Freya's lips were pressed tightly together, and Bai Cha could clearly feel the stiffness of the small body hanging on her. The faint floral scent from her pink hair tickled Bai Cha's nose.
"What, didn't you always want me to go with you?" Bai Cha smiled a little helplessly, leaned down, and whispered into Freya's ear, her tone teasing, "Why are you unhappy all of a sudden?"
Her earlobe felt itchy, and Freya turned her head, finally realizing that Bai Cha was deliberately teasing her. She immediately let out a dissatisfied hmph.
"It's just that I'm afraid you'll fight," Freya sighed with relief, sounding a little dejected. "You're just teasing me again."
After all, it was unlikely Bai Cha would go back with her. Someone with such a strong sense of responsibility, in her position, how could she not stay until the very last moment?
Freya was unhappy. She didn't want to be a hero, but her beloved was a peerless hero.
"Beep beep beep—"
The ringing sounded almost piercingly. Bai Cha and the others' expressions changed. This was not a mobile phone ringtone; it was the protective shield of the Shadow's core building being triggered, and with a heavy blow.
Bai Cha immediately grabbed a teleportation capsule and rushed in. The people beside her followed. Seeing Bai Cha's grim expression, they didn't dare to ask more and could only follow the temporal traversal of the teleportation capsule into the Shadow's interior.
What was called the interior was merely a wilderness courtyard. In reality, it was more like a military training ground. A large area resembled a luxurious university, with various buildings and training equipment exposed on the semi-open training fields.
There was no one here at the moment; everyone was drinking themselves into a stupor in Bai Cha and Jun Yao's dorms. No one had expected an enemy attack on the Shadow's headquarters at this time. After all, the systems of the Shadow and the Neutral Faction were integrated, and provoking the Shadow was no different from provoking the Neutral Faction or China.
"Good, you didn't find trouble with you, and you came knocking on our door." Bai Cha shot out of the teleportation capsule like a beam of light, a cold sneer on her lips. Demonic energy swirled around her, and she slammed into the foremost person like a bomb.
The person who had just finished their attack revealed their face. Not only Bai Cha saw it clearly, but everyone else did too. That face belonged to Liu Lin of the Bright Faction, the Liu family.
"Seeking death!"
Bai Cha's left hand transformed into a dragon's claw, and black dragon scales instantly covered her entire left arm. A sonic boom preceded her punch. This group of troublemakers didn't even have time to react before Bai Cha's dragon claw had pierced Liu Lin's heart, and before Liu Lin could be sent flying, Bai Cha had already blasted Liu Lin's heart and his dragon into ashes.
Mo Ziye was startled and wanted to step forward to stop Bai Cha, but before he could move, he was entangled by several tentacles.
"Don't move, Michael." Cang Liu's long sword was placed against Mo Ziye's neck, forcibly halting Michael's steps. Even Xiang Nan, who had seized the initiative by trapping Mo Ziye with his pet snake, was taken aback.
"Cang Liu, what are you doing?" Meng Qinghuan's brow twitched, and she quickly stepped forward, "Don't stir up conflict."
"I'm merely forcing him not to disturb Miss Bai. How does that become stirring up conflict, my master?" Cang Liu's long sword remained still, steadily pressed against Mo Ziye's throat. He turned to meet Meng Qinghuan's gaze, deliberately emphasizing the word "master."
In that instant, Meng Qinghuan felt Cang Liu's eyes were very cold.
"Until she resolves the issue, it's better for you to stay put," Cang Liu said faintly.
"Cang Liu, he is, after all, the Crown Prince of Light," Meng Qinghuan disagreed slightly, "This way, you're essentially pushing him towards the enemy's side."
"So, those who are attacking us now aren't enemies, is that it?"
"That's not what I meant."
While opinions were divided here, a fierce battle had already broken out over there.
Bai Cha rarely fought with humans, but when she did, she was absolutely ruthless. Especially since this group had the audacity to attack the Shadow's headquarters. It was like shaving the "King" on a tiger's head into an "earth" with a razor.
They simply didn't take her seriously!
The troublemakers clearly hadn't expected Bai Cha to be so fierce, with every move aiming for a fatal blow. They could only fight and retreat, though their mouths had softened.
"Bai Cha, we are all people of the same country. Show some mercy!"
Lin Yixin dodged a ball of flame from Bai Cha. When she turned her head, she found her dragon's left wing already pierced by chains, tearing through the wing membrane. Her face instantly turned pale with fright. "Are you planning to kill us all and become enemies of the world!"
"Enemies of the world? Do you represent the world or China?" Bai Cha sneered. With a wave of her hand, black chains grazed past these people's bodies. Black water flowed up the chains like a parasite, clinging to them. A single touch would stiffen their bodies, and they would fall to the ground.
"Bai Cha! Your arrogance will not be tolerated by those above!"
"That's right, we are experts serving the country. This way, you're disrespecting the higher-ups!"
Panic began to spread among the crowd. In the past, they were the ones being protected, and they had never seen Bai Cha in such a murderous rampage. Now, only when Bai Cha stood on the opposite side did they realize how despairing and terrifying Bai Cha was in terms of sheer power.
They were wearing the most advanced weaponry, technology that was secretly developed and never revealed to the outside world. They had brought so many dragon riders, and they were even confident that they could suppress a dragon riot if one occurred. However, they never expected that these would be like mere flies in front of Bai Cha, with people perishing with just a wave of her hand.
"Higher-ups? I haven't settled the score with him yet, and you dare use him as a shield?" Bai Cha became even more angry. With such a major mess during this mission, she had almost lost her life even after fighting with all her might. Whether the Neutral Faction was deliberately silent about this or truly unaware was up for debate.
We risked our lives, and you're playing schemes here? Do you have to wait for the Dragon Mother to descend upon you before you get anxious?
Thinking of this, Bai Cha became even more furious. She delivered a palm strike directly to Zhao Mu's face. She had shown mercy to these people out of consideration for Mo Yuntian saving Freya. Did these people think she was afraid of them?
In less than five minutes, more than a quarter of the three hundred dragon riders had been lost, not including those who scrambled away faster than rabbits, thus escaping Bai Cha's attack range.
Their original plan was to first shatter the protective shield, then bombard the Shadow's base. They hadn't expected the protective shield to be so sturdy, and with Bai Cha chasing them, they had no choice but to use these weapons prematurely, otherwise, they might not even survive.
"Xiao Bai!" Mo Ziye cried out anxiously. This time, he truly didn't consider his faction and was genuinely worried.
He was a researcher, and he knew how powerful these artillery shells were. Even if he fused with Michael, he would likely be severely injured. He didn't expect these people to go so far. Seeing Bai Cha engulfed in dust, Mo Ziye's heart clenched.
Dust and metal fragments formed a murky fog, obscuring the area. However, at the center of the fog, a beam of blue light grew brighter. As the roar of artillery fire subsided, the dragon and crane cries became more and more resonant and passionate.
This was followed by an even more majestic and powerful dragon roar. A black dragon coiled upwards, revealing its majestic dark-colored head. Its body coiled, dispersing the fog. Everyone then saw the scene within the mist: the noble white crane phantom and the azure dragon phantom coiled and chased each other, forming a circle that protected the girl standing in the center of the three.
Lucifer's body was immense, and the black dragon blotted out the sky. Although his scales were slightly worn under the barrage of shells, he remained unharmed, protecting the Shadow's headquarters.
After all, he had once been the leader of dragons. These petty tricks were only suitable for dealing with A-class dragons; for him, they were insignificant.
"This level of attack can't hurt me. What are you all in a hurry for?" Bai Cha held her forehead, finding it somewhat amusing.
She had indeed been momentarily surprised. After all, she was alone, and protecting such a large area was quite troublesome. However, she and Lucifer had cooperated for so long that they had formed a tacit understanding. She was responsible for the offense, and Lucifer was responsible for covering any gaps. Lucifer was certainly capable of guarding such a large area, but she hadn't expected these two children to jump out as well.
"Since you have subordinates, it is my dereliction of duty if Miss is harmed," Yun He bowed to Bai Cha. The white crane phantom behind him was already very solid, indicating that he had been taught well by Meng Qinghuan.
Cang Liu remained silent, simply flicking his long sword with a calm expression.
Bai Cha chuckled lightly, her mood uplifted. These two children were indeed diligent and serious, too serious, so serious that they were endearing.
"Zing zing—" The zither music was clear and refreshing. The overheated gun barrels, once touched by the music, were instantly covered with a thin layer of frost. Extreme heat met extreme cold, turning directly into dust and shattering.
Bai Cha's eyebrows twitched imperceptibly. Looking up, she saw Li Rong leading a few sober people to help.
It wasn't exactly help, but rather diffusing the situation. After all, Bai Cha didn't act unless pushed to the brink, and when she did, it was either death or severe injury. If others acted, there might have been room for recovery. Although the weapons were shattered, most of these people breathed a sigh of relief.
"Miss Bai, don't act rashly. If you truly keep them all, our two factions will have no room for maneuver," Li Rong said, relieved that the casualties were not severe, and quickly advised.
"If there was really room for maneuver, wouldn't they be attacking at this time?" Lucifer snorted, transforming into human form and standing behind Bai Cha. Xiang Nan also frowned, releasing Mo Ziye, and quickly moved to Bai Cha's side with Meng Qinghuan.
"Perhaps there is some misunderstanding, we still need to communicate more," Meng Qinghuan said, also relieved to see more people arriving. "After all, if we act too decisively, it will be difficult for the higher-ups to handle the situation, won't it?"