Chapter 117: Active Dragons

"Lord Bono, I need your fleet. You can name your price."

"Sakavi, we can be considered old acquaintances. I won't beat around the bush today. Currently, no faction in the Red Moon Plane wants to be associated with you, and I cannot be the one to stick my neck out."

"I have always believed this is a matter of the price being insufficient. State your price. As it stands, the Sea Elves don't seem to be gaining any benefits from this feast."

"Perhaps you are right, but you can't even pay your subordinates' military wages now. What else do you have to offer me?"

"What if I can help you retrieve the Tide's Bane? That precious sword belongs to your Wave-Chasing clan; it should return to your hands, shouldn't it?"

"What are you transporting?"

"Twenty thousand troops. Help me transport them to a bay somewhere on the Gravel Continent. I will send someone to tell you the specific location; you must not reveal it to anyone."

"No problem, but you must hand that sword over to me beforehand."

"I am very sorry, but the sword is not in my possession. However, I know where it is. I will reclaim it in the near future, but I cannot spare the manpower right now. You know my reputation."

……

"Morax, something is wrong here. I seem to smell an unusual scent. Someone may have arrived here before us."

Vikes' words instantly made the air uneasy. The unknown meant danger. Someone had arrived earlier than them. The murlocs in the bay still maintained basic order; if this were a trap aimed at them, it would be very troublesome.

"Iroge, calm down. Swallow your fire breath. We were not exposed when we came; it is impossible for anyone to have set a trap for us."

"Too much nonsense. Let me go test it and I'll know. You wait outside..." Before the words were finished, the irritable red dragon had already flown far away.

"Roar—roar! Listen up, you scum inside, your Lord Iroge has arrived! Get out immediately if you know what's good for you, otherwise you will regret being born!"

Responding to him was a shadow energy spear mixed with an ominous aura. This action completely angered the red dragon. Two streams of white smoke mixed with sparks could be seen spraying from his nostrils, like a volcano about to erupt.

"Despicable little bug, you have successfully angered me!" The red dragon let out a deafening roar. The sound was a shockwave containing a will of destruction, making the entire cliff tremble.

The cave entrance seemed to come alive. Those dark whispers instantly surged, converging into an invisible sound wave that collided violently with the dragon's pressure.

The red dragon sneered at this. He was going to end this farce. He suddenly raised his head, his giant jaws opened to the limit, and a sun-like point of light lit up deep in his throat.

The air was instantly ignited, distorted, and ionized, emitting a harsh screech. The light grew brighter, turning from a scorching orange-white to a pure, destructive blue-white.

The breath, like an angry fire snake, lunged straight at the cave entrance on the cliff. Wherever it passed, the rock instantly melted into magma, evaporating into blue smoke; the air itself was burning, emitting painful groans.

However, the priest inside did not seem to be affected. He was seen wearing a tattered robe made of sea monster leather and cured human skin, painted with twisted tentacles and eyeless eyeball patterns in dark red pigment.

In his withered hands, he tightly gripped a staff made of whale bone and shipwreck wood, with a turbid yellow gem that seemed to be beating slowly embedded at the top. His face was covered in eerie tattoos, but his eyes burned with a fanaticism and loyalty that did not belong to mortals.

"Arrogant dragon, you have offended a god you should not have offended, and disturbed the great Celes. If you volunteer to become a slave to my lord, there is still a chance to survive now. This is also your last chance."

"Huh? Are you senile? Since that's the case, I'll send you to see this slave owner and let you show your loyalty properly. Hahaha!"

A black torrent of energy suddenly hit the red dragon's chest with precision. There was no explosion, no fire. That energy was like the deadliest acid, corroding his proud ruby scales.

The moment the hard scales touched the black energy, they quickly lost their luster, became gray and brittle, and then peeled off like weathered sandstone, revealing the bloody wound underneath. Clearly, the priest was not really chatting.

The excruciating pain and unprecedented pollution made the red dragon let out a painful roar. He could no longer maintain his coiled posture; his massive body lost its balance, falling from the air above the cliff, and his heavy body smashed into the bay below.

On the sea surface, the red dragon shook his head frantically, trying to shake off the whispers and illusions in his mind. But just then, a figure rose from the smoke of the cliff.

"Can you feel it, giant worm?" Kragus's voice was no longer hoarse, but a strange tone of multiple overlaps. "This is a sacrifice! You use your power to sacrifice to my god! Now, it's your turn to become the sacrifice!"

A residual image suddenly flashed in front of the priest, and a dark energy shield suddenly lit up, making a teeth-aching sound against the red dragon's sharp claws.

"Bug, you are really cautious. That hit just now didn't take your life, but you won't be so lucky next time."

"In the name of my lord, Salt Crystal Spear!"

The gem at the top of his staff shot out a dark light. The moisture in the surrounding air was instantly drained and condensed, forming a three-meter-long spear flickering with cold light in front of him. He swung forward, and the spear shot toward the red dragon's eyes like an arrow from a string, with a sharp whistling sound.

The red dragon reacted extremely quickly. He rolled in the air, protecting his head with his wings. The salt crystal spear accurately pierced the base of his wing membrane and stuck deep into it.

That was not a simple physical injury. The strong corrosive power spread rapidly along the wound. Wherever the dragon blood flowed, the scales fell off one after another, and the flesh and blood quickly necrotized.

"Siren's Embrace!"

The sea surface under the red dragon instantly boiled. Countless tentacles made of black mucus shot up from the water, weaving into a giant net, entangling the red dragon's limbs like living things.

The red dragon, like a giant trapped in a spider web, kept spitting small-range dragon breath and swinging his sharp claws, trying to break free from the endless tentacles.

And Kragus, like an evil puppeteer, hovered at a safe distance, constantly chanting spells, summoning more decaying power from the abyss.

Salt crystal arrows shot at the red dragon's wounds like raindrops, black energy balls constantly eroded his dragon scales, and even corrupted seagull corpses fell from the sky, smashing onto the red dragon's back, bursting into clusters of foul-smelling pus.

Just as the priest was focused on what was in front of him, his chest was suddenly torn apart by giant sharp claws. Looking at his shattered internal organs, the madness in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a fear of death.

"What? Aren't you very passionate about your god? Why don't you want to go to his divine kingdom now? I was just testing your level. Did you really think these few spells could defeat me?"

"Iroge, come quickly! There are many treasures here. If you come late, they'll be gone." Hearing about treasure, the red dragon didn't even care about the seriously injured priest and immediately rushed to the cave entrance.

"Where is the treasure? I defeated this stinking bug this time, I want more than half of the treasure!"

"Iroge, you can't take anything, because this is the Grand Duke's treasure. Before he distributes it, no one can touch it. Of course, you can also choose to kill me with Vikes here, but you'd better squander the gold coins before the assassin sent by Sakavi finds you."

"Huh? Are you threatening me?" The red dragon angrily smashed the stone table in front of him, stuffed a wine cup made of purple jade into his mouth, and walked straight out to express his silent protest.

……

"Report to the Marshal, three giant dragons were discovered ahead. They are electrocuting fish in the Mutu River." A jackal carrying a triangular flag reported the intelligence ahead, panting, his incomplete ears telling of his experience.

"Hmm? How could there be giant dragons here? Did you see clearly? What do those three giant dragons look like?"

"Report to the Marshal, I saw clearly. One red, one silver, and one blue. They are blocking our way to Rock Fortress."

"Camp on the spot. Logkino, you come with me. Let's go meet those giant dragons. I think I know them."

……

"Sha Lu Te, lead your army and come with us. The Butage Basin is a bit tricky. We three dragons can't take it down. You and your people come too, and this demon monkey beside you."

"Sorry, my people only take orders from the Grand Duke. Without his order, you can't mobilize them."

"So that means you don't give us face? I'm afraid you don't want to leave here alive!" Iroge, who was roasting gray stone-scaled fish, threatened to spit out white nasal breath.

Gray stone-scaled fish are common river fish, seven meters long, with a slender spindle-shaped body, similar to giant sturgeon, but with more power. However, due to the abyss pollution here, the taste is really not worth complimenting.

"Go roast your fish properly. Sha Lu Te, do you think I, as one of the decision-making members of the Grand Duke's territory, have the right to mobilize you and your subordinates?"

"Uh, this needs to be requested, Lord Morax. The Grand Duke doesn't like others making decisions for him."

"Very well, from this moment on, your rank of Marshal is revoked. As for when it will be restored, wait for your Grand Duke to decide. For now, I have the authority to do this."

"But this army has been marching for three months. We can't continue to fight. We must rest, otherwise the soldiers will be eroded by the abyss."

"I have already set up a formation in Rock Fortress, and there happens to be food that has been stored for I don't know how many years. Your people can rest there. Do you have any questions now?"

"I... I have none. I will do as you command." Sha Lu Te looked like he had lost a battle, suddenly becoming dejected. ===== CHAPTER 118 =====