Specks of light, like a torrent, were wrapped and dragged along by raindrops as they surged toward the Dragon Lord and Lady Xiang.
Some of those specks were already about to fade away. Some flickered bright and dim. Others still struggled, charging wildly about within their water spheres as though shouting, "I can still fight!"
Clang—
Shen Le struck the Chime Bells again. The soaring, piercing toll spread layer by layer through the wind and rain. "Grasping long swords and bearing Qin bows, heads and bodies severed, yet their hearts unyielding."
Farewell, farewell.
Go well—go well—
"Hey! You!"
Someone behind him roared. Qin soldiers advanced with heavy footsteps, their Iron Armor clanging loudly.
Yet Shen Le did not look back. He remained focused on striking the Chime Bells, focused on playing a dirge for the last heroic spirits of Great Chu.
In the sky, Rushou and Chiyou launched another attack. The giant axe and battle halberd thundered forward, slicing vast hollows through the air. The last water curtain around the Dragon Lord shattered at the slightest touch—
At that moment, the water spheres enclosing Chu's deities lit up with clear, radiant light!
Lady Xiang flashed out. Releasing Lord Xiang's divine body, she rushed from the water sphere and leaned against the Dragon Lord.
The beautiful goddess's skirts billowed. Azure-green divine light streamed from her body, intertwining with the blue-gold flames around the Dragon Lord and shining down upon the land of Jingchu:
Water roared.
More currents rose. The Xiang River, the Yuan River, and the vast Cloud Dream Great Marsh.
The Dragon Lord's authority over all waters combined with Lady Xiang's authority over the waters of Xiang. They called to the rivers, lakes, and marshes below, and the waters answered by flowing backward into the sky—then, howling as they converged