Chapter 654 - No Pain, No Gain (1/2)
Chapter 654: No Pain, No Gain
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
With a dull boom, translucent Void energy began pouring out of the Black Dragon’s wings, pushing it forward.
However, the dragon’s forward momentum did not last long, as it was then easily pulled from behind by an invisible giant hand.
Hum, hum… A saucer-shaped Void Ferry with a diameter of more than 300 feet slowly drew closer to it. It finally came to a stop 50 miles away from the dragon’s massive body. A tall, red hologram then appeared on top of the vessel.
The image stood approximately 10,000 feet tall. The Void Ferry hovered beneath it like an insect hovering in the dark expanse of the Void. After a while, the shimmering image finally solidified into the serpentine form of the God of Destruction.
From the Naga’s hologram came a voice which resounded through the white mists dispersed in all directions across the Sea of Void. “Link, you’re trapped. Surrender and swear your loyalty to me, and I will help you.”
Link’s wing thrusters were still at full blast as he desperately tried to pull himself away from the negative-energy pitfall. He replied, “I’d rather die.”
“The way I see it, you don’t really have a choice,” said the God of Destruction with a hint of glee in her voice. She watched as Link struggled against the pitfall’s gravitational pull. “In the realm of Firuman, I may not be able to deal with you personally, but here in the Sea of Void, you are no more than an insect before me. You’ve killed many of my lieutenants. Things have been smooth sailing for you so far back in Firuman. I would like to see you being slowly ground away by despair for a change.”
The Void Ferry slowly continued its approach towards the negative-energy pitfall. The God of Destruction silently observed Link’s struggle against imminent death from her perch.
Boom! Link swept his wings back in an attempt to put even more distance between him and the pitfall. However, it was all in vain. He was now like a bug trapped in spider’s web. Any further attempt to break free from this invisible web was pointless at this point.
Every new burst of Void energy from his wing thrusters simply shaved off a huge chunk of energy in his body, pushing him closer and closer towards his demise.
However, dragons naturally possessed high stamina. Though it could be said with certainty that he was now on a one-way path towards certain destruction, the process would be extremely slow. It would take more than four hours before Link would start to show signs of fatigue.
The God of Destruction continued silently observing the dragon’s struggle against death. To a deity like herself, the span of four hours was nothing. She would receive a surge of pleasure as the look of desperation on Link’s face intensified with each passing moment. It was an experience she would not mind savoring for another eight hours if she had to.
When it looked as if Link was about to fall into the negative-energy pitfall, the God of Destruction languidly held out a hand, which stretched out rapidly until it reached the dragon’s body.
“It’s been fun… Wait, you’re not Link!”
The moment she held onto the dragon’s body, the God of Destruction immediately sensed that something was not right. It was merely an empty husk!
The body she was holding still retained its flawless dragon scales, sturdy muscles, and skeleton. From afar, it looked exactly like the real thing. However, upon holding the body in her hand, she immediately realized that it was completely devoid of a soul.
To a god, life’s true essence resided in one’s soul, whereas one’s physical body was merely the result of an amalgamation of various energies. Any god worth their salt would be able to bring into existence a mortal’s physical body without breaking a sweat.
“Well played! Ejecting your soul from your physical body and leaving an empty husk behind to fool me, well played indeed! You certainly have spirit, mortal!” All that the God of Destruction was feeling right now was pure, burning anger. Energy now surged into her fingertips in waves. Bang! There was a sudden sound of an explosion. The dragon’s body had burst into pieces like a balloon between her fingers!
Link’s dragon body might be nigh indestructible to most mortals. However, in the face of a god’s power, it was just as fragile as a piece of tofu.
When the dragon body exploded, the God of Destruction’s anger subsided somewhat. All that was now left in her was an odd sense of disappointment.
The dragon body that she had decimated was considerably more powerful than most Legendary bodies. Not only did it possess a Level-18 magical resistance, but a highly-refined perpetual spell also seemed to have been cast on it as well. Such a body would have been of incomparable worth to a Level-13 Legendary master like Link. She never would have thought that Link would give it up so easily.
However, Link had managed to deceive her by leaving his dragon form behind. Her more outstanding subordinates had shown the same spirit as displayed by Link moments ago.
If she were to have someone like him working under her, she would already have brought all of Firuman to its knees a long time ago. It was truly a shame to have Link slip through her fingers once more.
He must already have fled the place four hours ago. There won’t be any point in chasing him down. The God of Destruction then withdraw her enormous figure from outside the Void Ferry back into the vessel’s interior.
“Almighty one, congratulations on finally killing Link.” Glyn, the demon Magician, stepped forth to extend his congratulations to his master. He had only seen the dragon’s body explode into pieces in the God of Destruction’s hand.
Shooting a sideways glance at him, the God of Destruction coldly spoke, “Go, back to Firuman!”
Link had made quite a home for himself in Firuman. To make matters worse, he now had more than 3000 Legendary demons under him. She could do without taking the entire realm for herself. She just could not allow Link to continue existing in this world!
Glyn was confused as to what was going on. However, the God of Destruction did not seem to be in a mood to be pestered by anyone at the moment. For his own life’s sake, he decided to keep his mouth shut, lest he say something that might incur her wrath.
Outside, Link was already hurtling through the Sea of Void at top speed. Soon, a hazy ball of light began growing before him. It was the realm of Firuman, his second home.
In order to buy himself some time, Link had abandoned his dragon form, as well as a huge portion of his dragon heart. All that was left was his human form, covered by a layer of magically immune dragon scales which prevented him from taking any damage from the Void energy outside.
He still retained his Level-13 Midstage power level. However, the scale of his power had been reduced by more than 80 percent. His power recovery rate had been halved as well. The loss he had sustained this time was simply unimaginable.
However, the loss of his dragon form was a price that Link was willing to pay if it meant escaping eternal servitude under the God of Destruction.
Time seems to work differently in each realm. I wonder how much time has passed since my departure from Firuman? Are the High Elves still proceeding with their plans for realm reunification? If so, how much progress have they made by now? Has Orida Fortress finally engaged in battle? How’s Celine doing right now?