall, finding none to be suitable. These human vessels were far too frail. If it forcibly possessed one, the body would collapse within mere seconds, never mind sustaining any high-intensity combat.

Then, its gaze landed on He Lingchuan.

It immediately skipped him without pause.

Instead, its gaze locked onto the black dragon. “Don’t delude yourself into thinking your plan was flawless. Had I not arrived already bearing two severe injuries, this battle would’ve gone very differently!”

The black dragon looked down from above. “There are no ifs in battle.”

“...So be it.” Nian Songyu let his weapon fall to the ground and spread both hands wide. “Who would’ve thought I’d one day concede to a mere artifact spirit?”

His surrender was abrupt and resolute. As if nothing of note had taken place, he simply sat cross-legged, utterly unconcerned about the blood pouring from his body.

After all, it was not truly his body.

The black dragon, however, remained cautious. “Don’t try anything clever. You’re not going to be able to just leave this place.”

Outside, a god might be able to come and go as they pleased. However, they were inside the illusion realm, and it was akin to a sealed jar. Unless the dragon removed the lid, no one was getting out.

Hm, this body is nearing its death...

Nian Songyu’s face was as pale as a corpse, but his expression grew even more serene. “You know what I’m about to ask. Since I’m dying, can I have the answer?”

The black dragon was silent for a few seconds before replying, “I have no answer for you. We are merely fulfilling a dying wish. Our sole purpose is revenge.”

Nian Songyu asked, “Do you know who I am?”

“I don’t. And I don’t care.” The black dragon glided closer, its massive head lowering. “Any last words?”

“Yes.” Nian Songyu suddenly turned toward the city wall. “He Lingchuan, this isn’t from me, but from the body I’m in. You are not far from death. He’ll be waiting for you at the threshold. As for the rest of you...”

He swept his gaze over the surviving onlookers before adding, “Only if the black dragon dies can you leave this place. You know that, don’t you?”

A ripple of panic spread through the crowd.

Mao Tao cried out in disbelief, “What? But didn’t it say—”

Didn’t the black dragon promise to let us leave the illusion?

He did not finish his sentence; he was unable to. His eyes had glazed over, and suddenly, he reached for the saber at He Lingchuan’s waist and yanked it free before using it to slash down at the battlements!

The turn of events was so sudden that no one had time to react. Mao Tao had already hacked three times with stunning speed before He Lingchuan could shout, “Stop!”

The guards behind Mao Tao rushed forward and grabbed him, locking down both of his arms.

Only then did everyone realize that Mao Tao had flipped the saber, using its spine to hack at the wall. Even so, the battlements were gouged with three deep notches, the deepest of which was over ten centimeters.

He had swung with everything he had. The webbing between his thumb and forefinger was torn from the impact. A normal man would not even be able to hold a blade after that.

Mao Tao’s eyes were bloodshot, his breath ragged. He struggled with crazed strength, and it had come to the point where even two or three men could no longer hold him still.

Wielding the treasured saber one-handed, he slashed wildly. The others dared not approach, too afraid of the saber’s deadly edge to even try disarming him.

Meanwhile, the black dragon opened its cavernous mouth. Then, with one terrible bite, it devoured Nian Songyu whole, even giving two savage chews that resounded throughout the battlefield.