Chapter 226: The True Face of the Treasure? Bewitchment

Boom!

Amid the tremendous roar of water breaking apart, that bizarre flying ship also plunged completely into the water, sending up a string of splashes.

And at this moment, the three Flamefire Dragons from behind also arrived in pursuit, now hovering straight above the sea surface, watching the humans on that one ship who could no longer escape.

And one of the Flamefire Dragons had even begun charging up once again, preparing to end everything.

"Sigh~~"

Just then, from within the ship that was emitting thick white smoke, a woman's sigh drifted faintly over.

This voice was clearly very soft, yet amid the surging waves it was eerily crystal clear.

"Honored great beings, I know the treasure you seek — might you be willing to hear a single word from a dying woman?"

Hmm~?

The moment these words were spoken, the three ancient dragons were instantly stunned.

In the past, following the teachings of their "Father," they would basically pay no heed to any words spoken by humans.

Because humans were a group of cunning beings; their flowery talk could deceive them without them even noticing.

But now, they had heard a piece of information they currently valued extremely highly — treasure.

Therefore, at this moment, even the Flamefire Dragon that had been preparing to strike hesitated and could not help but halt its attack that had been poised to launch.

Forget it, they were going to die anyway — what harm in hearing her out.

At this moment, this single thought flashed through the minds of the three ancient dragons simultaneously.

Seeing this, and feeling the raging power around her come to a halt, Zhou Qingqing finally breathed a sigh of relief.

As long as they could communicate, as long as they could be swayed by her words, that was good.

Knowing she could not afford to delay this moment, she slowly walked from the swaying, about-to-sink cabin up onto the deck, and with the frail body of a delicate woman, faced the three majestic and terrifying ancient dragons head-on.

Then, beneath their puzzled gazes, she once again said softly: "Your three Majesties, might you know what the treasure you have been seeking truly is?"

What is the treasure?

The moment Zhou Qingqing said this, the three ancient dragons immediately exchanged glances, their minds filled with doubt.

Right — they had always spoken of seeking a treasure, but what was the true face of this treasure?

Even their "Father" had not told them this; He had only mentioned a massive crimson-red Crystal, and let them sense its aura.

Beyond that, they knew nothing.

"Roar—— (You know?)"

For a moment, the three Flamefire Dragons began thinking it over, and one of the more impatient ones even opened its mouth to ask directly.

Hearing this, Zhou Qingqing narrowed her eyes and swept a glance over the ancient dragons lost in thought, smiled lightly, and nodded clearly: "Don't you find it strange? Just what kind of treasure would be worth the precious attention of the being who sent you here?"

Without waiting for a reply, a faint glow flickered across Zhou Qingqing's body, and once again she spoke in a clear voice, her tone brimming with bewitchment:

That's right! Within the treasure lies a power incomparably vast!

Only such incomparably vast power could be worthy of the precious regard of the great being behind you!

I won't hide it from you any longer — the true appearance of the treasure you seek is a sharp claw protected by a crimson-red Crystal!

Yes! A sharp claw!

Think — what being's sharp claw could be worthy of the attention of the great being behind you?

The ancestor of the ancient dragons?

Or perhaps the limb of a being above that!

Or perhaps the very source of all your power?

Whichever it is, each one represents that as long as you can absorb the power within, you will possess strength far surpassing what you have now!

So then — will you hand this power over to the being behind you, or absorb it yourselves?

At this moment, heaven and earth seemed to fall silent, and everywhere the woman's impassioned voice echoed.

This voice lingered long in the ear, as if imbued with a magic that could rob one of reason.

For a time, the gazes of the three ancient dragons all began to flicker.

The next moment, seeing the ancient dragons had already begun harboring improper thoughts, Zhou Qingqing threw out another bombshell.

"Let me tell you one more thing — right now, this treasure is aboard the ship that has just sunk beneath the sea at my feet."

What?

In an instant, the Flamefire Dragons, who had merely been pondering the woman's words, raised their dragon heads in shock one by one. Only now did they recall that it was precisely by following the aura of this treasure that they had tracked her here — yet the sudden flood of staggering information had stunned them into forgetting.

For a time, the Flamefire Dragons, having come back to their senses, fixed their gazes with burning fervor upon the sea surface at the woman's feet.

At this moment, whatever their thoughts — whether they ultimately intended to try keeping it for themselves or to take it back and hand it to their "Father" — everything required the treasure to be in hand.

Seeing this, Zhou Qingqing gauged the Time, and with a smile on her face slowly raised the peculiar object in her hand and said: "Of course, although the treasure is within the ship, the next moment it may no longer be there!"

"Mighty ancient dragons, search to your heart's content for that precious treasure — if you don't hurry, it just might be swallowed by the giant beasts of the deep sea, hahahaha…"

As her words fell, amid a burst of hearty, mocking laughter, Zhou Qingqing abruptly crushed the peculiar object she had been clutching in her palm.

"Bang bang bang——!!!"

In an instant, a muffled yet utterly astonishing explosion erupted directly from the seabed.

For a time, a shocking void appeared in the water at her location — a massive cavity forcibly carved out of the seawater by the terrifying explosion!

At this moment, countless seawater turned into a torrential downpour that slowly fell from the sky, and the already ceaseless currents and waves on the surface grew even more violent, as if a terrifying tsunami had appeared here!

And amid this downpour and the laughter that had yet to fade, the three ancient dragons fell silent. None spoke; one by one, their faces darkened as they watched this scene.

None could have imagined that the damned human, in her final moment, would play them for fools even at the cost of her own death, refusing to honestly hand over that "Stone of Power" to them.

That's right — although much of what that human had just said was doubtful and not necessarily true, there was one point she could not have deceived them about.

The treasure truly was at the bottom of the sea!

Because along with the seawater rushing back in, a dense, overwhelming aura of Crystal also slowly rose to the surface.

This aura was far denser than what they had sensed when searching before, and it carried a very fresh scent within it.

Even without closing their eyes to carefully feel the surrounding energy changes, they could detect that something mysterious at the bottom of the sea was drawing in the energy that permeated the world.

No mistaking it!

Only this point was not false! This was truly the aura of that Crystal.

However, at present, this Crystal's aura seemed to be rapidly vanishing and moving away…

Moving?

"…If we don't hurry, it might just get swallowed by the giant beasts in the deep sea…"

At this moment, the voice of the human who had died earlier seemed to echo in their ears once more.

For a moment, the three ancient dragons all thought of this point at the same time.

Then, at this moment…

Whoosh—!

A fierce gust of wind rose.

It was that one of the Flame Dragons could no longer hold back, and lunged straight into the not-yet-vanished rift, clearly intending to be the first to seize that rapidly departing "Stone of Power."

……

(End of this chapter)