Yun Tian was completely unconscious, his body lying motionless on the sandy shore.
Standing high above on the cliff, Bao Uyen looked down, letting out a desperate shriek:
"Tian...!!!"
She no longer cared about anything else; fear no longer held any power over her. Her legs no longer trembled. She sprinted forward, her speed picking up rapidly, and leaped clean off the edge of the cliff. Her body hit the hard earth below with a brutal impact, skinning her knees and drawing fresh blood. But she had no time to process the pain; despite the sharp burning sensation in her joints, she scrambled back to her feet and kept sprinting forward. Tears began to spill uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes as she called out with every step:
"Tian...! Tian...! Tian...!"
She charged straight toward the chaotic battlefield where the Tran Army and the forces of the Red-Eyed Black Dragon were locked in vicious combat. Spotting the young girl rushing in, the soldiers of the Black Dragon army narrowed their eyes, their gazes turning a sinister crimson. A mob of them broke formation, lunging directly at her. Seeing this, General Tran Quoc Bảo's eyes widened as he roared at the top of his lungs:
"Run! Get out of there...!"
The entire wave of Black Dragon soldiers closed in on her at once. Bao Uyen stared them down, the necklace around her throat suddenly flaring with a brilliant, vivid pink light.
"You..."
The pink radiance within her pupils erupted with surging intensity as the blinding glow from her pendant spread, completely enveloping her body. The enemy soldiers were practically on top of her.
"...DON'T YOU DARE STOP ME!"
She thrust both hands upward into the sky.
Instantly, the earth beneath her feet shuddered violently before cracking open. A colossal pillar of water—resembling a wild, ferocious water dragon—shot skyward into the atmosphere, piercing clean through nine layers of clouds. The suffocating pressure from the surging current blasted the oncoming wave of soldiers straight into the air like tattered ragdolls. Their horrified shrieks—"Ahhhhh!"—were completely swallowed by the deafening roar of the cascading torrents.
She wasn't finished. Sweeping her hands forward, the towering water pillar, which had been standing upright, abruptly tilted in the direction of her guiding arms. The remaining soldiers stared on in utter, dazed shock. Before they could even process what was happening, the colossal column of water collapsed straight down upon the helpless mob like a falling monolith. The sheer weight combined with the crushing hydrostatic pressure flattened every soldier who failed to move in time.
The moment the water pillar slammed fully onto the earth, Bao Uyen snapped her fingers. The solid shape of the column cracked, bursting violently like an over-inflated balloon.
BOOM!
A deafening, ear-splitting explosion shattered the air as torrents of water blasted outward in all directions. An invisible kinetic wave of water swept horizontally across the battlefield, the force of the spray tearing through the air itself, transforming into tens of thousands of water blades that embedded deep into the surroundings. The nearby soldiers had zero time to react; the brutal force slammed directly into their iron chestplates, launching men and armor backward tens of meters, felling them like autumn leaves.
Through the destruction, a clear path was carved. Bao Uyen kept sprinting toward Yun Tian.
Standing not far away, witnessing the enemy's vanguard being utterly decimated, General Tran Quoc Bao was thoroughly awestruck by the spectacle before his eyes.
"To think... this young maiden possesses such terrifying inner power!" Tran Quoc Bao marvelled inwardly.
But his amazement was fleeting. The faint smirk on his lips vanished as he shook his head. Even with divine strength capable of moving mountains and parting seas, a single small girl could not possibly hold out indefinitely against a endless, swarming ocean of enemies. Midst a relentless battlefield of cold steel and heartless blades, he absolutely could not allow a maiden to fall into peril.
Making his decision in a heartbeat, the young general gripped his war dao tightly, pointed it straight ahead, and roared his commands to the Tran soldiers:
"All units, hear my command! The enemy line is breaking! Ride this momentum and tear their formation apart!"
He dug his heels hard into his mount, his voice thunderous across the front lines:
"Personal guard, follow me! Advance and protect the lady!"
Meanwhile, the Red-Eyed Black Dragon stared down at the spot where Yun Tian lay. The arrogant sneer was gone from his face; instead, he held a severe, solemn expression—the face of a warrior acknowledging an opponent as truly strong.
"You are indeed a formidable adversary."
"I acknowledge that much in you."
"However... it is a pity."
His eyes shifted to Bao Uyen, who was sprinting frantically toward Yun Tian, her tears raining down endlessly. He watched her for a brief moment, then extended his hand. A small sphere condensed at his fingertip, its shape rapidly elongating into a massive, trailing chain.
"Allow me to put an end to your suffering as well."
The moment the words left his mouth, the chain shot from his fingertip straight toward Bao Uyen at terrifying speed. Wherever it passed, the very space distorted in its wake. The projectile locked dead onto the running girl. Spotting it from behind, General Tran Quoc Bao screamed out
"My lady! Dodge, quickly!"
It was too late. The chain was already upon her. Bao Uyen could only turn her face to look; a bone-chilling cold swept over her, making her heart seize up. She genuinely thought this was the end.
In that split-second hanging by a thread, just as the helpless thought of giving up crossed her mind and the chain was millimeters from her flesh—the necklace around her throat vibrated violently. Instantly, it burst forward on its own, unleashing a blinding, radiant pink light that intercepted the strike right before her eyes.
CLANG!
A fierce, deafening screech of clashing metal reverberated across the field. The chain was brought to a complete standstill right in front of Bao Uyen. The terrifying backlash from the necklace forced the chain to alter its trajectory, roaring as it was redirected straight up into the heavens. The explosive collision of the two energy forces tore through the sky, creating a blinding pillar of crimson light that dyed the entire chaotic battlefield in blood-red hues.
The Red-Eyed Black Dragon stared in utter disbelief at what had just transpired. As for Bao Uyen, after standing frozen for a moment, she snapped back to her senses. Ignoring the one who had just attacked her, her eyes remained fixed on a single destination: where Yun Tian lay. Though her legs were still shaking from the shockwave, she forced herself forward, taking one trembling step after another.
The Red-Eyed Black Dragon merely let out a low "Hmph." Raising his hand once more, another small orb began to take shape as he locked his gaze onto Bao Uyen.
"Let us see if you remain so fortunate this time."
Just as the orb began mutating into a chain once more, a terrifying, air-shredding whistle suddenly erupted. A massive war dao shot through the air like a falling star, flying straight at the Red-Eyed Black Dragon's face. Startled, he abruptly pulled his hand back as the razor-sharp blade grazed past his cheek by a fraction of an inch.
Once he regained his composure, he snapped his head toward the direction the weapon had come from. Standing not far away was General Tran Quoc Bao, frozen in the follow-through stance of a heavy throw, his arm still trembling slightly from the sheer power he had funneled into the strike.
The Red-Eyed Black Dragon glared at him, his eyes narrowing as a low growl rumbled from his throat:
"You..."
General Tran Quoc Bao drew himself up to his full height, staring directly into the blood-red eyes of the enemy. His deep, thunderous voice sliced clean through the atmosphere:
"As long as Tran Quoc Bao stands here, who dares touch even a single hair on this lady's head?!"
On the other side, Bao Uyen poured every last drop of her remaining strength into reaching Yun Tian's side. Her knees collapsed heavily onto the waterlogged dirt. Her wildly trembling hands frantically shook his cold, motionless body. Hot tears slipped past her eyelashes, falling continuously to mix with the blood-stained water of the battlefield. Her throat choked up, her desperate calls breaking out into heart-wrenching sobs:
"Tian... wake up, please..."
"Don't leave me... I beg you... please wake up..."
She pulled him into a tight embrace, her sorrowful weeping echoing amid the heavy stench of blood and mist. But answering her was only the terrifying, agonizing silence of the man lying in her arms.
Facing the Red-Eyed Black Dragon once more, the monster stared down at General Tran Quoc Bao.
"Do you truly seek your own death...?"
Confronted by the suffocating dark aura, Tran Quoc Bao merely offered a faint, dry chuckle. His face remained completely unruffled, his demeanor composed and serene as if he were standing before a peaceful landscape. He answered casually
"Death, you say...? I have followed the Tran Army into battle for years, tumbling through countless life-and-death struggles where blood dyed the sa field red."
"To a brave general of Dai Viet, death is as light as a feather. Do you truly think I fear it?"
Those words, dripping with absolute heroic spirit, caused the Red-Eyed Black Dragon's face to darken instantly. The killing intent around him condensed into a bone-chilling, icy mist. He ground his teeth
"Then... I shall grant your wish, and take your life right here!"
Tran Quoc Bao did not flinch for a second. Staring straight into the demonic eyes of the beast, he gripped his side weapon tight, his voice echoing out with steel resolve
"Then come! Let me see what you are truly capable of!"