stonecrandall Page 84
Page 84
The dragon descended onto the platform erected in front of the granite city gate and struck the seven cast iron rings with its head and whiskers, the metallic vibrations piercing through the dense, fog-like elemental turbulence.
A group of Giszele monks clad in brown linen robes emerged at the sound, standing silently before the gate, their hands forming hand seals, their gazes sweeping over the dragon with the sharpness of hawks. Casalos noticed that crystallized vines were embedded in the seams of their armor beneath their linen robes—a byproduct of the uncontrolled earth elementals condensing in the Chaos Sea.
"Visitors must disarm." The monk's voice was flat and emotionless.
Casaroz glanced at the somewhat troubled Valeris, then cooperatively raised its wings, revealing its bare claws and body—dragon armor hidden beneath dragon scales, but the dragon's body itself was its most powerful weapon. The monk should have known this, yet it still adhered to ancient teachings; perhaps this was a rare manifestation of order amidst chaos?
After confirming that Casalos was not carrying any "weapons," the monk nodded, and the barrier opened a crack, allowing the dragon to enter the tower.
Gravity began to shift strangely, corridors meandered between the ceiling and walls, ascetics hung upside down from stone beams in meditation, while others stood vertically in alcoves in the walls. Casalos and Valeris followed the guiding monk through the main training hall and saw dozens of Giszerai practicing combat. Their movements were precise as machines, their punches tearing through chaos without touching any substance—this was the core of the "Way of Seth": predicting the trajectory of the future.
"They are in their morning meditation. Although the Chaos Sea has no day and night cycle, the Zen Forest still follows the time of the Prime Material Plane." Valeries began to act as a guide, explaining what she had seen and heard to Casalos: "Whenever the copper bell inside the stone wall rings, representing the third quarter of the hour of Yin (the Faragos timekeeping system), the gray-robed monks of the Zen Forest will surge from the honeycomb-like stone chambers to the central spiral plaza, their footsteps on the vertical steps creating vibrations at the same frequency as the copper bells."
They must regroup within twelve breaths, and those who are late will be responsible for all the cleaning work that day.
Due to the synchronized footsteps, the morning exercise gradually evolved into a dance, the Zes War Dance, which is the preliminary training for unlocking all Zess cultivator abilities. The first move of the War Dance is called Dawnbreaker. The monks grasp elemental energy in their left palm and draw out with their right elbow... This movement is not for offense, but to train their perception of the chaotic elemental flow until it becomes second nature. The power to foresee the future then emerges—high-level Zess cultivators can use this to predict elemental fluctuations three seconds in advance..."
"You want me to practice the Way of Zeth?" Casalos was puzzled, vaguely guessing Valeris's intentions: "I am not a monk."
"Then let me ask you, what is the ultimate pursuit of the monk martial arts path?"
"Hmm..." Although the name "Monk" sounds like it refers to combatants under some kind of Eastern religious organization, that's just a translation issue. In fact, the profession of Monk pursues the sublimation of life state. A Monk who reaches the Legendary level transforms himself into an extraordinary life form—some so-called officials who made outrageous claims that "Legendary Monks can leap onto rooftops in an instant" are just a bunch of idiots brainwashed by the DEI department.
In short, it can be roughly understood that the ultimate pursuit of a monk is "ascension." When a monk's training reaches perfection, he becomes a magical or otherworldly being, no longer a mortal.
So here's the question: now that Casalos can freely transform his physical form into pure element, does that mean he has achieved this accomplishment and completed the life form sublimation that an elemental subspecies dragon should have?
At least that's what Valeries thinks. So, is this the answer the Labarin Monastery hoped to get from Casalos?
As they talked, Casalos followed Valeris and the guiding monk into the center of the Zen monastery, an open courtyard covered in fine sand. The current abbot of the Labarin Zen Monastery, Master Be'Tomes, sat cross-legged in the center of the sand, three burning runestones floating beside him. His pupils gleamed silver, and the spiritual energy emanating from his body was almost tangible. He manipulated the elements of the Chaos Sea, weaving them into different physical forms, which then crumbled and scattered, settling steadily onto a small table behind the abbot, where it was already piled high with strange and unusual items.
As the iron dragon approached, the Zen master raised his hand in a gesture: "Dragon from elsewhere, you have a strong will and are well-suited to cultivate our 'Tao'."
"You knew I was coming?"
“I ‘saw’ your arrival from the chaos. Even if you hadn’t met Little Valeries, you would have come to me for some other reason. It was destiny.”
Casalos crouched down on the sand, his tail curling up a rock. He didn't continue the conversation about fate, but asked himself, "How do you maintain your barrier?"
“It depends on focus.” The Zen master pointed to the array of runes at the top of the tower: “Each monk must inject six hours of mental energy into the barrier every day. If they slacken, chaos will engulf this place.”
A young cultivator approached and offered a cup of murky liquid. Casalos sniffed it, confirming it was a "transformation spice" unique to the Chaos Sea. Its flavor changed according to the drinker's mood; Casalos took a lick, a metallic taste rising on its tongue before transforming into the coolness of mint.
"You've traveled a long way across the Chaos Sea, you must be exhausted. Rest here in the Zen Forest for a few days; I'm sure the scenery here won't disappoint you."
26. Observation
The taste of rust followed by mint—what kind of mood does that evoke?
Casaloz disliked dealing with eccentric characters, and the Giszerai who practiced the Way of Zes were practically all eccentric. Considering the unimaginable reward promised by the golden dragon, it decided to swallow its pride and stay at the Labarin Monastery.
As for the practice of the Zess path, apart from a brief mention by Zen Master Be'Tomes during their first meeting, no one ever spoke of it to Casalos again. He observed the daily practices of the lower Zen monastery every "day," and practiced alongside the warrior monks.
The training of monks is arduous and monotonous, day after day, year after year, with nothing new to offer. The Path of Zeth is no different in this respect; in fact, it adds a deadly danger by directly confronting the source of chaos.
As the seventh tremor of the copper bell pierced the stone wall each day, the footsteps of practitioners filled the spiral corridor. The Chaotic Sea had no dawn, but the magic array embedded in the Zen Forest's dome cycled with its built-in timer, turning pale white when morning arrived. Young monks ran barefoot up the inverted steps, their soles bleeding from the sharp crystals of the granite, allowing their pain to find an "anchor" in the distorted senses assimilated by chaos after long days of bed rest.
After the war dance, accompanied by the bells, the practitioners sat cross-legged on the open-air platform at the top of the Spire. Their linen robes were soaked with chaotic elements, their frosted brows trembling with each breath, and the ashen skin of the Githzerai was worn smooth by fire fragments and arcs of electricity. Zen Master Bethomas stood on the central pillar, his hands forming the Mudra of Foresight. Behind him, an array of runes projected a pale golden light, displaying the predicted tides of the Chaotic Sea that day as a diagram for the practitioners to reference and revise their own prophecies—just as Casaloz had guessed, the precognitive abilities of the Zeth's Path were a kind of computation based on chaos. Had these Githzerai, through the power of psychic energy, cultivated their mental power into a quantum computer?
That's a really strange power.
After completing their daily predictive calculation training, the practitioners adjusted their subjective gravity, suspending their bodies upside down on the stone beam, allowing blood to rush to their heads and further integrating their spiritual power into the chaos.
This was undoubtedly a dangerous act. Casalos had witnessed an apprentice named Akash bleed from his nose while hanging upside down, attracting a stray, out-of-control flame that swept across his back, scorching his hemp robe, the leather armor beneath, and his flesh into a charred corpse. If the flame had been just a fraction more off course, it would have taken the young monk's life. But he had to remain upside down until the Zen Master struck the gong. The elemental turbulence of the Chaos Sea roared outside the barrier, the acrid smell of burning filling the air, yet no one moved an inch.
Three gongs rang out, and everyone tumbled to the ground. (Zen)
Chapter 266
The master tossed seven star-shaped iron dice, their faces engraved with elemental runes. Practitioners had to predict the dice's trajectory before it hit the ground and intercept a designated rune with their fingertips. Intermediate apprentice Rita burned her index finger on a fire elemental die, but she calmly withdrew her charred finger and continued tracking the next air elemental die… The losers would be punished by having to manually clear the barrier stones outside the tower, corrupted by chaos. Those stones, covered in writhing elemental pustules, were far more dangerous than the dice.
If he were to join in, he wondered what kind of training he would need to achieve the same results. Casalos wondered: How does the Golden Dragon cultivate the Path of Zess? He hadn't seen her train.
After morning training came breakfast. The monks lined up and entered the meditation chamber at the bottom of the Spiral Tower, sitting cross-legged in a circle. First, they pinched some condensed dew between their fingertips to moisten their mouths. This stable mixture of air and water elements, collected from outside the barrier, was purified by the rune array into a pale blue gel. Each spoonful contained a trace of chaos, which instantly transformed into chaotic elemental turbulence upon entering the mouth, activating the practitioner's sensory nerves. Casalos felt a bit like popping candy.
The staple food for breakfast for all the monks, including the Zen Master, is Stardust Pancakes, distributed by the supervising monk. Each person is limited to three pancakes, and any crumbs must be licked clean with the tongue. These pancakes are made from rock wheat grown in the Zen monastery. The roots of the rock wheat are embedded in the earth elemental fissures of the Chaos Sea, and the grains naturally contain a layer of crystalline salt. Crushed and varied seasonings are added during the baking process, allowing each pancake to have a randomly changing flavor. Bitter melon, mint, or rust flavors alternately stimulate the taste buds, creating a truly chaotic experience.
It's unclear whether it's due to some kind of custom, but the monks aren't allowed to use any utensils when they eat; they eat directly with their hands. Fortunately, their flatbread isn't served with a muddy, unappetizing paste, making it look much cleaner. While eating, the practitioners also maintain their precognitive meditation, using the flow of dew on their tongues to predict the day's elemental tides.
After lunch, the ascetics had a rare free time. Some young monks would come and surround Casaloz, asking him all sorts of questions, which made Iron Dragon realize that the Giszelai people were still full of curiosity and vitality.
Good times are always fleeting. An hour after lunch, the chaotic sea surrounding the Zen Forest would enter a period of agitation with the tolling of the bells, the intensity of the elemental turbulence increasing more than threefold. The practitioners would then have to line up and enter the Trial Corridor. It was a spiral passage at the bottom of the tower, deliberately without its protective barriers, where the monks would face the chaos directly.
In most cases, the first half of the corridor is dominated by a vibrant interplay of air and fire elements. Practitioners must leap among suspended rubble while dodging randomly exploding fireballs, completing ten temporal ascensions before the flames reach their knees, utilizing the faster temporal dimension to evade the threats. Casalos watched as the new apprentice, Cohen, was swept into a chaotic rift at the edge of the corridor by a vortex due to a miscalculation. Had it not been for two supervising monks who intervened and pulled him back, he might have become part of the chaotic dust.
Even so, the seriously injured Cohen still had to pay the price for his mistake. For the next week, he would have to endure an extra two hours of silence every day, which meant sitting with a hot star nail in his mouth.
The latter half of the corridor transformed into an arena for water and earth elemental combat. The ground would sometimes collapse into mud pits, and sometimes rise up into rock spikes. Cultivators advanced slowly in groups of three, back to back, for any mistake meant at least a broken bone and the inescapable punishment of silence.
The monks' morning and midday training sessions can be categorized as "practice," while the "study" portion begins "every evening." After the bronze bell tolls five times, the practitioners gather in the Rune Library to study. They did not require Casalos to avoid suspicion, so as long as it transforms into a humanoid species, it can enter the relatively small library to view the documents recording the Way of Zeth.
The Rune Library has no physical books; knowledge floats in various places in the form of light patterns. As long as you touch it with your mental power, you can absorb the contents recorded within.
27.Return
After evening classes, there is evening study, followed by bedtime. This is how the "daily" practice in the Zen Forest is carried out. It is completely open to Casalos, and even the profound scriptures of the Way of Zes are not kept secret. The intention is obvious.
Casalos couldn't imagine himself engaging in such a monotonous and prolonged training; it wasn't a suitable way for dragons to train, and only Valeris, raised by monks from a young age, could endure it. His thoughts, born of his daily experiences, gradually unveiled a corner of the mysteries of the Path of Zess, even though he didn't train with the monks. His days gained new meaning, and Casalos no longer found the Zen forest dull and monotonous.
If one can explore the secret of Zess's path to building a "quantum supercomputer," why not show Betomas the path to elementalization? The power of Casalos is not a single ability; the correlation trend of the talent tree means that it has realized that it is transforming into a more advanced and complex system. The professional ranks hanging all over its body are ultimately just appearances.
The leisurely observational life in the Zen monastery allows it to focus its attention more on something else...
As the sky above the World's Spine cracked open with spiderweb-like purple patterns, "Old Bone Chewer" Claugelia Mata was adjusting her third crystal ball. Suddenly, green slime splattered from the ball, and its attempt to cast a mind-detection spell transformed into a spell to summon a swamp toad.
The green dragon shook off the humus that had settled between its claws, and its scales rippled from the vibrations of its dragon magic.
Magic has become unbelievable.
"So what if the magic network collapses?" Old Chewbone's self-mockery, wrapped in acidic breath, shot out and split into seven burning ravens that scattered in all directions: "Hehe, anyway, you're dead meat, you disfigured fire-breathing lizard, you've gone mad, you've messed with someone you shouldn't have... Hevilan, Azak, tsk tsk... Your treasure is all mine, it's the compensation you owe me for what I did, and no one can take it away from me!"
The cave at the top of the valley, letting in a chilly wind, didn't belong to the Green Dragon; it was Old Howler's lair, Klaus Valley. Looking down from where the Green Dragon was, the valley was teeming with adventurers searching for gold and mages seeking magic, in addition to sheep and loath beasts running around in terror.
News of "Old Roar" Klaus's escape to the Astral Plane after being chased by two silver dragons spread throughout the Northlands. The magical catastrophe caused by the collapse of the Magic Network could not extinguish the humanoids' enthusiasm for vying for the treasures of the ancient dragons.
"A bunch of fools, don't they even consider who leaked the information?" As a group of adventurers crawled into the tunnel beneath the cave, Old Bone Chewer muttered to himself, "I risked magical backlash to show you the correct path to the Salamander Vault, so you have to risk your lives to uncover the traps and guards within. What a fair trade. Let's see who's truly..."
The green dragon's voice abruptly ceased. The illusion it had cast to conceal itself suddenly materialized, transforming into a massive boulder weighing tens of tons that crashed down. The adventurers below scattered at the sound, their screams mingling with the shockwaves of the falling boulder, triggering a massive avalanche. This was only the beginning of the disaster. Freed from the constraints of the magic network, the magic surged with the avalanche, transforming half a ridge of glaciers into a colossal serpent tens of thousands of meters long. It devoured all living things in the valley and vanished, leaving behind a winding chasm.
The greedy adventurers were wiped out.
"Damn this turmoil, another batch has died. I need to think of a good excuse to lure people out to scout ahead this time... With dozens of teams gone from Neverwinter, probably no one will come. So, I guess I'll have to go deep... Hmm?"
The clouds tore apart, and the shadow of the ancient red dragon loomed over the valley.
Klaus looked down at Old Bone Chewer, while Claugilia Mata looked up at Old Roar. The two dragons were locked in a brief and eerie standoff.
The next moment, the burning meteorite swarm pierced through the clouds, crashing to the ground in a blaze reeking of sulfur. The old green dragon leaped into the air, the stone platform where it had once perched now charred. It hovered in mid-air, acid dripping from between its teeth, corroding the newly formed sea of fire below—it wasn't meteorite at all, but a crimson dragon coiled into a ball and swooping down.
Old Chewer's vertical pupils narrowed to slits: "Klaus, you actually weren't frozen into stardust by the paladins of the Claw of Justice?"
Old Roar didn't directly respond to the green dragon's provocation, his scarlet tongue sweeping across his fangs: "Your dragon eggs covered in moss and mushrooms, paired with goblin brains, would be quite an appetizer." The red dragon suddenly spread its wings, activated its rainbow wand, and magical runes...
Chapter 267
Rainbow-like flowers bloomed, and rocks within a half-mile radius stood up and danced a waltz—this is not a metaphor, but a description of the fact: the rainbow-like beam that was supposed to shoot out turned into a bizarre spell that brought a large area of rocks to life as golems and made them dance.
"Haha...that's hilarious! Did you create this bunch of stone clowns to attend your funeral?"
Old Chewbone laughed maniacally as he summoned man-eating vines to entangle the red dragon's hind legs. However, the dark green vines, which had just sprouted, transformed into a flock of soft canaries, chirping and pecking at the sparks between Old Chewbone's scales, before exploding into blooming forsythia blossoms that drifted down.
"The flower petals are indeed perfect for adorning a plate of green lizard meat!"
The old roar's brewing arcane fire exploded in his throat, his fan-shaped breath engulfing the mountain peaks. The flames eerily condensed into a cage shape, disintegrating all "magic" within its range. The green dragon responded by spewing out a cloud of acid, which, in its out-of-control state, merged with the chaotic magic of the atmosphere, transforming into a viscous, gelatinous rain that enveloped the battlefield.
The two dragons abandoned their comical magical duel and clashed like ancient behemoths, tearing and clawing at each other, unleashing the most ferocious attacks with their primal physical strength. Old Bone Chewer quickly found itself at a disadvantage; before the fire net could close in, it burrowed into a fissure in the ground, acid gushing from the cracks in the rock. This slippery old green dragon prepared to corrode its way out through the tunnel.
Klaus smashed through the mountain, forcing the green dragon out. Its scarred face held the composure of a predator. It casually flapped its left wing, its hoarse roar echoing through the valley: "You think you can defy the authority of the ancient red dragon with mere tricks?" A white-hot light, tinged with arcane fire, shone from deep within the red dragon's throat: "Let me teach you what true power is..."
The breath attack abruptly ceased as Claugilia Mata activated the Sage's Hand, which had long been buried in the rock. This artifact, stolen from the Waterdeep vault, did not attack directly, but instead transformed the accumulated noise of the city over three hundred years—the rumble of carriage wheels, the shouts of dockworkers, the laughter of brothels, the clamor of gangsters, the cries of vendors—into mental spikes that were poured into the red dragon's ears.
Klaus staggered half a step, his breath, powerful enough to melt through the city, shooting crookedly into the sky.
The valley was ablaze, all flammable materials reaching their ignition point simultaneously. The scales of the old bone-chewing creature peeled off in the radiant heat, burying themselves in the flames and transforming into wildly growing thorns that entangled the red dragon's hind legs, drawing energy from the dragonfire to bloom into fiery red flowers. Each petal weakened Klaus's elemental control. The green dragon's druidic spell not only succeeded by sheer luck but also triggered a resonance of chaotic, free magic, achieving a powerful effect.
"How many lucky breaks can you have?" The red dragon roared, shattering the thorns, and leaped up to pounce on the green dragon.
28. Breakthrough
Roaring Crater had no idea why Bonechewer was staying in "its" lair; it was simply there to inherit Roaring Crater's legacy under Roaring Crater's identity. But since it had run into him, it didn't mind taking the life of this old green dragon who harbored ill intentions towards it.
In the turmoil of the collapsing magic network and the rampage of generalized magic, how could an ancient green dragon possibly stand against an ancient red dragon? Old Bone Chewer couldn't possibly be unaware of this fact; it wasn't some reckless brute, but a cunning green lizard. Under normal circumstances, it would never directly confront Old Roar, unless…
"How long are you planning to keep watching this show?!" the green dragon roared, rolling away to avoid the red dragon's attack.
Twelve dwarven steam crossbows suddenly ripped through the rock camouflage, and steel arrows coated with fire-resistant material tore through the air, precisely embedding themselves in "Klaus's" left wing; a short, stubby female crystal dragon emerged from a folded dimensional portal, its bright cone of light bursting forth, and the dwarven war cry echoed from the mine shaft that should have collapsed. Three hundred shield guards raised diamond mirrors to refract the crystal dragon's breath, focusing it onto the red dragon's chest.
Another roar of a green dragon filled with the stench of chlorine rang out, and a green dragon, about the same size as Old Chewbone, with scales covered in intricate patterns that shimmered like jade, emerged from the wastewater pool wrapped in vines, taking the brunt of a red dragon's tail sweep for Old Chewbone.
The ancient green dragon with its sculpted skin flew out like a giant spinning top, crashing into the collapsed ridge, but then shook its head and stood up again, showing no signs of injury.
The two white dragons, one ancient and one old, arrived late, manipulating the wind to glide to the flank of the battlefield and block Lao Hou's escape route.
On the collapsed ridge behind, an ancient blue dragon appeared, its body structure partially replaced by machinery.
"Look at this scene, rotting vines leading flies to a banquet?" Casalos, who replaced Old Roar, stopped the pursuit, turned to the side and assumed a defensive stance, watching the group of guys that had suddenly appeared warily.
These are all seasoned dragons. Crystal Dragon Axe Mother, "Gem Cloak Lady" Celine Delagoros, guardian of Miraba City and the Axe Dwarves of Cliffhill; "Hidden Glyphs," Ishnaral Tor, the green dragon sorcerer of the Carved Skin; Arauzator "Ancient White Death" and its mate "Pure White Dragon" Iceclaw Elvia Tullis; and "Desert Doom" Statue Dragon Amuris... Previously, Casaloz, in order to get rid of Grommash's threat, offended all these dragons while wearing its skin, successfully forcing Grommash to retreat from the Astral Plane, but unexpectedly, he ended up shooting himself in the foot.
If it wants to completely replace Roar, it has to settle the score from the past. If it really wants to fight back now, it wouldn't be difficult to keep all these dragons alive. The problem is that in this situation, a direct confrontation doesn't fit Roar's behavior logic, and it's even less conducive to continuing to replace Roar in the future.
We'll need to use our brains a little to figure out how to break this deadlock.
"Heh heh, old scarred face, although I don't know how you escaped from those two silver dragon claws, your death is still near. Blame it on the fact that you've offended too many dragons!"
"Then why don't you go ahead and do it? Let's see if your 'allies' are happy to see your stinking, filthy blood stain my scales!" The old dragon's claw crushed a piece of basalt, and the fragments exploded into golden-red waves in the lava.
“My dear old scarface, I’ve always been stingy with my own life.” Acid seeped from between the green dragon’s teeth, dripping onto the ground and corroding snake-shaped dents: “Why are you in such a hurry to die… before the real event begins?”
"Stop with your maggot tricks!" The red dragon's wide wings stirred up a heat wave, and the shield dwarf retreated with a wail. The crystal dragon and the green-skinned dragon, which had formed a pincer attack, leaped away, and Old Chewbone shrunk back more than a hundred meters in a flash.
“I need a new carpet, so I’ll come back with fifty times more trash.”
Riding the wave of lava, Roar rose into the sky on the heat, his dragon breath repelling the Crystal Dragon and the Carved Green Dragon that had surrounded him again. He then passed through the tail of the Ancient White Death couple and pounced on the semi-mechanized Blue Dragon.
The latter was not afraid to fight the ancient red dragon hand-to-hand, and with a flap of its wings, it swung its thick forelimbs to meet the attack.
As the collision was about to occur, the semi-mechanical blue dragon paused and landed on the mountaintop to clear a path.
"What do you mean, Emuris?" Old Chewer roared in a sinister voice, "Have you forgotten how your precious gargoyle army was reduced to ashes by the red dragon's breath?"
"The Gargoyle Legion is certainly valuable, but how can it compare to the skill that Amuris dreams of?" Old Roar didn't seize the opportunity to escape through the encirclement. Instead, he turned around, dodging the intersecting breaths of the two white dragons, and flew happily toward Old Bone Chewer: "And I happen to know an engineering master who can completely transform dragons into mechanical bodies..."
"Elvia, didn't you want to find a human mage?" The red dragon's taunts continued, calling out the name of the female of the two white dragons attacking it: "I know quite a few mages..."
"Shut up, you vile egg thief!" Gu Baiwang's angry shout was mixed with his cold breath, but the pure white dragon's eyes flickered and his breath slowed down a bit.
"You know very well that the dragon egg is a shackle, nothing more than a facade brought about by your physiological changes during your ancient dragon stage. Face your true desires, Elvia." The old roar chuckled, extinguishing the white dragon's breath. He rolled over and used his wing blade to force the ancient white dragon down from its height, continuing to persuade Iceclaw: "There is a mage in the North, wise and wealthy, respected and of high status. He has his own manor and mage tower in Waterdeep... Most importantly, he is very old."
How can you expect me to trust you?
"I am alive only"
Chapter 268
"Can't we continue talking?"
Ignoring Gu Baiwang's anger, the pure white dragon withdrew from the combined attack and ascended to a safe altitude to circle.
Crystal Dragon, Carved Skin Green Dragon, and Old Chewed Bone finally arrived. Crystal Dragon, whose body was like crystal reflecting the cold light of the North, spoke for the first time: "You shrewish red dragon who looks just like a green lizard, let's see how you manage to persuade Old Mother Sharp Axe to leave your claws as interest."
The inescapable breath of light focused again, burning hexagonal crystal clusters into the red dragon's chest. The old roar had no choice but to spew out a annihilating force disguised as "arc fire" to annihilate the crystal dragon's psionic energy, then rolled down and swooped through the two plumes of acidic mist. Shaking off the remaining acid, its wing hook wand gleamed, and magical missiles transformed into a series of solar flame explosions that randomly erupted around the red dragon. Six of these struck the dragon's roar, two hitting the pursuing Ancient White Death.
The red dragon, immune to fire, was unharmed, while the white dragon, vulnerable to fire, screamed and rolled away.
"Hey! You pretty boy, you're really unlucky. Your spouse treats you like a backup plan, and I can hurt you like this just by throwing a random spell to try my luck." Casalos ignored the crystal dragon, who was impossible to persuade, and mocked the remaining colorful dragons in his hoarse voice: "And you, you bastard with the Dragon Worship Cult, do those rotting skeletons with their scabies and athlete's foot really suit your rotten-skinned lizard taste?"
29. Devastatingly powerful
Old Chewbone ran away, and it took the lead in launching the main attack, shouting for Ishnarler, the Lady in the Gem Cloak, and Ancient White to join the fight. But when the fight started, it turned out that it was just an illusion, and the real body had disappeared without a trace.
Without Old Bone Chewer, a general who could barely restrain the Ancient Red Dragon in melee combat, the three unlucky creatures—one green, one transparent, and one white—couldn't even last a single round.