The sudden rumble and thundering of the skies took the people of the world by surprise. Before they knew it, all of them had their eyes fixated at the strange glass-like film covering the blue vast endlessness above them; a glass so fragile it broke faster than the speed of sound. The thundering noise soon died down and the film finished breaking apart, and not a second later, darkness spread over the plains, mountains, rivers…and the cities of men.
Those who always carried vigilance next to their hearts were quick to react, hundreds of Qi spheres blazed around the populace of men, illuminating the world in place of the sun that had disappeared. Only then did the normal people notice what was happening. Everything happened so fast that they were unable to keep up with it, but once the realization sunk in, terror and fear consumed them. The sun was gone, the blue sky had turned dark, and the wailing and screams of the weak hearted were not much help.
People flocked around the strong cultivators, seeking the warmth of their Qi, and the reassurance of having strength by their side. However, no one was prepared for what was yet to come. An ear-splitting shriek came from all directions. The shriek intensified until everyone got a clear look at its source.
Deep inside the darkness, from the swirling smoky vortex far above their heads, a 'bird' emerged. Its body had no feathers, as it looked like a dead chicken. Yet, it was able to fly all too well, and its size was big enough to cover the nearest mountain from sight.
The people started to flee in all sorts of directions, seeking shelter somewhere far from the featherless flying chicken. After all, how could they not? They could see it clearly in its, its intent to attack the people holding the Qi spheres. It was targeting the cultivators.
The same thing was happening over all the major cities of the world, and everyone had to bear the full brunt of the attack. Avalon was no different. The disciples and sect Elders of Glory and Sword sect moved as though they'd been training for the attack all of their lives.
"Disciple, help the people evacuate. Elders, we're after the chickens!" Edmund pointed his black spear at the closest naked chicken, and after giving his orders, he flew towards it.
The chicken noticed him and retaliated, purple smoke burst out of its peak and spread down towards the surface. However, Edmund did not dodge the attack; instead, he focused Qi on his spear and thrust towards the smoke, dispersing it in an instant. He knew that the attack would hurt the citizens if here to let it hit the ground, and his attack allowed him to gauge the enemy's strength. After all, he couldn't read its Qi at all.
Edmund gripped his spear with confidence and flew towards the chicken at his maximum speed. Like a black glow, he swept through the space separating them and beheaded the oversized chick without any effort at all. Although he couldn't read its Qi, he could tell that its abilities were comparable with a monster of Immortal level 1. Not much of a threat for him.
Noticing his triumph, the other Elders followed suit and started to kill the chickens descending from above. The deceased bodies kept piling up on the ground, but there were always more enemies in the air, waiting to be slain.
After what seemed like hours, the chickens were all finally slain. But, the darkness was not ending. Instead, the skies thundered and crashed, as lightning surged through the heavens above them. An instant later, the smoky vortex swished and swooshed into one mass.
A humanoid being emerged. Its size was not large, as it was barely two meters tall. It was covered in dark bluish scales from head to toe, which made it resemble a dragon. In its right hand was a black spear, almost as tall as it was. And in its left hand, it gripped a pitch black ball. Its presence was terrifying, but its Qi could not be read at all!
It looked down on the thousands of bodies on the ground and smirked. Edmund and the others clearly knew that the chickens and the Dragonoid came from the same place, but they knew not why it laughed. However, the next instant they could tell that it was not smiling out of air.
The Dragonoid threw the black ball faster than anyone could react. As it smashed into the ground, black smoke gushed out and spread the whole city in an instant.
Edmund had a bad feeling in his heart and soon started to notice changes on the ground. The dead bodies of the chickens started to wriggle around until popping sounds were heard. Small, tadpole-like creatures emerged from under the skin of the naked chickens.
The tadpoles grew at an alarming rate, turning into full-fledged monsters in less than two seconds. Black spiders, two-headed hounds, zombies, ghouls, black serpents…dark creatures of all kinds swarmed the city. They had numbered in the thousand.
The Dragonoid's laughter could soon be heard throughout the whole city of Avalon, while the disciples and Elders who were stunned could do nothing but watch as the bulk of the monsters started to head towards the castle.
"Everyone…go, protect the king, the queen, and the people. Leave this place to me," Edmund said as he started to breathe slowly.
"Don't even think about it, that thing is not something you can beat alone," Audun warned.
"I know, but we can't do much about this situation. We can't let that thing leave this place, and we can't leave the horde alone," Edmund explained. "We can at least do one thing right, and that is protecting the castle. I'll stay back and watch that monster's movement. If push comes to shove, I have Edward's special pieces of jewelry to protect me."
Bard, Audun, and the others could do nothing but give up under the power of Edmund's smiling, reassuring face. They also knew that his words were true. They could not repeat their mistake and leave their king to die.
"Now then," Edmund looked down at the monsters and as he raised his spear high. Qi continued to concentrate in its tip until it was released in one go, turning into hundreds of light attack that targeted the monsters beneath. "Time to let loose."
Edmund didn't fight the Dragonoid straight away; he knew he was no match for it. Instead, he relied on his speed and hid among the demon horde, that way he was able to attack the monsters quickly while using the Dragonoid' attacks as a weapon, a weapon capable of killing hundreds of monsters at once. The dead bodies caught on fire rather easily, and the black capital turned bright. Illuminating scarlet smoke permeated the streets while the groans and screams of monsters were drowned by the Dragonoid' magical fireballs and Edmund's spear thrusts.
Edmund raced through the streets of Avalon. He dodged, slashed, and escaped the watchful eye of the Dragonoid, all while keeping an eye on it. He believed that the greatest blunder would be to let the Dragonoid leave. However, it was all too much for him, for he failed to notice a gigantic gorilla taking a swing at him.
The enormous fist collided with his side and caused him to lose balance. His whole body was lifted in an instant and was sent flying towards the nearby house. Yet, as he was flying away, he swung his spear and left behind a crescent slash, which took down the monster's arm.
The Dragonoid noticed the commotion and wasted no time at all. It sent a ball of red flames towards the house and incinerated it, leaving nothing behind. Yet, even though it had faith in its strength, the Dragonoid believed the man to be alive. It flew down towards the house to inspect it firsthand.
The gorilla continued to croak in pain, which seemingly got on the nerves of the Dragonoid. The darkest colored flames yet surrounded its body and were released at once. The monsters surrounding the Dragonoid burned and withered away, while the soil underneath its feet turned charcoal black.
It found nothing in the house, so it turned around and started to leave. It released a shout that sent the monsters running towards the castle, faster than ever. The Dragonoid spread its wings to take flight and join the assault on the remaining humans hidden in the castle. Its mood was soiled since the man was killed very easily; it was hoping to enjoy the game of cat and mouse a little longer.
At the same as it flapped its skinny wings, it felt a load fall off of its back, as though something that it carried with it since its creation had departed. The feeling of loss was soon replaced by a sharp sensation that spread to its whole body.
Its dark red eyes burned brighter as blood vessels popped inside of its eyes. It turned its head and gazed at its long tail being held by the human it thought was dead; it was the same as a worm wriggling in the hands of a child that caught hole of it.
"Let your guard down, you oversized lizard," Edmund heaved and wheezed. His left hand was crushed by the attack of the gorilla and burned black by the attack of the Dragonoid. He was a step too late in retreating underground with earth magic, but he saved his life and managed to injure the Dragonoid.
He knew that his enemy was mad, so he chose to escape with his life before it was too late. He weaved, once again, inside the monster horde, as the enraged Dragonoid followed after him with fury filled firebombs.
Edmund's performance dwindled quickly as his injuries added to his fatigue. It was hard for him to even lift his spear, let alone kill monsters. It took all of his strength to run away from the monsters while making way towards the palace.
Soon enough, the castle was within eyesight. He pumped more Qi into his legs and burst into the last spurt. However, he couldn't get far as he felt something tangle around his leg and fell face-first into the debris. Normally, such a fall wouldn't injure him in the slightest, but his body was devoid of Qi and lost its natural protection. He ended up breaking his nose and injuring his right eye.
Edmund caught a glimpse of the monster that stopped him in its tracks. It was a made entirely out of entangled violet vines with red thorns. He could see that his legs were bleeding due to the razor-sharp thorns, but couldn't feel it.
The Dragonoid caught up with him and shouted something at the vine monster. The latter tightened its hold on Edmund and coiled around him even more, all while the Dragonoid charged up the biggest fireball so far; he planned to kill both Edmund and the monster binding him.
Edmund closed his eyes and waited for the inevitable to happen, but it never came. All he heard was the furious below of the Dragonoid, followed by a muffled cry from behind him.
He opened his eyes in disbelief and found Bard and Audun standing in front of his, their glaives in their hands and their Qi at its highest. Due to his shock, he only noticed that the monster holding him had turned into a sliced and diced vegetable.
Edmund felt warm and delicate hands holding him up and wiping the blood off of his face. He saw the angelic face of his fellow Elder, Becky gazing back at him with tears in her eyes.
"You're crying for this old man?" Edmund mustered out the words with a smile. "I can die happy right now, hahaha."
"You don't have to die," she said. "No one needs to die, it's finished. All preparations are over. You just need to drink some potions."
The smooth and cold sensation of Ed's potions couldn't have felt any better for Edmund's sore and burned throat. He could feel his Qi and body revitalize with every drop. At the same time, the ground beneath started to glow blue with bits and pieces of it flying upward towards the sky.
The Dragonoid felt something coming and tried to run away, leaving behind its minions to face whatever he dreaded. However, Bard and Audun swooped down and knocked him back to the ground.
"You're not going anywhere!" they shouted.
The glow synchronized with their shout and intensified; the whole city and its surroundings were surrounded by the glow. All of a sudden, the monsters, Dragonoid, Edmund and his fellow Elders appeared in the middle of a wasteland, thousands of kilometers away from Avalon and Glory sect.
"How do you like our surprise, little lizard," Edmund stood up and took his black spear into his healed hand. "This is a weapon, left to us by the strongest man in this world. Want to hear his exact words when he left it to us? Whenever you feel like you will lose, use it and it will come to you."
Far from their locations, they could hear thunderous noises as something was closing in on them.
"It will burn all your enemies and turn them to ashes, for it is always angry it could not exact its revenge," Edmund continued. "Avalon has, and will always have allies everywhere in the world."
As Edmund finished, a black dragon, the black calamity dragon, Entei, descended behind him. It raised its head and gazed at the black smoke covering the skies and roared at it. Its flames split the skies apart and broke open to reveal the beautiful blue sky and white clouds.
Releases will go back to being daily (hopefully :D)
Paragraph comment
Paragraph comment feature is now on the Web! Move mouse over any paragraph and click the icon to add your comment.
Also, you can always turn it off/on in Settings.
GOT IT