The Heavenly Martial Empress Returns: An OP Xianxia Returnee LitRPG

Chapter 209: The Dark Storm Dragon

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The Dark Storm Dragon manifested his existence upon Earth, as the Symbols were freed from their seals except for one, he was able to unleash almost 90% of all his true form and power, enough for him to easily manifest on his gigantic, mechanical form. Having absorbed the energies of Fang Gu Lan and his shattered Soul, he was fueled with enough power to go past the limit of the seals and destroy them.

To make things worse, Fang Gu Lan wasn’t just a mere meal; his powers now dwelled within an even more dangerous monster. The Dark Storm Dragon had no access to things such as Ki, Cultivation, and Techniques before, but now he had perhaps become even worse of a threat than in his original Universe!@@novelbin@@

RUMBLE!

The skies above turned black, rumbling as thunder constantly fell, blowing away giant holes through the wastelands. The very presence of the Dark Storm Dragon created a massive shift in the weather, raining down upon the world countless thunderbolts capable of destroying everything.

As this happened, the Golden Pagoda stayed firm even as dozens of thunderbolts started falling upon it constantly, its defenses fueled by Bing Xue herself and her Hundred-Layered Protection Formation around it.

The Pagoda was perhaps her magnus opus in terms of Formation and Artifacts created so far, and even this otherworldly dragon’s thunder wouldn’t be enough to destroy it…

CLAAASH! CLAAASH! CLAAASH!

Everyone down below could see the immense battle above the skies as Bing Xue transformed into a massive half-human and half-snake demonic goddess, clashing against the massive, black-colored three-headed metallic dragon.

Her massive palms unleashed gigantic shockwaves of golden and black energies, which collapsed and erupted against one another, creating massive attacks with the resulting explosive force of such forces being forced together.

The Dark Storm Dragon, taking direct hits from her, seemed barely unfazed; little scratches could be seen through his enormous surface, but far from enough to even make a proper dent through him.

“GAHAHAHA! YOU’RE NOT WEAK, HUH?!”

The Dark Storm Dragon laughed as the Cultivators down below noticed that Fang Gu Lan was gone, his scream being the last thing they heard before this giant black metal dragon showed up out of nowhere.

“What’s happening?!”

“Where is Lord Fang Gu Lan at?!”

“Dammit! Has Bing Xue already defeated him?!”

“I heard his scream! He’s dead again!”

“I can’t believe it, this damned kid lost to her twice?!”

“B-But what is that dragon? What’s going on?!”

“D-Did he have that within him? Or is that him? Has Fang Gu Lan taken upon a new form?”

“I can feel his Ki within the dragon! It is most likely him!”

As they continued speaking, Bing Xue’s family, who were protecting the Pagoda glanced at the Cultivators suddenly stopped their assault.

Their army was well organized; the moment they stopped fighting, they quickly moved hundreds of meters away from them, gathering together in a group of over a hundred powerful Immortals and Primordials.

Acknowledging their strength and how it would be risky to get swarmed if they chased them and jumped in the middle of their group, they remained still, only glancing from afar and then at the skies, trying to make sense of the situation right now.

“Seriously, it’s just one thing after another…” Merneith complained, piloting Ra on his Awakened Form, which was capable of overpowering Immortals once she fueled Ra with her Internal Ki combined with her Golden Bloodline Essence. “We can’t really catch a break here! Maybe this world’s even worse than my own.”

“Uwaah, things are getting really intense!” Hekita said, piloting Anubis on his Awakened Form as well, which seemed larger, with more gold across his black metallic body. Similarly to Merneith’s Ra, Anubis, once powered up with Hekita’s Ki and Spirit Energy, could surpass its previous limits, becoming capable of overpowering most Immortals, although Primordials were a whole different level, and for that they had to cooperate against a single one, most of the time getting assistance from their mechanical friends. “Isn’t that dragon like the robots you brought, Merneith? Maybe it’s somewhat related?”

“Related?!” Merneith asked. “T-There’s no way that huge monster could ever be related to my world’s technology; it surpasses everything, and it’s no longer just a man-made machine; it is more like… a machine that was born alive. It’s weird, similar to that dude called Mechanicus I fought at the airport! But it also has magic within it? A weird magic I’ve never seen before. What about you, Hekita? You’re more familiar with supernatural stuff.”

“Hmm…” Hekita squinted her eyes, sensing the endlessly dark powers coming from the massive dragon and feeling a slight headache. “Ouch…!”

“Hekita?! Are you ok?” Merneith asked.

“I’m fine… I just… Ugh, I don’t know what that dragon is…” Hekita muttered. “But I know that its powers aren’t made of Mana, or Spirit Energy, it has Ki from the guy that Mama fought and defeated, but… The darkness, that darkness it has… it’s something completely alien.”

“R-Really?” Merneith asked.

“And it is born from… From Malice, pure Evilness. It is… as if that dragon is the representation of evil! I don’t know how else to explain it… Ah right! Remember the Spider that Mama fought?” Hekita asked.

“The one that took over the robots from my family? Yes! I do remember that thing…” Merneith said, with a slight tone of resentment against that goddess.

“That dragon is a bit similar to her…” Said Hekita. “But… much deeper, darker… Its power might even originate from the stars! I don’t know… It’s confusing, and looking more into its Energy Signatures is going to give me more headaches…”

“It’s alright,” nodded Merneith. “It’s more than enough information, Hekita. We have to quickly send this to your adoptive mother so she can learn about the thing she’s fighting… Unlike the other foes, she doesn’t seem to have a complete advantage.”

“That’s only because Mama’s way of fighting is special,” Hekita smiled. “She starts slow, analyzes her foe, adapts, and overcomes any challenge! She just likes taking her time… Let’s trust her!”

“Well, alright… But we can always bring the cavalry with us as well! Right guys?” Merneith said as she glanced at the four-giant beast-like machines in front of her.

The Divine Spirit Beast God Machines had been flying in front of them on standby; the Silver Moonlight Hare, the Black and White Wolves, and the Golden Phoenix were forces to be reckoned with when they combined their strength and fought together. 

When teaming up with Merneith and Hekita, the entire machine group was more than capable of dealing with a Primordial, and just slaying one together already made the rest more wary, not being as reckless of these “alien beings” as they called them.

“Mama… They stopped fighting! Why?”

Rainbow Eyes complained, his long silvery-white fire-like hair waving around, “burning” with a silver and blueish aura, his rainbow eyes shining the brightest. Just seconds before, he and his mother had been fighting Immortals in droves and even confronted two Primordials; one was slain, the other escaped.

“Looks like they’re scared of the big dragon in the sky!”

Fiery Hair looked into the skies, crossing her big, muscular arms, as her powerful Blazing Transformation was deactivated, and she went back to her original appearance.

“Really? Oh! Mommy defeated the big bad already? Cool!”

“Yes, wife is strong! But a new threat appeared. Dangerous. Stay away from the big dragon for now, Rainbow Eyes. Stay with your mama here; mama will protect son with life.”

“You don’t need to say it like that, mother; I am strong enough that I can also protect you back! But it makes me mad they just escaped! Can’t we just go beat them up a bit more?”

“No… Scattered, they can be taken care of, but together? Too dangerous. They are now desperate to live. Do not engage for now! A cornered beast is almost as dangerous as a wounded one!”

“I-I see… I understand, mother.”

Little Rainbow Eyes was eager to fight and grow as a warrior, but he had to obey his big, strong mother if he wanted to survive in the wild world outside; even if they weren’t in the jungles where she was born, the law of the jungle did not change.

As the skies rumbled and darkened and the Cultivators began to wonder what they could do next, many of them started to question their lord and what had happened to him.

Some even began to escape, flying back to Murim through the Portal in the distance!

“Hey, they’re escaping!”

“What? Already?!”

Orion and Athena, who were still wearing their new armor, glanced as many of their foes escaped through the Portal. It seemed that the Portal wasn’t a Timeline Gate, but a Portal that directly led to Murim!

However, as more time passed, the smaller the Portal became, rapidly decreasing in size until barely a person could fit through! They were hurrying up to escape. After seeing a couple of esteemed and very respected Primordial Cultivators decide this battle was not worth it anymore, several Immortals followed.

“We should chase them down and kill them!” Orion said angrily. “They came here and attacked us!”

“Wait, calm down, brother…” Athena said. “Perhaps it’s better if we let them go. It's clear they just want to survive and no longer intend to fight us.”

“But…” Orion felt frustrated, glancing at them escaping. He was very temperamental, but his sister was there to calm him down. “Ugh…”

RUMBLE!

However, they wouldn’t escape from the crimson eyes of their “new lord." The Immortals and Primordials escaping suddenly saw a massive draconic claw descend from the skies.

“WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU’RE GOING, MY PAWNS?!”

“Wha…?!”

“Wait, is that?!”

“Ahhh! Run!”

The Cultivators panicked as a titanic metallic claw of over fifty meters in height descended. The Primordials in the vicinity didn’t even bother resisting; sensing the power of a venerable within the claws quickly made them instinctively escape.

However, not everyone was lucky; the few immortals near the portal weren’t so lucky; caught by the claws, their bodies exploded into pieces.

CRAAASH!

The claw didn’t just kill them though; as it pierced through space and time, the portal that they were trying to use to escape was instantly sealed forcefully, leaving nothing behind.

“W-We’re trapped in this world!”

“No! Wait! T-This can’t be!”

“Dammit!”

“That thing…! What is it even planning to do with us?!”

The Primordials and Immortals were quick to realize their current situation; without the Portal to go back to their home, they were completely trapped here.

“I’m getting out of here!”

A green-haired old man screamed, wearing brown and green clothes with tree branch paintings and whose eyes shone as bright as golden stars. He immediately rushed to the ground.

“It’s Elder Emerald Tree! He’s running away! Follow him!”

The Immortals that belonged to that man’s Sect quickly followed him, but the man glared at them with disgust and annoyance.

“Don’t you dare follow me!”

He quickly turned his arms into massive wooden claws, tearing the Immortals apart as he attacked them, rushing down into the ground after hearing their screams of agony.

“Uuuaaaggh!”

“E-Elder!”

“Wait! D-Don’t abandon us!”

The ruthless Primordial quickly dug underground, transforming completely into a mass of tree roots and managing to successfully escape while his disciples were bleeding and falling into pieces.

“HMMM, AWAKEN, MY PAWNS! I HAVE DECIDED THIS WORLD IS TOO RICH FOR ME TO DESTROY, INSTEAD. WE SHALL TAKE IT AS OURS!”

As the Dark Storm Dragon spoke, Bing Xue roared, swinging her sword against him as it grew to a massive size.

“Who do you think you’re talking to?! Your opponent is me, Dark Storm Dragon!”

SLASH! SLASH! SLASH! SLASH!

A storm of slashes containing pure chaos, generated by her light and demonic darkness clashing against each other, engulfed the lower half of the Dark Storm Dragon.

“HMM? THAT TICKLES!”

However, the Dark Storm Dragon seemed barely affected; there were slashes over his metallic body, but even then… that was about it.

“HAVE PATIENCE, WILL YOU?!”

He furiously swung his giant claws against Bing Xue, grabbing her head and then throwing her into the skies like a ragdoll.

TRUUUM!

“Ugh!”

Her body pierced through several layers of clouds, the impact alone fracturing space and leaving ripples through the empty air.

“NOW… AWAKEN!”

The Dark Storm Dragon’s eyes shone brightly, his darkness seeping into his pawns; those he had killed quickly were revived, their flesh and bodies unifying back together, now covered on huge growths of black crystals and metallic scales.

“Gruooogghh!”

“Raaaargghh!”

“Shyaaaarrgh!”

They groaned like crazed zombies, flying towards the other Immortals and beginning to fight them, biting their arms or necks, infecting them with this darkness that also turned them into abominations.

“Nooo! Uuaaargh!”

“D-Dammit! Get off me!”

“Don’t bite me, you bastard- ARGH!”

The Primordials who were managing to somehow survive all of this, glanced in utter disbelief at the chaos in front of them.

“We have to escape! Leave the Immortals behind!”

“I agree, we’re getting out of here; even outer space seems like a safer place!”

“Goodbye!”

They rushed away as quickly as possible, but the Dark Draconified Immortals followed them, cornering them as they moved incredibly fast through the sky with their massive metallic wings.

“Shyaaaah! Don’t leave!”

“It’s good to be like this! Gryaaah!”

“I like it! Join usssss!”

“W-Wha…?”

“You have to be kidding me!”

“H-How fast are they?!”

As this happened, the twins were suddenly surrounded by the same infected immortals, with new powers overflowing with the dark energies of the Dark Storm Dragon.

“Youuuu! Why do you hold the power of the Symbolsssss?!”

“Is thissss why our master is still weaker than beforeeee?!”

“Give it back! Kill them! Shyaaaah!”

“I told you we should’ve killed them earlier, sister!” Orion complained.

“Ugh, I could have never guessed this would happen, you know?!” Athena sighed.

RUMBLE!

As the kids were surrounded from every angle, suddenly, a storm of emerald winds and thunder descended from the skies.

A long golden spear spun around amidst the tornado of elemental, spiritual, and divine magic, sending the Dark Draconified Immortals away.

FLUOSH!

And then a single, majestic, and divine wolf woman emerged, her fur divided into black and white, with golden horns and four beautiful, glowing eyes.

“Mom?!”

“It’s mom!”

“Children, are you safe? We were taking care of the Immortals attacking the other side of the Pagoda! What in the world is going on here? Also, what about those clothes? We can hardly see your faces!”

“Uuh, well, about that…”

“Ah! Look out!”

“Gryaaah! Kill them!”

As their combined mothers tried to ask for answers, that would have to wait for later, as the monsters quickly started moving again even after being cut down.

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