Chapter 715: The Burning Imperial Capital
These tornadoes wreaked havoc everywhere. Houses, sheds, lake water, trees, living humans, and monsters were all sucked into the air before being smashed viciously back to the ground.
This was far more efficient than human explosions and arson. Once a tornado caught fire, it often became a fire tornado, doubling its destructive power.
Zhu Erniang asked in surprise, “Another half-immortal? Where did this one come from?”
He Lingchuan and Dong Rui both went tense. “That bird monster is a half-immortal?”
A monster’s strength was usually proportional to its size. In the current environment of thin spirit qi, ordinary bird monsters simply could not grow this large, and the destruction they caused would never be this severe.
The dozens of tornadoes it released did more damage to the city than Fang Canran’s subordinates and the thunderclap beast herd combined.
It was just that each tornado did not last long, only twenty or thirty breaths.
However, that was already enough.
Where did Fang Canran find this bird?
Zhu Erniang watched for a little longer. “Mm, its power is close, but its divine techniques are too limited.”
Bird monsters usually excelled at spells. Since this azure bird could command wind, releasing several more kinds of divine techniques at will should not have been difficult.
As the three spoke, the azure bird flew over the Giant Thunderclap Beast. Tornadoes swept in, tearing the phantom-barrier spell to pieces.
With the ghost wall broken, the Giant Thunderclap Beast began charging again, causing destruction on a grand scale.
Even more terrifying, it spat lightning into the tornadoes. The tornadoes immediately turned into lightning tornadoes, crackling with lightning along the way and leaving even more dead and wounded wherever they passed!
Fan Long once again ran alongside the Giant Thunderclap Beast’s herd, directing the attack.
The giant beast knocked down a stretch of towers. Fan Long abruptly reined in his mount to dodge, and by chance, he also avoided a streak of black light that came from behind him.
Huh? What was that?
His heart tightened. From the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something strange emerging from the ruins, arriving in a flash.
So fast!
Before he could even get a clear look at what it was, the thing had already pressed close.
Fan Long drew his saber without hesitation.
There was a ringing clang as he blocked it. Its shape resembled a flying disc, but its edges were lined with sharp teeth. If it struck a body of flesh and blood, it would scrape flesh and shave bone without the slightest hesitation.
Its impact was so strong that the black bo beast under Fan Long was knocked back two steps. With a long neigh, it nearly stumbled into the ruins.
He flung the object away, but the spinning disc did not fall to the ground. It turned twice, accelerated, and charged at him again!
It was actually attacking automatically, agile and free-moving.
At the same time, two sharp whooshes sounded. Two more spinning discs slid in from the side. Fan Long barely dodged them, but two wind bullets suddenly struck down from above. One hit beside Fan Long’s mount, and the blast of air directly overturned it, while the other snapped the nearest broken wall, sending the entire wall crashing down over Fan Long’s head!
The giant bird destroying the city from midair actually still had attention to spare for him.
Light flickered over Fan Long’s body as origin energy protected him. He sprang from the black bo beast’s back, trying to leap out of the danger zone.
The two spinning discs circled nearby, like sharks around a drowning man. Seeing this, they pounced together, coordinating perfectly.
The black bo beast blocked the way, and the spinning discs did not dodge or evade. They simply sliced it in two.
They were not slowed in the slightest throughout the process.
Fan Long watched the beloved mount that had accompanied him for more than ten years die horribly, but he did not even have time to grieve, because the three spinning discs had already caught up. If he did not find a way out, he would end up no better than his black bo beast!
At the critical moment, Fan Long flung out a flying rope, forcibly altering his trajectory. The three spinning discs missed, made a turn not far away, and continued chasing him.
Who knew whether these things had intelligence of their own or whether someone was controlling them from behind?
But this degree of agility had already surpassed ordinary magical artifacts.
Fan Long had just landed when a short blade silently extended from the shadow of the ruins beside him, as though it had been waiting there all along.
This was the hidden killing move!
In the next instant, blood splashed.
Close-quarters combat in darkness and chaos placed every strike on the edge between life and death.
Fan Long’s personal guards hurried over to reinforce him. They were all battle-hardened warriors, yet within six breaths, eight of them were slaughtered in succession!
These precise targeted kills were fast, accurate, and ruthless. Even if He Lingchuan had been there, the scene would have left his eyes overwhelmed.
To catch bandits, first catch the king. With the commander of the Tongxin Guard suddenly absent, several units were left leaderless, greatly weakening Lingxu City’s interception force.
The three spinning discs danced through the air, flinging away every trace of blood, then followed their master and vanished into the ruins once more. No matter how others searched, they could not be found.
Under the cover of firelight and chaos, the phantom-like killer rushed toward the next target.
His prey were all key figures in defending the city.
In the sky, the azure bird launched wide-area attacks; on the ground, a shadow quietly harvested critical lives!
Meanwhile, the charging thunderclap beast herd attracted everyone’s attention.
The results of this Lingxu City turmoil were expanded, then expanded further!
He Lingchuan and the others did not know about these thrilling hidden battles happening in the city’s streets and alleys. Otherwise, Zhu Erniang would have been able to identify a second immortal. But standing on Mount Xing, they silently witnessed unrest, flames, riots, and fear spreading through Lingxu City together.
With the giant beasts’ intrusion, the imperial capital that had enjoyed six hundred years of peace began sinking into chaos.
No, that was not right. As early as when Mount Xu had been burning fiercely, the panic and disorder among Lingxu’s people had already begun.
He Lingchuan had let Juju burn Star-Plucking Tower to the ground and trigger a volcanic eruption;
Fang Canran’s team was wreaking havoc throughout Lingxu City, filling the place with smoke and destruction;
And Fang Canran had then lured the Giant Thunderclap Beast into trampling through Lingxu City, dragging everyone inside the city into a riot unseen in six hundred years.
It was hard to say whose results were greater.
He Lingchuan secretly shook his head. Although Fang Canran appeared smooth, sociable, and kind on the surface, the judgment “tough in temperament, ruthless in methods” truly suited him.
Of course, in the eyes of the Heavenly Palace and the Monster Emperor, these two great feats probably both belonged to He Lingchuan, the man who had destroyed Mount Xu, right?
Dong Rui could not help but ask, “Where will these giant beasts end up running?”
He Lingchuan pointed toward the sky. “Can’t you see they’re approaching the entrance to Startled Swan Crossing?”
How could Fang Canran be satisfied with merely disturbing the Lower City? Ultimately, the floating islands were among Lingxu City’s most vital areas. If the Giant Thunderclap Beast did this, it would only die faster.
The ground suddenly shook violently, so much that even everyone on Mount Xing had trouble standing steady.
Immediately afterward came several thunderous booms. Everyone looked north and saw towering flames surging up from Tianshu Peak, where two mushroom clouds rose into the sky. There was actually another volcanic eruption!
Ever since He Lingchuan left Mount Xu’s territory, it had behaved itself for quite a while. Now that it had suddenly erupted, had Juju and the Heavenly Palace’s negotiations broken down?
And in the central area of Lower Lingxu City, several fireworks slowly rose, illuminating the night sky for a long time.
Everyone could see them by raising their heads. After the dense clouds scattered, a vast and wondrous scene suddenly appeared in the night sky: A thousand peaks of exquisite beauty, lush and embroidered; clear rivers winding around them like jade belts; towers and palaces faintly visible above the cloud and mist; countless streams of flowing light coming and going as immortals traveled upon their artifacts!
The scene was ethereal, serene, and beautiful, creating a stark contrast with Lingxu City burning in flames directly below.
Dong Rui stared unblinkingly, even feeling a trace of unconscious longing. “Where is that?”
He Lingchuan did not answer, but an answer immediately surfaced in his mind.
Is that Spirit Mountain?
Is that what those voices I heard when I was beneath the Dao-Seeking Tree were referring to?
In the dark unseen, so many secrets seemed to link together like ouroboroses, one ring after another.
So the organization behind Fang Canran is connected to Spirit Mountain? What kind of declaration are they trying to make by creating such a tremendous spectacle?
Are the immortals about to return?
Or is a world-changing upheaval approaching?
Still, I’m at least sure that the Heavenly Palace and Lingxu City definitely understand this declaration.
He Lingchuan silently drew in a cold breath.
From the collapse of the Grand Spirit-Gathering Array to the chaos in Lingxu City, not even three-quarters of an hour had passed. Yet everything he had become familiar with over the past three months, and everything the people of Lingxu City had been familiar with for the past six hundred years, had been thrown into disorder.
To the north, the volcano erupted. To the south, the city was in chaos.
The colors of blood and fire monopolized tonight’s imperial capital.
And west of Lingxu City, halfway up a mountain, Fang Canran was also looking down over the imperial capital and clicking his tongue in admiration. “What an indescribable painting.”
The scene before him was tragically beautiful. Anyone who witnessed it with their own eyes would never forget it for the rest of their life. The painting’s title ought to be—
The Burning Imperial Capital.
Their hatred had all transformed into blood and fire, blades and swords, intent on slashing apart Lingxu City’s false mask of six hundred years of prosperity!
Just then, a pale blue glow appeared across the ground of Lingxu City, as though some array had activated.
Several furious long cries came from the floating islands, as though giant beasts were about to emerge.
A large snow-white bird flew down first, and it had two natural red markings beneath its wings.
It passed through the image of Spirit Mountain in midair, and the vast, beautiful scene quickly dissolved into nothing.
The white bird was far smaller than the azure bird, but countless ice crystals swirled beside it. With one beat of its wings, innumerable wind blades and frost swords shot straight toward the azure bird.
Behind it, many birds followed, packed so densely in the air that they nearly covered the sky.
“Hm?” He Lingchuan gazed into the distance. Could that be the State Preceptor of the Winter Palace whom I’ve never met?
The azure bird had swept the sky with wind and caused enough destruction. Now, it had no interest in continuing the fight and turned to retreat out of the city.
Its mission was complete. It was time for it to leave the stage.
By coincidence or design, it flew straight in He Lingchuan and the others’ direction.
In midair, dozens more streams of light shot toward it.
Lingxu City had been thoroughly enraged. The rhythm of its counterattack had only just begun.
Dong Rui immediately abandoned his spectator’s mindset. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s coming! The pursuers are coming too!”
He Lingchuan instinctively grabbed the divine bone amulet around his neck.
“Let’s go! It’s time for us to leave the stage.”
The lid of the Generous Pot was now in hand. This was a feat neither of the two previous owners of the three-piece set—the King of Yuān and Zhong Shengguang—had managed to accomplish.
He had stayed until now only because he wanted to observe how Lingxu City reacted to a surprise attack.
Fighting an unprepared battle, and on its own territory no less, would expose many fundamentals.
How long would it take for the war machine to start running? Faced with chaos on both Mount Xu and in the main city, how would Lingxu City divide its forces?
How long would it take the heavenly gods and greater monsters to arrive on the battlefield?
What effective interception measures had they carried out? How did they evacuate and treat civilians?
An expert watched the deeper workings. He would collect all this precious intelligence and repeatedly analyze it later, studying where this powerful empire’s advantages and weaknesses lay.
Now, He Lingchuan’s performance had ended. The stage could be left to Lingxu City and Fang Canran.
————End of the main text of The Monsters’ Ideal State II.