Xia Lan: From Meeting a Martial Arts Girl

Chapter 55 Starry Winged Fire Serpent

Another week has passed.

The troops behind were finally assembled.

The camp was set up on an open area two kilometers north of the village, with tents stretching out in rows, military trucks lined up in lines, and helicopters flying overhead from morning till night.

Tanks, armored vehicles, and self-propelled artillery.

Further out, the outlines of several warships could be vaguely seen on the sea.

It covers land, sea, and air – everything.

The Siamese royal family has really gone all out this time.

Lu Siye jumped off the roof of the RV and landed in front of Liara.

She was leaning against the car door, holding a bottle of water, and took a sip.

She was wearing a black, tight-fitting combat suit, which the military had sent her yesterday; it was said to have been custom-made to fit her body.

The fabric was thin and clingy, clearly outlining every curve of her body.

She handed him the water bottle.

"When are we leaving?" she asked.

"Now."

Lu Siye took the water bottle, took a sip, handed it back to her, and turned to look south.

The Three Thousand Pitholes are in that direction. Go over the small hill at the village entrance and walk about two kilometers, and you'll see those densely packed, honeycomb-like pits.

The winged fire serpents are either below those pits or in the river next to them.

The old man didn't mention crossing the river, but the map marked a river on the east side of the Three Thousand Caves Pit. It wasn't big, but it was very deep, and its name was the Naga River.

Naga.

A water serpent in mythology, a guardian deity.

Lu Siye withdrew his gaze and looked at Liara.

"You stay here," he said.

Leah tilted her head and looked at him.

"No," she said.

"This is a mission."

"I know the mission," she interrupted him. "The mission said you would be the bait, not that you would go alone."

Lu Siye remained silent for a moment.

She's right.

It's clearly stated in the task file.

Lu Siye was in charge of entering the Three Thousand Caves area to lure the Winged Fire Serpents out, while the army waited on the perimeter to capture them.

The document does not state "Liara must not follow", but it also does not state "Liara must follow".

She is free to go wherever she wants, and no one can stop her.

The question is, why did she follow along?

Was it the royal family's intention? Or her own?

Lu Siye looked at her.

Her eyes showed no emotion.

But he knew that if he said he couldn't go now, she probably wouldn't listen.

She has her own judgment.

She thought she should go, so she would go, no matter what he said.

"Let's go," he said.

Liara smiled, tossed the water bottle into the car, closed the door, and clapped her hands.

"lead the way."

The Three Thousand Caves were closer than Lu Siye had imagined.

After crossing the small hill at the village entrance, the scene before him made him pause.

Countless pits of varying sizes.

The larger ones are tens of meters in diameter, while the smaller ones are only the size of a washbasin. There's a sulfurous smell in the air.

Liara walked beside him, her gaze sweeping over the craters. She didn't speak, but her breathing was a little faster than usual.

They continued walking.

The pits became more and more numerous and deeper.

Lu Siye stopped, squatted down beside a large pit, picked up a stone, and threw it in.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

There was no sound of it landing.

He stood up and kept walking.

After walking for about ten minutes, they heard the sound of water.

river.

Naga River.

They quickened their pace.

After crossing a small hill, the river came into view.

The river is not wide, about thirty or forty meters wide, and the water is very clear, so you can see the stones and aquatic plants on the riverbed.

Lu Siye stood by the river, looking at the water.

He hesitated whether or not to pray.

The Naga are the guardian deities of this river, according to the local elders.

Before setting off, an old man in the village said, "When you get to the river, pray, and the Naga will protect you."

"It doesn't like outsiders, but if you worship it, it won't harm you."

He doesn't believe in God.

But he believed in the old man.

Just as he was about to bend down and put his hands together, he suddenly felt a gust of wind.

Then it got dark.

The sun was completely blocked by something.

Lu Siye looked up and saw that thing.

His first thought was: It's going to rain.

Because it was something like a dark cloud that blocked out the sun.

Sunlight streamed through its edges, creating a golden-red halo.

Then he realized that it wasn't a cloud, but scales.

That thing emerged from the river.

Yes, from the river.

The Winged Fire Serpent, one of the constellations of the Vermilion Bird, actually emerged from the water.

Its body is serpentine, but thicker than any other snake. So thick that Lu Siye, standing in front of it, is not even as big as the smallest scale on its body.

Its head is very similar to that of a dragon in mythology.

It has horns and whiskers.

But it lacks that sense of majesty.

It's not because it's not big enough, strong enough, or scary enough.

It's not because of that condescending indifference in its eyes.

What's in its eyes?

A murderous intent devoid of any emotion.

murderous look.

That murderous aura came from all directions, seeping into the body through every pore.

Lu Siye's body froze for a moment.

But his consciousness took over control of his body in a fraction of a second.

There was no time to think.

He didn't even have time to shout out the name of the move.

He simply raised his right hand, palm facing forward, and in an instant, nearly half of the vital energy in his body was drained away, surging wildly along his meridians to his palm, where it condensed in the air to form an ice wall.

Wind and Sun - Cold River Snow.

The ice wall rose from the ground, more than a meter thick, more than three meters high, and its width was just enough to block him from that thing.

But that's not enough.

Far from enough.

Lu Siye's Zero Force was activated at the same moment.

Behind the ice wall, a second line of defense began to take shape.

Zero-force barrier.

Two lines of defense were established in less than a second.

That thing moved.

It didn't use teeth, horns, or anything that looked like a weapon.

It simply shook its head slightly.

Before the ice crystals even hit the ground, the Zero Force Barrier shattered.

That force pierced through the Zero Force Barrier the instant the ice wall shattered.

But that one moment was enough.

The ice wall bought them 0.3 seconds.

The zero-force barrier bought them 0.7 seconds.

One second in total.

One second is enough time for Lu Siye to activate Moon Chase.

He grabbed Liara's hand, and his vital energy was drained again. A small crater appeared in the ground beneath his feet. He and Liara's figures disappeared into thin air, then reappeared fifty meters away, then disappeared again, then reappeared fifty meters away again.

Three consecutive monthly pursuits, 150 meters, just enough to exit that thing's attack range.

He stopped, panting, and half-squatted on the ground, one hand supporting his knee, the other hand still tightly holding Liara's hand.

His face was somewhat pale. After two large-scale depletions of his vital energy, plus one consecutive monthly cycle, he had very little vital energy left in his body.

Liara's complexion was also not good. Although she did not consume her Yuan Qi, the feeling of being carried by Yue Zhu at high speed was not pleasant. It was like riding a roller coaster. Her stomach was churning and a sour taste was rising in her throat.

She held it in and didn't vomit.

In the distance, the thing emerged completely from the river.

Lu Siye couldn't tell how long its body was, because its rear half was still submerged in the water, with only about thirty or forty meters of its body visible above the river surface.

It turned its head toward them, and the dark red flames in its eye sockets flickered, as if it were locking onto a target.

Then it stopped.

They didn't chase after them, nor did they launch an attack; they simply watched them.

Or rather, looking at Lu Siye.

There was something in its eyes, not murderous intent, not curiosity.

Lu Siye's heart sank.

Two agents representing the seven sins are here.

He and Liara.

Logically speaking, the Winged Fire Serpent should have noticed it long ago.

The beast-shaped constellation will beat the Seven Deadly Sins agents to a pulp.

The uncle said that this is an ironclad rule, something engraved in their bones, like a program.

But why didn't it pounce immediately? What was it hesitating about?

It is thinking.

Do animal-shaped constellations also think?

Lu Siye didn't have time to think about this question because the roar of helicopters came from the distant sky.

Three armed helicopters, in a triangular formation, flew in from the north.

Further away, tanks and armored vehicles on the ground began to move, their cannons slowly rising to aim at the huge, dark red figure on the river.

On the sea, the cannons of several warships were also turning, with their muzzles pointing in the same direction.

The military has found a suitable guidance range.

"put!"

At a command, the first wave of attacks began.

The rocket detached from the helicopter and flew toward the Winged Fire Serpent.

At the same time, the self-propelled artillery on the ground also opened fire.

The warships on the sea also joined the attack, their guns firing at an even faster rate, raining down shells that created rows of water columns on the sea surface.

Lu Siye pulled Liara behind a rock, covered his ears with his hands, and opened his mouth to balance the pressure inside and outside his eardrums.

The explosion was so loud that it was no longer just a sound, but a physical impact.

The Winged Fire Serpent was hit.

Rockets, artillery shells, and naval guns—dozens, even hundreds—landed on its body simultaneously.

The dark red scales shattered and splashed in the explosion, scattering like red raindrops onto the river surface and creating a dense spray of water.

Its body twisted violently, stirring up the river water, which crashed against both banks, knocking down a large area of ​​reeds and bushes.

It retreated back into the river.

It wasn't an escape, it was a retreat.

It sank into the water, its dark red body appearing and disappearing beneath the surface, and swam quickly towards the center of the river before vanishing.

The water returned to calm, as if nothing had happened.

effective.

But not many.

Lu Siye peeked out from behind the rock and looked at the river.

The water was calm, as calm as a mirror, reflecting the sky, clouds, and the three helicopters still circling overhead.

He knew it hadn't left.

It is simply waiting, judging, and reassessing the threat level of these "ants".

The military clearly thinks so too.

"Prepare for the second wave!"

The order was issued again.

The helicopters were reloaded with rockets, the ground artillery was adjusted, and the warships' guns were once again aimed at the river.

Everyone is waiting, waiting for that thing to reappear.

It appeared.

But not from the river.

A fireball rose from beneath the river.

It didn't rise like bubbles emerging from the water, but rather like a missile launched from underwater, bursting through the water and shooting into the sky at incredible speed, accompanied by a large amount of water spray and steam.

The fireball wasn't large, about a meter in diameter, but its temperature was terrifyingly high.

As it flies through the air, the water vapor in the air is instantly evaporated, forming a trail of water mist.

The fireballs were not aimed at the troops on the ground, but at the helicopters in the air.

Three helicopters simultaneously launched flares that exploded in the air like fireworks, attempting to lure the fireball off course.

But the fireball was not fooled.

It seemed to have eyes; it accurately locked onto a helicopter and exploded about fifty meters away.

It wasn't an explosion, it spread.

In that instant, the fireball expanded a hundredfold, transforming from a ball with a diameter of one meter into a cloud of fire with a diameter of over a hundred meters.

The fiery cloud engulfed the helicopter, the one next to it, and the one further away.

The three helicopters, like three burning paper airplanes, first had their outer shells melt, then their rotors break, then their fuel tanks explode, and finally turned into three fireballs in the fire cloud.

The ground artillery opened fire the moment the fireball appeared.

Dozens of shells flew towards the river simultaneously, attempting to destroy the Winged Fire Serpent before it could launch a second attack.

But the Winged Fire Serpent has clearly learned how to deal with it.

It raised its body from the river, opened its mouth, and let out a roar.

The sound wasn't loud, but the frequency was extremely low, so low that it was almost inaudible to the human ear, but Lu Siye could sense it.

Then it flicked its tail.

The river water was pumped up in that instant.

It wasn't blown up or lifted up, but rather "pulled" up from the river surface by an invisible force and then slammed hard into the area of ​​the Three Thousand Holes Pit.

Water poured down from the sky like a sudden downpour, filling all the pits, big and small.

This is not an attack.

This is preparation.

The pits began to glow the moment they were filled with water.

The light grew brighter and redder, and the water in the pit began to boil, bubble, evaporate, and then...

Towering columns of magma erupted from every crater.

Hundreds or thousands.

Those pillars of lava fire were over a hundred meters high, turning the entire Three Thousand Caves area into a sea of ​​fire.

The lava fell, splashed, and ignited everything that could be ignited.

A rescue helicopter flew directly over a pillar of lava.

When the pillar of fire shot up, it didn't even have time to dodge before being swallowed up by the lava.

The fuselage exploded in mid-air, turning into a burning pile of scrap metal that spun and fell to the ground, exploding again.

Modern weapons appear utterly inadequate in the face of this thing.

Lu Siye pulled Liara along as they walked between the pillars of lava and fire.

He could no longer use Moon Chase; his vital energy was almost depleted. He could only use running, jumping, crawling—all the most basic human methods of movement—to search for a hole to hide in this hellish place.

He found one.

It's not big; it can probably only accommodate two people sitting side by side.

The cave entrance faces north, with its back to the river, and no lava is spewing out from inside.

At least not for now.

He pushed Liara in first, then squeezed in himself, shrinking his body and curling up inside the cave entrance, his back pressed against the rough rock and his chest against Liara's back.

The explosions outside continued, but Lu Siye could no longer hear them clearly.

He leaned against the cave wall, panting heavily.

His face was covered in dust, his clothes were covered in dust, his hands were covered in dust, and even his mouth was covered in dust.

He coughed twice, spitting out a mouthful of gray saliva, and then wiped his mouth with his sleeve.

Liara leaned against him, also panting.

The sounds of gunfire outside gradually subsided.

Lu Siye closed his eyes and counted his heartbeats.

One, two, three, ten, twenty, fifty.

The sound of gunfire continued for a while.

To be precise, two hours.

After the initial chaos, the military reorganized its offensive.

They abandoned helicopters and switched to long-range artillery and naval guns.

The tanks and armored vehicles on the ground retreated to a safe distance, and their guns were raised to the maximum angle to provide covering fire on the river surface.

The warships on the sea also adjusted their positions, firing their main and secondary guns simultaneously, pouring shells into the river as if they were free.

Meanwhile, the military also deployed several fixed-wing aircraft, which dropped incendiary and thermobaric bombs from high altitude in an attempt to suppress the Wingfire Serpent with high temperature and pressure.

More importantly, they came up with the idea of ​​using rainwater to extinguish the fire.

Several modified transport planes flew in from the north and dropped large amounts of dry ice and silver iodide over the Sanqiandongkeng area to create artificial rain.

The clouds thickened and darkened rapidly under the influence of chemicals, and then it started to rain.

Heavy rain causes water to turn into steam when heated, and the steam turns back into water when cooled, creating a chaotic cycle.

The fleet in the river also continued its attack.

The artillery fire continued unabated, and the jets of water from the explosions rose and fell, turning the entire river into a muddy mess.

The Winged Fire Serpent was clearly struggling to withstand the artillery fire.

One layer of its scales was knocked off, revealing the green skin underneath.

But it still didn't die.

They weren't even seriously injured.

Lu Siye looked out of the cave onto the distant river, watching the enormous, dark red figure tumble, writhe, and roar amidst the gunfire.

Every time it retaliates, it takes something away.

But its counterattacks grew weaker and slower, as if it were tired, as if it were waiting for something, or perhaps it was just playing around.

he does not know.

All he knew was that the shelling stopped two hours later.

It wasn't that the military had run out of shells; rather, the winged fire serpent had retreated to the bottom of the river and was no longer surfacing.

The military needs time to reassess the situation.

Lu Siye leaned against the cave wall and let out a long breath.

Liara stirred in his arms, turned over, and faced him.

"Aren't we comrades-in-arms who have shared life and death?" she asked.

Lu Siye looked at her.

Her face was covered in ash, and she looked extremely disheveled.

But she was smiling happily.

He pursed his lips.

"I guess so," he said.

Liara laughed even more heartily.

She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.

"That's good," she said, burying her face in his chest. "Now you can legitimately take the blame for me."