Volume 5 Chapter 50
by Need_More_SleepVolume 5 + Chapter 50: The Infinite Evil-Sealing Array
A faint cut appeared on Xia Yi’s face, and a thin line of blood slowly seeped out.
It was Wu Tong’s Godspeed: Iaijutsu Slash from earlier, it had still managed to wound her.
“How could this be…?!”
A look of disbelief surfaced on Xia Yi’s face.
She had already seen through Wu Tong’s sword technique, she should have achieved perfect defense. So why had she suddenly been injured?
Even if it were merely a light graze from sword qi, it shouldn’t have happened!
“Silver Dragon Princess, no matter what, I’ve still wounded you. Do you understand what that means? If my blade were just a little faster, a little more precise, this cut might have appeared on your neck instead, or even severed your head entirely,” Wu Tong said coldly.
“You talk too much.”
“My apologies. When one grows old, one tends to ramble.”
Wu Tong crouched down. Like a compressed spring, he bent his legs to store strength, then erupted forward in an explosive burst.
His speed was astonishing. While airborne, he rotated in an orderly manner, displaying extraordinary control over his body.
That such exaggerated movements could be performed by this aged body was truly breathtaking, his footwork was nothing short of masterful.
At the same time, the swordsman of the White Night Sect swung the katana in his hand, whipping up a whirlwind of steel.
“Soaring Sky Slash!”
Xia Yi released a streak of sword light and charged straight toward Wu Tong.
By nature, dragons possessed overwhelming strength. Instead of maintaining distance and relying on quick-draw slashes, Wu Tong had chosen to engage her head-on, this was practically offering himself up.
Wu Tong’s katana collided violently with Xia Yi’s holy sword, causing the entire train carriage to tremble.
Xia Yi had expected that, under the crushing superiority of draconic strength, Wu Tong would be smashed down in disgrace.
Yet the scene she envisioned did not occur. The two of them were… evenly matched?
Both were shaken back by the other’s force, neither gained the upper hand.
The advantage Xia Yi had previously held had shifted into perfect equilibrium.
“How could you possibly surpass me in strength?” Xia Yi demanded, utterly perplexed.
“So the arrogance of the dragon race has finally been crushed,” Wu Tong sneered.
He did not answer directly, instead offering only mockery.
Xia Yi lowered her head, glanced at the holy sword in her hand, then looked back at Wu Tong.
Had he suddenly used some method to grow stronger?
No, that did not seem right.
She had sensed no increase in Wu Tong’s aura. That left only one possibility, she herself had grown weaker.
“There’s a suppressive magic array on the Flying Swallow. It’s weakening my abilities, isn’t it?!” Xia Yi uncovered the clue.
“Silver Dragon Princess, you’ve finally realized? On this train, the array of our Lord has already been laid! As long as it continues suppressing you, your abilities will steadily diminish, from the once invincible apex species, to merely equal the physical strength of our foxfolk. And before long, you’ll become even weaker than a human! At that point, killing you will be effortless!”
“The Lord of the White Night?”
Xia Yi had no idea who this so-called Lord of the White Night was.
But anyone capable of casting such an extraordinary array must possess overwhelming power, at least at the level of a King among superior species.
This was indeed dire. If she continued fighting Wu Tong within the confines of the array, it would not take long before she fell into disadvantage. That disadvantage would only expand until defeat became inevitable.
Therefore, the best course of action now was…
“The outcome of this battle was decided from the very beginning, Silver Dragon Princess. You cannot win, ”
Xia Yi lowered her head. While he was speaking, she struck with lightning speed, her sword flashing before he could react.
Against someone who relied on such despicable means, she had no intention of observing chivalry.
Wu Tong’s eyes widened. He hastily raised his katana to block. Though he managed to defend, the force smashed him into the wall.
Seizing the opportunity, Xia Yi dashed through the carriage.
Her only chance of victory was to locate the array and destroy it.
Since the array could continuously suppress her and all dragonkind, it had to exist somewhere within the train’s vicinity.
“Where is it? Where exactly?!”
Xia Yi was anxious. If she could just find it, she would certainly be able to destroy it.
Under normal circumstances, the closer one approached a magic array, the denser the concentration of mana would become, this could be used as a guide.
Yet strangely, no matter where she moved, the density of mana showed no obvious gradient. She could not pinpoint the array’s position at all.
“It’s useless. On the Flying Swallow, you will never find our Lord’s array!”
Wu Tong had already caught up from behind, katana in hand, executing a sudden pursuit slash.
Xia Yi had no choice but to turn and engage him.
Their weapons clashed again in a contest of raw power.
She could clearly feel it, her strength output had dropped drastically.
“This is a train bound for hell. Filthy outsiders, your only destiny is to be purified and sent to the abyss.”
“Damn it…”
Xia Yi attempted to shove Wu Tong away.
In the reflection of his katana’s blade, something peculiar appeared, something she happened to catch sight of.
Bang!
Wu Tong exerted force. This time, Xia Yi was the one pushed back.
He followed with a series of relentless attacks. At a critical moment, Xia Yi invoked chant suppression and cast a Frost Magic Shield, blocking the assault.
“It seems defeating you completely will take a little more time,” Wu Tong frowned. “Dragons are indeed troublesome.”
“So this… is the true nature of the array?”
Xia Yi looked out the window.
She saw a ritual banner planted beside the railway tracks, swiftly passed by the speeding Flying Swallow.
During her earlier stalemate with Wu Tong, she had glimpsed the same kind of banner.
This meant that along the railway, at regular intervals, identical banners had been set up.
The suppressive array of the White Night’s Lord was not placed on the Flying Swallow at all, no wonder she could not find it within the train.
Those banners were the true suppressive array.
“So you’ve finally discovered it, Silver Dragon Princess. Your perception truly is sharp, an ordinary mage would never have understood.”
Wu Tong gazed out the window, a look of admiration and reverence crossing his face.
“That’s right. The banners installed along both sides of the railway each activate a suppression array lasting several seconds, its range sufficient to cover the train passing along the tracks. By setting the timing in advance, once the Flying Swallow begins speeding forward, it achieves continuous, infinite coverage throughout its journey.”
Under such an arrangement, finding the core of the array and destroying it was utterly impossible.
After all, each banner was a core.
“This is what our Lord prepared to purge the dragon race,
The Infinite Evil-Sealing Array!”
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