Chapter 62: Ambition

The war-torn city flickered, shattered beams of sunlight weaving through the rain of fire. Those rays emanated from the battlefield on the water curtain, from the afterimage of a long, proud dragon. It was as if an invisible giant grasped the sky in its grasp, shaking it. The entire airspace vibrated violently, igniting blazing flames that fell into the sea, scorching the phantom and stirring up a thousand-foot-high wave amidst the wailing.

The battlefield was so far from the earth that it was impossible to discern the course of the battle, the trajectory of victory or defeat. But people could see it, in the splashing light and fire, in the swirling tide. They watched as the rainbow-colored radiance transformed into venomous fluids, the swirling black mist collapsed into a hazy abyss; they saw a mad spirit with a bird's head and a snake's body howl to the heavens, spewing green fire and grappling with a white jade dragon; they saw a corpse riding a skeletal horse thrust out a long sword of annihilation, clashing with a crimson halberd in the air.

Their battle tore the sky apart. A towering figure stood amidst endless light and fire, resisting the demons with his bloody courage and confronting the heretics with his martial prowess. He was once emaciated, once near death, but he rose again, just as he had built a city amidst the vast ocean decades before, and just as he had led his people to repel the demonic tide twenty years before.

He will win, he will definitely win, because he is an unrivaled general, and he is the undefeated lord of Huilong City!

"Huilong is going to fight! The city lord is going to fight!!"

Roars of elation echoed throughout the city, and the warriors, once defeated, rose in the light. The dragon's radiance healed their wounds, boiling their blood. They reclaimed their weapons and advanced, slaying the invading Scourge and demons. The standard weapons dealt a heavy blow to the outsiders. Though mere mortals, unable to even enter the path, they displayed a bravery no less heroic than that of the Ascended.

On a sky island, a warehouse filled with relics, the demon with a bird's head and a snake's body reappeared, scanning the sky with flaming eyes.

"Any mortal without a way out has the strength to fight. The power of the ancient dragon totem is indeed terrifying." It said to the contractor.

"She's a true guardian angel. If her power hadn't been used to maintain the water curtain, I'd have died long ago without even having the chance to make a fortune." The contractor's voice was still frivolous. "Is the mirror still there, Bethan?"

"Of course." Bessen, the spirit of the ambitious demon Arik Ferda Bessen, methodically advanced his plan. He sorted out the relics within his temporary body and walked towards the warehouse door. "I will use this mirror to disrupt the battlefield. Be prepared to summon, and when the message arrives, call for my original—"

Benson opened the door. The man with the silver tentacles was standing there, holding a blood-stained knife. The knife flashed, severing the arm that was trying to block it. The tentacle shot out like a spear, shattering a snake's head!

"Things don't seem to be going well for you." The contractor said, "What about the backup plan?"

"Switch, switch, switch!" Bessen roared, retreating. Its remaining eight heads shot up simultaneously, piercing the warehouse's walls and ceiling. The glowing crows, noticing the anomaly, rushed to support, but few responded, as most of the crows lay in pools of blood. In the blink of an eye, Chu Hengkong slaughtered all the nearest crows, clearing the area in order to slay the demon in one fell swoop.

"You're still alive?" Even the knowledgeable Besson couldn't believe it. The scene before the shattering curtain should have sealed Chu Hengkong's fate. He was on the island closest to the rift, facing the demonic force at the closest distance. That was the erosion of the Four Outer Paths of the Particle. Even a skilled hand with the highest power should have been reduced to a glowing corpse.

But he was still alive! Not only was he alive, he was also full of energy. There was no trace of fatigue in his eyes, and even his tentacles had become more lustrous than before. Chu Hengkong stepped forward with a knife in one hand, the blade pointed at Besen's right eye.

"I'm not so fragile that the wind will blow me down," he said.

Bessen's eyes blazed brightly, and two beams of fire shot out like lasers. Several glowing crows leaped into the warehouse, firing blood-red bullets from their specially crafted pistols. Chu Hengkong swung his sword to deflect the flames, using his light armor to withstand the crows' hail of bullets. He wielded his sword backhandedly, slashing at Bessen like a ranger, leaving narrow wounds on his snake's body. Simultaneously, his tentacles extended and danced wildly, killing three crows with a single sweep.

He spun around, swung his blade, and the blade and tentacle each repelled a surrounding crow. Bessen's true form swung its claws, and he blocked them with his rock blade. The rock blade trembled with the force, and with the technique learned from the Steel Edge Style, it broke the claws apart. Chu Hengkong seized the opportunity to kick out, disintegrating the snake's head again.

"I admit I underestimated you," Bethan whispered. Perhaps because its original form was outside the city, it seemed more "human" than usual.

Benson flapped his wings behind his head and retreated. Two of its nine snake heads were gone, and two large wounds were visible on its body, but no blood flowed. Only at this close could one see that its body was still a puppet. The snake body was refined brass, and the bird head was made of animal bones, feathers, and gems. Through the wounds, one could see countless relics flowing through its body, the flesh and blood of this puppet.

A possessed body. Chu Hengkong thought of Tina and her dog. This demon hadn't yet possessed a human, so the Black Workshop had used a relic as its body. This necessitated an adjustment in his fighting style. He sheathed his sword and engaged the enemy with his bare hands. He stared into the demon's eyes.

"Where's Kanin?"

"He's where he should be." Bethan folded his claws, "to receive the victory he deserves!"

The demon stomped its foot onto the ground, unleashing a blazing ring of fire. Deadly azure flames burned in, and Chu Hengkong hooked his tentacle towards an exposed rebar. This was the most effective way to avoid the flames. Besen had studied his movements and could predict his strategy. As the tentacle extended, Besen opened his mouth and fired two darts, aiming for the underside of the rebar. As Chu Hengkong leaped, the flames would pierce his chest and kill him.

The tentacle extended, then suddenly slammed down—a feint! Chu Hengkong wasn't afraid of the demon's flames, for he carried with him the jade carving of a swirling dragon. The jade dragon emanated waves of cool energy. It was this jade carving that had protected him from the aftermath of the demonic attack, and it was precisely because of this carving that he remained unfazed by the raging fire. He charged into the circle of fire alone, drawing his sword almost at Benson's feet, slicing nearly halfway through the brass snake's body.

The three snake heads shattered, and a large amount of relics flowed from the wounds. This unreturned blow nearly cleaved the snake's body. For a moment, Bessen was at a disadvantage. After all, it was only a spirit clone and lacked a physical body, making it difficult to compete with Chu Hengkong in close combat. Therefore, it did not use conventional means to counterattack. Instead, it pressed its index fingers and thumbs together, forming a triangular claw mark. In its eyes, a shimmering blue fire twisted, forming two bird-like spells.

"The fire in my heart is not extinguished, and my ambition will spread like wildfire."

Chu Hengkong, about to swing his sword, felt a jolt of pain pierce his chest and abdomen, as if he were being burned by a raging fire. The scorching heat seemed to possess a spirit, gripping his heart and invading his body. He suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a ball of flaming green flesh and blood.

"cough--!"

Chu Hengkong gritted his teeth, but flames continued to seep out from between them. His eyes burned, his breath thickened, and the nameless flames raged through his body, seeking an outlet with violent momentum.

Chu Hengkong's movements slowed down. Besen's four snake heads bit out in succession. He barely blocked three of them with his knife, but the fourth snake head bit him in the shoulder. Besen took the opportunity to spray a fireball, and Chu Hengkong was hit by the fireball and flew out of the warehouse!

"You clearly have a strong will, but no ambition?" Bethan released three fireballs in succession. "Then be consumed by the flames! Those who cannot rise high will eventually become food for those who are higher up!"

Chu Hengkong managed to roll, dodging the direct impact of the fireball, but was blown away by the blast. He could have dodged with a backflip, but the flames within him prevented him from taking further action. The demon's power was so strange and inexplicable that even the jade carving of the dragon could not fully resist it.

Strangely, only the tentacles were able to move freely at this point. The flames seemed to dislike the sticky limbs and didn't spread to the left arm at all. Bessen swung his claws, slashing out waves of flames. In a hurry, Chu Hengkong hooked onto the steel bars and leaped up with the help of the tentacles' elastic force.

His mind raced as he floated in the air. He had no Dragon Country Fist techniques at the moment, his combat relics were useless, and now was not the time to use that talisman. What else could work? What else...

There are also medicines!

The steel bar snapped, and Chu Hengkong fell to the ground, facing a massive fireball head-on. He gave up the chance to dodge and defend himself, using his tentacles to retrieve the unfinished Changle Pill. The burning heart fire had left him unable to even chew, so Chu Hengkong steeled himself and thrust the tentacles directly into his esophagus!

“…?”

Benson, who was spewing fireballs, was stunned. He had never seen an enemy like this before. He would rather be hit head-on than shove the entire tentacle into his esophagus. This self-destructive behavior was more like a sacrifice than an attack... a sacrifice...?

Bessen suddenly remembered the seemingly ambiguous tentacle and the various doubts during the battle. He immediately realized that it was a ritual in the battle! Chu Hengkong was indeed a contractor, and he was sacrificing pain to summon his contracted demon!

He could survive the demonic storm, and yet still move despite being struck by the Heart Fire... All these strange things were easily resolved before the "Contractor." This must be the power of Chu Hengkong's contracted demon! Suddenly realizing, Besson changed his tactics and used blue fire to create a counter-summoning formation. This formation resembled the "sealing formation" during the transformation, but without the central triple circle, and the outer symbols were only the "sea" representing the demon.

He hastily chanted a spell against his own kind: "In the name of my true form, my burning ambition, Arik Ferda Besen. Return to the Abyss, mad spirit of nothingness—"

"Hah!" Chu Hengkong waved his tentacles like waving a sword!

"What?!"

However, no new demon appeared. Chu Hengkong burst forth from the flames, striking Besen's head with a thunder whip. The unbridled force spread throughout the demon's body, damaging several mechanisms within the relic's body and instantly slowing Besen's movements. Its blue eyes blazed with fire, and the demon burned with rage: "What the hell are you playing at? Are you insulting me?!"

"Inexplicable!" Chu Hengkong responded coldly. The medicinal power spread like a spring, seeping into his body, instantly easing the burning pain. Besen repeated his old trick and unleashed another spell, but Chu Hengkong raced around the demon at an incredible speed, hurling water bombs at him. The speed of the water bombs connected them, their overlapping trajectories like a wheel spinning around Besen. Thirty, seventy, a hundred...

The water bullets didn't do much damage, but their intensity was incredibly intense, irritating Bessen to the point of rage. It thrust out its claws, unleashing a column of fire that vaporized the annoying, fly-like water bullets. But Chu Hengkong somersaulted into the air and continued to hurl them. The water bullet struck Bessen on the head, and the demon froze.

The limbs, torso, head, all the places that had been hit by the water bullets felt a pricking pain at the same time. Fine cracks spread across the snake's body, and then hundreds of wounds exploded at the same time!

Dragon Country Fist: Chaos Star. This secret technique uses high-frequency strikes to bury power into the enemy's body, exploding simultaneously to cause massive damage!

"Nonsense... Dragon Country Secret...?" Bethan was stunned. "A skillful hand...?"

Bessen moved, stopping and starting like a broken machine. Hundreds of stray bolts of light and fire erupted from the wound, transforming the surroundings into an unbearable, unsettling world. Chu Hengkong silently clenched his perception necklace, oblivious to the enemy's attacks, his gaze fixed solely on the blazing relics within the wound. Necklace, gloves, jewelry. Bessen's fireball. Dagger, feather, leaf. Scorched lungs. Needlework, mirror...

In the fire, he saw a pitch-black mirror, its edges dotted with purple diamonds, exactly the same mirror Mrs. Ansa had delivered. Chu Hengkong instantly returned from extreme movement to extreme stillness. He ducked, stepped forward, and drew his sword, which pierced the black mirror.

Bethan's body exploded.

(End of this chapter)