Chapter 29: The Evolution of Dragons

The mercenaries were terrified to discover that the entrance behind them had vanished without a trace. The massive rock formation was smooth as if it had never existed.

Suddenly, the magical energy around them began to stir. In their panic, everyone turned to the center of the cave, where the blue dragon stirred, folding its wings back to its sides. It was awakening. The enormous wings flapped twice, and the tips broke through the blue magical barrier.

A massive, thunderous breath echoed in the cave, like distant thunder, causing the vast hollow to vibrate with each gasp, and broken stones from the walls fell continuously.

As if two shooting stars crossed the night sky, each of the dragon's heads opened one eye simultaneously.

"You vile, lowly human bastards, who dares disturb my sweet dreams?" Despite being over a hundred meters away, each adventurer felt the overwhelming fury radiating from the dragon, filling the cave with a palpable aura of slaughter.

"How can it speak?" Daqingshan whispered in shock.

"You bastards!" Clearly, the dragon's hearing was exceptionally keen. "Do only those damned Sacred Dragons have the right to use human language? Come, let me see what kind of beings dare to break through five barriers to reach me. It has been years since I've had the pleasure of flexing my muscles against you pathetic humans."

A blast of dragon breath erupted from its mouth, instantly turning the massive stone pillars into glowing red. The piles of gold ore, resembling small hills before it, melted into golden liquid in the span of a breath.

The first adventurer to regain their composure was Drew. The unique aura of death from his berserker blood began to radiate from him as he felt humiliated by his earlier cowardice. With a roar, the berserker lifted his four-meter-long war axe high, spurring the earth dragon beneath him to charge at the blue dragon.

The earth dragon took only a few steps before abruptly stopping, its massive inertia nearly throwing Drew off its back. The earth dragon recoiled, fear evident in its eyes.

"Damn it, you coward!" In his rage, Drew used one hand to punch the earth dragon's head, causing it to tremble even more.

The silver axe arced through the air, slicing through the earth dragon's tail, and blood sprayed out instantly. The earth dragon howled in pain, lowering its enormous head as it thundered towards the blue dragon.

The other adventurers regained their senses, quickly forming a battle group. The warriors surrounded the mages and priests, and although many still trembled with fear, it didn't hinder the group's ability to fight. "Come back, Drew! Let's go together!" Afeng shouted, but to no avail.

The adventurers advanced toward the blue dragon with the precision of a military formation.

"Haha, damned little bastards," the blue dragon appeared unfazed.

Closer, closer, they were getting nearer. Drew was now just fifty meters from the blue dragon. Its blue-green head opened wide, and a fierce wind howled from its mouth, cutting through the air like a knife. The winds tore at Drew's clothes, and with a few hissing sounds, the little armor he had left was completely shredded by the gale.

Even under immense pain, the earth dragon couldn't withstand the force of the dragon's breath. Initially, it pushed forward with its head down, but after a few steps, the roaring wind knocked it to the ground, pinning one of Drew's legs beneath its massive body.

The blue dragon relished this outcome and stopped its breath.

As the wind calmed, the adventurers quickened their pace to reach Drew's side. Afeng and Daqingshan struggled to help the earth dragon up, only to realize it had died from fright, its foul-smelling yellow bile oozing from its mouth. The blue dragon was not just a nightmare for humans; its violent aura easily terrified even its own kind.

Drew was pulled free by his companions.

At this point, they were only forty meters away from the blue dragon.

At such close range, they could see the awe-inspiring presence of this ancient dragon. It stood eight meters tall and was thirty meters long, roughly more than twice the size of an ordinary dragon. Its four eyes blazed with fury. The blue-gray body was covered in scales of various sizes, each about the size of a palm, and it bore numerous scars—evidently the marks of many battles fought. It was unclear what kind of warrior had left such deep imprints, but the ultimate victor was always the blue dragon. In over a thousand years, there had been no records of anyone returning alive after battling it, not even the dragon knights who rode other dragons.

The blue dragon extended its long claws, accepting the brain matter of a snow wolf from a skeletal hand on the ground and swallowed it in one gulp.

"Ha-ha, it's better to have a little snack before the main course. Damn little insects, let's have some fun!" 

Without uttering a single spell, the air before the blue dragon suddenly rippled, and four yellow Wind Illusions emerged. Almost simultaneously, the four Wind Illusions vanished into thin air as if dissolving into the atmosphere.

"Be careful, the wind dragons are invisible!" Nuo shouted while chanting a spell, "Oh, light spirits, bless your warriors!" Golden magic rained down from above, bathing each adventurer, as four yellow dragons suddenly appeared before them, flying low and charging like arrows.

"Spirit of the sword, take on your ethereal form and become the blades of our attack!" Qian Li Xue initiated her assault, as her white longsword transformed into countless sword shadows shooting towards the low-flying dragon. The wind dragon, caught off guard, was immediately struck by the sword shadows, which crashed heavily against its body, causing it to tumble to the ground.

Silver sword energy erupted again from A Feng's longsword, launching eight beams of sword energy directly at the two wind dragons ahead. The one recently felled by Qian Li Xue was unable to dodge and was swiftly struck in the head by the sword energy, vanishing into thin air—when a wind dragon is defeated, it reverts to its original form. The other wind dragon let out a long, pained cry, its movements slowing down.

Meanwhile, the magic archer released three magical arrows, ignited by yellow flames, slicing through the air. The earth-type arrows were undoubtedly the best choice against wind dragons. As expected, one of the arrows struck the neck and body of a wind dragon, rapidly hardening its yellow form before it fell like a pile of dirt, disappearing into the air.

Barely clothed, the druid brandished a four-meter-long battle axe and charged in like a madman. Silver lightning crackled through the air as he cleaved off one of the massive wind dragon's legs, causing it to disappear instantly.

The final wind dragon was taken down by a coordinated attack from several swordsmen. In this first round, the adventurers emerged victorious, no matter how one looked at it.

"This is getting interesting," Yin Feng exclaimed, his eyes narrowing as if he had discovered treasure.

"Be careful; he has two heads, allowing him to cast spells simultaneously at great speed," A Feng, a former first-level magician, quickly realized Yin Feng's strength.

"Ice and snow storm…" To prevent Yin Feng from launching another attack, Ai Mi summoned ice-type magic from a distance of thirty meters.

Snowflakes fell from the cave's ceiling, forming larger snowflakes and ice shards as they descended. The ice blades surged like mountains towards Yin Feng.

This low-level magic posed no threat to the dragon; Yin Feng paid it no mind and began to cast his next powerful spell. However, there was an exception: the ice and snow storm cast by the high-level ice spirit was far beyond what a human magician or even a magic tutor could compare. The ice shards broke through Yin Feng's defenses, slicing into him like blades, producing a screeching noise as white wounds briefly paused before red blood quickly oozed out.

Perhaps it had been too long since anyone had left a mark on Yin Feng, as the whites of his eyes quickly filled with blood vessels. Letting out a long, mournful roar, the sound echoed throughout the vast cave, causing stones of various sizes to tumble from the ceiling.

In his pain, Yin Feng abandoned the spell he had been preparing to cast. The magical spirits surged forth like tides, as a blue hexagonal magic array appeared before everyone. A black magical dragon rose from the ground, followed by a second dragon.

The dark dragon Blenda? Known as the ultimate weapon of destruction on the battlefield, could Blenda truly summon two dragons at once? As everyone stared in astonishment at the simultaneous rise of the two dragons, black magical flames erupted forth.

Blenda's attack only targeted those who had established a direct conflict; Amy… just now, only Amy and Yin Feng had established such a connection. Black flames erupted from Ai Mi, instantly staining her white clothing crimson as she let out a low groan, crashing to the ground, unconscious.

"Amy…" Da Qingshan shouted, rushing over.

"Oh, loving Goddess Dainiya… may your benevolent moonlight shine upon your followers!" Nuo whispered a chant, and pure white moonlight began to fall from the sky, swiftly healing Ai Mi's wounds, though she let out a faint groan of pain.

"My blood, my spirit, I call upon your presence in my name, exchanging my life for your powerful attack…" A Feng raised his large sword, his solemn voice resounding, "Ah—" A mouthful of fresh blood spewed forth, and the silver longsword instantly turned blood-red.

"Brother Feng, don't use your sword energy like this!" Qian Li Xue shouted, attempting to stop A Feng, but…

The blood-red longsword trembled as eight blue sword energies erupted from it, followed by two blood-red sword energies. The blue sword energies collided with Yin Feng's defensive barrier, scattering widely, while the blood-red sword energies broke through the shield, leaving two foot-long gashes on Yin Feng's left wing, causing blood to spurt out.

"My blood, my spirit, I call upon your presence in my name, exchanging my life for your powerful attack…" Qian Li Xue also raised her large sword, her solemn voice echoing, "Ah—" Another mouthful of blood sprayed out, and her silver longsword also turned blood-red.

Four blue sword energies and one red sword energy simultaneously struck towards Yin Feng, adding yet another wound to his body.

"Lowly humans, die!" A massive wall of fire erupted from the ground, roaring flames surged towards the adventurers, as another yellow wind dragon appeared, howling in the air and brandishing its massive claws. Several high-level wind spirits were summoned in an instant.

Almost simultaneously, every adventurer began to endure the combined assaults of magic and physical attacks. The remaining two swordsmen fell, while A Feng, after striking down a wind spirit, was struck by the massive tail of the wind dragon, sending him crashing into the flames.

"Brother Feng!" Qian Li Xue attempted to fend off the wind spirit in front of her. After a feint strike, she leaped up to catch A Feng, but both of them fell into the wall of fire together. Just as Qian Li Xue tried to rise from the flames, the wind spirit flew up and activated the fire wall, enveloping both of them like a mountain.

Qianlixue forcefully tossed A Feng aside, and her blood-red sword emitted several sword beams that struck the wind elemental. With a loud "boom," the wind elemental was knocked to the ground. Qianlixue pounced on it, tightly embracing the elemental as they rolled in the sea of fire…

"Goddess of Compassion, Dainiya… shower your loving moonlight upon your faithful!" Nuo attempted to cast a large-scale healing spell. But at that very moment, a series of rumblings erupted in the air as five black-red core fusion eggs summoned by Yin Feng appeared before him, exploding in deafening blasts that obliterated Nuo and the nearby magic swordsman into ashes.

Old Locke and Dru simultaneously hurled their axes at Yin Feng. The massive battle axes spun through the air, and blue light emanated from Yin Feng. Dru's axe was immediately deflected, but Old Locke's axe glowed with red light, breaking through the blue physical barrier and carving an even larger wound beneath the dragon's blue head.

Yin Feng let out another agonizing wail, and red dragon breath spewed from its green head, causing Dru, who was closest, to vanish in an instant.

Old Locke reached out for his giant battle axe, the red light reappearing on the weapon as it bounced back up from the ground beneath Yin Feng, returning to his hands.

Da Qingshan moved Amy to a corner, covering her with a steel shield, and then engaged in combat with the approaching wind elementals.

Yin Feng's black head was not idle; a blue magic circle reappeared as the dark giant dragon, Landa, was summoned from underground. Three streams of black magical fire shot out at Old Locke and Da Qingshan. They both crashed to the ground, with Old Locke's head striking his axe heavily, knocking him unconscious.

The battle seemed to be over, with no adventurers left standing.

This was Yin Feng, the evil dragon with two heads capable of simultaneously casting two large-scale spells. In its presence, the numerous A and B rank mercenaries from the four mercenary groups had suffered heavy casualties in just a few minutes, losing all ability to fight back. The double S-rank mission brought the mercenaries not only financial rewards but also the specter of death!

Da Qingshan had not yet lost consciousness; blood gushed from the boy's mouth as he struggled to crawl toward Amy. He grasped her hand tightly. "Amy, I never expected that on our first outing… In our next life, I truly hope we can be brothers again." Amy began to wake from her stupor, red liquid clouding her vision as she saw a crimson world around her. "Have we lost?" she gasped, trying to rise, even attempting to reach for the Ice Blade nearby, but…

"The game is over. Go kill those pitiful humans," Yin Feng's voice echoed through the cave. The last few elementals, wielding glimmering ice blades, surrounded them; the outcome was no longer in doubt.

In his final moments, Da Qingshan squeezed Amy's hand one last time. "Amy, Luer, my dear companions, farewell."

"God" has always been a legendary term.

Very few people have seen a god, except for the priests of the Holy Church, who always claim they can converse directly with the divine. During times of great drought or rampant plague, the common people plead with the priests to speak to the gods on their behalf, hoping to be saved from their dire straits. Most of the time, the gods are merciful, revealing their holy powers. However, there are also many instances when the gods choose not to intervene, perhaps as the priests say, because the world is tainted with too much corrupt blood, requiring certain calamities to cleanse it.

According to legend, there are four tiers of gods, with the highest being the Creator God. This god does not have a name, and any priest's murmured prayers—"My god…"—are directed toward the Creator God.

Beneath the Creator God is the Dragon God, Pelott, who is said to be an invincible warrior, a being not created by the Creator, thus enjoying this honor exclusively.

After creating the world, the Creator God grew very weary and left behind five unique resources from the previous world: wind, fire, earth, ice, and water. To manage these five resources, the Creator God immediately created five great elemental spirits.

Subsequently, the Creator God created other deities, and the Dragon God Pelott also gave rise to the five holy dragons of the elements.

— "Under Heaven, All Belong to the Gods"