Chapter 343: A New Discovery and Clementine's Arrival
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
"Seconded!"
"..."
"Seconded..."
Following the Supreme Cardinal's statement, the attending cardinals ceased their discussion.
The pristine white high hat on the Supreme Cardinal's head swayed slightly as his gaze turned to Sinedine, the Cardinal of Water, who was chairing the meeting.
He had faintly detected hesitation in the other's final words.
"What is it, Sinedine? Is there anything else to add?" the Supreme Cardinal asked, his voice calm and even.
"No, there isn't." Sinedine, the Cardinal of Water, shook his head, a flicker of indiscernible hesitation crossing his sallow, gaunt face.
He was actually holding a file concerning the Blend Potion, but he felt now was not the right time to present it.
The matter of the Blend Potion was of great importance.
He had no contact with the young man who had concocted this potion, so he knew nothing of his personality, thoughts, or character.
Cardinal Sinedine felt it wouldn't be too late to bring this information out after the young man arrived in the Slane Theocracy. Perhaps he could even judge a few things from the man's reaction then.
Presenting it at the meeting now would only lead to useless arguments.
He suppressed the thought.
Calmly, Cardinal Sinedine proceeded to the next agenda item. "According to current information, the Free Will Squad is staying in the Abelion Hills. We need to dispatch personnel there."
"Does anyone have a suitable recommendation?"
Among the cardinals present, some noticed Cardinal Sinedine's unusual behavior but had no intention of questioning it.
Since he didn't mention it, he must have his own considerations. The old hands present all trusted his judgment.
"Currently, the only ones who have had contact with Free Will are the Sunlight Scripture and Clementine."
"Absolutely not. They caused a great loss to the nation. If we give them another important task and something goes wrong..."
"It's not entirely out of the question."
"It's easier to build rapport with people you're familiar with. After all, both sides experienced the calamity caused by the undead together."
"It would be a chance to atone for their past failures. The new captain of the Sunlight Scripture should give his all to complete this task, and it would also be a test of his abilities."
"As for Clementine, she can be a last resort, a non-essential measure."
"..."
...
Mid-Wind Month, May 1st.
Seven days had passed since he had last raised [Holy Lord] and [Lord of Corruption] to their maximum levels.
Nearly a month had gone by since the end of the incident in the Hills.
Deep within the southern mountain range of the Abelion Hills.
A colossal golden dragon lay on the ground. The draconic aura it constantly released silenced even the faintest insect chirping in the valley depths, creating a somewhat eerie quiet.
Tang Zheng stood beside the golden dragon, continuously studying its body. His eyes were covered by a faint blue light of magic power as he observed it carefully.
"This is getting more and more interesting."
Tang Zheng muttered to himself, from time to time examining the details of the dragon's scales, even swinging his magic greatsword to strike its body, creating a few wounds for observation.
After inspecting some details, Tang Zheng pondered for a moment before raising his arm and waving it at the open ground beside him.
In an instant, a dragon corpse of similar size appeared on the empty ground. It was the corpse of the ancient fire dragon he had slain.
Tang Zheng observed this fire dragon's corpse as well, comparing it to the body of the golden dragon.
"Based on the comparison alone, the two are completely identical."
"After the dragonkin Ladon transforms, there seems to be no difference from a real dragon. This isn't an ordinary transformation at all; it's more like he was a dragon to begin with, merely reverting to his original form."
Tang Zheng placed a hand on the ancient red dragon's corpse. As he pondered, a thought crossed his mind, and he returned it to his item box.
He himself had mastered magic that allowed him to transform into other beasts or monsters: the Wild Shape of a Forest Priest.
However, while this transformation resulted in a similar appearance and granted some of the abilities of the transformed monster or beast, the caster's essence remained unchanged.
"It's somewhat similar to Wild Shape, but no, it must be a more advanced method."
Tang Zheng fell into deep thought.
The prerequisite for using a technique like Wild Shape was to be a faith-based magic caster, whereas the dragonkin Ladon's job build was entirely that of a Monk.
"This [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] could be considered a magical alchemical item."
"Indeed."
"Judging by the result alone, the effect of the transformation is perfect. Why did the former Eight Greed Kings and the dragonkin Ladon consider this a failed experiment?"
"Was it just because he couldn't become stronger?"
Tang Zheng shook his head.
The goal of the Eight Greed Kings was to obtain the power of Wild Magic by studying the True Dragon Lord's corpse.
The dragonkin Ladon, on the other hand, wanted to become stronger. Since neither side achieved their ultimate goal, it could indeed be considered a failure.
"The dragonkin Ladon's situation is a bit similar to the Green Leaf Witch's."
"One is stuck at level 50 after transforming using the Heart of the True Dragon Lord, and the other is stuck at level 28 using the power of the Forest Sage King."
Tang Zheng let out a derisive chuckle, but suddenly his eyes widened as a thought struck him.
Level 28 and level 50.
For the races of this otherworld, these represented two bottlenecks of different difficulties. Level 50, in particular, seemed to be a realm that was hard to cross, even for the Dragon race!
The Dragon race had a full six stages of racial levels!
Wyrmling 10 Lv, Young 10 Lv, Adult 10 Lv, Old 10 Lv, Elder 5 Lv, Ancient 5 Lv.
Their racial levels alone reached 50. Calculated according to their corresponding jobs, four of the six racial stages were intermediate job classes, and two were high-tier job classes.
With a racial job build of this caliber, it was no wonder the Dragon race was the most powerful race in the otherworld!
"So even among the Dragon race, those who can break through level 50 and possess the title of 'Dragon Lord' are extremely few."
"Whether it was the ancient fire dragon, the Frost Dragon Lord, or even the Dragon Lord councilors of the Council State, their levels were all below 50."
Thinking this way, Tang Zheng suddenly felt that, aside from players, the dragonkin Ladon's inability to break through level 50 was quite normal.
"For a Dragon Lord to master Wild Magic, the most basic requirement is to surpass level 50. Only then can one consider things like jobs."
"Speaking of which, when these Dragon Lords rely on their own strength to break through the level 50 racial upper limit, what kind of job do they acquire?"
This question suddenly popped into Tang Zheng's mind. He then shook his head, temporarily pushing the meaningless question aside.
"The next experiment—"
Tang Zheng's gaze fell upon the golden dragon. "Cancel the transformation."
"Roar."
The golden dragon let out a low roar, and its entire body began to visibly shrink, reverting to its dragonkin form in just a few breaths.
He calmly walked up to the other man.
Tang Zheng swung his palm, striking the back of the dragonkin Ladon's neck and knocking him unconscious.
*Swish!*
He swung the magic greatsword at the man's chest.
*Crack—Sss!*
The scales on his chest were easily sliced open, and blood sprayed from the wound.
The intense pain caused the dragonkin Ladon to let out an involuntary grunt, even while unconscious.
Looking at the wound from which blood flowed continuously, Tang Zheng expertly took out two Regeneration Potions. He stuffed one into the man's mouth and inserted the other into the gaping wound on his chest.
The dragonkin Ladon's physique was already powerful; even a gash across his chest wasn't life-threatening. The Regeneration Potion was mainly to prevent excessive blood loss.
Looking into the opened chest, he saw a heart covered in a silver, spiderweb-like pattern, its surface flowing with magical symbols like molten gold.
Tang Zheng's face was expressionless as he extended a hand into the man's chest and gently grasped the heart.
"Hnngh—"
The dragonkin Ladon's body twitched uncontrollably a few times.
"Time, one minute. Commencing the twelfth experiment."
Tang Zheng pressed the pocket watch hanging from his wrist. His other hand carefully held the peculiar, still-beating heart.
He injected a trace of magic power.
*Thump.*
The heart beat powerfully once.
"Relying solely on magic power for activation has no effect. I also feel an extremely strong energy repelling the magic power."
"Since it's repelling..."
He had already confirmed this result after several consecutive tests. Today, he planned to try a new method. He reached into the void with his other hand.
A Blend Potion appeared in his hand. He uncorked the bottle with one hand.
Tang Zheng raised the potion, preparing to pour it into his own mouth, but stopped the next moment. After some thought, he poured the Blend Potion into the dragonkin Ladon's mouth.
He injected magic power again!
The [Heart of the True Dragon Lord] suddenly released a surge of power.
*Voom—*
A faint golden light enveloped both Tang Zheng and the dragonkin Ladon.
Tang Zheng's pupils shrank abruptly.
"ROAR!"
The colossal figure of the golden dragon appeared once more, letting out a terrifying roar on the spot, while Tang Zheng vanished completely.
Abelion Hills.
Enri rode atop an Evil Spirit Hound, galloping across the desolate wilderness.
During this time, following Gagaran and the Beast General, Hector Weiss, to clean up the remaining undead in the Hills had taught her a great deal.
"Xiao Hei, I heard from the demi-human report that someone is looking for the Captain. I wonder who it is."
Enri was half-lying on the Evil Spirit Hound's back, one hand gripping the bone chain tightly, the other lightly resting on the hound's neck as she muttered under her breath.
"I haven't seen the Captain in a long time either. I wonder what he's busy with."
"It must be a new potion. The Captain loves to research potions."
"Woof," the Evil Spirit Hound let out a soft bark in response.
The black figure ran through the desolate Hills and arrived at the outskirts. Soon, Enri saw several humans in a standoff with a demi-human squad.
Clementine, wearing a black cloak, stood with her arms crossed, looking bored. She swept her gaze over the few demi-humans staring intently at them a short distance away, a dangerous light glinting in the depths of her eyes.
"What are they plotting?"
"Such an irritatingly uncertain situation."
A flash of annoyance crossed Clementine's face. She had long been prepared to defect completely at a moment's notice.
But the mysterious red-robed mage who had killed the Alliance Leader had made no move, which was not necessarily a good thing.
The man held information about her collusion with Zuranon. The fact that he wasn't using it now meant he was likely plotting something dangerous.
"Lady Clementine, our purpose this time is to 'invite.' Please maintain your composure until we know the final outcome."
A tall, silver-haired, middle-aged man wearing the black uniform and silver short cape of a Sunlight Scripture captain spoke gently in a low voice.
This person was the new captain of the Sunlight Scripture, Ian, a man with the strength of a commander.
He had long heard that Clementine had a problematic personality, and this was, after all, his first task since becoming captain.
"Hah, you're just as long-winded as Nigun was," Clementine's purple pupils flashed with a dangerous glint, her tone full of impatience.
Captain Ian gave a wry smile.
*Thump!*
*Thump—*
The sound of rapid running approached them.
Enri, riding the Evil Spirit Hound, arrived from a distance. After a brief exchange with the demi-human squad, she easily made her way before Clementine and the others.
"Is that Clementine?"
Enri recognized the familiar face of Clementine at first glance. She had a deep impression of this woman who had clashed with the Captain.
She deftly dismounted from the Evil Spirit Hound.
Enri tucked her chestnut-brown hair behind her ear, revealing faint, clear muscle lines on her arm as she strode forward.
"Are you from the Slane Theocracy?" Enri asked, a little uncertain.
"Hello, Enri. I am Ian, Captain of the Sunlight Scripture."
A warm and brilliant smile appeared on Captain Ian's face as he stepped forward to introduce himself, simultaneously sizing up this legendary young woman who had reportedly slain a Soul Eater with a single strike.
Hmm?
She was completely different from the image he had in his mind.
Was it just his imagination?
Captain Ian felt that the Enri before him seemed very weak. Or were the rumors mistaken?
"Ah, I remember the previous captain was Mr. Nigun," Enri said, a little surprised upon hearing the introduction. "Could it be..."
"Captain Nigun was seriously injured and is currently recuperating, so I have taken over as the new captain."
Ian explained simply, as he couldn't very well say the former captain had been dismissed due to a grave error.
"Oh, I see." Enri felt a bit embarrassed. Due to her haste and the hot weather, sweat dripped from her cheeks down to her collarbone. "I'm not sure of our captain's whereabouts at the moment, either."
"Lord Tang isn't in the Hills?" Captain Ian was taken aback.
If Leader Tang wasn't in the Hills, things would become troublesome. They probably wouldn't be able to complete their task anytime soon.
"No, that's not it. Our captain loves to research all sorts of potions, and the Hills are so vast, so finding him right away is a bit difficult," Enri explained.
"We have an important matter and wish to see Lord Tang," Captain Ian said with a relieved smile and a soft voice.
"In that case, I'll take you to Miss Cuiye first, then we can figure out a way to notify the Captain," Enri said, becoming serious upon hearing there was an important matter.
Clementine stood silently to the side, observing Enri, and finally, she curled her lip.
(end of chapter)