Maiden Of The Splitting Moon

Chapter 171 - Battle From Both Sides

"Shit, what do we do?"

Xukun couldn't help but panic. He was afraid, scared that death was the only choice.

"We'll fight it..."

Ming Yue drew her sword and faced the quivering Diving Dragonfly.

"Then what? That Li Baojun is just going to watch us die! He trapped us here!"

"We won't fight to kill it, just enough to trick them. At the right moment, we'll lead the Dragonfly to them."

"That sounds better than nothing."

Anqing brought out her spear, accepting that this was their best chance. It was only Xukun that seemed both shocked and afraid.

"This is..."

He could not produce any words and understood that this was the only way. But it did not change the fact that death was almost certain and it was a fate he did not want.

As they quickly spoke out their thoughts, the creature before them began to fly up. The buzzing sound that it produced was the only thing they heard, almost numbing their ears. It floated just a foot from the ground before diving into the water.

All three of them tried to sense where the Diving Dragonfly would come from but the Emerald Deepwater did not allow such a thing.

From afar, everyone watched Ming Yue's group, waiting for a chance. As members of the Saber Hall, comrades of Li Baojun, they were all quite arrogant but they were some of the strongest disciples within that hall. So long as it wasn't an inheritor or certain Elite Disciples, none of them were afraid.

Like now, they viewed little of the individuals that they have trapped. In their mind, Ming Yue and the others were as good as dead. Though, one or two of them had desired to obtain Hei Yue and Xiao Yin.

But the greatest prize would've been the Diving Dragonfly.

Indeed, so long as they obtained its corpse, everyone would have gained recognition. This was especially for Li Baojun, once he gains the credit for killing it, he would definitely become an Elite Disciple. That position came with access to better treasures, but the reputation was what he wanted. The title was everything to him.

He wouldn't just stop at Elite Disciple but the position of Inheritor. It didn't matter what it would take to get there, he would have it one way or another.

As Li Baojun planned away, the Diving Dragonfly shot out of the water with great speed. Just meters from the bridge, it angled itself such that it could take Anqing in its jaw.

However, all three of them were expecting it to come and jumped out of the way. The dragonfly flew up and circled the from above. Then it dive-bombed straight to the bridge before moving slightly and re-entering the water.

It was a cycle of ambushing from the water and the sky.

The speed and power that it used caused furious gales of wind.

If they weren't going to be caught by the creature, they were bound to lose balance and fall into the water. There was no way to attack for the dragonfly was too quick. Even Ming Yue found it difficult to keep up.

On one attempt, Xiao Yin was caught in the path of the dragonfly's ascent. Although the little owl managed to move out of its immediate path. She was knocked by the winds created from its flight and fell towards the water.

"Xiao Yin, no!"

Ming Yue screamed out and jumped past the bridge. Using a gust of wind to propel herself, she flew over the Emerald Deepwater and grabbed hold of Xiao Yin's unconscious body. With another wave of her hand, she supported herself with wind and flew back to towards the bridge.

From afar, Li Baojun and the rest of his crew were shocked.

"Flight?!" they thought.

"That was something one could only achieve once they reach the level of Perception! How was she able to fly."

What they did not know was that it was not true flight, but a pseudo version using Ming Yue's control of wind. Still, they felt wary towards her.

Was she an Elite Disciple? Perhaps a Inheritor?

If she was either, then her death would be investigated. After all, these disciples usually went to the forbidden zone of the Ren Hua Battlefield, a place several times more dangerous than the Ninth Flower Garden. It would be quite rare for them to die here. Even if they were to go against something like the Stone Lion Centipede or the Diving Dragonfly, they would have a means of escape.

None of them dared to think what would happen if they were found to have killed one of their own but it was too late.

As Ming Yue made her way back to the bridge, the Diving Dragonfly flew down. Having seen her above the water, it flew towards her at a shocking speed.

It would take seconds for the creature to reach her and that wasn't enough time for her to reach the bridge.

Anqing and Xukun had their hands held out, ready to pull Ming Yue back in. Even Hei Yue stretched his body to its utmost to help her. However, Ming Yue had other ideas, one that could hasten their deaths or let them all free.

Without a moments hesitation, she tossed Xiao Yin to Xukun and faced the Diving Dragonfly. WIth one hand, she held her blade and in the other, she took out her dagger. The white ivory blade shined and hummed with power.

"Wait! What are you doing?!"

They watched her as the Diving Dragonfly flew down, taking her into the water. Shocked, they couldn't help but walk back and drop to the ground.

No one would believe what she had just done.

Seconds past but neither the Dragonfly or Ming Yue emerged.

"What should we do now?"

Hun Zao looked at Li Baojun with concern. It was likely that Ming Yue was dead and the Diving Dragonfly had left after eating its fill. The buzzing sound was no longer there.

"Kill them, no one should know about this."

Li Baojun was unhappy, the plan did not go as well as it expected. Most likely it had returned to its home and this had soured his mood. Now it would most likely take another week or two to find and kill the Dragonfly.

He had to use more time in achieving this goal.

Perhaps killing these two would alleviate his frustration.

As they walked towards Anqing and the others, they heard the return of the dragonfly. The buzzing came quick and loud.

The water trembled and suddenly, the Diving Dragonfly appeared slamming into Li Baojun's group. Both the impact and the shockwave that followed forced them to scatter. Of the six, three were unfortunate enough to have lost their step and fall into the water.

"Save me! Save me!"

They yelled out, waving their hands and struggling to stay afloat. But the Emerald Deepwater clung to them, just a mere handful weighed several kilograms. Now that their clothes had absorbed more than just a handful, they slowly sunk into the water, screaming for their lives.

On the bridge, Anqing and Xukun watched in disbelief as Ming Yue stood atop the Diving Dragonfly with her dagger stabbed deep into the head of it. She was soaking wet and her body was battered black and blue. Her left arm was limped on her side, there were bloody bites from the dragonfly near her shoulder. It cut deeply into her, bits of her bone could be seen.

Li Baojun and the rest of his group recovered and look at her with fear.

"What are you going to do?" he asked, "Kill us?"

Despite the developments, he tried to put on a facade. Ming Yue looked at him before grabbing the knife in the Diving Dragonfly's body for a few seconds.

The creature quivered under her before slumping. From the crevices of its shell, a bluish blood leaked out as the beast died.

"That's... impossible. How did you kill it!?" Hun Zao saw it and yelled at her in disbelief.

But she looked at him coldly before ripping the bloodied dagger out of the Diving Dragonfly's corpse.