City of Sin (Yanyu Jiangnan)

Crisis At Dragon Valley

“Just a little brat,” Senma commented as Toruch was dragged out of the castle by a few rune knights, “Tch, no strength to match that ambition. That being said, do you really want to fight the Sacred Tree Empire right now?”

Richard shook his head, “They would have declared war directly if they were able to. They’re probing for any signs of weakness.”

“And what if he really does go back and convince the Empire to send its army?” she frowned.

“Then we just force them back!” Richard grinned.

“Sigh. Another war? Don’t you have enough on your plate already?”

*Thud! Thud! Thud!* Fate seemed to be in line with Senma’s thinking today. Hasty footsteps sounded outside the hall as a mage barged in, not even bothering to regain his balance before he started speaking, “YOUR GRACE! EMERGENCY IN FAELOR! DRAGONS… Huff… A number of powerful dragons have suddenly appeared from the Dragon Plane, and those exploring sustained massive casualties. The Celestial Sage was grievously injured as well, and we lost our base. Lady Nasia is currently guarding the passageway, but she’s fought a number of battles and will need to retreat!”

“WHAT?!” Richard shot up. He understood the sheer power of the forces he had left to guard against the Dragon Plane. Even Bahamut would have no chance of taking over that base, but many of the explorers were dead? Even the Celestial Sage was injured?

Given his centuries of experience, Ruben was a monstrous epic being. While he couldn’t compare to fighters like Philip or Apeiron, he wasn’t far off and definitely had a number of ways to hold his own. For him to be seriously injured meant this wasn’t just any powerful dragon, beings stronger than Tiamat herself had to have appeared here. Was it the Five-Coloured Dragon?

He forced himself to calm down, returning to his seat. The situation looked critical, but the planar passage wasn’t strong enough for anyone stronger than Bahamut to pass through yet. Nasia could definitely deal with the Flame Dragon, especially with the help of all the rune knights he had stationed to help her.

Reorganising his thoughts for a moment, he promptly summoned his generals and tasked them with guarding Azan. A message was sent for Alice to return immediately, and Senma was assigned to guard her and Coco. Everyone he had sent to build a defensive fort at the portal to the abyss was recalled as well, albeit not without hesitation. While the portal was in the depths of the Genesis in a strange demiplanar section of Faelor, it was wide and stable enough for even an archlord to pass through. The distance would be no obstruction to a powerful demon, but he just had to gamble that he would get the time to deal with the dragons before it became a threat. It would still take some time for the archlord’s aura to fade away completely from the place, so he believed he was safe enough for now.

Sighing with disappointment, he sent people to both the Forest Plane and the Deepblue. A few hours later, he led 500 mysterious warriors towards the portal to Faelor.

……

The astral chrysalis and wasps were already lying in wait at Bluewater Oasis, immediately picking up Richard and his troops and transporting them to Dragon Valley. The situation had somewhat stabilised at this point, with Nasia showing the ability to beat the dragons back time and time again, so he decided that the enormous cost of the long-distance portal wasn’t necessary.

A couple days later, he arrived to a sight that left him stunned. The bustling town had turned into a pile of ruins, the manors and workshops that he toiled over now nothing but charred land. There were signs of battle everywhere, with all kinds of dragon breaths having carved trenches in the valley. The Archeron army had retreated out completely, working out of a temporary base that allowed them to treat the valley itself as the battlefield.

The sight obviously made his heart ache, but thankfully he saw that Rosie’s rune workshops had been moved over safely. A quick enquiry informed him that she and those under her were unharmed, which made him feel slightly better.

Richard jumped off the astral chrysalis, meeting with Nasia who had rushed over immediately. The knight looked no different than usual, but there were quite a few burn signs on her legendary armour that had evidently been left behind by dragons. As someone who knew her abilities very well, he could tell just how intense the battle had been after seeing those markings.

“How did this happen?”

“The Five-Coloured Dragon,” Nasia said with seldom seen grimness, “Ruben must have done something to piss her off. Not only was he injured, but she even took out three legends and a dozen saints .The base was destroyed, and she sent a swarm of dragons over this way as well. We lost a full squad of rune knights in the first wave, but thankfully I managed to get the rest out. That’s all I could do.”

The rest of Richard’s followers quickly began to show themselves as well, but Tiramisu didn’t show himself. Closing his eyes and scanning his soul space, he then shot a questioning glance at Nasia.

“Lying in bed. The rune knights needed cover, so the loghead took a direct hit from the Fice-Coloured Dragon for them. That one’s a full thousand metres tall when she stands up; tall. It’s a wonder he didn’t just die.”

Richard sighed in relief. The ogre warlord had powerful vitality, especially with his two heads. So long as he didn’t just die, he would be able to recuperate slowly. Even broken and torn limbs would be repaired eventually.

“And where’s the Celestial Sage?”

……

Seeing the Celestial Sage, Richard had no words to say. The veteran epic being no longer had an aura of power, just lying on his bed in a coma. He was much thinner than before, with his hair, eyebrows, and beard almost completely burnt away by dragonfire. Lifting the covers, Richard found that he had burns everywhere; the flesh was a complete mess, with many areas almost reaching putrefaction. Knowing the team of clerics that were still waiting outside, he knew that this wasn’t down to improper treatment. The lingering power in those wounds was preventing any cure.

As he reached out to one of the rotting wounds, he suddenly recoiled as a phantom dragon jumped out and bit at his finger. He paled at the pain from the attack, feeling everything as a small portion of his mana was taken away, and even though the amount was negligible it could never be recovered. He now understood why even Nasia was having a hard time; if this residual energy could even tear away at his own legendary mana, it had to be powered by strong laws. Just a brush against such a terrifying existence would be troublesome, especially when that being also contained terrifying brute strength.

The Celestial Sage was still unconscious, but even worse his soul had hidden away to avoid the lingering damage. Ruben had a powerful body, but it definitely wasn’t enough to contend against the Five-Coloured-Dragon’s rot. At this rate, the body would soon die.

Richard sighed. The clerics of the three goddesses could do nothing facing the power of an existence that surpassed their deities themselves. Shaking his head, he decided to try his own luck. The green moon slowly phased into existence atop his head, moonforce immediately surging through his body and transforming into life force that entered Ruben’s body.

Divine Prayer accomplished nothing at first, but Richard decided to go all in and activated the power of his elven truename as well. As Ruvendaer was activated, the power of the green moon suddenly flickered in and out, causing a huge reaction. The entire body hissed as numerous phantom dragons crawled their way out, screaming in anguish!

It seemed like the phantom dragons around the Celestial Sage were soaked in dense acid, crying out and rolling in pain as they dissolved rapidly. Some were more indignant, clawing towards the void in an attempt to tear Richard apart, but having tasted their power already Richard used a number of barriers to protect himself.