Chapter 91: The Path of the Crimson Scale (Part Four)
Alger led the two to the entrance of the Giant's Maw Cave. Singo gracefully descended on his wyvern, while Mantou arrived belatedly.
"This is the place. I will take you to meet the master."
They walked into the cave, feeling the heat inside, with the scent of sulfur and pumice permeating everywhere, like a volcano about to erupt.
Mantou said with lingering fear, "There won't be any more trials, right?"
Singo calmly said, "No, I guess this is probably the residence of our faction leader—that red dragon. Did you notice the strange smell and unusual temperature?"
"According to the information I have, dragons can even alter their surrounding environment."
Mantou clicked his tongue in amazement, "If this is a boss, wouldn't it be a world boss, killing a bunch of people?"
Mantou did not know that his guess was correct.
They walked along the narrow rocky tunnel.
Soon, the path opened up before them, and they saw the master here—the red dragon.
What came into view was a massive body sixteen meters long, with thick, knotted muscles covered by dark red hard scales, the edges gleaming with metallic luster.
On the huge and ferocious head, golden vertical pupils full of majesty flashed with a molten glow, and the two backward-curving, thick bone-white horns were like a crown.
The red dragon lay crouched in the center of the cave, its mountain-like massive body rising and falling with its breaths, with wisps of white smoke occasionally emanating from it. Just gazing upon it, they could feel the heat radiating from its body, like a volcano about to erupt.
This was the first time they had seen the true form of their faction leader.
Mantou couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn..."
Thinking for a long time, but with his level of education, he couldn't come up with any description, so he hastily added a sentence.
"So damn big!"
The two adolescent wyverns were directly frightened by the powerful bloodline pressure, prostrating themselves, their bodies pressed tightly against the warm ground, emitting gurgling sounds from deep in their throats, and no matter how Mantou patted them, they refused to lift their heads even a bit.
Seeing someone approaching, Cassius slowly stood up, his golden vertical pupils overlooking them from seven or eight meters high in mid-air.
"We meet again, Starfallers."
"Are you—ready?"
Alger knelt on one knee, head bowed, and reported, "Master, they have completed the trial you set."
Cassius narrowed his eyes slightly, lowering his head a bit, "Very good, this is beyond my expectations."
As he spoke, the two could almost feel a sulfurous heat spraying onto their faces, and just the pressure emanating from the massive creature before them made them feel a bit panicked.
The red dragon continued, "Crimson Scaled Conquerors will be the sharp blades under my command, and from now on, you will shed this weak and powerless human shell, becoming the most loyal minions of the Ember Nest."
Mantou muttered softly, "It's a pity my handsome face will be lost here."
Singo cursed under his breath, "Do you want to lose favorability? If not, shut up."
Cassius ignored them, just said blandly:
"Alger, begin the preparations."
The half-dragon knight stepped forward and recited the prepared oath: "In front of the Lord of the Ember, the great red dragon Cassius, are you willing to swear allegiance, dedicating your life to being the loyal minions of the Ember Nest, regardless of good or evil, right or wrong, using your flames to conquer everything for the master?"
"Are you willing to become Crimson Scaled Conquerors?"
The quest information on their interface refreshed.
[Do you accept the faction sub-class [Crimson Scaled Conqueror]? If you accept, please proceed with the ritual.]
[Note: After selecting a faction sub-class, your faction will be locked and cannot be changed at will.]
A string of oath words appeared below on the interface.
"I, Mantou (Singo), swear allegiance to my lord Cassius Clawbourou Norixius, with unwavering loyalty, as the king's vanguard, burning all enemies, conquering everything."
The two players knelt on one knee and said in unison.
"Very good, please follow me."
Alger blindfolded them with crimson cloth, leading them and the wyverns deeper into the cave, arriving at the hidden cavern.
"Bloodline Gift—"
"Half-Dragon Transformation."
Cassius silently chanted in his heart, several drops of scalding dragon blood floated in the air with his will, then merged into the bodies of the two players.
The dragon blood touched their fragile flesh, immediately emitting sizzling sounds, even producing white smoke.
"Ah!"
The scalding blood entered his mouth, and Mantou couldn't help but scream, rolling wildly on the ground.
"Damn, even with pain threshold set to 5%, why does it still hurt so much?"
"I want to turn off pain sensations!"
Singo couldn't help but breathe faster, his whole body flushed red.
White steam burst out from their pores, spreading all around.
Under their skin, the joints at elbows, knees, and spine protruded wildly, piercing through the skin and clothes, forming sharp bone spurs and barbs.
Red scales grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, appearing all over their bodies—chest, arms, even on the face—tearing the skin forcibly.
Their faces, originally scanned from reality, were distorted by dragon-like bones and scales, only a trace of their original appearance could be seen, now more resembling ferocious dragon heads.
Even with the pain system turned off in time, Mantou was still frightened. Information kept refreshing on his interface.
[Acquiring data...]
[You have obtained the special race template [Half-Red Dragon]]
[Note: This race template is permanent and will be applied upon resurrection.]
[Your attributes have greatly increased; you have gained natural armor, fire breath, and other half-red dragon abilities...]
Blindfolded and still undergoing transformation, Mantou watched the continuously refreshing information, feeling exhilarated. If he could control his body to speak now, he would surely say "Awesome!"
Beside him, the wyvern "Noodle" was also undergoing transformation, constantly screeching and struggling. The red scales covering its body became harder, its slender body grew stronger, and its physique became larger.
In its flesh, basal blood vessels began to form, and its blood emitted blazing elemental power.
Moreover, an even more unknown change was happening...
[Datafication in progress...]
[Datafication complete!]
[Verifying parameters...]
[Parameter check complete!]
[Detected that the wyvern [Noodle] is your special sub-class mount; it will be considered part of the player's class system. Therefore, when the mount dies, you can resurrect it from the ancient magic circle, but you need to consume items of corresponding value.]
"The mount can be resurrected?"
"Damn!"
"This class—is unbeatable!"
In the darkness, Mantou browsed the interface information, couldn't help but exclaim in his heart.