Everyone was completely stunned. Even the High Elder couldn't sense that attack. Not once, but twice. First time, Darian was the only one who reacted — now his partner did the same.
They were insane... but just too weak to stop it. And she, who could've done something... could only feel how far she still was.
'What... the hell...'
Darian felt the same pain he'd experienced during the trial — when he was about to lose all his strength and be killed by those mediocre Risen right at the start.
"Darian!"
Niara dropped to her knees. An arrow had hit her in the back, pierced through her — and she only noticed the danger when it was already too late. Her senses worked, but she wasn't strong enough to dodge in time.
"FOCUS FORWARD!"
He said coldly. He wouldn't die that easily; he knew that pain well and could heal himself.
The real problem was something else: who attacked him? From where?
And worse — he felt a huge movement ahead.
*ROAR!*
Everyone in the third row trembled.
In front of them, more than two hundred peak Risen appeared.
They were still far off and, unlike before when they were being guided, now they seemed to be moving on their own. That meant they'd take a bit longer to arrive. It was like everything they'd fed on earlier was gone, and now, driven by instinct, they smelled easy prey nearby.
"What? How'd they get through?" Vahnu asked in shock.
They were at the rear of the third row. Those Risen should've been killed by the strongest on the front line of the same row.
That could only mean one thing... but no one wanted to believe it...
Niara tried to stand up, but dropped to her knees and coughed up a huge amount of blood.
'This...' Darian murmured, stunned.
He tried to heal her body... but the arrow stuck in her was blocking regeneration. It felt just like the corruption from a Risen Chief earlier. His current power wasn't enough.
"The arrow was made from Cursed Yang Iron," Vahnu quickly said, seeing Niara's state. "It consumes the body's Yang and then uses it as fuel to kill the target... for a woman... it's basically instant death..."
Everyone went pale.
On top of being a shot no one could dodge or detect, the shooter had used an arrow designed to kill Niara in one hit.
Niara didn't hesitate. She growled and ripped the arrow out of her chest brutally. A huge amount of blood burst out, leaving a massive hole.
Darian couldn't heal her while that strange arrow was still inside. Now that she'd removed it, he healed the physical wound. But inside, her life force was burning fast.
It had only been a few seconds since the arrow hit her, and even after pulling it out, all of Niara's Yang had been sucked out by the metal. Her body went limp, and her life energy began to burn.
Her scales faded away, revealing her pale, white skin.
Her Bloodline started trying to supply vital energy, but the loss was faster than the recovery. Niara was seriously running out of time.
Darian remembered something he hadn't had time to use. He reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a one-meter root: it was the Celestial Yang Root he'd gotten during the trial, the one Niara never got the chance to absorb.
He turned to Vahnu: "This can bring her back, right?"
She nodded. "Yeah, but women need to absorb it slowly over hours, using their Yin to control the Yang inside the root. In her condition, she won't have the strength or time..."
Darian snorted and activated the full power of his body. He was able to move the pure, gentle Yang from the root with ease. Then he looked at Niara — she was breathing heavily, kneeling, struggling to keep her eyes open.
She looked at his eyes on her shoulder. Then, feeling her strength fading fast, she tried to say something, 'Partner... I...'
Darian's eyes moved... she had no scales... well, fuck it.
The little slug slid into her clothes. Passed through the soft, comfy area, slowly going lower under the fabric... all while wondering why she wasn't wearing any underwear.
Niara didn't react — she just felt something cold sliding down into her lower regions.
He reached her navel and paused for a moment… then, with a steady breath, went a bit lower — stopping in the area between her navel and another spot further down that he really didn't want to think too much about.
That was where the Dantian was — a spot often mentioned in fantasy stories as the core where power gathers in living beings. Darian knew the concept from that book he'd read so many times.
It was there that life and soul energies accumulated, making this whole thing easier — and that's why he had to place the Yang directly there. He had to get physically close to carefully apply it, like he did with the spatial stones. Everything had to be fast, or she'd lose her life.
Putting aside how weird the whole situation was getting, Darian focused. He activated his canine, infused it with a bit of Yang, and moved it inward.
When the Yang was released there, it dissolved easily under his control. Darian felt her body tremble slightly...
A really strange sensation flowed through her. Darian ignored it and pulled the canine back, then loaded it with more Yang. It was like having to give several injections — the canine couldn't carry too much at once.
After repeating the process seven times, Darian stopped, feeling her body was getting too hot.
He focused and noticed her life energy was stable now. Her Bloodline would take care of the rest, recovering what had been lost.
Taking a deep breath, he climbed back out, getting out of there as fast as he could.
When he popped out from the tear in her clothes, he saw her amber eyes staring right at him — and immediately felt even more awkward.
A voice echoed in his head: 'Didn't expect that from you... so, did you get a nice look at everything you wanted?'
Darian's eyes widened: 'What the fuck! I didn't look at anything! Don't accuse me like that! I did everything clean and pure!'
The slug shot back mentally, totally flustered, emotions in a mess.
'Hehehe... and why didn't you look? Did I say you couldn't?'
She gave a warm smile. Everyone around saw the two of them staring at each other — and then her beautiful smile, which left them breathless.
That crazy, bloodthirsty Dragoness now looked like nothing but a radiant woman. The two of them seemed to forget where they were and everything going on, just focused on each other.
Darian calmed down and didn't answer. She gently picked him up and placed him on her shoulder.
'Thank you, Darian...' she said softly, still smiling.
He narrowed his eyes. Why'd she decide to call him by name now? Better not ask — she'd definitely start teasing him again.
She loved teasing him because he always reacted that way... but there was no way he couldn't react. After all, she could feel absolutely everything he felt — it was almost like she could read the thoughts he tried to hide.
At the same time... seeing that smile full of life, and feeling what she was feeling, Darian suddenly felt light and alive.