Little Black?
The Second Personality did not immediately realize who her other self was talking about.
But soon, the image of a pitch-black wolf cub rapidly surfaced in her mind.
The Second Personality had a deep impression of Liao Zixuan.
By "deep," she meant she disliked him.
Apart from instinctively sensing a threat from the wolf cub, who was still in his infancy, the greater reason was Liao Zixuan's earlier verbal barrage against her.
She hated people who spouted too much nonsense.
Especially when that nonsense made even her feel that it was reasonable and caused her to agree with it involuntarily.
Of course, there was an even deeper reason why the girl disliked Liao Zixuan. She simply refused to say it or admit it.
"Hmph, him?" The Second Personality's voice was filled with disdain.
Then, Vivian, who was gradually weakening in reality, was caught off guard and had her butt bitten by one of Bella's Shadow Wolves.
We had to clear something up for our Shadow Wolves here! They were different from a certain wolf cub. They had no independent consciousness and only followed their instincts and Bella's orders.
To them, biting anywhere was the same.
But to the Second Personality, it was absolute humiliation!
In an instant, the girl looked like a cat whose fur had been blown up.
"Get lost!" The furious Second Personality suddenly exploded with power, breaking free from the other Shadow Wolves restraining her.
The girl spun around and delivered a vicious back kick, sweeping toward the Shadow Wolf that had bitten her butt.
Unfortunately, the powerful whip of a leg—one that could probably make an ancient tree shake three times with a single kick—only produced a loud boom in the air before passing through the Shadow Wolf's illusory body once more.
To put it plainly:
She had hit nothing but air.
"Um, my other self, maybe you should still give it a try?" In the dark space, Vivian's main personality looked at her other self's helpless rage and timidly suggested it again.
Naturally, "give it a try" meant letting Little Black help.
Perhaps it was only after getting bitten on the butt that the Second Personality finally realized that stubbornness could not solve the problem, much less ease the pain there.
Of course, it was even more likely that she felt that if this continued, her image in the main personality's heart would plummet.
And so, the girl gave up.
Before leaving, however, she still had to be stubborn one more time.
"If you want to go, then go yourself. I'm not going!"
Ever since Vivian had truly killed someone with her own hands from a subjective standpoint for the first time—crushing Luo Er's head with magic—the Second Personality had fully awakened.
This meant that they could switch between each other at any time, especially after Vivian took the initiative to contact the Second Personality.
Then—
Whoosh!
In less than half a second,
the prickly-rose-like, highly aggressive and irritable aura that had originally surrounded the little girl vanished instantly.
In its place
was the Vivian from the beginning: a country girl who first backed down three steps from everything, and would never stand if she could lie down! (Hands on hips)
Then,
the little girl, who had completely given up struggling and was being dragged toward Witch Bella by the Shadow Wolves at an ever-increasing speed, took a deep breath.
Afterward,
"Little Black!!!" Vivian shouted at the top of her lungs, not caring about her image in the slightest!
At the very instant those two words left the girl's lips, the two beta-test players on the ground suddenly felt their vision blur.
The lazy wolf cub that had just been staying with them disappeared from its original spot.
When Big Watermelon and Melee God of Magic recovered and searched for Liao Zixuan again, they saw a wolf engulfed in pitch-black flames slowly stepping out of the void above the girl's head.
The flames burning on the Black Wolf seemed the same as those that had previously covered the girl, yet different. They were both black flames, but Vivian could only imitate their form, while the flames on the Black Wolf possessed the true essence.
The most obvious difference was this:
The girl's black-flame scythe could not harm these soul Shadow Wolves in the slightest, while Liao Zixuan, as the genuine Dark Flame Wolf, possessed authentic black flames.
Everything could burn.
Whine.
Awoo—!
Painful whimpers and howls rang out around Vivian in an instant.
The Shadow Wolves biting the little girl all released their jaws, and the exact same black flames as those on Liao Zixuan appeared on their bodies.
The difference was that the black flames belonged to Liao Zixuan, not to them.
"How is this possible?!" Witch Bella, who had previously worn an expression of absolute control, was no longer relaxed. Her face was filled with shock.
She had discovered that her Shadow Wolves were no longer under her control.
More precisely,
the Shadow Wolves rolling desperately on the ground and trying to extinguish the flames, only to achieve nothing as they were devoured by the black fire at an astonishing speed, had completely lost contact with her.
"You..."
Witch Bella had countless things she wanted to say.
But because there were simply too many of them, only a single "you" came out in the end.
There were only two ways to injure creatures in a soul state. The first was to use an attack on the soul level as well, while the second was to use transcendent magic of Tier Four or higher.
The former was far too rare. The soul was inherently mysterious and abstruse, and professions, skills, and items related to this field were all exceedingly scarce and precious.
As for the latter,
anyone capable of crossing the hurdle of "transcendent breakthrough" was a renowned figure. Moreover, how could Tier Four magic be cast so easily, without even a spellcasting prelude?
Precisely because she was certain that the girl could do neither—let alone Vivian, there might not even be several people in all of Huodian City capable of it—Witch Bella had been so arrogant and confident, even though she was currently only a Soul Fragment.
But now,
Bella felt as if her understanding of the world had been pinned to the ground and rubbed mercilessly against it.
She had always been known for her broad knowledge and had stood out even among the Witches' Group. Yet she did not recognize these black flames and still had no idea what had happened.
Of course, that was not even the harshest part.
The most devastating part was—
"Um..."
After escaping, Vivian spoke apologetically to Bella, who had her mouth open but could not make a sound:
"Um, I...I'm actually not very good at fighting."
"Because I seem to be a..."
"Summoner."
The little girl gave an embarrassed, awkward smile, as if she felt terribly sorry for having her Summoned Beast appear and immediately kill several of Bella's wolves.
At that moment,
Witch Bella somewhat missed the previous Vivian.
Although the former looked dark and irritable, and started fighting at the slightest disagreement, at least she did not attack the heart.
But this Vivian before her—
She looked like someone anyone could bully on the surface, yet in reality...
She killed both body and spirit!
Witch Bella also took a deep breath.
Unlike Vivian, her heaving breasts seemed to embody her fury!
Fine.
You said you were a Summoner, right? I had almost forgotten. Judging by your Summoned Beast, it should be a wolf-type monster.
Heh, unlucky for you!
I really ought to ask around the Nine Great Nations: who does not know that my greatest specialty, Witch Bella's greatest method, is driving wolves?
Do you think this wolf-fur dress, Wolf Head Scepter, and wolf-head mask are merely decorations?
And wolves were monsters with the strongest sense of bloodline.
Once they encountered a wolf with a higher bloodline than their own, the suppression engraved into their instincts would make the lower-blooded wolf prostrate itself, tuck its tail between its legs, and submit completely!
I want to see whether the wolf I summon with all my might as an esteemed Epic-tier witch is stronger, or whether your little wolf cub, from some half-grown brat whose fur has barely even appeared, is stronger!
And so,
Witch Bella prepared to go all out and play something big.
"Great..."
"Dark Wolf above."
"Please reveal yourself from the shadows and emerge from behind the scenes. I am willing to offer my soul as a sacrifice..."
"Help you..."
"Break the shackles of your seal."
As Witch Bella chanted, heaven and earth began to change color. Here, "heaven and earth" naturally referred to the small world within the lair cavern.
It was as if a black hole that absorbed light had opened before Bella, drawing in every ray of light within the cavern.
For an instant, all light vanished, and darkness enveloped the entire lair.
Then—
"Dark Wolf King!" When Bella blurted out those three words, her soul-phantom visibly shook several times. Even its solidity decreased considerably, and it began to turn transparent.
Dark Wolf King—Oloris Barry Jin Nu Ying
Level: Lv50
Status: Soul Fragment Without Memory
Skills: ???
Talents and Specialties: ???
Danger Level: Extremely Lethal!!
Big Watermelon and Melee God of Magic were stunned. They were even beginning to feel numb.
Only one question circled in their minds:
What kind of ship had they boarded?
At first, they had accepted the quest in Nuoqi Village to search for a missing daughter, thinking it was a clue leading to Huodian City. Then they had discovered that this daughter was far from ordinary and was certainly part of some hidden storyline. And now...
Big Watermelon and Melee God of Magic exchanged a glance. A premonition began to rise in their hearts. Perhaps this was not a hidden storyline at all, but rather—
the main storyline!
One had to understand that although "main storyline" was only two short words, the difference was worlds apart. No matter how impressive a hidden storyline was, at most they were merely taking part in a segment of a story. But if it became connected to the "main storyline," that meant—
they were taking part in history!
They would witness the direction of the version and influence tens of millions of players!
While the hearts of the two beta-test players were pounding wildly, Vivian's heart was also beating nonstop as one of the female protagonists in the current "story."
Of course, she was not excited.
The little girl was nervous.
Vivian knew that her Little Black was probably very powerful, but she had no idea just how powerful he was. However, judging by the little girl's common sense, among monsters of the same kind, the older they were, the stronger they were, while the larger they were, the more dangerous they were.
So, comparing Little Black, who had only just reached her calf, with the enormous gray wolf before her, whose body seemed to blot out the sky and required her to look up—
Well, there was no comparison at all!
A great wizard meeting a mere apprentice!
Meanwhile, in the dark space, it was no longer the Second Personality who had been chased and bitten by the Shadow Wolves. She was sitting on a small stool with her legs crossed.
The girl wore an expression that seemed to say, See that? Now take another look. Do you really think calling that little Black Wolf will still work?
The reason she had thrown a tantrum at Vivian earlier, and the deepest reason she disliked Liao Zixuan, was actually that she believed she alone should be the one capable of protecting the main personality.
Vivian did not need to rely on anyone else.
For example, some wolf cub that had not even made it past infancy.
"All right, Vivian, let me take over!"
"Have your Little Black burn away all those annoying Shadow Wolves for me. As for the rest—escaping...leaving this place—leave it to me!"
The girl in the dark space was in an excellent mood.
See? In the end, she still had to make her appearance again, right?
The Second Personality had only just begun to feel pleased with herself when the scene that appeared in reality the next moment nearly made her fall from her chair.
"Little Black, don't be afraid. You'll definitely grow this big and become this powerful one day. For now, let's run." Vivian was preparing to pick up her wolf cub and comfort him softly.
But Little Black's Telepathy sent her two words:
"That's it?"
All flash and no substance!
Liao Zixuan broke free from Vivian's arms, jumped down from the little girl, and began staring eye to eye with the Dark Wolf King opposite him.
Although we still do not know what the large and small wolves—one gray and one black—said to each other through their gazes that day,
it probably went something like this.
"What are you looking at?"
"Looking at you—what the f—? Young Emperor, what are you doing here?"
"What I do here is none of your business. More importantly, what are you planning to do now?"
"I, uh... cough, cough. I was bored from staying in the darkness, so I came out for a stroll. Just a stroll, hehe."
Dark Wolf King—although his name also had three characters, and even included the word "king."
Compared to Dark Flame Wolf, he was like a landlord standing before an emperor. Or, more accurately, a young emperor now.
As one of the only two forbidden lifeforms in the vast Flame Domain, unless that damn phoenix called Cinder Flame descended in person, no monster could suppress him through bloodline alone.
Did they understand the weight carried by the strongest hidden boss in version 1.0?
Bella had indeed been right about one thing. Wolf-type monsters were born with a powerful sense of kinship. Those with superior bloodlines possessed an innate ability to exert tremendous suppression over those with inferior bloodlines.
Something engraved in their DNA couldn't be avoided, no matter how great the difference in level and strength.
"Dark Wolf King, bring her and that Wolf Cub back to me!"
Although Bella had fallen into weakness after summoning Dark Wolf King, she still waved her hand domineeringly and issued the command.
What did a witch value most? Her dignity!
She was a dignified epic-tier figure, yet she had repeatedly suffered setbacks at the hands of a little girl who hadn't even reached the Transcendent realm. That was what drove Bella to go all out and pay a huge price. This time, she was determined to put on a grand display—to use a forbidden spell to swat a mosquito.
However, several seconds after she gave the order, the scene became rather awkward.
Because Dark Wolf King hadn't listened to her at all. He remained standing where he was, lowering his enormous, ferocious head like a wooden puppet and staring at the Wolf Cub across from him on the ground.
Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Bella seemed to see a hint of... ingratiation in Dark Wolf King, who had always been known for his terror and brutality.
"Cough, cough." Bella coughed twice.
Could it be that she hadn't used her powers in too long and had become rusty with magic?
That couldn't be right.
So Bella prepared to try issuing the command again.
"Dark Wolf King, go and bring—"
Awooo!
Witch Bella's voice was interrupted by a deafening wolf howl.
The terrifying wolf king summoned from the shadows threw back his head and howled at the sky. Then he turned around and glared fiercely at Bella with his enormous orange-yellow eyes.
What did that mean?
Bella was dumbfounded.
Why were you looking at me? The person I told you to capture is right across from you!
And what was with that thick, resentful look in the eyes of the dignified wolf of darkness, the king of the Shadow Wolves—as if he were an aggrieved little wife?
Dark Wolf King seemed to be considering whether he could defeat this old hag who had summoned him and then gotten him into such deep trouble.
But his opponent was quite powerful, after all, and she had even sacrificed part of her soul force to him.
So—
He turned around, and a vast expanse of black mist appeared once more, engulfing his enormous gray body.
When the black mist dispersed,
there was no sign of Dark Wolf King remaining.
Bella: "..."
Vivian: "..."
The two Beta Testers: "Σ(°o°)"
Today's two chapters have been combined into one!
Before you continue