Chapter 367: Water and Wind

“Wu!”

Luckily, Ling’s voice rang out from within the humanoid machine that so closely resembled a mecha, finally pulling Wu Qingsong out of his overwhelming sense of dissonance.

“What is this?” He still couldn’t quite believe his eyes.

A bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the figure once again.

It stood roughly five meters tall, its body structure very similar to that of a Gundam, but in a sense, much more rudimentary.

‘Wait a minute! Isn’t this the robot I casually sketched for Liuli while telling stories?’

Just as Wu Qingsong was reeling from his shocking realization, the water elemental that had been sliced in half at the torso moments ago was already merging back together in the torrential rain, once again lunging toward the machine that Ling had created and was now piloting.

The two colossal figures clashed with force. The machine’s massive frame made it impossible for the water elemental to subdue it as easily as it had done with others. Meanwhile, the enormous, door-like sword it wielded seemed to pose a considerable threat to the elemental.

But Wu Qingsong stood there, dumbfounded.

“Actually, I originally drew that as a shield, not a sword.”

Regardless, whatever mysterious means had allowed that water elemental to bypass the hills and attack from the other side, it was now completely engaged by Ling. Though it couldn’t be destroyed, at the very least, it gave the penguins a chance to escape from its devastation.

“I’m going after the sea draconians themselves!” Wu Qingsong quickly snapped out of his sense of absurdity, dissonance, and shock, shouting loudly to Ling. “Hang in there!”

He rushed back to the main front of the valley, where nearly ten towering water elementals were slowly pushing forward against the harpies’ summoned gales. From the darkness behind them, water arrows occasionally shot forth, but they were swiftly carried away by the raging winds.

In this moment, the harpies’ magic was finally proving effective.

But the situation was still dire. Wu Qingsong could see several harpies being carried to the rear after exhausting their energy. Fortunately, Kelly’s presence provided a crucial advantage—many harpies were able to recover their strength in a short time before returning to the defensive line.

“What are you all doing here?!” Wu Qingsong was surprised to see Morin and the priests among the fighters.

“My Lord~ Even Queen Gale herself has taken the field. At a time like this, if we were to stay safely behind the lines, we would have no face to meet our followers in the future.”

Wu Qingsong nodded. “Can you see where the sea draconians are?”

“They’re right below the hillside!” Morin answered immediately. “Near the bay!”

Wu Qingsong could vaguely sense Boulder and the undead sea creatures—they seemed to be maneuvering in the southern waters of the island.

He fought the urge to summon all of them here immediately but ultimately restrained himself.

It wasn’t yet a life-or-death crisis. He trusted that Boulder wouldn’t betray him at such a critical moment—it would be meaningless.

“Where is Queen Gale?”

“There!” Morin pointed to the largest tree within the valley.

Wu Qingsong hurried toward the spot and soon saw Queen Gale along with a group of elder harpies. They were perched among the tree branches, closely observing the battle. Whenever a gap appeared in the defenses, they quickly issued orders, directing younger harpies to fill the breach.

“Your Majesty, how much longer can you hold out?” Wu Qingsong called up to her from beneath the tree.

The storm had finally begun to weaken slightly, and the thunder wasn’t as frequent as before. However, with the flashes of lightning gone, their visibility had become even more restricted.

“Lord Tagraedi, where are the reinforcements you promised?” an elderly harpy questioned him with an unfriendly tone. “Why haven’t they arrived yet?”

“How much longer can you last?” Wu Qingsong ignored her and repeated his question to the queen.

“Priest Kelly is helping the harpies recover their strength quickly, but the sea draconians’ attacks are intensifying,” Queen Gale replied. “At this rate, we can hold out for at most one more hour!”

“No problem. You only need to hold for half an hour!” Wu Qingsong assured her. “In thirty minutes, we’ll wipe them out completely!”

He could feel Boulder and the undead sea creatures shifting position—they were slowly moving northward along the coastline. At this pace, they would be in position to seal off the bay’s exit in thirty minutes.

Queen Gale nodded in acknowledgment.

“If you feel you can’t hold on any longer, tell me immediately!” Wu Qingsong instructed.

The queen swiftly issued new orders. Many harpies who had been standing by as reserve forces now rushed to reinforce weak points in the defense. The winds holding back the water elementals grew even stronger, forcing the elementals to stumble backward a few steps.

“The rain is about to stop!” Wu Qingsong shouted. “Hold on! They won’t last much longer!”

But then, another unexpected change occurred. The water elementals began moving closer together against the storm winds, merging into one another. The result was an ever-growing behemoth.

A distant bolt of lightning lit up the battlefield, and in that brief illumination, the fighters saw a terrifying sight—it had coalesced into a towering giant over ten meters tall, once again advancing toward the hillside.

At some point, Queen Gale herself had joined the battle. A massive tornado suddenly formed near the water elemental giant, rushing toward it with violent force. The raging winds stripped away vast amounts of water vapor, causing the elemental to shrink drastically.

But at that moment, the giant hunched forward slightly. Several water tornadoes burst forth from its form, colliding directly with Queen Gale’s twister.

It was as if thunder itself roared from the meeting of these gales. Sand, rocks, and debris were sucked into the wind and hurled at high speeds, causing gruesome casualties among the fighters. Where the two forces clashed, the ground melted away like butter under a scorching flame, leaving behind deep, interwoven craters.

Moments later, the water tornadoes suddenly dissipated, and the harpy queen’s twister quickly faded into nothing as well.

Queen Gale let out a muffled groan and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her attendants rushed to support her, carrying her toward Kelly for healing.

Perhaps it was Kelly’s presence that had emboldened the queen to push her abilities beyond their limits without concern for the consequences. But undeniably, her fierce display had deeply inspired the warriors—especially the penguins, who now looked upon the harpies with newfound respect and admiration.

“Just fifteen more minutes!” Wu Qingsong bellowed.

At that moment, more water elementals emerged from the sea, their towering forms slowly but steadily advancing up the hillside, encroaching upon the valley.