Chapter 302: Saving Vulkan Without Abandoning the Prey

At dawn, the moment sunlight illuminated Nocturne, the Spear of Dionysus appeared abruptly in Ninglu's hand.

Gripping the spear, he sensed its scorching temperature.

Ninglu moved forward, heading toward the location of the powerful life form captured by his "Warp Insight."

【Busy for an entire night, I've harvested many extraordinary creature corpses at the Sequence 3 level; this trip to Nocturne was not in vain.

Even if Vulkan found the largest Salamander, I have suffered no loss; it was Huang Laohan who swore the oath of allegiance, not me.

If I truly lose, Huang Laohan should break the agreement; after all, it wouldn't be the first time.】

As Ninglu pondered, the Spear of Dionysus cooled to a normal temperature, and he sheathed the spear behind his back.

He then drew the sword he had forged himself; before him lay a Salamander as massive as a mountain ridge, similar in length to a smaller Iron-Scaled Kraken.

Inside its grim, giant maw, its sharp teeth were like spears.

Along the back of its head, a ring of spines grew, extending down to its tail.

Golden light reflected in the Salamander's half-closed eyes; it suddenly opened them, looking at the intruder who had disturbed its deep slumber.

Roar!

The Salamander reared its body, opened its massive mouth, and spewed Liyan Rongliu at the audacious black-armored "little person."

Ninglu did not dodge or evade, charging head-on into the Liyan Rongliu.

The flames engulfed his body, then vanished in an instant.

Ninglu leaped onto the Salamander's head and swung his Golden Longsword.

The longsword pierced through the protective shell formed by the thick scales on the Salamander's head.

Ninglu retracted his wrist, and the sword in his hand stopped.

He killed the Salamander without damaging the eyes and teeth, which were Potion Material; the Golden Longsword had pierced the brain, which was not Potion Material.

Ninglu sheathed his sword at his waist, walked to the side of the Salamander's corpse, and with a surge of strength in his arms, lifted it up.

At the same moment, Vulkan used his Silver Hammer to smash the protective shell on his Salamander's head.

He hung the hammer at his waist and walked out, carrying the Salamander.

Beneath Vulkan's feet, a World Serpent, having just crafted a new dream of flames and fallen comfortably into deep slumber, swayed its body and burrowed through the cavern.

In its mind, a figure in black armor with golden wings suddenly flashed; that figure had appeared like lightning in its previous dream.

The largest World Serpent in the tribe had been run through by a long spear.

In the World Serpent's lingering memory, that spear flickered with a repulsive, destructive power.

In an instant, it had shattered the dream and killed the Elder—the oldest, most aged, and largest-bodied member of the tribe who had lived for countless ages.

The memory of the nightmare made the World Serpent sway its body in terror.

The entire Death Volcano trembled in response, and flames surged upward.

Above ground, as Vulkan walked, the ground suddenly shook beneath his feet, and mountain rocks slid, falling into the magma.

Vulkan extended his right arm, grabbing onto the cliff, while his other hand hauled the Salamander he had hunted.

Time ticked by second by second; having competed with Ninglu for eight consecutive days and then searched the mountains for a Salamander, Vulkan felt the mountain-like, multi-ton Salamander in his hand growing heavier.

Cold sweat seeped from his forehead, but his competitive spirit having been ignited, he did not abandon the Salamander in his hand.

Vulkan looked around, trying his best to find a way to escape his predicament.

Suddenly, his flame-spewing eyes flashed; he saw on the other side of the magma flow, Ninglu walking down from the mountain, carrying a Salamander.

Vulkan noticed that the Salamander was even larger than the one he had hunted.

Ninglu had discovered the other party earlier than Vulkan; he could not help but sigh at the coincidence of fate.

【I remember when Huang Laohan and Vulkan held their Salamander hunting competition, Vulkan was trapped at the edge of a cliff because of a volcanic eruption, unwilling to abandon the Salamander he had hunted.

Huang Laohan threw the larger Salamander he had hunted into the magma, using it as a bridge to save Vulkan.

After returning to the village, the Elder of the Noble Council declared that Vulkan had defeated the empty-handed Huang Laohan.

But Vulkan knelt before Huang Laohan, claiming that the one who places another's life before victory is the true champion.】

Ninglu's eyes flashed, 【Vulkan possesses the constitution of a Perpetual; only Fulminite can truly kill him, and even if he falls into magma, he can regenerate.

But regeneration takes time and requires enduring the agony of being scorched by flames; since I have encountered this, there is no need to let him suffer that torture.

And I don't need to abandon my spoils like Huang Laohan to save Vulkan.】

As Ninglu pondered, he set the Salamander down. Its mountain-like body crushed a small hill.

He flapped his golden wings, flew to the opposite cliff edge, extended his hands, and supported Vulkan's ribs.

Ninglu felt his hands sink; the weight far exceeded that of the larger Salamander he had been carrying, and his body plummeted several meters.

【Vulkan's body is even heavier than a Salamander, though not quite as much as a World Serpent.】

Seeing that Ninglu had fallen into danger to save him, the kind-hearted Vulkan immediately felt uneasy.

He decided at once to abandon his prey and hurriedly shouted.

"I'll drop the prey in my hand, you throw me up, and you'll be able to fly."

"No need." Potion Material cannot be wasted; as Ninglu spoke, his golden wings bloomed with blinding light, illuminating the entire Death Volcano.

The power bestowed upon him by the Burning One Shard allowed him to lift Vulkan, along with the Salamander in his hand, and deliver them to the top of the cliff.

Vulkan looked at Ninglu and said in surprise:

"Your strength is so great, how could you lose to me in an arm-wrestling match?"

Ninglu released Vulkan: "Although the golden wings have merged with my body, strictly speaking, they are not my own strength; when I compete with you, I do not wish to rely on them."

He explained further: "But the power they bestow upon me is power I fully control, just like when I throw a punch or lift a leg; I don't think this counts as using external force."

Vulkan's molten eyes examined the golden wings on Ninglu's back from the perspective of a blacksmith.

His large, bald head shook, and heat waves surged as he opened his mouth.

"No, of course it is not borrowing external force."

"Even if you utilize the power of the golden wings, it is not relying on external force."

Vulkan's lava-like eyes gazed at Ninglu, and he said in an admiring tone.

"Ninglu, your pursuit of fairness and your act of risking yourself to rescue a competitor are admirable."

After the two Primarchs finished speaking, Ninglu flew back to the opposite side of the cliff and lifted the Salamander.

They walked downward from both sides of the cliff.

Inside the village, Alpharius saw the two returning Primarchs from afar before the people of Nocturne did.

He said to the Emperor before him: "You were right, Ninglu has won the victory once again."

The Emperor revealed a smile: "As it should be."

The people of Nocturne in the village also saw the two returning competitors ten-odd minutes later.

The moment they saw the two giants, they immediately identified the winner.

The Salamander held up by the outsider Ninglu was obviously several sizes larger than Vulkan's.

After the two giants walked into the village, the elder of the Noble Council walked up to them helplessly and announced bitterly.

"The final competition, the winner is..."

"Ninglu."

"Ninglu is the champion of the competition; I am convinced and submit," Vulkan said, "In accordance with the previous wager, I shall offer my loyalty to the outsider."

He knelt before the pale-skinned outsider, "I shall serve you as my master and work for you."

The next moment, a blinding golden light burst forth.

The people of Nocturne saw the pale-skinned stranger's appearance change in an instant.

He wore golden armor, and his body radiated the same blinding light as when the competition champion Ninglu forged weapons.

"My son, welcome back to the Human Empire."

The celebration continued, shifting from celebrating the repelling of the Dusk Nether to celebrating the arrival of the Master of Mankind and the return of Nocturne to the Imperium.

On the third day of the celebration, the fleet of the 18th Legion arrived at Nocturne.

Ninglu saw Cassian Vaughn's face light up with a smile because of his own appearance, having met his Gene-Father ahead of schedule.

【I can also be considered to have changed Vaughn's fate, not letting him wait until he was on his deathbed to see Vulkan.】

That night, inside Vulkan's smithy, he and Vaughn sat by the furnace talking.

"What? You say the Fortress-class Energy Shield technology Ninglu possesses is something you have seen on Sepra Mundi, capable of protecting an entire Hive City."

(End of chapter)