Chapter 62: The Shape-Shifting Monster

"Gods? I'd like to see them!" The black dragon let out a booming laugh. "It's been ages since I had a truly satisfying fight!"

Before he even finished speaking, hundreds of massive fireballs suddenly descended from the sky, crashing onto the ground where the two men stood. These fireballs glowed golden-red with hints of white, indicating an alarming temperature. Each one encased an obsidian meteorite over a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) in diameter. The force of their impact and the intensity of the sound were so tremendous, it seemed they would punch through the very surface of the earth. Each impact triggered a massive explosion, creating deep craters in the ground, and the soil's surface was vitrified by the intense heat. All these impacts were concentrated within a ten-zhang radius, melting even the golden-armored figures into molten copper.

Could the two men still be alive? Not far away, He Lingchuan tightly covered his ears to prevent his eardrums from rupturing.

The more potent a divine ability, the longer its preparation time. The black dragon's seemingly effortless ability to summon meteor showers with a mere flick of its tail likely stemmed from this world being its home turf. Moreover, its earlier conversation with the two men was probably a diversion to conceal its covert use of the divine power. Even more troublesome than a powerful artifact spirit is one that possesses human-like cunning.

The black dragon likely understood the situation below perfectly. With a low growl, figures began to emerge, one after another, from the black smoke that enveloped the ground. The demonic apes rose once more. Fueled by the celestial fire, they appeared larger, sturdier, and remarkably swifter. Lava even oozed from their bodies, hissing with every drop that hit the ground. The moment they fully formed, they charged in a different direction. It was a pile of ruins, where the large amount of earth and stone that had fallen from the southern city wall earlier provided excellent cover.

Unfortunately, this tactic was useless against the black dragon. It could precisely determine the positions of its two enemies without needing to see them. They weren't at the meteor impact zone at all. Sun Fuping had likely employed an evasion technique, dragging both of them twenty zhang (approximately 66 meters) away in the nick of time. But just as the two men reappeared, the ten armaments on the city wall suddenly swiveled on their own, aiming directly at them. The black dragon spoke calmly, "Did you enjoy blowing up my residence just now?"

Crossbow bolts, firestones, and nail darts fired simultaneously, all aimed at the two men. As delighted as Nian Songyu had been using nail darts earlier, he was now equally disheveled. His tortoise shield was riddled with tiny nail fragments, and two had even struck his leg. He radiated a faint green light, having already endured two rounds of flying crossbows and one round of thrown firestones. Unfortunately, Sun Fuping's warning proved accurate: not only was the effectiveness of the Sheji Decree severely diminished here, but his expenditure of true energy during combat was also multiplied. Fortunately, he still bought Sun Fuping a little time. The Earth-Evasion Technique was used again, moving both men ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) away.

The black dragon rubbed its head against the city gate tower. "Don't be impatient, this is just a warm-up. There's more fun to come."

No sooner had it spoken than bats began to pour out of the vents on the city wall, swirling into a vast swarm that darkened the sky above the southern wall. There must have been tens of thousands of them. Immediately afterward, half of the bats dove to the ground, transforming into five nimble sand panthers. The remainder separated into groups in the air, becoming grotesque birds with pointed beaks and bat-like wings.

The demonic apes, though powerful, were slow-moving, allowing Nian Songyu room to maneuver. Recognizing this, the black dragon summoned agile sand panthers to compensate for the attack's weakness, while simultaneously having demonic birds launch aerial assaults. With such a coordinated attack from above and below, it was curious to see if the two men could possibly escape.

At this point, it also became clear that Nian Songyu truly possessed remarkable skill. Once the sand panthers joined the fray, holding his shield with one hand became impractical, so he simply put away the tortoise shield and drew a long saber instead. From a distance, He Lingchuan observed two streaks of green light, moving swiftly up and down like agile dragons, embodying speed, precision, and ferocity. Neither the sand panthers nor the demonic apes could get close.

However, in the black dragon's world, there was no escaping without paying a price. In just this short time, Nian Songyu sustained at least a dozen external injuries, both minor and major, with blood soaking his clothes. The most severe blow came from a swooping demonic bird. Although he managed to cleave the bird in two, its sharp beak had disfigured him, leaving a wound stretching from his temple to his chin, almost gouging out his eye.

Witnessing this scene, He Lingchuan murmured, "That's absurd. Can demonic beasts really transform like that?" Although his original self had limited education, he knew there was an unshakeable rule in this world: neither humans nor demonic beasts could completely transform into other creatures, unless they inherently possessed mimicry or shapeshifting abilities. Simply put, humans cannot become demons, nor can demons become humans. A bat is a bat; it cannot transform into a leopard or another type of bird. However, a toad demon can still grow from a tadpole, as that aligns with its natural life cycle. Humans can achieve localized mutations through certain divine powers or methods, but these are not long-lasting and incur significant costs and side effects. An "iron rule" implies a universally applicable law. For these bats to be able to transform at will—wasn't that incredibly unfair?

Mao Tao offered a wry smile. "In this place, can anything truly be considered strange?"

He Lingchuan suddenly heard a whooshing sound from above and quickly gestured for Mao Tao to be quiet, but it was too late. A demonic bird landed on the ruins, less than a zhang (approximately 3.3 meters) away from them. Both parties stared at each other. Only once it had landed did its immense size become clear; its upright height was nearly equal to He Lingchuan's. The creature possessed bat-like wings, thin and membranous, with a prominent keel-shaped sternum. When its wings were folded, their tips bore claw-like hooks, and its sharp black talons alone were longer than a human finger. Its beak was sickle-shaped, long and pointed, capable of shattering a prey's skull with a single peck.

Startled, Mao Tao drew his waist knife. He Lingchuan subtly wiggled his fingers, his voice a mere whisper: "Don't move!" Under the gaze of those dull yellow eyes, he felt his scalp tingle. This creature was itself an aggregation of monsters; besides sand panthers and demonic birds, who knew what else it could transform into? Furthermore, these creatures appeared to be unkillable, rendering any effort on his part futile.

As He Lingchuan pondered a countermeasure, the demonic bird also tilted its head, as if deep in thought itself. Naturally, neither of them dared to move an inch.

After a few moments, the demonic bird lost interest in them, turned its back, flapped its wings, and flew away. Mao Tao's forehead was slick with sweat. He couldn't help but let out a long, shaky breath. "If I make it out of this, I'll burn extra high-quality incense and ask my wife to prepare more meat offerings. This is truly our ancestors' blessing!"

That was a monster even the Imperial Advisor and Captain Nian couldn't contend with.

"It has nothing to do with your ancestors. Why wasn't it hostile towards us?" He Lingchuan looked up at the black dragon on the city gate. These monsters were all summoned by the black dragon, serving as its eyes, ears, and enforcers, their actions entirely under its control. The fact that this demonic bird saw He Lingchuan without reacting could only mean the black dragon had no intention of attacking them. They, like Nian Songyu, had also been setting fires throughout the illusion. So why would the black dragon choose to spare them?