Chapter 390: Successful Escape

Lei En brandished his heavy warblade and rushed into the dragon's nest, but the cavern was empty, with only Ma Xiu Anselong and Ge Ni Si standing by the pool, their faces full of astonishment.

"Where is the Black Dragon?" Lei En asked loudly.

He pretended to search the nest everywhere; just twenty minutes ago there had been a golden hoard the size of a small hill, now not even a single gold coin could be found.

The alchemy chamber beside the cavern was also spotless; not only were the alchemical ingredients and elixirs gone, all tools and vessels had been taken, and traces of dragon breath had scorched it, erasing every clue, so no one could tell it had once been an alchemy room.

"No waste in my delay; the search was thorough enough," Lei En chuckled to himself.

Even the mirrored pool in the middle of the dragon's nest had been destroyed.

The cavern floor had been scorched by high‑temperature flames, becoming extremely dry, erasing footprints and scent, leaving no trace.

The vast dragon's nest held no value whatsoever except for the rune formation set behind the wall.

The result was already obvious.

Ma Xiu Anselong's expression turned sour as he shook his head, "That dragon has already fled."

"Fled?" Lei En widened his eyes, looking incredulous, "Wasn't it rumored that the dragon swindled tens of millions of Gold Shields from Brantania, and because the loot was so massive it was hidden in the nest? Are you mistaken?"

"The prophecy under the Crown has never erred," the Holy Grail Knight said solemnly, though doubt lingered in his eyes.

The Crown refers to the Lake Goddess, the mortal emissary of the lake deity, whose status in Brantania surpasses even the Knight King, and who serves as the spiritual leader of all Holy Grail Knights.

When the Lake Goddess first used prophecy to pinpoint the Black Dragon's lair, Ma Xiu Anselong was present and caught a vague glimpse of a massive golden hoard; the shock caused the news to leak quickly, even the orcs learned of it.

This must be the Black Dragon's nest, yet the treasure vanished without a trace, and the Black Dragon itself was nowhere to be seen.

Ma Xiu Anselong looked at his silver‑dragon companion and wondered, "Yi Bi Xi has a high chance of being a malicious dragon; why would she answer the dragon's summons? Could we have mistaken the nest? Is this another Black Dragon?"

Silver Dragon Ge Ni Si shook her head, indicating uncertainty.

The Deep Mud Swamp spans a vast area, most of it shrouded in perpetual mist, an environment favored by Black Dragons, making the presence of multiple Black Dragons highly likely.

"Your Excellency, High Priest, do you know of other Black Dragons in the swamp?"

Ma Xiu Anselong again asked the shaman priest, noting that this was, after all, orc tribal territory, and Di Lei Ke Ta should know better.

"I've only been to the Deep Mud Swamp a few times, not knowing more than you," Lei En, who knew nothing of this, offered a flimsy excuse, then flickered his gaze and asked, "What is this dragon's summons you speak of, and how does it relate to the Black Dragon?"

Ma Xiu Anselong and Ge Ni Si exchanged a glance, silently communicating a few words, and the silver dragon replied, "Sorry, I cannot tell the High Priest."

"Fine, then you need not say it."

Lei En snorted, sheathed his warblade at his waist, turned and walked toward the cave exit, muttering, "I can figure it out myself; if I locate the dragon's nest again, the treasure won't be just a quarter of what it was."

Ma Xiu Anselong and his companion followed out.

Returning from the passage to the surface, Lei En gave them no greeting, leapt onto his Sky‑Patrolling Wind Rider, and rose into the sky, soon vanishing into the swamp's mist.

Ge Ni Si watched the flying dragon's direction and whispered, "Ma Xiu, I always feel something's off about this High Priest."

The Holy Grail Knight was silent for a few seconds, then asked, "What seems off?"

"He exudes a strong thunder‑electric elemental aura, but it's leaking excessively, as if deliberately concealing something. When he negotiated with us a few days ago, his demeanor felt different," Ge Ni Si analyzed, "His tone, accent, and habits all have subtle variations."

"And don't you think this High Priest Di Lei Ke Ta showed up too conveniently? He arrived just ahead of us and found the Black Dragon's nest."

"His Worui Guard hasn't appeared yet."

The silver dragon listed several doubts.

Ma Xiu Anselong also began to doubt, though he remained skeptical; someone daring to impersonate an orc High Priest right before his eyes made him frown and ask, "Do you think Di Lei Ke Ta colludes with that Black Dragon?"

"Hmph…" the silver dragon replied evasively, "I suspect he is the Black Dragon in disguise."

"How could that be?" the Holy Grail Knight thought it impossible.

If the High Priest were that Black Dragon, he would have been by his side all along—so how did the golden hoard disappear from the nest? If the Black Dragon had already moved the treasure, why appear before us at all? It would be pointless.

Ge Ni Si read her lover's thoughts, "Don't forget, we came because we heard the dragon's summons; only the dragon‑born of the Zhuogeng Fortress clan can sound the summons, so the Black Dragon does have allies."

"Hasn't the dragon‑born clan already perished?" the Holy Grail Knight asked.

"I used to think that too, but now it seems some descendants of Zhuogeng Fortress escaped the purge. If this dragon‑born dares to sound the horn, he won't stay silent; he'll eventually return to Kangjiatuo to restore his realm, exposing his identity," the silver dragon said calmly, gazing eastward, "When that time comes, we only need to ask that dragon‑born for the treasure."

"Kangjiatuo…" the Holy Grail Knight sighed helplessly.

Brantania is far from Kangjiatuo, and it's unclear when that dragon‑born will appear; the chances of retrieving the treasure are not optimistic.

He slowly shook his head, "Ge Ni Si, all this is your speculation; its truth may be less than twenty percent."

As soon as the words ended, a sudden flapping sound echoed from the sky, unlike the silver‑winged horses; he and the silver dragon looked up and suddenly saw a flock of flying dragons emerge from the mist.

They were all wind‑riders, the orc chieftain's Worui Guard.

Each wind‑rider bore a robust orc warrior on its back, and the most conspicuous was a Sky‑Patrolling Wind Rider carrying an elderly orc priest.

"High Priest Di Lei Ke Ta, how did he return?"

That was Ma Xiu Anselong's first thought, then his spirit jolted; he looked at his silver dragon and saw Ge Ni Si's face break into a "I knew it" expression.

The previous Di Lei Ke Ta was a fake!

He is the Black Dragon!

The Holy Grail Knight regretted endlessly, ashamed, realizing he had been fooled by the Black Dragon once again!

"Let's chase quickly; she can't get far, maybe we still have a chance," Ge Ni Si instantly revealed her true silver‑dragon form, and when her lover leapt onto her back, she flapped her wings powerfully and surged into the sky.

Silver‑Winged Flying Horse Knights hurriedly followed, leaving a bewildered group of orcs behind.

In the air a dozen miles from the dragon's nest, the elderly orc that Lei En had become suddenly paled slightly and said, "They've discovered us and are closing in."

The Sky‑Patrolling Wind Rider beneath him spoke, "How do you know?"

Lei En gave no answer.

When he entered the dragon's nest, he casually scattered a few tiny metal shards on the passage floor, as fine as needle tips; later, Ma Xiu Anselong emerged from the passage, stepped on two or three of them, which stuck to his warboot soles, each bearing a metal mark.

It had been a mere afterthought, yet it proved useful.

At this moment, the Holy Grail Knight was moving at full speed, meaning his disguise had been uncovered.

The silver dragon's flight speed ranks among the fastest of all great dragons, far surpassing the Black Dragon and the Sky‑Patrolling Wind Rider, so it would likely be caught soon.

The Black Dragon instantly transformed into a wind‑roc, its speed soaring.

Lei En also transformed into the form of a human ranger.

However, Feng Peng flew at full speed for a moment and found that not only could he not widen the gap with the Silver Dragon, but he actually got closer. Every half‑minute, a metallic marker would jump a certain distance, clearly indicating that the Silver Dragon and the Holy Grail Knight possessed some kind of teleportation method.

After two or three teleports, the Silver Dragon had closed to within a kilometer.

Lei En's soul eye pierced the mist, vaguely seeing the massive silhouette of the Silver Dragon; turning now was far too late, and they could be discovered at any moment.

"They came so fast; they've caught up."

Lei En's warning gave the Black Dragon a huge startle, and it involuntarily cried out, "What do we do?" It certainly didn't want to fight a High‑rank Holy Grail Knight; even with Lei En, victory was impossible.

"Go down," Lei En decided instantly.

Feng Peng dove headfirst into the swamp, obeying Lei En's command, and instantly transformed into a High‑rank Shadow Panther.

Lei En quickly donned a set of leather armor, slung an enchanted longbow on his back, hung a short sword and a rope at his waist, rolled the blood‑colored cloak into the mud at his feet, turning its vivid red into a filthy black, then draped it over himself and rode the Black Panther across the swamp.

The Black Panther instinctively tried to run forward, but Lei En said, "Turn around, head toward the Dragon Nest."

The sound of the Dragon Summoning Horn was not only heard by the Silver Dragon; all mercenaries and adventurers within range were drawn, and many rushed toward the Dragon Nest, but their speed was too slow and they were still on the road.

When Lei En left the Dragon Nest, he spotted several waves of mercenaries.

If one strays from the Dragon Nest and becomes an outlier, they will be seen through at a glance.

Almost as soon as they finished their disguise, the Black Panther sprinted less than a hundred meters, and the Silver Dragon's figure emerged from the mist.

A slender yet massive great dragon swept over their heads, its overwhelming draconic might descending upon them.

The Black Panther let out a low growl and collapsed to the ground.

Lei En also showed a horrified expression, looking up at the Silver Dragon flying overhead, his whole body trembling. He could sense a sharp gaze sweeping over him; the filthy blood‑colored cloak performed its function, masking his distinctive aura.

This made him appear to be an ordinary, unremarkable ranger.

The Silver Dragon did not pause, continuing to fly forward, and the Holy Grail Knight on its back also noticed nothing unusual, and in an instant was hidden by the mist.

Lei En exhaled, wiping the cold sweat from his forehead.

He rode the Shadow Panther, ran several li, confirmed that the Silver Dragon and the Holy Grail Knight were far enough away, and only then did the Black Dragon transform back into Feng Peng and flee from another direction.

(End of Chapter)