Chapter 81: Mountain Dwarves
The dazzling brilliance of the diamond proved its value. Captain Li accepted the letter, the Mo Crystal Card, and the diamond, then said decisively, “Fine. We’ll take this mission.”
I smiled. “With 100,000 gold coins, I think you can settle down in the capital. There should be more missions there—enough to make you rich. Later, if I have other matters, I’ll come find you again.”
Captain Li sighed. “Mr. Lei, thank you for helping us expose that Demon Race member’s identity, and for paying us such a heavy reward. I guarantee I’ll complete this mission in the shortest time. That Heart of Water you seized earlier is an elf treasure. I hope you can return it to them.”
I smiled. “You should be on your way.”
Seeing that I didn’t answer directly, Captain Li stopped insisting and led his men away from this place of trouble.
After I dealt with this batch of mercenaries smoothly, I said to Mo Yue, “Yue’er, wait on the side. I want to see for myself the elves’ formation. Only by constantly challenging myself can I achieve greater improvement.”
Mo Yue was full of confidence in me. She didn’t stop me, and with the Heart of Water in hand, she walked to one side.
I strolled up to the elves and said, “You can begin. Let me see just how powerful your Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation really is.”
Water Star said in a low voice, “From how you handled the mercenary group just now, I can tell you’re not someone driven by greed. So why must you snatch our Heart of Water? As long as you return it to us, we’ll leave immediately.”
I shook my head. “I’m not returning it for two reasons. First, it’s something the one I love wants. To win a beauty’s smile, I can’t return it to you. Second, your Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation has piqued my interest. I want to see it, so I still can’t return it. As long as you can defeat me, Yue’er will naturally use that whatever Heart of Water to trade for my little life. Enough nonsense—make your move.”
Anger flickered in Water Star’s eyes. “Young man, you may be strong, but you should know what matters.”
I frowned. “Why are you talking so much? If you won’t fight, then leave. Don’t block our path.”
Water Star said, “You… Fine. You brought this on yourself.” With that, she returned to her formation. All the elves began rotating again around the thirteen Elf Envoys as the center. From the way they formed up, this Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation seemed like it could be formed with any number of people. To be honest, I didn’t bear them any real malice. It was just that Mo Yue liked the Heart of Water, and I had no choice—I could only shoulder it for this girl.
Their coordination was extremely practiced; they must train together often. This Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation was probably the Elf Race’s trump card. As I watched the five-colored halo they formed press closer and closer, a nameless excitement rose in my chest.
The pressure gradually increased, forcing me to circulate Mad God Battle Energy to resist. Golden radiance flared across my whole body as I stared intently at the formation’s changes.
When they drew near, I let out a roar, my body flashing as I charged into the Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation. The moment I entered, I immediately sensed something was wrong. I could no longer see the elves’ figures clearly. I only felt wrapped in five-colored mist-clouds, and that terrifying pressure seemed about to tear me apart. I hurriedly fired several strands of Mad God Battle Energy in all directions, and the pressure eased a little. But those strands of Mad God Battle Energy vanished like clay oxen sinking into the sea. My heart jolted. I kept throwing punches outward nonstop—only then could I suppress the pressure coming from the formation. But this couldn’t continue. Once my battle energy was exhausted, I would be at their mercy. While resisting the formation’s crushing force, I observed the five-colored energy around me. I discovered the blue energy was the strongest; the entire formation was driven by that blue energy as it slammed into me.
As I observed, the Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation began launching real attacks. A surge of five-colored energy split off from the surroundings and shot straight at my chest. I shouted, “Wild Meteor!” and rushed to meet it. My entire body turned into a golden sphere of light as I slammed into the incoming energy.
To my surprise, when I touched that energy, I felt no resistance at all. My body passed straight through the five-colored energy, and I froze for a moment. Right then, an enormous pressure struck from behind. I hurriedly turned and threw several more punches, but I still couldn’t feel any solid target. This powerless feeling—strength with nowhere to land—was maddening. It seemed this formation was meant to completely grind down an enemy’s energy. If this continued, I would lose for sure. No. I had to risk it.
With that thought, I calmed my mind and gradually drew my Mad God Battle Energy back, guarding it around my body. I stopped attacking the surroundings. As I reined in my energy, the five-colored energy around me expanded, slowly squeezing inward. I felt as if a mountain pressed down on me, leaving me almost unable to breathe.
“Lei Xiang!” Mo Yue’s voice came through. From the anxiety in her voice, I pinpointed her location—she had entered the formation too. My heart tightened. I drew Mo Ming from my back and swung with all my strength, forcing the squeezing five-colored energy back. This girl—how could she be so disobedient? I had no choice. I had to go all out. I absolutely could not let Mo Yue suffer the slightest harm.
Cold light flickered in my eyes as I chanted, “Darkness gathers the soul; only through fall can there be freedom. Awaken—endless demonic power sleeping within my blood.” Black radiance burst from my whole body, immediately expanding the space around me by quite a bit. Four black iron-feathered wings stretched from my back, crazily absorbing the surrounding dark elements. Perhaps sensing the change in my power, I clearly heard Mo Yue chanting the same spell. At once, the pressure on me dropped sharply. The Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation must have split off part of its strength to “take care” of Mo Yue.
I gripped Mo Ming with both hands and gathered dark demonic power and Mad God Battle Energy onto it. A black-and-gold beam, five zhang long, shot straight into the sky, tearing open a slit in the five-colored energy overhead. I barked coldly, “People of the Elf Race, listen up. If you keep this up, I’ll fight with full force to kill.” This formation was formidable, but it still had limits. With the strength I was showing now, even Li Feng, the Destroy-Wind War God, wouldn’t dare be careless back then. I believed that if I struck with full force, I could break out of the formation. It was just that I didn’t know how many elves would die under Mo Ming at that point. To avoid forming a blood feud with the elves, I issued them my final ultimatum. Vast black fog surged from my body, forming a clearing three zhang in diameter inside the formation. The dark demonic power within me immediately reached its peak state.
The surrounding pressure vanished abruptly. The dazzling five-colored energy disappeared with it. Mo Yue was five zhang in front of me. When she saw me, she cheered and fluttered over with her four wings slightly spread. I sheathed Mo Ming back behind me, pulled her soft body into my arms, and kissed her smooth face. “Why were you so disobedient? Didn’t I tell you to watch from the side?”
Mo Yue puffed out her cheeks. “The moment you went into that formation, you vanished. I was so scared. I waited forever and you still didn’t come out, so I could only go in myself.”
I smiled faintly and set her down. “Yue’er was good.”
After putting Mo Yue down, I swept my gaze across the elves around us. Every one of them looked deathly pale, their eyes dim and dull—clearly from overexertion. Some younger elves, weaker in strength, were already swaying. Even the thirteen Elf Envoys were panting nonstop. It seemed this Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation drained them heavily too. If Mo Yue hadn’t charged in, I only needed to hold on a little longer—I likely could have broken it without even transforming.
I thought to myself: Mo Yue and I had already exposed our four-winged fallen angel identities. How should we handle this? As I hesitated, Water Star spoke. Her eyes were filled with helplessness. “So you were with that Demon Race member just now. What were you acting for? If you’d stated from the start that you were four-winged fallen angels, we never would’ve overestimated ourselves and tried to block you.”
I smiled faintly. “Get this straight: even fallen angels aren’t all on the same side. Believe it or not, we just happened to be here at the same time.”
Water Star stared at me. “Our Elf Race won’t let this go. I’ll return and report to the elders. They’ll come reclaim the Heart of Water.”
What I hated most was being threatened. I answered coldly, “Anytime. Let me ask you something—if we go all out right now, how many of you do you think could leave here alive?”
Water Star’s face changed drastically. She subconsciously took two steps back. “You…”
I burst out laughing. “If I wanted to kill people, I would’ve done it long ago. Go. If you have the ability, come to me anytime for the Heart of Water.”
Water Star’s eyes looked like they were about to spit fire. She glared at me hatefully. Her daughter stepped forward and shouted, “Mom, let’s fight him! Even if we die, the elders will avenge us!”
Water Star grabbed her daughter. “We’re leaving. A gentleman’s revenge can wait ten years.”
I stood with my hands behind my back, staring at them with ridicule. Water Star waved a hand, signaling all elves to gather. The elves were exhausted, but most of them had the will to die fighting. They actually didn’t listen to Water Star’s order and instead surrounded us.
I frowned. “Looking for death?”
At that moment, a vigorous old voice rang out. “Niece Water Star, I arrived late. Arrogant brat—take this!” A black lightning bolt appeared out of nowhere in midair and split toward me. The terrifying energy it carried sealed off every route I could dodge, as if it tore the air apart. It screamed toward me with a sharp howl. My heart jolted. The energy contained in that black lightning made me feel like I couldn’t take it—its concentrated attack power even stirred a trace of fear in me. I swung an arm and sent Mo Yue flying away, then shouted, “Crazy Arrow Ascends to Heaven!” I brought my palms together before my chest and thrust outward violently, firing a golden arrow-shaped battle energy. This was the most concentrated move among the Mad God Fist techniques I knew. Back then, even Li Feng struggled greatly to block it.
In the blink of an eye, the black lightning collided with my Crazy Arrow. The energy shockwave from the collision sent every nearby elf flying back three zhang. Under the pull of the clash, I also retreated two steps. The black lightning rebounded and flew back. This time, I saw it clearly—it was a short-handled battle axe.
Who possessed such strength? Although I wasn’t at my absolute strongest state right now, I was close to seventy percent of my blood-red angel form. Yet he still forced me back. You could imagine how terrifying he was. Could it be another War God? The Dragon God Empire truly hid dragons and crouching tigers. Was this an elf elder?
Mo Yue floated back and clung to my arm anxiously. “Husband, are you okay?”
I shook my head. “It’s nothing.”
A small figure came hopping toward us at high speed, reaching us in a few bounds. When I saw what he looked like, I almost laughed out loud. This person was only about one meter two or three tall, but extremely sturdy. He wore a vest made from some unknown animal hide, exposing thick yet short arms. He wore shorts below, his legs slightly bowed. His eyes were as big as copper bells. His face was covered in mottled gray-white beard, and his wild hair—like dead grass—was held back by a golden headband. In his right hand, he held a black battle axe covered in exquisitely fine carvings. The axe head was almost as big as the dwarf’s body, and waves of chill rushed at my face. It looked heavy, a fine weapon—yet the dwarf held it as lightly as a feather, showing his monstrous strength. The dwarf stared me up and down in shock. Clearly, in that exchange just now, he hadn’t gained any advantage either.
Mo Yue frowned as if thinking about something. Water Star stepped forward, bowed, and said, “Uncle Pa Lai, greetings.”
Mo Yue suddenly cried out, “I know who he is! He’s the Mountain Dwarf King. No wonder he’s so strong.”
I frowned. “Mountain Dwarf King?” Like the Elf Race, the dwarf race was one of the continent’s more unusual races. I remembered reading an introduction in the Tianshou Academy materials back then. The dwarf race seemed to be divided into forging dwarves and mountain dwarves. Many of the continent’s finest weapons were made by forging dwarves—their weapon-crafting skill surpassed any other race on the continent. As for mountain dwarves, also called battle dwarves, they were short, but born with divine strength—top-tier warriors. Could this inconspicuous little dwarf really be the king of the mountain dwarves? Then why did Water Star call him uncle?
Mountain Dwarf King Pa Lai laughed loudly at Water Star. “Little Water Star, the moment I got your letter, I brought a hundred warriors from the clan and rushed over. Earlier, when I was still far away, I saw you using the Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation over here, so I hurried ahead myself. What? You suffered a loss?”
Water Star nodded bleakly. “Uncle Pa Lai, these two Demon Race members snatched our Heart of Water. They also broke our Myriad Phenomena Elf Grand Formation.”
Pa Lai shouted, “What? Wait here—Uncle will help you take back the Heart of Water!” As he spoke, he stomped toward me in fury.
I said with contempt, “Since when did elves and dwarves start wearing the same open-crotch pants?”
Pa Lai snorted. “What do you know? Elves and dwarves have always had friendly ties between our peoples. Brat, are you Gu Chuan’s nephew, or that old Demon Emperor’s nephew? Your Demon Race’s strength has grown a lot—two four-winged fallen angels appeared at once. But I’m warning you: hand over the Heart of Water obediently. Even if the Demon Emperor sees me, he must respectfully call me ‘senior.’ If dwarves and elves join forces, your Demon Race might…” He gave a cold “hmph hmph.”
Seeing the arrogance on his face, I couldn’t help finding it funny. Calmly, I said, “I don’t care what your relationship is with the Demon Emperor. If you have the ability, come take it. As long as you can beat me, the Heart of Water is yours.”
Surprisingly, Pa Lai didn’t get angry. Instead, he burst into laughter. I thought he was laughing himself stupid and asked in confusion, “What are you laughing at? If you’re going to fight, hurry up.”
Pa Lai reined in his laughter and snorted. “Of course we’ll fight. But I like your fearless look. It’s like me when I was young—guts. Just now, were you the one who took my Universe Slash?”
What a weird temperament. I was clearly his enemy, yet he praised me. We’d already wasted a long time here, and I was getting impatient. “I don’t know what Universe Slash you’re talking about. But that broken axe of yours just now—I’m the one who knocked it back.”
Pa Lai flew into a rage, swinging his huge axe as he roared, “Broken axe? What do you mean broken axe? This is the strongest weapon personally forged by the most outstanding senior master among the forging dwarves, Master Si Ga Si—my Dark Lightning Axe! It has the power to split mountains and cleave peaks! And you call it a broken axe? I’ll fight you to the death!” With that, he lifted the giant axe with both hands, sprang upward, and fused man and axe into one strike as he chopped at me.
Earlier, when I insulted him, he didn’t get angry. Now, just because I called his weapon a broken axe, he exploded. Watching the massive battle axe fall, I didn’t dare be careless. I stepped back, drew Mo Ming again, crouched slightly, then snapped upward. Mo Ming, wrapped in black-and-gold battle energy, smashed into Pa Lai’s Dark Lightning Axe. With a deafening clang, sparks erupted in midair where the heavy sword and battle axe met. The shock made my ears ring. I took a step back, and Pa Lai was blasted backward by the rebound, landing steadily on the ground.
We both looked at our weapons. Neither was damaged, and we breathed out in relief at the same time.
I liked this kind of head-on, hard clash. Pa Lai’s powerful strength also stirred my fighting spirit. I roared, stepped forward, leaned my body slightly back first, drove with my waist and back, carried it into my arms, carried it into my hands, then swung the sword down viciously. Pa Lai laughed loudly and shouted, “Good!” He half-turned his body and drove the double-bladed battle axe Dark Lightning upward. Another clang—another spray of sparks. I was knocked back three steps, while Pa Lai’s feet sank deep into the earth.
I was exhilarated. I didn’t even use any Mad God Fist moves. I just kept chopping—one heavy slash after another. We both concentrated our battle energy onto our weapons. Clang after clang rang without end. The massive noise forced everyone present to retreat far away. Veins bulged along Pa Lai’s arms, his eyes wide with fury as he kept trading attacks with me. By feel alone, fighting him was even more satisfying than that fight with Li Feng. My blood boiled with every heavy impact. With strength and battle energy combined, we fought to a stalemate. The stamina drain was huge. At first we could attack continuously, but later, after each collision, we both needed to gasp for breath before launching the next strike.
Right then, a mass of figures approached rapidly, leaping like pellets of starlight—it was Pa Lai’s men arriving.
Pa Lai roared, “No one is allowed to interfere! He’s mine!” The arriving dwarves all looked almost the same as Pa Lai, each holding a slightly smaller battle axe.
This struggle lasted nearly two hours. The two of us sat on the ground, panting hard. I laughed loudly. “Old bastard, your strength really holds up.”
Pa Lai said, “You’re not bad either. First time I’ve seen someone who can contend with me in pure strength. Let’s go again.”
I forced a bitter smile. “Again? Can you even swing that Dark Lightning Axe of yours? If you can still launch one more attack, I’ll concede.”
Pa Lai’s face reddened. “Forget it. I’m out of strength. Let’s call it a draw.”
In truth, I still had the ability to keep fighting. Because I was in my fallen angel transformation, the four wings behind me constantly drew in dark elements from the surroundings to replenish me, letting me maintain a certain level of strength. But after fighting Pa Lai for so long, I felt a sense of mutual respect and didn’t want to embarrass him. So I accepted the draw.
Water Star stepped forward. “Uncle Pa Lai, I—”
Pa Lai waved her off. “Uncle is old. I can’t help you. Brat, the Heart of Water is useless to you anyway. Why not return it to my niece?”
Using Mo Ming to support myself, I stood up and said arrogantly, “As long as they can beat me, I’ll return the Heart of Water. Old man, let me ask you—if your wife wanted something, and you helped her seize it, then the original owner came to demand it back, would you return it?”
I had no idea my words struck right at Mountain Dwarf King Pa Lai’s sore spot. This guy was terrifyingly strong, but he had one fatal weakness—he feared his wife to death. Hearing that, he hesitated and couldn’t answer. He glanced at Water Star, then asked me, “You still have strength to fight?”
Mo Yue stepped forward. “Husband, let me do it.”
I shook my head. “No need. If I can’t even protect my own wife, I don’t deserve to be a man.” As I spoke, rage surged through my whole body, releasing a shocking fighting intent. My black hair turned blood-red in an instant, followed by my eyes and wings. The Mad God Battle Energy that had weakened during the battle condensed again, and my fatigue recovered at an astonishing speed. A faint golden-red radiance circled my body, flashing nonstop. The complex symbol of the Mad God appeared on my forehead. I stared coldly at Water Star. “Come. All of you together.”
Water Star and the elves were stunned by what they saw. But the dwarves who arrived later refused to accept it. Almost all the mountain dwarves threw their battle axes at the same time. By the time Pa Lai realized and tried to stop them, a hundred fine-steel battle axes had already arced toward me in a hundred parabola trajectories.
I threw back my head and laughed wildly. The golden-red radiance surged explosively as I roared, “Mad God Battle Armor!” The heart-protector mirror flashed out from my chest first, and golden light burst forth. Perhaps because my strength was drained too heavily, only the heart-protector mirror and chest armor appeared this time—but that was enough. The instant the hundred battle axes entered my battle-energy aura, they were swallowed by the golden-red radiance and vanished without a trace.
In my strongest state, I possessed at least the strength of a lower-rank War God. How could they possibly hurt me? I snorted coldly. “From now on, whoever attacks me again—I’ll take his life.” The chilling aura made both the mountain dwarves and the elves retreat again and again, opening an empty space before me.
In truth, I knew my own suffering. I couldn’t maintain this state for long. Unless I immediately went all out and slaughtered everyone, I would revert to my original form.
Water Star said bleakly, “Enough. Enough. We accept the loss. Even if the elders come, they might not be able to do anything to you. We’re leaving.” With that, she turned, supported Pa Lai, and prepared to lead the elves and dwarves away.
I had just let out a breath when Mo Yue suddenly said, “Wait.”
I nearly jumped from fright. I thought, My little ancestor, don’t make trouble for me now—your husband is already at the limit.
Water Star spun around, her face full of wronged tears as she shouted, “What else do you want?”
Mo Yue beat her four wings and floated forward. The elves thought she meant to harm Water Star and hurried to shield her. Fearing Mo Yue might be hurt, I floated over as well.
Mo Yue suddenly looked apologetic as she handed over the brocade box holding the Heart of Water. “I’m sorry, Elf Sister. I didn’t know this thing was that important to you. Please take it back.”
Mo Yue suddenly becoming sensible filled me with emotion. I called softly, “Yue’er.”
Mo Yue smiled at me gently. “A few days ago, I heard you say Zi Xue Sister uses water magic, so I originally wanted to give this Heart of Water to her as a first meeting gift. I didn’t expect it would make the Elf Sisters struggle like this. It’s better to return it to them. Okay, husband?”
My eyes felt a little wet. I lowered my voice. “We’ll do everything your way. Good Yue’er.”
Water Star accepted the recovered Heart of Water in disbelief and bowed. “Thank you.”
Mo Yue smiled. “It was our fault in the first place. What’s there to thank? We caused you a lot of trouble. I’m really sorry.”
Seeing the matter resolve unexpectedly and perfectly, I finally breathed easier. I could feel the power I’d forced together draining away little by little. I gave a bitter smile. “Yue’er, why didn’t you say earlier it was because you wanted to give it to Zi Xue? She already has a Sea-Blue Stone that’s far stronger than this. This Heart of Water is useless to her.” After I said that, my body went limp and I fell toward Mo Yue.
Mo Yue hurriedly caught me and cried out, “Husband! Husband! What’s wrong with you?”
(Because the protagonist had already fainted, the next short portion used third-person narration.)
Pa Lai’s stamina had recovered a bit. He said to Mo Yue, “He’s fine. He’s just exhausted.”
Only then did Mo Yue relax. Holding me, she was about to bid Water Star farewell, but she discovered all the water elves present were frozen there, staring blankly at Lei Xiang in her arms.
Mo Yue asked, “Elf Sister, what’s wrong with you?”
Water Star was the first to come back to herself. She let out an “ah,” then looked at Lei Xiang with a complicated expression. “Demon Race young lady, I don’t know how I should address you.”
Mo Yue smiled. “Just call me Mo Yue.”
Water Star said, “Mo Yue little sister, I wonder if you can come to our village as guests. I mean no harm. The village is very close. I only want to fulfill a host’s duty.”
Mo Yue looked at her, puzzled, unable to tell what she was up to for the moment.
Mountain Dwarf King Pa Lai said, “Yes. You returned the Heart of Water to them, so there’s no hostile relationship now. I also want to drink a couple cups with that kid. I, Pa Lai, have never really admired anyone—he’s an exception. I want to spar with him properly.”
Water Star said, “Mo Yue little sister, our village has lots of fun things. Go and rest a bit.” She pointed at Lei Xiang and continued, “When he recovers, it won’t be too late for you to set off again. Carrying a big man on the road like this is very inconvenient.”
Her words made Mo Yue tempted. After thinking a bit, she said, “Alright then. We’ll trouble you.”
Water Star immediately beamed with joy. “Not trouble, not trouble. Let’s go.” As she spoke, she had the elves lead the way. She originally wanted a few male elves to help Mo Yue carry Lei Xiang, but Mo Yue refused. She didn’t want to leave her beloved for even a moment.
The village Water Star mentioned was “very close,” yet they walked a full day.
When Lei Xiang woke up, he found himself in an unfamiliar place. Everything around him was made of wood, and a faint fragrance drifted from a bundle of blue flowers in the center of the room.
He couldn’t help thinking in confusion: Where was this? And where did his Yue’er go?
He regulated his breathing and found that most of the energy inside him had recovered. Joy rose in his heart, but worry for Mo Yue quickly filled it again. He struggled up. At that moment, the door opened. A pretty water elf girl walked in, holding a tray of fruit. Seeing him sitting up, she smiled. “You’re awake.”