Chapter 236: The Ghost Ship

"Where are the dragons?" Muria, who had transported nearly ten thousand survivors from Cecil City to Asriel City, looked at the mostly empty sky, where only a few gem dragons flew, and asked with confusion.

During his first rescue, he had brought back twenty thousand humans, and at that time, Asriel's sky was filled with the silhouettes of flying dragons, mainly gem dragons, along with some bronze and copper dragons indifferent to humans.

The ancient dragons had instructed the younger dragons to hunt liches and draw the attention of the Council of the Undead's legendary members. This was voluntary, given the family relations among dragons. Those who wanted to go would go; those who didn't stayed in Asriel City, watching like bystanders.

The fate of humans after the liches were killed was left to each dragon's preference. No dragon faced criticism for their choice, as they had no inherent duty towards humans.

"Where have all the dragons gone?" Muria stood atop the well-preserved lord's castle, frowning in dissatisfaction. Below, Cecil refugees, under the direction of the green dragons, maintained some order as they emerged from the castle gates.

A gust of wind heralded the arrival of an emerald dragon, whose scales glittered faintly. After a wary glance at Fiona, who appeared quiet and elegant beside Muria, the dragon's eyes, full of curiosity, turned towards Muria.

"Muria, have you rescued so many humans again?" The youthful emerald dragon didn't even glance at the human refugees below, focusing directly on Muria.

"Yes," Muria replied, sniffing the air and detecting something odd. He nodded coldly, as this emerald dragon was female.

"Muria, you're not a lord dragon. Why rescue so many humans? How will you settle them?"

Among the dragons that had come to Bavaria, only the gold, silver, and some lord dragons were willing to rescue humans, with lord dragons being the most active.

The Bavarian Kingdom, targeted by the Council of the Undead, was essentially doomed, so the humans rescued by dragons were essentially stateless refugees.

The rescued humans could be considered the property of their rescuing dragons. Therefore, the lord dragons were most enthusiastic, as each rescued human meant one more taxpayer in their domains, with population equating to wealth.

"Kaslarna's lands still have many uninhabited wilds, undeveloped and just needing some clearing. Wouldn't they be enough to settle the humans I rescued?"

"You plan to give all thirty thousand rescued humans to Kaslarna?" The emerald dragon looked surprised and confused at Muria. "Why?"

After asking, she seemed to realize something, her eyes showing a mixture of understanding and resignation.

"Just as you said, I have no lands to settle them," Muria said, looking at the humans trembling under the emerald dragon's aura, some even prostrating themselves. "Tone down your aura. And remember, they are not goods."

"They are just a bunch of lowly creatures," the emerald dragon muttered, then dutifully reined in her aura. Muria's last comment was ignored, as she didn't care about humans, but she was concerned about Muria's attitude.

Muria didn't respond. The gap between ordinary humans and dragons was immense; humans often lacked the courage to even stand in the presence of a real dragon.

"Let's not dwell on this," Muria said, pointing to the empty sky. "Where have all the other dragons gone? Why are only a few of you left? What about the ancient ones?"

"Some dragons spotted a ghost ship, and then, well, you see the result," the emerald dragon replied nonchalantly, scratching her chin. "They all went after the ghost ship, and the old ones too."

"A ghost ship?" Muria's expression shifted. "The legendary lich, Captain Barbossa."

The ancient dragons had interrogated the liches, obtaining useful information. For instance, the legendary lich responsible for unleashing the Necromantic Catastrophe in regions including Asriel City was named Barbossa.

This notorious lich, one of the core members of the Council of the Undead, was more renowned than the Death Dragon Rider, Bertlein. He was also one of the orchestrators of this annihilation campaign.

His most prominent hallmark was his fleet of ghost ships, sailing majestically through the skies.

So, if dragons in this region saw a ghost ship in the sky, it was likely part of Barbossa's ghost fleet.

Following the ghost ship would lead them to Barbossa's fleet and, ultimately, to this peculiar legendary lich, the enemy of the dragon race.

At that moment, a spell message streaked across the sky towards Muria. He caught it, and as the light flickered and exploded in mid-air, a soft voice rang in Muria's ear.

"Muria, I found a ghost ship. Come help me!"

The voice was that of the Golden Dragon Sister Kaslarna, conveyed via a messaging spell. As the voice faded, spatial coordinates appeared in Muria's mind.

"Fiona, Otris, come with me." Without hesitation, Muria cast a 7th-level spell, Phase Door, teleporting to Kaslarna's location with the two soul pinnacle dragons. He didn't even wait for the emerald dragon.

Arriving at the coordinates, Muria saw a golden-haired, long-legged sister standing in the void, holding a staff, smiling at him.

Below her, a three-masted ship covered in a layer of eerie green light and riddled with decay stood still. The ship, emanating a strong aura of death, bore souls embedded within it, struggling and wailing in despair.

"These souls, defeated in battle with this ghost ship, are eternally imprisoned on board, powering the vessel," Kaslarna explained, noticing Muria's gaze.

"You've already captured the ghost ship!" Muria frowned. "Then why call me here?"

"Muria, when the ancient dragons arrive, I'll say we captured this ghost ship together."

"Why would you do that?"

"This is my repayment to you!"

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT