Chapter 26: From Calamity to Miracle

“A basin-sized blue crab caught, this blue flower crab is estimated to weigh ten pounds—caught as well. A half-human-tall spiny lobster definitely can’t be missed, and there’s actually mantis shrimp weighing three pounds; there are so many of them, estimated to be tens of thousands.”

The white dragon swept through the seabed; since no one had been catching these marine delicacies for years, they had nearly become spirits.

He specifically selected the large ones, not even sparing a glance for the small ones.

Just then, Xi Yu suddenly paused; there appeared to be something strange beneath the sand and stones on the seabed before him.

He had thought he was seeing things, but after his dragon tail swept across the seabed a few times, the giant battleship hidden beneath the sand was exposed.

Then, Acrylic and Isaac inside the bridge stared at him as if they had seen a ghost.

Xi Yu was startled.

After being heavily injured by the white dragon for the first time, Acrylic knew he had absolutely no power to contend against it.

The white dragon’s majestic, deep, and mountain-like terrifying aura left him with endless lingering fear and trepidation whenever he recalled it.

At that time, the white dragon had only just returned from the dead, and perhaps hadn’t even mastered its strength, which was why he had been able to preserve his life by luck.

Thus, for the federation government to have him scheme against the white dragon was absolutely impossible.

He even felt they were mad, likely driven insane by their desire for immortality.

A terrifying existence like this was likely ten or even a hundred times more fearsome than the most brutal ghosts and beasts in the world today; if they wanted to seek death, they shouldn’t drag him down with them.

Acrylic in this life hadn’t discovered the weaknesses on the white dragon’s body, so his cowardice was absolute.

When Isaac sought him out with the levitating battleship, his first reaction was to urge Isaac to go into hiding with him.

Isaac wasn’t a fool either; a white dragon that could terrify Acrylic to this extent was certainly not something he could deal with. When it came to his life, it was better to be cautious.

As for the words of those old fogies, who cared? Regardless, he had transmitted the news of the white dragon’s return, and he wouldn’t bother with the rest.

After some debate, they felt hiding the levitating battleship right under the Middle Continent’s nose was the safest bet.

The white dragon clearly belonged to the Middle Continent, so if it wanted to search for them, it certainly wouldn’t look near its own territory.

Isaac’s mutation trait was control over seawater, which was why he held the title of Sea King.

Hiding the levitating battleship beneath the waters of the southwest sea wasn’t enough; Isaac utilized his talent to completely conceal the battleship beneath the sand and silt, ensuring that even if the white dragon accidentally came near, it wouldn’t discover them.

In truth, Acrylic and his partner were quite clever.

Xi Yu had truly not expected them to hide in the southwestern waters, let alone bury themselves beneath the seabed sand.

He had truly only been searching for seafood.

Since the mutated seafood nowadays migrated to the deeper parts of the ocean and had to hide themselves better to escape the giant marine beasts.

Thus, Xi Yu had to carefully sweep his spiritual perception across every section of the seabed.

So when he discovered that the final levitating battleship of the Drance Federation was actually hidden beneath the sand, he was genuinely stunned.

‘This can’t be, right?’

For a split second, he thought he was seeing things; could his luck really be this good?

As it turned out, sometimes when luck arrived, it truly was unstoppable.

It seemed that ever since he returned to the Middle Continent, his luck had suddenly soared.

Since he had run into them, Xi Yu naturally wouldn’t stand on ceremony.

His body instantly expanded, and his majestic dragon power completely enveloped the entire levitating battleship.

As for escaping, they had no chance.

However, since Acrylic and his partner were now on alert, Xi Yu was worried they might destroy the battleship, so he hesitated for a moment and didn’t launch a direct attack.

He decided to make an effort to preserve the battleship.

By now, he had already treated the battleship as his own property.

“Surrender, and I can spare your lives.”

The white dragon approached and looked at Acrylic and Isaac through the viewport.

He was naturally familiar with Acrylic, and Isaac was no stranger either.

They were well-known as a pair of cowards, the kings of underhanded tactics. In his past life, he recalled spending years without finding them, but now he had caught them all at once.

“I surrender, don’t kill me!” Acrylic raised his hands instantly, his capitulation exceptionally clean.

The injuries the white dragon had left on his body hadn’t even fully healed yet; with nowhere to escape, fighting to the death would absolutely mean certain death.

If he surrendered, perhaps he might actually preserve his life as long as he was obedient.

He didn’t want to die; a bad life was better than a good death.

Isaac didn’t speak, but he was by no means slow in raising his hands.

Once he saw the white dragon expand in size, he already knew the battleship’s weapons were completely useless against it, and his desire to resist vanished instantly.

If this scene were discovered by the high-ranking officials of the Drance Federation, they would surely explode with rage; they were, after all, the top powerhouses of their nation—C-class and B-class experts—how could they have so little backbone?

But for them, survival was the priority; backbone truly didn’t exist.

Seeing the two of them step out of the airlock obediently, Xi Yu was relieved, instantly giving each of them a claw to send them into a deep sleep.

Subsequently, he expertly stored the final battleship into his space.

Without the levitating battleships, the Drance Federation was like a tiger stripped of its claws and teeth; they would never have another chance to cause trouble on Kun Star.

Actually, Xi Yu knew where the construction facilities for the levitating battleships were located, but he didn’t plan on wiping them out.

Let them construct them in secret; when they finished building more, he would just make another trip.

At this point, Xi Yu finally felt this trip had been a complete success, and he had returned with a full harvest.

Between the Ogaso and the Drance Federation, he had captured nineteen B-class experts, seized three levitating battleships, one Ogaso warship, and collected a vast amount of food.

Additionally, he had harvested no less than thirty various essences they hoarded, half of which were above D-class, representing staggering value.

From now on, whether it was the Ogaso or the Drance Federation, the possibility of them posing a threat to the Middle Continent and himself was extremely low.

He could finally live in the Middle Continent with peace of mind, without any reservations.

In the future, he only needed to focus on dealing with the upcoming crises.

****

Xi Yu didn’t linger, collecting tens of thousands of pounds of seafood from the seabed before setting out on his journey back to the Middle Continent.

However, his unrestrained use of the white dragon’s power throughout the night was finally starting to show signs of a backlash; the draconic instincts were beginning to stir.

Originally, he wouldn’t have had to worry about the influence of the dragon’s instincts for several months, but now he was close to being dragged back to his original state.

Still, Xi Yu felt it was well worth it; his harvest this time far exceeded the cost.

And from the start of the eruption to the point where the draconic instincts posed a true threat, it would likely take several months. By then, he might have already reached E-class, rendering the influence negligible.

However, in the short term, it was best for him not to transform into the dragon again.

Xi Yu calculated the time; he could likely maintain the white dragon form safely for about thirty minutes, and any longer would be risky.

But this duration was more than enough for him to reach the capital of the Middle Continent.

“Faster! Move faster!” Xie Yicheng urged loudly.

Under the cover of night, two to three hundred people were rushing along a pre-catastrophe highway. Xie Yicheng and a group of military guards were escorting the villagers of Xiaoyang Village to the nearest Baiji County.

“Village Head, I really can’t walk anymore.”

A youth of twenty-three or twenty-four shouted from the crowd. “Let’s rest for a bit; the elderly and children truly can’t handle this.”

Although they had only been walking for over an hour, under the rapid pace, many elderly, weak, women, and children were already unable to keep up.

Anxiety filled Xie Yicheng’s face, but he knew he couldn’t push them too hard at this moment. Yet resting truly wasn’t an option right now. “We can’t stop! Hold out a bit longer! If you really can’t walk, just slow down, but do not stop!”

The procession finally slowed a bit, but even so, people began to fall behind.

Seeing this wouldn’t do, Xie Yicheng quickly said to his comrade, “Qiangcheng, you lead them to Baiji County. I’ll bring up the rear.”

“Alright,” Qiangcheng wasn’t very tall, and his face was somewhat dark, making it impossible to read his expression under the night sky, but his response was very direct.

Xie Yicheng no longer hesitated, turning to move to the rear of the column.

There weren’t many military guards in Xiaoyang Village—only about a dozen in total.

For a dozen people to care for several hundred was simply beyond their capacity.

When they set out, people were still crying, but by now, they no longer had the energy. No one wanted to leave their home, especially in today’s terrifying and eerie new world.

Every relocation meant a parting of life and death.

Xiaoyang Village was located in the heart of Huzhong Province, which was originally the safest place in the province. Huzhong Province was ringed by cities that blocked the vast majority of ghosts and beasts, allowing them to farm in peace. But even so, various accidents still occurred frequently.

“Mother Cheng, let me carry you.”

Xie Yicheng arrived at the rear of the column and, without a word, hoisted a lame woman who looked to be in her fifties onto his back.

“Thank you, Village Head,” the youth who had spoken earlier said. He had carried his mother the whole way and truly couldn’t carry her any further.

“Thank you, Xiao Xie. You’ve worked hard,” Mother Cheng also expressed her gratitude with red eyes.

Xie Yicheng shook his head, saying nothing; he was extremely tense.

He was more tense than anyone.

Xiaoyang Village had suffered an invasion by a mutated locust swarm and was forced to evacuate quickly.

The locust swarm had arrived too suddenly, and it was fortunate they had discovered it early; otherwise, once the swarm reached the village, very few would have survived.

And now, he had no confidence in safely bringing the villagers to Baiji County.

Locusts could fly, and there was no telling when they would catch up.

Currently, he was even more worried about other areas; Xiaoyang Village had discovered it early and was fine, but things might not be the same elsewhere. He didn’t know if rescue forces from Baiji County could arrive early. He hoped other villages would take precautions upon receiving the warning.

Xie Yicheng’s pace slowed instinctively; aside from him, two other guards were also carrying elderly villagers.

Those currently around him were the elderly, weak, women, and children, along with their family members.

The group of forty or fifty had completely lost touch with the main column.

Their speed was simply too slow.

Xie Yicheng sighed in his heart; if only they had vehicles. He truly yearned for the legendary pre-catastrophe world where vehicles were everywhere.

The village did have antique cars left over from before the catastrophe, but they had long been neglected and had rusted; most importantly, there was no fuel, so they couldn’t be driven. The current society was short of everything; fuel was only supplied to major cities, and even then, it was restricted and couldn’t be bought even with money.

Their village only saw grain trucks from the county town arrive during harvest; normally, they couldn’t count on them.

Bzzz—

Just then, a strange, grating, and ear-piercing sound echoed from behind them.

“Drop everything you can and run!”

Xie Yicheng looked back, his soul nearly leaving his body; the mutated locusts had actually caught up.

Although it was night, the wings of the mutated locusts glistened with a golden luster under the starlight. At first glance, it looked like a swarm of gold flying over, possessing a breath-taking beauty, yet it only made Xie Yicheng’s scalp tingle.

These locusts were each the size of a human fist, and their bodies were covered in sharp, barbed hooks; two swipes on a person’s body would cause blood to pour out.

Although mutated locusts mostly didn’t consume humans, that was only when they weren’t hungry. Once a locust swarm formed, all existences would be viewed as food.

The eruption of this locust disaster was too sudden, and for the swarm to grow, it had to devour everything in its path.

Encountering them, one could only stay as far away as possible.

Otherwise, even a tiny gap left behind would be discovered by the locusts, inevitably leading to a brutal death with no remains left.

Seeing the locusts attack, without Xie Yicheng needing to speak, the villagers finally threw aside the items they had been reluctant to discard and sprinted forward desperately.

But they were too late; the locusts drew closer and closer, on the verge of tearing them to shreds.

“Village Head, take my mother and go!” Cheng Liang looked at the attacking locusts and drew his weapon viciously.

“Liangzi, you go! Don’t worry about me!” Mother Cheng wept, struggling to climb down from Xie Yicheng’s back.

“Mother, you go first! Run as far as you can!” Xie Yicheng knew in his heart that they couldn’t escape. At this point, he didn’t plan on running; if he could stall this batch of locusts for a bit, the people ahead might stand a better chance of survival.

He set Mother Cheng down.

“Liangzi, run! Don’t worry about me! I’ve lived to this age, I’ve lived enough!” Mother Cheng lunged to Cheng Liang’s side, pulling him to make him run.

Cheng Liang’s face was pale; he knew that neither he nor his mother could actually escape.

Running a few more steps was merely a death struggle.

“Mother, I’m not running. I’ve had enough of this over the years.” Cheng Liang was about 1.78 meters tall but very thin. He had wanted to become an F-class warrior like Xie Yicheng, but he couldn’t achieve it; the village’s surplus resources were only supplied to the most talented villagers, and he didn’t qualify.

The hand Cheng Liang used to hold the blade didn’t tremble.

Having been afraid for so many years, he was no longer terrified now that death was near. At this moment, he only wanted to kill to his heart’s content; killing even one locust was worth it.

‘If there’s a next life…’

‘Forget it, in a terrifying world like this, who would want to experience it again? I don’t want a next life.’

Mother Cheng also knew they couldn’t escape, but how she wished her son could live. Even holding out a bit longer would be good. But she didn’t urge him further; she also carried a weapon, silently pulling it out and staring viciously at the sky full of insects. Even if she had to use her teeth, she would bite a few to death.

Xie Yicheng let out a slow breath, raising the blade in his hand.

At this moment, the people who knew they couldn’t escape stopped running, and every single one pulled out their weapons. No one cried anymore; since they were destined to die, they would die gloriously.

Finally, the locusts arrived.

Everyone aimed their weapons at the locusts, preparing to strike.

But just then, the locusts—which they had thought would tear them to shreds—suddenly split into two columns upon reaching them, bypassing them from either side.

Xie Yicheng was dumbfounded, and the hand Cheng Liang used to hold the blade finally trembled.

Everyone watched as the locusts bypassed them, leaving them completely bewildered, but the next moment, they felt a sense of relief at having survived.

In an instant, everyone’s strength left them.

If they could live, everyone wanted to live well.

“What on earth is going on?”

Xie Yicheng couldn’t imagine; the scene before him was beyond his comprehension.

He had never heard of mutated locusts not harming people; mutated locust disasters were viewed as one of the most terrifying calamities after the catastrophe, causing massive losses whenever they appeared.

Even a B-class expert would have to retreat when facing tens of thousands of mutated locusts head-on.

Although shocked, no one dared to relax; no one knew what this sky full of insects would do the next moment.

Looking at the insects close at hand, which seemed as if they could be caught with a reach of a hand, the fear and trepidation in Xie Yicheng’s heart didn’t decrease in the slightest.

“Look! What is that?!”

Suddenly, Cheng Liang’s voice trembled; he saw what looked like a white light flying toward them from the direction the locusts had come.

Xie Yicheng also saw it; that white light appeared to be a living creature flying through the sky.

Everyone couldn’t help but watch.

Sure enough, that white light was indeed flying toward them, and its speed was incredibly fast; almost at the moment they discovered it, they had already clearly seen its true form.

“Is this…?” Everyone was dumbfounded, as if they had witnessed the most incredible sight of their lives.

BOOM!

Suddenly, a fierce wind blew, and the locusts in the sky instantly fell to the ground like rain.

The next moment, the white light had vanished from their sight.

Both Cheng Liang and Xie Yicheng had blank expressions; they had clearly seen the white light, but because of that, they felt lost. The image of the white light felt unfamiliar, yet was incredibly familiar to them, as if they had seen it somewhere before.

“It’s a dragon! It’s a dragon! The divine dragon has come to save us!”

To their surprise, Mother Cheng was the first to shriek. She roared as if possessed. It was Cheng Liang’s first time seeing his mother lose her composure to this extent, but Mother Cheng didn’t care at all. She shrieked and shouted, her face already covered in tears.

“We’re saved! The divine dragon has appeared, we’re all saved!”

Cheng Liang instinctively looked at Xie Yicheng, the gazes of both transitioning from shock to fanaticism.

They had finally recognized it; that white light was a dragon—the divine dragon of the Middle Continent’s legends. They actually hadn’t recognized it immediately.

‘But is he truly the divine dragon?’

Aside from Mother Cheng, the slightly older villagers nearby also joined in the excited cheering.

At this moment, they were like children who had suffered immense grievances, finally seeing their family member whom they could trust and who could protect them.

This was absolutely the divine dragon; there was no mistake.

Xie Yicheng knew that even if he wasn’t, they had to claim he was.

But he knew they couldn’t be too excited right now.

Although the mutated locusts before them were dead, there were surely more further away. And in the dark of night, anything could appear; they were not yet safe.

Currently, he faced a choice: catch up to the main column ahead, or return to the village. Their village might be safe now, but they didn’t know how the column ahead was faring.

“What is that now?!”

Just then, Cheng Liang shouted again. Compared to Xie Yicheng’s vigilance, he believed in the white dragon’s identity implicitly. He had kept his eyes on the sky, hoping the white dragon would appear again, but instead of the dragon, he saw another strange object flying toward them.

“Is this…?” Xie Yicheng’s expression shifted drastically, and he shrieked, “Oh no! Enemy attack!”

Xie Yicheng was on high alert; he wasn’t entirely certain of the divine dragon’s identity, but he would absolutely not mistake the Drance Federation’s levitating battleship.

He simply couldn’t imagine what had happened on the southern border of the Middle Continent. Had the Realm Guards suffered an accident? Why would the Middle Continent allow the Drance Federation’s battleship to enter its territory?

One had to remember that this was the interior of the Middle Continent; the appearance of the battleship essentially meant the southern border had fallen.

The appearance of the battleship caused Mother Cheng and the others to gradually recover from their excitement.

Cheng Liang naturally recognized the levitating battleship as well; this was the war engine of the Drance Federation, yet why would it appear on the Middle Continent?

He shielded his mother, his vigilance reaching a peak.

But at the same time, he felt an unprecedented sense of powerlessness.

The divine dragon had appeared, yet why would the Drance Federation’s battleship also appear here? He couldn’t even deal with mutated locusts, let alone face such a terrifying giant.

Xie Yicheng wanted to have everyone hide, letting whoever could escape do so, but the light from the levitating battleship had already illuminated every one of them.

Finally, the levitating battleship came to a halt directly above their heads.

But the next moment, an even more shocking thing occurred.

“Villagers of Xiaoyang Village, I am Wei Kangming, the County Seat of Baiji County. You are safe now. Do not resist; we will transport you safely to Baiji County,” Wei Kangming shouted to them from the battleship.

Xie Yicheng was dumbfounded. ‘What’s going on? Our County Seat has defected to the enemy?’

****

On the other side, Xi Yu was doing his best to eliminate the mutated locusts.

Even if a B-class expert stood before him, Xi Yu could ignore them, but these locusts made things difficult for him. The number of locusts was too vast; it was simply impossible to eliminate them all.

To him, a B-class expert and these mutated locusts were actually not much different; in truth, B-classes were easier to deal with. After all, there were only a few B-classes, but the number of locusts was endless.

The terror of mutated locusts was far beyond what it had been before the catastrophe.

On his way to the capital, once he discovered a locust disaster, he had immediately rushed over to help.

But this time, Xi Yu truly didn’t feel he could resolve the locusts on his own strength.

What he feared most was this kind of swarm disaster, which would drain his dragon power heavily and stimulate the draconic instincts to recover further.

However, the locust disaster couldn’t be ignored; otherwise, under their rampage, horrific casualties would surely occur, and he absolutely couldn’t sit by and watch.

Thinking it over, he deployed two levitating battleships, then pulled Acrylic and Isaac from his space and woke them.

“I’m offering you a chance to live now. Do you want it?” Xi Yu had no time to exchange pleasantries, getting straight to the point.

The reason he selected these two was because they were the most cowardly, and Acrylic spoke the language of the Middle Continent, which would be very useful.

“Yes, yes, yes! Please command us, Lord White Dragon! No matter what the mission is, we will definitely do our best to complete it!” Acrylic and his partner promised excitedly.

They had already suspected the white dragon’s terror, but being knocked out without even holding out for a single strike left them utterly horrified. At this moment, they held not a single thought of luck; as long as they could live, they would do whatever it took.

Furthermore, when they saw the second levitating battleship, they were startled once more; they hadn’t expected that besides them, another battleship had been captured by the white dragon. They weren’t the first. This actually made them feel relieved; by comparison, their capture didn’t seem so tragic.

“Very well,” the white dragon replied. “Next, you will operate the levitating battleships and assist me in rescuing people.”

Acrylic was startled, but he didn’t dare delay, saying awkwardly, “Lord White Dragon, I don’t know how to operate the battleship.”

Isaac couldn’t help but feel a bit smug; he did.

“Where is the [Machine King]?” the white dragon asked immediately.

“He knows how,” Isaac said quickly. “Lord White Dragon, I am willing to watch over him for you; if he harbors any ill intent, I will report to you immediately.”

The white dragon couldn’t help but steal another glance at him; this fellow’s capitulation was a bit too smooth.

But he didn’t delay, immediately pulling Augustus out of his space as well.

When Augustus woke up dazed, he instinctively touched his head; he had been knocked out several times consecutively, and he felt as if his head was about to be shattered.

Although it hadn’t split open, it was covered in several large bumps.

But when he saw Acrylic and Isaac, Augustus was instantly delighted. This was great; the three major battleships of the Drance Federation had assembled, and he was finally no longer alone.

Under these circumstances, meeting each other with bumps on their heads, the three B-class experts felt incredibly complex emotions, combined with a hint of schadenfreude.

Without waiting for him to speak, Acrylic quickly explained Xi Yu’s meaning.

“Lord White Dragon, rest assured; I guarantee I will complete the mission and dare not slack in the slightest,” Augustus also spoke the language of the Middle Continent. “But I can’t guarantee for Acrylic; if he causes trouble near me and affects the rescue, it will delay helping you.”

Augustus had personally witnessed the white dragon’s divine might in the federation’s capital, and his desire to resist had long since vanished. He only wanted to live and perform well before the white dragon, naturally not wanting Acrylic to steal his credit.

Acrylic was frantic; he hadn’t expected Augustus to kneel even faster than he did.

“Since that’s the case, the three of you will each be responsible for one levitating battleship,” Xi Yu didn’t delay further, simply pulling out the remaining two B-class experts and the final levitating battleship.

“Which of them knows how to operate it?” the white dragon asked, pointing at the two B-class experts.

“He does, Garret,” Acrylic immediately pointed at the B-class expert with the title of [War King].

“Alright, then he’ll be under your responsibility, Acrylic; don’t let him cause any trouble.” Xi Yu returned the other B-class expert to his space.

With that, Xi Yu flicked a trace of dragon power onto each of them. “You can try to see if you can escape my pursuit in the Middle Continent, but if I catch you, I promise you will experience pain worse than death.”

This dragon power had no special properties, only a trace of the white dragon’s spiritual force. Once Acrylic and the others left his perception, he would know they intended to flee.

“Rest assured, if anyone dares to flee, I’ll be the first to object,” Acrylic promised loudly.

He stared viciously at Augustus and the other two.

His gaze left the three speechless, especially Isaac; Acrylic had just been acting like a brother to him, and now he had turned on him. However, the slight desire to flee they had harbored in their hearts indeed vanished completely. Thus, aside from the somewhat bewildered Garret, Isaac and the other also quickly swore oaths.

“Good. Operate the levitating battleships immediately and follow me to rescue people nearby,” Xi Yu said. “As long as you can rescue the people, I will not only spare your lives but also reward you. The more people you rescue, the greater the rewards.”

The reason he chose these B-class experts to operate the battleships, aside from not wanting to waste time searching for ordinary pilots, was because he knew exactly what these B-classes were like—each valued their life more than the next, and each lacked a moral baseline.

In his past life, he had long seen through their true colors; they were selfish individuals who only viewed personal interest as paramount. Thus, as long as he held their lives in his hands, they would be more obedient than anyone.

As for threatening him with ordinary citizens, Xi Yu believed they wouldn’t dare. Even if they wanted to, they wouldn’t have the opportunity.

On the contrary, ordinary pilots might do something irrational.

****

The white dragon instantly left the group and flew ahead.

“Keep up!” Acrylic urged immediately upon seeing the white dragon fly off.

Augustus and his partner gritted their teeth in hatred at Acrylic’s behavior; he was far too much of a lapdog. But the two didn’t dare delay. Garret was also pushed onto a battleship by Acrylic in his dazed state, and soon three levitating battleships were traveling through the sky of the Middle Continent.

At this moment, Acrylic and the other two were eager to perform; without even needing Xi Yu’s command, wherever they spotted danger, they charged toward it.

However, many citizens of the Middle Continent who were in danger didn’t understand the appearance of the battleships, thinking they were being invaded and thus remaining extremely wary of them.

Thus, Xi Yu simply flew to the nearest county town, Baiji County, and brought out all the Realm Guards to assist Acrylic and the others.

Xie Yicheng was shocked, and Wei Kangming was no less so.

He felt as if he were still dreaming.

He had received the news of the mutated locust invasion in various parts of Baiji County immediately and had begun arranging for rescue forces.

To his surprise, before they could even set out, a white dragon had suddenly appeared and carried them away.

Initially, they thought they were finished, but they soon realized the white dragon not only didn’t intend to harm them, but was actually rescuing the affected citizens everywhere.

Of course, what shocked them most was that several B-class experts of the Drance Federation were actually operating levitating battleships and assisting in the rescue behind the dragon. For a moment, they felt the world was incredibly magical, and everything had become absurd and bizarre.

But Wei Kangming quickly suppressed his doubts.

Since the white dragon and the Drance Federation’s B-class experts were rescuing people, he wouldn’t think about anything else for now.

Naturally, he took the time to report the situation immediately, and no one stopped him. In less than ten minutes, the call came back with a clear message: continue rescuing people, ignore everything else for now.

With that, Wei Kangming stopped thinking about it entirely.

By dawn, the locust disaster was barely suppressed, preventing it from spreading further.

Xi Yu trapped the mutated locusts, stopping them from spreading, but completely eliminating them was beyond his current power.

Fortunately, all the villagers who could be rescued near the locust perimeter had been saved.

The levitating battleships had performed admirably this time; otherwise, many people would have lost their lives to the locusts.

Now, the battleships were parked outside the gates of Baiji County, and the citizens aboard were disembarking one by one.

At this moment, their eyes were filled with the relief of having survived, and even more so with disbelief; the experiences of this night were far too bizarre to them.

“Quick, arrange for them to enter the city!” Wei Kangming quickly organized the military guards to act.

At that moment, everyone looked up at the sky.

A white dragon descended from the heavens.

“It’s a dragon! It really is a dragon!”

All the citizens cheered, and even the military guards beside Wei Kangming couldn’t help but celebrate. Having personally boarded the battleships and followed the dragon to rescue people, their initial vigilance toward the white dragon had transitioned into absolute worship.

“The divine dragon saved us,” Cheng Liang said loudly to the people nearby, pointing at the white dragon.

“Yes, the divine dragon saved us,” Mother Cheng hadn’t rested all night, yet not a trace of fatigue could be seen on her face right now.

Everyone was enthusiastic and invigorated.

Even Xie Yicheng and Wei Kangming were the same; even though they still found it hard to believe, the divine dragon was indeed real, not their illusion.

Even Acrylic and the others, who had just walked off the battleships, couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement seeing this scene; a pity the divine dragon didn’t belong to the Drance Federation. But in the federation, those old fogies would have likely captured and dissected the dragon.

****

Xi Yu descended from the sky. He hadn’t rested all night; this was his first time maintaining the white dragon form for so long, far past the safety limit.

After a night, the white dragon’s strength had actually increased slightly, but Xi Yu wasn’t happy. The backlash of the draconic instincts was beginning, bringing back the headache that had only eased for a single day.

And he was no longer able to control it.

Thus, before everyone’s eyes, the white dragon transformed into a young human.

Xi Yu stopped in front of Acrylic and the other three.

Everyone who saw this was shocked, including Acrylic and his partners; no one expected the white dragon could transform into such a handsome and young human.

Acrylic and his partners’ eyes nearly popped out of their heads.

Wei Kangming and the others nearby were much the same.

Xi Yu gasped for breath, quickly pulling out two F-class Mutation Essences and swallowing them.

Soon, a new strength surged through his body, significantly improving his state and directly suppressing the draconic instincts.

Fortunately, he had the Mutation Essences obtained from Acrylic and the others; otherwise, he would have been in danger today.

Just as Xi Yu took a breath, [War King] Garret behind him suddenly revealed a ruthless look. He lunged forward with both hands, aiming a heavy punch directly at Xi Yu’s head.

The sudden development startled everyone, and Acrylic and the other two were filled with alarm and rage. Acrylic’s eyes nearly split as he roared, “Garret, what are you doing?!”

He lunged to stop him, but Garret was also a B-class expert; since he held the title of War King, his combat power among B-classes was formidable, and Acrylic was ultimately a step late. The next moment, Garret’s heavy punch slammed toward Xi Yu’s head.

“Hahaha! Die!” Garret was ecstatic, unable to believe he was actually about to succeed.

However.

The expected explosion of Xi Yu’s head didn’t occur. Instead, Xi Yu vanished instantly, transforming into a small white dragon that lunged at him.

“No, spare me!” Garret pleaded in panic.

Thud.

With a soft sound, a hole appeared in Garret’s head. His robust, tall body collapsed to the ground, blood staining the earth.

A B-class expert, hailed as one of the world’s strongest, had died so cleanly before everyone.

Then, the small white dragon transformed back into the human Xi Yu.

Only, Xi Yu’s state appeared completely normal now, and the gaze he directed at Acrylic and the other two was icy.

“Lord White Dragon, it had nothing to do with us! He acted on his own! You saw I tried to stop him!” Acrylic nearly cried, and Augustus and Isaac didn’t look much better, their faces filled with panic and terror.

Knowing Xi Yu was terrifying was one thing, but witnessing him kill a B-class expert so easily was entirely another.

To their surprise, Xi Yu’s attitude grew gentle. “Don’t be nervous. Since I promised not to kill you, I naturally won’t break my word. But this [War King] sought death himself, so he can’t blame me.”

He had transformed before them intentionally, giving them an opportunity to strike.

For them to break through to B-class meant they were one in ten thousand; killing them would be a waste, so he might as well have them assist in building the Middle Continent.

Thus, he gave them a choice: their lives, or their freedom.

Evidently, though Acrylic and the other two were cowardly, they had made the wise choice. Today’s events also proved that they could be useful, as long as they were kept in check.

“Of course, he brought this upon himself,” Acrylic even used an idiom.

Augustus and the other quickly nodded nearby, their hearts still pounding with fear. They truly had no thoughts of launching an ambush; it was entirely Garret’s own idea, but this time, they completely abandoned any remaining lingering thoughts.

“Lord Dragon, are you alright?”

Wei Kangming ran over quickly. The sight of Xi Yu being ambushed moments ago had nearly made his soul leave his body.

“I’m fine, I’m fine,” Xi Yu waved his hand.

With the Ogaso and the Drance Federation no longer posing a threat to him, Xi Yu didn’t attach much importance to keeping his identity secret anymore, which was why he had transformed openly before everyone.

This actually had benefits for him; many things wouldn’t have to be kept hidden.

“County Seat Wei, go attend to your duties first. I’ll have some things to discuss with you in a bit,” Xi Yu said to him with a smile. “I’m a bit tired and need to rest for a while.”

“Alright, alright. Rest first,” Wei Kangming agreed immediately.

“By the way, County Seat Wei, can you help me make a call to City Seat Guan in Xincheng City? Tell him I’ve been delayed and might return late today,” Xi Yu said quickly; he was supposed to complete the trade with Guan Zhang today, but he couldn’t return for now.

“Alright, no problem,” Wei Kangming agreed, but he noted the detail in his heart. It looked like the divine dragon was very familiar with City Seat Guan? This meant the dragon hadn’t appeared in the Middle Continent for the first time, and his identity was likely legitimate.

“Thank you,” Xi Yu thanked him seriously, then said to Acrylic and the others, “You guys come with me.”

Then, he turned to wave at Cheng Liang and the others, who were watching him warmly but didn’t dare approach, before stepping into the levitating battleship.

Xi Yu’s action immediately sent the thousands of citizens into a frenzy, erupting into a tidal wave of cheers.

And at that moment, Xi Yu was shocked to discover that an incredible transformation had begun to occur within his body.