Chapter 451 - 422: Dragonman Lie Lin, Yulan Battlefield
Even the ceiling was completely ripped away, revealing the open sky.
At this moment.
A monster with a dragon’s head and human body, its form covered in dense Scale Armor and ending in a long, slender dragon tail, sat amidst the ruins.
Lie Lin’s broad dragon claw gripped a human head as easily as if it were a ball. Its long, snake-like tongue pierced through the skull, sucking out the nectar within as if drinking from a coconut.
CHH.
Draining the last of the light from the skull, a flicker of very human pleasure crossed his savage, draconic face.
"The brain fluid of a Crystal Realm human... truly delicious," Lie Lin remarked, before tossing the empty skull away like a piece of trash.
THUD.
The skull hit the ground with a dull sound.
It rolled over and came to rest in a corner of the hall, joining two other skulls that had been completely drained.
"Haaaah..."
His meal finished, Lie Lin rose to his feet.
The cannibalistic monster narrowed its eyes in satisfaction. As it rolled its neck, its thoughts drifted.
’Were my ancestors like this, back when the dragon-men ruled the seas eight hundred years ago?’
"This is how it should be!"
"The ant-like humans should exist only as blood-food for my kind!"
Lie Lin grinned, letting out a savage laugh.
Just as he was reveling in his triumph, a powerful sense of crisis washed over him.
"Hmm?!"
A shiver ran through Lie Lin’s entire body. He snapped his head up!
FWOOSH!
A scarlet pillar of light tore through the sky, howling as it descended!
The pillar of light was moving so fast that even as a Tier Four dragon-man, the only thing Lie Lin could do was raise his arms to shield himself!
BOOM!
The scarlet beam slammed into Black Wind Canyon.
An earth-shattering explosion erupted!
Scorching blood flames erupted through the canyon, incinerating the tens of thousands of insect beasts in the area. They offered no resistance as the flames corroded their bones and burned their flesh to ash.
"Damn it... Who was that?!"
Covered in dust and grime, Lie Lin roared at the sky.
Standing at the prow of his ship, a young man in black robes with ice-silver eyes gazed down coldly.
VMMM.
Their gazes met.
Fear suddenly bloomed in Lie Lin’s heart.
His instincts were frantically warning him!
’If I fight this person, I will die!’
’Flee!’
’To Yu Lan Island! Xuetu is there.’
WHOOSH!
Lie Lin spread his wings and sped away!
This flight speed even surprised Su Ye a little!
"Oh?"
"He’s pretty fast."
"But... can he really get away?"
Su Ye sneered and gave chase in his ship.
...
「Yu Lan Island.」
As a strategic point of contention between the Flame Alliance and the Candle Python Cave.
This vast island, nearly the size of several counties, had turned into an incomparably bloody meatgrinder of a battlefield!
As far as the eye could see, a dense insect tide nearly ten million strong blotted out the landscape. Like a ceaseless ocean, it crashed against the Flame Alliance’s line of defense.
The Flame Alliance side was not to be outdone.
A Protective Array hummed without pause. Its brilliant, spiritual light, pulsing with terrifying power, kept the island illuminated as brightly as day.
RUMBLE!
A crimson lotus of flame blossomed, enveloping an area of several hundred meters.
Thousands of insect beasts were reduced to ash and cinders in the blaze, but more immediately swarmed over their remains, continuing the charge.
The remains were ground into the earth by the insect tide, which advanced like a massive steamroller.
The ground of Yu Lan Island was visible no more; it was now a solid mass formed from the remains of countless insect beasts, crushed together under immense force.
As for the island’s original soil, it had long been completely annihilated under the Flame Alliance’s artillery fire... In fact, without the reinforcement of the Array, the island’s very foundation would have long since crumbled!
On this horrific battlefield—a place so terrifying that all demonic beasts for thousands of miles around had fled, from birds and fish to sea snakes—only humans still held their ground.
「On the ground.」
Relying on the Array, Flame Alliance cultivators were locked in a frantic, meat-grinding struggle against the insect beasts.
Cultivators were falling every second. On a battlefield like this, not even to mention Foundation Establishment cultivators, even those at the Crystal Realm could perish at any moment.
And at the same time.
「In the sky.」
「Within the Gangfeng Layer.」
Shenxiao stood upon the wind, her short, neat golden-white hair fluttering in the Gang Wind. A sleeveless, moon-white qipao outlined her graceful and slender curves.
But at this moment.
Unlike her usual relaxed posture, her eyes were filled with vigilance.
Three jet-black metal bracelets hovered around her jade-white arms. Silvery arcs of lightning crackled across them, exuding an aura that promised to cleanse the world with thunder, shattering demons and purging evil.
"Tsk tsk, Shenxiao Hundred Refinements."
"Truly worthy of a top-tier Cultivation Technique that integrates body tempering, Thunder Skills, and Artifact Refining."
"You were quite lucky, finding such a legacy in this remote sea region."
Across from her, Xuetu stood with his arms crossed, commenting on Lin Yinxiu with the condescending air of a senior.
His red hair hung loose, and his eyes were narrowed. He appeared relaxed, yet he radiated the ferocity of a sick tiger and an Evil Qi that felt like the Blood Sea Purgatory itself, washing over her.
However.
This Blood Fiend seemed to melt away like snowflakes as it approached Lin Yinxiu.
Xuetu’s eyebrow twitched. His gaze swept over the metal bracelets on Lin Yinxiu’s arms, a look of disgust and apprehension on his face.
The woman’s cultivation was merely Early-stage Golden Core, nothing to speak of. But her foundation in Thunder Skills was exceptional and seemed to be a natural counter to his Blood Dao techniques.
At the same time.
A vast, ocean-like power roiled within a thousand-zhang radius of Lin Yinxiu, gathering strength and waiting to be unleashed.
The power of an Array!
It was the power of the Luotian Illusion Array!
Relying on the Luotian Illusion Array and the properties of her own Thunder Skill, she and Xuetu had been in a standoff for over a month, barely maintaining a stalemate on the Yu Lan Island battlefield.
But...
Lin Yinxiu, however, was not optimistic.
Just a short while ago, the power of the Luotian Illusion Array had suddenly weakened!
This meant that a Luotian Array might have already fallen!
To conquer an array point, a Tier Four being must have made a move... After taking the Luotian Array, it was highly likely they would come to reinforce Xuetu!
But in contrast, Lin Yinxiu herself didn’t dare to hope for any reinforcements.
After all.
In terms of high-level combat power, the Flame Alliance was at a clear disadvantage!
The Candle Python Cave had four Golden Core cultivators, and that was after Su Ye had killed Yinshan, leaving them one Golden Core short.
At the same time, the Candle Python Cave’s allies, the dragon-man variants, had three Tier Four dragon-men!
The strength of the dragon-man variants was not weak at all. Their Scale Armor was incredibly sturdy, comparable to a Spiritual Treasure, and when fighting a Golden Core of the same realm, they were only slightly weaker.
Adding the two together, that’s seven Golden Core-level combatants!
In contrast.
The Flame Alliance only had four Golden Core combatants on the front lines.
With such a numerical disparity, one could only imagine the pressure on each Flame Alliance Golden Core cultivator.
’Yehai...’
An image of a certain figure surfaced in Lin Yinxiu’s mind, bringing a flicker of hope.
’If Su Ye were here, his strength would make the situation on the front lines so much easier.’
’Unfortunately...’
’To this day, Su Ye’s whereabouts are still a mystery.’
’The Flame Alliance is certain he will come, but as for when... it’s hard to say.’
"Sigh..."
’Ah, forget it... He did kill Yinshan, after all. If not for that, the situation would be even worse.’
She smiled bitterly to herself.
She cut away the stray thoughts.
Lin Yinxiu’s gaze became resolute as she stared intently at Xuetu.
’If Yu Lan Island falls, the Flame Alliance’s front line will be pushed back significantly... I can deal with the other consequences, but the problem is that if the line retreats, my Thunder Prison Island will be threatened!’
’That absolutely cannot happen!’
’There’s no other place in the entire Day Flame Sea Region where I can set up my Shenxiao Thunder Pool!’
’Even if only for the Thunder Pool, I have to do everything in my power to defend Yu Lan Island!’
She let out a long breath.
As her thoughts turned, Lin Yinxiu, looking slightly weary, maintained the standoff.
The two were separated by several thousand zhang, their auras locked firmly onto each other.
VMMMM!
In the distant sky, a fiery red streak of light appeared!
Within the fiery light was a variant creature with a human body and a dragon’s head, covered in red Scale Armor. He was clearly emitting the fluctuations of a Tier Four Mid Stage being!
"A Tier Four dragon-man!"
"Lie Lin!"
Lin Yinxiu’s expression changed.
’Damn it!’
’Their reinforcements arrived first!’
This made her heart sink.
But.
In the next moment, a strange look appeared on Lin Yinxiu’s face.
She discovered.
This Tier Four dragon-man’s face was a mask of terror. It seemed...
He was fleeing?