The Creatures that We Are

Gurgle. Tens of meters below the bridge, gentle bubbles disturbed the river's surface. In the darkness, with the blinding crossfire overhead, no one noticed the disturbance.

The bubbles multiplied rapidly until the water seemed to boil, catching the colors of the aerial firefight.

"I see it!" After five seconds, Rewind spotted the danger first. The others followed her gaze, readying themselves for combat.

Whoo...

An ancient, sorrowful cry rippled through the water with penetrating force. Then a deep blue whale, ferry-sized, burst from the river—not a true whale, but a fusion of countless marine creatures, seaweed, and river water, all bound together by strands of energy.

Its massive body twisted as it opened its enormous maw, its tail generating massive waves. In an elegant yet terrifying arc, it launched toward the Ocean River Union's assembly of members.

Raven Shark had unleashed his full power. His desire to kill Qilin burned hottest—he believed Elder Vermilion Bird would awaken with Qilin's death.

Driven by this conviction to save Vermilion Bird, Raven Shark's Sea King had reached level 7.

"You're great, little guy!"

Sister Ling's earnest praise cut through the air, amplified by Rewind's megaphone. While attempting to expose Raven Shark's weaknesses with Praise, Sister Ling extended her arms, channeling level 3 Frost.

The endless river water beneath them created perfect conditions for Frost. Her power could reach new heights here.

Dozens of ice cones erupted from the river like sprouting bamboo, targeting the airborne whale. Yet even with this advantage, level 3 Frost proved inadequate against level 7 Sea King, which was also in its natural domain.

The ice cones struck the enormous blue whale but failed to penetrate, shattering into countless shards. They couldn't even slow the behemoth's descent toward the bridge.

The whale-construct plummeted, threatening to crush the bridge's occupants like a tsunami. Those with weaker constitutions would be obliterated.

Thud. A golden streak shot from the river like a cannonball, piercing the deep blue whale.

Puppet Azure Dragon moved again.

This time, Qilin focused most of his attention on the puppet, enabling it to fight at ninety percent capacity, just shy of the full power he could achieve through direct possession.

The puppet tore through the whale's gills and soared skyward. Those with keen vision caught a clear glimpse—Azure Dragon wrapped in special black bandages like a mummy, only his empty eyes visible, gleaming with eerie green light. Gone was the loyal, righteous, serious Elder Azure Dragon, replaced by a hell-born fiend thirsting for blood.

Qilin hadn’t made the puppet so as to terrify others, of course. He had two reasons.

First, to maximize protection—a Puppeteer-controlled corpse, unlike a living being, couldn't heal or use medicine. It was far more fragile than a living person.

Second, to conceal the energy brand from enemies, preventing them from targeting this crucial weak point.

As Puppet Azure Dragon burst through the whale, he seized his target—Raven Shark, hidden within the construct. Qilin had known the boy needed to embed Sea King's energy strands to create something so massive, and directed his puppet accordingly.

The puppet aimed to snap Raven Shark's neck, but the boy's quick defensive motion meant Azure Dragon caught his arm instead, dragging him from the whale's body.

The puppet crushed Raven Shark's right hand effortlessly.

Raven Shark cried out in pain, his focus crumbling in an instant, and the giant whale exploded into a downpour of marine animals, seaweed, and shells.

One Stone and Rain River opened two long black umbrellas at the same time to shield QIlin and Surnamed Li.

The others, on the other hand, were drenched. The fish, shrimp, crabs, and shells hit the ground and bounced, struggling on land. The picture painted was absurd and strange.

Crimson Bee, soaked through, peeled seaweed from his head and tore a crab from his chest, silently cursing, Fucking what the hell!

Meanwhile, Puppet Azure Dragon had clenched his left fist after crushing Raven Shark’s arm to make a swing at Raven Shark’s face. The punch was quick. While it wasn’t that strong, it was strong enough to turn Raven Shark’s brain into mush.

But the fist never connected. An irresistible force held it back.

In the next instant, Azure Dragon vanished, replaced by Dead Pig.

This was Dead Pig's doing—he'd been waiting by the riverbank to support Raven Shark as planned. When danger struck, he'd deployed level 7 Displacement from hundreds of meters away, forcibly swapping positions with Azure Dragon.

After avenging Ba Qiuchi, Dead Pig's Self Recovery had reached level 7. Using the Nine Scions' Time-Space Rune Circuit, he'd elevated Displacement to level 4, which then leaped to level 7.

Now on the eastern riverbank, Puppet Azure Dragon's power dropped by 20%—a penalty that would last 20 seconds.

Controlling Azure Dragon, Qilin quickly assessed the situation. As the puppet moved to return to battle, murderous intent surged from behind.

A gray-cyan blade aura sliced through the air. War Tiger had attacked with his Dragonslayer Giantsword.

Clink. Puppet Azure Dragon armored himself with energy, crossing his arms before his chest to absorb the slash. The impact sent ripples of force outward, scattering vegetation.

War Tiger stared at the inhuman form before him, his thoughts heavy with regret.

Do you know that I forged this weapon specifically for you, Brother Dragon?

I've always yearned for a proper battle with you, but now I face only a walking corpse.

Look at what's become of you. Qilin's Puppeteer must be level 7 now. He's investing significant mental power to control you, isn't he?

Hmph, just as I predicted.

"Hah!"

War Tiger's powerful downward swing sent Puppet Azure Dragon airborne. In one fluid motion, he drew the flare gun from his waist and fired skyward.

A slender, agile golden snake writhed upward.

Three seconds later, it blossomed into a brilliant, pure white sun, its fleeting radiance exposing every face hidden in shadow and darkness.

From his position in a signal tower, Nine Frost observed the brilliant light over Qingyang Bridge through his binoculars, his stealth clothes concealing him from view.

A determined smile curved his tight lips.

[Nine Frost: Attention, all! Launch an all-out attack! The goal! Qilin's head!]

[Qing Ling: The first team at your command.]

[White Rabbit: The second team at your command.]

[Heavenly Dog: The third team at your command.]

[Chen Ying: The fourth team at your command.]

[Zhong He: The fifth team at your command.]

[Zhang Wei: The sixth team at your fucking command!!!]

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