Pov: Third person
At the same time that Vik searched for the origins of the skeleton, his disciples faced the dragon, hoping not to attract its attention.
Seeing the seriously injured ancestors and elders of the Lin family, the dragon declared, "THOSE WHO SURVIVED ARE QUALIFIED TO BECOME MY SERVANTS."
Somehow, Lin Yang survived this chaos. Injured and in shock, she looked at her family members. The ground where they stood was littered with dismembered body parts, and there was not a single intact corpse. This was beyond her expectations. Her mind raced as she struggled to understand how her family's ancestors could do this to them.
A short distance away, Lu Xiaoran and Roman hid and watched the scene unfold. They knew the dragon was not as benevolent as the legends had described.
They needed to survive, so Roman proposed, "We need to escape from this place."
He then called Lina, "This is Thunder, we need urgent evacuation."
She replied, "Roger, Chariot is already in the air and will reach you in a few minutes."
While waiting for their transport, they didn't want to listen to whatever the dragon had to say to the remaining Lin family members. Information was important, but not more important than their lives.
They retreated into the deep forest. Roman and Lu ran while Lu Xiaoran carried Lin Chen on his back. Lin Chen's condition was critical; he needed immediate medical care or some healing. Roman and Lu Xiaoran tried to heal him with the magic they knew, but it had no effect due to the severity of his injuries.
More than anything, they needed to escape. Soon, they reached a clearing far from the massacre. They could still see the dragon and the Lin family members kneeling before it, but they ignored them. Just looking at the dragon put a lot of pressure on them. They accepted that they stood no chance against it.
Soon, the Chariot drone arrived, flying above them and slowly descending for evacuation. They could use their energy to fly since the Heaven Suppressing Zone was destroyed, but they chose not to. Using spiritual energy could attract the dragon's attention or that of the Lin family. They needed to escape before anyone noticed them.
They boarded the Chariot, which took off, flying away from the Azure mountains. They needed to move fast. Fortunately, everything went according to plan, and they quickly crossed the boundary of the Azure mountains, heading back to the mansion. They flew straight into the city without worrying about the law, as the entire city was in disarray.
Once they arrived, they went straight to the mansion to meet Lina. They quickly helped Lin Chen to bed, trying everything to save him, but nothing worked. It was as if his very essence had been taken from him. Just then, in what seemed like a miracle, Lin Chen opened his eyes. He looked straight at Lu Xiaoran and said, "Kill me."
Lu Xiaoran and everyone else were stunned by this request. But Lin Chen paid no attention to their reactions. He continued, "Lu Xiaoran, I don't have much left. Now I finally understand everything. I am nothing but a chosen one used by the Lin family. To bring that dragon out of its seal, they used my luck. But I still had some luck remaining, and technically, I'm still a chosen one."
He started laughing as he spoke, looking like a madman who had faced tragedy.
His expression grew serious as he lamented his fate. "I don't even know my true name because of them. I had fate on my side, but they controlled all my paths. Now I understand you are just like me. You are a destined villain to me. So tell me what happens if a destined villain kills a chosen one. Think, Lu Xiaoran. In every story, the hero wins and kills the villain. But what if you kill that hero? You will definitely create an error, and I only want that. Please kill me and escape your fate. If you can ever forgive me, then please give that terrible Lin Yang and her family a gruesome death."
With that, he closed his eyes. Everyone pondered his words. But Lu Xiaoran, as if understanding something, drew a sharp sword and plunged it into Lin Chen's heart.
Lin Chen looked at him, opening his eyes again. "Please forgive me, Lu Xiaoran. You were the only one in my family who was not pretending. At least you were my true enemy. I hope that if things could have been different, we could have become good friends."
And with that, he closed his eyes again, now completely dead. The story of Lin Chen, an unfortunate chosen one, finally came to an end. After killing Lin Chen, Lu Xiaoran looked at his hands and stood there in silence, contemplating something.
Just then, their communication device activated, and Vik's voice came through. "Disciples, where are you?"
Roman replied, "Master, we are back at the mansion. We thought escaping from that place was the best option. That dragon is too strong for us."
Hearing this, Vik responded, "You did the right thing, but it's not enough. That dragon, along with the Lin family, is heading toward the city. Tell everyone you know to evacuate. I have a solution, but I need a few more minutes. You need to help as many people evacuate as possible or get them to safe places. I also contacted Louriel. She will handle the Lin family. You just need to assist her."
With that, Vik ended the call. His disciples immediately got to work. First, Lu Xiaoran told his father, Lu Ran, to take his mother to another city using the Chariot drones. Then they headed toward the city center, where they saw the government deploying forces to help people evacuate.
The environment around the city looked apocalyptic. Thousands of lightning strikes flashed in the dark clouds above, turning day into night. Through the brief moments of lightning, people could see a shadow on the horizon, but only a few recognized it. It was the dragon, coiling around the Azure mountains. It continued to grow, reaching several miles high, expanding in both size and power.