Chapter Fifty-Five: The Dark Dragon

Just as Xingyu gave up struggling, feeling the shadow of the approaching claws drawing ever closer, and closed her eyes to await death, the anguished howl of the black giant wolf rang out by her ear. Startled, Xingyu's eyes flew open, and she stared in shock at the scene before her. A black sickle had pierced the giant wolf from above, running clean through its abdomen. Xingyu recognized this sickle—a weapon, along with its owner, that had appeared countless times in her mind. "Lilith," Xingyu uttered, her voice hoarse and low.

"Who are you?" The Seventh Inquisitor's furious gaze swept around, searching for the wielder of the sickle.

A cold, arrogant voice descended from the heavens, "What is your rank?" Xingyu looked up to see a silver-haired girl, beating enormous wings of dark gold in the sky.

"Lilith?" Xingyu's voice was tinged with disbelief. The perfectly exquisite face was identical to Lilith's, but her appearance was otherwise worlds apart from the memory. Not only had her hair color changed, but her entire aura had transformed. The old Lilith had been cold and proud, yes, but Xingyu had always sensed a gentle heart beneath that façade. Now, though, she radiated a chill as penetrating as ice, inside and out. Was this truly the Lilith of her memories? Staring at the girl in the night sky, Xingyu was filled with awe.

"Princess Liliana?" The woman before me addressed me with a question.

"Woman, you still haven't answered my question—what is your rank?" I ignored her inquiry, not sparing a glance at the prone Xingyu, and asked again in a glacial tone.

"Enforcement Squad of the Blood Council, Seventh Inquisitor, Beastmaster Lydia, greets Your Highness Liliana." The Seventh Inquisitor bowed respectfully.

"Seventh, is it? I was hoping to meet someone higher ranked. So it's only the seventh," I said with clear dissatisfaction.

"Forgive me for not meeting Your Highness Liliana's expectations." The Seventh Inquisitor spoke with respect. "But may I ask Your Highness Liliana to surrender quietly? I do dislike troublesome matters," she added, her face expressionless.

"Surrender? Why? Isn't Lilith a princess of the Blood Clan?" Xingyu, enduring her pain, asked in bewilderment at the Seventh Inquisitor's words.

"That is a question for you," the Seventh Inquisitor replied. "Her Highness Liliana formed a blood pact with you, sullying the nobility of our clan. This act has exceeded what the Blood Council can tolerate. If not for the Prince's consideration, it wouldn't be as simple as taking her back—she would have been executed outright."

"What? How could this be?" The Seventh Inquisitor's words sent shockwaves through Xingyu's heart. To think she had caused Lilith so much trouble—her heart filled with bitterness.

"Hey, human, do you even know what a blood pact means?" The Seventh Inquisitor tilted her head curiously at Xingyu.

"What does it mean?" Xingyu asked, bewildered.

"You don't even know what a blood pact means? I truly feel sorry for Her Highness Liliana," the Seventh Inquisitor sneered.

"You're talking too much. Have you decided how you wish to die?" My icy voice cut her off.

"My apologies, Your Highness Liliana, but I don't intend to die so soon," the Seventh Inquisitor replied, her tone suddenly sharp. "Pipi!"

At her command, the black giant wolf, pinned to the ground by the sickle, dissolved into a cloud of black mist, scattering from the blade before coalescing again into the shape of a wolf, apparently unharmed.

"A nether wolf, is it? Interesting." I watched the creature, which had reformed and now snarled at me with rage. Smiling, I summoned my sickle back to my hand. "If once isn't enough to kill you, then I'll just do it again." No sooner had I spoken than my figure vanished, reappearing beside the nether wolf, my black sickle slicing down once more. The wolf howled, dissolving into mist again, but when it reformed, its body was already somewhat faded.

"It really can't be killed so easily," I remarked coolly, gazing at the once more reformed nether wolf. "I wonder, if I kill you a hundred, a thousand times, will you still come back?" With that, I teleported to its side again, and my sickle fell without hesitation. The wolf turned to mist once more, but this time, it reformed as a nearly transparent shape.

"Looks like it won't take a thousand times to kill you. How dull," I said, glancing at the weakened wolf not far ahead.

"Bai Bai, come back!" the Seventh Inquisitor called anxiously. At her command, the nether wolf turned to mist and returned to her side, reforming much smaller, now only as tall as a person. The Seventh Inquisitor stroked its fur with concern, tears glimmering in her eyes.

"Pipi, kill her. I care nothing for the Blood Council's orders—how dare she hurt Bai Bai! I will not forgive her!" After soothing the weakened wolf, the Seventh Inquisitor turned in fury to the massive black dragon at her side.

With a thunderous roar, the black dragon obeyed, moving with a speed belying its size, and appeared before me in an instant, its powerful claws slamming down. The force transmitted through my sickle was immense, and I was sent flying.

Struggling to steady myself, I beat my bat wings, regaining balance in midair. The black dragon was already above me, its thick tail whipping down like a giant lash. I barely managed to shield my head with my right arm before being struck, sent hurtling from the sky.

Watching this from the sidelines, the Seventh Inquisitor cheered gleefully, "Yes, Pipi, well done! Claw strike, tail lash, now finish with a dive! Pipi, destroy her!"

The black dragon, encouraged by her praise, let out a triumphant roar and soared swiftly higher into the sky.

Clutching my limp right arm with my left hand, I managed to stand. As expected of a black dragon—the strength was terrifying. In pure physical power, I was no match; it was like facing a giant version of Ang. Enduring the intense pain, I looked up just as the Seventh Inquisitor shouted. To my horror, the black dragon was plummeting towards me with terrifying speed, its massive body igniting the air into a trail of fire. If it struck me, not even ten lives would be enough to survive. "Damn," I cursed under my breath, watching the dragon descend almost instantly overhead.

With a deafening crash, the black dragon slammed into the ground, sending up a towering cloud of dust that blotted out the sky—or rather, the moon. The shockwave flattened nearby trees, and the barely upright Xingyu was blown off her feet. The nether wolf at the Seventh Inquisitor's side quickly grew in size, shielding her from the blast.

"Pipi, well done!" The Seventh Inquisitor stroked the nether wolf and cheered the black dragon as it emerged from the dust.

"Aren't you a bit too quick to celebrate?" My cold voice sounded behind her, making her shudder uncontrollably.

"You're not dead?" she gasped, eyes wide with terror as the dust settled to reveal a huge pit over twenty meters deep. She dared not move, for a black sickle was pressed to her slender neck.

"Did you forget my talent is teleportation? How could a creature of brute strength kill me?" My voice was icy and sharp. Though I had dodged the final blow, the dragon's previous attacks had caught me off guard, leaving me badly hurt, and my right arm was still not fully healed. I casually sliced through the nether wolf as it leapt to protect her, turning it to mist once more, then looked up to meet the furious gaze of the black dragon in the sky.

"Ang, that black dragon is yours," I ordered my companion, who had been watching from the shadows. Then, turning to the dragon above, I said, "Big fellow, if you win, I’ll let her go." I gestured to the Seventh Inquisitor, now as fragile as any human without her wolf or dragon.

The black dragon, seeing the Seventh Inquisitor captive in my grip, roared in fury and then turned its gaze to Ang, who was approaching slowly.

"A dark dragon? Interesting," Ang said, flexing his hands eagerly. "I've always wondered who is stronger—your kind or ours. Now, I finally have the chance to find out."

Two absolute titans of strength glared at each other for the sake of their masters, and a great battle was about to erupt.