Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Xiu Luo Yang formed another ring of fire. He deactivated his armor partially melted and eaten away by the Hydra's aura. Unlike the first ring, this one was smaller and condensed. Rather than fire, it had become a solid ring of light.

"Providence of the Sun."

Xiu Luo Yang controlled this ring, which flew above the hydra's body. It shined and hummed as the hydra tried to get up but found that it could not. This ring of light then split into five concentric circles, the first smaller than the next and so on.

The mere energy had forced the hydra down, pushing it into the seafloor.

Xiu Luo Yang's body slightly trembled as the hydra tried its utmost to break this entrapment. The rings of light stood above the hydra, like an inevitable fate. Strangely enough, no blood came from its ripped head or leg and despite the losses, this hydra was as lively as before. The four heads struggled to spew flames out as its jaws were shut under the pressure.

Slowly, the rings lowered onto the hydra, growing brighter and brighter as it pressed down the beast. The dark aura was nothing under the light of this attack, weak and reduced to mere wisps.

Upon touching the flesh, the rings branded themselves onto the hydra's body, who wirthed and cried out in pain. The smell of burnt flesh wafted into the air as the rings pressed down, burning deep into the hydra's flesh, turning those black scales into nothing more than ash.

Sensing its impending doom, the hydra used all of its remaining strength to break this. An explosion of dark fog burst from its body as it grew twice the size.

With a mighty roar, it pushed the rings back, inching further up.

Xiu Luo Yang's face turned grim as he tried to keep the beast under control. From behind, the ship shot their cannons constantly, raining lightning down.

"Get back down!"

Xiu Luo Yang forced the rings down onto the hydra, burning through the flesh as this beast tried to run forward. However, its last spurt of strength was nearly gone and its body could not handle the rings of light. Like a quillotine, the rings came down, slicing the hydra's body and the outermost ring, severed the rest of the heads.

In its final moments, the hydra toppled over and the four heads rolled off. Its body slowly melted into black sludge to which Xiu Luo Yang incinerated with a breath of flame. He was not going to take any chances with it, destroying it before it turned into anything else.

The ship closed up, returning to its original form as everyone let out a breath of relief.

They were successful! What more, no one lost their lives. Had they not made ample preparation, there would've been a different result.

Returning to the ship, Ming Yue hopped off of the dragon as he left to check on his beloved's body.

"Ah, good."

Xiu Luo Yang looked up and raised his hands, energy pulsed from his palms, forming another barrier that spanned across much of the gravesite. This one was noticeably stronger then the previous one.

Afterwards, he floated towards the ship, watching the crew gather themselves and rest.

All of them sat by the cannons, resting their backs on them. They were tired, both physically and certainly mentally. They had little rest before hand, focusing on improving the ship up until the last moment before manning the cannons, not to mention attacking the hydra. It took a special sort of mentality to not break under the sight of that horrific creature.

Just the size was enough to intimidate most people.

"It seems that we have all survived this ordeal", said the dragon.

"I just hope we don't have to go through it once more."

Long Wang replied, feeling tired and sleepy however, she stood up and faced the dragon. Everyone else followed her, pulling themselves up.

"Please sit back down and rest. I know that you are all exhuasted and I am no tyrant, especially to those that I deem honourable. I too need a bit of time to recover."

Hearing those words, everyone sat back down, recovering their energy. The moon was still high above them, caressing them in a gentle light. The sea returned to its serene state and slowly lulled them all to sleep.

Except for Ming Yue, unlike the others, she was used to battle and did not feel very tired. She only sat down and recovered her energy while thinking about the battle. She was somewhat lost, not knowing what to make of it. Though she helped Xiu Luo Yang battle against the hydra, it was hard to determine how effective she was.

Did any of her attacks truly damage the hydra?

As far as she knew, her lances were nothing more than an annoyance to the beast. As for the one she used on its leg, she knew that it was Xiu Luo Yang's arrow that severed the leg. Still, she learned quite a lot about her limits and understood that there was a fair bit of improvement to do.

"Girl, you're awake."

Xiu Luo Yang's gravelly voice gently entered her ears.

She looked up to find the dragon weakened the luster of his body dimmed. His whiskers lowered as he looked upon her with calm eyes.

"You're quite the brave one. Out of all the warriors that I have seen, your mental fortitude is much stronger than most of them. Your attacks had no fear nor did you waver under the sight of the hydra. I commend you for this."

However, Ming Yue did not pay much attention to his compliments.

"Your body..."

Her expression full of concern as she found this Dragon Emperor aged and weak.

"Ah, I am dying as you can see", he spoke nonchalantly, as if him dying did not matter to him.

"This was bound to happen soon, the battle with the hydra only hastened it. I've been alive for several thousand years, now I probably don't have much time left. Since, you are still awake, I shall have to depend on you to pass on this message. After this, I will be taking my beloved somewhere else, somewhere quieter than this. I will of course leave something for you and the others."

He brought forward his claw and revealed a glowing gray gem and a vibrant violet one.

"I noticed your sword, a beautiful piece but incomplete. These two cores should work. Both were formed in a great storm, one that lasted years as it had been formed by the remnant energies of the previous calamity. Its age might be even greater than mine."

Ming Yue received them, feeling the power emanating from these two stones. The pale green one resonated with her Dao of Wind while the violet one resonated with her Dao of Lightning.

"This- this is too much", she could not accept them for they were almost priceless.

From what he said, these two cores must've been obtained at the Merciless Storm Peak. Even as they resonated, she could feel the wild power coming from them both. If Drifting Sky were to have these two gems, what grade would it be? World? Perhaps, even Star, the highest one?

It was already Peak Divine on its own, these two gems could push it.

"Bah, I obtained them by chance, furthermore, I have no use for them. Here are the other things, several scales, and this jade slip."

He placed the crimson scales on the ship and gave her the jade slip.

"The slip entails my experiences as well as the inner workings of the dragon race. This is for them and it is time to say farewell."

He turned away, carrying the body of his beloved.

"Wait, are you the last one? The last dragon?" she had to ask.

He looked back at her, a tinge of sadness came and passed in his eyes as he looked away.

"Indeed, the both of us are the last of our kind. Sad, isn't it?"

With those words, he flew off, bringing his partner away and off to a peaceful.. Once there, he would wait to die and join her in the afterlife.