radicalducati 18. Ishtar's Awakening and Roja's Rampage [2-in-1]
18. Ishtar's Awakening and Roja's Rampage [2-in-1]
Luo Ya gazed at the girl, utterly perplexed.
She had a pair of light blue double buns shaped like dragon horns, a delicate and cute round face, a slender and thin figure, and skin that was a translucent blue, like jelly...
She doesn't look like a human girl at all!
Generally speaking, a high-level Spirit Burner not only enhances the strength of the physical body and has a chance to awaken extraordinary abilities, but also increases intelligence, far surpassing that of an ordinary Spirit Burner.
Only after devouring a large number of humans can a burning spirit awaken human intelligence and become known as a ghost spirit.
The Ghost Spirit, the Ghost Demon, and the Ghostly Creature are collectively known as the Three Calamities of the Empire.
Generally speaking, it is rare to see spirits below the third rank, and those that want to transform into human form must be at least the ninth rank.
A first-order burning spirit can transform into a human, speak human language, and possess human intelligence—something Roya had never heard of before.
Unless, the extraordinary ability awakened by this burning spirit is—
Become human.
Considering Mica Dragon's previous performance, Roya is more inclined to believe in her abilities.
Deformed.
Inside the wire-encircled Blue Dragonfly armor, Roya quickly shifted his gaze from the girl and stared intently at the Wide-Range Silence.
Let the steam-powered flying armor fly automatically, far away from the battlefield.
As for what the girl said, Luo Ya felt that she was deliberately being childish to make him lower his guard, and he wouldn't listen to a word she said.
In particular, her girlish temperament gave him the feeling that she was both innocent and cute, yet also had a kind of inexplicable vicissitudes that came with the passage of time.
Using a single airship to pursue armored vehicles is hardly an operation that a human could conceive of.
"So, you are the Mica Dragon?"
Luo Ya spoke calmly, appearing completely unfazed.
The girl tilted her head back, her nostrils pointing to the sky, and snorted.
"I don't like this name. As a mortal, you can call me: Emperor Emile... Doesn't that sound nice?"
You've come to the capital city? Are you also a fan of online novels?
Luo Ya answered calmly:
"Yes, Emile."
A minute has passed, and you still haven't caught me.
Now that you have become human and possess human intelligence, and I do not have the habit of eating people, I do not wish to capture you.
Why don't we each take a step back and part ways here?
The girl's expression instantly contorted, making her appear extremely manic.
Too late!
Your mistake was daring to flaunt your flying ability in front of me. One minute, starting now.
As he spoke, he turned and went to the driver's seat.
next moment!
The Wide-Area Silence suddenly started up, steam roaring, and hurtled toward the Blue Dragonfly at an incredible speed.
The resulting howling wind was like a thunderclap!
Luo Ya sensed the unusually strong wind in advance.
The Blue Dragonfly's dorsal wing boilers activated ahead of time, propelling the armor into the air and allowing it to soar into the sky, avoiding the rampaging airship.
However, just as the airship missed the armored vehicle—
The buoyancy capsule suddenly twisted and turned into a gaping maw.
In an instant, it stretched its neck upwards and swallowed the blue dragonfly armor that had risen into the air in one gulp.
The scene was so comical it seemed like something out of a real movie...
But in just ten seconds, the battle was decided.
That's why Roya immediately transformed from an open-top ornithopter into a sealed armored vehicle, and used layers of wire for defense.
He had already realized that the real Wide-Range Silence was no longer in the hunting grounds.
At this moment, the so-called Wide-Area Silence that devoured the Blue Dragonfly Armor, including the girl, was actually a transformed Mica Dragon!
Like Play-Doh...
Luo Ya's vision went black.
In the blink of an eye, he and his armor appeared in a soft, hollow cavity as bright as day.
Suddenly everything became clear.
The armored feet were covered with milky-white, semi-transparent pads.
The girl in the blue dress stood straight beneath the armor.
It contains neither digestive juices nor poison...
Luo Ya was about to extend his wire tentacles to search for the burning crystal.
Sudden--
The girl fell to her knees!
"I apologize, I spoke too loudly just now. I'm kneeling before you!"
Luo Ya stood frozen in place.
He is an emotionally stable person who is rarely shocked.
Even though he had anticipated being ambushed and traded one for one with the man in the eagle hat, he underestimated the distance at which the other man could unleash his extraordinary abilities.
But what he saw before him still left Luo Ya speechless.
He even tried to force Wendell to watch it with him...
Even so, he forced himself to remain calm and quickly extended the wire tentacles into the semi-transparent soft bodies in all directions.
Through the soft, sticky, gelatinous flesh, a branch tentacle finally discovered the Mica Dragon's burning crystal!
The fist-sized red burning crystal was locked in a multi-layered iron cage with sides about 20 centimeters long!
The instant the wire touched the outer shell of the iron cage, Roya's thoughts traveled along the wire and into the cage.
Biomagnetic remote positioning.
Explosive nerve stinger projectiles.
High-energy phlogiston fuse capable of igniting flammable crystals...
The unlocking action also triggers a reverse bioelectric current!
Luo Ya understood instantly.
This seemingly childish and comical Mica Dragon is far more tragic than one might imagine.
She was not a beast tamer's pet, but a slave.
"So, you want us to help you break free from the Beastmaster's control?"
Staring at the smiling girl kneeling before him, Luo Ya tried to keep his tone and volume low.
At this moment, the Mica Dragon pretended to roll and struggle in the dark hunting ground, but inside its body, everything was calm and bright.
When Emil saw the iron wires moving around in her body like tentacles, she was initially a little uncomfortable and frowned.
But soon, he began to enjoy this wonderful feeling.
She slowly stood up, reached out and touched the layers of wire mesh surrounding the armor, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"A mortal who hasn't awakened can control the corpses of horsehair worms, what a genius! If he were to awaken, wouldn't he be able to ascend to heaven?"
Actually, suicide would allow me to escape the Beastmaster's control, but my true form is imprisoned in the Arden Extraordinary Factory, used to produce so-called Dragon Crystals. I would like to ask you to help me rescue her.
They actually have a partnership with Arden's Extraordinary Factory...
Roya's original plan was to visit the Arden Super Factory if the hunt for the Mica Dragon failed.
"Dragon Crystal, there's such a thing as that?"
A wistful look appeared on Emile's face, and the marks of time surged upwards from the deep pools of her eyes, rippling gently.
"I am not a dragon, but an invisible race. If you have never heard of the invisible race, you can be roughly regarded as a legendary slime."
Individuals of the Formless race have no gender distinction, the main body can split infinitely, and clones from the same main body can also recombine at will.
"I am the last of the invisible race in the world. Many years ago, my true form devoured a royal dragon maiden and merged with her. That's why I call myself 'This King.' Please excuse my humble origins."
The Unseen, similar to slimes, even devoured a dragon girl...
Roya really underestimated this Mica Dragon!
Whether it's a dragon or not, Roya doesn't really care that much.
He cared more about Emile's extraordinary abilities.
In fact, having repeatedly experienced Wendell's departure from the game, Roya desperately needed a second teammate with special abilities.
"What are the limitations of your shapeshifting ability?"
The melancholy in Emile's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by pride as she spoke:
"The extraordinary ability I awakened is the ability to shapeshift at will. As long as it's not too big or too small, I can transform into anything, living or non-living. The transformed form is not only similar to the original in appearance, but also in blood energy, voice, internal structure, and external aerodynamics!"
Aside from being unable to simulate supernatural abilities, everything else can be simulated by seeing, hearing, or investigating it once.
The more details you know, the more realistic the variations will be... Pretty amazing, right?
More than powerful... Luo Ya would call it omnipotent.
He noticed the unusual behavior of the Wide-Range Silence because he was so familiar with it that he could detect subtle differences in the steam blasting sound after the hull and exhaust pipes were repaired.
If it were a different ship, he would have had no chance of discovering it!
Luo Ya was shocked, but he remained nonchalant on the surface.
"It's alright, what's in it for us to help you?"
"As long as you agree to help me rescue my original body, I can use self-destruction to cover your escape. You can take my remaining memories with you, and my original body will offer up her higher-level burning crystal."
Anyway, even if the Formless Clan loses its Burning Crystal, it can awaken again and grow back from scratch.
Emil's expression and tone were equally nonchalant, as if self-destruction and taking the dragon crystal were trivial matters.
With a thought, Luo Ya caused the iron cage to open automatically without triggering any explosion.
"You're just going to self-destruct like that? What a waste, the iron cage has already been opened."
As they spoke, the iron cage was bound with wire, and Emil's translucent body was pulled out, instantly arriving at the Blue Dragonfly's cockpit.
Luo Ya weighed the heavy iron cage in his hands.
The iron bar contained high-energy phlogiston and neurotoxins.
The neurotoxin concentration is extremely high, and its mechanism of action is rapid; it's estimated that even Wendell's superhuman body couldn't withstand it...
Roya speculated that the value of this iron cage might exceed that of the Wide-Area Silence.
Moreover, it can also be used as a weapon, saving lives in critical moments!
The girl stared blankly at the iron cage in Luo Ya's hand, completely dumbfounded.
She moved in her mica dragon variant, swimming freely through the sea of clouds, without any further hindrance...
The Mechanic's unlocking ability is indeed superior to that of the Beastmaster!
Just now, she knelt down only to try her luck. If the other party was frightened and retaliated, she would be forced to detonate the poison dart.
Only now do I realize that this incredible kneeling was absolutely the right thing to do!
When seeking powerful connections, it's not just about rank, but also potential.
She was so excited she was incoherent, pulling the Burning Crystal out of its variant form, dragging along countless tiny nerve cells, and offering it with both hands:
"I'm giving you my Burning Crystal. It contains one in a billion of dragon blood. If your talent is high enough, this Burning Crystal is enough to awaken your potential!"
Luo Ya frowned.
How much abuse must one have suffered to develop such skillful movements...?
"I have many ways to awaken, but the only two methods I won't use are fusing with a living person's heart or eating the burning crystal of a ghost. Your shapeshifting ability is very useful. Let's go out first and then discuss rescuing your original body."
The girl's eyes were vacant, and she looked somewhat lost.
He was deeply moved, but his face showed only disappointment and fear...
"Oh... okay."
Seeing this, Luo Ya secretly came up with a new plan.
Just then—
Wendell, in the passenger seat, suddenly opened his eyes!
A cold, indifferent opening:
"What do you mean 'good'? If there's danger, this man will never help you save people!"
He just wants to use your shapeshifting ability to make you his travel companion on his eastern adventure, for what's the point of this boring dragon-hunting game?
Roya tilted his head. Wendell?
No, this isn't Wendell!
His appearance and voice remained the same, but his tone and demeanor changed drastically.
His tone became arrogant and aloof.
Her aura has become both stunningly beautiful and extremely dangerous...
Her right hand cradled her flawless profile.
A faint black aura, like ink from clouds, lingered between her brows, turning her scars into alluring eyeshadow.
Even in the cramped passenger seat, she crossed her legs, raised the tips of her shoes, and looked down at everyone with disdainful eyes.
This is……
Ishtar!
Clearly, Wendell's heart was damaged, and his blood supply was insufficient, allowing Ishtar to take over his body.
Roya then realized that for most of his future hunter career, his teammates would likely be the scheming Ishtar, rather than the gentle and tolerant Wendell.
And Emile will likely become another teammate of his.
For now, Roya didn't expose her immediately, so that she could intimidate the Mica Dragon Emile.
Upon hearing about the dragon-hunting adventure, Emil, who had been looking bewildered, suddenly brightened up and became alert.
"You also wish to venture eastward in search of the true dragon's kingdom?"
"Um."
"Then there's no need to rescue the Arden factory's main body. I have more main bodies on the eastward road... When should we set off?"
The girl's barely suppressed excitement was already overflowing.
"..."
The people of Luoya were dumbfounded.
Upon closer examination, it makes perfect sense for the last formless race, which can split infinitely, to diversify risk and demonstrate tolerance for error.
Ishtar sneered:
"Even though it's just an avatar, you still retain some memories of the original body. After living for so long, how could you be so easily deceived by a man?"
Emile smiled and spoke:
"The beast tamer tormented me for so long, yet I can still be friends with him!"
Perhaps it was because of the matter of devouring the dragon race back then that each of my main body and clones was imprisoned in a factory or laboratory, suffering endless torment.
Being able to tease Mica and the hunters in the hunting grounds has been the happiest time of my life in the last ten thousand years.
"They're pitifully weak."
As a high-ranking female demon who roams the dark abyss, Ishtar cannot truly empathize.
In an instant, Emil's expression changed drastically, and she was filled with panic.
"Oh no... the beast tamer is here!"
"Not just beast tamers."
Roya even sensed the presence of the man in the eagle hat and cautiously calculated his speed and distance.
About two kilometers away, the airship was moving very slowly, and it would only enter the dangerous 300-meter range in two minutes.
Emil instinctively stepped back, moving away from the blue dragonfly.
"Damn it, I thought this old man was afraid to get close, but he could easily detonate my weapon at close range—"
Before she could finish speaking, the burning crystal in the girl's hands instantly exploded!
The burning crystal he was holding exploded instantly!
The girl's slender body was instantly blasted into a puddle of liquid.
The Mica Dragon variant also exploded.
Like countless stars scattered across the sky.
The Blue Dragonfly armor was thrown into the air.
The phlogiston box, connected to the furnace, was ignited by the impact of the phlogiston crystals and was automatically jettisoned from the engine room according to a preset program.
It exploded with a bang a hundred meters outside the armor!
The Blue Dragonfly armor, having lost power, rolled inertia through the dark sea of clouds, moving away from the explosion's epicenter.
After a moment of shock, Roya came to his senses and felt dizzy.
The Blue Dragonfly's hardware, which features a built-in explosion-proof design, remained undamaged.
However, inside the miniature differential engine, nearly half of the pigment dots were completely extinguished due to the explosive combustion of phlogiston...
Luo Ya was protected by layers of wire, armor, and poison sac inner armor, and only felt slightly dizzy, but was not injured.
His face was expressionless, but a subtle ripple appeared in his usually calm eyes.
Ishtar, in the passenger seat, crossed his legs in a sexy pose, with a leisurely, spectator-like expression on his face.
"You've run out of options, haven't you? If you beg me and are willing to submit, I wouldn't mind saving your life."
Luo Ya sneered:
"What do you mean, 'my partner'? Weren't you supposed to be my partner? Partners use terms of endearment, so call me 'husband'!"
Ishtar suppressed her anger, maintained a composed expression, and coldly replied—
"You're going to die."
As they spoke, Luo Ya switched to manual operation and used an iron wire to connect the spare phlogiston cylinder to the furnace through a hose, barely restoring the power equipment.
But he did not light the furnace immediately.
Let the blue dragonfly drift freely in the dark sea of clouds...
He's waiting for an opportunity!
The luminescent mica surged forward, engulfing Emile's remains and the overflowing phlogiston.
Amidst the glowing fireflies, a beast-shaped ship built by black-whiskered whales slowly sailed in, emitting mournful whale songs.
This airship has no buoyancy chamber or gondola; it simply has a deck and steam engine added to the back of a three-stage black whisker whale.
On the deck stood an elderly man in a white robe leaning on a cane and a man in an eagle-hat covered in blood.
Ishtar recognized the person she was about to kill at a glance, but her face showed no desire for revenge. Instead, she deliberately flirted with Roya:
"Within 300 meters, that man will crush your heart. This time, he won't choose the wrong target."
Roya's view is exactly the opposite.
He was just an unranked mechanic, while the other side was a beast ship with very little mechanical content.
"I suspect that this time, his target will be you again, but don't worry, I will protect you."
Ishtar smiled knowingly:
"What a good man... Once you die, I will immediately resurrect you with demonic energy, awaken you as a magician, and make you my number one general. How about it?"
"You're so thoughtful."
Luo Ya had indeed heard that if a person had just died, and most of their body was still intact, and their obsession was deep enough, their soul could be resurrected through pure demonic energy.
You mustn't tell, you really mustn't tell!
It's a backup plan.
……
On the deck of the Whale Song.
As the sole survivor of the Sharkwing Hunters, the man in the eagle hat experienced a surge in blood pressure, yet he forced himself to let out a long sigh:
"The hunting grounds haven't been this ravaged in a long time."
"In my hunting grounds, novices can't cause any trouble."
The old beast tamer coughed twice, his face extremely pale.
"Emile, you have disappointed me greatly... Fortunately, your Burning Crystal has helped you a lot, so I will piece you back together and continue to be my good slave."
The man in the eagle hat reminded:
"Be careful, senior. That kid can control long iron wires to pierce people's bodies or detonate boilers."
The old beast tamer sneered:
"Is his wire capable of detonating my Blackbeard Whale, or of killing both of us superhumans?"
That woman is yours now.
"Don't begrudge the Tier 3 Shark Heart. After this is done, I'll give you an even better Tier 3 Beast Heart."
Are you sure that woman is still unconscious?
"A superhuman's heart is damaged and won't recover quickly. That woman is either still unconscious or she's awake but doesn't dare to take revenge. In any case, the outcome won't change."
"In that case, you can handle the Iron Wire Kid, senior. I'll deal with the woman. This time, she won't survive!"
The Whale Song sailed toward the drifting Blue Dragonfly armor.
1,000 meters, 800 meters, 600 meters...
As they drew closer, the man in the eagle hat began to form hand seals ahead of time.
Sudden--
In the darkness, a wire suddenly pierced through the air, aiming for the man in the eagle hat between the eyebrows!
The old beast tamer was prepared and instantly drew his crutch sword, cleaving the iron wire in two.
Then...
The second and third branches were both severed by the old beast tamer.
The man in the eagle hat couldn't help but sigh:
"Your skills are as good as ever!"
The words had barely left his mouth!
The old beast tamer cleaved a beast bound with iron wire and thrown at high speed in two with a single sword stroke.
Iron cage.
The old beast tamer's eyes widened for a moment, then his expression changed instantly.
"Oh no!"