Chapter 153: Wagner's Dragon Binding Array
Suburbs of Northwind Keep.
A series of portals ripped open in the air, and mages stepped through into a secluded clearing. The patch of land lay not far from Northwind Keep, surrounded by towering, dense forests—quiet, still, and peaceful. The flat ground was dotted only with wildflowers and grass, untouched by debris or disturbance.
This was the site Kai Xiusu had chosen—the future location of a grand, sprawling palace—and also the “safe spellcasting space” he’d provided for Slaud.
Over the course of a month, he had transformed the entire area into a Kingdom Domain.
Slaud, tense and wary, scanned the surroundings. No immediate danger. No hostile aura. Yet the instincts of a high-level mage prickled at the back of his mind. Something was off.
“Lord Ember,” he said, voice low, fingertips brushing the air. “This place… it’s too quiet. The elemental flow here is unnaturally calm.”
Kai Xiusu remained calm. “That’s the Barrier of Breath Isolation. It blocks outside observation. Otherwise, do you think I could’ve built this secret base right under the nose of a Red Dragon? It took me considerable effort.”
“Truly masterful,” Slaud murmured, nodding slightly.
After all, that Red Dragon could cast Eighth-Level Spells. Caution was not just warranted—it was essential.
“Begin drawing the Rune Array,” Slaud commanded.
His voice trembled. The Gray Hawk Mage knew this was his final chance to rise again.
Twelve Gray-Cloaked Mages cast a Sound Dampening Spell, just in case.
The parchment scroll—its surface pulsing with a dangerous, volatile aura—was unrolled. A torrent of raw, potent magical energy spilled forth, overwhelming the air.
A strange, guttural wail echoed from within the scroll, muffled by magic, yet still reverberating through the clearing.
> “Fear the strength of the dragon.”
> “Its maw can swallow me whole.”
> “Its fangs—Changya—can tear me apart.”
> “Its fire can reduce me to ash.”
> “I will master it. I will bind it. I will become the dragon!”
The players channeled the magic, etching intricate, twisted patterns into the earth. Each glyph, each sigil, fused together—forming a single, terrifyingly powerful Eighth-Level Spell: Wagner’s Dragon Binding Array.
“Finally… it begins.”
“I will become the hero who slays the dragon.”
The memory of the Red Dragon that had destroyed everything—his family, his home, his life—burned in Slaud’s eyes. A deep, fathomless hatred simmered beneath his gaze.
He’d dreamed of driving his sword into that beast’s chest, watching it scream in agony before him—just as it had slaughtered his allies.
Slaud took a deep breath, stepped forward, and stood at the heart of the array.
The twelve Court Spellcasters from the Northern Regions took their positions at the central nodes, forming a perfect circle.
The two dozen players stood farther out, responsible for the most fundamental Incantation Control.
Hummm—
As the last control point was secured, the runes flared to life.
A surge of magical energy erupted across the array—violent, churning, like a colossal vortex. Even Kai Xiusu felt the sheer force of it, a storm of raw power that threatened to consume all within.
Wagner’s Dragon Binding Array—an Eighth-Level Spell of staggering complexity and chaos. Even with dozens of spellcasters sharing the burden, the strain was immense.
Slaud gritted his teeth, fighting to maintain control. Sweat poured down his face as he gasped for air.
“Lord Ember,” he pleaded. “Please… return to your true form. Assume your noble, majestic True Form. Grant us a single Dragon Scale and fifteen drops of Dragon Blood.”
“If you bring the Red Dragon here,” he said, “I can contain it.”
Kai Xiusu stared at him, a flicker of amusement in his eyes, his body shimmering with faint magical light.
“Done.”
His form expanded rapidly—growing, swelling—until a colossal beast filled the sky. The shadow it cast swallowed the entire array, dwarfing everyone beneath it.
Slaud looked up, stunned.
Then, horror replaced awe.
Twenty meters of sinewy, monstrous power. A body forged of pure strength. Its scales, a deep, burning crimson. Horns jutting sharply from its skull, folds of flesh trailing from its back all the way to its tail. A massive horn arched above its head like a crown. And in its golden vertical pupils—flames burned with the fury of a dying sun.
This was no Gold Dragon.
This was a Red Dragon—terrifying, ancient, and utterly real.
And Slaud recognized it instantly.
The nightmare that had haunted him for years.
The Purgatory Cataclysm.
The King of the Burnt.
Red Dragon Kai Xiusu.
He froze. His body trembled. He shook his head violently, as if trying to deny the truth.
“No… no, this can’t be real!”
“You’re not some damn Gold Dragon! You’re that cursed Red Dragon!”
Slaud’s mind shattered.
He pointed wildly at the players—shrieking like a madman.
“They’re all undercover agents! All of them!”
“Damned!”
“Everything… this was all a lie from the beginning!”
Twenty-odd players ripped off their disguises—revealing their true faces. Without hesitation, they turned on the defenseless Court Mages, unleashing a storm of spells. Magical auras flared in every direction.
The Red Dragon did not attack.
Instead, it hovered above, watching with cold amusement—its golden eyes like molten coins, gleaming with mockery.
“For justice…” it said, voice like thunder in the silence.
“Did I ever say I was a Gold Dragon?”
“Slaud.”
Slaud finally snapped back to reality.
The betrayal was complete.
His gaze, once filled with desperation, now burned with pure, unrelenting hatred—for Kai Xiusu.
“You destroyed everything,” he spat, voice ragged. “My family. My status. My last hope.”
“You killed it with your own hands.”
“I will kill you. At all costs.”
Losing all sense of reason, Slaud—still the Controller—forced the incomplete Wagner’s Dragon Binding Array to activate. He would use the spell’s immense power against the dragon, even if it meant his own destruction.
But Kai Xiusu had been ready.
For a month, he had turned this entire region into a Kingdom Domain.
The Red Dragon’s eyes blazed with molten gold. An invisible crown formed in the void above his head—his will alone shaping the world.
A wave of pressure radiated outward. The Elemental Energy around him obeyed. The very Weave of Magic bent to his command.
Kingdom Domain—Prohibition
Silence.
Absolute stillness.
All magic—every current, every spark—ceased.
The Wagner’s Dragon Binding Array dimmed, lifeless.
“Damn it…” Slaud whispered.
“It failed.”
Without the power source, the spell collapsed. The air turned cold, dead—like a tomb. His final gambit was useless.
He fell to his knees, face pale, eyes hollow. The last flicker of hope extinguished.
The twelve Court Mages tried to flee using spatial magic—but the Weave of Magic remained frozen. They were powerless. As helpless as ordinary men.
All around them, the Goblin Army closed in—surrounding the clearing, capturing the spellcasters one by one.
They would be taken to Lanpu’s new Tower of the Great Wise One, to become mere prototypes—expendable test subjects in a new age of power.
(End of Chapter)
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