This situation cannot be described as good.
Whether it be Rhode or Carter, they both came to such a conclusion. Although the ship is rapidly descending and the forest closing in, at the current rate, the ship will disintegrate in mid-air before they even manage to reach the ground!
“!!”
Carter flew forward, holding his silver swords. Reaching the wind-snake lord’s claws, he swung with his most powerful strike. However, before he could succeed, he felt the stench of the serpent’s breath. Not hesitating, he quickly rolled backward and barely escaped the wind-snake lord’s bite. However, as Carter stood back up, he saw the wind-snake lord’s annoyed glance. Before he could realize the threat, its claw was already almost on him. Not expecting such a sudden attack, he subconsciously raised his two swords to block. However, the brute force catapulted him back several meters and slamming into a wooden beam.
This cannot go on.
Rhode frowned at this sight. Turning his gaze to the anxious girl not far away.
“Leiya, I need your help!”
“Huh?”
“I will divert its attention. When it attacks me, I need you to cast a Guardian Shield for me!’
“Alright!”
Listening to Rhode’s words, Leiya unhesitatingly nodded. Gripping her hands as tiny orbs of light condensed around her body. Rhode gave a slight nod as he turned to face the towering monster ahead of him.
“Broken Blade!”
The shining blades of light flashed through the air. Striking the wind-snake lord's body again. However, this time, Rhode allowed the strike to disperse instead of another concentrated attack. Leaving it unable to fully penetrate the serpent’s scales. But his primary objective of drawing aggro was certainly effective. Rhode could now feel the serpent's penetrating glare striking him.
“Hiss!!!”
Its two bright red eyes burned with anger. Opening its mouth, it charged towards the young man.
Wind-snake lord's speed is certainly not slow. In the blink of an eye, Rhode could already see its bloody head in front of him. Inwardly, Rhode was left feeling very nervous. This was a very risky choice for him. He deliberately chose not to shadow flash out in order to draw the serpent towards him. Although it was an incredibly bold move, it was only here that the wind-snake lord's weakness would be exposed.
The wind-snake lord's blood-red mouth is rapidly closing towards him. In a few seconds, Rhode could very well be completely swallowed by this monster.
However, the serpent's attack failed.
Because, just then, a faint and shining barrier suddenly appeared in front of Rhode. Resisting the fangs that attempted to crush it. Only managing to last a few moments before shattering like a plane of glass into the air.
After the protective shield was cast, Rhode immediately started his Shadow Flash.
Like an ethereal shadow, he appeared before the unsuspecting wind-snake lord. Raising his white sword, he slashed across the serpent’s neck.
This was the wind-snake lord’s weakness. An area that was truly difficult to reach. However, as the wind-snake lord took the initiative, it left its most fatal weakness unguarded.
“— !!!”
A sharp whistling sound as the wind-snake lord stared in shock at the jet of blood spraying from its throat. Soon, its body went limp and toppled over heavily onto the deck.
Then, Rhode saw a deep green colored orb that rapidly expanded.
Boom!!!
Feeling a sudden explosion as his body seemed to float in the air weightlessly. Rhode’s vision turned black as he lost consciousness.
—
When he came to, the first thing he noticed was the biting cold.
“I… This is…”
Opening his eyes, the first thing that caught his eyes is a beautiful night sky. Unlike the nights in the real-world, the nights here are very bright. The soft moonlight illuminated the entire area and made the surroundings visible. The leafy forest floor on the ground and rustling trees above. In the night sky, besides the sparse stars, was a large band of light that expanded in all directions.
This is the centerpiece of the lore of Dragon Soul Continent. According to legend, in ancient times the world was a chaotic and dangerous place. Then, emerged the five Creation Dragons. They, with their bodies, created the skies, earth, and all things within this chaotic void. In order to restrain the chaotic evil, they used their souls to suppress the swirling chaos and bring order to the land. It is said that the dragons used both their bodies and souls to create the world that exists now.
Each of the dragons has their own unique form and traits. Looking at the sky, the band of light represents the protection of the Light Dragon. This band of light encompasses all of the Country of Light. Hence, even at night, there will always be light. In contrast, in the area of the Dark Dragon, the Country of Darkness, there will not be a shred of sun in the sky.
Precisely because of this, the continent’s distribution of species is also quite uniform.
In the areas protected by the Light Dragon's Spirit, you can see the flourishing growth of various green plants. However, in the land of darkness, you can only see traces of luminous plants. Of course, this distinction also affects the distribution of all races on the mainland. Most humans gather under the guardianship of the Light Dragon. Alongside them are the elves and angels. In contrast, the races of darkness are almost all undead creatures.
There are no gods in this continent. If you insist, then the five Creation Dragons are the closest things to them. This also includes the holder of each dragon's soul.
The soul is a being's core. Even a creature that can create heaven and earth is no exception. Their soul, however, can be hosted in an individual. This also allows the holder to wield enough power to change the continent. However, their main objective is to be the guardian against the chaos. Consider that the surrounding chaos is a computer virus. The power and influence of the dragon acts as a firewall. The dragon's soul would then serve as the CPU. So long as the CPU works, the firewall will not fail and chaos cannot invade. Hence, the holders of these dragon souls could be considered the heirs of the dragons.
However, this kind of thing isn't very important to Rhode right now.
Rhode slowly stood up as an intense pain swept through his body. It seems the injury on his left chest was even more serious now. Before, Rhode could still swing his left hand around and move with it. But now, even moving his fingers will feel as if his whole arm was immersed in a blazing fire.
But this actually brought some relief to Rhode. At least there was still feeling in his arm. If not, then that would be even bigger trouble.
Looking up, aided by the bright moonlight, Rhode saw the remains of the flying ship. The wooden vessel was surrounded by tall trees and splintered wood. It was easy to conclude what happened. Although Rhode killed the wind-snake lord, the tattered airship still broke apart in mid-air.
In the quiet forest, where only the sound of insects reigned, there were bloody corpses everywhere. Many were of wind-snakes but among them were humans as well. Not far from Rhode was a slender figure, lying there motionless.
“Leiya!”
Rhode rushed to the girl’s side and bent down to assess her condition. Fortunately, although the girl looks pale, her breathing is fairly even. Under Rhode's calls, the girl eventually opened her eyes.
“I… I’m……”
Leiya lazily opened her eyes as she looked at the young man before him. After a few moments of struggling, she seemed to recover from her vertigo. It seems her fall was not light.
“I'm still alive?”
“Yes.”
Rhode could finally ease his heart once Leiya started responding to his questions. However, she then shook her head and thought blankly. After a few moments, she called out to Rhode.
“What about everyone? What about the Head? How are they?”
“………”
Rhode didn’t answer but Leiya didn’t need one. Because she already took a look around and was clear as to the situation. Her expression quickly became unnaturally stiff.
“How could… Krete! Charles! Head!
She stood up and quickly ran towards the bodies of her fellow mercenaries. Desperately calling out their names, but no one responded. However, Leiya was not dissuaded. Crouching down, she carefully checked each body. After determining that they had died, she shed no tears, only biting her teeth bitterly.
But yet, all of this effort was never rewarded.
There was nothing she could do in the face of these already cold and stiff bodies. Though Leiya remained stubborn, as she saw Carter’s figure she could not help but plop down on the ground.
The once high-spirited mercenary head is now transformed into an icy corpse. His body was wedged within a crevice on the deck. A large shard of wooden pierced through his lower abdomen.
“He… Head ….”
Seeing this scene, Leiya only sat blankly on the damp grass. The feeble flame of hope was extinguished from her eyes. Replaced with loss and sadness. Eventually, the girl bowed her head and wept silently, like whispers into the night wind.
Looking at the girl’s trembling shoulders, Rhode only stood behind her quietly. Before this battle, life and death were merely inconveniences to him. But now, after everything is over and he looks at the bodies sprawled around him, he could not help but feel complicated inside. It’s not that he’s never seen bodies before. However, in the game, there would always be spells to revive players on the spot. If that wasn’t available, then they would always respawn in the cemetery area.
But here, dead is dead.
Then, Rhode was reminded of himself. On a night seven years ago, he could only watch and witness as calamity struck. When Death brushed right past him and he was hopeless to stop it.
Just as he intended to say some words of comfort, a sudden and faint cry sounded from the quiet surroundings.
“Hey …. anybody? Help!”