Chapter 107: Shadow Dragon
Since that strange snowstorm, she had been walking for a while.
She was more worried about everyone else than about herself.
It was obvious that the strange snowstorm hadn't been a natural phenomenon. Someone was clearly doing something unknown up on this snowy mountain.
She had to find everyone quickly.
Just then, a sound reached her ears, like something collapsing.
Jean immediately looked in the direction of the sound, frowning.
"That direction is... Wyrmrest Valley?"
Yuxie and Hughes had just left the cave a second before it collapsed.
With a loud crashing sound, the snow mixed with rubble caved in, and the cave they had been in no longer existed.
The two of them moved a safe distance away, vigilantly observing their surroundings.
A pair of huge wings first stretched out from beneath the collapsed debris, followed by a massive dark red body crawling out.
A dark red dragon, its entire body covered in dark red scales, emerged, opening its mouth to let out a deafening roar. The scales reflected the last rays of the setting sun.
"Is this... Durin?" Yuxie furrowed his brow and whispered.
Eroch must have used some form of alchemy. He originally intended to control the residual power in Durin's heart, but it was clear that things hadn't gone as he planned—Durin had "come back to life."
To be precise, Durin had died centuries ago. Unless the alchemist who created Durin personally intervened, there was no way Durin should have returned to the world.
The Durin before them could only be considered a low-tier version.
The power contained in Durin's heart had been materialized through Eroch's alchemy, occupying Eroch's body and taking this current form.
For Yuxie and Hughes, the Durin before them was enormous, but compared to the legendary Shadow Dragon Durin, it was still lacking in many ways.
After all, it was just the power of a heart.
Yuxie took a deep breath and looked down the mountain.
He could see Mondstadt in the distance.
At this moment, the day was nearing its end. The people of Mondstadt should have finished their busy work for the day and were probably preparing to rest.
Many would choose to gather with friends at the tavern for a drink, after all, in Mondstadt, which adult doesn't drink?
Perhaps some would go straight home after work, lie down, and do nothing, because work had been exhausting. Few people were as tireless as Jean.
Everyone's life was ordinary, but that ordinariness was beautiful.
Centuries ago, Durin brought disaster, stealing the ordinary lives of many.
What about now?
If they allowed the Durin before them to leave Dragonspine, the tragedy from centuries ago might repeat itself.
"Eroch..." Hughes gripped the hilt of his sword, gritting his teeth, his eyes burning with fury.
"Hughes, you go first, find someone to help." Yuxie stood in front of Hughes, turning his back to him.
"If that's the case, then you'll be left alone..." Hughes said, his voice full of reluctance.
He knew very well that he shouldn't have chosen the adventurer profession—it was meant for those with the ability.
But he was weak, too weak to even handle ordinary monsters.
He should have chosen a stable job and quietly lived out the rest of his life.
But he didn't want that. He didn't want to look back on his life in old age and feel nothing but regret.
"Don't worry about me. Go quickly..." Before Yuxie could finish, a disturbance around them interrupted him.
The two of them looked around, and many monsters appeared, surrounding them.
Perhaps Eroch's alchemy wasn't entirely a failure after all; at least these monsters had been affected.
Compared to usual, the monsters now looked even more vicious, their eyes gleaming with hostility.
"It seems there's no way to escape now," Yuxie said quietly. "Then grip your sword tight, Hughes."
Hughes' hand trembled slightly as he gripped the sword. He had never encountered a situation like this before.
He had come to seek revenge on Eroch, but strictly speaking, Eroch was already beyond redemption—what remained was only the "resurrected" shadow dragon.
"Help me, brother..." Durin's voice came from deep within its throat, a low, guttural sound.
Hughes gritted his teeth. For some reason, the moment he heard that voice, the trembling in his body stopped.
"Senior, we need to go back together. There are many things I still need to ask you!" Hughes stepped forward and stood shoulder to shoulder with Yuxie.
Yuxie smiled faintly, but his expression was slightly more serious.
His current skill level wasn't very high. Honestly, he didn't have absolute confidence that he could deal with the shadow dragon before him, along with the growing number of monsters around them.
But at this moment, there was no way back.
Eroch, transformed into Durin, flapped its massive wings. The air surged as its huge body slowly lifted off the ground.
In the next moment, it came charging toward Yuxie and Hughes.
"Hughes, move!" Yuxie gripped his sword, Cloud Cutter, and quickly leapt forward, heading straight for Durin.
The tip of Cloud Cutter sliced through the air as Yuxies figure zipped past Durin's side, like a streak of white light.
Durin halted, letting out a furious roar. Its dark red scales were sliced open.
But no blood poured out from the wound. Instead, a dark red glow emanated from the injury.
"Senior..." Hughes, standing nearby, was stunned.
He knew that Yuxie was powerful, but he hadn't expected Yuxie's swordsmanship to have reached such a level.
The speed of that last strike was something Hughes couldn't even see clearly.
Yuxie landed steadily, adjusting his breathing.
He looked down at his chest for a moment, noticing that his clothes were torn as if slashed by a sharp blade.
As expected, even though Durin wasn't in its full form from hundreds of years ago, it was still not easy to deal with. If he wasn't careful, next time the thing being torn might not just be his clothes.
Although he had the protection of the "Imperial Defense," Yuxie didn't want to rely on his body to tank Durin's attacks.
Durin slowly turned its body, staring at Yuxie on the ground, and let out a deafening roar, filled with fury.
At the same time, the surrounding monsters began to move.
Yuxie was very clear that this battle could not turn into a war of attrition.
After a brief moment of thought, Yuxie took a deep breath.
"Hughes, I think we have no choice but to take a gamble. I'll deal with this dragon! After that, the others on the snow mountain should notice the commotion here and come to help. Before they arrive, I might need you to hold the line."
With that, Yuxie lowered his body, his center of gravity dropping.
Every cell in his body began to gather energy, and a powerful pressure radiated from him.
Durin undoubtedly felt the weight of this oppressive force, its blood-red eyes flickering slightly. But it quickly recovered and roared again.
Yuxie gritted his teeth, exhaling sharply through clenched jaws.
Once the energy reached its peak, all of his power erupted in an instant.
Yuxie seemed to turn into an indistinct blur, instantly appearing before Durin.
Accompanied by a sharp buzzing sound, the blade of his sword seemed to cut the air itself, creating a vacuum around it. The blade light flashed as it passed over Durin's neck.
A voice seemed to echo from deep within Durin's throat.
"No, no—Brother, help me, this isn't what I wanted, please help me—"
The voice was swept away by the cold wind, and Durin's head fell to the ground.
Yuxie also returned to the ground, struggling to stand.
But his vision gradually began to blur.
He had exhausted too much stamina; to ensure the kill, he had used every ounce of his strength in that last strike.
As expected, when his skill level wasn't high, forcing himself like that only led to problems.
The darkness overtook his vision, and Yuxie collapsed onto the snow.
His consciousness was fading, but before it completely vanished, his vision briefly cleared.
"Senior! Senior—"
Yuxie saw Hughes, gripping his sword, desperately fighting off the monsters, protecting him.
And in the distance, against the backdrop of the setting sun, he saw a green figure riding the wind, approaching.
End of chapter
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