Western Border of the Kingdom of Doa, Saint Melody Academy.
The Saint Melody Academy was a small academy in the Kingdom of Doa. The graduates mostly became reserves for small Corps around the Western Border.
The Saint Melody Academy usually only recruited students from the small villages around and had less than a thousand students in total. It was always rather quiet here. Especially after the war at the Doa Royal Palace, where many of the combat arcane masters had lost their life.
Boom!
The Saint Melody Academy’s gate suddenly exploded.
“What happened?”
“What’s going on?”
Within the normally quiet academy, the students and teachers were instantly on high alert. They charged out from the various buildings.
A crowd quickly gathered near the exploded gate.
Sss……
The crowd drew a sharp breath.
They could see two enormous silhouettes inside the cloud of dust.
They were clearly two dead Dragons. The dragon scales and flesh had turned dark grey and released a deathly aura. They could not even tell what type of Dragons those two once were.
However, at the chest of the two Dragons, there were two embedded…… No, it could be said there were two people growing out from their chests!
The two arcane masters wearing plain purplish black armor seemed to grow out from the two Dragons. Their bodies released vibrant life force. The integration of life and death gave off an uncomfortable feeling. The two arcane masters had a layer of grey crystal light covering their faces which hid their appearances. They gave off a vibe that they only contained feelings of power and death without emotions!
“Undead Dragon Riders!”
“The Evil Dragon’s bodyguards!”
“The legends say the Undead Dragon Riders will only appear when the Evil Dragon does! The Evil Dragon really resurrected!”
Shocked screams rang out across the grounds.
“Undead Crystal Rush!”
Without any pause, two emotionless incantations followed after the screams.
Whoosh!
Countless triangular grey crystal shards manifested in the air and swept across the people.
“Ah!”
Pained screams rang out.
The people nearest to the two Undead Dragon Riders instantly collapsed. Over a hundred arcane masters were riddled with holes, blood spurting out of them. Only a few arcane masters survived the attack and madly ran back.
“Why did the Undead Dragon Riders come to our academy?”
“What should we do? We can’t stop them! They are both pretty much six-gate arcane masters!”
A Saint Melody Academy teacher could not comprehend the situation.
Even if the Undead Dragon Riders were massacring the kingdom, why would they come to this academy?
Whether the Saint Melody Academy was destroyed or not did not seem to make any difference to the kingdoms.
“Don’t let them get into the library!”
A few arcane teams began a brave charge in an attempt to protect the important things for the Saint Melody Academy’s inheritance. However, the difference in strength was too great.
Their arcane skills could not even get past the defense of the Undead Dragon Riders. Meanwhile, any arcane skill unleashed by the Undead Dragon Riders could cause devastating damage.
Wherever the Undead Dragon Riders passed by, buildings collapsed. Every arcane master rushing in was blasted away, blood flowing from their bodies.
At that moment, a voice came from the ranch at the South part of the academy. “Everyone, evacuate the academy! You can’t defeat them even if you sacrifice your lives. They are here for me. Stop fighting. Your deaths will only give more strength to the Evil Dragon.”
Along with that voice, the forest at the edge of the ranch turned crimson, as if the dusk sunlight fell into the forest and burned it down.
Two huge crimson light wings rose up from the forest.
The students and teachers shouted in disbelief, “Manager Lucas?”
An old man wearing tattered arcane robes stood at the center of the two crimson light wings. The bearded old man was none other than the ranch manager Lucas who had slight dementia.
Currently, his arcane energy fluctuation was even stronger than the two Undead Dragon Riders!
The ranch manager Lucas, who looked clearly different from normal, shouted in warning, “Run!”
“Can’t you tell those two Undead Dragon Riders are absorbing the power of those they killed? Even I cannot take them on completely!”
The students and teachers held their breath at the sight, then started running away in all directions.
Under the crimson light, they noticed streams of intangible grey crystal light flowing from the corpses on the ground to the Undead Dragon Riders.
The arcane particles and energy were mercilessly sucked out and stored in the Undead Dragon Riders’ bodies without getting absorbed.
A mysterious Draconic incantation rang out from Lucas, “Saint Melody Harp: Angel’s Twelve Scales!”
Whoosh!
A terrifying domain exploded out from him.
Before him, a crimson harp larger than a person appeared.
An illusion of two angels appearing on both sides of the harp took form.
“Angel’s Twelve Scales?”
“The forbidden skill only the legendary arcane master Ampwonder can use!”
“Could Lucas be Ampwonder? Is he still alive?”
The arcane masters who had escaped from the academy turned around and witnessed the scene. They were so astonished their bodies began trembling.
They finally realized why those Undead Dragon Riders appeared in their small academy.
It was because someone who could be a threat to the Evil Dragon was hidden here!
The two Undead Dragon Riders did not chase after the escaping students and teachers. Two soundless grey shockwaves spread out from them and the buildings in the surroundings instantly collapsed.
The large crimson harp began vibrating.
The two angels seemed to be singing, crimson sound shockwaves sweeping towards the two Undead Dragon Riders.
After a second, the escaping students and teachers could no longer see anything within the academy.
In their eyes, there was only a crimson force clashing against a grey force.
After a long time, the crimson force lost its intensity, while the grey force was getting stronger and stronger, almost completely swallowing the crimson force.
Many Saint Melody Academy students and teachers began crying.
……
Within the demolished Saint Melody Academy.
The crimson harp had disappeared.
The two light wings were in tatters. Many cuts opened on Lucas’s skin, including a glowing wound on his chest.
Opposite him, one of the Undead Dragon Riders had a barrel-thick hole opened up on its abdomen. Grey crystal light spurted out like a broken dam.
The Undead Dragon Rider kept roaring, but could not stop the Evil Dragon energy stored in its body from leaking out.
The other unscathed Undead Dragon Rider shouted excitedly, “Ampwonder, prepare to receive death!”
“Another hidden enemy of Master killed!”
The cuts on the old man’s body were spreading out, but his face did not show any fear of facing death. He sneered instead.
“The Evil Dragon lost in the War with Dragons. His three Corps were exterminated. All his subordinates were killed. There was only the summon key of the Undead Dragon Riders and the captain of his bodyguard Fellemang. These are his final reserves he kept for himself.”
“In the thousand years of strife that followed, no matter how disadvantageous the situation of the Evil Dragon followers, the Undead Dragon Riders and Fellemang never showed up.”
“However, now you have appeared, does that mean that your invincible Master who was born to dominate this continent has already reached his limit? Does he really need his last bodyguards to come out and kill the hidden threats?”
The old man’s sneer was widening and he laughed out aloud.
Whoosh!
A streak of light appeared before him.
Fellemang, who was half elf and half dragon, showed up.
You are correct. However, because of this, we must be even more careful.”
Fellemang bowed towards the old man. His manners were always elegant. The moment he appeared, a cluster of grey crystal light sealed the wound on the injured Undead Dragon Rider. At the same time, countless thin light threads landed on the old man’s head and spread out, just like a blooming dandelion.
“Now, please tell me where the Hermit’s Land is. Also, please tell me…… Where in the Snowfall Forest is the item my Master wants.”
