Chapter 70

PS: This is the fifth update during the Three Rivers period. Please, dear readers, show your support for my hard work and intense writing by voting for the Three Rivers if you can, or recommending it if you can. I'm running on fumes, so I'll go drink some cooling tea.

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Eragon looked like a complete failure, which puzzled Brom. He had been fine before they parted ways, so why did he suddenly look so dejected?

"We have to go. Jörd won't lead us, but he provided a map. Let's move out," Brom urged everyone to set off. If they didn't leave soon, the magicians' troops would likely arrive.

As if on cue, before they even left Tarut, countless soldiers swarmed from all directions. There were royal troops, Urgals, and the foul-smelling Vodhrans. This wasn't the northern army but the accumulated pursuers who had finally cornered them in Tarut, a village backed by a large lake.

The sight of so many people made Chu Ci's scalp tingle. These people didn't follow any rules; they didn't shout for surrender or waste time charging. With a twang, the bowstrings were drawn, and thousands of crossbow bolts shot out like a dark cloud, forming a dense rain of arrows with no gaps.

"Scarlet"

Black and white light flickered, and the little girl in deep red instantly appeared before Chu Ci. She spread her hands, and the earth moved, forming a wall of earth that shielded everyone, perfectly blocking the attack that would have wiped them out.

"Go through the back. We'll cross the lake and then head into the mountains." Brom didn't idle, quickly scanning the enemy's encirclement to find the only way out.

"You go first; I'll hold them off." Chu Ci glanced at the other two and chose to be the rearguard. The automatons in his pocket jumped out one by one: True Red, the War Officer, the Spell Officer, the Magic-Refined Spider, the Magic-Refined Gargoyle, the Magic-Refined Lightning Leopard, and the Elf Puppet. As soon as the earth wall was canceled, dozens of magic-refined puppets and humanoid automatons charged into the royal army's ranks.

Chu Ci also placed his hand on the ground, grimacing at the mud, then activated the alchemical array, making it even muddier. A large swamp formed at the village entrance, while he lightly jumped back, retreating to the bridge with the two little girls.

The battles of the past few days had shown Chu Ci that his combat reflexes were at a level far below even Eragon, let alone Brom. This made him even more determined to be the mastermind behind the scenes, only stepping in as a last resort. To others, this might seem cowardly, but Chu Ci believed that playing to one's strengths and avoiding weaknesses was the smart choice.

"Combat Automaton" As he retreated, Chu Ci decomposed everything on the bridge that could be broken down, reshaping it into combat automatons. These automatons, unlike the carefully crafted magic puppets, could only last for fifteen minutes, but that was enough for a fierce battle.

"Aoao" A dragon's roar echoed from the sky, filled with urgency and anxiety. Accompanied by the "thump thump" of a massive heart, a blue light shimmering with the essence of the wind appeared on the horizon. Saphira, in a moment of crisis, resonated deeply with Eragon's spirit, growing even more powerful.

A fierce wind howled, and a dragon over thirty meters long spiraled down from the sky.

"What's going on?" Chu Ci took out a backup automaton, activated it, and threw it backward. It was an unfinished prototype, barely transformed into a magic-refined bat the size of a basin, flying in the direction Eragon was retreating. In less than half a cup of tea's time, Chu Ci's alchemical glasses showed him what was happening with Eragon.

"It's you, Dessa?" Brom clutched the steel sword Chu Ci had hastily crafted, even deforming the hilt.

"Hey, let me see. It's you, Brom, the pitiful knight who lost his metal dragon." Dessa smiled sickly, mocking Brom. Eragon had never heard anyone mention that Brom had a dragon before; every time he asked, Brom avoided the topic.

Brom snatched the Dragon Slayer from Eragon, pushing him behind him and shouting, "Eragon, go! You're no match for him." Then, Brom summoned all his dragon power and charged at Dessa.

The battle between Brom and Dessa in the capital could be described in two sentences: Dessa's magician form was immune to physical damage, and Brom's body, though strong, was not as durable as his dragon power. This was a one-sided battle. Dessa's magician form turned into mist, jumping on the surrounding houses, constantly using magic to interfere and drain Brom's remaining strength. Without the nourishment from his dragon's resonance, even with the Dragon Slayer to enhance his energy attacks, Brom's physical body was gradually eroded over time.

This situation made Eragon even more cautious, wielding the steel sword and charging toward the back of the village. A dozen Vodhrans blocked his path, and every step forward was incredibly difficult.

"Real pig teammates" Chu Ci sighed, directing the numerous magic-refined puppets to retreat, and he also retreated to the inner side of the village. The two little girls stood in front of him to protect him from attacks, while Chu Ci clasped his hands and pressed forward, activating a massive alchemical array that enveloped all the houses and bridges.

"Come out, Scarlet" Chu Ci made up a name and activated the alchemical array, decomposing all non-living things in the vast area into a massive python, with bamboo and wood for its body and steel for its teeth, coiling on the shore and raising its head, almost ten meters high.

The python's tail swept a row of royal troops into the air, and for a moment, all the royal troops' attacks were focused on the python, ignoring Chu Ci and his creations.

"Let's go." Chu Ci jumped onto the magic-refined spider, ignoring the villagers who had fallen into the water, and headed straight for Brom. The automatons followed closely behind, charging at Dessa.

A colorful array of attacks covered the entire area, and the combination of energy attacks forced Dessa to reveal himself. As soon as the alchemical glasses saw Dessa, Chu Ci cursed, "You've been fighting a clone for so long, what's the point?"

"If Dessa dared to fight me head-on, I could take on ten of him," Brom shouted in frustration.

"Damn, in a life-or-death battle, you still expect the other side to play nice? Are you an idiot? You go first; I'll hold them off again." Chu Ci waved his hand, and an alchemical array appeared in his palm, aimed at Dessa's clone. "The next opponent is me."

Dessa also realized that a clone probably couldn't handle Chu Ci, whose background was unknown, so he let Brom go and focused on Chu Ci.

Magic and alchemy were very different, but they were closely related. Magic was released from the magician's own body, drawing the corresponding magic runes in the soul and using mental power to resonate with the magic elements to release the effect. Alchemy, on the other hand, used mental power to draw alchemical runes in the external environment, forming an alchemical array that attracted various energies to release the effect.

The strengths and weaknesses of the two were clear, and neither could be said to be superior to the other; it all depended on the user.

Chu Ci's alchemical array had been destroyed by Dessa for the third time, and the backlash of mental power made Chu Ci's nose bleed. Dessa's clone also suffered, with the interference of numerous alchemical puppets causing it to be eroded by elemental backlash, making its body increasingly insubstantial.

Saphira successfully picked up Eragon and Brom and glided toward the other side of the lake. Seeing this, Chu Ci sped up, took a bottle of medicine, and drank it in front of Dessa, instantly feeling refreshed. He fought Dessa several times, and Dessa's clone was almost completely shattered, forcing it to turn into mist and flee. It killed the nearly dead python and drove the royal troops to continue the pursuit.

Chu Ci put away the other automatons, summoned a magic eagle, and jumped on it, flying in the direction of Eragon. Along the way, he destroyed bridges and ships, frequently using alchemy to block the royal troops and Vodhrans' pursuit, then left with a flourish. The pursuers were left stranded by the lakeside, unable to catch up.

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bkdn Infinite Protagonist Enemy

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