"I—I am alive?!"
"I am not dead! I am alive! We are alive!"
"The ruler... Heavens!"
As Tang Yue closed her eyes, embracing death as her mind replayed the most important scenes of her life, sudden voices made her eyes tremble.
With a trembling body, she opened her eyes to look at her surroundings. Soldiers were opening their eyes one by one, tears of joy streaming down their faces.
But her gaze did not linger on any of the humans at all. Standing at the edge of the fortress, her eyes widened as she looked at the sky above.
The sky, once covered with feathers that demanded their death, was now filled with black scales glistening with power. The giant scales, each larger than a human, covered the heavens as the serpentine body slithered through the air.
Riding the clouds and commanding the winds, the scales glowed with ancient power—one Tang Yue was most familiar with.
"..You came." The dam of tears broke as she dropped to her knees, her eyes fixed on the divine scene before her.
Against the setting sun, where the sky was dyed red with blood and clouds churned apart, the giant snake's head emerged from above.
Its mouth covered the entire sky, and like a spear descending from the heavens, the giant serpent struck toward the Silver Falcon, whose furious cries made souls tremble.
"God! It's our god!"
"The Black Snake has returned!"
The members of the tribes bowed and kneeled in reverence as they looked at the mighty figure of their totem that now withstood the attack of silver rays.
"Skyscraping Snake..." In the fortress, Zhu Meng clutched the dead body of his loyal subordinate and muttered as his eyes widened in disbelief.
The Black Totem Snake rode the mist and stared proudly at the Silver Skyruler. He did not even bother to look at the army of White Magic Falcons charging toward him. Thousands of them had failed to inflict any damage upon his domain. He reached out his tongue and hissed at the Silver Skyruler, mocking its idiotic decision to send its people to death.
The Black Totem Snake stood above the mist. The sharp feathers only left faint markings on his scales. He simply stood there, staring at the Silver Skyruler as if waiting for his opponent to attack with all its might.
Suddenly, the Black Totem Snake lunged forward like a ray of purple-black lightning. The dense domain of feathers failed to stop him as he struck the Silver Skyruler, bit its wing, and hurled it down to the ground.
"My God, what on Earth is that?" A few students among the evacuating crowd saw a silver creature falling from the sky.
The silver creature was covered in feathers. As the sharp feathers reflected the light of the rising sun, it looked like it was clad in armor. Its feathers were the first to hit the ground, and a huge area of low-rises was crushed into rubble. The dust from the impact billowed several streets away!
The city's west had few people left. After the Silver Skyruler slammed into the ground, it rose furiously and patted the dust and debris from its body. It seemed to value its cleanliness.
It slowly gathered itself. Its massive size resembled that of the gigantic monsters seen in movies. The buildings, streets, gardens, hospitals, schools, and bridges nearby looked like toy models compared to the demon bird.
The humans had withdrawn far from the area, but when they turned around, they could still see the giant demon bird extending its wings, even from half a city away. The sight struck terror into their hearts.
Inside a school, a female teacher helping students evacuate screamed and pointed at the sky. "Something else is falling down!"
The people could easily tell it was a black snake while it was still descending. As it fell rapidly, they realized that its size was even greater than they imagined.
The Silver Skyruler was already gigantic, yet the snake was twice its size!
The streets of the city were instantly destroyed by the impact as the snake landed. Dust swept high into the sky. The people could not believe their eyes.
Humans considered Magic the greatest power, yet these two gigantic beasts were on an entirely different level.
From the skies, the snake descended, ignoring attacks that could flatten cities. Its speed was impossible for a creature of its size. Its jaws clamped onto the Falcon.
Two venomous fangs, longer than humans, penetrated deep, releasing a poison so absolute that even monarchs could not withstand it. The snake's massive body coiled around the monarch of the skies, constricting it in a deadly grip.
The ruler of the skies lost its strength under the venom's effect. The giant snake withdrew its fangs, its visage vast as a city, and roared with unrestrained fury.
The totem beast raised its head proudly and uttered a thunderous roar.
Its voice spread far and wide—echoing through forests, valleys, rivers, and distant woods.
It was a declaration that it had defeated the dominator of West Ridge, the Silver Skyruler, while warning the rest of the demon beasts that it now resided in the city. Any trespasser would suffer his wrath.
In simpler words, he had declared ownership of Hangzhou.
The black mist spread across the city as the magical beasts and subordinates of the Silver Falcon dropped from the sky one by one.
With a single breath, armies of beasts fell as the black mist protected the city. High above the ground, standing atop the fortress, Damon watched it all unfold. The markings of Beelzebub pulsed on his hands as hundreds of thousands of soul remnants from across the battlefield were greedily devoured by his grasp.
The Silver Skyruler witnessed the death of its kin, its heart heavy. With furious eyes, it looked at the snake coiled around it. The venom was too strong—even a monarch could not resist it. Its body struggled, then gave up.
Without uttering a final cry, the monarch of the skies, who had dominated the West Ridge for centuries, lost its life to the protector of Hangzhou.
The citizens knelt and prayed as they recalled the old folk tales of the Black Snake who protected them. The elderly wept as they pressed their heads to the ground to witness their god.
The fall of calamity and the rise of their god—the citizens of Hangzhou witnessed it all as they gazed upon the giant snake whom the setting sun had crowned.