Chapter 169-A High-Altitude Sacrifice

Why would a Level 63 Grand General appear in such a remote little place?

Bai Yue Zero didn’t have time to think about this question, and just commanded again, “Lie Lie, ignore her. Dive at full speed!”

Lie Lie let out a furious roar, blazing flames surging from her body as she once again spread her dragon wings and dove down.

---

At the same time, in the distance, Ya Jian once again drew her bow and nocked an arrow, locking firmly onto the trajectory of the flying dragon.

Her class was Dragon Hunter Archer—even in this era when dragons had gone into hiding, she had still slain as many as ten dragons. Every single one fell to her arrows, not a single one escaping her deadly marksmanship.

Ya Jian squinted her eyes. The red dragon on the horizon was descending at a tremendous speed. Before it hit the ground, she would at most have time to fire one more arrow.

But one arrow was enough.

Boom!

A massive wooden arrow ripped through the sky again, bringing with it an even more violent aura of destruction as it howled through the air. The speed was so great that a layer of blistering flames ignited along its shaft, the mighty momentum as if it could topple a mountain.

Faced with the threat of this third arrow, not only did Lie Lie not slow down—she actually sped up.

At this moment, she chose to trust her teammate.

Gazing at the incoming giant arrow, Ying Ye gritted her silver teeth tightly, showing no fear. She raised her blood-drenched right hand and, using the last of her strength, swung it out with all her might!

Clang!

With a flash of white light, a system prompt rang in everyone’s ears.

[Your teammate "Ying Ye" has died.]

In her final moments, Ying Ye poured out all her strength, doing her best to deflect the giant arrow off its original path, causing it to graze past Lie Lie’s abdomen.

However, the giant arrow still inevitably scraped against Lie Lie’s belly, and her HP instantly dropped to 20%.

With a painful dragon’s cry, Lie Lie was forced to revert to human form, tumbling with the others down into the river below. The icy river water soaked her wounds, her consciousness gradually blurring as she drifted with the current...

---

Over in the Holy Nation, Ya Jian set down her bow amid the soldiers’ cheers, frowning. “Did I really miss?”

At her side, a bunny-eared girl in a bunny girl uniform asked curiously, “Lord Ya Jian, was that red dot at the horizon just now the legendary dragon?”

“Just a whelp,” Ya Jian stared disdainfully in the direction where the dragon had fallen, her voice full of scorn. “Who’d have thought the Panlong Mountains still hid dragons? If it weren’t for urgent matters, I’d definitely chase after it and kill it with one shot.”

“So, what exactly is the urgent matter you mentioned, milord?”

The bunny-eared girl pointed at the gathered players inside the city, smiling with narrowed eyes, “For your command, milord, I’ve called together all the elite members of our Singing While Drinking Guild. If you don’t give us a generous reward, I won’t be able to explain myself to the sisters.”

Ya Jian replied blandly, “When to act depends on when Songyuan City sends the signal.”

The bunny-eared girl’s eyes lit up. “Wait... are we really going to invade the Kingdom?”

Ya Jian remained expressionless and did not answer.

The bunny-eared girl then asked in confusion, “But I remember that the Panlong Mountains are an impassable natural barrier. The soldiers can’t possibly get through, right?”

Ya Jian glanced at her. “You’re called ‘Miss Wine’, aren’t you?”

“Yes~” The girl named Miss Wine bounced twice, her two furry rabbit ears bobbing up and down. “I’m the vice president of Singing While Drinking, you know.”

If Bai Yue Zero were here, she’d surely remember that this “Miss Wine” was the one who’d posted the world lore threads on the forum earlier.

And… during previous Reincarnations, Bai Yue Zero and this little bunny had experienced some rather interesting stories together.

“You travelers from another world really do have strange names.” Ya Jian shook her head and turned to leave. “Once you see the signal, you’ll naturally know how we’re getting through.”

“Understood~!”

Miss Wine replied like a bouncing rabbit, her long, silk-clad feet propelling her with a hop into the middle of the crowd.

“Sisters, come over here, let’s go take a stroll around the Panlong Mountains.” Miss Wine grinned mischievously. “I want to see what General Ya Jian is really up to.”

---

Soaked in the icy river water, Bai Yue Zero’s mind gradually cleared and she awoke from unconsciousness.

She opened her eyes to find herself sitting on a battered wagon, with soldiers up front slowly guiding the warhorses. A man named Larov sat next to her, saying, “Hey, you’re finally awake.”

“Uwahhh! Wait, I haven’t installed the laboratory yet!”

Bai Yue Zero snapped awake from her dream, instinctively looking around.

All around her were damp, shadowy stone walls, and the constant rush of water echoed in her ears. Yet, far from being noisy, the sound lent a quiet and peaceful feeling.

She let out a small sigh. “So it was just a dream.”

“Xiao Bai, you’re finally awake.”

Zi Jingyue sat nearby, her whole body soaking wet. The already-tight qipao clung even closer to her skin, accentuating every curve of her shapely figure. The faint color of flesh could be glimpsed through the thin, drenched fabric, crystal beads of water making her impossible to look away from.

Beside her, Lie Lie was holding her stomach, face pale, clearly not yet recovered from the damage of that arrow.

“Here.” Bai Yue Zero took out a large bottle of healing potion from her backpack and handed it to Lie Lie, asking, “Didn’t any of you bring healing potions?”

Zi Jingyue shook her head. “I was born in the Underground World. Potions there are outrageously expensive—I simply couldn’t afford them.”

“I live out in the wild all the time. When I’m hungry, I eat meat and fruit. I’ve barely set foot in the main city,” Lie Lie said weakly, pulling the stopper and gulping down the potion. Her complexion improved rapidly.

“Ha~ I’m alive! Thanks, Xiao Bai!”

Bai Yue Zero asked in confusion, “So… what’s going on now?”

“Miss Ying Ye sacrificed herself to protect us. After we fell into the river, we passed out and were carried here by the current,” Zi Jingyue said, pointing at Vicky, who was sitting by the riverbank. “It was Vicky who dragged us onto the shore.”

Compared to Level 20 Bai Yue Zero and the others, Vicky, a Level 40 Mental Mage, was naturally much tougher.

Bai Yue Zero looked at Vicky’s back, feeling quietly amazed—an enemy who’d once always tried to kill her had actually saved her now… It seemed the news of Qingjin’s recovery had affected Vicky quite a bit.

Just then, footsteps slowly approached from not far away.

A dozen or so black-clad figures holding torches were chatting as they made their way downriver. Rounding a bend, they suddenly saw Bai Yue Zero and her companions.

“Who’s there?!” one of the black-clad men shouted.

One said, “They don’t look like people from the Gus Territory.”

Another sneered, “Then kill them all. We can’t let them mess up the master’s plans!”

The black-clad men all drew their curved blades, moving like ghosts of the night as they charged at Bai Yue Zero and the others!

Bai Yue Zero frowned. They’d only just woken up, and none of them were in good shape. Were they really going to have to fight in this narrow, dark cave?

At that moment, Vicky, who was sitting by the riverbank, moved.

She lifted the hem of her white dress and stood up gracefully, stepping toward the black-clad men.

She spread her fingers, and pale red magical energy rippled out like waves, causing all the black-clad men to freeze in place.

“Black-clad rats…” Vicky swept her indifferent gaze over the scene, her voice devoid of emotion as she said coldly, “End your own lives.”

“What do you mean, ‘end our lives’?”

The black-clad men froze, then burst out laughing scornfully, “Hah? Who do you think you are? Just a few words and you think you can command—”

Suddenly, they all found their hands moving out of their control.

In perfect unison, they raised their curved blades, and, horror-struck, pressed the icy edges against their own necks.