The two ambushing blade air waves were nothing but child’s play for Rhode. Without even turning around, he clenched his right hand and swung forward. Clink! Clink! The two shadowy blade air waves were repelled as though struck by lightning.
At that moment, Rhode witnessed the true identity of the ambushers. They were young ladies with delicate and pretty facial features. Despite that, Rhode couldn’t treat them as humans. The reason was simple. Their long lizard-like tails, as well as brass-like skin tone was enough to prove their identity.
Dragon race.
However, unlike Erin who could transform into perfect human form, these two young ladies were unbearable to look at. But it wasn’t their poor transformation that bothered Rhode. Instead, it was their golden eyes that resembled that of lizards. Their pupils had also shrunk into straight lines as though exuding unusual strength.
That isn’t an indication of an ordinary dragon race…
“Void Dragon?”
One of the young ladies knitted her brows, staring at Rhode with her golden, lizard-like eyes. After a few moments, she sheathed her sword and swept a glance at the group dubiously. Meanwhile, Rhode also noticed that her gaze paused on Anne and Angelina, before shifting away shortly after.
“May I know who is here to accept the inheritance trial?”
“… Inheritance trial?”
Upon hearing her words, Rhode’s group gazed at the two young ladies suspiciously. After witnessing their confused expressions, the two young ladies also widened their eyes in disbelief. Then, one of them puckered her brows and glared at Rhode.
“Aren’t you people here to partake in the Dark Dragon’s inheritance ceremony? Your Majesty Void Dragon, you are the host for the ceremony, right?”
“…”
What kind of nonsense have I gotten myself into?
Rhode extended his arm and held his forehead. Even though he had predicted plenty of scenarios, this current one came as a total surprise. But since it had already happened, he had no other choice. Although he wasn’t exactly sure who the two young ladies were, he still responded.
“My apologies. We’re here to rescue someone. Regarding the inheritance trial, I suppose we can catch up on that later. Right now, I hope you can tell us whether there is a path that leads to a dragon prison from here.”
“… A dragon prison?”
Upon hearing his question, the two young ladies’ expressions changed slightly. They exchanged looks with each other and the young lady who spoke earlier stepped forward immediately. She extended her arm to grip the hilt, stared attentively at Rhode, and spoke.
“Are you looking to violate the sacred agreement, Your Majesty the Void Dragon? Failures aren’t allowed to leave the prison. Could it be that you’re here to destroy this rule?”
Damn it. I don’t even know what kind of agreement this is.
After hearing the young lady’s response, Rhode held his forehead and let out a helpless sigh. Rhode could have contacted his younger sister to inquire about this situation. But now that the surface was shrouded in Chaos fog, he couldn’t reach out to anyone. But even so, he concluded the situation immediately using his experience and sharpness as a veteran player. It was apparent that the true Dark Dragon was still in deep sleep. According to the two young ladies, it seemed like one had to go through a certain ceremony to inherit the Dark Dragon’s soul and they were the supervisors. Not only that, but the inheritance ceremony also seemed to require a third party to host. The dragon soul heir would need to pass certain trials before gaining the recognition of the Dark Dragon. Besides, the trial also seemed dangerous to a certain extent. If the dragon soul heir failed to pass the trial, he or she would be imprisoned forever. But…
Rhode gazed at Angelina. Upon realizing his gaze, the latter shook her head hurriedly.
“I swear Her Highness Erin and I didn’t pass any trial or witness anything like this. We simply walked and arrived at the prison!”
“I think there may be some misunderstanding, misses. As a matter of fact, we’re here to…”
Rhode pondered and believed that his guesses were close to the mark. He lifted his head, looked at the two young ladies, and told them the crucial points of the entire situation. After listening to his explanation, the two young ladies looked at each other in consternation, apparently unable to make any sense of the matter.
“Hmph, who knows whether you’re telling the truth. This is regarding the Dark Dragon, while you…”
The other young lady was obviously displeased by Rhode’s story. She let out a snort and spoke in disdain. But before she finished her sentence, her companion stopped her, lifted her head, and sized up Rhode once more. Then, she spoke.
“Your Majesty the Void Dragon, how do you prove the truth of your words?”
“Simple.”
Upon hearing her question, Rhode felt relieved. He gently snapped his fingers and continued.
“If I’m not wrong, both of you are in charge of the inheritance ceremony, right?”
“That’s right, we’re responsible for guarding the dragon soul altar. Whenever one arrives, we will be awakened to monitor and prevent any issues.”
Facing Rhode’s question, the young lady nodded. After hearing her answer, Rhode smiled.
“In other words, you remember the appearances of every dragon soul heir, be it they succeeded or failed?”
“That’s for sure… So what you meant is…”
The young lady narrowed her eyes as though figuring out the source of the problem. Upon realizing that she wasn’t a naive person, Rhode heaved a sigh of relief. He restored his usual, ice-cold expression and gazed at the two supervisors.
“Yes, I’m not afraid of telling you the truth; the Country of Darkness is in a terrible state right now and that is why we need to gather help. Someone who was likely to inherit the dragon soul is trapped in the prison due to an accident. She didn’t partake in the trial, so according to the rules, I suppose this situation should be regarded as an exception. As for proving the authenticity of my words, why don’t you see it with your own eyes? Anyway, you guys are the supervisors who are awakened for every inheritance ceremony. If you don’t have any impression of her, wouldn’t it mean that she didn’t partake in the inheritance ceremony?”
“…”
Facing Rhode’s words, the two young ladies remained silent. Meanwhile, Thode knitted his brows and felt rather concerned. Logically speaking, even though he spoke the truth, he clearly knew that most guardians of ‘ceremonial dungeons’ were stubborn fools. They were the type who would rather kill 1000 innocents than to let that one person off.
Rhode remembered a headstrong NPC who oversaw the class advancement trial for rangers, which required the rangers to kill 100 boars. Even though it wasn’t challenging, there was an annoying setting of the game, whereby if the player prepared 100 boars before the class advancement trial, the examiner would still not accept them. The examiner had to follow the player around to witness the player kill 100 boars before the trial was considered a success. This setting left many players grumbling endlessly. Stubborn NPCs were a huge trouble for players sometimes…
And now, Rhode was worried that these two young ladies would turn out to be stubborn fools who insisted that since Erin was locked up in the prison, she had no rights to exit. That would spell trouble. Judging from their reactions, this ceremony was apparently their turf. They were more familiar with this godforsaken place than anyone else. If the negotiations broke down, Rhode could only make the first move and capture them. But if he let them escape, he didn’t know how much time he needed to spend to find them again.
Fortunately, it seemed like the two young ladies weren’t as stubborn as mules.
“Okay then.”
After pondering for a few moments, the young lady who seemed to be the elder sister nodded in agreement. She extended her arm and placed her hand on the wall beside her. Shortly after, along with this action, the wall twisted, spun, and a stone door was unveiled behind it. Gazing at the stone door that was opening gradually, Rhode glanced at the two young ladies before leading his group through the entrance. Then, the group was dazzled and at the next moment, an incomparable coldness engulfed their bodies all of a sudden.
“This is it! This is the place!”
Gazing at the run-down and ice-cold stone path, Angelina became agitated.
“Your Highness Erin! Your Highness Erin! I’m back! I brought Master here! Where are you?!”
“Your Highness Erin… Your Highness Erin…”
Angelina’s screams echoed throughout the empty corridor before vanishing entirely in the darkness. There were no responses. Rhode’s heart couldn’t help but skip a beat. A feeling of uncertainty surged in his mind. At the same time, Angelina seemed to also detect something as she scanned the surroundings and dashed toward a specific direction. Rhode led the rest in following Angelina closely. Shortly after, under Angelina’s lead, they arrived before an enormous cave.
What came into their vision was a huge, black dragon that was bound by chains. At that moment, the dragon was laying on the ground and in a deep slumber.
This should be that dark dragon that Angelina mentioned…
But now, what caught Rhode’s attention the most was the slender figure who lay on the wall lifelessly beside the dark dragon.
“Erin!”
