章 410: Chapter 410: Garon: "Don't come over here, I'm so scared and helpless."
In one of the primary material worlds.
On the planet Frances, within the borders of the Shasen Kingdom in the northeast hemisphere, lies a remote frontier town. Due to its location far from the bustling centers, this frontier town rarely sees travelers for months or even years at a time. However, recent days have been different, with new travelers arriving daily.
Today, four adventurers with unusual attire, clearly not ordinary people, entered the town. These adventurers included a thin ranger clad in leather armor, equipped with grappling hooks, daggers, various unknown bottles, and carrying a longbow. There was also a spellcaster draped in a robe, wielding a magic wand and radiating magical aura, and two brawny dark paladins.
They looked up at the gloomy, oppressive sky, as if it might rain at any moment.
The leading dark paladin led the team under the watchful eyes of many, slowly entering the town along a narrow, muddy path. They stopped in front of a small tavern and pushed open the door.
The creaky old door hinges made a grating sound.
As the tavern's dim yellow light met their eyes, the town's residents inside, who were joking around and drinking poor quality rye beer, saw the new adventurers.
Instantly, the somewhat lively and noisy atmosphere in the tavern froze.
A worldly-wise person noticed the iron belt worn by the dark paladins, especially a black metal badge at the front.
The emblem depicted a black fist clutching a ray of light.
Among all the deities, only one's holy emblem featured a clenched black fist.
The god of tyranny, the Iron Fist in the Darkness, the Black King, Bane.
This deity is generally regarded as a lawful evil god.
He allows his followers to commit evil deeds in his name, believing that it is not only a right but also a duty for the strong to rule over the weak, to bring conquest, destruction, fear, and strife to a peaceful and tranquil world, and pleasing this deity through such actions.
Conquest, war, and tyranny are ubiquitous across all worlds.
Naturally, this god possesses a formidable divine status and has many followers.
However, followers of the god of tyranny, the dark paladins, are not to be taken lightly and are considered dangerous individuals best avoided.
Under the fearful gazes of many, the tallest dark paladin, who was also the leader of these adventurers named Ang, found a seat closest to his group and sat down broadly.
"Bring three barrels of the Northland's finest brew and all the grilled meats your establishment has."
Another dark paladin ordered, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.
The tavern's server swallowed nervously and then whispered, "Right away, please wait a moment."
Due to the arrival of the followers of the god of tyranny, the atmosphere in the tavern became oppressive, causing many of the patrons to feel uneasy and begin cautiously getting up, intending to leave.
A commoner in homespun clothes slowly walked to the door, about to leave.
The tavern door was still open, showing the dark and dreary sky outside. One more step, and he would be out of the oppressive atmosphere of the tavern.
Whoosh!
A sudden unnatural wind slammed the tavern door shut.
The spellcaster casually moved his wand and then placed it beside him.
The man wanting to leave froze in place, not daring to move.
"Why are you stopping people from leaving? What do you want to do?"
"Our Lin Leaf Town may be remote, but there are royal guards stationed nearby."
The implication was clear: if you cause trouble here, consider the consequences.
The dark paladin Ang looked at the speaker.
A tall, middle-aged man with a muscular build and a great steel sword at his waist, clearly a warrior.
"Please don't misunderstand."
Ang slowly stood up, his towering, muscular frame covered in scars imposing a significant presence on everyone in the tavern.
"We just want to gather some information and will leave shortly."
"What information?"
"What do you want to know?"
Someone courageously asked.
Just then, the server, trembling, brought the drinks and roasted meat.
The dark paladin did not speak immediately; instead, he took a large sip of the drink and tore off a big piece of roasted meat from a skewer holding an entire unknown beast's leg, dipped it in barbecue seasoning, and chewed it voraciously.
The other three mysterious adventurers also began to eat heartily, their manners rough, as if they had been starving for a long time.
In the tense and heavy tavern, only the sounds of teeth masticating the meat and the gulping of drinks filled the air.
After a moment, Ang casually grabbed the server, using his clothing to wipe his greasy hands.
"I heard that a young red dragon and a young white dragon flew over Lin Leaf Town and entered the northern Needle Spine Mountains."
"Anyone who knows anything about the whereabouts of
these two young dragons, speak now."
Saying this, Ang played with several gold coins in his palm.
"We will not be stingy with the reward."
Seeing the faintly shining gold coins, many patrons immediately showed a greedy look, their fear of the followers of the god of tyranny somewhat dispelled.
"A few of you are here to hunt dragons too."
"Recently, nine out of ten adventurers coming to Lin Leaf Town are here for dragon hunting."
Someone sighed in relief and said.
A while ago, two young dragons flew openly over Lin Leaf Town and landed near the Needle Spine Mountains, witnessed by many people. After the news spread, it attracted many dragon hunters, making this remote town much livelier. Ang and his companions were among them.
"I, I know something."
A patron said weakly.
"I happened to be picking herbs in the Needle Spine Mountains and saw two dragons flying over my head, landing around Gor Peak, but I'm not sure of the exact location."
"Gor Peak?"
Ang's tone became more serious.
"It's a relatively high, uniquely shaped peak in the Needle Spine Mountains. We often enter the mountains to pick magical herbs and use it to identify our position."
A hunched, short, and sycophantic patron with several yellow teeth explained.
"Good, lucky one, you have earned the right to live."
Ang said something that changed the expressions of those around him, and then he reached out his hand.
The short herb gatherer, a few meters away from him, showed a terrified expression as he felt an invisible force pulling him forward, out of his control. He was then grabbed by the dark paladin like picking up a chicken.
At the same time.
The first warrior to question the purpose of Ang and others drew his great steel sword and quickly flipped over to leave.
Whiz!
An arrow pierced his heart and pinned him to the wall behind, quivering slightly and dripping crimson blood.
The tavern instantly became chaotic. The patrons shoved and scrambled in fear, trying to distance themselves from these evil deity followers, heading towards the town's outskirts to seek help from the royal guards.
"I pray to my lord Bane, may you find a moment of pleasure in this feast of blood and violence."
Saying this, the dark paladin swung his arm.
Hiss hiss hiss!
A series of black sword energies spontaneously appeared, sweeping through the surroundings like a hurricane, cutting through the bodies of nearby patrons like slicing wheat. In an instant, blood and limbs were scattered everywhere.
The merciless slaughter of the weak by the strong.
This is one of the ways followers of the god of tyranny please their deity.
Besides, offering powerful creatures as sacrifices is even more pleasing to the god of tyranny, granting powerful divine arts.
Dragons, these top-tier magical creatures, naturally make the best sacrifices.
Therefore, upon hearing of the young dragons, Ang and his companions immediately followed the lead. Juvenile real dragons, which they could handle relatively easily, would suffice as offerings to please the god of tyranny.
Planet Frances, once a battleground in the former glory wars, has an impressive reputation among the dragonkind today.
But the value dragons can bring is too great, and still, many daring individuals, upon spotting an opportunity, are willing to form teams to hunt dragons.
Soon, the spellcaster constructed magical flames, setting the entire tavern ablaze.
Surrounded by flames and bones, the dark paladin holding the terrified herb gatherer quickly vanished from the spot.
By the time the residents of Lin Leaf Town realized something was wrong and called the royal guards, all that was left was the charred remains of the tavern, carrying a pungent and eerie smell of scorched remains.
After a while.
By a stream in the Needle Spine Mountains.
Under the lush canopy of Lin Leaf, shadows were everywhere.
Crack!
A dry branch was stepped on and snapped.
The dark paladin looked up at the towering mountain, much taller than the surrounding peaks, and asked the herb gatherer he was holding like a chick, "Is this Gor Peak?"
"Yes, yes, it is."
"Sir, I have brought you to Gor Peak and given you the information you wanted. I don't need any reward, just please spare my life. Gods above, I have an eighty-year-old mother and a young child at home who need me."
"I don't want to die."
The herb gatherer cried and pleaded.
"Pitiful weakling, do not cry."
Ang spoke softly.
The herb gatherer looked relieved, thinking the other party would not kill him.
"May the dark king strip away your weakness and fear."
Crack.
Just like snapping a dry branch, Ang casually twisted the man's neck and then tossed him into the nearby stream without a second glance.
The unlimited domination over the weak, the right to do as one pleases, is enshrined in the doctrines of the god of tyranny. Ang, as a dark paladin, had undergone six years of training in a secret temple of the god of tyranny, constantly absorbing the doctrines and honing both his body and spirit. Such devout followers of the god of tyranny naturally have no compassion for the weak.
In their view, the strong naturally possess the right and duty to dominate the weak.
The weak must only obey.
"Lucas, check for any traces of the dragons."
The dark paladin turned to the spellcaster.
Lucas, the spellcaster, nodded and then began murmuring a spell, constructing a magical array.
Quickly, his eyes emitted a faint glow as he looked towards Gor Peak.
After just a glance, the spellcaster withdrew his gaze, his voice filled with excitement, "There's a very strong dragonic aura here. Judging by the brightness, these are juvenile dragons that have just reached adolescence."
"The traces they left are quite clear; they obviously don't have much experience moving about outside."
"Dealing with these young dragons will be easy for us."
The spellcaster asserted confidently.
"A red dragon and a white dragon. My lord will certainly be pleased with this offering."
Another dark paladin voiced out with a deep chuckle.
Next, under the cover of the spellcaster's stealth magic, the four men began to approach Gor Peak, following the traces left by the young dragons and getting closer to their hiding spot.
Due to the young dragons' lack of skill in concealing their tracks, they left many signs.
Soon, at a location near the foothills of Gor Peak, hidden in dense bushes, the pursuing group spotted a newly excavated open cave entrance.
The spellcaster looked towards the cave entrance.
The rich dragonic aura was dazzling like the sun.
"The prey is right in their lair."
Meanwhile, amidst deep thunderous sounds, torrential rain fell from the long-suppressed dark clouds, the raindrops merging into a chain that struck the dense forest foliage, creating a continuous crisp sound like chattering.
The curtain of rain was dense, like mist.
"Our lord Bane must be sheltering us,"
Ang looked up, his face showing devout reverence towards the gloomy rainy sky and the flashes of lightning.
Dragons have an excellent sense of smell. If they got too close to the dragon's lair, even with the spellcaster's magic, there was a risk of being detected prematurely by the dragons. However, this well-timed heavy rain could wash away their scent, making it harder for the dragons to detect them.
As they moved stealthily closer to the dragon's nest under the cover of the rain, they stepped inside.
To slay a dragon, one must first restrict its ability to fly.
The interior of the mountain formed a natural dragon's lair, and to Ang, entering such a lair was perfect—the dragons would be unable to escape into the sky, making it unnecessary to bother setting up a magical formation to block the airspace.
The dragon's lair was not very deep.
After cautiously moving for a few minutes, the group paused and held their breath.
At that moment, in the dark and barren interior of the mountain's dragon lair, they saw two relatively small true dragons.
One red, one white.
Both dragons were not very large, roughly ten meters from head to tail, appearing to be about forty or fifty years old—still some distance from maturity.
However, the white dragon had a ring of black scales around its neck, which seemed familiar to Ang, but he couldn't recall where he had seen it before.
Both dragons were sound asleep, seemingly unaware they were being targeted as prey, with the hunters now close at hand.
"It's the first time I've seen dragons with such a lack of vigilance,"
"This will be our easiest dragon hunt ever."
Inside the protective silence of a magical field, the spellcaster commented.
They weren't new to dragon hunting and had plenty of experience. By using dragons as offerings, they had received many blessings from the god of tyranny, acquiring superhuman powers up to this point.
"Why would a red dragon associate with a white dragon?"
"The leading red dragon of the five-colored dragons should despise the white dragon, seeing it as a disgrace, right?"
They observed the two dragons snuggled up together, sleeping, appearing to be in a good relationship.
The ranger, who had some elven blood, commented coldly, "After the Glory War, things within the dragonkind have changed. Now, even gold dragons and red dragons coming together is possible."
Saying this,
The ranger unslung his longbow, his gaze sharp as he aimed at the dragons.
"Don't alert them. Blind them with one shot."
The dark paladin instructed.
Dragons are the most superior magical creatures, extremely sensitive to magic.
At such close range, if the spellcaster constructed more spells, it might alert the dragons. Moreover, although they were sound asleep, getting any closer might wake them.
This was where the highly skilled ranger would be useful.
The ranger nodded, simultaneously placing four specially crafted arrows on his bowstring.
These arrows, g
listening with a bit of starlight, looked exceptionally beautiful but were dangerously lethal. They were mixed with expensive mithril, capable of silent flight and engraved with runes for breaking magic and armor.
Due to his mixed elven heritage,
Although not recognized by pure elves, the ranger took pride in it.
Because elves were defeated by dragonkind, he harbored deep animosity towards dragons.
Inside the quiet dragon's lair, the ranger pulled the bowstring to full draw, his eyes as sharp as a hawk's. Then, with a flick of his finger, he released the four arrows, which traced four arcs in the air, aiming precisely at the eyes of the two giant dragons.
Time seemed to slow down.
As everyone watched tensely, an accident happened.
The red dragon rolled over, unintentionally nudging the white dragon's head.
Sssht, sssht, sssht, sssht! The four arrows almost brushed against the dragons' scales and embedded themselves into the wall behind, leaving deep, unseen holes.
"This…"
The dragons' movements in their sleep had just dodged the arrows.
Seeing they were still unawakened, Ang and his companions looked at each other in bewilderment.
The ranger felt embarrassed.
To fail in an ambush against stationary targets in their sleep was too humiliating for an archer.
"Lucky."
"But that's all."
With a snort, he pulled out four more arrows and released them.
Sssht, sssht, sssht! Meanwhile, the white dragon, apparently uncomfortable from being nudged, nudged the red dragon back.
This movement again perfectly dodged the four arrows.
The ranger's face turned as dark as the bottom of a pot, furious, as he drew four more arrows.
"I can't believe this today..."
Before he could finish,
The dark paladin raised his hand, stopping the ranger's actions, and calmly said, "These two dragons are playing us, can't you see?"
One dodge could be accidental.
But dodging twice consecutively? Ang didn't believe that could be just coincidence.
Otherwise, it would be too much of a coincidence.
Saying this, both dragons opened their eyes at the same time.
The white dragon growled lowly, spreading its wings to fly into the air, along with the red dragon running on the ground, they charged at Ang and his companions.
Seeing the young dragons rushing towards them,
Ang and another dark paladin revealed fierce smiles.
Both drew their great swords and leaped high into the air.
Boom, boom!
The swords came crashing down as the young dragons swung their claws.
But in front of the relatively tiny humans, their bodies filled with immense power, the great swords repelled the dragons' massive claws, simultaneously tearing through the dragon scales and drawing some blood.
"Roar, puny humans, you dare to wound us, die!"
The white and red dragons seemed to feel pain and temporarily retreated, simultaneously shouting in Common language.
After their charging bodies were intercepted, the dark paladins had not yet landed when they rose up enveloped in thick black mist, then slashed through the air from mid-jump.
Aerial slash!
As they descended from the air, several meters-long black sword energies spontaneously arose, their blades tearing through the cave floor and walls in a crisscross pattern, slashing towards the two young dragons.
At the same time,
The ranger, using magic as arrows and carrying his own fury, fired a barrage of arrows, while the spellcaster conjured ice and fire, sweeping towards the red and white dragons respectively.
Their reason for an ambush was simply to make the hunt a bit easier.
But even just dealing with two mere young dragons, Ang and his companions were confident.
Indeed, under their fierce assault, the two dragons were blown away, their scales battered and tattered, crashing into the walls at the deepest part of the cave, cornered and heavily injured.
"Humans, what do you want?"
"If you do not leave our lair, you will face the wrath of the dragons."
The uneasy young dragons, backed against the wall, spoke firmly.
The ranger scoffed, "Look at your current state, and you still dare to threaten us?"
"Where do you get the confidence?"
The dark paladin looked at the two dragons and calmly said, "Stop wasting words with them. My lord Bane is waiting for his faithful servants to offer a sacrifice."
Hearing the name of Bane, the young dragons' eyes shifted slightly.
"Bane? So you are followers of the god of tyranny. What grievance does my dragonkind have with the god of tyranny?"
The dark paladin calmly replied, "No grievances. It's merely the strong taking from the weak and, besides, my lord favors true dragons as sacrifices."
Holding his great sword, the dark paladin charged.
"Speak no more, doomed prey."
Saying this, the paladin leaped up, aiming to behead the white dragon at the neck, specifically
targeting the ring of black scales, with a swift strike.
In that instant,
Time seemed to slow down.
The paladin in mid-leap heard the dragon whisper.
"Prey?"
"Have you ever heard a saying?"
"The most high-end hunters often appear as prey."
As the words fell, Ang's great sword struck the white dragon's neck.
Clang!
A massive rebound shocked Ang's palms. Previously battered and seemingly defenseless under the white dragon's scales, the neck, which should have been fragile, felt like invincible divine iron, shattering the paladin's great sword.
The sword broke apart, its sharp fragments slicing through Ang's body, leaving him bloodied in an instant.
Ang's eyes widened in disbelief.
On the other side,
The paladin attacking the red dragon encountered the same situation.
Meanwhile, the ranger and the spellcaster, who had kept their distance from the two young dragons, watched the scene unfold, momentarily stunned.
Without immediate counterattacks from the wary paladins, the two dragons stood calmly on the spot.
Then, suddenly, rolling dragonic might burst forth.
A tidal wave of oppressive force came crashing down, shaking the dragon hunters' spirits, sinking their hearts to the depths.
As they watched in disbelief, the bodies of the two dragons began to grow enormously, almost filling the space of the dragon lair, transforming into adult dragons about twenty-four or twenty-five meters in length.
"Damn, they are not young dragons; they are adult dragons."
Cursing under his breath,
The two dark paladins exchanged a glance, then with solemn faces, they both said, "My lord Bane, may you burn our bodies with the fires of tyranny, grant us the power to execute tyranny, bring chaos and war, and drive away the weakness and peace of this world!"
Flames of black fire ignited, burning the bodies of the dark paladins.
At the same time, their aura surged tremendously.
Under the overdrive of divine magic, relying on consuming their own life potential, the two dark paladins' biological levels suddenly surpassed twenty, stepping into the realm of legends.
"Kill!"
There was no time to delay with the divine magic's limited duration.
Ang roared, and he and the other dark paladin shattered the cave's rocks with their powerful steps, launching themselves like cannonballs, their black flames condensing into new great swords.
"Swiftness of the leopard, strength of the bear"
At the same time, the spellcaster constructed enhancement spells, applying them to the paladins, while he and the ranger launched long-range attacks, their spells and a barrage of arrows covering the two adult dragons.
"Wow, to think such terrifying secret techniques exist that can instantly elevate one to the realm of legends!"
The adult white dragon exclaimed.
"Oh gods of dragons, I am so scared."
As it spoke, the not yet legendary adult white dragon closed its eyes as if in great fear, and instinctively extended a dragon claw towards Ang.
The frenzied paladin raised his sword of black fire, intending to strike the dragon claw with legendary might.
Crack!
That familiar sensation came again.
As soon as it touched the dragon scales, the sword of black fire shattered, disintegrating into nothing.
The other frenzied paladin experienced the same fate.
The two legendary-tier dark paladins were flung away like rag dolls, glancing at each other in mid-air with bewildered and clueless expressions.
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