Chapter 84: Fleeing in Disarray

(PS: One more chapter coming, but it might be late)

The water shimmered with ripples, white waves surging across the reservoir.

Those were the fleeing River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts, terrified by Fang Shi's attacks.

An invisible assault—this was clearly the power of magic.

And it was at least equivalent to a fourth-circle spell or higher.

Otherwise, its power could never have been this strong.

The River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts had some experience, like their former dwelling.

Nearby was an elf village, during one hunting expedition.

It once provoked an elf mage.

One hand, an ice storm, covering a radius of eight meters.

It instantly slaughtered a group of their kin.

Now this human was the same—no one knew what spell he had cast.

Invisible gales turned into blades, killing off portions of their kin one by one.

The worst part was, this spell seemed even more powerful.

It could instantly kill first-tier River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts.

Even elf mages couldn't do that.

In short, the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts had lost their courage.

Only by staying in the cold river could they feel a trace of warmth.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts rained down, their three-hundred-kilogram bodies crashing from the sky.

Heavy impacts echoed across the reservoir, pushing the surviving River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts to flee faster.

Fang Shi chased after them, killing as many River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts as possible.

He even used the Bai He Sword Art a second time.

Otherwise, when he entered the water, the pressure would be far greater.

Yet despite this, many River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts had already reached the water.

Fang Shi tried provoking them, but none surfaced.

No dragon beast dared come out to die.

He sighed helplessly, sat down on a rock beside the reservoir.

He pulled out an energy core and began restoring his magic power.

Originally, Fang Shi had planned to find the shortest point between upstream and downstream and use the Bai He Sword Art to fly across.

Who knew there wasn't a single spot under eight hundred meters.

Ancheng's original small river had, after the apocalypse, become comparable to the Yellow River before the collapse.

Fang Shi now moved as a gale, reaching speeds of fifty meters per second.

His current magic power was 9 points—enough for two uses of the Bai He Sword Art, totaling twelve seconds.

It was utterly insufficient to cross the riverbank.

Moreover, Fang Shi couldn't drain all his magic power; if any unexpected danger arose, everything would be in jeopardy.

He went to inspect the dam—only the front section remained above water, the rest had sunk beneath the surface.

Also an insurmountable abyss.

It seemed he'd have to devise another plan.

…

Beneath the water's surface, the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts gathered, their roars echoing through the water.

As degenerate descendants of dragons, they possessed simple intelligence.

They could communicate and discuss using Dragon Tongue.

Roar! Roar! Roar!

As the discussion progressed, the currents grew more turbulent.

Even small vortices formed, swirling around the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts.

Their discussion centered entirely on Fang Shi.

Faced with such a formidable enemy, should they dive deeper and flee to another place to survive?

Otherwise, with this terrifying human blocking the shore,

Their survival and reproduction would face extreme hardship.

As for Fang Shi entering the water—

It was never considered in their discussion.

Humans, as a species, were mostly poor in aquatic combat; there was no need to worry about him diving in.

Besides, underwater was their domain; if that human dared enter the water,

They would teach him

The cost of angering the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts.

Gradually, as time passed, the discussion faded, and the roars slowly diminished.

The River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts dispersed, swimming downward into the reservoir's depths.

Seeking the food they had stored in their caves.

After the fierce battle, their bellies were empty—they needed a perfect meal to replenish their losses.

One of the river-dwelling dragon beasts carefully swam around its companion.

It swam toward a dark corner.

At a damp riverbed, it began to stir the mud with its mouth.

In a short while, some rotting flesh filled with a stench of decay appeared before the river-dwelling dragon beast.

Facing food that would be unbearable for ordinary humans, the river-dwelling dragon beast was filled with joy.

It let out a happy roar and began to feast heartily.

Unfortunately, there was not enough time.

This river-dwelling dragon beast thought regretfully.

They had only arrived on Blue Star four days ago; naturally, the time was insufficient.

The most delicious rotting meat should be that which had been stored for over ten days.

It possessed the sweetness of the river and the fermented scent of microorganisms, soft and tender, incredibly delicious.

After a hearty meal, this river-dwelling dragon beast used its mouth to bury the remaining rotting flesh again.

The greed in dragon genes is passed down to all creatures possessing dragon bloodlines.

If one does not guard their food properly, it will be secretly taken by companions.

This is also the reason why the river-dwelling dragon beast swims around its companions to eat.

After eating and drinking one's fill, the intestines churn to digest, blood concentrates to supply the intestines, and the brain becomes oxygen-deprived and sleepy.

This river-dwelling dragon beast was naturally no exception; it did not seek another place to rest.

It simply lay down on the spot where the food was stored and began to sleep.

They had long been the overlords of this reservoir; no blind creature dared to come and lose its life.

Resting anywhere was perfectly safe, but resting on the food also prevented kin from stealing it.

It was simply killing two birds with one stone.

The river-dwelling dragon beast felt happy about its clever idea and drifted into dreamland with a contented heart.

It dreamed of its bloodline reverting to its ancestral form, evolving into a black dragon with immense power and wealth rivaling a nation.

And it could also freely mate with young and beautiful female dragons.

But just as it was going "hehehe," the wind rose.

A gale swept across the river, forming the spectacular sight of a dragon sucking up water, shaking the entire riverbed.

The river-dwelling dragon beast grew angry; it sensed that this turmoil contained a full measure of magical light.

It was absolutely not a natural phenomenon; this was a provocation against it, a provocation against its newly ascended black dragon status.

Bang!

The river-dwelling dragon beast slapped with its front paw, smashing the head of the female dragon beast it was interacting with until it cracked.

Using the recoil force, it vibrated its wings and shot straight up into the sky.

Puff!

The river-dwelling dragon beast bursting out of the water saw Fang Shi flying in the air.

He held a magnificent long sword, and magical light surged violently across his body.

The angry river-dwelling dragon beast instantly woke up and hurriedly tried to dive back to the river bottom.

But everything was already too late.

The long sword sliced through the sky, pierced the water flow, split the riverbed, and struck toward the river-dwelling dragon beast.

Even if the river-dwelling dragon beast had evolved into a black dragon, the armor on its body could not block the sword's attack.

The sword light separated flesh and blood without hindrance, heading straight for the river-dwelling dragon beast's brain.

Whoosh!

The river-dwelling dragon beast woke in a fright, its pupils shrinking into vertical lines.

It carefully observed its surroundings and finally came to its senses.

It understood that it had just been dreaming.

But the dream was too real; even now, recalling it left it with lingering fear.

Fortunately, fortunately, that human was not as terrifying as in the dream.

Otherwise, how could the race of river-dwelling dragon beasts survive in this water area?

Huh? What is this?

The river-dwelling dragon beast suddenly felt a current of water flowing past its side.

It was different from the natural flow of the water cycle, and also different from the movement of aquatic creatures.

This water flow was very rapid and fierce.

Like a waterfall plunging down.

Before the river-dwelling dragon beast could think clearly about what was happening,

it felt a sharp pain at its neck, and blood gushed violently from its throat.

It dyed the river water in front of it a patch of red.

As the consciousness of the river-dwelling dragon beast faded, it suddenly saw a human figure appear in the water flow ahead.

It was Fang Shi!

He held an earth-yellow long sword and carried a jade-white long bow on his back.

He did not even look once at the dead river-dwelling dragon beast.

He kicked off the riverbed with both legs, shooting forward like an arrow leaving the string.

He rushed upward.

Even though the resistance in the water was great.

Under Fang Shi's immense strength,

he still reached ten meters per second.

Matching the movement speed of an ordinary person on land.

Fang Shi never intended to swim across calmly from start to finish.

Since there were obstacles on the way, he would simply kill his way through.

If he couldn't win underwater, no matter.

Using the power of the Bai He Sword Art, he transformed his body into a wild wind, surging freely through the currents.

After a bout of slaughter, he would ascend to the shore and depart.

Then, after restoring his magic power, he would dive back into the water to slaughter.

By killing the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts to extinction, no monsters would be left to interfere with his crossing.

As for the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts coming ashore to hunt him, Fang Shi would welcome it.

On land was Fang Shi's home ground; he had no need to fear the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts.

Fang Shi even hoped the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts were bold enough to dare a one-on-one duel with him on the shore.

That would save his time.

Unfortunately, these River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts were all cowards.

Before he had even killed half of them, they had all fled.

Forcing him to waste time playing games with them here.

Fang Shi's time was tight, very tight.

But spending this time to slaughter the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts was worth it.

The reason he was in a rush was to improve his strength as quickly as possible.

To ensure greater safety in the future.

Now, rushing to cross the river directly would be putting the cart before the horse.

Soon, Fang Shi arrived at the territory of another River-Dwelling Dragon Beast.

In the surprised eyes of this River-Dwelling Dragon Beast,

he merged his body with the wind, appearing in the water as a surging current.

Or rather, under Fang Shi's power, the wild wind pushed the water forward.

Whoosh!

Before the River-Dwelling Dragon Beast could resist, it was completely dead.

Fang Shi did not pause, moving directly toward the water's surface.

The duration of the Bai He Sword Art was limited.

He had to surface quickly; he dared not delay even a fraction of a moment.

After a day and night of slaughter, the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts quickly collapsed.

Fang Shi was like a demon in the water, freely reaping the lives of the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts in the reservoir.

Not a single River-Dwelling Dragon Beast could resist Fang Shi.

Since they could not win, they would flee.

The vast horde of River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts vanished completely in an instant.

Fang Shi vaguely saw that the Dragon Beasts resting on the opposite shore of the reservoir had also begun their journey of flight.

Afterwards, he waited for another half day, diving into the water from time to time.

After confirming the River-Dwelling Dragon Beasts had completely fled, he began his journey into the river.