"Who are you?!"

Wariness surfaced from Bloody Finger’s eyes as he stared at the spatial rift. He even looked a little nervous.

……

Whoosh!

A smooth, white leg appeared from the red ripple in the air, followed by a swaying battle skirt and finally Xinran herself. The spear-wielding girl clad in black armor smiled at me and said, "Big brother, you haven’t visited me for a very long time!"

I didn’t know what to say. It did feel like I hadn’t visited her for a very long time.

"Come out, you lazy bastard!"

Next, Xinran pushed her hand into the spatial rift, grabbed something and heaved, dragging the Winged Silver Dragon into this plane by force. Just like before, the Winged Silver Dragon nodded at me and wagged its tail like an obedient dog the moment it saw me. "Aha, long time no see, my beloved master’s dear brother. You look like you’re stronger, more handsome and durable than before!"

I shot it a glare and said, "Shut up."

"Yes, my wise master’s big brother!"

Lin Yixin lost her cool and blurted, "This dragon can talk? Why can’t my dragon do the same?"

The Winged Silver Dragon raised its non-existent eyebrows and wagged its tail even harder when he saw that the speaker was a gorgeous woman. It answered, "I shall answer that question considering how sincere you are, pretty miss! I am a noble among the ancient dragon race, and the Winged Silver Dragons have always been close relatives with the Dragon God itself. Naturally, my bloodline is far nobler than your lowly ice dragon’s. So, what is your name, pretty miss? I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Say, do you want to adopt me as your pet? My current master is a tad too brutal for me, you see. I’ve been leading an inhuman and indragon life in the Purgatory for the past couple—"

Xinran smacked the Winged Silver Dragon on the head before it could finish. "Say one more word, and I’ll dig out your heart and cook it for big bro!"

Ooh, that isn’t a bad idea. "Hear, hear…"

"Are you sure, big bro?" Xinran was smiling, but the question was clearly serious.

Noticing this, the Winged Silver Dragon said with a deathly pale expression, "You can’t do this! Ahhhh, surely you’re not interested in eating me, right, dear and kind brother of my master? I ate a lot of Corpse Eaters during my time at the Purgatory because I was hungry, so my heart smells like rotten meat right now. Surely you don’t like to eat smelly meat, right?"

I replied calmly while healing myself and looking at Bloody Finger floating in the sky, "It all depends on how you cook it. But since you’re this sincere, I’ll give you a chance to redeem yourself. Help us kill that bastard, and all shall be forgiven!"

The Winged Silver Snake looked up, saw Bloody Finger and immediately started shivering in fright. "Heavens, isn’t that Ovia the Bloody Finger, one of the Nine Sovereigns of the Purgatory? You want me, a lowly dragon, to kill a god? How cruel! How inhuman! The only person who could deal with a devil like that is my wise, beautiful, young and generous master!"

I shook my head. This dragon hadn’t been Xinran’s "pet" for too long, but it was already as tame as your house dog. A cunning one, sure, but the point still stands.

……

Xinran looked up and smiled at Bloody Finger. Her eyes looked like they were staring right through his heart. "We meet again, Ovia!"

The turbulent energy leaking out of Bloody Finger’s bloody arm showed just how unsettled he was by Xinran’s arrival. He yelled angrily, "Wind Singer Xinran, traitor of the purgatory! Why are you here? I thought Lady Sophia and Lady Linda were hunting you! It makes no sense for you to show yourself here! Why are you doing this?"

"The why is simple. I have come because you bullied my big brother…" Xinran shot me a smile before continuing, "And anyone who bullies my big brother will suffer a fate worse than death!"

Xinran’s expression suddenly turned murderous. It was an expression a pretty girl shouldn’t have. Clearly, years of cultivation in the purgatory had washed away all of the youthful innocence she once had and left behind only well-honed steely resolve. Even so, Xinran always acted like the little girl she used to be when she was with me. To this day, she still reminded me of that child who promised me that she would become a great priest one day.

Lin Yixin looked at Beiming Xue and teased her, "It looks like Little Cheat’s other little sister is stronger than you, Beiming."

Beiming Xue clenched her fists and declared, "I’ll work hard so that Xinran isn’t stronger than me by much!"

Me: "..."

……

Bloody Finger abruptly faced toward the sky and laughed. He pointed a finger at Xinran and said, "Your cultivation may have improved, but so what? I am backed by the great purgatory legion and Lord Lin Na himself! You, on the other hand, are only backed by the weak Violet Empire! Do you really think you can do whatever you want now?"

Xinran smiled. "It is true that the Violet Empire is still very weak, but that doesn’t mean I am powerless to do what I aim to do today, and that is to slaughter your monstrous ass, you animal!"

"Pooh! Pot calling kettle black much? Your hands are drenched in just as much blood as mine!"

"Hmph!"

Xinran raised her Dragonbone Spear threateningly and said, "You will not remind me what I did pre-reincarnation. I’ve discarded those memories a long time ago, so it is pointless even if you bring them up. Ovia, you are one of the Ten Heroes of the Dharan Empire, and you single-handedly destroyed your own empire. An executioner like you should’ve experienced true death a long time ago, and today, I shall be the one to dole out your sentence. Winged Silver Dragon, fight with me!"

"Yes, my young and beautiful master!"

The Winged Silver Dragon didn’t forget to flatter Xinran even as it answered her call.

……

Bloody Finger let out an angry roar and said, "If you want to fight, then a fight is what you’ll get! I, Ovia the Bloody Finger, have never fought another Sovereign-level expert during the millennium I dominated the purgatory. Show me what you got, former Sovereign!"

Bloody Finger abruptly plummeted from the sky and brought his sword down for an overhead slash!

Xinran let out a soft snort, and a ring of energy appeared around her feet. The next moment, she vanished into thin air, reappeared in front of Ovia the Bloody Finger and clashed blades with him!

Chiang!

There was a deafening explosion, and Xinran fell toward the ground. Bloody Finger himself was knocked further up into the sky though.

"Winged Silver Dragon!" Xinran ordered.

The dragon hurriedly flew up to her and said, "Gentler, my master…"

Xinran landed heavily on top of the Winged Silver Dragon—I could actually see the footprints from where I was—and pushed herself up into the clouds. We couldn’t see what happened next because the battle was happening in the clouds.

The Winged Silver Dragon descended to the ground and let out a sigh of relief. "Thank the heavens I didn’t have to fight one of the Nine Sovereigns with my vulnerable, flesh-and-bloody body! These undead are just way too powerful!"

I was a bit bemused, frankly. I thought that the Winged Silver Dragon would play a more active role than just being a springboard, but I supposed that Xinran would know what was best for her.

……

Thick, bloody clouds covered the sky, and the sounds of clashing weapons rocked hit our ears like cracks of thunder. In fact, we could have sworn lightning bolts struck the ground from time to time.

Fire, ice, hurricanes and meteors erupted across the clouds, and occasionally, we could see Xinran and Ovia the Bloody Finger flying around and clashing blades with one another. However, it was impossible to tell exactly what was going on up there.

Anxiety filled my head as I watched the battle happening in the sky. My HP had returned to full a long time ago, but there was nothing I could do to help Xinran. All I could do was pray that she wouldn’t lose, or it would truly be the end for all of us!

Beep!

It was at this moment I received a message from He Yi: "Hey hey, Lu Chen! The latest news regarding the Northern Alliance is that Sophia the Snow Minstrel is attacking Seven Star City with her undead army! Over half of the Heroic Bannermen are dead, and I heard that even Vienna’s Sorrow is no exception. One side of the wall has already been destroyed by Sophia, and it’s only a matter of time before they have to abandon their city and escape! The Americans are going to cry rivers of tears after this, hehe!"

I replied with a smile, "Nice! I’d send my energy to Sophia if I could!"

……

Boom!

A meteor fell from the—wait, it wasn’t a meteor, it was Ovia. The man was covered in flames when he crashed into a ruined structure and shook the earth itself.

Swhoosh!

Xinran appeared from the bloody clouds and landed gently on the ground. She stomped the ground once, and a burst of energy knocked Bloody Finger out of the pit he was stuck in. After a fierce battle, the bloodied Purgatory Sovereign only had 4% HP left. He was clearly at death’s door.

That being said, Xinran wasn’t faring much better than him. Her shoulder armor was completely destroyed, and fresh wounds marred her usually smooth, white shoulder. It was clearly the work of Bloody Finger.

……

"Are you okay, Xinran?" I asked.

Xinran shook her head and reassured me, "It’s just a light injury, big brother. Now go take out Ovia now. Revenge is a dish best served with your own hands, right?"

I was overjoyed. It was obvious that Xinran was surrendering the last hit, and by extension, the experience and the loot to me. If she had killed Bloody Finger herself, the latter wouldn’t have dropped any loot.

I glanced at Lin Yixin, and she caught on immediately. We tentatively walked toward Ovia the Bloody Finger and tested his defenses with Burning Blade Slash and Ice Flame Slash from afar. Unlike before, the bastard screamed in pain when he received our attacks.

Chiang!

Ovia the Bloody Finger barely pushed himself back onto his feet using his purple sword before swearing, "Just you wait, Wind Singer! Someone will take revenge for me! If I wasn’t weakened from my battle against a purgatory beast a month ago, you would never have been able to beat me as you are now! Pooh!"

Xinran moved closer to me and said, "Big brother, take out that bastard already, will you?"

"Yeah!"

……

Working together with Lin Yixin and Beiming Xue, I resummoned the Phantom Wolf King and apparition and attacked the boss with everything I got. Ovia the Bloody Finger couldn’t retaliate against us because Xinran’s domain power was keeping him trapped. He looked nothing like the arrogant Purgatory Sovereign he was before.

Considering that Ovia the Bloody Finger was a Purgatory Sovereign, 4% HP was actually a lot to chew through. That being said, offensive power was never a problem for our party. Beiming Xue especially was dealing 50k damage at least almost every hit thanks to the Windchaser equipment set she was wearing. Her attacks easily penetrated the boss's broken defense.

We didn’t think we would get to dole out a one-sided beating onto a Purgatory Sovereign, Ovia the Bloody Finger himself. In that moment, we were all enveloped in a sense of bliss.

……

Unfortunately, happiness never lasted for too long.

Puchi!

A wet noise appeared behind us, and Xinran suddenly let out a yelp of pain. I turned around to find her eyes filled with shock and a blade piercing out of chest, dripping with blood.

A woman with blood-red eyes and bundled hair had appeared behind Xinran before anyone realized it. She wore silvery white armor and wielded a sword. A cruel smile crossed her features as she spoke, "How careless of you, Wind Singer."