Chapter 169: Chapter 165: The Drawbacks of Being Caught in the Middle
Operating from a first-person perspective, Guangtou Qiang exited the “Arcane Conductor State,” while Ji Ma remained in a dazed state, having just dodged a lance strike, already experienced in battlefield tactics.
But just as she dodged the first lance, the second lance arrived. The sheer force of it, coupled with the distortion field created by “Extraordinary Charm,” was utterly ineffective; it shot straight towards Ji Ma.
The red lance hit her directly, and Ji Ma’s body transformed into a poorly crafted puppet. The tip of the lance transferred terrifying kinetic energy to the puppet, which shattered into pieces.
Ji Ma found it hard to accept this reality.
She was already a platinum-level powerhouse, and her defensive measures had long surpassed the mundane.
Yet Blood Dragon Knight Duncan had simply relied on pure strength and a non-magical lance to force her into using her life-saving skills.
It would have been better if he had used some magical items; at least then, she would have felt a bit better about it.
The zombie dragon, filled with ice arrows, had Duncan standing on its back, his blood-red eyes laughed maniacally, locking onto the invisible Ji Ma.
In an instant, Ji Ma’s head rang with a “ding ding ding” sound, her sense of danger at its peak. It was far more frightening than being caught snacking in class while the teacher glared at you from all directions.
Blood Dragon Knight Duncan seized the lance from the wing knight and hurled it towards Ji Ma with great force.
“Boom!”
The wing knight’s lance surprisingly broke in his hands, splitting into two halves.
To pursue length, lances were made heavier; to lighten them, craftsmen hollowed sturdy woods, forming hollow lances. Of course, the extraordinary beings had no such concerns.
Taking the opportunity, Ji Ma utilized Painful Power to accelerate her flight speed, attempting to escape.
“Cheap hollow trash,” Blood Dragon Knight Duncan complained. “Softer than a bone frame.”
He commanded the zombie dragon beneath him to pursue. The zombie dragon flapped its wings hard, flying awkwardly, but Ji Ma flew at an incredibly fast speed, gaining altitude.
However, Duncan’s objective was achieved; he had driven Ji Ma away.
Below, Guangtou Qiang lost control and magic infused, collapsing straight to the ground. The blood hole in its chest stopped bleeding, and it lay motionless, pinned down by the broken “Chaos Sword” military flag, completely turning into a corpse.
Yet its corpse emanated a fearful aura.
No one dared to approach and cut off its bald head to present it to the Blood God.
“That’s terrifying,” Ji Ma sighed with relief upon seeing that Blood Dragon Knight Duncan did not give chase.
She looked downward.
She saw the Eternal Chosen, Malus, speeding along, while George pursued behind. Nearby, Galtrek, mounted on a war horse, raised his double-headed axe and roared, while Felix, behind him, trembled in fear, screaming along the way.
George could actually outmatch the Eternal Chosen.
This greatly surprised Ji Ma, causing her heartbeat to quicken.
If he could directly kill the Eternal Chosen, wouldn’t the fragments of the Demon King’s crown be his? George could save the world, and she could escape back to Earth, and they both could part peacefully with a bright future—
Suddenly, the Eternal Chosen turned around, launching a spatial slash. George was only three meters away, unable to attack immediately; he instinctively deflected the Chosen’s sword, but the single-handed sword of the Eternal Chosen passed through George’s blade and slashed across his shoulder.
George’s exquisite gold sword struck the armor of the Eternal Chosen, only sparking a few embers. His shoulder exploded, and his entire left arm flew off to the side.
Ji Ma’s heart skipped a beat.
With his severed hand, George immediately retreated, rushing towards his missing limb.
The Eternal Chosen did not pursue. He turned around and continued running; a valiant wing knight charged from the side with a lance, and Malus swung his sword, the horse and knight collided, exploding into a fragmented mess. The wings of the wing knight soared into the sky behind him.
But more wing knights surged in, sacrificing their lives to delay the Eternal Chosen’s advance, even if it only bought a second? Or perhaps just half a second.
Only because those who could make the Eternal Chosen run had caught up.
Brave Beowulf, wielding a sacred sword, charged in alongside his companions, the expedition general, and a large group of bear riders. This was the elite of the expeditionary force, and even the Eternal Chosen chose to flee after seeing the future unfold before him.
Perhaps the future he could foresee wasn’t very far. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have fallen into Ji Ma’s trap and fled from there.
Pair after pair of red wings soared into the sky, each pair representing a fallen wing knight.
“Long live the general!”
Another wing knight, disregarding everything, charged at the leaping Eternal Chosen.
In return, the Eternal Chosen Malus cleaved through him and his horse, saying, “Mortal, not bad.”
The Eternal Chosen Malus had lost his last hope of breaking through.
The sacrifices of the wing knights were meaningful as the bear riders surrounded him. Brave Beowulf with his sacred sword roared as he charged; his roar sounded joyous.
For a moment, the Eternal Chosen Malus was surrounded, layer upon layer swarmed by hulking bear riders.
Ji Ma even found it hard to see the figure of the Eternal Chosen Malus for a moment.
Humans were attacking the Eternal Chosen Malus like crazy, knowing that this opportunity was rare; if he were killed, everyone’s families, friends, hometowns, and nations would have a bright future.
Fire arrows rained down from the sky like burning comets, each one the size of a knight, crashing to the ground, melting and shattering everything.
In the dense encirclement, those knights in magical armor riding bears suffered heavy casualties. They were the most elite knights of the Kingdom of Kisliff, and this scene of death could make all Kisliff leaders feel heartbroken.
But with a shout of, “Charge!”
The bear riders mounted their bears, trampling over the scorched bodies of their comrades, once again surrounding the Eternal Chosen Malus.
Dozens of different magical auras descended upon the humans, amplifying their strength. All the mages and priests exerted themselves to use magic, draining every last bit of magical wind stored by the army.
Approaching closer and closer, the heavily armored demon warriors marched forward despite the assault of various cavalry, now only 200 meters away from the Eternal Chosen.
The wing knights and other cavalry had already initiated a suicide charge, even light cavalry riding thin horses, thrusting their spears at the demon warriors who were likely heavier than both horse and rider combined.
Still, the demon warriors advanced with unwavering resolve towards their Eternal Chosen; if they broke free, everything would be lost.
A flash of light crossed the battlefield, landing among the demon warriors.
It was Saintess Jenna.
Ji Ma opened her mouth to call out to her but the next moment, a white sun rose among thousands of demon warriors.
The demon warriors painfully raised their hands to shield their eyes. The furs on their armor burned, and skulls emitted green smoke. Though not many died in the light, they fell into a state of deadly confusion.
“Looking for death!”
Blood Dragon Knight Duncan commanded his zombie dragon to dive towards the center of the white sun, throwing his lance, which shattered upon colliding with the semi-transparent barrier.
Ji Ma could not stand by and watch; she dove down unarmed, noticing Blood Dragon Knight Duncan still had two lances remaining. She took note of those two lances, constantly shifting positions, charging towards Duncan.
“Oh? Seeking death?”
Though Blood Dragon Knight Duncan was puzzled, as Ji Ma closed in, he cast the wing knight’s lance with the speed of a shadow, arriving in an instant. He predicted her position based on inertia.
Ji Ma could not evade and had no choice but to use “Puppet Double”; she instantly surpassed Blood Dragon Knight Duncan, blocking the way between him and Jenna.
“You have no weapon!” Blood Dragon Knight Duncan shouted. “Killing you would be a dirty act.”
“Come!”
Blood Dragon Knight Duncan threw the lance; it shot straight toward the continuously shifting Ji Ma. This time, it seemed the lance would miss.
Suddenly, it exploded into fragments.
Someone materialized out of thin air, stretching out a delicate hand to crush the lance, which disintegrated due to its own terrifying kinetic energy.
“Rude peasant.” Veline raised her chin arrogantly, though she was no match for Blood Dragon Knight Duncan, yet her status was far above his: “It’s nice to see you again, flee—”
Ji Ma whispered, “Just talk to him; as long as you stall him, it will be enough. I beg you.”
“Book?”
“Definitely.” Ji Ma said, “It will sell extremely well.”
“Long time no see.” Veline floated into the air, flying towards Blood Dragon Knight Duncan: “Old friend.”
“Your Highness.” Blood Dragon Knight Duncan replied coldly, “Do not stand in the way of my bloodlust.”
“You’ve forgotten your manners after all this fighting?” Veline maintained her decorum, saying, “I remember your master, my mother’s champion warrior, who always honored nobility.”
“Are you ordering me to turn away?” Blood Dragon Knight Duncan replied, “Based on a title that has long since lost its meaning? Your nation has become a graveyard, your father is wrapped in linen and lies in a pyramid; you are no longer a princess.”
“Rude.”
“I’ll give you three seconds,” Blood Dragon Knight Duncan said. “Otherwise, I will tear your body apart; our next meeting will be a millennium later.”
Veline counted in place: “Three, two, one.”
As soon as the last word fell, Blood Dragon Knight Duncan charged towards Veline on his zombie dragon.
Veline immediately disappeared into thin air, appearing from all directions to attack the clumsy Blood Dragon Knight Duncan in the air. His zombie dragon, under Veline’s assault, had its flesh and bones torn and sent flying.
Duncan’s helmet flew off, revealing his decaying face. A patch of flesh was missing from his cheek, exposing his yellowing teeth at the back; he opened his mouth wide, revealing sharp fangs and roaring.
In the space within a twenty-meter radius around him, Veline’s form slowed, allowing Ji Ma to see her face clearly. The originally exquisite and beautiful small face had transformed into that of a corpse long dead.
The two of them stripped away the knight’s outer shell and the princess’s external beauty, revealing two monstrous beasts fighting in the air.
Ji Ma chose not to continue watching the battle outcomes; her magical power was severely depleted, making her presence useless. She surveyed the battlefield to see where she was needed.
Two dragon roars resounded through the sky.
Shaking Ji Ma, she paused mid-motion and turned to look in the direction of the two-headed dragon’s lair. The main figure had finally emerged—a gray-black ancient dragon, extending its wings to nearly eighty meters wide, its head and neck cleaved in half by some force.
It halted at the city gate, gripping several rat men in its claws, seemingly explaining the reason for its late arrival.
Seeing a crowd fighting in its territory, the two-headed dragon was filled with fury, straightening its two necks, both heads letting out roars.
The city gates swung wide open, and the guards inside charged towards the expeditionary army to sandwich and inflict significant casualties on them.
