# 1397
Chapter 1398: Battle of the Black Crocodile
The Black Crocodile hadn't expected anyone to be waiting for it ahead.
It gritted its teeth, its form reappearing from the shadows on the ground, like a black bolt of lightning, crashing into that wall of ice. With its Divine Beast-level physique, a single ice wall posed no obstacle whatsoever.
But the instant it materialized, a savage laugh rang out from the flank!
"Hehehehehe…"
Cao Yuan, cloaked in killing aura, dragged the Straight Blade wreathed in black flames and slashed fiercely at the Black Crocodile's body!
The killing-aura blade struck the Black Crocodile's hard shell with a metallic clang, but the creature's armor was simply too tough. Even with the Frenzied Cao Yuan giving his all, the blade could only carve a shallow gash into its flesh.
To the Black Crocodile, this slash was hardly more than a mild scratch... but the Frenzied Cao Yuan's scratching speed was incredibly fast.
Amidst the eerie laughter, black blade light carved countless afterimages in the air,疯狂地 hacking at the Black Crocodile's shell. The密密麻麻的 shallow cuts gradually intertwined and began to seep blood.
The Black Crocodile bellowed in pain, its emerald eye filling with rage. A tentacle from its tail whipped around and coiled around Cao Yuan's wrist, and with mountain-shaking force, it lifted the Frenzied Cao Yuan's body and slammed it repeatedly against the ice beside him, shaking the ground with each impact.
After a dozen or so strikes, until the ice surface was shattered apart, the Black Crocodile's tentacle flicked again, hurling the Frenzied Cao Yuan like a javelin into a distant cliff face!
The Black Crocodile's form blurred through the shattered ice, moving like a mountain-sized supersonic tank. Its massive, terrifying jaws easily smashed through the ice wall as it opened its cavernous maw and instantly bit off half of An Qingyu's body that was guarding behind the wall!
Blood splattered everywhere. An Qingyu's brow furrowed as his half-body rapidly dodged to the side, preventing damage to the black coffin behind him.
A tiger's paw emerged from his severed leg, stepping onto the ground to steady his maimed form. Flesh at the wound site writhed rapidly, as if new limbs were about to regrow.
"Are you alright, Qingyu?"
Lin Qiye, rushing over from behind, landed at his side, frowning.
"I'm fine, just a scratch." An Qingyu shook his head. "When we heard your shout, we came right away. Looks like we made it in time."
Lin Qiye nodded. "We'll talk later."
A wisp of cloud rose from beneath his feet, carrying his body swiftly toward where the Black Crocodile was.
At this moment, before the Black Crocodile, a massive black-and-white Taiji Bagua diagram hovered vertically in the air. Baili Pangpang stood solemnly before the rotating Taiji, his hands forming continuous Daoist seals.
"Earth Bind!"
The ground beneath the Black Crocodile came alive. Black Rope after Black Rope snaked out, binding its form in place.
The Black Crocodile roared, its massive body tensing. Cracks spread across the ground in all directions, and the Black Rope binding it began to tremble, as if it would give way at any moment.
At the same time, the Frenzied Cao Yuan gripping his aura-infused Straight Blade, and Lin Qiye holding Ame-no-Murakumo, charged out from left and right like lightning!
...
Several miles from the battlefield.
Wang Qing sat atop a boulder, gazing at the distant battle, and sighed softly. His expression carried a hint of helplessness:
"What a pity, I won't get to hear Xiao Qiye's covert singing tonight. Though his singing is rather terrible, watching him work so hard and earnestly trying to improve... it really was adorable..."
Beside him, Tang Yusheng's mouth twitched slightly:
"You're truly sadistic."
"Can't help it. I've been stuck on this island too long. A person's going to go insane from boredom."
"..."
"By the way, Xiao Tang Tang, do we really not need to help?" Wang Qing turned to ask.
"No need." Tang Yusheng replied calmly, "With their strength, the odds of them jointly defeating one Makara are quite high.
They only sent three Makara to the island this time, probably to use this opportunity to probe the island's situation and confirm who exactly the Guardian of Great Xia's National Fortune is... The fewer of us who reveal ourselves now, the more it will lull the enemy into complacency.
The southern and western sides are guarded by Elder Nie and Uncle Li, so there won't be any problems. We just need to stay hidden."
"Daring to covet Great Xia's National Fortune, what idiots." Wang Qing gave a cold smile, "But I wonder when these Makara managed to infiltrate Great Xia..."
"None of that matters now." Tang Yusheng slightly turned his head, gazing at the dark horizon, and said indifferently:
"The fish... has taken the bait."
...
A hundred li away.
On the dark sea, Yue Huai's eyes flickered with a faint green glow, his brow tightly furrowed.
"Li Kengqiang and Nie Jinshan are both alive?" he murmured to himself.
"That's impossible... I saw Nie Jinshan's corpse with my own eyes. He was definitely dead."
"That wasn't human." A voice emerged from the massive shadow beneath the sea surface. "Before, they hadn't made a move, so their破绽 couldn't be exposed. Now look closely at their fighting process—they're not using the spiritual power that you humans wield, but a kind of fortune energy... They're no longer human bodies. They should be wandering souls sustained by the nation's fortune."
Hearing this, Yue Huai contemplated before speaking:
"Great Xia's National Fortune Dragon's Eye, the resurrected Night Watch Commander-in-Chief, the mysterious Guardian... Could it be that the ones stationed here are the souls of Night Watch Commanders-in-Chief through the ages?"
His narrowed eyes gazed at the distant island as he murmured: "The first Commander-in-Chief Nie Jinshan, the second Commander-in-Chief Li Kengqiang... If that's the case, then the third Commander-in-Chief Tang Yusheng and the fourth Commander-in-Chief Wang Qing are very likely also on this island. As for Ye Fan... he scattered his soul to save Zhou Ping, so he shouldn't be here.
Four Human Apexes, then..."
Yue Huai's eyes glinted, as if he'd seen through the situation on the island. A slight smile curled at the corner of his mouth.
"Using the souls of generations of Night Watch Commanders-in-Chief to guard the National Fortune... now that's impressive. But four Human Apexes' combat power is still within our estimates."
"Got a clear picture of the island's situation?" The shadow beneath the sea asked deeply. "When do we strike?"
"This round of probing should have put them on alert. Dragging this out further works in their favor." After片刻 of contemplation, the aged eyes of Yue Huai narrowed to a dangerous angle:
"Seize the moment while Li Kengqiang and Nie Jinshan are occupied. Launch the general assault now."
"Understood."
At Yue Huai's reply, the shadow beneath the sea clearly tinged with excitement. The calm sea surface instantly began to churn like a boiling pot, rolling violently!
One Black Crocodile after another burst from the sea. They no longer bothered to conceal themselves, bursting forth at full speed, like black lightning surging toward the distant island. A rough count revealed nearly twenty!
...
...
Today's been rough with a headache, couldn't get any writing done. Sending out the last two chapters from my reserves. Sorry, everyone~
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