Chapter 554: Chapter 347: The Young Man in the Middle of the Battle_2
Yan Xiaobao looked at the bird rushing toward him like an arrow, feeling neither fear nor dread. He did not use black blood, nor did he summon blue or red flames. Instead, he narrowed his eyes and focused intently on the bird. He calculated the timing of its approach until it was directly before him. When it hovered just a few centimeters above his head, the red wolf Yan Xiaobao lunged to the side, forcing the bird to break its attack. However, as his enemy attempted to change directions, a massive claw swept outward. The force behind the strike was so strong that a whirlwind could be heard; ripples of energy landed on the bird’s body, sending it tumbling and rolling far away.
Defeating the first beast was no problem for Yan Xiaobao, but his actions drew the attention of other guards. The opponent he had just defeated was someone who severely underestimated Yan Xiaobao. He had expected his rank as a King would give him the edge against a mere Duke. However, this Duke was far from simple. That one quick sweep was enough to deal with a King Ranking Expert.
Having defeated the man, the other guards took notice of the massive red wolf. Although there were tens of thousands of different kinds of Demons, the red wolf that Hui Hui had transformed into was a beast that didn’t exist anywhere on this continent. He was unique, and it made him stand out on the battlefield like an agonized sore thumb, drawing hostility from both humans and beasts alike.
However, only one particular beast ultimately charged toward him. The other beasts, though they despised him, were intelligent enough to realize his importance in Wan Qiao’s life. He wasn’t someone the guards had the authority to attack.
While most guards held this perspective, a few disagreed. After glancing upward at the sky, they gazed at Yan Xiaobao with sinister smiles, hate and jealousy clear in their eyes.
"How dare you sully our Queen with your filthy hands," shouted the man charging toward him. His eyes were as red as Yan Xiaobao’s, and his arms transformed into wings while his legs turned into claws. These claws were as sharp as those on Yan Xiaobao’s, but far faster. Nevertheless, Yan Xiaobao had found the perfect battleground to deal with these guards.
He led Li Meilin to a place filled with vegetation, not just tall grass. Thick forests stretched behind them, areas Wan Qiao had yet to clear. The trees in the vicinity put the birds at a disadvantage. Their expansive wingspan couldn’t unfold freely, nor could they call upon the speed the Single-Horned Eagle Team was known for.
Standing amid the grassy field, Li Meilin watched the young man battling beasts with wide, round eyes. Though he had transformed and exuded an imposing aura, Li Meilin had never heard of a Duke capable of defeating a King. Yet here was such a person right before her.
The first victory was so overwhelming that no doubt remained about the red wolf’s capabilities. The current battle had scarcely reached the first exchange, but even so, the red wolf had dragged the old eagle into the forest, severing all the advantages he might have had, showcasing his intelligence in combat.
"If you like her so much, why not confess your feelings instead of attacking me?" Yan Xiaobao retorted in a frustrated tone as he dodged the feathers volleyed at him. More feathers, like arrows reinforced by fog energy that turned them as tough as black iron, shot toward him.
There was no benefit to hiding behind trees, as they splintered under the impact of the feather-arrows, causing Yan Xiaobao to curse at the bird. Knowing how destructive these arrows were, he wondered how Li Meilin might react if one of them touched her. Though she was strong, Yan Xiaobao didn’t indulge in thoughts of her strength; his focus remained steadfast on the task of protecting her.
Looking back at the old eagle, Yan Xiaobao realized he was different from the guards he had fought previously. Though they were serious and harsh with their blows, none inflicted any significant harm. This man clearly had a different plan. Instead of merely hurting him lightly and letting him go, he was clearly aiming to kill, which caused Yan Xiaobao to frown as a cold killing intent rose within him.
Despite residing in Wan Qiao’s palace and living alongside these guards, Yan Xiaobao felt no emotional connection to them. All he shared with them was mutual dislike.
Though he had no inclination to kill the guards, he certainly wouldn’t allow them to live after being so merciless toward him. Leaving them alive would undeniably cause trouble for him, something Yan Xiaobao couldn’t afford. He already had enough people who hated him; he didn’t want to waste his time on anything unrelated to his training. The more he trained, the sooner he could vie against Wan Qiao and Zhong Hui.
Thinking of the handsome man he had encountered underground, Yan Xiaobao’s eyes became as cold as a winter morning, overwhelmed by a surge of complex emotions. He knew he couldn’t trust the King Ranking Expert, yet he couldn’t deny his immense strength.
That man had allowed Yan Xiaobao to escape the Dragon Core, but had clearly also made it his intent to ensure Yan Xiaobao wouldn’t find a group to belong to. Threatening to kill them was an ominous warning that compelled Yan Xiaobao to do his utmost to avoid forming connections with others.
On this long journey, even now, Yan Xiaobao wanted nothing more than to reunite with his friends. He worried about whether they had safely arrived at the Capital, met the Rong twins, and settled within the Sun Kingdom’s capital.
Yan Xiaobao missed everyone for a fleeting moment, but then he recalled Wang Julong’s beautiful face appearing before him. His heart tightened slightly as he realized it would take years to grow strong enough to return to them. He would grow, and they would grow, but he hoped that no matter how long it took, those friends would wait for him.
Thinking about his friends, Yan Xiaobao fell into nostalgia, momentarily losing focus in the battle. As a result, his leg suddenly throbbed with sharp pain. When he glanced down, he saw a feather as hard as black iron embedded deeply in his leg, causing blood to cascade down. The intense pain snapped Yan Xiaobao out of his melancholy, forcing him to concentrate wholly on the fight.
Unable to fly himself, battling an aerial beast was agonizing. All he could do was remain grounded, evading the downpour of attacks aimed at him. A burst of flame suddenly erupted from his hand. Initially red, it quickly transformed into blue.
Seeing the blue flame, both Li Meilin and the eagle in the sky were shocked. Blue flames were rare. In fact, the only beasts ever known to produce blue flames were Divine Beasts. Yet, looking at the red wolf, he was clearly not a Divine Beast, but still, he generated flames as vibrantly blue as the scales of a Sky Blue Dragon.
As the flame flickered between his two claws, Yan Xiaobao continuously shifted it, allowing more and more small fireballs to form in the air around him. The fireballs moved unpredictably. Some flew, one after another, to destroy feather-arrows, while others darted at the flying bird, aiming to strike and burn it to ashes. Despite the fireballs’ incredible speed, the eagle managed to dodge them, narrowly ensuring the flames didn’t touch him.
The battle had reached a desperate point. Yan Xiaobao wasted time in his transformed state, but as long as the eagle above targeted him with its feathers, he couldn’t revert to his original body. The eagle in the sky dared not engage in close-quarters combat, clearly seeing how fierce and terrifying the wolf on the ground was.
Cursing the bird, Yan Xiaobao could feel that his transformation wouldn’t last much longer, but he refused to yield. Instead, he summoned all the red fog energy coursing through his body. It instantly surged from the cavity within his Lower Dantian, flooding through him.
The energy rushed into his legs, and Yan Xiaobao felt power emanating outward. When he could no longer inject any more energy into his legs, his knees bent and his muscles tensed. Finally, he released the energy, propelling himself into the sky like an immense arrow aimed directly at his target.
Although the eagle saw him coming, it was unable to evade. Instead, it decided to attack, meeting the wolf head-on. A smug smirk formed on the eagle’s face. However, it quickly froze as it witnessed a long arm with deadly claws reaching out toward it. The strong hand seized the eagle, its claws tightening with a crack around its neck. As the eagle’s eyes dimmed, an expression of disbelief lingered. The battle ended abruptly. Such a desperate fight had an unexpectedly simple conclusion, though for Yan Xiaobao, the ordeal had truly been burdensome.
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