Chapter 673: 109. Friends from the Ocean
At the same time, within the South Continent, amidst the endless wilderness on the continent’s east coast, a fierce conflict unnoticed by humans was unfolding. Thunderous hoofbeats, like rain, continuously arrived from afar, rousing the quiet land and scared the Earth Spirits, which had been sleeping beneath the ground, into fleeing in all directions, far away from the chaos.
“Ride! Chase down those traitors!”
The turmoil in the distance revealed a group of dragon-man species of varying colors, frantically fleeing for their lives. They once belonged to the East Branch Tribe, having been annexed by the Dragon Queen, but within the New Dragon Court, they refused to accept the rule of Dragon Queen Rafael.
The hatred for the destruction of their tribe by Rafael, coupled with the contempt from other dragon-man branches, deepened their desire to escape the New Dragon Court. Finally, on a silent night, they stole the Dragon Magic Scrolls forged by the Queen and other precious treasures, hoping to flee to the cities of humans and shake off the shackles of the Dragon Queen.
The Dragon Queen’s guards detected the traitorous runaways immediately and thus set out from Sunset Valley in the south with their horses, pursuing them northward along the east coast. After a night of frantic escape, both the fleeing dragon-men and the horses of the pursuing guards were utterly exhausted, which foretold that a violent clash was imminent.
“Damn it, the horses can’t run anymore!”
The leading dragon-man was once the chief guard of Chebur, the now-dead Clan Leader of the East Branch Tribe. During the war that led to the East Branch’s destruction, he had led the tribe’s main force to resist the attack from the South Branch Tribe, with casualties on both sides. They could have continued to hold out and sought help from humans, but Rafael, alone, had cut straight to their stronghold from the southeast.
She had quickly slaughtered all the dragon-men left to defend the tribe with a few punches and even twisted the strongest Clan Leader’s neck with a single punch, causing him death. The Clan Leader’s son also fell victim to her brutality, and with that, the East Branch Tribe was utterly defeated. He was spared by Rafael and joined the New Dragon Court she had created.
Initially, Harir genuinely wanted to join Rafael, as her power that surpassed all dragon-men made it impossible for anyone to stand tall in her presence. But as dragon-men from other branches joined, Harir, who once held a high status in East Branch, felt the sting of humiliation for the first time. Furthermore, because of the East Branch’s secret dealings with humans, they faced disdain from other dragon-men. This growing sense of humiliation and dissatisfaction eventually led to his defection.
“Lord Harir, Blood River Strait is just ahead, there’s no way through!
Harir’s face turned slightly cold as he looked back at the New Dragon Court’s troops in relentless pursuit and then to the steep cliff blocking their path ahead. Beyond that cliff lay the vast, azure ocean, leaving them with nowhere to run. Yet, he hadn’t given up hope. Glancing at the Magic Scroll in his hand that was emitting light, he shouted to the dragon-men beside him,
“Then let’s fight the bastards! Ditch the horses!” Read full story at novel(ꜰ)ire.net
Before Harir could complete his command, a fast-spinning, eerie figure suddenly burrowed out from the ground ahead. The moment he saw the shell-like back reminiscent of a pangolin enter his field of vision, Harir knew it was bad news. He instantly pulled the reins and warned his companions,
“Watch out! It’s the Armored Species, stop!”
But at that critical moment, a few dragon-men in the back heard Harir’s voice and managed to stop their horses. However, those in the front, charging at full tilt, were unable to halt in time. The ground in front of them collapsed abruptly, like a splitting earth blocking their route. The unstoppable riders tumbled into the deep ravine, screaming in agony.
“Well done, Fama Xi!”
As the horses in front halted, a massive spider figure dropped from the sky behind them. Holding two flintlock pistols, she shot down two of the dragon-men who had just regained their senses, and then tossed her guns to draw a long blade concealed behind her back,
“Finally caught up with you. Are you dragon-man species or cockroaches, so adept at running?”
“Xi Ya, be careful, they are dragon-men, strong in constitution.”
Yes, those blocking the path of the renegades were actually the trio of robbers who had previously ambushed Fisher and Rafael: the Spider-man Species Xi Ya, the Armored Species Fama Xi, and…
In the next second, an ethereal figure descended from the sky—there had always been a Brain Demon Species capable of virtualization tracking the escapee dragon-man insurgents from above, and this was the reason they couldn’t elude pursuit.
“Submit now, Harir, you have no escape.”
Harir glanced around; behind the demi-humans, more centaurs and armies composed of various demi-human species were closing in. While his own dragon-man kin, already weakened from the attack and the night’s flight, stood no chance against them. There was only one option left…
“Don’t move, we surrender. We’ll return with you to face Rafael’s judgment.”
The dragon-man species who were hit by the gunfire clenched their teeth and painfully stood up. They all turned and looked resentfully towards the rapidly approaching pursuers and then called out to Harir,