The newcomer was none other than You, who had been missing all this time. It was his clever concealment until the final moment that provided the crucial control over the Frost-Glow Dragon King, allowing Starlight and Wu Hua’s attacks to succeed.
But to Starlight’s surprise, You no longer looked like the dying old man from before.
He had transformed into a middle-aged man with sharp brows and bright eyes, his silver hair cascading like a waterfall and his features resolute.
Judging by his human appearance, he looked to be forty or fifty years old at most.
Had it not been for his aura and those silver eyes filled with the weariness of ages remaining unchanged, Starlight might have doubted his own vision.
“Is that… Senior You?” Starlight asked tentatively.
“Mm.” You nodded, a gentle smile appearing on his face. “You all did well.”
During this brief exchange, Cantia’s body finally gave out. She collapsed straight to the ground, dissolving into specks of crystalline dust that drifted away in the sunlight.
“Phew—”
After confirming that Cantia’s aura had completely vanished, Starlight let out a long sigh of relief. Turning back to You, his eyes were filled with confusion. “Senior, what happened? You’ve become so much younger. And I remember… didn’t Senior Angela say you only had one chance to strike? Just now…”
You chuckled and waved him off, speaking casually. “This appearance is thanks to Angela’s help. It’s been thousands of years… I almost forgot what I used to look like. As for the strike you mentioned, an attack of that level isn’t enough to affect my life force. As long as I control myself and don’t use my full strength, it’s not a major issue…”
“Uncle! It really is you!”
Before You could finish, an excited Lian pounced forward like a gust of wind. She slammed into his arms, her slender arms wrapping tightly around his waist.
Jostled by the sudden embrace, You leaned back slightly and laughed. “Silly girl, you’re already a Princess, yet you’re still so reckless. But I’m glad you’re safe. It seems this kid Starlight has taken good care of you.”
“Of course… It’s all thanks to Starlight and the others this time…” Lian replied in a muffled voice, her face buried deep in You’s chest as a blush crept up her long, slender ears.
“Alright, alright, let go of me. I can’t walk like this.”
“No! Let me hug you a bit longer! Just a little bit!”
...
Meanwhile, Little Gold walked silently to the spot where Cantia’s body had disappeared. He reached down to scoop up a handful of ash, gently rubbing it between his fingertips.
Unlike the excited Lian, there was no smile on Little Gold’s face. Instead, he looked at the embers in his hand with a pensive expression.
“What is it, Little Gold? Did you notice something unusual?” Starlight asked, seeing his uncharacteristically solemn expression.
“Yeah… I don’t know how to put it,” Little Gold frowned and said slowly. “I just feel like that woman was still hiding something.”
“Excellent intuition. Just as you suspected, the Frost-Glow Dragon King is certainly not dead,” You suddenly interjected.
“What?”
Those words hit them like a thunderclap. Everyone turned their heads in shock. Wu Hua’s body tensed instantly, her dagger reappearing in her hand.
“What? You didn’t actually think a Dragon King could be taken down that easily, did you?” You said naturally.
“But… Lord You! I clearly struck her vitals just now! And Starlight’s Power of Destruction definitely took effect!” Wu Hua pressed.
“Your attacks were effective, but what we faced just now wasn’t the Frost-Glow Dragon King’s original body. Based on my observations, it was likely some kind of clone technique…”
“Hiss!”
Starlight sucked in a sharp breath. After all that effort, they had only defeated a mere clone of Cantia?
You lightly raised his hand. A strand of silver light flowed from his fingertips, entining around the ash in Little Gold’s palm.
After a few seconds, the silver light flew off toward the distance, vanishing into the horizon.
“As I thought, the Frost-Glow Dragon King’s aura still exists. I’ve roughly pinpointed her location.” You narrowed his eyes, his gaze falling upon a layer of grey clouds connecting the sky and earth in the distance.
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s get out of here! If Lady Cantia’s true body comes, we won’t be able to stop her!” the dragon girl Imira said.
Having rested for a while, she had recovered significantly, both physically and mentally.
“No, we can’t leave yet. I have a feeling her clone was here to hide something… We have to find it,” Little Gold shook his head and said firmly.
“Oh? It seems you’ve sensed something too. Then my intuition must be correct. Let’s go take a look inside that space.” You nodded thoughtfully after hearing Little Gold’s words, looking toward a spot nearby where the traces had been deliberately concealed.
“But…” Imira started to speak, but You waved her down.
“Don’t worry, your Dragon King won’t be coming anytime soon. Her true body’s aura is being held back by a certain existence. This is the perfect time for us to act.”
With that, You stepped toward the point of spatial distortion at the end of the rocky beach.
His long silver hair fluttered behind him. With every step, the residual ice crystals left by Cantia melted away like snow under a blazing sun, automatically clearing a path.
As he drew closer, the edges of the hidden space began to distort violently.
When You finally stood before the spatial boundary, the entire disguise barrier could no longer hold. It shattered with a sound like cracking glass.
Countless spatial fragments peeled away from the void, eventually forming an opening large enough for several people to pass through.
“This is...”
Starlight instinctively stepped forward, peering through the spatial rift.
On the previously empty rocky beach, clusters of black objects had appeared.
At first, Starlight couldn’t quite see what was being hidden, but before he could even get close, a nauseating stench of rot hit him—a miasma so thick it felt tangible.
“It stinks! What on earth is piled up in there?” Lian covered her nose instinctively, her brow furrowed.
“...”
You didn’t answer, but his expression was terrifyingly dark. This unnatural silence was more unsettling than any words.
Seeing him so on edge, the others followed quickly. Finally, they saw the scene inside the space.
“!!!”
The scene inside could only be described as a tragedy. Hundreds of figures were suspended in mid-air by dark grey chains, forming a horrific forest within the dim space.
Among these figures were humans and elves, but the majority were juvenile dragons.
Their withered bodies were frozen in distorted poses, hollow eye sockets staring into the void. Large amounts of blood dripped from their wounds, pooling into a viscous lake on the ground.
This floor of blood was the source of the foul stench.
Fighting back the urge to vomit, Starlight looked past the hanging corpses to the ground—the floor was covered in dense, dark red magic formations. At the center of each formation flickered an eerie, blackish-grey flame.
If he wasn’t mistaken, these formations were the medium used to transform those corpses into mindless monsters.
“Ugh—”
Even the experienced Wu Hua couldn’t help but gag at the sight. Her dagger slipped from her trembling fingers, creating dark red ripples in the pool of blood beneath her feet.
The others felt as if they had been plunged into an ice cellar, their breathing becoming difficult. Who could have imagined that hidden deep within the Dragon Race’s most sacred hatching grounds was such a horrific, evil magic formation? And it had remained undiscovered all this time.
“This is too tragic… Wait, there’s more than one place like this!” This horrific scene reminded Lian of where she had been imprisoned, and she cried out in shock.
“Ugh… Those bastards!”
Little Gold’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his fists, his Dragon Might erupting uncontrollably. When he turned to look at Imira, his golden eyes burning with rage caused her to instinctively step back.
“So this is what your Dragon King has been up to! Tell me everything you know!”
Rate on N.U.
