Chapter 97

Copperbeard’s figure moved like a boulder burdened with weight, struggling through the shadows of ruined walls and lingering smoke. Each step sent searing pain through his injured left leg; the gash on his chest, torn open by Elly’s claws, burned like fire, and the purple-black corrupt energy clung to him like a parasitic leech, steadily devouring his life force. His mechanical prosthetic hand emitted ominous creaks from overload and damage, its red light flickering faster and faster.

He bore Lin Mo’s charred body on his left shoulder, clutched the unconscious, twisted-arm wrench under his right arm, and held Xiang Lingna tightly against his chest, her breath faint as a thread. The combined weight of his three companions and his own wounds made every step feel like wading through mud. Sweat mixed with blood and pus dripped continuously from his charred cheeks and knotted beard.

Behind him, the rotten flying dragon’s ravenous screeches grew closer! The rush of its wings flapping the air sounded like a death drumbeat! The beast clearly sensed Copperbeard’s weakness and burden, and had marked him as the easiest prey.

“Damn... feathered Chusheng ...” Copperbeard gasped, his mechanical eye struggling to scan the chaotic ruins ahead. The direction Elly had indicated was a wasteland of collapsed buildings, twisted metal frames, and burning thornwood forming barriers. He had to find that “old-world underground pipe entrance” soon!

Hum...

Just as Copperbeard was about to collapse under pain and exhaustion, a faint, cool breath emanated from where Xiang Lingna pressed against his chest. It came from the shard of Jade Heart she wore around her neck—its luster long gone. Though the shard itself was drained, Lingna’s own residual, minuscule affinity for nature seemed to radiate unconsciously, like the gentlest breeze, momentarily soothing the fiercest burn of Copperbeard’s wounds and reviving his spirit.

At the same time, the pure Star Dust crystal on Lin Mo’s chest, resting on his shoulder, continued emitting a soft milky-white glow. Though faint, the light stubbornly dispelled the lingering decay in the air and subtly formed a barely-there energy field that enveloped Copperbeard and his burdened companions, slowing the corrosion of their wounds.

These two faint forces, like fireflies in darkness, sustained Copperbeard’s crumbling will.

Creak—

A piercing shriek came from above! The rotten flying dragon could no longer hold back—it dove straight down! Its sharp claws glinted with cold light, reeking of rot, and slammed toward Copperbeard’s back! It meant to kill in one strike and claim the charred body (Lin Mo) radiating such tempting energy.

Copperbeard had no time to turn! He lurched forward and threw himself down, shielding Xiang Lingna in his arms and the wrench under his armpit with his body, taking the lethal claws on his broad back.

Ssschhh—

The expected agony struck! The dragon’s claws tore through Copperbeard’s already damaged armor and flesh! Blood mixed with purple-black pus sprayed again—but Copperbeard used the momentum of his fall to roll and scramble into a narrow crevice formed by half-collapsed concrete pipes and metal supports.

The dragon, triumphant from its strike, screeched in delight, ready to dive again and finish the prey. But as it tried to enter the narrow crevice, its wings became trapped between the massive, intersecting pipes and metal supports.

Creak! Creak!

The dragon roared in fury, thrashing and kicking up dust from the ruins.

Copperbeard ignored the horrific new wound on his back, his breath ragged like a broken bellows. He struggled to sit up, his mechanical eye scanning the dim surroundings. This appeared to be a collapsed chamber formed by the intersection of an old-era main pipe—structurally stable. Through the faint light filtering from the crevice, he saw it! Behind piles of rubble and rusted metal mesh lay a half-buried, three-meter-diameter circular metal manhole cover! At its center, a faint, blurred emblem of a gear and wrench—the symbol of the old-world municipal pipes—was barely discernible!

There it was! The underground pipe entrance!

A spark of hope ignited in Copperbeard’s heart. Ignoring the agony, his massive mechanical hand plunged into the rubble burying the manhole cover and began digging with all his strength!

Creak! Creak!

Outside, the dragon continued smashing and tearing at the barriers trapping it, stones and rusted metal raining down. Time was running out!

“Give... me... OPEN!” Copperbeard roared, his mechanical hand unleashing its final burst of power!

Boom!

The heavy metal manhole cover was ripped open, revealing a bottomless darkness below, thick with the stench of rust and damp mildew. A cold, putrid current surged upward.

Copperbeard hesitated not. He carefully lowered Xiang Lingna through the opening first—below lay soft, muddy silt. Then the unconscious wrench. Finally, he hoisted Lin Mo, gritted his teeth, and dragged his grievously wounded body down the metal ladder along the shaft wall.

The instant his body vanished into the opening—

Boom!

The massive pipe pinning the dragon finally gave way under its assault! The dragon’s crimson compound eyes instantly locked onto Copperbeard and Lin Mo as they descended!

“Gaaah—!” A greedy screech rang out! The dragon thrust its head downward and drove its sharp beak straight into the manhole’s edge!

Copperbeard’s pupils contracted! He shoved Lin Mo’s body down hard and released the ladder, crashing heavily onto the muddy silt below!

Plop!

The dragon’s beak slammed into the manhole rim, sparks flying! Chips of stone were shattered loose!

Copperbeard was dazed, the pain in his wounds nearly knocking him unconscious—but he immediately struggled to his feet, his massive mechanical hand gripping the manhole’s edge and heaving with his last strength upward!

Clang—!!

The heavy metal cover slammed shut, completely sealing out the dragon’s grotesque head and crimson eyes. Outside, the dragon’s furious impacts and the manhole cover’s groaning protest echoed.

Beneath the cover, silence—only the ragged breathing of the four. The cold stench of mildew and rust filled their nostrils.

Temporarily safe.

Copperbeard leaned against the cold, damp pipe wall, gasping, each breath thick with blood. The wounds on his back and chest throbbed with agonizing pain now that his body relaxed. His mechanical eye glowed faintly with a blue scanning light, assessing the environment.

This appeared to be a long-abandoned main pipe, over five meters in diameter, its floor covered in thick black silt emitting decay. The walls were coated in heavy rust and slimy moss; many sections had collapsed and blocked, leaving only a winding, deep fissure leading nowhere known.

He looked to his companions: Lingna remained unconscious, her small body cold. The wrench was still senseless, his twisted arm horrifying to behold. Lin Mo’s charred form lay in the silt, the Star Dust crystal on his chest the only source of light—a faint blue-white glow, precious and steady in absolute darkness, resisting the dark purple mark that still pulsed ominously over his right arm.

At that moment—

Sssss... sssss...

A faint, eerie sound, like countless grains of sand grinding together, drifted from the darkness deeper in the pipe. It was weak, yet carried a nauseating, sticky quality.

Copperbeard’s mechanical eye instantly locked onto the sound’s source! In night-vision mode, he saw a sight that made his scalp crawl—

From within the thick black silt on the pipe wall, countless tiny, worm-like purple-black creatures were emerging! They swarmed densely, crawling like a tide across the silt’s surface! Each had no eyes—only a circular mouthpart, constantly opening and closing, lined with tiny, sharp teeth! They seemed drawn by some scent, surging toward Copperbeard and his companions!

Was it the faint scent of Lin Mo’s blood? The pure energy of the Star Dust crystal? Or... the same-origin aura radiating from the Fuzhao mark on his arm?

Whatever it was, this was no good.

“Damn... never-ending!” Copperbeard muttered, struggling to rise—but the agony in his leg and blood loss slowed him.

The worm tide moved faster than expected! It spread like a carpet of purple-black, advancing swiftly—less than ten meters away! The sight of their dense, writhing mass and the sssss sound alone could make the bravest warrior’s hair stand on end!

Despair, cold and dark as the pipe’s depths, crept back in.