Chapter 124: Tense Dragon Meeting

Under the burning sky, the sulfur storm unique to the abyss plane roared in the distance, dyeing the horizon a sickly orange-red.

Huge volcanic rock mountains pierced the earth like the spine of a demon, and on the top of one of the steepest peaks, a terrifying cluster of 120 giant dragons was crawling.

Seventy metal dragons with scales flashing with rational luster and fifty five-colored dragons exuding wild and violent aura were clearly divided, surrounding the mountain top platform.

But because of some urgent common goal, they maintained a fragile truce state full of low roars and vigilant eyes. All the dragons' eyes occasionally cast toward the relatively "petite" but powerful core circle on the platform.

Leader Copper Dragon Puglin, he is not the largest in size, but the amber scales flow with the luster of wisdom and experience under the sulfur fire light.

He crouched on a highest rock, his tail tapping the ground lightly, his eyes sharp as daggers tempered a thousand times, constantly scanning between several "representatives". He is the creator and binder of this incredible alliance.

Black Dragon Sakavi, coiled in the thickest shadow, dark scales absorbed almost all light, only those cold yellow vertical pupils and the acidic saliva dripping from the corners of his mouth showed his existence and impatience.

Bronze Dragon Grovelian, exuding the scent of sea salt and ozone, even in this dry hell, water vapor seemed to condense on his scales.

He stood tall, his eyes serious, and he is the symbol of strategy and discipline among metal dragons, showing undisguised disgust for the black dragon beside him.

Blue Dragon Wendisha crouched in the position closest to the cliff, where the wind was strongest, and the sapphire-like scales crackled, jumping with static sparks.

She was reticent, but the raised neck crest and slightly opened beak showed that he was carefully analyzing every trace of information and energy flow in the air, and was a vigilant sentry and tactician.

Red Dragon Fidmina was the most restless. Scorching nasal breath sprayed from her nostrils, igniting the rocks under her feet, and the molten gold pupils burned with pure desire for destruction and extreme impatience with the status quo.

"Everyone, I have summoned you here today, and I think you have already heard about the purpose."

The voice of the demigod copper dragon Puglin was not high, but it carried a metallic texture, piercing through the howling wind on the mountain top, and clearly falling into the ears of every giant dragon.

His amber vertical pupils slowly scanned every face in the core circle, and wherever his gaze reached, even the most restless red dragon temporarily lowered the sparks in her nasal breath.

"The hunt of the Webley family has begun," he paused slightly, letting the power represented by the surname "Webley" settle in the air, "The life of that abyss lord in the 72nd abyss has entered a countdown."

A sound of scale friction came from the outside, mixed with low, vigilant humming.

"However, the abyss never leaves a vacancy." Puglin's front claws tightened on the rock, and the mountain body sent a slight tremor, emphasizing his next words.

"Our task is to blockade that damn rift in the Moyan Mountains. We must block any new, greedy abyss lords from forcibly entering at the moment the old master falls and the power is vacuumed."

His voice suddenly turned sharp, like a dragon tooth out of its sheath, "We gathered here, not for a rout, but to completely extinguish any possibility of the abyss turning this conquest into a long tug-of-war. Now—"

His gaze fell in turn on the shadow of the black dragon, the sea-like scales of the bronze dragon, the jumping electric light of the blue dragon, and the lava-like pupils of the red dragon.

"—State your considerations. Or, your conditions."

"Lord Puglin, before discussing the rift in the Moyan Mountains, one old matter must be clarified here."

A cold, iron-like voice broke the brief silence. It was a giant dragon whose scales flashed with bronze luster. His vertical pupils were like frozen ice, crossing Puglin and locking firmly on the darkest shadow.

"In the cleanup campaign of the 1872nd semi-plane, when we were fighting bloody battles with the minions of chaos, a certain attendee—" His words paused intentionally here, letting every pair of dragon pupils turn to the black dragon coiled in the shadow involuntarily.

"—Not only failed to fulfill the agreement, but when the situation stabilized, he used dishonorable means to be the first to seize the most abundant fruits of victory. An entire material continent, equivalent to 15% of the stable territory of the plane, was swallowed by him alone."

His dragon wings spread slightly, bringing up a gust of air full of sea salt and anger.

"This matter, there has been no explanation to date. And today, this 'hero' is also listed here." The bronze dragon's voice was lower, but sharper, like a final judgment blade out of its sheath.

"If the basis of cooperation is trust and justice, then this old debt must be settled before facing the new threat together."

A low, hoarse chuckle came from the shadow, as if worn metal was scraping rock. The black dragon slowly probed his neck, dark scales reflected no light under the sulfur fire light, only that pair of cold yellow vertical pupils were completely revealed, stabbing straight at the bronze dragon.

"My dear 'ally' Grovelian, your memory, could it be that you have selectively forgotten something?" His voice was viscous and slow, carrying a mocking tone like venom.

"When the abscess of the 1872nd plane ruptured, the first to be hit by the demon torrent was whose territory? It was my Agrik capital. When my kin turned into dry bones on the city wall, where were you?"

He raised his tone slightly, every word like an ice cone quenched with poison.

"Where was the promised reinforcement? That oath that resounded through the clouds, could it be that it dissipated with the sea breeze raised by your dragon wings?" The black dragon's throat flashed with dangerous acid-corroding micro-light, "As for that 'ownerless land' I took down......"

He deliberately dragged his tone, his giant head turned to the demigod copper dragon Puglin, and scanned other giant dragons, as if seeking some tacit "understanding".

"War burns everything, the old forces have become ashes. I, a dignified five-colored evil dragon, pick up spoils of war, and still have to look at others' faces? According to the abyss law, power is authority. If you are not convinced......"

His gaze nailed back to the bronze dragon, his vertical pupils shrinking into a cruel thin line, "Why didn't you come to 'take' it at that time? Or is it that you are only good at... counting other people's treasures after the war?"

"Taking advantage of the fire?"

Bronze Dragon Grovelian's voice did not rise, but pressed into a dull thunder rolling in the deep sea. He straightened his slender neck, and a layer of frost seemed to condense on the blue scales.

"That is the shame engraved in our blood." He said every word slowly and clearly, like a final verdict in a courtroom.

"When an ally is bleeding, bypassing the battlefield to earn blood-splattered gold; when the oath has not yet cooled, leaving the back to the jointly established alliance, this behavior, our clan calls it shameless."

His giant head turned to the black dragon in the shadow, his vertical pupils surging with cold sea tides and undisguised contempt.

"Only predators who treat greed as a creed and treat fraud as breathing will beautify betrayal as 'spoils of war' and whitewash shamelessness as 'power'."

His dragon wings spread slightly, bringing up a biting, salty sea breeze, "Thieves in the dark will never understand the weight of scales under the scorching sun, let alone what honor is."

"Ha——?!"

A sharp hiss mixed with the explosion of sparks suddenly tore the air. Fidmina suddenly raised her head, the molten lava-like vertical pupils suddenly contracted into scorching thin lines, nailed firmly to the bronze dragon Grovelian.

The scorching heat waves sprayed from her nostrils were no longer sparks, but two surging scorching heat waves, instantly scorching the rocks under her feet until they sizzled and glowed red.

"Rusty copper boy!" Her roar was like the roar of an eruption from the depths of the earth's core, carrying undisguised rage and mockery.

"Your tongue soaked in sea salt, try chewing one more sentence?! What 'ally'? If you grab it, you grab it! Did I burn their barracks or swallow their gold coins, and it's your turn to be pretentious here?!"

Her massive body leaned forward slightly, bringing up a scorching heat wave, and the thorns on her neck stood up one by one, like burning thorns.

"As for those two-legged bugs who can't even carry dragon power—" She let out a short, harsh sneer, and her molten gold eyes were full of pure, predator-like contempt.

"Also worthy of being called 'allies'? Also worthy of you, a real dragon, barking like a watchdog for them?! Grovelian, your 'identity' is really cheap enough to make me nauseous!"

The last word was accompanied by a small stream of real flames bursting from her teeth, igniting the air and pushing the atmosphere of the meeting to the edge of explosion.

Just as the scorching dragon breath and the biting sea breeze were at daggers drawn, a precise and steady static hum cut into the boiling air.

Wendisha slowly leaned forward, her slender neck covered with sapphire-like scales, her voice not high, but as clear as a precision instrument, instantly attracting the attention of all dragons.

"Everyone, don't be excited."

Her vertical pupils flashed with calm, rational light like calculating arc light, and her gaze swept steadily between the furious red dragon and the cold bronze dragon.

"For a group of inferior species that are born and die, and can't even survive one of our deep sleeps," her tone was flat, but carried a near-cruel objectivity, "is it worth letting real power tear scales here and consume each other?"

She tilted her head slightly, her gaze seemed to pierce through the barrier of space and cast toward the direction of the abyss rift.

"Whether it is the occupied territory or the melted gold coins, they are not directly lost from your treasury, Grovelian."

Her voice turned into a more convincing low resonance, "Entangling in the dust of the past at this moment, every moment of delay is consuming the immeasurable 'possibilities' we can seize in the 72nd plane in the future."

Her tail tip tapped lightly across the ground, leaving a precise, electric-spark-flashing mark, as if outlining the boundaries of interest.

"True wealth and authority are waiting behind that abyss rift. Wasting power on internal biting, isn't it filling the mud pit of a goblin cave with the gems on the crown?"

She finally cast her gaze on the core leader Puglin, her words landing precisely and powerfully, "The current quarrel is meaningless. The power we gathered here should point to the only goal, the bigger feast that is about to be obtained, isn't it?"

Just as Blue Dragon Wendisha's words like cooling rain mist slightly calmed the scorching hostility in the air, that thickest shadow surged just right.

The black dragon slowly stretched out his slender neck that seemed to be able to absorb light, and completely emerged from the dark.

He ignored the red dragon's lingering anger, and did not look at the bronze dragon again, but cast those cold yellow vertical pupils directly at the demigod copper dragon Puglin, his voice hoarse and steady, like a dark river flowing in a deep cave:

"The dust of the past should give way to the mountains of the future." He first calmly echoed the blue dragon's point of view, and then, the conversation turned like a poison-quenched claw tip, precisely probing out, "For this 'new mountain' that is about to be obtained, my investment this time... is not heavy."

He paused intentionally, letting every syllable carry heavy weight, clearly falling into the ears of every giant dragon.

"Thirty dragons," he reported the number, his tone without showing off, only a statement of fact that could not be questioned.

"The warriors most skilled in fighting in sulfur and shadows have gathered under my dragon wings at this moment. Their power will be poured into the rift of the Moyan Mountains without reservation, as long as our common 'goal' is clear enough and the interests are... firm enough."

He did not say who he supported, nor did he mention old grudges again, just calmly laid out the chips he held in his claws that were enough to affect the tilt of the balance.

This statement was both a promise and a reminder to everyone present, especially reminding the leader Puglin that no matter what the past was, the power he possessed at this moment was a part that could not be ignored in this feast.

"Hahaha!"

Red Dragon Fidmina squeezed a short and loud sneer from her throat, her molten lava-like pupils glanced at the black dragon, inside surging with undisguised playfulness and some tacit "intimacy". The sparks brought out by her nasal breath almost splashed onto his dark scales.

"Cunning kid, who are you trying to fool with that set of tricks again?" She shook her head, the thorns on her neck clattered, her tone full of mockery that saw through everything.

"Thirty dragons? Forget it, others might be bluffed by the formation in your shadow, but can I still not know what kind of goods you hatched in your nest?"

She deliberately leaned closer, lowered her voice, but the volume was enough for the whole audience to hear, as if sharing a spicy secret.

"I'm afraid they are dragon beasts that can't even recite dragon language spells and whose scales haven't grown hard? The 'army' hastily gathered from which stinking mud pit?"

She let out a thunder-like purr, which was both mockery and carried a certain strange "recognition", recognizing this cunning itself.

"Pulling out that group of wild beasts that can only throw a fireball and can't even disperse dragon power, and also dare to call them giant dragons? Sakavi, your skin is really thicker than your scales."

Her teasing was sharp but not really angry, more like in a dangerous game, familiarly exposing the companion's bluff, while also warning others: don't be completely bluffed by him, I know his hole cards.

A very low, near-joyful hoarse chuckle came from the shadow. The black dragon's yellow vertical pupils contracted slightly in the dark, like a predator who finally waited for the prey to step into the edge of the trap.

"Fidmina, my dear ally," his voice was lower, like venom seeping through rock crevices, carrying a trace of deliberately disguised, injured confusion, "The flame that turns black and white, when it burns to your own nest, will be extra painful."

He slowly turned his head completely toward the red dragon, every word said clearly, slowly, but contained cold piercing power:

"About the source of that batch of 'dragon beasts'... do I need to help your scorching memory cool down?" He paused deliberately, letting the suspense permeate the sulfur air.

"A... well, a giant dragon who was cautious and inconvenient to reveal the scale color told me, but it was a certain shrewd young dragon dealer who, when cleaning his own crowded nest, 'packaged and processed' it."

A purr came from his throat, as if suppressing cruel laughter.

"Oh, by the way. Among them, the most 'precious' nest, young dragons with silver scales..." The black dragon's voice suddenly dropped to a dangerous whisper, but stopped abruptly.

He raised his head slightly, dark scales finally reflecting a trace of cold metallic luster under the fire light, his vertical pupils staring at the red dragon's instantly stiff neck thorns.

"Hahaha! These are all misunderstandings. If it weren't for me, where would you get so many five-colored dragons to mobilize? The IQ and combat effectiveness of dragon beasts are ultimately not good."

"The joke ends here, everyone, we need to cross the entire Black Ridge Plateau mountain area to reach the location of the abyss rift.

There is no shortcut, we must kill our way through, if you have no opinion, let's set off, time does not stand on our side, there is only this one chance." ===== CHAPTER 125 =====