Chapter 698 - 491: The Future Flying Dragon Legion of Black Stone Territory
Chapter 698: Chapter 491: The Future Flying Dragon Legion of Black Stone Territory
In front of the Cloud Sea Giant Whale, one hundred and fourteen Hill Giants stood in a square formation, led by Gordo.
Raylo had changed into practical black attire, a Knight’s Longsword hanging from his waist.
He strode out of the Lord’s Mansion.
His gaze finally fell upon the back of the Cloud Sea Giant Whale.
Moonlight, along with Lightning and Coal Ball, were frolicking on the Cloud Sea Giant Whale’s broad back.
’Those little ones were certainly carefree.’
Raylo was just about to give the order to depart.
THUD... THUD... THUD...
The sound of heavy, rhythmic footsteps echoed from the city’s main thoroughfare, causing the ground to tremble slightly.
Raylo looked up in the direction of the sound.
A black dot on the horizon rapidly grew larger.
It was a Storm Griffin.
A figure stood tall against the wind on the Griffin’s back.
It was Alex.
Meanwhile, below the Storm Griffin, a convoy emerged from the end of the street, moving slowly through the morning light and dew.
Ten enormous Mammoths!
The four Mammoths at the head of the column were fitted with sturdy harnesses, working in unison to pull a massive flatbed cart constructed from giant logs.
A colossal object lay on the cart, draped in heavy canvas that obscured its full form.
The convoy slowly rolled into the square and stopped before Raylo.
The Mammoths’ heavy breaths sounded like bellows.
Alex leaped from the Storm Griffin’s back and strode quickly to Raylo.
"My Lord!"
His voice held a trace of excitement.
"As per your list, we found this near a basin on the eastern side of the Black Stone Mountain Range!"
Raylo’s gaze traveled past him, landing on the massive flatbed cart.
"Uncover it," he said flatly.
"Yes!"
Several Knights who had accompanied the convoy immediately stepped forward and worked together to pull at the canvas.
SWOOSH!
The heavy canvas slid away, revealing the true nature of the cargo beneath.
It was a... ruined torso.
The ruined upper torso of a massive Golem Puppet.
It was forged from a dark, dull metal, its surface covered in complex etchings and savage scars from past battles.
Only the upper body remained; below the waist was a jagged ruin of torn metal.
Only one of its two arms remained; the other was sheared off at the shoulder.
Its single remaining head hung low, its eye sockets empty and dark.
Raylo slowly approached.
He reached out and gently touched the Golem Puppet’s cold metal plating.
It felt hard and ice-cold to the touch.
Raylo’s gaze finally settled on the one intact arm.
The arm’s construction was incredibly complex, but the most striking feature was a massive apparatus mounted at its extremity.
It was... a cannon barrel!
A giant cannon with a terrifyingly large bore!
Although the Golem’s upper body radiated an aura of deathly stillness and its power core was long extinguished, the cannon’s structure was surprisingly intact. It seemed to have avoided fatal damage during its fall and the preceding battle.
"Excellent."
Raylo withdrew his hand.
He turned to Gordo.
"Gordo."
"Here, my Lord!"
Gordo replied in a booming voice, taking a step forward.
"Take a few of your men and get it down from there."
Raylo gestured to the Golem’s ruined torso on the cart.
"Yes!"
Gordo called over several of the strongest Hill Giants, and they strode toward the cart.
"One, two, three, HEAVE!"
At a roar from Kado, several Hill Giants heaved in unison.
CREAK!
The giant wooden cart groaned, unable to bear the weight.
The weight of the Golem’s torso was far beyond anyone’s imagination.
BOOM!
With a loud thud, the Hill Giants heaved the Golem’s torso off the cart.
Raylo walked up to the ruined torso and examined it closely.
’The power core is completely destroyed. Repairing it would be next to impossible.’
’But...’
’This giant cannon...’
’Perhaps it can be detached and powered independently.’
"Alex."
Raylo turned around.
"At your command, my Lord!"
"Take this to the Alchemy Workshop and give it to Mage Delin," Raylo instructed.
"I need to know if it’s still usable, and... how to use it."
"Yes, my Lord!"
Alex acknowledged the order.
Raylo nodded, paying the ruined Golem no further mind.
’It was best to leave specialized work to the specialists.’
His gaze turned once more to the horizon.
’Jade Swamp.’
"Everyone!"
Raylo’s voice echoed across the square.
"Prepare to depart!"
"ROAR!"
The Hill Giants let out a unified, low roar and began to board the Cloud Sea Giant Whale’s broad back in an orderly fashion, their steps heavy.
Soon, the entire Giant Legion had boarded the whale, save for a few Hill Giants who remained behind to act as porters for Alex.
With a single leap, Raylo landed lightly atop the Cloud Sea Giant Whale’s head.
"Depart," Raylo ordered.
VMMMM!
The Cloud Sea Giant Whale let out a deep, ancient hum as its massive body slowly lifted off the ground and rose high into the sky.
The wind howled past his ears.
Below, Black Stone City rapidly shrank from view, eventually becoming just a vast outline on the landscape.
The Cloud Sea Giant Whale adjusted its course and began to accelerate toward the northeast.
Raylo stood at the whale’s head, his clothes whipping in the fierce wind.
「More than an hour later.」
The air was no longer the dry, sulfur-tinged chill of the Black Stone Mountain Range. It had become humid and warm, thick with the stench of rotting vegetation and damp earth.
This was the unique scent of the Jade Swamp.
Raylo stood at the whale’s head, gazing down below.
An endless sea of green spread out before him.
The dark green surface of the swamp water was dotted with bizarre, deep-green plants.
Great groves of giant trees sprouted from the ground, their canopies entwined with thick vines, forming a verdant ceiling.
Occasionally, huge bubbles would rise from beneath the water’s surface, bursting with a POP and releasing a toxic miasma.
The Cloud Sea Giant Whale began to descend slowly.
Its destination was a rare patch of high ground deep within the swamp.
The high ground was like a lone island in a sea of green. It was formed of hard rock, its high elevation making it a refuge from most of the swamp’s dangers.
As they drew closer, a massive, dark shadow could be seen circling in the sky above the high ground.
It wasn’t a cloud.
It was Magical Beasts!
A sky-blotting horde of Flying Magical Beasts!
Leading them was a Black Dragon over a hundred meters long.
Its pitch-black scales reflected a cold, sinister sheen in the swamp’s humid air.
It was none other than the Black King.
At the Black King’s side, over a thousand Wailing Beldams hovered in the air.
They had the upper bodies of women, with skin as pale as paper and twisted faces. Their lower halves were shrouded in illusory smoke.
The Wailing Beldam at their head was nearly twice the size of her kin, her body wreathed in a visible black mist. She was clearly a Wailing Banshee Queen.
And further back was a vast, dark swarm.
Over ten thousand Fire Demon Crows.
These crows weren’t large, but their numbers were staggering. Scarlet flames burned in their eye sockets, and when gathered together, they resembled a burning cloud of blood.
This terrifying flying legion completely dominated the sky above the high ground.
The Cloud Sea Giant Whale let out a long hum as its massive body slowly touched down on the high ground.
The Hill Giants let out muffled roars as they jumped down from the whale’s back one after another. Their heavy footfalls made the entire plateau tremble.
"ROAR!"
The Black King let out a draconic roar from the sky.
Its massive body descended from the sky, landing not far from the Cloud Sea Giant Whale. It slowly lowered its colossal head in Raylo’s direction.
At the same time, a message was transmitted to Raylo’s mind through their Master-Servant Contract.
"Master, I have followed your orders and arrived ahead of schedule with the flying legion."
"The ground-based Magical Beast Legion is slower. I estimate... they will arrive here before dusk."
Raylo nodded slightly.
’It seems the creature has thoroughly accepted its role as a servant.’
Raylo’s gaze traveled past the Black King’s bowed head, settling on the center of the plateau.
A massive corpse lay there.
It was the corpse of a Flame Demon Lord from the Abyssal Plane!
Its body was over thirty meters tall, and even in death, it still radiated a terrifying aura.
In life, this Flame Demon Lord had surely reached the level of a Domain Level Peak.