Chapter 297: The Despicable One's Pass

Chapter 297: The Despicable One's Pass

The power of the World Devastation Incantation is undeniable.

"Vermilion Dragon" is the pinnacle of fire-based incantations, unleashed by two Monarchs together. Its might, while not capable of truly ending the world, can easily raze a city to the ground. If it were to trigger the earth's veins, causing magma to erupt, its destructive force would be even more formidable.

The only solution is to interrupt the incantation mid-release, which is equally challenging. From the beginning of the chant, a white candle flame envelops the two Monarchs, and anything attempting to pass through this barrier meets the same fate—death.

As the Vermilion Dragon is unleashed, everything pales in comparison, except for the Twin Sovereigns on the Bronze and Flame Throne, who shine brilliantly. Pure white flames spread across their bodies, carrying a destructive aura, annihilating everything in their path and sublimating all with their extreme temperature.

"Its power is a bit greater than I imagined."

Luke is slightly taken aback. He extends his hand towards the sky, and countless streams of water, as if hearing a command, rush into Bronze City, instantly submerging the entire city. The massive amount of water transforms into hundreds of barriers.

Although he is not the archangel Gabriel, who governs water, his control over it is unparalleled. After multiple refinements of the Curse God and the addition of the water demon's origin, even if the Sea and Water King himself were to appear, he would still be acknowledged as the big brother!

Luke then produces a box that seems capable of freezing the entire world. He gently opens a slit, and an extremely cold breath escapes, freezing countless barriers with frost. Even the white candle flame becomes unstable and flickers.

Boom!!!

Ripples spread, and the expanding white candle flame collides with the ice barrier, causing an intense explosion upon contact. This is a heat shock, a common physical phenomenon when extreme high temperatures and low temperatures intertwine. However, the scale of this occurrence is absurdly massive.

The entire Bronze City emits unbearable creaking and cracking sounds. Even the palace meticulously crafted by Dragon King Norton cannot withstand the intensity of the current battle.

When the white halo exhausts its final power and trembles to collapse, half of it turns into magma, and the other half, frozen, is a far cry from its original majestic grandeur, now lying in ruins.

Luke parts the smoke and looks ahead. On the bronze ground, now melted and refrozen, two figures, one large and one small, sit slumped, their dragon-like features gradually fading, and their Golden Eyes are withered.

"You two seem exhausted. There's not a trace of the Dragon King's demeanor left in you now."

Luke approaches the two Dragon Kings, his body gradually reverting to its original height of one meter and ninety centimeters. The scales on his body slowly disappear, and his dragon claws and limbs retract, returning him to a human form.

"Even for a Dragon King, releasing the complete Vermilion Dragon is an immense burden, especially since we haven't yet hatched our true dragon bodies."

Norton, holding a seemingly fearful Constantin, has dull Golden Eyes filled with fatigue. "Only a colossal dragon body can truly bear the release of a world-devastation incantation. It's still too forced in a human form."

Luke speaks calmly, "What, do you think my victory is unfair?"

"No, being able to withstand the 'Vermilion Dragon' head-on is something even other Dragon Kings can't achieve. Only those two can, and you've already won..."

The dull Golden Eyes suddenly burst with the brilliance of their prime, and Luke hears a whistling wind behind him. A sword pierces his heart from behind, skewering his chest from back to front.

Luke coughs up blood and lowers his head slightly, revealing the tip of the "Wrath" sword protruding from his chest.

"Wrath" twists and shreds his heart, followed by the arrival of the other six blades of the Seven Deadly Sins. The seven swords tremble, resonating with the domain of Sin and Punishment, capable of binding body and soul, preventing other Dragon Kings or any other entities from escaping through cocooning.

"It's me who has gained an unfair advantage."

Norton, holding his exhausted brother, slowly stands up. His Golden Eyes, though dimmer than before, still retain some brightness, indicating he has some strength left.

...

The water's surface, disturbed by the aftermath, exhibits various anomalies, resembling a scene from the end of the world.

A massive sea dragon whirlpool rapidly approaches, and its impact point is right near the Monarchia. The expanding vortex acts like an invisible hand, gripping the ship's engine. Danger looms, but there's no escape!

"It's too late, oh, it's too late."

Lu Mingze looks at the flustered Lu Mingfei with a smile, feeling like a bystander, and a devil from Faust.

"How about this: today's grand opening special, buy one get three free. I'll help you out of this predicament for just a quarter of your life, surpassing Caesar and Chu Zihan, and becoming the second-best-looking guy at Cassel Academy."

If it's just a quarter of his life...

Lu Mingfei hesitates for a moment. He looks around, seeing the terrified crew, almost everyone in a state of panic. Only Zero stands by his side, his expressionless face revealing no emotion.

"Start all engines and flee from this spot!"

"But if we leave Caesar and Luke underwater, they'll be done for!"

"If the Monarchia sinks, they won't have a place to return to when they resurface. That's when they'll truly be done for!"

Professor Mans calmly issues commands. The Monarchia's engines roar to life, and the ship flees at full speed. However, the expanding vortex proves difficult to escape, so he leaves the captain's room and heads to the deck.

Amidst the raging storm, Professor Mans quickly chanted the dragon language, his voice booming like thunder, even drowning out the sound of the wind and waves pounding against the ship. A domain was forming.

Incantation—Dustless Zone!

This incantation issued a command to all living and non-living matter within the domain, ordering everything unauthorized to be expelled from the domain!

Whoosh—

An invisible barrier rose, covering a small portion of the ship's stern. The suction of the vortex beneath lessened slightly, and in contrast, Professor Mans was drenched in sweat, his face pale.

Compared to the calamity, humans are still too fragile!

Finally, the ship managed to escape the sea tornado, but the "Monarch" was yet to fully break free from the vortex, and his Dustless Zone was about to collapse.

"Boss, actually, I can..."

Lu Mingfei looked at the boss, hesitating whether to speak or not. Giving up a quarter of his life was a precious sacrifice, but in such a dangerous situation, if it could save everyone and himself...

He made up his mind, and as he scanned the area, he immediately panicked again. At some point, Lu Mingze, who had urged him to give up his life, had disappeared without a trace, as if hiding from something.

Lu Mingfei: ...

What the hell, disappearing halfway through a deal!

"What's with the dying? Isn't the sea tornado changing direction?"

The clone of Lu Ke casually pointed, and everyone's eyes followed his gesture.

Indeed, the direction of the sea tornado shifted, gradually moving away from the "Monarch" at a pouring angle, while also gradually diminishing in size.

The raging storm above also lessened, and the vortex dragging the "Monarch" began to shrink, making the previous life-or-death crisis seem like a fleeting illusion.

Everyone on board was on edge, and it took a while before they could relax. It was then that they realized their collars were already soaked, and if they took them off, they could wring out a handful of sweat.

Professor Mans, exhausted, collapsed to the ground, but he forced himself to stay conscious. He ordered the ship to move away from the area, and the crew, still shaken from the recent scare, hurriedly nodded.

Then, Professor Mans communicated with Lu Ke and Caesar for a while, nodding to Lu Mingfei and Zero.

"Let's pause today's exploration. The Bronze City below has been activated for some reason, and the rapid movement inside makes it inaccessible. We'll discuss it later."

...

Underwater, inside the dilapidated Bronze City.

Lu Ke, pierced by the Seven Deadly Sins, managed to stand, blood continuously dripping from his body.

During the recent "Vermilion Dragon" incident, Norton allowed his naive younger brother to take the lead without reservation, not only because Constantine's power far surpassed his own, but also to preserve a small portion of his strength for a surprise attack.

"You should have told me the vital spot was the heart. One must always remain vigilant against an enemy."

Norton spoke calmly, showing respect to such a powerful and open enemy, even if he were a king. If not for the opponent's excessive frivolity, the victory would have been his.

A glimmer of understanding flashed in Lu Ke's eyes, as if he had figured out what had just happened. He gripped the blade piercing his body and let out a sigh.

"My operation wasn't ideal. Those with the same configuration would hang me up to beat me, so I could only blow up the fish pond for some fun.

Norton's eyes flickered, and he struggled to think of anyone more powerful than the person before him. He responded calmly.

"Dragons are not beasts. Rather, when your ancestors were still in a state of ignorance, we had already developed a brilliant civilization. Much of your knowledge and power originate from us."

Luke coughed up a mouthful of blood, his face breaking into a smile. "There shouldn't be a custom of eating one's own kind in human civilization."

"Is there not?"

Norton scoffed, "In the Gongyang Zhuan, Year of Duke Xuan Gong 15, it is written: 'Eating one's own child and cooking with their bones.'"

Luke's eyes widened in shock, blood flowing incessantly from his mouth.

"You, a foreign dragon, actually know Chinese poetry?"

"Dragons have no borders. In the ancient world, we were the rulers. In fact, the place where many dragons have stayed the longest is the land of China. We have transformed into humans countless times, carrying the memories of many generations."

Norton slowly recounted the past, his eyes filled with a hint of nostalgia and regret.

"When you explored this Bronze City, did you not notice the background? I, alongside Constantine, once took on the form of Li Xiong and assisted Gongsun Shu in claiming the throne. Because of this, Gongsun Shu believed his luck came from metal, and as the color of the metal was white, he became known as the 'White Emperor.'"

Luke recalled, there seemed to be such a setting. He wasn't a stickler for details, and might have overlooked it when reading the novel.

"I understand. Official history may not always be accurate, but unofficial history must be wild."

Norton furrowed his brows, gazing at Luke, who was pierced by the Seven Deadly Sins. He was amazed by Luke's vitality, as it was rare for someone to survive this long with their core damaged.

However, he was well aware of Luke's strength.

It was normal for such a powerful dragon to live longer!

"Eating one's own child is an instinctive reaction in desperate times. What about you?"

Luke coughed twice and vomited more blood. He looked miserable, his breath carrying a bloody scent, yet he asked with enthusiasm.

"You just had Constantine use his Incantation with full force while holding back your own power. Aside from planning to ambush me, you're also scheming to make your brother lose his resistance, aren't you? Are you going to eat him?"

"No, I'm not scheming. It would be more than welcome if my brother wanted to eat me."

Before Norton could respond, Constantine, whom he held in his arms, spoke first. His haggard face showed not fear but surprise and delight, his eyes sparkling as he looked at his older brother.

Norton, who had been calm until now, clenched his teeth, his tone revealing a hint of ferocity for the first time.

"Because we have also reached a point of desperation. The Supreme will awaken and bring about destruction. To survive the catastrophe, at the very least, power and authority must be united in one person for any chance of survival."

The Four Great Kings were all twins, one representing "authority" and the other "power." Only by consuming the other half and gathering authority in one person could the Four Great Kings be complete.

"The Supreme you speak of is the Black King, the dragon Nidhogg who gnaws at the roots of the World Tree in Norse mythology, right? Do you know his exact location?"

"..."

Norton fell silent for a moment, looking down at Luke, whose blood loss was almost equal to his two larger bodies. Finally realizing something was amiss, he retreated a step, protectively holding Constantine.

"Why haven't you died yet?"

As he asked, he frantically waved his hand, attempting to summon back the Seven Deadly Sins, only to find that the masterpiece sword he had personally forged remained motionless, not the slightest intention of obeying his command.

Whether as the master of the Seven Deadly Sins or the Alchemist of the "Bronze King," he had never encountered such a situation!

"Tsk, you dragon, don't answer a question with a question."

Luke stopped his performance with a hint of regret. Unknowingly, the Seven Deadly Sins, which had been refining him, slowly withdrew from his body, along with the blood on the ground, all of which he collected into his personal space.

He approached the two, his wounds healing rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he was restored to his original state, the bloodstains on his body disappearing without a trace.

Norton's heart sank, his body turning cold as he stared at Luke.

"Isn't your heart your weak point?"

"My exact words were that my power is concentrated in my heart."

Luke shrugged. In the Elden Ring, that portion of dragon power was indeed stored in the heart, and he wasn't lying; he was merely concealing part of the truth.

The Lamia Dragon's core was in the Dragon God Orb in the sky, while the Fylia World Beast Dragon's power was evenly distributed throughout its entire body. Only when these three were combined did they make up Luke's total dragon power.

And even this was just a part of Luke's power.

Luke looked at Norton, whose face had turned ashen, a smirk forming on his lips as he repeated the words he had just spoken.

"You shouldn't have believed my words. Always maintain a sense of caution towards your enemies."

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end