Prisoners or spies?
It took two days without stopping to reach the center of the world, the strongest and most powerful Dragon Empire. Despite its name, only the ruling force was made up of dragons, while most of the common inhabitants were a wide variety of the races. Padinyss could have controlled the Mana flow towards his empire only, but he wasn’t so stupid. Alone, he would be destroyed.
He rather allied with other powerful kingdoms and changed the whole structure of the planet. In the center were six kingdoms not considering the Darong Empire, and a monster-infested area, called Dead Land. Since Padinyss was the strongest person on the planet, and he was also in control of the Mana flow, nobody dared to pick a fight with him directly, but the rulers of the main kingdoms were able to pressure him a bit.
Of course, the lower ranked kingdoms didn’t like the fact that they didn’t have access to as much Mana as they were supposed to because of one person, but they couldn’t do anything about it. This was because the six ruling kingdoms were in an alliance with the Dragon Empire, and if either of them was attacked or conspired against, the whole center of the world would move to destroy the opposing forces. This meant hundreds of millions of powerful magicians and warriors, something the weaker kingdoms couldn’t pick a fight with, even if united.
Knowing they had no way to escape because of the Inhe’s binding spell, that sealed their Mana inside their bodies, Elena and Dred didn’t try to escape and just hung silently between Ekrok’s razor-sharp claws. As they flew over the Silent Storm Ocean to the island of the Dragon Empire, Elena and Dred spotted a few monsters and all of them were above the five hundredth level.
“We have arrived at Dragon City!” Ekrok raised his voice when a huge city appeared in sight. Brownish blocks made up the towering buildings on the outer parts of the city, and only the center had villas and mansions with large yards. The city was divided into three sections, the outermost being the biggest, the commoners’ district, while the inner one was called the Dragon district, as Ekrok gave a brief introduction to Elena and Dred.
“Of course, the innermost district is our king’s and only he and his servants live there. Of course, only the strongest dragons have the chance to serve him as personal guards, like I and Inhe. Though I’m his old friend too,” Ekrok explained.
“This naming sense… can’t you call it something else which doesn’t have the word dragon in it?” Elena asked with ridicule.
“You puny rat! How dare you look down on our mighty race?!” Inhe roared instantly.
“What’s wrong with this woman? She is akin to a flammable object, shouting and roaring continuously with no will to hold back her emotions. Like an uneducated child. If you ask me, you should learn some self-control because it’s disgraceful to your race if you can’t even do that much. You could take the example of this guy, really,” Dred said bluntly, further angering Inhe.
“Hahaha, that’s the first time I heard anyone badmouth you, but he said the truth!” Ekrok partook Dred’s side. Looking at Inhe’s paws, Elena felt happy they weren’t in her claws or they would have been crushed already. To show them she too had self-control, she tried to act calm and replied with ‘calm’ voice, though her wrath was more than obvious.
“See? I too can control myself. It’s just that I don’t need to. Only weaklings have to feel concerned how they behave!”
“Pfft- can you even believe what you just said? You clearly don’t, you can’t even lie? How come you are serving the Dragon God? I suppose you are only attending to him at night aren’t doing anything important do you?” Elena raised her brows.
Steam gushed out of Inhe’s nostrils as she continued her silence.
“Well, it’s true only I was told to get the ring and had she not come with me, I’d have got it before you even reached the boss room of the dungeon. It’s a shame, but I can’t do anything at this point. I guess we’ll just have to keep you two alive until all of the rings are collected. The ring bearers have the luck to enjoy his Majesty's protection and generosity. You’ll be also allowed to enter the third world with his majesty when the time comes,” Ekrok explained, enraging Inhe even further.
“Are you alright? You seem to be really angry. You should let out more steam or you will explode,” Elena said concerned.
“AARGH!! SHUT UP YOU FILTHY BITCH! I’LL MURDER THE BOTH OF YOU! AND YOU! YOU TRAITOR OF DRAGONS! I’LL-”
“You will what?” Ekrok laughed at her, making her go silent.
“Huh? She was put off quite quickly. That big mouth of hers must be really annoying. I couldn’t imagine a life with a woman like her. She surely causes a lot of headache to his majesty too,” Dred mused.
Inhe’s arms trembled and her golden scales turned slightly reddish when she heard Dred’s words. She stopped in the air and looked at the ocean. Ignoring her, Ekrok continued to fly. Elena and Dred looked back and saw Inhe discharge a huge dragon head, made up of nothing but Mana. The ocean blew up upon contact and many monsters turned into ashes while a few of them were only mutilated and raised to the top of the water, dead.
A fifty meters tall tsunami raised and started moving towards the hundred meters tall, cliff-edged shoreline of the island. The water crashed into the cliffs and then fell down.
“What about the coast on the other side? That was a populated territory, right?” Elena asked, looking at the tsunami moving towards the other way.
“Mhm. It is called the Briton Kingdom, one of the six ruling kingdoms. Although it won’t be a big deal to stop the tsunami, I’m quite sure they won’t be happy to see it. But Inhe will surely shoulder her responsibility!” Ekrok raised his voice towards the end.
He turned his head around and saw Inhe swing her paws downwards. The tsunami simply died down and the ocean returned to its calm state once again. A minute later, Ekrok landed on the ground in the innermost area, the emperor’s yard. Hmm, he must have a high rank if he can go around freely like this. Well, he did say he was Padinyss’s friend, so it’s understandable, Elena thought.
Inhe landed behind them and reverted to her draco-human form. “Let’s go, follow me,” Ekrok said as he did the same and started walking through the huge garden, towards the ten meters tall double doors. The guards let them through without any questions, confirming Ekrok’s status in Elena’s mind. They went straight to the throne room but found it empty. Only a servant stood in the door.
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“Where is Padinyss?” Ekrok questioned him.
“His majesty is in his private quarters,” the servant bowed his head.
Ekrok turned around and led the group to another location in the maze-like palace until reaching a strictly guarded place. Scale-covered, two meters and fifty centimeters or even taller humanoids stood in the door. Of course, they were dragons in their humanoid forms. Looking at the one in the back, Elena inspected him.
Name: Balson
Race: Hydro-Dragon (Second-class)
Level: 612
Threat Level: 10
Class: Diffusor (Epic)
Allegiance: Dragon Kingdom (Padinyss)
Diffusor? What the hell does that class do? At times like these Inspect is useless… I still don’t know what sort of abilities he has. Well, it’s not like there are many people who know every class. To begin with, no sane person would share the specifics of their classes, Elena pondered.
Balson bowed down in front of Ekrok as he said, “Master. His Majesty is taking a rest at the moment.” He cleared his throat at the end to express his meaning.
Clicking his tongue, Ekrok said, “I still need to talk with him. Could you let me through? I’ll make up for it later…”
“Fine… Guards!”
When everyone stepped to the side, Ekrok knocked on the door.
“What do you want, Ekrok?” a majestic voice returned.
“I’ve returned with the ring, though not how I wanted,” Ekrok replied while turning around to look at Inhe. Clicking her tongue, she turned around and fled the scene. A moment later, a three-meters tall man opened the door, covered in black scales from neck to toe, and the tip of his tail resembled an axe. He had slit green eyes and short black hair. The green liquid-like energy that flowed among his scales accentuated his handsome face and his muscular body. Like a true ruler.
“Haah- I was in the middle of having fun… you always know when to interrupt me, don’t you? But why did Inhe leave before I even came out? Don’t tell me she got jealous~” Padinyss said amused. Nothing escaped his powerful senses.
“Ugh- I’ll tell you later. Let’s not talk about it here,” Ekrok replied.
“Fine then, let’s go,” Padinyss said as he closed the door behind him. Elena was still able to see three draconic women sitting on the bed with flushed faces, all above the five hundredth level. Shit, this place is full of monsters. Even his concubines could kill our whole team, she cursed in her mind.
*Thud.* The tiled floor shook under Padinyss’s feet with each step he took. Looking at his big and powerful hands, Elena knew even a single slap would be enough to kill her at the moment. They went back to the throne room and after Padinyss sat down on his throne, he leaned on his arm and looked at Elena and Dred. “So? Why do they have the ring? Also, where the hell is Inhe? Somebody call her.” A servant quickly left the room, while Ekrok replied.
“It’s because I wasn’t quick enough to stop this demon, called Dred, from getting his hand on the Ring of Lightning. The demon girl, called Elena, had the Ring of Fire on her finger even before we met. They probably found it elsewhere, not that it matters at this point.”
“It’s my right to decide whether it matters or not! But you’re right.”
“ Hmm- the fourth and the first ring of calamity too are in my hands now. Even if I’m not the one wearing them. Now there are only two rings to find, the Ring of Darkness and the Ring of Wind!”
“Indeed. What-” before Ekrok could continue, the door opened to the throne room and Inhe came in, her head hung down.
“I’m sorry, his majesty. It’s all because of me that we couldn’t get the ring on time, ahead of these worms. I did tell them to stop at the last moment, but they still took possession of the ring,” she mumbled in a low voice, as soon as she entered, her head kept down the whole time.
This fucking bitch, I swear I’ll break your mind, Elena sworn.
“Is that why you were avoiding me? Hahaha, it’s just a slight inconvenience, though I’m surprised you two dared to disobey her,” Padinyss said with interest as his eyes ran through Dred and Elena. A strange glint flashed in his eyes when seeing Elena, but he didn’t say anything.
“Oh, right. Inhe, you shouldn’t look down on either of the lesser races. There are many strange people and if you keep your current attitude, one day something bad might happen to you. Reinald was a very powerful human too,” Padinyss warned her.
“But you still killed him!”
“Hahaha, I did, but I’m not a simple dragon. Ekrok, you shall leave immediately and check the signs of the devourer. Inhe, you will stay and watch over our new guests. Don’t harm them, they are necessary. You may leave your binding spell on their bodies. I don’t want to see them run away and then die somewhere,” Padinyss commanded. He stood up from his throne and left the throne room.
Why did the Orb of Seers show me the location of the Ring of Darkness? How is it connected to any kind of life-threatening danger? Could it be these two? He thought as he turned around to inspect Elena and Dred.
This person can’t be inspected because of a passive skill.
This person can’t be inspected because of a passive skill.
Huh? Tsk… Nowadays too many people have these kinds of treasures and skills, damn it. Even though I’m a Dragon God, I keep meeting people I can’t inspect! What the fuck is going on in this world? And it has to be passive, of course, just so I can’t even ask them to show their tables. He fumed in his mind.
Wait… what if I?
“Hey you two!” he raised his voice as he turned around. “Swear that you aren’t the devourers. I just want to make sure.”
“Devourers? What are those?” Elena raised a brow as if she was ignorant of it all.
“Don’t question me, just do it!”
“I swear I’m not a ‘devourer’ or death shall take me,” Elena said, followed by Dred. Seeing that nothing happened, Padinyss nodded his head and left the throne room with Ekrok.
“I’ll leave now,” Ekrok said.
“Mhm.”
Closing his eyes, Padinyss used his senses. He felt Ekrok turn into his dragon form and fly off, towards the newly formed ‘Thivalon Kingdom’ as his servants said. Rubbing his eyes, he sighed loudly and walked towards his private quarters. Why does that carrion of a devourer has to appear when I’m having the prime of my life? I haven’t even reached the top levels and I’m stuck in this fucking Sealed World.
I can’t break through and reach the six hundredth level before finding all the rings, which are the key to the Sealu planet. I can’t wait for the day I can finally leave for the true universe! But now this fucking monster just had to be born here and if I don’t stop it, not only I but the whole universe will fall. My luck is just ridiculous. This is all Reinald’s fault. If only he didn’t create these stupid rings… damn it. Even after your death, you’re fucking up my future, Reinald.
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