Chapter 339: Interrogation, Special Artifact [Heart of a True Dragon Lord]
Tang Zheng stood on the huge, golden head of the dragon-man Ladon, swinging the magic greatsword in his hand. "*Four Light Consecutive Slashes · Wind · Break!*"
Swish!
Four sharp sword-lights coalesced in mid-air, then instantly merged into one, forming a single point of destruction that struck the head.
A blood mist erupted from the top of the skull like a fountain.
"Aooo—"
The dragon-man Ladon let out a fierce, pained howl. A gash over a meter long, cutting deep into his skull, appeared on his head.
His massive, twenty-meter-tall body staggered forward. Just as he was about to fall, the two pairs of dragon wings on his back flapped forcefully, creating a blast of air that allowed him to regain his footing.
Swish! Swish!
Two dragon claws swung out, swiping at Tang Zheng on his head.
"*Dimensional Shift!*"
Tang Zheng's figure vanished, this time reappearing on the golden giant dragon's back.
"It got tougher. Its defense has increased a notch after transforming into a giant dragon. Based on stats alone, it's already stronger than that old fire dragon."
Boom!
The golden giant dragon let out a pained groan. Flapping its wings, it soared into the sky, constantly twisting its body, trying to shake Tang Zheng off.
At the same time.
The transformed dragon-man Ladon twisted his rather long neck, aiming the flames that had been gathering in his mouth and spitting them at Tang Zheng on his back.
Dragon Breath!
The crimson-orange flames turned into a sea of fire, covering his entire back.
Waves of flame crashed against the figure on his back. The intense heat and the thick smell of sulfur distorted the very air.
A blinding red light dyed the sky red!
All the humans in the oasis could now see the suddenly-appeared golden giant dragon flying in the sky. Fear was on everyone's face.
From the beginning, they had been hearing terrifying tremors, a sign that their Lord was fighting a suddenly-appeared monster.
But they never expected a legendary dragon to appear!
"My Lord," Alar said, her face filled with worry.
Even from such a great distance, she could still feel the terrifying aura emanating from the giant dragon in the sky.
This was simply not a battle she could interfere in!
"Such power… only the legendary gods can fight against it, right?" Fear and helplessness filled Alar's eyes.
In mid-air.
"Where are you attacking?"
Tang Zheng's voice suddenly came from in front of the golden giant dragon.
This made the dragon-man Ladon's dragon breath attack freeze mid-action. He hadn't noticed when Tang Zheng had left his back. He quickly stopped spewing flames and looked at the figure hovering in mid-air before him.
The third-tier magic, *Flight*?
"You bastard!"
The golden giant dragon roared, its head feeling a little dizzy. The intense pain from the wound on its head spread throughout its body. Blood flowed continuously, dripping down its golden scales and onto the desert below.
Third-tier magic was fundamentally unable to harm him, but this fellow's repertoire of magic included movement and flight-type spells.
This made the dragon-man Ladon realize that even if he wanted to escape, he couldn't.
He couldn't win, and he couldn't run.
This unprecedented experience made him feel the aura of death so close to him that an inexplicable chill spread through his body.
The fear weakened the negative emotions like irritability that came with his giant dragon form, and his mind seemed to become much clearer.
The supreme and great God-Kings and the bloodlines of these defeated gods were mortal enemies. Reconciliation was impossible; only a battle to the death awaited!
The dragon-man Ladon quickly analyzed Tang Zheng's power. The third-tier arcane magic was not worth mentioning, but the opponent's warrior techniques were formidable and could be coordinated with elemental magic.
But even knowing this seemed useless!
After thinking it over, the dragon-man Ladon concluded that a war of attrition was his only chance of victory.
The opponent's close-combat ability was extremely strong. He could only rely on his dragon-man race and his giant dragon transformation's natural resistance to physical and magical attacks, constantly using his aerial advantage to stall for time.
Since his opponent specialized in the warrior system, his magic power must be limited!
As long as he could stall until this detestable fellow's magic power was depleted, he could seize some initiative with his aerial advantage and, at the same time, retreat at his leisure.
Thinking of this.
"Roar!"
The golden giant dragon roared again, flapping its wings to increase the distance. He had already decided to use his size advantage and natural flight ability to fight a war of attrition.
*Steel Skin!*
A special ability from the Monk class, it allowed one to control their aura to cover the entire body, making the skin harder, even to the point of deflecting weapons to a certain extent.
"So much health and such high defense. This kind of opponent really is a pain."
Tang Zheng noticed the dragon-man Ladon's actions and guessed his thoughts. "But I have no interest in playing with you any longer."
*Ninjutsu: Immovable Body-Fixing Technique.*
The retreating golden giant dragon's body suddenly stiffened in mid-air.
*Dimensional Shift.*
With a whoosh, Tang Zheng's figure disappeared, reappearing in an instant behind the golden giant dragon, by its left wing.
*Ability Boost.*
*Mind's Eye.*
*Possibility Perception.*
*Four Light Consecutive Slashes · Wind · Break.*
Tang Zheng's eyes flickered slightly. He found a weak point on the dragon's wing. With a turn of his wrist, the surface of the magic greatsword was covered with a translucent, flowing energy of the wind element. He swung the blade.
A massive, wind-element slash chopped down.
The huge golden dragon wing was severed amidst a piercing scream.
Tang Zheng's figure flashed, teleporting to the right wing, and he swung his sword down again.
The other golden dragon wing was also chopped off!
Crimson blood dyed the sky red, falling from mid-air like a rain of blood.
"Ah, ah, aooo!"
The dragon-man Ladon wailed in agony. The intense pain allowed him to break free from the restraining skill, but having lost his wings, his body spiraled uncontrollably out of the sky, plummeting toward the ground.
Boom!
The fall of the massive body produced a huge roar, followed by a heavy smash onto the ground, emitting a dull, thunderous sound.
The golden giant dragon's body began to shrink at a visible rate, reverting to its previous dragon-man form.
Swish!
Tang Zheng also descended from the sky. Looking at the armless dragon-man Ladon writhing in pain, he cast a spell:
"*Charm Species!*"
"Ah— Ah—"
"It hurts so much! You, with the bloodline of the defeated gods, I'll kill you!" the dragon-man Ladon cursed and wailed in agony.
Tang Zheng noticed that his charm magic was being resisted and had actually failed. He couldn't help but raise an eyebrow slightly. "He's this heavily injured and can still resist it?"
Thud!
Casually plunging the magic greatsword into the sand beside him, Tang Zheng walked forward and punched the dragon-man's head.
The astonishing power stunned the dragon-man, and his screams and curses came to an abrupt halt.
"*Charm Species!*"
"Huh, he can still resist it. Is it a racial ability?"
Tang Zheng cast the magic again, only to find it was still resisted. He could only raise his fist and swing again.
Thud!
"*Charm Species.*"
Thud!
"*Charm Species!*"
Thud!
"Wait..."
Thud!
After a series of heavy punches, by the time the dragon-man Ladon's entire head was a bloody mess, *Charm Species* finally succeeded.
Looking at the golden scales flaking off his head, his cheeks swollen like steamed buns, and his eyes reduced to a single slit, an imperceptible twitch appeared at the corner of Tang Zheng's mouth.
His repeated use of charm magic had failed, leading him to suspect that the opponent probably possessed a passive ability that nullified charm effects.
There was no other explanation.
As for why it had succeeded now...
It was likely because the dragon-man Ladon had subconsciously given up resisting, which allowed the charm magic to take full effect.
"Another piece of useful information."
Tang Zheng shook his slightly numb fist. The opponent possessed a racial advantage; his physical defense was perhaps even a bit higher than his own.
This reminded him of undead like the Bone King, who, despite having passive abilities like fear immunity and emotional suppression, could still feel fear or become emotionally agitated.
"Where in the world is this place?" Tang Zheng asked the first question he wanted to confirm.
"Thish... ish... the cont'nent's... mosht... east…"
The dragon-man Ladon lifted his face, which was swollen like a steamed bun, and spoke unclearly.
"..." Tang Zheng expressionlessly took out a Regeneration Potion, sprinkled it on the other's face, and alleviated his injuries.
"This… is the desolate land on the easternmost side of the continent." The dragon-man Ladon's gaze was vacant. His speech was still a little slurred, but the meaning of his words was now clear.
Hearing the answer, Tang Zheng finally understood his location, a look of surprise appearing on his face.
This Despair Valley and desert region was located at the far eastern edge of this vast continent. One must know that the location of the humans on the map was in the northwest corner of the continent.
In other words, one was in the far east, and the other in the far west.
"No wonder. Even *High-Tier Teleportation* couldn't bring me here directly."
Tang Zheng muttered to himself. It seemed only a higher-level *Portal* could do the job.
"Why did you want to eliminate the humans here?" Tang Zheng asked again.
"My mission is to guard the humans here. I cannot leave this place unless they die."
The dragon-man Ladon said blankly, "I want to return to the supreme and great land, [Eryuentiu]."
[Eryuentiu]?
Tang Zheng knew of this place. It was a city beneath the floating city guild stronghold of the Eight Greed Kings.
Tang Zheng didn't know its exact location, but he knew that Fluder from the Baharuth Empire had once tried to borrow an item from the guild of the Eight Greed Kings, though he had not succeeded.
However, Fluder knew the location of the floating city.
And this descendant of the Eight Greed Kings before him would surely know even more.
"How did the Eight Greed Kings die?" Tang Zheng's eyes narrowed as he asked.
"I don't know." The dragon-man Ladon shook his head.
Hearing this answer, Tang Zheng frowned slightly and asked again.
"After the supreme and great God-Kings concluded the 'War to Exterminate the Dragon Lords,' I was dispatched to this place because I did not inherit the power of the 'Aspect of the King.'"
"I do not know what happened after that," the dragon-man Ladon replied.
Tang Zheng pondered. The information was scarce, but its implications were rather astonishing.
"'Aspect of the King'?"
"A God-scion with the power of the 'Aspect of the King' can continuously grow stronger… whereas my strength has been stagnant for 500 years."
"Moreover, I am a failure…" As the dragon-man Ladon said this, even under the influence of charm, his voice was filled with disappointment and dejection.
With the other's patient explanation, Tang Zheng finally understood the meaning of 'Aspect of the King.' Simply put, only a descendant of the Eight Greed Kings who broke through Level 50 was considered to possess the power of the 'Aspect of the King.'
According to the dragon-man Ladon, among the many descendants of the Eight Greed Kings he knew of, only a very few had truly inherited the 'Aspect of the King.'
"A failure?"
"Among the powerful dragon race that could rival the supreme and great God-Kings, dragons that reached the ancient class or possessed special abilities were called Dragon Lords."
"And among the Dragon Lords, those who could master the power called [Wild Magic] were known as True Dragon Lords."
"This was a terrifyingly powerful force that even the supreme and great God-Kings found formidable. After defeating numerous True Dragon Lords, the eight supreme and great God-Kings wanted to obtain this power called [Wild Magic]."
"They began research on this power..."
The dragon-man Ladon continued to recount secrets that were little known and had vanished from history.
The more Tang Zheng listened, the more alarmed he became. A serious and solemn expression appeared on his face. He suddenly felt that he might have overlooked something important.
Since he could research the magic and rituals of this Otherworld, how could those who had arrived earlier, like the Six Great Gods and the Eight Greed Kings, not have researched the powers of the Otherworld?
No one was a fool!
Even the Bone King had used the NPCs and resources of the Great Tomb of Nazarick to conduct all sorts of experiments in just a few short years.
Let alone the other Players!
"In order to research the power called [Wild Magic], the supreme and great God-Kings collected a large number of True Dragon Lord corpses and conducted various experiments."
"They even activated a supreme sacred treasure, a World Item called the [Nameless Spellbook]."
The dragon-man Ladon's tone became dejected at the end.
"Since my power could no longer grow, and the supreme God-Kings had a theory that my dragon-man race had some connection to dragons, I participated in the experiment."
"After obtaining the heart of a True Dragon Lord, I gained the ability to transform into a dragon. However, this power did not increase my strength much. On the contrary, there were various restrictions after the transformation, and I couldn't even use some of my class abilities."
"The experiment ultimately ended in failure. As for whether they continued the experiment after I left [Eryuentiu], I do not know."
After digesting this information, Tang Zheng looked at the dragon-man Ladon. "Where is that heart of the True Dragon Lord?"
The dragon-man Ladon weakly raised a hand and pointed to the location of his own heart.
Thud!
Tang Zheng swung his arm, landing a hand chop on the other's neck. The dragon-man Ladon was already heavily injured and extremely weak, so he was easily knocked unconscious.
Charm magic only affected the mind; it couldn't make the target harm themselves. Tang Zheng had no choice but to knock him out first before checking.
He picked up the magic greatsword that was stuck in the sand nearby.
He aimed it at the other's chest.
Tang Zheng infused wind-attribute magic power into it, increasing the sharpness of the blade. It took a great deal of effort to cut through the skin of the other's chest.
A large amount of blood gushed out—
The next moment.
Tang Zheng saw a faintly beating heart. It was by no means a normal-looking heart. Its entire surface was covered in a golden coating that resembled a spiderweb.
Faintly, he could see dense magical script swimming in and out of view on the heart's surface, flickering with its every beat.
"The heart of a True Dragon Lord couldn't be this small. Has it been modified with special magic?"
Tang Zheng stared at the magical pattern on the heart. In just a short moment, a wave of dizziness washed over him, forcing him to quickly look away.
"My *Magic Master* ability is actually unable to analyze it immediately? Is this the power of the World Item, the [Nameless Spellbook]?"
Tang Zheng was inwardly astounded. He subconsciously cast a spell at the heart. "*Item Appraisal.*"
…
Item: Special Artifact · Heart of a True Dragon Lord
Level: ??
Restriction: ??
Effect: ??
Description: ??
…
Looking at the series of question marks, he saw only a simple name—information he had only learned from the dragon-man Ladon himself.
"My Lord!"
"My Lord!"
From the distant desert, the shouts of Alar and the others could be heard.
Tang Zheng came back to his senses, suppressed his inner shock, and took out another healing potion, sprinkling it on the other's chest to let his injuries recover a little.
He still had many important questions to ask him, and this [Heart of a True Dragon Lord], which allowed the dragon-man Ladon to transform into a giant dragon…
Its value probably surpassed all the magic items he had ever seen before.
(end of chapter)