Chapter 716 - 705: The Great Dragon
Chapter 716: Chapter 705: The Great Dragon
The gigantic dragons swirled in the sky, and the whirlwind they stirred blew the flags on the city wall, making them sway haphazardly.
Most of the dragons flew off in different directions after emerging from the abyss.
But one red dragon remained.
As soon as it climbed out of the rift, it set its sights on the white dragon ahead.
It let out a short roar, its wings thrust vigorously, and its massive body plunged straight forward.
The white dragon sensed danger, turned its head, opened its mouth, and a ball of freezing air had already gathered in its throat, but it didn’t have time to spew it out.
The red dragon’s front claws slammed onto the white dragon’s shoulder blades, the two giant beasts entwined, rolling mid-air as they plummeted. Dragon wings tangled together, scales scraped, emitting a piercing sound, blood and shattered scales scattered like raindrops.
The white dragon’s freezing breath missed its mark, forming a layer of frost on the red dragon’s side belly, while the red dragon’s fangs bit deeply into the white dragon’s neck, causing blood to gush forth.
They crashed onto the eastern side of the fortress, stone walls collapsed, iron gates twisted into pretzels, smoke and dust yet to disperse, the flaming dragon breath swept outward.
The two massive beasts battled amidst the ruins, claws tear, teeth gnash, dragon breaths spewing at each other, each collision detonating visible shockwaves.
Fire and frost alternately ravaged, transforming this area into a purgatory.
A large number of imperial soldiers were killed, yet the two dragons, consumed by their fierce fight, obviously paid no heed to the lives of these ants.
Even amidst their fierce battle, neither dragon noticed the ground roiling with the blood of fallen soldiers.
Blood Guardians, clad in crimson armor, appeared around the ruins.
[Blood Manipulation]
They extended their arms, harmoniously focusing their power.
Almost simultaneously, chains formed from the copious blood pierced the tough dragon scales, pinning the trembling dragons in place.
Meanwhile, thin blood blades materialized above the heads of the dragons, blood power continuously converging within, making the blades increasingly sharp.
"Roar——!"
The unexpected attack injured the dragons, halting their fight momentarily as they roared and struggled.
Chain after chain of blood locks snapped, the sight of the dragons breaking free was imminent.
The blood blade descended!
At the critical juncture, Hong Long, enduring the intense pain, snapped the remaining blood chains on its body, dodged the attack by moving its head.
However, the white dragon below failed to escape in time, its frost breath spewing forth, only to abruptly cease in the next moment.
The white dragon was beheaded, its dragon blood stained the ruins red.
Yet, the red dragon did not die; it roared furiously, seeking revenge against these insects.
The Blood Guardians gathered the remaining power, forming weapons in their hands, readying for hand-to-hand combat with the dragon.
A sea of blood descended from the sky.
The red dragon sensed danger, attempted to flap its wings, but the movement of its injured body was slightly sluggish.
The sea of blood poured down like a waterfall, transforming into a blood ball, despite the dragon’s struggle, its breath, it steadily enveloped it.
Initially, there were indignant dragon roars within, the roar’s vibration causing ripples on the surface of the blood ball, occasionally flames erupted from within, burning through one layer, only to be sealed by newly surging tides of blood.
Though the struggles weakened over time, they eventually turned to whimpers.
After a long while, Mortis withdrew the sea of blood, leaving only the remains of two giant dragons.
With these two blind foolish dragons dealt with, Mortis finally directed his attention back to the abyss.
By now, no new dragons had flown out, it seemed all the dragons within the Dragon Cliff Dungeon had come out.
But Mortis remembered clearly, he hadn’t seen the dragon that led him on the Dragon Cliff last time.
After pondering for a moment, he jumped alone into the abyss.
But quickly, he retreated.
The entrance to the Underground City, once simply inverted, now below, the space had twisted into an infinitely looping closed circuit.
And the only one capable of such feats was the master of the Dragon Cliff—Silvia.
"Not dead yet, huh..."
Desiring to leave without interference, the Emperor could only choose to wait a little longer.
...
Inside the Dragon Cliff Dungeon.
Upon the vast mountains and plains, dragon beasts lay on the ground, trembling.
Swarms of gigantic dragons flew over, frightening them terribly.
After a long while, the dragon swarm moved away.
The oppressive might that had been suffocating them finally dissipated, and even the cliff in the distance that had been perpetually shrouded in dragon roars was now unnaturally silent.
A Dragon Beast cautiously lifted its head, looked around, and perked up its ears to listen.
No sound.
It slowly raised its forelimbs, then its hindlimbs, as if slowly confirming that the chains on its body had truly been unshackled.
Then, it lifted its neck, and toward the vast, empty sky, it let out a roar that had been stifled for far too long.
The roar was sharp and long, trembling as if squeezing out long-accumulated fear and frustration from its throat.
This roar seemed to ignite the entire Underground City, as the second Dragon Beast followed suit, then the third, the tenth, the hundredth.
The successive roars echoed through the mountains and rivers; some were hoarse, some shrill, some faltered halfway into a whimper only to forcefully return to a high pitch.
"Roar—!!!"
Just as they were roaring with abandon, almost believing themselves masters of this realm, an enormous roar far exceeding the ordinary suppressed all sound from above Dragon Cliff.
A draconic might even more terrifying than before swept over the land like a giant wave. All Dragon Beasts simultaneously fell silent, and the world was left with only the sound of the wind; they returned to a state of lying on the ground, not daring to move.
Finally, it was quiet. The Great Dragon atop Dragon Cliff withdrew its dragon might and unhurriedly ascended the cliff wall.
As it neared the cliff’s summit, scattered dragon eggs were embedded in the stony walls on either side.
The eggshells were covered with a thin layer of rock dust, their color faded beyond recognition. As the Great Dragon passed, it lightly stepped on one.
The eggshell shattered, revealing an empty interior.
Looking further, there were more than a dozen such lifeless eggs nearby.
All Giant Dragons are born under the influence of Ancient Dragons.
Just as an Elemental Lord can alter the surrounding environment and give rise to Low Tier Elemental Spirits, an Ancient Dragon that has lived past half its life can affect the world around it, naturally causing dragon eggs to form within the rock strata.
But these unfortunate dozen or so formed too late.
Within a century of emerging from the rock, they hadn’t the chance to hatch before the Ancient Dragon that nurtured them had weakened to the point of being unable to foster new life.
Of course, there was one exception...
The Great Dragon withdrew its gaze and continued upward.
Atop Dragon Cliff, the scenery remained unchanged. The azure firmament resembled a piece of glass polished countless times, white clouds spread like a sea below, so serene even the wind tread lightly. Yet those figures that once soared above the clouds were nowhere to be seen.
"Great Dragon..." Silvia lay on the flattest rock at the cliff’s top, her muddied Dragon Eyes laboriously turned toward the first Giant Dragon born because of her.
Her scales had lost much of their luster, appearing covered in a layer of ash, with fine cracks spreading from the edges of her nostrils to her mouth.
"I am here, mother." The Great Dragon gently lay down beside Silvia’s dragon head.
"Will you... not fight?"
The Great Dragon’s [Ancient Dragon Path] had still only reached 10%, he had yet to hunt any competitor.
"Let them fight first, it counts as me giving them a sliver of a chance." He turned his head, nudging against the lusterless scales of the ancient dragon, "I will accompany you on your last journey first."
"Such a confident boy," Silvia’s voice was faint, like a sliver of wind squeezed from the depths of her throat.
Her gaze shifted aside, landing on a skeleton propped against the cliff wall not far away.
The skeleton remained in a seated position, its arm bones encircling a lute covered in dust, fingers poised over the strings as if it might play at any moment.
She had looked at it for many years.
After a long silence.
"Great Dragon," she spoke once more, softer than before, "The little one she..."
"No way!" The Great Dragon uncharacteristically interrupted Silvia, "You know, she too has stepped onto the Ancient Dragon Path, I will not hold back, even if... she is your only beloved child."
"Great Dragon... sigh... forget it, forget it." Silvia’s voice was full of powerless regret.
She closed her eyelids and said no more, quietly awaiting her time to end.
...
Mushroom Garden.
Xiao Hai was holding a Puki’s mycelium tentacle, sipping today’s Water of Life.
Suddenly, she lifted her head, puzzled, and glanced around, but found nothing.
Finding nothing with her senses, she could only hold onto the Puki like an octopus and continue to drink.
This silly dragon, not even aware that she has leveled up across ranks!
Looking at the panel, Lin Jun researched the new skills she had acquired.
[Level Up: Level 69 → Level 70]
[Skill Acquired: Meteor Impact Level 1]