Chapter 115: The Shadow Demon Rider (Part Two)

“What did you say? Stop joking around!” A furious shout shook the skeletons crushing me and sent them flying in every direction.

“You’re pretty strong. As expected, you’re quite troublesome. But I have to hurry too. Let’s begin!” As she spoke, Fire Dance put away the Death Codex. She raised both hands, and green energy surfaced over her black gloves, enveloping them completely. Then she shouted, “Spirits of the dead, descend!”

The surrounding graves suddenly exploded, and a vast number of skeletons surged out.

Fire Dance turned to Dragon Xin. “What are you trying to do?” Dragon Xin asked fearfully, but Fire Dance ignored her. She placed one hand on the collar of Dragon Xin’s mage robe. Then something unbelievable happened: Fire Dance lightly dragged her fingers down from the collar, and the mage robe was torn open.

“Ah!” Dragon Xin screamed loudly.

Fire Dance gently patted her cheek with one hand and said, “What an adorable expression. I wonder what will happen next?”

“Let her go!” I roared and charged forward, but Fire Dance snapped her fingers. The skeletons immediately swarmed toward me, blocking my path.

I was completely surrounded by the pale skeletons. “These things…” I growled angrily. “I won’t let you interfere with me.” She then turned back toward Dragon Xin and began tearing at her equipment.

Every half minute or so, another portion of Dragon Xin’s mage robe was ripped away. Most of her snow-white legs were soon exposed, followed by her hands, chest, and abdomen.

“Brother!” Dragon Xin cried even louder, but she had no opportunity to resist.

The Second World offered women extremely thorough protection. At most, male and female players could hold hands, and even that required the woman’s consent. Actions such as kissing were virtually impossible unless the woman first disabled her protection. Anyone who forced such contact would immediately be judged by the system as a sexual assailant. A bolt of lightning would strike them, reducing their level to zero, destroying all their equipment, and transferring eighty percent of their wealth to the victim. The remaining twenty percent would be confiscated by the system. In serious cases, the offender’s account would be deleted, and they would be unable to create a new account on their current game helmet. Even if they bought a new one, they would have to wait a year before creating another account. The punishment was devastating.

However, those protections applied only to men. Female players apparently were not restricted in the same way when dealing with other women. Fire Dance’s ability to strip Dragon Xin piece by piece seemed to prove that.

I charged at Fire Dance once more.

But the moment I drew near, the skeletons blocked my way again. They were extremely fragile; a casual strike from the Compliant Staff shattered them. Yet every time one broke apart, it reassembled itself moments later. If this continued, there would be no end to it.

As I repeatedly smashed the skeletons apart, I noticed that one of them failed to reassemble after I crushed its skull. After discovering this, I destroyed the skulls of seven or eight more skeletons. None of them recovered.

I had seen through their weakness.

Without hesitation, I swung the Compliant Staff and fought my way forward, aiming every blow at the skeletons’ heads.

From then on, things became simple. I dodged their attacks while smashing their skulls. As more and more skulls were destroyed, the number of skeletons dwindled. At this rate, I would soon be able to attack Fire Dance herself.

“Dragon Xin, hold on a little longer. I’ll rescue you soon.”

Seeing victory within reach, I glanced toward Dragon Xin. But the moment I looked, my eyes nearly fell out of my head.

At some point, all of Dragon Xin’s equipment had been torn away—not even the system-issued undergarments had been spared. Her fully developed breasts were completely exposed to the air, and the two trembling points of crimson atop them made my head spin. Worst of all, Fire Dance had placed one hand on one of Dragon Xin’s breasts and was stroking it.

Get a grip! Get a grip! She’s your sister. You absolutely cannot entertain any improper thoughts.

I repeatedly warned myself not to think in the wrong direction. My eyes should have been fixed on the enemy, not on my own sister. Yet they completely ignored my mind and involuntarily remained fixed on Dragon Xin’s snow-white body.

The only time I had ever bathed with Dragon Xin was when we were children, before we understood anything. But now she had grown up, changing from a little girl into a young woman…

Wait. What was I thinking?

By now, not even the slightest fragment of equipment remained on Dragon Xin. Her flawless, beautiful body was entirely exposed before me.

“Gulp!”

I swallowed hard. My head was spinning, and the situation was indescribably overwhelming. No matter how I looked at it, the scene was far too stimulating. Most alarming of all, I could feel something in my lower body rapidly swelling.

“Stop!” I shouted, smashing the skulls of an entire row of skeletons before me.

“No… please…” Dragon Xin’s shy and frightened voice rang out repeatedly.

“Dragon Xin!”

In fury, I attacked relentlessly, crushing countless skeletons along the way. Yet there were still far too many of them. Even so, this was better than facing an endless cycle of resurrection. At least their numbers were finite.

“Damn it!” Fire Dance muttered. Turning to face me, she said, “Not bad. You actually saw through the weakness of my skeletons. Well done. Oh, and to make things more interesting, how about I bring out your friend?”

“What do you mean?” I asked, puzzled.

Fire Dance took out the Death Codex again, opened it, and began to chant:

“Dead who sleep beneath the earth, hear my call and awaken!”

As she finished the incantation, a purple magic circle appeared before her. A black coffin bound in chains rose from its center. The chains opened by themselves, followed by the coffin lid.

A female warrior with an ashen face stepped out.

I recognized her and cried out in shock, “Little Yue!”

There was no mistake. The female warrior who had emerged from the coffin was Wind Xiao Yue.

Fire Dance walked behind her and said, “Then let us begin. But first, we must restore her to her original appearance.”

As she spoke, she took out a black crystal and drove it into the back of Wind Xiao Yue’s head.

The ashen body of Wind Xiao Yue began to change. Wisps of blue smoke rose from her body. Her hands and feet twitched slightly, color gradually returned to her face, and a trace of awareness appeared in her vacant eyes.

What kind of skill was this? Could it be the legendary Clay Rebirth, or perhaps Resurrection of the Dead?

“Let’s begin,” Fire Dance said. “Having your best friend kill you must be a terrible feeling, right?”

As she spoke, Wind Xiao Yue began moving toward me step by step. The Soul Devouring Sword appeared in her hand. Her pace grew faster and faster. After taking a dozen steps, she began to run, rapidly closing the distance between us before bringing the sword down in a heavy slash.

I immediately raised the Compliant Staff to block it, then forced her blade aside.

“Extend, Compliant Staff!”

With a great shout, I activated Shape-Shifting at Will. The Compliant Staff instantly extended for dozens of meters, sweeping across the skeletons’ heads and knocking them all to the ground.

Only Wind Xiao Yue remained.

Damn it. I knew she was merely an imitation, but I still found it difficult to strike her. Yet this was no time for hesitation.

Wind Xiao Yue rushed toward me and swung the Soul Devouring Sword wildly. I blocked again and again with the Compliant Staff, but under her relentless assault, all I could do was defend.

Wind Xiao Yue continued launching straight slashes, forcing me to keep raising the staff to meet them. At the same time, Fire Dance continued tormenting Dragon Xin. While blocking Wind Xiao Yue’s attacks, I could hear Dragon Xin’s soft, pitiful moans. There was no way I could concentrate.

“Roar!”

I let out a furious bellow and activated True and False Movements. My substitute took my place and broke free from Wind Xiao Yue’s entanglement, while I activated Wings Across a Thousand Miles. My speed surged instantly as I charged toward Fire Dance.

At the same time, I withdrew the Compliant Staff and drew the Ice Fang.

“Let Dragon Xin go!” I shouted angrily, swinging the Ice Fang at Fire Dance.

With a tearing sound, her cloak split open. The Ice Fang’s A-grade sharpness was no joke.

Then I was stunned. Beneath the cloak, Fire Dance wore a suit of glossy black armor designed for a woman. A black mask concealed her face, but before I could recover, something flashed.

A spray of blood burst from my chest.

-1500 damage!

I staggered backward several steps. My armor had been cut open, and a wound deep enough to reveal bone gaped across my body.

I looked down at the injury, then back at Fire Dance. The Death Codex had vanished from her hand, replaced by a dagger—or, more accurately, a broken sword.

Fire Dance advanced toward me, swinging the broken blade as she muttered, “When the broken sword is reforged, the knight shall return!”

Green light began to shine from the broken sword.

“Broken Sword Reforged! Blade of Exile!”

With another low shout, the broken sword miraculously reassembled itself. Fire Dance leaped into the air and hacked down at me.

I was just about to dodge when Wind Xiao Yue suddenly wrapped her arms around me from behind, pinning me in place.

The next instant, I was cut in two.