Rise of The Demon General

”Where did he teleport to?” Di Ying asked.

”I don’t see him anywhere,” Krassazh replied. He rode atop her. After joining Di Yu in her fight against Mo Wang, they decided it was better to cooperate. Krassazh used his gravity arts to slow Mo Wang, while Di Ying used her sturdy draconic body to shield him.

As for Yao Ai, she stayed out of the fight. Without Amon around to force her, she wasn’t willing to go up against Mo Wang.

”No! He is not using his regular teleportation power,” Di Yu said. There was panic in her voice. She was rushing in a direction.

Di Ying and Krassazh followed her line of sight and found that it was where Thien Huo and Ling Dau were. Their eyes went wide after witnessing what was happening over there.

*

Mo Wang didn’t choose a direction randomly when he teleported to dodge Di Yu’s attacks. Every time he dodged, he added distance between her and Thien Huo. This way, when he acted, she wouldn’t have enough time to interfere.

The talisman he just used was a long-range teleportation talisman. He reappeared behind Ling Dau. He could teleport this far away because he had stuck a talisman on the back of Ling Dau’s main head. This talisman was linked to the teleportation talisman he just used.

Mo Wang’s abrupt appearance startled Thien Huo, who was still locked in a grappling match with Ling Dau.

”Do you feel deja vu yet?” Mo Wang asked. In his hand was another talisman. It was glowing. He threw it forward before Thien Huo could react.

The talisman produced a void blade, which slashed through Thien Huo’s arm that was grabbing Ling Dau’s main head.

Thien Huo was in Dragon Awakening form. His defense was higher on paper, but the fight with Ling Dau had sapped his strength. The energy that protected his body had greatly weakened. Mo Wang’s space-tearing power left a big gash in his arm. Blood gushed out of the wound. This was a repeat of the ambush Mo Wang gave him last time.

The wounded arm lost its strength. Ling Dau’s main head broke free from Thien Huo’s grip.

”You should have finished me when you had the chance, fool!” Ling Dau exclaimed. He fired a blast breath from point-blank range. This knocked Thien Huo back, releasing his other hand’s grip as well.

Thien Huo’s right eye shone. He was about to fire the powerful laser again. Sadly, Ling Dau decided to be aggressive while he won. He was already lunging after firing the blast breath. His main head bit at Thien Huo’s lower jaw and pushed it upward, just as Thien Huo fired the laser from his eye. The laser shot into the sky, hitting nothing.

Ling Dau’s remaining two heads bit on Thien Huo’s chest, which had been weakened by the blast breath just now. With a violent rip, the two heads tore downward, causing two long lacerations along Thien Huo’s chest.

”Thiieeenn...!!!” Di Yu roared as she rushed over. She was too far away. She fired a black beam in an attempt to force Ling Dau to back off.

Unfortunately, Ling Dau was not alone. Mo Wang told Ling Dau, who noticed the incoming black beam, ”Don’t worry about it. Stay on that Salamander Dragon and finish him!”

Mo Wang revealed another talisman and activated it. A void portal was formed. He threw the talisman away, which formed a second portal.

The first portal stood in the path between Di Yu and Ling Dau. Hence, it was in the black beam’s path. The black beam entered the portal and exited the second one. The second portal was situated behind Thien Huo. Di Yu’s breath attack ended up hitting Thien Huo’s back instead of her target.

The black beam caused Thien Huo to stagger, allowing Ling Dau the time to gather his energy. His three mouths shone while the ring-like cloud ribbon on his back came forward. His three heads unleashed blast breaths that fused after crossing the cloud ribbon. The fused blast smashed into Thien Huo from close range.

”Nooo...!!!” both Di Yu and Di Ying cried at the sight.

Di Yu had been channeling energy to boost her speed. The black smoke around her spread all over her body. This made her seem as if her whole body were covered in fiery black manes. Her flying speed amplified. She left a trail of black smoke as she sped through the air.

Mo Wang wasn’t going to let Di Yu disrupt his partner. With Ling Dau delivering the killing blow, he didn’t have to bear the brunt of the noble dragons’ fury. Additionally, once Thien Huo was out of the picture, he could cooperate with Ling Dau to finish Di Yu. With any luck, it could be Ling Dau who finished Di Yu as well. That would be the best-case scenario for him.

Mo Wang fired several lightning spears at Di Yu during her approach. They weren’t as large as his Calamity Lightning Spear, but were larger than his lightning bolts. He didn’t use lightning bolts because they were ineffective when she was in her awakened form.

To his surprise, Di Yu remained agile despite her speed boost. She swerved left and right, dodging the lightning spears. She was almost upon him in a short instant. He was forced to teleport away to avoid getting hit.

Di Yu didn’t look for Mo Wang. She proceeded onward. Thien Huo had fallen to the ground after being struck by the fused blast breath. Ling Dau was on top of him. His three remaining heads were about to bite down to deliver the finishing blow.

”Get away from him, you freak...!!!” Di Yu roared.

Her roar and aura took Ling Dau aback. He didn’t expect that she was already so close. He cursed Mo Wang for not doing a proper job. She had already arrived before he could react.

She crashed into him at full speed. The momentum took them both into the air. Di Yu used the chance when Ling Dau was still stunned to bite his back and wrap her long body around him. Her sharp claws dug into Ling Dau’s back. The pain caused him to scream.

Hanging onto his back, she forcefully dove and slammed him into the ground. She didn’t stop after the touchdown. She dragged him all over the ground, creating giant dust clouds and throwing debris everywhere as he scraped on the hard ground.

Mo Wang flew over to assist Ling Dau in getting Di Yu off his back. If the hydra were mortally wounded from this attack, it would severely ruin his plan for shifting the blame for the noble dragons’ death away from him.

Di Ying arrived not long after, but she didn’t go to aid her mother. Her attention was fully on the dragon that was drenched in its own blood on the ground.

”Uncle! No... Uncle, please...”

She landed gently on his large body. She felt the warmth of his blood. His chest didn’t move. He wasn’t breathing. She put her ear to his chest, trying to listen to his heartbeat. She heard thumping sounds. It was weak, but the sounds brought her hope. She heard his voice then.

”Ying... Ying Er...”

”Uncle...!” She moved so she could see him face-to-face. Blood continued to leak from his mouth, nose, and his destroyed left eye. She understood then that Thien Huo’s wound was too severe.

”Un... Uncle, can you turn back into a human? I have human recovery pills with me. I can’t feed you if you are in dragon form. It’s too small. It will evaporate before entering your system.”

”Ying Er...,” Thien Huo lifted his arm with difficulty. Di Ying caught the arm and held it tightly. ”I’m sorry... I can’t see you mature...”

”No... No! Please don’t give up,” Di Ying pleaded. ”Please turn back into a human, Uncle. I will feed you the recovery pills. You will get better!”

Thien Huo coughed, spewing more blood. He took a deep breath, which produced a wheezing sound. ”It’s... no use... Though we can consume human pills... Not all pills work on us... Only those with the highest grade do... Even then... It is too late for me... I can feel it... My time is... near...”

”No! No...! Don’t say that... Please, don’t...” Di Ying couldn’t stop the tears that rolled from her eyes. ”This is all my fault... If I weren’t tricked, you would never have left our home. You would never be involved in this fight, and you wouldn’t have suffered wounds like this...”

”But, then... your mother wouldn’t... have been freed... Do not... blame... yourself... Don’t ever... do that. This is not... your fault... You were tricked... by that human... You must... find a way... to free... yourself...”

Thien Huo let out a long exhale after his last word. He didn’t inhale afterward. His body was completely still.

When Thien Huo stopped breathing, Di Ying did the same without thinking. Floods of memories rushed into her mind. All the time she had spent with him: When they ate together, when she prepared his lava bath, when he brought her exciting books. He had been with her since she hatched. She was more like a father than an uncle. Only now that he was gone did she realize how precious he meant to her.

Her body thirsted for air, but she kept holding her breath. She was unwilling to take another breath unless her uncle did as well. Her lungs burned. She didn’t mind the pain in her lungs. What she couldn’t bear was the pain in her heart. Guilt, regrets, and rage filled her heart. They all call for one thing. Blood! The blood of her enemies. She wanted them to spill their blood just as her uncle had spilled his!