Chapter Eighty-One: The Mountain Dwarves

  The diamond's dazzling brilliance proved its value, Li Tuanzhang took over the letter, ink crystal card and diamond, and said resolutely: "Alright, we've accepted this mission."

  I smiled and said, "With 100,000 gold coins, I think you can also settle down in the capital. There should be more tasks there that can make you rich. Later on, if I have other things to do, I'll look for you again."

  "Mr. Lei, thank you for helping us uncover the true identity of that demon clan and paying us such a generous reward," said Li Tuanzhang with a sigh. "I guarantee that we will complete your task in the shortest time possible. The Water Heart you just seized is after all a spiritual object, I hope you can return it to them."

  I smiled and said, "It's time for you to hit the road."

  Since I didn't give a direct answer, Captain Li also gave up and left with his men.

  I smoothly handled this batch of mercenaries and said to Mo Yue, "Mo Yue, wait for me on the side, I want to experience the formation of the elves, only by constantly challenging myself can I get a bigger boost."

  Mo Yue was confident in me and didn't stop me, taking the Heart of Water and walking to one side.

  I slowly walked up to the spirits and said, "Let's get started. I'd like to see just how powerful your Spirit Array is."

  "From how you handled the mercenary group earlier, I can tell that you're not a person driven by strong desires. So why must you take our Water Heart? If you return it to us, we'll leave immediately."

  I shook my head and said, "I won't return it to you for two reasons. First, that's something the person I love wants, and to make her smile, I can't give it back to you. Second, your Wanxiang Spirit Array has piqued my interest, so I want to see what it's all about. Therefore, I still won't return it to you. If you can defeat me, Yue'er will naturally use the Water Heart to exchange for my life. Let's cut the chatter and get started."

  Mercury's eyes flashed with angry light and he said angrily: "Young man, although you have great strength, you should know what is important and what is not."

  I frowned and said: "Why are you talking so much nonsense? If you're not going to fight, then leave here and don't block our way."

  Mercury Road: "You... fine, this is what you wanted." He said, returning to his own camp. All the spirits once again revolved around the thirteen Spirit Masters, looking at their formation, this Myriad Spirit Formation should be able to be formed by any group of people. To be honest, I didn't have any ill intentions towards them, it's just that Mo Yue likes that Water Heart, and I couldn't do anything about it, so I could only help this girl bear the burden.

  The coordination of these spirits in front of me seems very familiar, they must have practiced together often. This Wanxiang Spirit Array should be the Spirits' trump card, as I watch the five-colored light ring formed by them gradually closing in, a kind of inexplicable excitement arises in my heart.

  The pressure gradually increased, forcing me to activate the Crazy God's aura to resist it. My entire body shone with golden light as I intently watched the changes in the large array.

  As they approached, I let out a loud roar and suddenly flashed into the Wanxiang Spirit Array. As soon as I entered the array, I felt something was off. I couldn't see the silhouettes of the spirits around me anymore, only being enveloped by a five-colored misty cloud. The immense pressure seemed to be tearing me apart.

  I hastily released several Crazy God Fists in all directions, and the pressure eased up a bit. However, those few Crazy God Fists disappeared like mud cows entering the sea. My heart skipped a beat as I continuously punched outwards, this was the only way to suppress the pressure brought by the array. But this wasn't a solution, once my energy was depleted, I would be at their mercy.

  As I resisted the array's compression, I observed the five-colored energies around me. I discovered that the blue energy was the strongest, and the entire array was being driven towards me under its power.

  As I was observing, the Wanxiang Jingling Great Array had already begun to truly launch an attack on me. A five-colored energy suddenly separated from the surroundings and rushed towards my chest. I let out a loud shout, "Wild Star Flow!" My body merged with the attack and transformed into a golden light sphere that charged towards the incoming energy. Unexpectedly, when I made contact with that energy, I found that there was no obstruction at all. My body passed through the five-colored energy in an instant, leaving me stunned for a moment. Just then, a massive pressure suddenly came from behind me, and I hastily turned around to throw out several punches, but still didn't have the feeling of hitting anything substantial. This situation where my strength was useless made me feel extremely uncomfortable. It seemed that this array was designed to completely drain an enemy's energy away. If things went on like this, I would undoubtedly lose. No, I had to take a risk and try something.

  As I thought of this, I concentrated my mind and slowly retrieved the chaotic energy that was attacking the surroundings, protecting it around my body. As my energy converged, the colorful energy around me began to swell up and slowly pressed inwards. I felt as if I was being crushed by a mountain, and I couldn't breathe properly.

  "Lei Xiang." The voice of Mo Yue came in, and from her anxious tone, I could tell where she was. She had also entered the grand array. My heart skipped a beat as I swiftly drew out Mo Ming from behind my back and swung it with all my might, forcing back the compressing five-colored energy. This girl, why is she so disobedient? No choice, I have to go all out now. I absolutely cannot let Mo Yue suffer even the slightest injury. My eyes flashed coldly as I chanted: "Darkness condenses the soul, falling is the only way to be free, awaken, endless demonic power sleeping in my blood." A massive surge of black energy erupted from my body, instantly expanding the surrounding space. Four black iron feathers protruded from behind me, frantically absorbing the dark elements around us. Perhaps sensing the change in my energy, I clearly heard Mo Yue chanting the same incantation. Suddenly, I felt a significant reduction in pressure, and the Grand Array of Wanxiang must have diverted some of its power to 'take care' of Mo Yue.

  I grasped the Mò Míng with both hands, gathering dark magic and Kyōjin's aura on it. A five-zhang-long black-gold light burst into the sky, instantly tearing open a gap in the colorful energy above. I coldly shouted: "People of the Spirit Tribe, listen! If you continue, I will fight with all my might!" Although this formation is powerful, it has its limits. With my current strength, even the former Wind Exterminating War God, Lì Fēng, wouldn't dare be careless. I believe that if I attack with full force, I can break through the formation, but at what cost? Many spirits will die under Mò Míng's power. To avoid a blood feud with the spirits, I issued them an ultimatum. Large swaths of black fog surged out from my body, forming a three-zhang-diameter clearing in the array. The dark magic within me reached its peak state.

  The surrounding pressure suddenly disappeared, and the colorful energy that was so beautiful also disappeared. Mo Yue was five zhang in front of me, and when she saw me cheering, her four wings fluttered over to me. I pulled Mo Ming back behind my back with one hand and wrapped my arms around her delicate body, kissing her on the cheek and saying, "How come you're so disobedient? Didn't I tell you to just watch from the side?"

  Mo Yue pouted and said, "Just now I saw you enter that formation and then disappeared without a trace. I was so scared, waiting for half a day without seeing you come out, so I had to come in myself."

  I smiled slightly, putting her down, and said: "Moon is really clever." After putting Mo Yue down, I looked around at the surrounding elves. They all had pale faces and dull eyes, clearly due to excessive exhaustion. Some young elves were already swaying unsteadily because of their weak strength. Even those thirteen elf messengers couldn't stop panting. It seemed that this Great Array of Ten Thousand Spirits was also consuming a lot for them. If Mo Yue hadn't rushed in, I would have been able to break it without transforming if I just held on a bit longer.

  I was secretly thinking that my and Mo Yue's identities as fallen angels had been exposed, what to do now? While I was hesitating, Mercury spoke up, her eyes filled with helplessness, saying: "So you two are in cahoots with the current demon clan, why put on an act? If you had revealed your true identities as four-winged fallen angels earlier, we wouldn't have dared to block your way."

  I smiled slightly and said, "You need to understand that even fallen angels aren't all in cahoots with each other. Whether you believe it or not, we just happened to meet by chance."

  Mercury stared at me and said: "Our spirit clan will not give up like this, I'll go back to report to the elder, and naturally come to take back the heart of water."

  "What I hate the most is being threatened," replied Wen Yan coldly. "I'm waiting for you anytime, I want to ask you a question, if we were to go all out and attack now, how many of you do you think would be able to leave this place alive?"

  Mercury's face changed greatly, and he subconsciously took two steps back, saying: "You..."

  I burst out laughing and said: "If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it long ago. You can leave now, but if you're capable, come find me anytime for the Water Heart."

  Her eyes seemed to spout fire as she glared at me, her daughter stepped forward two steps and said angrily: "Mom, let's fight him to the death, even if we die, the elders will avenge us."

  Mercury held his daughter and said, "Let's go, a gentleman takes revenge ten years later."

  I stood with my hands behind my back, sneering at them. Mercury waved his hand, signaling all the spirits to gather. Although the spirits were exhausted, most of them had a desperate look in their eyes and surprisingly disobeyed Mercury's command, charging towards us instead.

  I frowned and said, "Are you looking for death?"

  At this moment, a loud and clear voice rang out, "Water Star Niece, I'm late. You arrogant little brat, watch out!" A black lightning bolt suddenly appeared in mid-air, slashing towards me with incredible energy that sealed off all my possible escape routes, as if tearing the air apart, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound. My heart skipped a beat as I felt overwhelmed by the energy contained within this black lightning bolt, its concentrated attack power instilling a thread of fear within me. With a swift motion, I sent out Ink Moon and let out a loud battle cry, "Crazy Arrow Rising to Heaven!" Clasping my hands together in front of my chest, I suddenly released them outward, shooting out a golden arrow-shaped aura. This was the most concentrated move among all the Crazy God Fist techniques that I knew. Even when Wind Destroyer War God Lei Feng faced this move back then, he had great difficulty defending against it.

  The black lightning flashed and collided with my crazy arrow, the energy fluctuations generated by the collision of energy in the air shocked all the spirits around to retreat three feet away. Under the traction of the breath, I also retreated two steps back. The black lightning flew back, this time I saw it clearly, surprisingly, it was a short-handled battle axe. Who is so powerful? Although I am not in my strongest state now, but close to 70% of Blood Red Angel, can shock me back, it's imaginable how formidable the opponent is. Is another war god emerging? The Dragon God Empire is indeed hiding dragons and tigers. Is this the Spirit Elder?

  Mo Yue floated back again and hugged my arm, anxiously asking: "Husband, are you okay?"

  I shook my head and said, "Nothing."

  A short figure jumped and hopped towards me, arriving in front of me after a few bounds. Seeing his appearance, I almost burst out laughing. The person was only about 1.2 or 1.3 meters tall, but extremely robust, with the upper body wearing a vest made from the fur of some unknown animal, revealing thick but short arms, and the lower body wearing shorts that were slightly puffy at the thighs. A pair of eyes as large as bronze bells, a face full of white whiskers, and a head of disheveled hair like dry grass was tied back with a golden headband. In his right hand, he grasped a black battle-axe with extremely fine carvings, its blade as big as the dwarf's body, emitting a chill that made my skin crawl, looking very heavy, but being carried by the dwarf as if it were a feather, showing off his incredible strength. The dwarf was staring at me in surprise, clearly not having gained the upper hand in our previous exchange.

  Mo Yue furrowed her brow, seemingly lost in thought. Shui Xing stepped forward two steps and greeted, "Uncle Pa Lai, hello."

  "Moyue suddenly exclaimed: 'I know who he is! He's the Dwarf King of the Mountains, no wonder he's so formidable.'"

  I furrowed my brow and said, "The King of the Mountain Dwarves?" The dwarven tribe was just as peculiar as the elven tribe on this continent. I recalled that in the materials from Tian Du Academy, it mentioned that the dwarven tribe was divided into two groups: the Casting Dwarves and the Mountain Dwarves. Many high-quality weapons on the continent were crafted by the Casting Dwarves, whose skills surpassed those of any other tribe. The Mountain Dwarves, also known as the Fighting Dwarves, were born with divine strength despite their short stature, making them top-notch warriors. Could this unassuming little dwarf in front of me really be the King of the Mountain Dwarves? Then why did Shui Xing call him "Uncle"?

  The Dwarf King, Palaichung, rushed to Mercury and burst out laughing, saying: "Little Mercury, as soon as I received your letter, I immediately brought a hundred warriors from my tribe and hurried over. Just now, when we were still far away, I discovered that you were using the Wanxiang Jingling Great Array here, so I came ahead of time myself. What's wrong? Did you suffer a loss?"

  Mercury nodded solemnly and said: "Uncle Parley, these two demons have taken away our Water Heart. They also broke our Wanxiang Spirit Array."

  " What?! You just wait and see, Uncle will help you take the Heart of Water away." He said, rushing towards me in a huff.

  I said disdainfully: "When did elves and dwarves wear open-crotch pants?"

  He snorted and said, "You don't understand, our elves and dwarves have always had a good relationship. You little kid, are you an offspring of the ancient river or that old devil, the magic emperor? Your demonic powers have increased greatly, and two four-winged fallen angels have appeared at once. However, I warn you, hand over the Heart of Water obediently, even if the magic emperor sees me, he will still address me as senior. If our dwarves and elves unite, your demonic tribe will probably..."

  Looking at his arrogant face, I couldn't help but laugh and said calmly: "I don't care about your relationship with the Demon Emperor. If you have the ability, come and grab it. As long as you can beat me, the Heart of Water will be yours."

  Surprisingly, Pa Lai not only didn't get angry, but burst out laughing instead. I thought he was furious and asked in surprise: "What are you laughing at? If you want to fight, hurry up."

  Pa Lai's smile faded, and he snorted, saying: "Of course, we'll take action. However, I really like your fearless attitude, very similar to when I was young, having courage. Just now, were you the one who received my Heaven and Earth Slash?"

  There are still people like him, with a personality that is truly eccentric. I am clearly his enemy, yet he wants to praise me. Having wasted a lot of time here, I said somewhat impatiently: "I don't know what this '乾坤斩' is, but the broken axe you used earlier was blocked by me."

  Pala swung his massive axe wildly, bellowing: "Broken Axe? What's a Broken Axe? This is the strongest Dark Thunder Axe, forged by the greatest dwarven master, Svalinn himself! It can split mountains and cleave peaks! You dare call it a Broken Axe? I'll fight you!" With that, he raised his axe with both hands, his body leaping upwards as he charged towards me, axe and body merging into one.

  Just now I bumped into him and he didn't get angry, this time it was just that his weapon was a broken axe and he came with great force. Seeing the huge battle-axe chopping down, I didn't dare to be careless, took a step back, and once again drew out the Ink Shadow. My body slightly crouched and suddenly swung upwards, the Ink Shadow carrying a golden black aura collided with Pa's dark electric axe. With a loud clang, the heavy sword and battle-axe clashed in mid-air, producing a burst of sparks. The shockwave made my ears numb, and I took a step back. Pa was also knocked flying by the counterforce, but he landed steadily on the ground.

  We looked at each other's weapons and neither of us was injured, and we both let out a sigh of relief.

  I love his tough and hard-hitting style, and the powerful strength of Parley has also stirred up my fighting spirit. I took a big gulp, stepped forward, and slightly leaned back with my body, using my waist to support my back, my back to support my arm, my arm to support my hand, and my hand to wield my sword, slashing it fiercely. Parley let out a long laugh, shouting "You're good!" as his body half-turned, both hands moving in tandem with the twin blades of his battle-axe, striking with lightning speed. Again, there was a loud clang, and another burst of sparks erupted, sending me stumbling backward three steps, while Parley's feet sank deep into the earth.

  I let out a loud roar, not using the Crazy God Fist's techniques, just continuously slashing with my sword. We both concentrated our fighting spirit in our weapons, and the sound of "clang clang" was endless. The huge noise made everyone present retreat far away. Parco's arms had bulging veins, his eyes were wide open in anger, and he kept exchanging blows with me. In terms of feeling, this fight was even more enjoyable than the one with Rikaku. My whole body's blood was boiling due to the continuous heavy attacks. Under the circumstances where our strength and fighting spirit were evenly matched, we fought fiercely, consuming a huge amount of physical energy. At first, I could still continuously attack him, but later on, after each collision, we would both need to catch our breath before launching the next attack. Just then, a figure quickly approached like a shooting star, it was Parco's subordinates who had arrived.

  "Nobody is allowed to interfere, he's mine!" Pala roared. The arriving dwarves were almost all similar in appearance to Pala, each holding a slightly smaller battle-axe in their hands.

  The struggle lasted for nearly two hours and we both sat on the ground panting. I laughed: "Old fellow, you still have quite a bit of strength."

  "Palai said: "You're not bad either, it's the first time I've seen someone who can match me in strength. Let's do it again."

  I smiled wryly: "Again? Can you still swing that dark electric axe of yours? If you can launch another attack, I'll admit defeat."

  Ba Lai's face turned red and he said: "Forget it, I'm exhausted, let's just call it a draw."

  Actually, I still have the strength to fight again. Due to being in the fallen angel transformation, the four wings on my back continuously replenish the dark elements around me into my body, allowing me to maintain a certain level of power. But after fighting with Parley for so long, I couldn't help but feel a bit of affection and didn't want him to be too embarrassed, so I accepted his suggestion to end the fight in a draw.

  Mercury stepped forward and said, "Uncle Parley, I..."

  Bolei waved his hand and said: "Uncle is old, can't help you. I'm telling you, kid, the Water Heart is useless to you, why not return it to my niece?"

  I propped myself up with the ink-colored staff and stood up proudly, saying: "As long as they can beat me, I'll return the Heart of Water to them. Old man, let me ask you, if your wife wants something and you help her take it back, but the owner comes after you for it, would you give it back?"

  I didn't know that my words had hit the heart of the Dwarf King, Pala. This guy is strong and powerful, but he has a biggest weakness - he's afraid of his wife. After hearing my words, he stuttered and couldn't respond, looked at Water Star beside him, and asked me: "Do you still have the strength to fight again?"

  Mo Yue stepped forward and said, "Husband, let me handle this."

  I shook my head and said, "No need to. If I can't even protect my own wife, then I'm not a man." As I spoke, my entire body surged with rage, emitting an astonishing battle intent. My originally black hair instantly turned blood red, followed by my eyes and wings. The Crazy God's aura, which had weakened from the previous fight, once again condensed, and my body's fatigue recovered at an astonishing speed. A faint golden-red glow surrounded my body, flashing constantly. The complex symbol of the Crazy God appeared on my forehead, and I coldly gazed at Aquarius, saying, "Come on. All of you, come at me together."

  Mercury and the other elves were stunned by the scene before them, but the dwarves who came later were not convinced. Almost all the mountain dwarves threw out their battle axes at the same time. When Parley discovered that he wanted to stop, 100 steel-forged battle axes had already brought 100 parabolic lines to chop me down.

  I burst into a fit of maniacal laughter, and a golden red light surged out wildly. I threw my head back and roared at the sky: "Crazy Divine Battle Armor!" The Mirror of Protection was the first to flash out from my chest, and instantly the golden light became even more intense. Perhaps it was because I had exhausted too much energy, but this time only the Mirror of Protection and the Breastplate appeared, but that was already enough. When those hundred battle axes entered my fighting spirit zone, they were instantly swallowed up by the golden red light and vanished without a trace.

  I, in my strongest state, at the very least possess the power of a lower-ranking war god. How could they possibly harm me? I let out a cold snort and said, "From now on, whoever attacks me will be killed." The icy aura sent the dwarves and elves retreating in succession, instantly clearing a space in front of me. In reality, I had my own troubles - I couldn't maintain this state for much longer. Unless I immediately went all out to slaughter everyone, I would have to reveal my true form.

  "Alright, alright, we admit defeat. Even if the elders were to come, they might not be able to do anything to you. Let's go." With that, he turned around, supported Pa and was about to lead the elves and dwarves away.

  I had just let out a sigh of relief when Mo Yue suddenly said, "Wait a minute."

  I was startled and thought to myself, "My aunt, stop causing me trouble, I've had enough of your husband."

  Mercury suddenly turned around, his face full of tears of grievance, and angrily said: "What else do you want to do?"

  Hei Yue's four wings fluttered, and she floated in front of them. The other spirits thought she was going to harm Mizuki, so they hurriedly protected her around Mizuki. I was afraid that Hei Yue would get hurt, so I also floated over there.

  Mo Yue suddenly handed over the brocade box containing the Heart of Water with an apologetic face, saying: "I'm sorry, Fairy Sister, I didn't know this thing was so important to you, please take it back."

  Mo Yue suddenly became sensible, and I was instantly moved, softly calling out: "Yue Er."

  Mo Yue rushed towards me with a faint smile, saying: "The other day I heard you say that Sister Zi Xue uses water system magic, so I originally wanted to give this Water Heart to her as a gift for our meeting, but I didn't think it would cause trouble for the Spirit Sisters like this. It's better to return it to them, okay, husband?"

  I felt my eyes getting a little moist, and lowered my voice: "Everything will be as you wish. Well-behaved Moon."

  Mercury somehow miraculously received the recovered Water Heart and bowed his head saying: "Thank you."

  Mo Yue smiled and said: "It was our fault from the start, what's there to thank us for? We've caused you a lot of trouble, it's really sorry."

  As I saw the unexpected perfect solution to the matter, I couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, feeling the pent-up energy within me slowly dissipating. I smiled wryly and said: "Moon, why didn't you tell me earlier that it was for sending to Zi Xue? Snow has had far more powerful Blue Stones than this Water Heart for a long time, so getting this is basically useless." After finishing speaking, my body went limp and I fell towards Mo Yue. Mo Yue hastily wrapped her arms around me, exclaiming: "Husband, husband, what's wrong with you?"

  (Since the protagonist has fainted, the next short section will be written in third-person narrative)

  Pa's physical strength has recovered somewhat, and Chong Mo Yue said: "He's fine, just fainted from exhaustion."

  Mo Yue finally let out a sigh of relief, she hugged me and was about to bid farewell to the Water Stars, but found that all the water spirits present were stunned, staring blankly at Lei Xiang in her arms. Mo Yue said: "Spirits sisters, what's wrong with you?"

  Mercury was the first to come back to her senses, and she let out a soft "ah" as she looked at Lei Xiang with complex eyes, saying: "Miss Demon Clan, I don't know what to call you."

  "Just call me Mo Yue."

  Shuixing Dao said: "Mo Yue, sister, I don't know if you can come to our village as a guest. I have no ill intentions. The village is very close by. I just want to do my duty as the host."

  Mo Yue looked at her with some confusion, unable to determine her purpose for a moment.

  The Dwarf King, Pa Lai, said: "Yes, if you return the Heart of Water to them, there will be no more hostility. I also want to have a drink with that kid. I, Pa Lai, have never admired anyone before, but this kid is an exception. I'd like to engage in a good duel with him."

  Shuixing Dao said, "Mo Yue sister, there are many fun things in our village, you can rest for a while." He pointed to Lei Xiang and continued, "Wait until he's better before continuing on the road, it won't be late. It's not convenient for you to carry a big man on the road like this."

  Her words moved Mo Yue somewhat, and after thinking for a moment, he said, "Alright then, I won't disturb you anymore."

  Mercury was overjoyed and said, "No bother, no bother, let's go."

  As she spoke, the spirits led the way in front of her. She had originally wanted to let a few male spirits help Mo Yue carry Lei Xiang, but was refused by Mo Yue, who didn't want to leave his beloved for even a moment.

  The village mentioned by Shuixing was actually very close, but it took a whole day to walk there. However, Moyue had already promised someone and couldn't change her mind now.

  …………

  When I came to, I found myself in an unfamiliar place, with everything around me made of wood. The fragrance wafted from a bunch of blue flowers in the center of the room. I couldn't help but wonder, where was this? And where had my moon gone?

  I took a deep breath and found that the energy inside my body had recovered most of it, I couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in my heart. However, my concern for Mo Yue quickly filled my mind. I struggled to get up, just as the door opened and a beautiful water spirit girl walked in, carrying a plate of fruit. Seeing me sitting there, she smiled and said: "You're awake."