Cyborg

Nildo Longra shot backward at tremendous speed, but Riyao had missed.

Riyao quickly looked up. A pair of black and purple wings stretched from his opponent's back. They were made of countless tightly packed feathers, not conjured from magic.

Riyao's heart tightened. There was only one possibility: he was a cyborg born from some insane experiment.

"Hahaha! Beautiful, aren't they? What a marvelous masterpiece my wings are!"

Nildo Longra laughed wildly in the air, his eyes full of pride.

"Ptooey, you mangy bird."

Riyao spat hard, his face full of disdain.

"Die, you foul-mouthed bastard!"

Nildo Longra was completely enraged. His eyes bulged, and he wanted nothing more than to tear Riyao to pieces on the spot.

"Wait! I have a question. If I die, where will you get the life force? How can I be the vessel you need?"

Riyao spoke calmly and without haste.

Nildo Longra froze for a moment, then seemed to realize he had been played. His face turned bright red with anger, and he scratched his head before roaring in a rage.

"Forget all that! I just have to beat you until you can't resist anymore. Die!"

Before he finished speaking, he gave his wings a mighty flap. The black and purple wings were like enormous black waves in a gale.

In an instant, countless black and purple feathers shot out like arrows, each one whistling through the air.

They crisscrossed in midair, forming a barrage as dense as a curtain of steel that swept wildly toward Riyao.

Murderous intent filled his eyes. He paid no heed to his accomplices still lying off to the side; all he felt now was a surging tide of anger toward Riyao.

Under the onslaught of feathers that filled the sky, Riyao dodged left and right like a phantom, like a little bird struggling in a storm.

But it did little good. The black and purple feathers were simply too dense, like a swarm of frenzied bees.

In just moments, feathers were embedded all over him. He looked utterly battered, his clothes torn and blood seeping from his wounds.

Nildo Longra's lips curled into an eerie smile, like a demon baring its fangs in the dark.

Then the black and purple feathers began to glow with a strange light, growing brighter and brighter like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

Riyao's expression changed drastically, and a powerful sense of danger welled up inside him.

Before he could react any further, a sudden explosion swallowed him whole.

"Boom..."

The thunderous blast sounded as though heaven and earth were splitting apart, as if the whole world trembled with it.

The air from the explosion surged wildly outward, whipping up a fierce wind. Trees were ripped out by the roots, and flying dust obscured the entire sky.

The explosion's aftermath raged like surging waves. The surrounding ground was blasted into pits and hollows, while billowing smoke and dust blotted out the sky.

Nildo Longra hovered in the air, a trace of cruel anticipation in his eyes as he waited for the dust to clear so he could admire Riyao's miserable state.

Just then, a fierce gust scattered the thick dust, and Riyao's figure gradually emerged.

His clothes were riddled with holes, and blood streamed constantly from his wounds. He was on the verge of collapse, yet still stood there stubbornly.

However, under the effect of the soft layer of Healing Magic: Hundred Battles, his injuries were rapidly healing at a visible rate.

Riyao looked up and gave Nildo Longra the middle finger. Grimacing, he cursed, "That hurts like fucking hell! I'm done playing with you. Nige run da yo!"

With that, he turned and ran without hesitation. It wasn't that he couldn't beat Nildo Longra, but the situation was simply too tricky.

He had no means of attacking at range and could only take a beating. If this dragged on, his opponent would wear him down and kill him sooner or later.

Besides, there were no hostages or anything else to worry about now. Of the thirty-six stratagems, running away was the best. Time to scram.

Loose stones clattered down under his pounding feet as he darted toward the valley entrance like an arrow from a bow. Suddenly, Nildo Longra's shrill, grating laughter rang out from the clouds, his voice wrapped in magical force as it tore through the wind and crashed down.

"You think you can escape? If you dare take one step out of this valley, the residents of the three towns to the south will all die with me today!"

Riyao's feet screeched to a halt. His boots scraped a deep, half-meter-long groove through the sandy soil, nearly wearing through the soles.

He clenched his back teeth, helplessness and indignation pressing against his chest until it almost hurt. Holy shit! Why don't I just turn evil and give up, or go deaf and blind? Then I could run away with a clear conscience! Why the hell does my damned moral bottom line have to stop me right here?

But with his weak spot in their grasp, there was nothing he could do.

Riyao could only force himself to stop. He clenched his fists and turned around, his shoulders and back, which had just relaxed, instantly drawing taut like a fully drawn bow.

Sure enough, the feather bombs he had thrown off, impossible to shake like a disease clinging to his bones, came bearing down on him again, filling the sky with scorching, whistling winds.

Riyao dodged left and right under the feather attacks, but they kept cutting and blasting him, drawing streams of blood.

Even so, he kept talking tough.

"Hey, mangy bird, is that all you've got? What bald bird did you pluck those feathers from? They're so limp, they're just tickling me!"

Nildo Longra shrieked in fury. He unfurled a black and purple magic array and chanted, "Dark Wing Storm!"

In an instant, the surrounding air turned unnaturally cold, and the black and purple feathers formed a massive storm that swept toward Riyao.

Wherever the storm passed, trees were uprooted and deep gouges were carved into the ground.

Riyao was swept into the storm. He felt a powerful force pulling at his body, and he could barely stay on his feet.

Even so, he gritted his teeth through the pain and shouted mockingly, "Is your storm farting? It stinks so bad I'm about to puke!"

Countless feathers swirled toward Riyao in the storm, and explosions rang out without end.

Nildo Longra was beside himself with rage. He increased the output of his magic, and the storm grew even fiercer.

Riyao struggled to hold on inside the storm, his Healing Magic: Hundred Battles constantly repairing his injuries.

Riyao shouted at Nildo Longra, "Mangy bird, is that all you can do? Come down and fight me up close if you've got the guts! Stop hiding up there like a turtle in its shell!"

Nildo Longra plunged straight down, swept over Riyao's head, and gave a cold laugh.

"Do you take me for a fool? Surrender quietly. It's your honor to become Lord Zeref's vessel."

"You can have that honor, mangy bird!"

Riyao picked up a rock and hurled it at him with tremendous force. It would surely have injured him if it hit, but unfortunately, the storm affected its flight, and Nildo Longra was no fool either. He dodged it with ease.