Finally, when all the light completely dissipated, silence returned to the stone beach once more.
“Alright,” Starlight’s voice was still somewhat hoarse. “The best way to let them rest in peace is to stop this tragedy from spreading further.”
“Thank you, Lord Starlight… I will lead you to the core area of the Dragon Nest. Please help our Dragon Race overcome this disaster.”
After a long silence, Imira finally raised her head. As if she had finally made a decision, she looked at Starlight and the others, the light reigniting in her pale gold pupils.
“There will surely be many problems on the way to the core. With me there, I can save you from a lot of trouble.”
Having said that, she took a deep breath and gave the group a solemn bow.
A flash of approval crossed You’s silver eyes, and he nodded slightly. “Having a guide familiar with the Dragon Nest’s layout will indeed save us a lot of trouble. However…” His gaze swept over the unhealed wounds on Imira’s body. “Your injuries…”
“It’s fine. Compared to those compatriots who died tragically, these injuries are nothing,” Imira shook her head decisively and said in a heavy voice.
...
The group did not linger. Under Imira’s guidance, they quickly advanced toward the center of the Dragon Nest.
The grey cloud cluster connecting heaven and earth in the distance served as a guide, standing out remarkably in the gradually darkening Dragon Nest.
On the way, the group heard a great deal of intelligence regarding the Frost-Glow Dragon King, Cantia, from Imira.
Unlike the other Dragon Kings, the name “Frost-Glow” did not mean Cantia could only use water or ice magic. Rather, she simply felt the title was more appropriate for her identity as a Blue Dragon.
If one were to use a more concrete name to describe her, her true title should be the “Elemental Dragon King.”
This was because she had mastered four elements—water, fire, earth, and air—and truly possessed the level of a Saint Archmage in them. She was even infinitely close to the Saint Rank in both the light and dark elements.
This terrifying talent could be said to be infinitely close to Starlight’s Radiant Elemental Body.
Combined with the massive energy contained within her Dragon King body, she was almost an insurmountable wall in a pure magical battle.
Furthermore, Imira mentioned that the Frost-Glow Dragon King also mastered a secret technique originating from the ancient Dragon Race—True Image.
She only needed to spend some time to create true clones that possessed nearly sixty percent of her strength, though this was limited to the elements in which she had reached the Saint Rank.
The one everyone had fought earlier was merely her water elemental clone.
“In other words… there are at least three more clones like the one from before? And that’s not even counting Cantia’s original body?” Starlight asked softly after a moment of silence.
“Exactly. With the coordination of her clones, Lady Cantia’s strength can be considered among the best of the Dragon Kings,” Imira answered affirmatively.
“Then… if that fat guy went up against her, what would his chances of winning be?” Little Gold asked his own question at this point.
Although Yserazor always said he wasn't keen on fighting, if the Frost-Glow Dragon King was truly as powerful as Imira claimed, they might have to rely on his combat power in the absence of the other Dragon Kings.
“Fat guy…?” Imira was startled for a moment before she realized who he meant. “Are you talking about Lord Yserazor? If it were a pure duel between their original bodies, Lord Yserazor could probably make it a fifty-fifty split. But if you include the assistance of the clones… he has almost no chance of winning.”
This answer caused everyone to fall into silence, though You remained quite calm.
“There’s no need to be so pessimistic. Our combat power isn't exactly weak either. Although we haven't regrouped with the others yet, my intuition has always been accurate.”
“As for those three clones… if their strength is similar, I can guarantee that I can take out one or two of them without exhausting myself.”
You spoke indifferently, but Starlight could clearly hear the strong confidence in his voice.
Only then did he suddenly realize that You’s strength, now that he had returned to his peak state, was likely far beyond his previous estimates.
And it was indeed the case. After experiencing that brief realm beyond the Saint Rank, even You himself could not accurately judge his current limits.
He could feel the surging mana flowing through his rejuvenated body, every inch of his meridians filled with long-lost power. He was even confident that even if he faced a Dragon King alone, he would have the strength to fight.
Amidst their intermittent conversation, the group unknowingly arrived at the core area of the basin.
The sight before them made Starlight and the others involuntarily hold their breath.
A giant pit with a diameter of over a thousand meters had appeared abruptly in the earth, its edges consisting of neat rock walls that looked as if they had been sliced open by some terrifying force.
The grey tornado cloud connecting heaven and earth was churning upward from the depths of the bottomless pit, twisting the surrounding air into eerie vortexes. In the heights that were almost impossible to see clearly, flashes of lightning seemed to be flickering.
One could see the rock surfaces near the edge of the pit constantly shattering under the ravages of the tornado cloud, falling into the bottomless abyss below.
“Does your Dragon Race… always keep your eggs in such a dangerous place?” Lian asked in a small voice, swallowing hard as she looked down into the abyss.
“No… it didn't use to be like this. How did this tornado cloud appear?” Imira shook her head, looking very uneasy.
Unlike them, You focused his attention on the sky. Silver light flickered in his eyes as if he wanted to pierce through the thick cloud layer to see the situation inside.
After a long while, he closed his eyes and said in a low voice, “This cloud layer was artificially created, and someone is currently fighting inside.”
“!? Someone is fighting inside? And they can cause such a massive disturbance? Could it be…” Starlight said in surprise.
“It should be that fat guy. I can sense a bit of his aura. As for the opponent… it’s probably Cantia,” Little Gold said.
As if to confirm his words, a blinding light suddenly exploded deep within the high-altitude clouds, and two massive figures could be faintly seen crossing paths within the clouds.
Even through the thick clouds, the deafening dragon roars still made the ground beneath everyone’s feet tremble.
“That must be it. Let’s take this opportunity to enter the core area first! We need to destroy the magic formation there!” Imira said urgently.
“Yes, this is indeed a rare opportunity. Wait… who is it!? Come out!”
You was only halfway through his sentence when he suddenly turned to look at a nearby pile of rubble. Silver light had already appeared on the surface of his body, and he was prepared to strike at any moment.
“Wait! Don’t attack! It’s me!” Under everyone’s surprised gazes, Xia Duo emerged from behind a giant rock, looking quite disheveled. Judging by the marks on her body, she had clearly just gone through a fierce battle. “Great! I’ve finally found my own people!”
Starlight stepped forward quickly and asked urgently, “Xia Duo? Why are you here? Where are the others?”
“Don’t even get me started!” Xia Duo shook her head with a bitter smile, a flash of lingering fear in her blue eyes. “When we were teleported, only I and that fat… Yserazor landed near here.”
She pointed toward the edge of the giant pit behind her. “Before we could even catch our breath, we ran headlong into that Frost-Glow Dragon King.”
“Yserazor ended up fighting her directly. Before he left, he told me to hurry inside and see what was going on. But I’ve circled this giant pit almost once and haven't found any so-called entrance! Instead, I ran into several waves of those black monsters along the way and had to fight through some tough battles.”
“At first, I was wondering if I should just jump down, but after they triggered this cyclone, I couldn't get down into this pit anymore.”
After seeing her companions, Xia Duo’s tense nerves finally relaxed a little, and she rattled off a long string of information like a machine gun.
“That makes sense. The path leading to the interior of the Dragon Nest needs to be opened using the bloodline power of a pureblood dragon. It’s normal that you couldn't find it. However, didn't you see Cantia’s… I mean, the Frost-Glow Dragon King’s clones?” Imira nodded and then asked.
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