owlsbooks Chapter 464 - 380: Moonlight’s Opportunity
Chapter 464 - 380: Moonlight’s Opportunity
Its silver scales reflected a cool, gentle light, as if it wore the entire night sky.
Its pale golden draconic eyes had become even more profound, as if they held a vast sea of stars.
Raylo could feel that Moonlight’s elemental affinity had reached an unimaginable level.
Its unique magical aptitude had clearly gained immeasurable benefits from this evolution.
After stretching its now-larger body in the air and adapting to its new power, Moonlight’s enormous draconic head turned toward Raylo.
Then, Moonlight’s Silver Dragon form rapidly shrank in a flash of light.
The light faded to reveal a large white cat landing gracefully on the ground. It gave a long, luxurious stretch, then leaped into Raylo’s arms.
It found a comfortable spot and curled up, nudging its head into place. A contented purr rumbled in its throat as it gave a huge yawn, as if the recent, world-shaking evolution had drained all its energy.
Cradling the warm little creature, feeling its steady breaths and soft purrs, a fond, helpless smile touched Raylo’s lips.
"Alright, let’s go home."
He mounted Baofeng’s broad back and carefully settled Moonlight in his arms.
Coal Ball and Lightning also flew back tactfully, snuggling up to Moonlight.
"Sun, let’s go."
"ROAR!"
The Golden Dragon let out a resounding roar, the first to take flight, kicking up a fierce gale.
Following close behind, the tawny Griffin King spread its wings, soaring into the sky with Raylo on its back.
The wind at that high altitude was as sharp as a blade.
They had been flying for less than two minutes when Sun gave a warning cry.
He looked back and saw six black dots on the horizon behind them, growing at an astonishing speed as they hurtled straight for them.
Wind God Winged Dragons.
Sun let out a low growl.
’Relentless bastards.’
Raylo’s brows furrowed slightly.
’This is no time to get tangled up with them.’
"Ignore them. Full speed ahead," Raylo said.
"ROAR!"
The Golden Dragon and the Griffin King surged with power simultaneously. The tempo of their wingbeats quickened dramatically, pushing them to their top speed.
However, the pursuers behind them stuck to their trail like a plague.
The wind howled as the sea of trees blurred beneath them. A heart-pounding chase was underway, ten thousand meters in the air.
Some ten minutes later, their worst fears were realized.
Baofeng let out an agitated screech.
The malevolent presence behind them was now breathing down their necks. The shriek of wings cutting through the air sounded like the Grim Reaper’s scythe swinging beside their ears.
Raylo didn’t even need to look back to imagine the cold, murderous eyes of the six Wind God Winged Dragons.
The leading Wind God Winged Dragon was the fastest and had already closed in to less than twenty meters behind Baofeng.
Its sword-like beak, several meters long, snapped open, revealing rows of dagger-like teeth. Its target: the nape of Baofeng’s neck!
Raylo did not panic.
From the moment he spotted the pursuers, he had been waiting for this opportunity.
He was counting on them to grow overconfident in their superior numbers and speed and chase recklessly.
And once they were close enough—unavoidably close...
The very instant the massive beak was about to snap shut, Raylo whipped around.
His movement was fluid, without a hint of wasted motion.
The Divine Long Sword already in his hand traced a simple, unadorned arc as he flicked his wrist.
A beam of Sword Qi shot out silently.
"Broken Flow."
Clearly, the Wind God Winged Dragon hadn’t expected its prey to fight back.
It instinctively sensed a fatal threat and let out a roar from deep in its throat. Its immense Domain Power was instantly activated, and a chaotic, cyan tempest spewed from its open mouth in an attempt to shred the unremarkable beam of Sword Qi.
However, it was all in vain.
The Broken Stream Sword Qi ignored the raging elements, cut through the storm’s barrier like a phantom, and sliced with pinpoint accuracy into the Wind God Winged Dragon’s gaping mouth.
"SCHRRRIP!"
A sickening sound, like Leather and bone being ripped apart simultaneously, echoed in the air.
The arrogant Wind God Winged Dragon’s entire body went stiff.
The savagery and greed in its eyes froze, replaced in an instant by utter terror.
The next second, its massive beak, as hard as Refined Gold, was split cleanly down the middle, the edges of the cut as smooth as a mirror.
"GAAAAH!"
A shrill, distorted scream echoed through the clouds.
Agony washed over its senses like a tidal wave. It lost all control of its body, and its massive form tumbled uncontrollably through the air like a stringless kite, plummeting toward the endless forest below.
This sudden turn of events scared the other pursuing Wind God Winged Dragons out of their wits.
They beat their wings frantically, braking hard to stop their forward charge and nearly colliding.
They circled in the air, watching in stunned disbelief as their companion disappeared into the clouds. As they looked back at Raylo, who had already turned away, their gazes were filled with wariness and terror.
’How could this seemingly weak human grievously wound one of their own in a single strike?’
They circled and hesitated for a moment, but in the end, they didn’t dare to pursue any further. After letting out a few resentful screeches, they turned and departed sullenly.
A crisis was averted by Raylo in the cleanest, most decisive way possible.
Baofeng let out a relaxed cry, its speed undiminished as it carried Raylo, racing toward the South.
Several more hours of flight passed. The twin suns climbed higher in the sky.
When the scorching rays of the twin suns pierced the clouds, they finally saw the familiar, massive waterway that cut across the entire land.
A damp, wild mist hung in the air.
The vast plain was bisected by a river so wide its opposite bank was invisible.
The Canglan River.
However, the sight before him startled Raylo.
Having been away for a day and a night, he found the Canglan River’s furious torrent had not calmed. On the contrary, it had grown even more violent.
The murky water seethed as if boiling, hurling massive waves, tens of meters high, that slammed against the banks with a deafening boom.
The entire river was like an enraged, ancient Giant Beast, unleashing its fury.
’Something’s not right.’
Raylo’s gaze went past the nearby waves, toward the heart of the river further to the east, where the surface was even wider.
There, an impossibly large vortex was slowly taking shape.
The vortex’s diameter must have been several kilometers wide. The water, drawn by some unseen Power, spiraled into a dark abyss at the center. The sight was like a great, bottomless maw opening in the river.
Raylo had Baofeng and Sun climb another few hundred meters.
From this greater height, the view was even more staggering.
As he stared into the massive vortex, Raylo’s pupils constricted.
Just then, a black shadow breached the surface at the heart of the great vortex before quickly vanishing again.
It was a huge, black, scythe-like dorsal fin, appearing and disappearing in the murky waves.
As it sliced through the surface, it cleaved the massive waves in two with ease.
Just the part of the dorsal fin visible above the water was several hundred meters long!
’Based on that staggering size, how terrifyingly huge must the colossus be beneath the water?’
’A kilometer?’
’Even longer?’
A name exploded in Raylo’s mind like a clap of thunder.
’Azure Wave Dragon Emperor.’
The thought made his palms break out in a cold sweat.
The terrifying vortex and the fleeting glimpse of the fin were reflected in Sun’s enormous golden eyes. A low rumble vibrated in its throat. Proud as it was, even it felt a shudder that originated from the depths of its very soul.
"We’re leaving. Go higher," Raylo said, his voice laced with gravity.
Baofeng and Sun understood at once. They beat their wings with all their might, climbing higher into the sky.
They carefully detoured around the terrifying vortex and crossed the Canglan River from high above. They remained utterly silent the whole way, not daring to let even a whisper of their presence escape.
Only after crossing the Canglan River and confirming they were a safe distance from that terrifying stretch of water did they descend again, flying full-speed toward the Giant Valley in the South without a single glance back.