Chapter 428: Act 180 – Through the Canyon
Andisha caught the gem with one hand, and suddenly a deafening roar reverberated through the valley from behind the mist. The clouds parted, and a massive dragon head lunged at her without warning, opening its gaping maw.
“Dragon!?”
Andisha was startled. She quickly recited a spell aloud: “North Wind, I command you to show your wintery fury!”
With her palm outstretched, a blizzard appeared out of thin air behind her, sharp ice crystals slashing forward like knives. The fierce wind carrying snow swept past Andisha’s shoulders and around her body, yet she remained unharmed; her long hair danced wildly in the wind, but she was completely still amidst its chaos.
It was as if she were the queen controlling ice and snow. Although she stood motionless, frost quickly spread before her, and a thick layer of ice formed on the ground.
The raging wind and snowstorm nearly enveloped half the valley; even the Saintly Hydra had to retreat before this blizzard, the sharp ice crystals piercing its vaporous form and leaving it battered and torn.
“Eh?”
Andisha sensed something unusual about this “dragon.” She pointed her index finger at one of the heads of the Saintly Hydra and declared:
“Time flows, all things decay; your scales shall detach from your body, your muscles will rot and weaken, your blood will dry, and your bones will crumble; your time is short—rest here today!”
The Saintly Hydra suddenly let out a roar, and indeed, the Saintly white scales began to turn a burnt yellow and fall away, followed by flesh and blood showering down like rain, dissipating into mist within the valley.
In almost an instant, the massive head completely vanished into thin air.
However, before Andisha could catch her breath, the air began to ripple, smoke gathered, and the disintegrated dragon head reappeared.
Andisha frowned.
As she fought fiercely against the misty apparition, Brendel and Faina took the opportunity to slip between the two monsters locked in battle.
In fact, the moment Andisha was distracted by the Saintly Hydra, Brendel activated his charge skill, but he was still caught by the snowstorm, which struck him squarely on the shoulder.
That one blow left him with no sensation in his right shoulder, covered now with a layer of frost.
Gritting his teeth, he held Faina and dashed over a hundred meters, squeezing into a rocky crevice. Although the outside was tumultuous, it was relatively quiet here.
Brendel paused, taking a sharp breath due to the pain; his shoulder felt as if it had been sliced by a blade. It was said that after a certain threshold of pain, burns, frostbite, and wounds felt no different. At least, that was how he felt now.
Seeing Brendel’s pain-twisted face, Faina couldn’t help but ask in concern:
“Hey, country bumpkin?”
“What?” Brendel gasped in response.
“You—” Faina initially intended to express her concern for Brendel’s shoulder, but upon seeing his indifferent demeanor, her frustration boiled over. She huffed, her tone turning stiff: “It’s nothing—”
After a moment, she spoke softly again: “Hey, country bumpkin.”
“What now? Miss, do I look like I am leisurely at this moment?” Brendel replied, struggling for breath.
“You are so stingy!”
“Eh? So you’re saying—this counts as your apology for your previous actions?”
Faina’s eyebrows shot up sharply: “Not at all! How could you think of such a thing? There’s no way I would apologize to a country bumpkin like you!”
“Then what exactly do you want to say?”
The noble lady’s face flushed surprisingly red. She had intended to say “that looks painful on your shoulder; let me down so I can walk myself,” but the words came out as: “Hey, when do you plan to put me down—”
But her voice trailed off to a whisper.
Huh?
Brendel remembered he was still holding her. This wasn’t his fault; holding Faina felt like delivering a package. If it were another delicate girl in his embrace, he might have daydreamed a bit, but this one left him with no good impression.
Arrogant, self-centered, petty, and clumsy.
He couldn’t help but glance at the noble lady and then set her down.
At that moment, the battle between the Saintly Hydra and Andisha was intensifying. The fifteen heads of the misty apparition continually dissipated in the raging storm, only to reassemble again, yet the colossal beast was retreating, completely on the defensive.
Brendel witnessed this and felt a sense of amazement; while he knew Andisha was formidable, he didn’t expect her to be this powerful.
The Saintly Hydra had previously chased Amann, Mephistopheles, Veronika, and an entire squad from the Temple to flee for their lives, yet it was now reduced to merely defending against one of the twelve Patriarchs.
However, if the Saintly Hydra could infinitely reassemble and ignore physical endurance, Andisha might still end up getting dragged down without a solution to this issue.
Andisha’s element was erosion, unlike Veronika’s wind, which excelled in speed, coming and going as she pleased.
But regardless of the type, Brendel understood that it would be best for them to retreat first.
He had initially planned to return the way they came, but then he suddenly thought the entrance to the Loop of Trade Winds might be behind the Wolf King Echis.
The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed. After considering, he opted to go through the other side. This meant they would have to pass beneath the watchful eyes of the Saintly Hydra, which was dangerous, but he deemed it worthwhile.
The Saintly Hydra was currently too engaged with Andisha to notice them easily. Moreover, the gray gem was no longer in its possession.
Occasionally, a few pale yellow flashes streaked overhead, effects of Andisha’s magic combined with the thunderous roars of the Saintly Hydra caused the valley to tremble as if the sky would collapse.
The two carefully made their way along the rocky walls, with the ground rumbling and debris falling around them. Faina furrowed her brow but dared not complain, glancing at Brendel from time to time with caution.
They quickly navigated through the interweaving rock crevices and exited the valley. Despite the fierce battle raging behind them, it had yet to reach outside. Once they emerged, they first saw the massive beast peacefully lying at the center of a vast pit.
“Wait, are we really going to pass through… there?”
The noble lady suddenly realized Brendel’s intention, pointing at the towering giant wolf beside her, her face changing drastically.
“Of course.”
“The Wolf King Echis?”
“It’s sleeping. What are you afraid of?”
“What if it suddenly wakes up? Are we done for?”
Brendel gave her a contemptuous look: “That’s a demigod’s slumber; it’s not that easy to wake up. Have you not woken up yet, Miss Faina?”
“You—”
Faina bit her lip in frustration. She knew well what a demigod’s slumber entailed: a god would sleep for thousands of years, and no matter what happened during that time, it would not awaken.
However, that was merely a legend. Being here in person felt entirely different. The Wolf King Echis was the source of countless legends about the wolf disaster, a white specter with an innate malice toward humanity.
In Cruz, every child grew up listening to tales of the human-eating white giant wolf under the moonlit night; Faina was no exception. Now that she stood before the very source of these legends, her ability to think became slightly overwhelmed.
But Brendel had already moved ahead. Despite her fear, Faina had no choice but to follow. The two quickly descended to the bottom of the pit, with the blasts in the direction of the valley still ongoing, indicating that Andisha and the Saintly Hydra were still locked in combat.
But separated by a thick veil of mist, the sounds were now faint and distant.
Then they slowly passed by the enormous and graceful being, looking up at the silver giant wolf whose form undulated like a mountain range in the night, evoking feelings of smallness and reverence.
It was an instinctive respect for power.
The sleeping Wolf King Echis resembled a small mountain, breathing deeply, its silver fur rising and falling in rhythm, indicating that a powerful soul still throbbed vigorously within this body.
However, the wind around it had grown still, as if the entire world converged at this moment.
This was the Wolf King Echis.
Brendel couldn’t help but think, even knowing it wouldn’t awaken, he instinctively held his breath. Faina was almost the same; her face turned pale.
“Will it awaken if we get this close?” she stuttered.
“Why would it wake up?”
“Isn’t the Wolf King Echis the enemy of all wise beings?”
“So it sends a pack of winter wolves to sever your neck—” Brendel mimicked biting Faina with his hand, causing her to instinctively pull back her neck in fright.
“What are you doing?”
“Just telling you to stop talking nonsense.”
“Damn you, country bumpkin!” Faina grumbled, not pleased.
The two passed one after the other beside the Wolf King Echis, and as they walked by the massive creature resting its head on its forepaws, they both felt their hearts beat a bit faster.
Fortunately, Brendel hadn’t been mistaken; a demigod’s slumber was not easily disturbed. During this time, Faina asked why they didn’t take the opportunity to kill the Wolf King Echis while it was sleeping, but Brendel merely glanced at her before handing her the Azure Sky, saying:
“The task of saving the world is now in your hands, maiden!”
Afterward, Faina fell silent, fixing Brendel with a glaring look full of malice.
The reason was simple—she had mustered the courage to swing her sword at one of the Wolf King Echis’s silver furs, but her sword hadn’t even come within three feet of Echis before being stopped by an invisible barrier.
Thus, Faina realized that bringing a hundred of her would be futile.
Then they passed the massive rock pit, and on the other side of the pit, Brendel quickly discovered a canyon entirely composed of black granite.
This wasn’t surprising.
What caught his attention was that within this canyon stood a gigantic stone door—
……(To be continued, to know how the story unfolds, please log in for more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!)
