Volume 5 Chapter 92
by Need_More_SleepVolume 5 + Chapter 92: Beneath The Abyss
In such a critical situation, Xia Yi had no choice left, she released her true dragon form.
The silver-haired little girl transformed into a small silver dragon.
Flapping her wings with all her strength, she forced herself into flight.
Both Little Red and the little fox had already lost consciousness. Below them lay a bottomless void, if they were left to fall like this, something terrible would surely happen, possibly even costing them their lives.
“Fox-radish!”
The small silver dragon beat her wings and flew toward the little fox.
She bit gently onto the back of the fox’s neck and lifted her up.
Straining to keep her eyes open, Xia Yi searched for Little Red. Through her blurred vision, she spotted a flash of red falling through the darkness. She quickly flew over and grabbed one of the red nine-tailed fox’s tails with her claws.
At last, she had saved them both.
“Mm…”
Holding the little fox in her jaws and clutching Little Red in her claws, Xia Yi began to falter from exhaustion.
She tilted her head upward and realized she was already far from the surface, the faint light above had shrunk to a mere point.
In her current condition, flying back up was nearly impossible. She likely wouldn’t even make it halfway before running out of strength and falling again.
She couldn’t take that risk.
After a brief moment of thought, Xia Yi slowed her descent, carefully avoiding falling debris while focusing her mind, listening intently for any sound rising from below…
Thud.
She heard it, the sound of stone striking solid ground.
So the abyss below was not truly bottomless. There was somewhere to land.
Carrying both Little Red and the little fox, the small silver dragon descended cautiously at a safe speed, finally touching down on stable ground.
“Ah…”
Panting heavily, Xia Yi placed the little fox on the ground, her mouth now full of pink fur.
She set Little Red down as well, her entire body feeling as though it might fall apart from exhaustion. If she lay down now, she would likely fall asleep instantly.
“No… I have to hold on a little longer… can’t… sleep…”
Xia Yi bit down on her own tongue.
Pain!
The sharp sting cleared her dulled mind somewhat. Now was not the time to sleep, she needed to assess whether the surroundings were safe.
“Where is this? It feels like… beneath the sealed domain?”
The tiny silver dragon looked around.
The light from above had nearly vanished, everything was pitch-black. She had clearly reached a very deep layer.
Ordinarily, in such a place, one wouldn’t be able to see even a hand before their face. Yet within this darkness, she noticed a faint glow.
“What… is that? It’s glowing?”
Curious, Xia Yi approached the faint light and discovered it was… a plant?
The flower emitted a soft luminescence, illuminating a small area around it.
“If there are plants here, that means… this place can support life.”
Xia Yi licked her finger and raised it, sensing the airflow. To her surprise, the air here was moving.
Not only that, if she listened carefully, she could even hear the faint sound of running water.
“That’s great…!”
A smile appeared on Xia Yi’s face. This truly was a blessing amid misfortune.
If she could find the water source, she could rest and recover her strength, then think about how to leave this place and return to the surface.
With her magic nearly depleted, Xia Yi plucked the glowing flower to conserve energy. She tucked it into the little fox’s fluffy ear to use as a light source.
Just like that, the fox became a glowing “Fox-radish.”
“Let’s find the water first.”
Xia Yi picked up the little fox with her jaws and grabbed Little Red again, moving carefully through the silent darkness, following the faint sound of water.
After advancing for some distance, she began to hear additional noises.
Footsteps.
Something was approaching, already very close.
Xia Yi was startled, fear creeping into her heart. She had always disliked dark, lightless places, especially when something unknown lurked within them.
Suddenly, a shadow flickered past the edge of the dim glow.
“…!”
Her body trembled.
She turned to track it, but another shadow darted past her vision.
The footsteps grew clearer, circling around her.
Whoosh!!
The shadow seized its chance and lunged at the small silver dragon.
Xia Yi hastily summoned a thin layer of ice, forming a protective barrier around herself.
The shadow slammed into the ice wall. Under the faint glow, Xia Yi finally saw what it was.
A skeleton.
It was clearly the remains of a nine-tailed fox, its skull cracked, its expression twisted in a grotesque snarl.
Xia Yi recalled what Little Red had told her, the evil manifestation had slaughtered many nine-tailed foxes within the sealed domain.
Because of its nature, negative emotions amplified the resentment of those who died. Over time, that resentment accumulated, causing some of the dead to become undead.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The skeleton pounded against the thin ice barrier, trying to shatter it and attack Xia Yi.
The violent impacts echoed loudly through the dark space, harsh and grating.
More and more skeletons appeared, gathering from all directions.
“Damn it…”
Despair crept into Xia Yi’s heart. With her current level of magic, how could she possibly fight these undead?
As for swordsmanship, it was even less possible. She probably couldn’t even lift a weapon right now.
The skeletons surged forward, surrounding the ice barrier and attacking it relentlessly.
Cracks began to spread across the surface, it was about to shatter.
Xia Yi lowered her head, biting her lip…
“No… I can’t die here!”
A change came over the small silver dragon’s eyes as she made her decision.
She raised her claw and used the last traces of her magic to carve a summoning circle into the ground.
The instant the barrier shattered, her claw pressed down onto the circle, activating it.
The undead lunged at her all at once, but from within the circle burst forth a surge of intertwined red and black light.
Battle aura crackling with crimson lightning erupted outward, blasting the surrounding skeletons away. A black-armored knight answered the call of his summoner, descending upon this place.
“Help me, Black Knight!” Xia Yi cried out.
“…”
The Black Knight lowered his head and glanced at the small silver dragon beneath him. Through their contract, he immediately recognized her as Xia Yi, and nodded.
Then, grabbing a skeleton, he hurled it into the crowd, sending a swath of undead flying and forcefully opening a path.
Xia Yi quickly seized the opportunity, carrying the little fox and Little Red as she flew away.
But after only a short distance, her heart suddenly clenched with piercing pain.
This is bad.
Her magic was already nearly depleted, and she had summoned a high-consumption berserker entity like the Black Knight. Now that her magic was exhausted, it had begun to drain her life force instead…
Yet in that moment, she had had no other choice.
Her heartbeat slowed. Just as she felt herself about to lose consciousness and fall,
something astonishing happened.
The burden on her body suddenly vanished. This had never happened before… the Black Knight had voluntarily severed the connection with his summoner.
He did not disappear.
The cost of the summoning was now being borne by the summon itself.
“GRAAAAAAH, !”
Though this method could only sustain his presence for a short time, the Black Knight continued fighting the undead to protect Xia Yi.
“Black Knight…!”
Xia Yi was so moved she nearly cried. She couldn’t understand how a berserk summon could make such a rational choice.
But she had no time to dwell on it. Not wanting to waste his sacrifice, she forced herself to fly onward, escaping the area.
Behind her, the Black Knight deliberately created loud disturbances, drawing all enemies away to the other side…
…
…
Thud.
Both Xia Yi’s body and mind had reached their limits. She didn’t know how far she had gone, but it seemed she had reached a water source, and there were no skeletons nearby. This should be a safe area.
After setting down the little fox and Little Red, she had no strength left to think. She collapsed onto the ground and fell into a deep sleep.
…
…
“Mmm…”
After an unknown amount of time, the little fox slowly opened her eyes in a haze.
She sat up, shaking her head, and realized she was in a dark space.
As her gaze shifted, she saw lying beside her…
a small silver dragon… about the size of a cat.
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