Chapter 82: A Torrential Downpour Must Be Coming

The dreamscape sky had never been so strange. Here, it was clear and bright; there, black clouds billowed, and thunder rumbled ceaselessly among the clouds.

“Haha, run! Go on, run!” Between the storm clouds, two beams of pure white light chased each other. Bard laughed heartily. “You brat, you charged in so fiercely just now—why are you running away now?”

“Damn old man!” Linley shouted over his shoulder as he fled, his tone furious. “You think I’m afraid of you? You’re using grade-A gear, I’ve got grade-B—of course I can’t beat you! If you’ve got guts, throw yours away and face me one-on-one!”

A moment ago, seeing the Queen transform into the Lunar Wheel, Linley thought he was finally going to triumph. He charged in without hesitation, only to find he couldn’t even break through the defensive aura of the Twin Moons Wheel and was forced to retreat in disarray.

“Why is it that your Twin Moons Wheel is so much weaker than his?” Linley grumbled as he dodged a cold ray emitted by the Wheel.

“He is the main system. The Twin Moons Wheel I possess split off from his,” the Queen replied. “He wanted to absorb the soul power of the night elves, but the auxiliary systems that resisted him split away.”

The original Twin Moons Wheel had been a nearly perfect circle, a beautiful halo named for its ability to absorb the power of both moons. After the split, the halo became a crescent; only when both halves were joined was it truly complete. The Queen’s Wheel could only absorb moonlight, while Bard’s had swallowed countless souls and grown immeasurably powerful.

“Also, I’m not truly fused with the Twin Moons Wheel,” the Queen said, intercepting a bolt of lightning for Linley. “The system of this Wheel was destroyed. I used a special method to act as its system, hiding my body inside it so I can leave at any time. But if I do, the Wheel will lose control and merge back with his.”

The Queen had no wish for the Twin Moons Wheel to be reunited.

Linley didn’t care about that; he was thoroughly annoyed at being chased. “Your handling of the Wheel is terrible. Why not let me use it?”

Under the Queen’s control, the Wheel was only good for defense, rarely counterattacking. Linley felt if he wielded it himself, the results would be much better.

“Impossible. It can only cooperate with you, not be wielded by you,” the Queen refused. “You can’t use the Twin Moons Wheel.”

The Wheel was bound by contract to the night elves. It simply could not be used by outsiders. Even if the Queen wanted to hand over control, it was impossible.

“Just keep fleeing. Fly to the ground and find something to eat,” the Queen said, intentionally conserving her strength. She had her own calculations: Linley’s potential in the dreamscape was immense. As long as he could eat, he would not only recover his power but also exhaust Bard.

Though they couldn’t defeat the Twin Moons Wheel head-on, they could outlast Bard. In terms of age and stamina, Linley far surpassed Bard. Once Bard showed signs of fatigue, their chance would come.

“The Wheel is still just a weapon, and weapons require a master to unleash their power,” the Queen said. “If it didn’t have a master, I’d have a way to control it.”

“All right,” Linley nodded.

Suddenly, a massive bolt of lightning exploded beside him. Snakes of electricity scattered, but the Wheel before Linley’s chest absorbed them.

“No… this is too much…” The Queen’s voice was strained with pain; she hadn’t managed to block all the lightning. Some of it struck Linley, making his hair stand on end and blinding him for several seconds—but he didn’t stop flying, not giving Bard a single chance.

The benefit of being in the sky was that he could fly wildly without worrying about crashing into anything. When his vision returned, Linley made a discovery: “I can eat lightning.”

The Queen was stunned. Another bolt flashed toward them. This time, Linley yelled, “Don’t block it!”

He opened his mouth wide at the lightning. With a deafening crash, he was turned into a charred figure—his clothes disintegrated completely.

“You…” The Queen was about to scold him for his recklessness, but noticed that, despite the burns on his skin, the energy inside Linley was rapidly recovering.

“Haha! It tingles… lightning is amazing!”

Linley was ecstatic. Why hadn’t he thought of this before? His physical strength was close to a dragon’s; lightning couldn’t kill him. Instead, it replenished his energy.

The energy in lightning was astounding. With that last strike—and the cage he’d eaten earlier—most of Linley’s true qi had already recovered.

“This boy is abnormal, Master,” the Twin Moons Wheel sensed something amiss and warned Bard. “He can absorb the energy of lightning. You can’t outlast him. We shouldn’t fight here—this battlefield benefits them.”

Bard halted the chase, frowning at Linley.

What was with this kid? Everything about his body was abnormal. Could he really be an Azure Dragon? Impossible—he was clearly a forest elf. Still, the Wheel had a point: the dreamscape favored them.

“Boy, has the eldest prince of your forest elves come to Florence as well?” Bard sneered. “He made my Twin Moons Wheel very angry. Perhaps I’ll go kill him first.”

“Don’t you dare!” Before Linley could respond, the Queen burst out angrily.

Both Bard and Linley were taken aback, but then Bard burst into laughter. “So that’s it! He matters to you too!”

This was an unexpected revelation for Bard. If so, the eldest prince made the perfect bait.

Bard saw no further reason to keep the battle here. The Twin Moons Wheel could only reach its full power in the main world, where the night elves would provide him with endless energy. Bard would go after the eldest prince.

He ripped open space, preparing to leave.

“He’s escaping!” Linley realized at once.

The Queen noticed too. “Don’t worry. I’ve sealed this entire space—he’s not going anywhere!”

Her Twin Moons Wheel suddenly blazed with unprecedented brilliance, the intense light outlining the black clouds with a rim of white.

The space before Bard began to close, but his own Wheel flared with light as well, and with a laugh, Bard vanished with the Wheel.

“Where did they go?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the Queen sighed. “They’ve returned to the main world.”

Linley was dumbfounded. “Didn’t you say you could seal them in?”

“I thought I could—but didn’t you say it yourself? I’ve got the B-grade, and B can’t beat A!” The Queen mimicked Linley’s tone, clearly remembering his words, then flashed with light and carried Linley in pursuit to the main world.

The dreamscape sky cleared once more.

Ten minutes later, a woman with radiant white wings flew to the spot, gazing intently at the empty sky.

“What on earth happened here?”

In the main world, thunder rumbled in a clear sky. The night elves of Florence looked up as the thunder’s vibration grew, and rolling black clouds shrouded the sky, plunging the city into darkness.

The thunder grew louder; golden serpents of lightning flickered endlessly within the black clouds, radiating a sense of doom.

The night elves shivered in their hearts; this ominous aura was all too familiar.

“Run! Everyone, run!” they called to each other, scurrying home and bringing in their laundry.

A torrential storm was surely about to fall.