Chapter 202: Mutual Destruction

A huge crossbow bolt pierced an Earth Dragon’s chest. The massive bolt ripped through the beast’s thick body, bored through the chest of the Earth Dragon Knight riding behind it, exited between the knight’s shoulder blades, and then impaled yet another Earth Dragon.

The tip of the second bolt carried a fist-sized ceramic bottle. With a faint crunching sound, the bottle shattered, spilling a large amount of medicinal powder. This bolt only tore through an Earth Dragon’s head. Then, it narrowly grazed an Earth Dragon Knight’s ear as it flew past, ripping half his helmet into twisted scrap metal.

The remaining Earth Dragon Knights fearlessly continued the chase. But they didn’t throw their javelins at Long Cheng. Instead, they hurled them far into the small woods. These Earth Dragon Knights were the empire’s top elite soldiers. They had heard two dull thuds of crossbow mechanisms beneath the howling cold wind. They roughly pinpointed the locations of the two ballistae and immediately launched deadly strikes upon those positions.

Lin Qi had just stored both ballistae into the ring Elham left behind. He hadn’t even run more than a few steps when three or five thick javelins ripped through the canopy of leaves and branches above his head, burying themselves deep into the frozen earth. The whistling whoosh sounded threatening. Lin Qi felt sweat beading on his forehead as he saw the javelins embedded deeply in the ground, their shafts still trembling.

The most elite Earth Dragon Knights of the Gaul Empire were definitely not just for show.

But it was strange. Why were Earth Dragon Knights garrisoned inside the Victory Palace? These cursed freaks! Shouldn’t they all be stationed at Norman Fortress and the northern front lines, fighting those Alien Race’s heavy cavalry?

The thundering hooves relentlessly closed in, giving Lin Qi no chance to ponder further. The sound surged like a tidal wave. Lin Qi rushed frantically to Enzo’s side. He grabbed two Armor-Piercing Crossbows and pulled their triggers. Beside him, Enzo had also picked up an Armor-Piercing Crossbow, aiming at the Earth Dragon Knights two hundred meters away. But Enzo hesitated, not acting.

Lin Qi kicked Enzo hard in the backside. “If they break through,” he hissed, “they won’t care that you’re an empire soldier! They’ll kill you all the same! Oh right, Enzo, you really should be named the empire’s most loyal soldier model.”

Enzo flushed red. He steadied his aim at one Earth Dragon Knight’s mount and pulled the trigger.

Creeeaaakk! Groups of pure steel bolts shot out in waves, catching the Earth Dragon Knights unprepared. They had charged too fast, leaving them no time to dodge. Faint fluorescence shimmered on the specially crafted bolts of the Armor-Piercing Crossbows – the glow of triggered armor-piercing magic runes.

Two Earth Dragon Knights roared as they were violently slammed off their mount’s backs. Bolts had punched through their shoulders. Lin Qi had aimed for them. Another knight shrieked wildly as both he and his bucking Earth Dragon crashed down. His mount had taken a bolt through a hind leg, driven wild by the pain. The massive beast thrashed violently on the ground.

The enormous Earth Dragon, weighing at least seven or eight tons, rolled and bucked wildly. The knight caught beneath managed a few hoarse cries before his neck snapped against the frozen dirt. The crushing weight and immense brute force of the panicked Earth Dragon ground the unfortunate man against the earth. His neck wasn’t the only thing broken – his spine shattered into seven or eight pieces.

Lin Qi kept firing the Armor-Piercing Crossbow while stealing a glance at Enzo, who was crouched beside him, looking dazed.

“Sometimes your hesitation causes more death and injury,” Lin Qi remarked calmly amid the chaos. Even as he spoke, his expert marksmanship found seven more Earth Dragon Knights. Bolts punctured shoulders, sending them tumbling awkwardly from their mounts. “Shoot the knights. They might survive. Wound those Earth Dragons instead, drive them berserk like that one just now, and those riders are dead for sure.”

The force of the Armor-Piercing Crossbow was immense. A direct hit wrenched the knights clean off their saddles. Confused steeds often continued charging blindly for another dozen steps before stopping, turning their necks, and looking back with dumbfounded expressions at their masters rolling on the ground.

Enzo nodded. He picked up another crossbow, aiming at an Earth Dragon Knight closing fast on Long Cheng’s rear.

A blur of black light shot out from the woods with an eerie shriek. Long Cheng twisted his body around at the last possible moment. The thick bolt whistled past him, headed for the Earth Dragon Knight pressing close behind. The knight had already seen the fate of his comrades nearby. He somehow had a polygonal single-hand shield in his hand now.

The shield was raised, protecting his upper body. A heavy THUMP echoed as the bolt slammed into the shield, the impact embedding half its length firmly in place. The knight was rocked back slightly in his saddle. In the next breath, pulling his sword free, he channeled the Earth Dragon’s charge momentum into the swing. The blade whistled down toward Long Cheng.

Long Cheng couldn’t turn fully around. Hearing the blade coming, his body seemed to become as light as willow catkins tossed about in a wind. His form wavered weirdly left and right. Three or five after-images flickered within a foot-wide space. The powerful blow aimed to cleave his head found only air.

Long Cheng broke into victorious laughter. “You pack of uncivilized wild monkeys!” he jeered dismissively at the pursuers. “You think you can hurt your daddy?”

His laughter suddenly died. From beside the woods, near the wall of a nearby mansion, an old man clad in an obsidian robe slid through the solid wall like a phantom. The wall cracked away, leaving a perfectly human-shaped hole. Where his body had passed, the stone fragmented into fine sand.

“No one defies the empire’s dignity. No one tarnishes the empire’s glory!” the old man uttered in a low voice like gravel grinding stone. He thrust a skeletal finger at Long Cheng. “Whoever dares cause trouble in Victory Palace gets two choices: Kneel down and beg for surrender, or DIE!”

The old man had hair and a beard the color of silver. His eyes shone with unnatural, deep emerald flames. He made a lazy pointing gesture toward Long Cheng, who flitted among blurred after-images, mere inches from slipping back into the sanctuary of the woods.

Long Cheng’s body suddenly froze rigid.

Thick, wavy black lines slithered like living ink onto Long Cheng’s skin all over his body. Dozens of eerie pentagram magic arrays formed over his chest, directly over his heart, his abdomen, his spine, his thighs, both buttocks, and shins. Most of his clothing had been shredded in the earlier collision with the meteorite, revealing vast sections of skin. With so much bare, the crawling patterns were stark and horrifying to witness.

“Puppetry Control Magic!” Long Cheng gasped, a surge of terror twisting his features. “Damn it! How can a puppeteer be here?!”

“Puppeteer?” The black-robed old man shook his head. A sneer curled on his lips. “Foolish. That term is utterly inaccurate.” He raised a withered hand, fingers tipped with jagged, yellowed nails. “I am a Necromancer!” he proclaimed. “Master over Life AND Death! All beings possessing flesh and soul fall under my dominion! You insolent creature, daring to offend the Empire’s dignity! I will shatter your body! But your soul? That shall endure… for my purposes!”

Long Cheng could no more move than a statue carved from stone. Rage distorted his face. A square spirit-talisman fiercely pulsed with blue-green light between his eyebrows. Blood oozed from the corners of his eyes and mouth. Where the pulsing green light surged powerfully against the black lines seared into his skin, the patterns were fading away.

Shock widened the old man’s eyes. He had thought Long Cheng was merely a powerful Celestial Knight. Only Warriors trained Combat Qi and flesh. This was beyond impossible! Yet here was irrefutable proof… the staggering tide of pure Spiritual Willpower attacking his dark enchantment was undeniable. Its power, its sheer overwhelming force, washed over him like a torrential sea wave. Fear, visceral and deep, took root in the Necromancer’s heart as the immense mental onslaught buffeted his own concentrated consciousness. The tremors wracking his body intensified until he shook like a candle flame fighting the storm wind. Copious streams of dark red blood suddenly erupted from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

“By the Gods!” The Necromancer managed to choke out between gouts of blood spraying from his lips with every agonizing shudder. “What… what is this abomination?!”

He quickly drew forth a yellowed Bone Staff. Limbs jerking in a macabre dance, he chanted low, guttural syllables. Pouring every scrap of Spiritual Willpower into the Bone Staff’s core, he sealed himself off, blind and deaf to the world outside. His consciousness and Long Cheng’s titan-like mind clashed violently within Long Cheng’s body. If Long Cheng’s spirit broke free, the Necromancer knew his own soul would explode and cease to exist. He couldn’t afford even the faintest moment of weakening focus.

Two Earth Dragon Knights seized their chance. Screaming their battle cry, they thundered around the frozen magic user. Heavy flails made of solid bronze rose high overhead and crashed down with terrible force onto Long Cheng’s helpless back!

THUD-CRUNCH!

Blood sprayed violently from Long Cheng’s lips. The powerful impact launched him like a ragdoll through the air, crashing hard a dozen meters away. He skidded to a stop in the snow, sprawled on his chest just one step shy of entering the small woods. The spirit-talisman between his eyes pulsed with a fury that made its emerald glow blaze incandescently! Green fire now burned within his eyes, matching its fierce light!

Lin Qi had emptied all the prepped Armor-Piercing Crossbows. He’d stored the devices back into his ring. He quickly pulled on sturdy high-backed leather boots and charged toward Long Cheng lying at the forest’s edge. “You!” he yelled fiercely against the chaos, boots kicking up snow. “Can’t be the one dying here… got me into this mess, didn’t you?! Can’t just leave it so easy!”

Enzo drew his weapon – a slender shining Magic Rapier pulsing faintly with enchanted light – and charged instantly after Lin Qi. The clash of steel on steel rang out ahead as soldiers closed in. This went against every principle Enzo lived by – attacking Imperial Knights sworn to the Emperor himself. But Lin Qi was moving. Where his friend and leader Lin Qi went, Enzo would unquestionably follow. It didn’t matter who they were set against – other soldiers, the Empire’s ministers, even facing the Emperor himself upon the Golden Throne if necessary. Justice, glory, damnable ethics… none of that mattered. Enzo’s loyalty was simple, forged in fire long ago. Lin Qi was his leader. His friend. His brother whom he trusted above all. When Lin Qi charged, Enzo charged beside him.

Even against the Gods, Lin Qi! The thought burned fiercely in Enzo’s mind as he ran. Not spoken aloud, but carried deep within his fierce heart.

“KILL!” Enzo screamed the word with primal force. The Magic Rapier became a silver blur of motion. Wind whistled sharply around its tip – the spell’s amplified speed – followed by a tearing rippling sound as its enchantment took effect. It struck towards the exposed throats of two Earth Dragon Knights stumbling backwards, already coughing blood from Long Cheng’s forceful expulsion of dark magic energy moments before.

“ATTACK!” Lin Qi’s roar followed Enzo’s battle cry. Without slowing his charge, Lin Qi lowered his shoulder like a bull… and crashed directly into the scaled chest of one Earth Dragon bearing down on them!

THOOM!

The massive beast reeled backward, stumbling almost fifteen frantic steps under the astonishing impact delivered by a single, powerful man crashing headlong into its armored hide. A sharp, sickening CRACK echoed from Lin Qi’s right shoulder joint as bone slid violently out of place against screaming tendons.

Lin Qi barely registered the agony exploding across his collarbone. The brief pause this collision created was all he needed. With a grunt of effort from his good side, he grabbed Long Cheng – whose form flickered agonizingly between bursts of pure green Spirit Arts light and sinister black necromantic magics – and stumbled frantically backwards into the cover of the waiting trees.

The Necromancer jerked violently like a puppet whose strings had suddenly been cut. Another massive gout of blood erupted from his mouth. Within the psychic battlefield, his projection – a decaying, bandage-wrapped Zombie – was being systematically ripped apart by Long Cheng’s furious counter-attack taking the awe-inspiring form of an immense, pure emerald, five-clawed dragon spirit!

Suddenly, shock twisted the Necromancer’s bloodied features. Vic appeared suddenly from behind, silent as death itself. The dagger in Vic’s hand plunged unerringly, piercing straight through the necromancer’s spine and his already struggling heart. Before the old man could even realize the source of this new agony, Vic’s bloody dagger flashed sideways in a vicious, silent blur across the necromancer’s withered throat, almost decapitating him. Vic vanished back into the surrounding night shadow as swiftly as he’d appeared.

The Necromancer’s skull exploded with gruesome finality. Simultaneously, Long Cheng screamed a sound of pure agony, blood erupting from his every orifice as the mental link was catastrophically severed – one mind utterly annihilated, the other violently thrown back into a shattered skull.