Vol 2 Book 2 Chapter 16 (2/2)

Xiao Hei elevated himself once more, and rained down on the birds with all four of his cannons. Fang Shui’er shot out one arrow that split into two, and then four, and then as many shafts as there could be to cover the sky. Zhi Wu raised his s.h.i.+eld and planted into the ground, and his weapon emitted a huge fan-shaped indigo ripple as the runic glyph inscribed on it glowed brighter than ever. Zeng Qian clasped her shoulders with her hands, and her bugs gathered into a giant skull form that flew forward with its mouth open.

The rain of light, the arrows, the indigo ripple and the skull collided against the flaming birds in the air, and loud noises were heard over and over again. The light faded, the arrows were broken, the bugs were burned and the birds slowly died out.

Liu Meng, without her wings now, jumped forward and made for Zhi Wu, who had the strongest defense out of the four. A small blaze appeared in her palm, its color changing from red to orange, and then from orange to black. She pushed it down slowly on Zhi Wu’s s.h.i.+eld.

Bang!

An explosion of indigo and Zhi Wu sank into the ground. Before he could recuperate, Liu Meng brought down her other hand.

Bang!

Another blast. The s.h.i.+eld shook, and Zhi Wu’s finger bled. He was now knee-deep in the ground. Liu Meng, however, continued her onslaught and struck down again with her right hand.

Bang!

The light on the s.h.i.+eld dimmed. Zhi Wu’s lips were colored by blood, and he pushed his s.h.i.+eld upward with his right shoulder; he was now waist deep.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Liu Meng did not stop until a dozen blows later. The giant s.h.i.+eld has shattered and Zhi Wu could no longer be seen. Liu Meng then took a step back, waved her right hand and all of the fire birds gathered around her and formed a pair of giant wings, just like before.

“The second one…”  Liu Meng ascended into the air again and stared at her foes coldly.

“Zhi Wu…” Xiao Hei roared in sadness and dove toward the ground. “Buy me thirty seconds,” he yelled, and his metallic armor expanded once again with a series of loud thuds until a giant cannon was seen. A small vortex formed around the mouth of the cannon tube as the energy within it gathered for a terrible strike.

“High-energy ionic beam…” Liu Meng raised her eyebrows: she felt threatened for the first time. She dove toward Xiao Hei to stop him from charging his attack, but was stopped in her track by another arrow which grazed past her ear and cut down a lock of hair.

‘Starfall Arrow…’ Liu Meng’s thought was interrupted by an avalanche of projectiles that Fang Shui’er barraged toward her. Each arrow was aimed towards her from a different angle, following a beautiful arc-like trajectory. Liu Meng fastened her pace and barely managed to avoid the attack.

The skull formed by the insects had spread out into streaks of blackness that each a.s.sailed Liu Meng on their own. As the insects fell one by one, the putrid smell intensified. Zeng Qian emitted another terrible screech and her mouth opened until it seemed like her lower jaw had dislocated. Another torrent of insects suddenly came out of her throat and flew toward Liu Meng, enveloping her in a dark tornado. The tornado grew in size until it seemed like Zeng Qian’s body had disintegrated.

Caught between the arrow and the bugs, Liu Meng was in quite a difficult situation. The flame on her wings dimmed out after three arrows pierced through them, and the black smoke emitted from the insects being burned thickened. Liu Meng gave a severe look to the cannon tube in the distance.

“Phoenix Welcome!” she said in a panting voice, and nine flashes of red light shot out from her body. Nine crimson birds with burning feathers pierced through the black mist and flew toward Fang Shui’er. The latter squinted and after a flash of colored light within her eyes, shot nine arrows to meet the oncomers. However, the birds each flapped their wings and managed to barely dodge the projectiles. Fang Shui’er quickly pounced to the side and shot more arrows while running away from the birds.

Without the distraction of the arrows, Liu Meng landed back on the ground and pushed upward with her hands. Her large wings flapped until the flame rose and pushed away the black cloud.

Bang!

A hole suddenly appeared in the ground. An imposing silhouette jumped out of it: it was Zhi Wu. He seemed more ferocious than ever, and his height had reached three meters. There was a second syringe stuck to his abdomen. He leaped toward Liu Meng and locked her between his arms. Liu Meng’s flame produced a sizzling sound and white smoke as it burned through Zhi Wu’s flesh. Zeng Qian’s insects suddenly gathered into a black ribbon that closed in on the two and bound them together.

Fang Shui’er clenched her teeth, turned around and shot three more arrows in quick succession at Liu Meng’s right shoulder, left abdomen, and right leg. An instant later and she felt the nine consecutive blows of the fire birds colliding with her body. However, Liu Meng, who was already caught by the dual-p.r.o.nged grasp of Zhi Wu and Zeng Qian, could no longer dodge her arrows, and the shafts pierced through Zhi Wu and Liu Meng’s body, holding them together.

Finally, a flash of white light came out of the cannon tube. It traveled slowly toward Liu Meng, but on its pace, even s.p.a.ce itself was ripped apart by its destructive power.

“Liu Meng—” Li Yiming cried out.

2 more chapters until the conclusion of Book 2!!