My heavy footfalls startled Elina awake. "What is it! Oh, Zhao Qian, you're back. Why did it take so long? If you hadn't made it back for dinner, we would have gone to sleep."

I stumbled and collapsed onto the floor. "Miss Nana, I was out there fighting for my life! And you don't even say a word of encouragement—you were asleep!"

Elina and the Dragon Girl lifted me up, one on each side. Elina said, not without pride, "We knew you'd be fine. You are the strongest in this world! You are the Immortal Monster Saint Dragon Envoy! Any lowlife who dares provoke us only meets a dead end. Let's see if they dare come again."

The Dragon Girl, ignoring the blood soaking my body, threw herself into my arms. This was the first time she had been so intimate with me in front of Elina. "Dragon Envoy, you are truly the great Dragon Envoy. With you here, even without Has's troops aiding us, we could have soundly defeated Kang Hui."

It seemed they treated me like a god. Thinking about it, I really was quite formidable. Looking at the mountain of corpses piled outside, and the wall of tank armor, who would believe that I accomplished all this alone?

However, the stench of blood brought back memories of the near-mindless slaughter I had just endured, and I promptly threw up what little I had left in my stomach. The roasted meat I’d eaten before the overexerting battle had long been digested, so only some acidic bile emerged.

The Centaurs milled around me, their cries incessant. I couldn't understand their words, but the look on the Dragon Girl's face told me they were praising me. Elina looked on in astonishment. "Dragon Girl, how can you be like that? He’s my boyfriend! Even if you two need to be close, you should keep it somewhat private from me."

I pulled Elina into my embrace as well. "Don't be jealous, we can be close together."

Elina stroked my chest. "Dream on, you want to embrace both of us? Oh, stop hugging and cuddling. You must be exhausted from fighting for so long. Come, lie down and rest over there. We’ll get dinner ready."

The Dragon Girl used a damp cloth to wipe the blood from me. I had no spare clothes, otherwise, I would have given them to Bai and Xue; it was awkward to leave them exposed like this. Everyone ate the dry rations they had brought while discussing the next plan.

I said, "Everyone, we need to push hard tonight. Let's hurry while the rebels are retreating."

The Dragon Girl affirmed, "Yes, we must depart quickly. Not far ahead is one of our great metropolises, called Kunwu. Our Tai Hao guards are stationed there; we can seek reinforcements there."

Elina looped her arms around my neck. "Do we need backup from others? We should be talking about giving support to others."

Bai and Xue were chattering incessantly beside us. Soon after we set off, they were still discussing things, so I asked the Dragon Girl, "What are they talking about?"

The Dragon Girl replied, "They are discussing your performance. Your actions just now astonished them. We are all atheists. Although I called you the Saint Dragon Envoy, that was based on Thomas's description, not because you are a god. Since the possibility of you being a god has been ruled out, your physical metrics have piqued their interest—it’s just their professional habit. Dragon Envoy need not concern yourself."

I laughed. "Heh heh. Discussing work while completely naked—that would be quite a spectacle back in my hometown."

The Dragon Girl glanced at Elina, saw she wasn't paying attention, and whispered to me, "Sister Nana seems to have noticed our relationship. Should we explain it to her?"

I said, "Explain what? Don't say anything. I still don't know how to explain things to her when we get home. Besides, Nana grew up in an open country back in my hometown. Even if it’s not as liberated as your world, it’s far more open than this old feudal relic like me. She shouldn't mind this sort of thing. After all, there are already more than ten others ahead of her—can she even manage to be jealous of all of them?"

The Dragon Girl breathed a sigh of relief. "Good thing I don't get jealous easily, or this would be a huge mess. I don't care, you have to take me with you. Tell me secretly, did you really arrive in a spaceship? Did it break down mid-journey, forcing you to come to Earth to find spare parts for repairs?"

"That sounds like something straight out of a science fiction novel. I truly didn't arrive on a spaceship. Ah, this matter is complicated; I’ll explain it to you slowly later."

"Stop flirting, both of you! Look at the lights behind us!" Elina called out to us.

I sprang up for a better look, and sure enough, another large host of people was trailing us. These persistent ghosts—did they think I hadn't killed enough already?

The Dragon Girl commanded the Centaurs, "Everyone, speed up! Try to avoid engaging them. The Dragon Envoy has been fighting all day; he cannot fight anymore, or he will exhaust his body."

The Centaurs obeyed and bolted, but our speed was quickly matched; this time, it wasn't a group of tanks, but a swarm of horses. However, their mounts weren't Centaurs; they were genuine horses with equine heads and bodies. The riders, though, weren't truly human, but a collection of monsters—hybrids of humans and other species. This troop seemed to belong to a different 'district' than the clones from the daylight engagement.

I soared high into the air for a closer look. This cavalry army numbered no less than a hundred thousand! And their speed far surpassed ours; soon, we were encircled again. The main army detached a contingent of ten thousand, while the rest of the cavalry continued forward. Soon, someone was sent over to question us. The Dragon Girl translated for me: "They are asking about the corpses behind us. It seems these two forces haven't communicated with each other."

I retorted, "It’s hard to believe communication here is so backward. Try to trick them. If you can't, then we fight."

The Dragon Girl said, "Don't rush. The other side hasn't recognized us, and their hostility doesn't seem high. I will try my best."

Elina quickly grabbed some rags to cover Bai and Xue's faces, fearing this troop might be looking for them. If they saw these two, she worried deception would be impossible. I, covered in bloodstains, also dared not approach.

The Dragon Girl spoke to the opposing force for a long time, but their encirclement only tightened. As the Dragon Girl began to look anxious, the cavalry suddenly parted, creating a path, and a young man emerged from the gap.

"Kang Hui!" I gasped softly. "So he truly isn't dead. It seems he is the real Immortal Monster!"

Elina asked, "Is this the winged Kang Hui? It seems your sword strike didn't kill him."

I murmured, "That’s not certain. Maybe he isn't the real Kang Hui either. The rebels have such advanced cloning technology. Kang Hui is an important figure; wouldn't he know to use a double?"

The Dragon Girl visibly trembled upon seeing Kang Hui. I quickly went forward to support her and asked, "What's wrong? Don't be afraid of him. At worst, we’ll just kill him again."

The Dragon Girl confessed, "You know I know Kang Hui. He fought my brother to a standstill. If this is the real Kang Hui, he will certainly not let us go if he recognizes me. There are so many cavalrymen out there—what should we do?"

"Don't be afraid. If he is the real Kang Hui, even better, so we don't have to search everywhere. Be brave; I’m here for everything."

Hearing my words, the Dragon Girl's expression gradually recovered. She lowered her head and said a few words to Kang Hui. Kang Hui approached her with a sinister cackle. He pointed at the Dragon Girl and spoke a long string of words I couldn't understand, causing her face to change slightly.

"Dragon Envoy, he recognized me! He’s ordering me to go back with him, saying he will 'take good care' of me."

With a roar, I activated my laser sword and stood before the Dragon Girl's horse. "Tell him, if he has the guts, he can come and take her! I don't mind slaughtering every single one of them!"

The Dragon Girl spoke to Kang Hui for another long stretch. Kang Hui became furious, but when the Dragon Girl said one more thing, he leaned in closely to examine me. Of course, he didn't dare look face-to-face, or I would have smashed his pretty face with one punch.

The Dragon Girl explained to me, "I told Kang Hui that you are the Dragon Envoy from the prophecy of Thomas. I told him to cease his rebellion, or you will annihilate them. Very few ordinary humans know about the Prophet Thomas, but it is common knowledge among the ten great families. Although they cannot decipher the Dragon language, they have seen the portrait drawn by Thomas. Kang Hui scrutinized your appearance just now and said you are definitely not the Dragon Envoy, noting a slight discrepancy with the drawing. But I know Thomas wasn't a skilled painter; this is completely his mistake in draftsmanship."

I replied, "Whether he believes it or not is irrelevant; what matters is what happens on the battlefield. Since things have turned hostile, let’s fight. I prefer straightforward action. We’ve already wasted too much time on this indecisiveness."

We were on an endless plain; hiding behind small cliffs was impossible. But their tight, impenetrable encirclement was a major tactical blunder. They hadn't witnessed my slaughter of the wolf pack, so they couldn't imagine the power of my laser sword. If I spun it rapidly, I could clear everything within a hundred meters in mere seconds!

Kang Hui kept staring at the Dragon Girl and Elina behind her, seemingly captivated by the Dragon Girl’s exquisite beauty and Elina’s large breasts. He said a couple of lewd things to the Dragon Girl. She translated for me: "Kang Hui wants me and Nana to entertain him for a while. In your terms, he wants to sleep with both of us!"

I swung my laser sword and spat toward Kang Hui. "Shameless scum! You still don't know how that winged fellow died, do you? Let me tell you!"

Preemptive strike trumps reactive defense; they had superior numbers, so I wasn't concerned with formalities. With a whoosh, I swung my sword toward Kang Hui. Unexpectedly, this Kang Hui was quite agile—nothing like the one I’d slapped back then. He dodged my incredibly fast attack with ease.

Kang Hui let out a cold snort, seemingly beneath him to fight me. He retreated into the mass of horses, and immediately, cavalry rushed in from both sides to block the path that had opened. Kang Hui vanished into the cavalry ranks.

The Dragon Girl shouted to Elina, "Fire! They are attacking!" Only the two women had weapons; Bai, Xue, and the Centaurs were unarmed. The captured laser guns had all been given to Xiao Ke and a few maids for guerrilla fighting.

Before the two women could fire, my laser sword was already slicing through the air. There was no cover here; if the enemy fired first, everyone would be in grave danger.

The laser sword swept past, leaving a trail of men and horses falling. I kept moving my sword, quickly drawing ever-larger circles outward. Those behind hadn't fully grasped what was happening; the cavalry in front were collapsing in droves. By the time they could see clearly enough to fire, the circle of death had already reached them.

If viewed from above, the scene resembled falling dominoes, with lines of centaurs and horses toppling in the same direction. This circle of death expanded rapidly, its diameter reaching a hundred meters in an instant.

I became energized by the slaughter, my pace quickening, yet those half-human beasts seemed devoid of fear, obediently stretching their necks for the approaching laser sword.

"Zhao Qian!" Elina's shout echoed from behind me.

I turned back—bad news! It was a trick. A giant bird-like creature, though not the one resembling Kang Hui I saw last time, as this one was covered in countless tentacles, was flying directly above the Dragon Girl and the others!

Elina and the Dragon Girl desperately fired their laser guns, but the creature was incredibly fast, dodging the beams. Its long tentacles suddenly lashed out and grabbed Bai and Xue. It turned out Kang Hui had recognized Bai and Xue but kept silent, instead employing a diversion tactic!

Bai and Xue struggled fiercely, but the tentacles were inescapable, binding them tightly. Xue’s large breasts were squeezed as if they might burst. I whirled my laser sword and leaped into the air to rescue them, but this monster refused to engage. With a sudden swerve, it tucked in its wings, and with Bai and Xue bound, it plunged into the mass of subterranean human-beasts. When I looked again, they were gone.

A miscalculation! I was too careless! Recent events had made me view the primeval people as too simple, too naive. Kang Hui knew he couldn't succeed while I was protecting them. My distraction while engaging the human-beasts allowed him to strike and seize Bai and Xue. According to the Dragon Girl, these two were critically important. What do we do now?

Kang Hui returned to the human-beast army's encirclement and was immediately released. The troops bypassed us and rapidly marched forward with the main army. The Dragon Girl jumped down from her horse and ran to my side. "Dragon Envoy, we must rescue Bai and Xue! They hold the future and destiny of humanity."

I replied, "I know, but how do we rescue them now? Kang Hui won't fight, and these human-beasts number over a hundred thousand, if not a million. Even killing them all would take a day or two. We must plan this carefully."

The Dragon Girl looked in the direction the army was marching. "Such a large force wasn't specifically gathered to capture Bai and Xue. The previous army too—they must have incidentally discovered them. What is their ultimate goal with such a massive movement? Kunwu! They are advancing on Kunwu! We have to hurry and send a warning! Tai Hao is in danger; we must rush to Kunwu to alert the garrison to prepare for battle!"

I grabbed the Dragon Girl, who was about to mount a Centaur. "We can't waste any more time. Let the Centaurs take Xiao Xi slowly toward Kunwu City; we'll go ahead to assess the situation."

The Dragon Girl agreed. "Yes, otherwise we won't make it in time."

Elina said, "Zhao Qian, why don't you carry both of us on your back, like you used to carry me and Xiao Ke?"

I retracted my laser sword, squatted down, and urged, "Hurry up and climb on! The large army from last night must have bypassed us and moved ahead. Time is extremely tight."

Lacking precise coordinates or a satellite helmet for navigation, and relying only on the Dragon Girl's flawed guidance, we flew around for hours before finally locating Kunwu City.

Too late. Everything was too late. The siege battle seemed to have taken place days ago. The entire city of Kunwu was now a dead city, with plumes of smoke occasionally rising from beneath the rubble. Massive stone walls had collapsed in swathes, and piles of dead bodies emitted a nauseating stench.

The Dragon Girl lamented on my back, "Dragon Envoy, we were too late. It seems Kang Hui’s army already conquered Kunwu."

I asked the Dragon Girl, "What is the next city? Since Kang Hui has already taken Kunwu, assembling such a large army must mean he has another objective."

The Dragon Girl said mournfully, "The next great metropolis is Liangcheng. That is the final defensive line of Longshan. If that line falls, I fear Longshan will have no natural defenses left."

I declared, "Then we immediately go to Liangcheng!"

The three of us wasted no more time and flew toward Liangcheng. But when we arrived at dawn, we were stunned by what we saw. Who would have thought Liangcheng had also fallen? This meant Kang Hui’s only objective in amassing such a large force was to attack Longshan!

The Dragon Girl sank to her knees. "Dragon Envoy, I beg you, save my brother! Longshan is in critical danger; I fear Kang Hui is determined to wipe out our Dragon family this time."

Elina quickly helped the Dragon Girl up. "Dragon Girl, don't be like that. After spending so many days together, you know Zhao Qian's character. He would save us even if you didn't ask. Let’s not waste any more time; let's hurry to Longshan."