Chapter 174 Chapter 169 Why Betray Me
Ji Ma flew high into the sky, forced to watch the battle and cheer from the sidelines.
Her magical power had dropped to 18%, leaving her with no choice but to call upon “Strong Baldy” in emergencies to strike a blow. Aside from that, the other abilities she had tried out long ago.
Curses? She had attempted to cast a curse on the ancient dragon, but it felt powerless, like a stone shot from a slingshot striking concrete.
Abilities like seducing desire, deception, etc., would be of no use here, even if they could penetrate the dragon’s innate magic resistance. In the heat of battle, there was little point in such strategic abilities; once effective, the outcome would already be decided.
The only ability she could use normally against the two-headed dragon was “Desire’s Dual Eyes,” which allowed her to see the endless rage contained within the dragon’s chest.
Below.
George had made it through the dragon’s breath and was engaged in combat with the relentless two-headed dragon. He was climbing up the dragon’s body.
The two-headed dragon rolled on the ground, trying to crush George. Its massive form momentarily pinned him against the stone surface, causing Ji Ma to scream in fright as she shouted:
“%#%#, come kill me if you can!”
But George miraculously evaded the lethal crushing from beneath the dragon. He grabbed onto a wound on the dragon’s body and used its rolling momentum to “fly” up from the ground.
Just as the two-headed dragon rolled onto its back, both heads were oblivious to what was happening. George landed on its scarred chest and, with a fierce kick, struck the charred dragon scales before leaping toward the left half of one dragon head.
However, at the last moment, the dragon head swung away, avoiding George’s “Holy Slash.” In retaliation, it swiped a claw, sending George, clad in tattered armor, flying into a nearby black rock. Opening its mouth, the dragon unleashed a torrent of flames towards the direction where George had been thrown.
Amidst the dragon’s breath, a few golden glimmers could be seen; those were the tips of lances capable of breaking through the Eternal Chosen’s defenses.
In the face of this, Ji Ma felt helpless. She realized that all her flashy abilities, when unleashed on the two-headed dragon, likely caused less damage than if she had flown over and swung a tree branch or axe.
Just as she was getting anxious.
A beam of light cut through the dragon’s breath as George transformed into that light, rushing towards the two-headed dragon’s neck. The dragon did not notice immediately, but when George suddenly spread his light wings and flew up around its neck.
The head on its right suddenly detected George’s presence. The left head turned toward him, just in time to meet George, who raised his golden great sword. The blade glimmered with white light as he chopped down towards the exposed head of the left dragon.
That was a wound left by the Eternal Chosen.
The dazzling sword arc pierced the connection between the dragon head and neck, and the left dragon head, filled with surprise, fell to the ground.
Enraged, the two-headed dragon swiped a claw, missing, and then, with its right wing, struck George, who flew back in a C shape, with a shoulder pauldron flying off him. Ji Ma immediately caught him from behind, spreading her wings to nullify the momentum, flying over a hundred meters before barely canceling it out.
Ji Ma said, “Keep it up, you’ve taken half of its life.”
“Quick.. take me back.” George’s voice sounded dire: “I don’t have much time with my light wings open.”
Ji Ma said nothing further, flapping her wings and flying toward the wailing two-headed giant dragon, whose neck continued to spew green blood, but it did not last long.
As the muscular wounds contracted, the bleeding stopped, and flesh began to grow together.
“His head can regenerate!”
George said, “Then cut off his other head.”
Ji Ma let go of him, and as George dropped down, he adjusted his position and charged towards the ‘two’ headed dragon, but just as he started to engage in hand-to-hand combat, the golden great sword finally tasted dragon blood.
The left head began to take form, the light-colored dragon scales hardening and turning black in the wind.
Ji Ma could sense the power of the crown fragment and momentarily felt a desire to retreat, especially seeing George still engaged in combat with the two-headed dragon.
The dragon pressed him down with its claw, and he transformed into a beam of light to escape the fatal claw, but was immediately struck by its tail, crashing into the mountainside and collapsing to the ground, crushed by the falling rocks.
While dodging the dragon’s breath, Ji Ma flew closer, shouting, “Let’s retreat!”
Heaven knows how relieved she felt when she shouted for a retreat, as if a burden had been lifted off her shoulders.
Once again, George stood up from the dust and debris. His light wings had dimmed, and his helmet had been lost, but he did not respond to Ji Ma or send a retreat signal. With a fanatical expression, he charged toward the two-headed dragon.
Was there any difference from slamming against a wall again and again until he killed himself?
Ji Ma cursed George, using foul language and demon jargon. She violently tugged at her own black hair and, resolutely, patted her waist where the “Blood-Stained Songstress” hung, deciding to sing again.
At that moment, George flew out again. He crashed to the ground, but this time he did not get up immediately, lying there like a corpse.
The two-headed dragon had lost one front limb; its forelimbs were all severed, forced to prop itself up using its functioning right wing, with its bleeding hind limbs pushing against the ground. Staggering, it slowly moved toward the lying George.
Ji Ma looked at George lying below and couldn’t help but laugh.
Look, that renowned genius, the prodigious hero who had slain dragons before adulthood, is now lying on the ground like a dog, battered and bruised, unable to even stand up?
Ji Ma mocked him, but a wave of sadness surged within her. The impulse to sing led the “Blood-Stained Songstress” to emit the melody of a music box.
Ji Ma landed on the hill at the same height as the two-headed dragon, watching as George struggled to raise himself. Hearing the familiar melody, he looked up, just in time to see Ji Ma preparing to sing, instinctively extending a dusty hand and saying:
“No!”
The dragon’s mouth sparkled with golden light, and two lance tips that were about to melt from the golden light hung in the dragon air—one was left for George and the other for Ji Ma. Originally, he intended to leave both for George to eliminate future threats, but now sharing one with this annoying mosquito was not so bad.
With one hand placed on her chest, Ji Ma overcame her fear of facing the dragon’s mouth and sang:
“♪ You said, spread your wings, wanting to take flight.”
“♪ You said, flying in the sky, the whole world is full of miracles.”
The song was gentle and sorrowful, complementing the accompaniment. Surrounded by the singing, it seemed to lead them away from this land tainted by magical corruption.
For a moment, the two-headed dragon felt no pain or anger. It momentarily recalled who it was, as memories of the past and present clashed, leaving the dragon stunned in place.
It remembered being an ally of the high elves. Sleeping in the cave until a dragon prince awakened it with an ancient song to fight against the demon’s world-destroying army.
Ah, it remembered. Remembered its rider desiring to soar in the sky.
The miraculous song captivated the two-headed dragon; it stared fixedly at Ji Ma, who was singing, as its severed neck gradually rejoined, healing from the bottom up.
Heavily injured, George felt a tingling on his scalp, momentarily forgetting his pain.
Ji Ma continued to sing: “…, flying like a bird to heaven♪ OoohOooh♪….”
“But why? Do you want to kill me? ♪”
As she sang this, her tone turned sorrowful.
The two-headed dragon’s two heads finally fused into one, and it remembered that it was its rider, the high elf it trusted the most, who had, while riding it, cleaved its skull with his dreadful great sword, slicing all the way down.
“Why!” The two-headed dragon broke free from Ji Ma’s sorrowful and gentle voice, “Why betray me?”
The two-headed dragon’s rage surged, its eyes blazing as if to unleash fury. In its anger, the head that had been healing cracked open again, and the most terrifying dragon breath was about to brew forth, ready to turn this singing mosquito and the hill beneath her into ashes!
But just before the first breath of fire erupted from the healing neck of the dragon.
A golden great sword, shining with light, sliced through its neck.
The dragon head fell, and the dragon breath surged forth from the severed neck, directionless, making it unnecessary for Ji Ma to dodge.
The dragon head landed at the base of the hill, its eyes losing their crimson hue as they reflected Ji Ma’s figure, the consciousness gradually fading away. It still remembered the blooming yellow flowers that greeted it when it came out of the cave.
The dragon opened its mouth and asked, “Why.. betray me?”
From the hill came the faint sound of singing: “Why betray me? ♪”
“I’m sorry, we can only fly together in heaven♪”
Its crimson dragon eyes faded, returning to their original golden hue, and slowly closed.
Then, the headless dragon corpse slumped to the ground, the neck falling motionless.
George knelt on the ground, the great sword nearby. He coughed up some blood, took a deep breath, gripped the sword’s handle, and slowly stood up.
“We won! We won!” Ji Ma flew down, laughing hard, shaking him vigorously: “Haha, he just stitched his own head back together, and one sword took off two heads, perfect!”
Saying that, she even kissed George’s dust-covered cheek.
“More than slaying the dragon, your singing shocked me even more,” George said, taking a breath: “What I care more about is the sixth rule of battlefield conduct: the enemy must be confirmed dead.”
Before he finished speaking, something unexpected happened!
From inside the dragon head, black fragments surged out. Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be fragments of the demon king’s crown, floating in mid-air, resembling the jagged edges of a crown.
“The crown fragments leaving means the master has died.” Ji Ma’s gaze locked onto the crown fragment, her heart churning.
A hand gripped her arm tightly, and Ji Ma realized she had unconsciously extended her hand toward the fragments of the demon king’s crown.
George said, “I don’t want a new demon king to be born before me. Stay calm, Ji Ma.”
His other hand held the great sword tightly.
Ji Ma felt her hair stand on end: “There won’t be a new demon king born.”
“Good, control your instincts, Ji Ma,” George said: “Now, per the plan, you ascend to scout.”
“What about you?”
“I will immediately bind with the fragments of the demon king’s crown,” George said: “Hold a ceremony to utilize its wish mechanism and shatter it.”
“Aren’t you in a hurry?” Ji Ma said, feeling reluctant: “The Eternal Chosen is still coming after us.”
“There’s still time.” George’s deep blue eyes gazed deeply into Ji Ma’s, penetrating through her golden pupils.
Ji Ma lowered her gaze and said, “Understood.”
She then turned her head with difficulty, gripping the “branch axe lance,” took a few steps, flapped her wings, and flew away.
George’s light wings dimmed and dissipated as he approached the fragments of the demon king’s crown.
Although Ji Ma’s gaze was torn away from the crown fragments, she felt her heart hanging on them. Suddenly, she turned around to see George’s unguarded back. He was gravely injured, his back not as straight as before, reaching out toward the floating crown fragment.
He was always so defenseless against himself.
A shadow surged beneath him, charging toward George. Ji Ma instinctively threw her axe lance.
The shadow caught the lance, striking fiercely without holding back, embedding the blade deep into George’s back.
He called out, swinging the sword in response, but the shadow kicked him away and seized the floating crown fragments.
The shadow leaped toward Ji Ma, and she saw clearly.
Ah, it was Strong Baldy.
It was all just her ambush.
Ji Ma landed on a small hill as Strong Baldy landed beside her.
At that time, the severely injured George rose and shouted, “Ji Ma, be careful.”
That fool still thought it was some enemy ambush, moving so fast he didn’t even notice his sentinel.
Ji Ma smiled, but tears streamed down her face into her mouth.
George’s gaze below shot up. He stood frozen in place, blood dripping from his back without a care.
For some unknown reason, reaching out to take away the demon king’s crown fragment from Strong Baldy’s hands felt too difficult, as if her hand had frozen.
So, she issued a silent command to Strong Baldy. Strong Baldy, stained with George’s blood, pressed the crown fragment against Ji Ma’s forehead, the blood adhering it there.
From below, George’s blue eyes were filled with pain, making Ji Ma’s heart tremble.
“Explain yourself, Ji Ma.”
“I…” Tears streamed down her face, “I…”
But at that moment, the painful power from George surged into her body. It felt so sweet, so wonderful, every pore opened as the essence of life evolved.
The promotion ritual had begun.
In order for a succubus to become a diamond, she must feed on the pain of her beloved.
With a surge of resolve, her smile turned sinister: “Hahaha, that fool, of course, I’ve tricked you. Now the crown fragment is mine; I am the demon king!
“Don’t look at me like that, George. You’ll look foolish. What’s called impotent fury? Since I’m happy now, you should hurry and get far away.”
As she spoke, Strong Baldy beside her also laughed heartily.
After tearing away all disguises, Ji Ma felt immensely pleased, intoxicated by the pain coming from George.
She said:
“You really make me laugh. Everyone tells you, ‘Succubus Ji’ is unreliable, but you just think they’re biased. Aren’t you also biased against others? You think everyone is foolish, and only you are the smartest.
“Your arrogance has doomed you. Gregory was not wrong, and Beo was not wrong; you now truly look like a dog.”
As soon as her words fell.
A surge of heat erupted from the crown fragment on her forehead, merging with the promotion ritual, and for a moment Ji Ma found it hard to move.
What is happening?
Wasn’t it supposed to require soul synchronization to use the crown fragment?
A flash crossed Ji Ma’s mind.
Could it be that because she had once been the owner of the crown fragment, her soul had already synchronized, allowing it to be so quick?
George whispered, “I’m sorry, Gregory. I regret not listening to you sooner. I’m sorry, everyone; I’ve forgotten to be humble, but—”
His gaze turned cold as a surge of unprecedented power erupted from the body that should have been drained. He gripped his sword and leaped up without hesitation, directly slashing towards Ji Ma.
“I will atone for my mistakes!”
Ji Ma’s golden eyes widened, reflecting George’s figure raising his sword.
How could he still fight?
Strong Baldy immediately wrapped his arms around Ji Ma’s waist and leaped back.
George easily leapt onto the hill, gritting his teeth, yet filled with indomitable strength.
If this keeps up, they will die. How could a garbage profession like a succubus face off against George, the dragon?
Feeling her body going numb, Ji Ma shouted in despair.
Her magical power was nearly depleted, Strong Baldy unable to provide any, moving slowly. George’s blade had now caught up to him; the tip glimmered with light, the beam sharp as if it were about to pierce her chest.
So painful.
So close.
Ji Ma could not dodge, watching helplessly as she faced death again at the hands of the hero George.
A flicker of doubt crossed George’s blue eyes. Why wasn’t Ji Ma dodging?
That tiny doubt could not shake his sword in the slightest.
But Ji Ma keenly caught it. Her face was covered in tears, feigning the effort to speak, saying, “Save… save me.”
At that moment, Strong Baldy wore a satisfied smile.
George seemed to awaken as he diverted his final blow, the sword tip scraping across Ji Ma’s chest and plunging deep into Strong Baldy’s chest.
The three of them froze, as if frozen in time.
Strong Baldy pressed his hand to his chest, asking, “Why… did you stab me?”
“Demon King Ji Ma!” George roared as he forcefully thrust the sword, which emerged from Strong Baldy’s back, “Get your hands off my wife! You scoundrel wanting to possess your own daughter’s body!”
Ah, so George saw me as… his daughter.
Ji Ma felt less numb now and quickly pushed Strong Baldy’s hand away.
“Die!” George intended to shove aside the so-called “Demon King Ji Ma,” but his strength had waned, only pushing Strong Baldy aside, who fell to the ground, gripping the sword tightly.
George swayed, glancing at the crown fragment stuck on Ji Ma’s forehead. “Ji Ma, I believe in you, destroy… destroy it…”
Ji Ma hurried over, gently embracing George, giving him a wet kiss. She could taste the blood from his mouth.
How much he believed in her.
Ji Ma could sense that the painful power from George was no longer flowing; her soul was half-evolved and pleading for more pain from her beloved, or the promotion ritual would fail, and she would face backlash.
Ji Ma embraced George tightly, gently caressing the wounds on his back, feeling his strength gradually leaving his body. He really was worn out, holding on solely through willpower to not lose consciousness.
The sun sank gradually above the horizon, casting light on their sides, creating silhouettes of the two.
“George.” Ji Ma whispered in George’s ear, her voice soft, gentle, yet cruel: “You were wrong, missing the best chance to eliminate Demon King Ji Ma.”
“What?” George trembled all over, “Am I late? Have you occupied my wife’s body?”
As the painful power surged into Ji Ma’s body, she gradually rose, her face maturing.
“It’s not too late. Your strikes were quick, very good, just…” Ji Ma’s lips curled into a brutal arc: “From the beginning to the end, there wasn’t a so-called Demon King Ji Ma daughter; he is a hedonist, having long since castrated himself and left no descendants. How could there be a daughter?”
George’s body stiffened, and Ji Ma could feel the hands that had originally hung down now gripping her waist firmly but weakly.
The painful power flooded into Ji Ma like a deluge.
Ji Ma’s ascending soul began to dissipate amidst the wave of painful power from George, lost in ecstasy.
“You’re very smart; I can’t deceive you. The only one who can deceive you is yourself,” Ji Ma said: “To clarify, I am the Demon King Ji Ma. When you killed me in dormitory, I resurrected according to the predetermined plan, but for some reason, I revived as a succubus; having just hatched, I didn’t see any assassins we arranged—only you.”
George’s body trembled as he processed her words.
“Indeed, who would have thought that the once imposing Demon King Ji Ma would stoop to being a hero’s fiancée.” Ji Ma said: “This is my darkest secret, the secret you’ve been longing to know—are you satisfied?
“By the way, from the beginning, I couldn’t properly do evil beside you; even when broke, I had to earn money legally. Hehe, now that I’ve reclaimed my title as demon king, I can finally do as I please.”
George strained, wanting to crush Ji Ma in his embrace.
But Ji Ma had grown nearly as tall as him; she used to have to stand on tiptoes to kiss George.
Now, their foreheads touched, their noses brushing against each other.
George looked at the mature, beautiful face before him and said, “I hate you.”
Although she had anticipated it and prepared herself mentally.
These three words still sliced through Ji Ma’s heart like a knife, causing a spasm of pain.
The painful power coursing through her began to overshadow the pleasure caused by George’s pain.
Her soul, which had begun to dissipate, stabilized.
Ji Ma could feel that she had leveled up to diamond.
It turned out that the condition for promotion required betraying one’s beloved because it used one’s own pain to counterbalance to stabilize oneself.
George’s hands tightened around her waist; Ji Ma was unfazed, not caring about her clothes ripping off, revealing her smooth skin, continuously caressing the wound on George’s back.
She said, “Sleep, dear, sleep.”
The hands on her waist gradually lost strength as the holy warrior reluctantly closed his eyes. His hands slipped from Ji Ma’s waist, grazing her firm and smooth backside before falling to the side.
Ji Ma knelt down, supporting George’s back as she looked at his face, furrowed in concentration. She stretched out her hand, gently stroking his brow, yet he still frowned.
Ji Ma leaned down to his forehead and said: “May you dream of a time when you didn’t meet a succubus.”
Only then did George’s brow relax, and he fell into a deep slumber.
Ji Ma glanced at her personal system, where silence had reigned for so long, only to see an updated line of text.
“Congratulations, you have leveled up to diamond. Your profession is now named Female Evil God.”
What an unrefined yet fitting title.
Ji Ma lifted her glimmering tail, pointed at George’s golden great sword beside her, and with an invisible force, drew it into her alternate dimension space
