"That laugh is awful." Zhu Zhuqing covered the little girl's ears and shielded her eyes. Her Hell Spirit Cat possessed her completely as she stared at the boy before her, the one who carried hope in his heart.
"Su Yan, is there anything we can do?" Tang Chi held the Thunderclap Hammer before him and slowly edged backward. "Should we run again?"
Su Yan took a deep breath, dispelled his Martial Soul Possession, and pulled a wooden box from his belt, holding it in both hands.
The box was nowhere near big enough to hold the five of them, even as ashes. But it was just right for the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card.
Before the three of them, Knight A Yao was swinging his sword as he fought the tentacles. Every time he struck, he managed to sever one, but the man facing him never stopped laughing.
A cat playing with a mouse would never use its full strength.
A Yao's cries of pain rang out without end. His armor had already been shattered, and he was covered in blood. The sword that was his Martial Soul had been broken into three pieces, leaving only the hilt in his hand.
Zhu Zhuqing could feel the little girl struggling in her arms. Her palm was already slick with sweat.
Su Yan took out the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, pinched it between his thumb and forefinger, raised it above his head, and shouted, "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, I know you can hear me! Please, help us this once!"
Ever since he got the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card, Su Yan had spent every spare moment studying it, including the night he received it and the journey here.
When he infused it directly with Soul Power, he could feel the card activating, but all it did was emit a blue-white glow. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon's image never appeared.
Su Yan poured all of his Soul Power into it, and the blue-white light grew brighter.
The two combatants were drawn to the light as well. A Yao felt warmth spread through his body, and his shattered sword reassembled itself.
The short man's reaction was entirely different.
The light kept scorching his body, and his Martial Soul, the Dark Domain, was being destroyed bit by bit.
"This boy must not be allowed to live!" The short man changed his target and unleashed every attack he had, including the skills of all five Soul Rings, at Su Yan.
"Look out!" A Yao shouted and threw himself toward him. His injured leg slowed him down, leaving him helpless to stop the tentacles.
"What condition am I missing?!"
Su Yan gritted his teeth. In his mind, he recalled something Seto Kaiba had said when he summoned the Blue-Eyes White Dragon: "I'll offer a god as a sacrifice! My pride, my soul—my future will be decided by me alone! For my loyal subordinate, Obelisk the Tormentor... As a sacrifice, appear, Blue-Eyes White Dragon!"
Su Yan understood!
"Tang Chi, put your hand on it and send your Soul Power into the card!" Su Yan shouted.
Tang Chi hurriedly pinched the card's other corner. As their Soul Power flowed into it, the card rang with a dragon's roar.
It still wasn't enough!
"Zhu Qing!"
Zhu Zhuqing understood at once. She used Resonance Step to appear between them, pinched the middle of the card, and poured her Soul Power into it.
"Too late!" the short man screeched. All his attacks came crashing down. Hundreds of tentacles struck like cannonballs, blasting a deep crater into the ground and sending up a cloud of dust.
"Princess!" A Yao raised his hand to shield himself from the oncoming dust and stumbled backward.
The short man savored the dust filling the sky, the corners of his mouth stretching into a grin. "Art is tentacles!"
"What disgusting art!"
A girl's cool voice rang out from within the dust. Several beams of blue-white holy light pierced through it and shot toward the horizon.
The dim sky blazed with daylight, and a wave of air swept the dust away.
A gigantic white dragon radiated blue-white holy light, its blue eyes filled with contempt for all life.
Scales covered its body, and its claws glinted coldly. Its wings spread wide, blotting out the sky; a casual flap flattened a patch of forest. With one light flick of its segmented tail, it left another deep crater in the ground.
Eight Soul Rings floated around it.
Zhu Zhuqing sat on the Blue-Eyes White Dragon's back with Princess in her arms. Looking down at the short man, who was too terrified to move, she spoke softly: "Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Burst Stream of Destruction!"
The eight Soul Rings shone brilliantly. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon threw back its head and roared, gathering a vast expanse of holy light in its gaping jaws.
"No! No, don't kill me!" The short man's arrogance vanished. He turned and ran in panic.
A beam of holy light swallowed him, reducing him and a patch of forest to ash.
A bottomless hole remained in the ground, still shimmering with an aura of light.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon turned to look at A Yao. He dropped to his knees in fright. "I thank the gods for descending and saving the princess and my life!"
Blue-white holy light blazed. The Blue-Eyes White Dragon gazed at the sky, then scattered into dazzling motes of light that gathered on the ground and formed three figures.
Zhu Zhuqing landed lightly. Su Yan and Tang Chi slowly got to their feet, only to collapse back down almost immediately.
It had taken just one attack to drain both their Soul Power completely. Zhu Zhuqing had also used up most of hers.
"That power... No wonder it's a card with an attack of three thousand," Su Yan murmured, carefully putting the Blue-Eyes White Dragon card away.
"Princess! Are you all right?" A Yao hurried over and asked on one knee.
"I'm fine." The princess smiled with relief. "I owe it to you all. Thank you. My name is Xue Ke, and I'm a princess of the Heaven Dou Empire. You can just call me A Ke."
"I'm Su Yan."
"I'm Tang Chi."
"I'm Zhu Qing."
A Yao bowed deeply to all three of them. "Thank you! I'm so grateful the princess is safe!"
"It was nothing." Su Yan forced out a smile with the last of his strength.
And by "nothing," he really meant all he'd done was raise his hand and hold the card.
The four of them sat on the ground to rest. A Yao, the only one who still had Soul Power and strength, took care of fetching water and making food.
Su Yan let out a sigh of relief. For once, he hadn't had to burn himself up roasting meat these past few days.
By the time they'd eaten their fill, it was already afternoon.
"Princess, the Empress sees you as a thorn in her side. You'd best not return to the Heaven Dou Royal Family," A Yao said as he stood. "With these young men here, I can return without worry."
"A Yao, why don't you stay too?" Xue Ke asked after hesitating for a moment.
"No, Princess." A Yao patted his bundle. "I'll take these back and tell the Empress you're dead. Then we won't have to worry about her sending anyone else to kill you."
Seeing his resolve, Xue Ke didn't try to dissuade him again.
A Yao clasped his hands in farewell to the four of them, then headed toward the exit of the Soul Hunting Forest.
Xue Ke stayed behind.
Su Yan asked, "Princess, we still have training to do, so we'll be staying in the forest for a while. Do you want to come with us, or should we take you out first?"
"Just call me A Ke. I'm not a princess anymore." As she spoke, Xue Ke removed the emblem of the Heavenly Dou Royal Family from her clothes and tossed it into the fire.
After thinking for a moment, she lowered her head and sighed. "I... have disabled legs, and my wheelchair is gone. I'll get in the way of your training. I'd better go out first."
Tang Chi crossed his arms and asked, "Why didn't we leave with Knight Uncle just now? Didn't the parchment map show a way out?"
"Do you ever use your brain?" Zhu Zhuqing suddenly snapped.
Tang Chi looked innocent.
Su Yan explained, "What if someone from the Heaven Dou Royal Family is watching the entrance? If they see us leave with Knight Uncle, word that the princess is still alive will get back to the royal family. You know what would happen next."
"I see." Tang Chi suddenly understood. "If they saw us, they'd send people here again to kill A Ke."
"And Knight Uncle would also..." Su Yan drew his thumb across his throat. Everyone understood.
"But we don't have a map for getting out. Wandering through the forest without one is too dangerous," Tang Chi said.
"No need to rush. Let's rest first. We'll figure something out tomorrow."
Before you continue