Chapter 416: Fusion

Chapter 416: Fusion

After some thought, Barnes decided to go down and check the situation.

On one hand, he felt that if he missed this opportunity, it might not come again.

If a chance presented itself and he didn't seize it, he would surely regret it later.

On the other hand, Barnes believed his strength was on par with Ren's, and even if he couldn't defeat him, Ren wouldn't be able to beat him either.

Safety-wise, he didn't think there would be much of an issue.

Lastly, there was one more point.

If he went to the valley below now, Reagan and Bronson would have less distance to cover, and the three of them could meet up earlier.

So, Barnes gathered his things and quickly headed towards the valley where the battle vibrations had just come from, carrying the device box for collecting blood essence.

Meanwhile, in the capital of Tamriel, on the second floor of the Astrologist's Platform, inside the command center.

"Have you made contact?" General Augustus asked as soon as he saw Tatiya return from the adjacent room.

Tatiya shook her head, her pretty face solemn, and said, "I'm sorry, General Augustus. The liaison officer has been trying to contact them continuously, but due to energy interference, fifteen minutes have passed, and they still haven't been able to reach anyone from the three squads."

"Also, the Imperial Guards just sent word that they are engaged in fierce battles with cultists at multiple locations in the suburbs of the capital. Although the cultists are very determined in their resistance, the Imperial Guards have gradually narrowed the encirclement and eliminated most of them."

"The Royal Family has sent word that five minutes ago, at Falling Star Lake, Princess Red Queen Menya personally went to handle the situation."

Upon hearing Tatiya's successive reports, including Marshal Alfred, nodded to indicate their understanding.

Since the capital was temporarily secure, the focus now naturally shifted to the Mystic Realm.

This only increased the pressure on everyone.

"Lord Dalien, has the energy turbulence weakened? Can we check the situation in the Mystic Realm?" Marshal Alfred asked, turning to Dalien.

The top priority at the moment was still to figure out the situation in the Mystic Realm as soon as possible.

Upon hearing this, Dalien immediately began chanting an incantation, and as a colorful arcane aura enveloped him, the next second, Grand Astrologist Dalien shook his head and said, "The interference is still there, but it has calmed down a lot. It's estimated that in a few more minutes, we'll be able to check the situation in the Mystic Realm. However, the image we see at that time may not be very stable."

"As long as we can see, that's good," Alfred's expression improved slightly upon hearing Dalien's words.

After all, how could he command if he didn't even know the situation in the Mystic Realm?

In the western valley of Flame Mountain, within the Dragon Valley Secret Realm.

Ren's battle with Aida and Ailia continued.

"Sister, be careful!"

After the first stage of transformation, Ren's speed and strength increased by several times, and taking advantage of the dust cloud from the explosion, a five-meter-tall giant shadow quickly appeared behind Aida, about seven or eight meters away.

With the human form, there is a human form of fighting style, and after transforming into a Dragon Warrior, there is a Dragon Warrior's battle technique!

At this moment, Ren ran like a bulldozer, and behind his powerful Dragon Warrior body, a powerful air current formed after breaking through the air, creating a dirt dragon that stretched for dozens of meters.

As for the trees on both sides of him, large and small, they fell like cut rice stalks.

The ferocity of the attack made Aida's neck hairs stand on end.

It was as if she was being watched by some giant beast, and her alarm bells immediately went off!

"Roooaaarrr!!!"

Just as Aida was about to cast a spell to attack, a deafening roar erupted from Ren's mouth, and several rings of circular air currents swept around, causing Aida's mind to falter.

Before she could fully recover, she saw a giant dragon claw the size of a millstone slamming into her abdomen!

"Pop! Pop!"

The double-layered arcane defense on Aida's body burst like bubbles, but fortunately, these two protective spells blocked the attack, allowing her to react in time and tense her abdominal muscles.

"Bang!"

In the instant she was hit!

Aida was like a cannonball, and her already light body was blasted and flew backwards, knocking over seven or eight trees that took two people to embrace, and blood was splattered all the way!

But she hadn't landed yet.

The strong Dragon Warrior body had appeared in front of her again, and a heavy dragon claw swung towards her!

For a moment, Aida was terrified!

"How can he be so strong!"

If she had been hit directly, Aida was sure she would have been turned into a meat paste on the spot!

"Sister!"

Not far away, her sister Ailia screamed and simultaneously used Twin Teleport again.

As the two switched positions, Ailia suddenly appeared in front of Ren, crossing her battle blades in front of her chest, doing her best to block Ren's dragon claw strike!

"Clang!!!"

Although Ailia was skilled in speed, her strength wasn't her forte, and she was already at a disadvantage against Ren.

And at this moment, Ren had transformed into the Dragon Warrior form, further increasing his strength by several times, making the gap even wider. Ailia was immediately struck so hard that half of her body sank into the ground.

At this moment, her arms were trembling, maintaining the blocking stance, but her eyes had rolled back, and her head was buzzing.

She felt like her bones were falling apart, her whole body was weak, and she couldn't muster any strength!

Ailia knew she couldn't block the second strike!

The only option was to use the Twin Serpent Cult's unique skill, even though it would severely damage her energy and make it difficult to execute subsequent tasks. But at this moment, there was no better choice.

"Sister, Fusion!!!"

Instantly, Ailia's eyes turned into a pair of vertical pupils, and her skin instantly sprouted countless fine scales. At the same time, a red mist enveloped her, quickly forming a high-intensity energy shield!

Just as Ren's dragon claw slashed down again, Aida suddenly appeared beside her sister Ailia.

The two bodies began to merge strangely, and the red mist around them formed an extremely powerful energy shield!

"Bang!" Ren's heavy dragon claw strike was repelled as if it had hit a highly elastic surface, and the dragon claw bounced back.

Hmm?

This surprised Ren slightly!

But immediately, Ren made a decision. He didn't activate the second form but instead used the core skill of the Epic profession 'King of a Thousand Blades', Weakness Control!

Instantly, his eyes saw a three-dimensional image of the energy shield surrounding the sisters. He directly ignored the green and yellow dots and discovered two small red dots moving on the surface of the shield.

"This is the weakness!"

The sharp dragon claw suddenly accelerated and pierced the shield at the red dot!

"Ssshhh!!!"

The dragon claw broke through the energy shield, striking the two sisters who had just fused together at the waist, causing them to bend over.

"Boom!!!"

The two were like steam engines, slamming into the ground over a dozen meters away, instantly creating a crater, and the ground around them cracked extensively!

Both women had a bowl-sized bloody hole in their abdomen, injured by Li Hua's Dragon Finger, and they were also vomiting blood profusely.

"Pfft~Pfft~"

Their eyes widened, and they looked at Li Hua with a shocked and bewildered expression.

"How is it possible for the energy shield to be broken?!"

"This is an energy shield with a defense close to the Epic tier!"

When the two sisters combined, they were protected by a Crimson Fog Energy Shield, which had a similar invincible effect. Their bodies would automatically be enveloped in a powerful energy shield, and it had never been broken by anyone in previous battles.

However, Li Hua possessed the 'Godly Skill' Weakness Control, a close-range skill, and after transforming into the Dragon Warrior Form, his strength became incredibly powerful.

With these two combined, the invincible effect of the Ailia sisters was directly broken.

Their combined technique was also interrupted, causing them to suffer backlash and severe injuries.

Barnes arrived nearby and witnessed this scene.

"Hiss~"

Looking at the surroundings, which resembled the aftermath of heavy artillery shelling, Barnes could easily imagine how intense the battle had just been! Especially the five-meter-tall unknown form of the Dragon Warrior ahead indicated that his earlier guess was correct.

The Li Hua before him indeed had Dragon blood.

Moreover, judging from his current Dragon Warrior appearance, it wasn't the typical form of a Five-Colored Dragon bloodline transformation.

"No wonder Prince Evert wanted Li Hua's blood essence!"

"Now I understand why the Carver Harold died at Li Hua's hands."

In an instant, Barnes felt like he had figured out a lot.

"Hmm? Are these two from the Twin Serpent Cult?"

"How did they get into the Mystic Realm?"

When Barnes turned his gaze towards the two women, he immediately noticed the red snake tail mark on their foreheads and their unique aura, instantly confirming their identities.

Alright then! This put Barnes in a difficult decision once again.

Should he take action now, while Li Hua was just finishing his transformation and exhausted? Or should he wait for Li Hua to finish off the two women before making his move? The former option had the implication of colluding with the enemy, as they were both from the Imperial official department, and taking action at this time could lead to misunderstandings.

The latter option was just foolish.

However, Barnes quickly figured it out.

Since they were going to kill anyway, why not kill Li Hua first and then the two women?

Without any survivors, who would know that he had killed Li Hua?

He could also gain credit for eliminating the cultists!

With his decision made, Barnes set the Blood Essence Extractor aside and glanced at the Locator Crystal, checking the positions of the other two, Reagan and Bronson. His heart settled as they were extremely close by, and he estimated they would join him in three to five minutes.

"Then there's no problem at all!"

Just as Li Hua had returned to his human form and was about to interrogate the two women about the cult's plans, he suddenly sensed something and turned to look west, saying:

"Come out, don't hide."

"Lord Li Hua, what a coincidence!" Barnes emerged with a smile.

"Lord Barnes, it is quite a coincidence," Li Hua said, sensing his surroundings for the presence of Reagan and Bronson, who had accompanied Barnes during the Dragon Knight Cadet Selection.

However, he didn't detect their traces.

"Cough, these two are cultists from the Twin Serpent Cult, right? They seem to be quite powerful. Lord Li Hua's strength is truly formidable." Barnes praised.

"Indeed, they are cultists from the Twin Serpent Cult."

"Lord Li Hua, I have an unwelcome request."

As Barnes spoke, he positioned himself between Li Hua and the two women, his intentions clear.

"Oh? Lord Barnes, please speak," Li Hua narrowed his eyes, looking at Barnes.

"I need a portion of Lord Li Hua's blood essence. Your Dragon bloodline is very rare, and I believe it would be of great research value to all of us who possess the Dragon bloodline."

"I hope Lord Li Hua can consider the bigger picture and make a sacrifice."

"Of course, if there are research results, you, as the contributor, will enjoy all the research outcomes for free."

Since Barnes believed he had the advantage, he spoke rather directly.

Hmm?

At this moment, Ailia and Aelia, who were struggling to get up from their prone positions, froze upon hearing Barnes's words.

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The sisters exchanged a glance, both wondering if they were hallucinating due to their severe injuries.

What was going on?

They were well aware that blood essence was not something to be given away lightly!

Even a single drop was incredibly precious, let alone a portion?

Providing a portion of blood essence would likely cause even a peak Legendary powerhouse's strength to drop to the initial Legendary tier or even the sub-Legendary tier! Were these two enemies?!

"Lord Barnes, perhaps we can make an exchange. How about you give me your blood essence, and after I research the results, we can share them together?"

"That's unfortunate, Lord Li Hua. It seems I'll have to take it myself!" Barnes shook his head.

Hearing Barnes's words, Li Hua couldn't help but laugh, saying, "Lord Barnes, I was about to say the same thing."

At the same time.

Capital Tamriel.

The second floor of the Astrologist's Platform, the Command Center.

Grand Astrologist Dalien suddenly relaxed his furrowed brows and said, "Lord Alfred, perhaps I can try to view the Mystic Realm."

"Oh? That's wonderful," Alfred said, his face lighting up at the news.

Dalien immediately began chanting and casting spells, and a dense Arcane Pulse gathered around him.

As Dalien raised his hand and pointed forward, a scene suddenly appeared on the elliptical stone platform, nearly ten square meters in size, in the center of the hall.

This was the scene currently unfolding in a certain part of the Dragon Valley Secret Realm.

Upon seeing this, Augustus, Tatiya, and several staff officers nearby immediately gathered with delighted expressions.

The scene depicted a middle-aged man wielding a two-handed greatsword, executing a killing move on a teenage green dragon corrupted by Void Energy.

The angle, strength, and speed of his attack exuded a sense of being tempered by a thousand hammers.

"Hmm, this person is very skilled," Augustus said, surprised.

"This is Lambert, the Tide Sword Saint's top disciple, with the strength of a near-Sword Saint," Tatiya explained proficiently.

As the head of the Intelligence Hall at the Swordmaster Headquarters, Captain Tatiya was well-versed in the famous Legendary Powerhouses within the Empire.

"Is this person a task participant?"

"No. He has a close relationship with the Dram Family. He wasn't originally going to participate in the Dragon Knight Reserve Selection, but was invited by the Dram Family."

After a moment's thought, Tatiya organized her words and replied.

"Hmm? Does Lord Rayen know about this?" General Augustus understood Tatiya's implication and spoke in a deep voice.

"He does."

Marshal Alfred, standing nearby, nodded after listening but remained silent.

At this moment, the image on the elliptical stone platform shifted again, displaying two individuals engaged in an intense battle.

One of them wore a military uniform, holding a box in his left hand and a short staff in his right, casting an Earthen Spike spell from Earthen Witchcraft to attack his opponent.

The other person, dressed in a black robe and hood, had an obscured face, but their body was surrounded by several streams of bloody water, emitting a bloody and sinister aura.

With a swift movement, the opponent dodged the Earthen Spike attack and simultaneously pointed a finger, launching blood-colored energy cones that spun rapidly towards the military uniformed person.

The military personnel looked slightly flustered as they dodged the attack.

"Oh no, that's Captain Baldwin from the military squad. He's encountered a Cultist, and the opponent is a Legendary Powerhouse from the Cult!"

Tatiya instantly recognized their own personnel and identified the enemy's affiliation from the dark magic they were using.

"Captain Baldwin is at a disadvantage, and he still has the Rift Closer. Tatiya, quickly check who else from our team is nearby and send them for support!" General Augustus, seeing Baldwin dodging repeatedly, realized the situation might be dire and immediately gave the order.

"I'll check right away, sir."

"Hmm? Lord Rayen is nearby and can reach there in about five minutes. Should I contact him?" Tatiya checked and was surprised to find that the closest person to Captain Baldwin was Lord Rayen.

"Contact Lord Rayen and have him go there immediately, with the priority being the safety of the Rift Closer." Hearing that Lord Rayen was nearby, General Augustus' expression relaxed, as if relieved, and he instructed.

"Yes, sir. I'll contact Lord Rayen immediately." Tatiya also smiled and nodded.

"Lord Rayen, Lord Rayen, this is Tatiya, please respond!" Tatiya called out, holding a communication tablet.

After a few seconds, there was no response.

She called again, but still, there was no reply.

"Hmm? Wasn't the energy interference around the Mystic Realm supposed to have subsided?"

"Why can't we still contact him? That's odd."

General Augustus frowned and spoke in a low voice.

"Lord Dalien, can you switch the view to the location of this member?" Marshal Alfred seemed to have an idea and pointed to the side of the hall where the light representing Lord Rayen was located.

"Of course." Grand Astrologist Dalien nodded, and with a wave of his hand, the image on the elliptical stone platform changed again.

However, this time, everyone was left stunned by what they saw! In the current scene, two Cultists were lying on the ground, apparently having been defeated.

But the two individuals fighting were clearly their own personnel.

No wonder Tatiya's previous calls to Lord Rayen went unanswered.

Even if there were messages, the communication tablet would only vibrate slightly and not make any sound, so it wouldn't be noticed during an intense battle.

"Who is this person?" General Augustus asked, slightly angered.

"It's Barnes! A member of the Earthshaker Headquarters with the Red Dragon Bloodline. After Dragonkin Transformation, his strength reaches the Legendary Peak Tier."

"He has extensive combat experience and has completed dozens of high-difficulty tasks for the Earthshakers over the past decade." Tatiya once again demonstrated her proficiency.

"Is that so, General Gober?" General Augustus turned to an elderly man in a senior Army uniform standing nearby.

The old man, with sweat on his forehead, nodded and said, "Captain Tatiya is correct. The individual is indeed from the Earthshaker Headquarters. Before this task, I contacted Barnes, but he politely declined, saying he wouldn't participate in this selection."

"However, on the day before the selection deadline, he decided to join after all, but by then, we had already chosen our team."

"The question is, why is Barnes in conflict with Lord Rayen?" General Augustus asked, puzzled.

"Well..." General Gober's face turned red, and for a moment, he didn't know how to explain the situation.

"Sir, according to our intelligence, it seems that Barnes has joined the secret organization Dragon Scale Brotherhood, and recently, the Dragon Scale Brotherhood has also recruited Lord Rayen." Captain Tatiya blinked and spoke up at the right moment.

"Hmm?" Marshal Alfred and General Augustus exchanged glances but didn't pursue the topic further, as if in silent agreement.

Clearly, both of them knew what the Dragon Scale Brotherhood was and who was behind it.

However, they had never heard of any connection between the Dragon Scale Brotherhood and the Cult.

"Oh no, they've both transformed!" Tatiya exclaimed.

In the current scene, Lord Rayen and Barnes suddenly transformed into Dragonkin.

After transformation, Barnes' physique was similar to Lord Rayen's, but the dragon horn on his forehead and the color of his dragon scales were significantly different, one red and the other dark gray, as they engaged in a fierce battle.

Although neither of them used weapons in their Dragonkin forms, their powerful limbs and sharp dragon scales were no less deadly than holding a blade.

Lord Rayen's body was covered in Plate Armor, while Barnes' body emanated a reddish magical glow, a manifestation of his innate Flame Armor ability after transformation.

"Bang!"

Barnes launched a claw strike from above, which Lord Rayen blocked with his raised elbow, causing a wave of red and silver energy to burst forth from the point of impact.

The sound of their collision was like the ringing of a mighty bell! Experts reveal their skill with their first move.

After just one strike, Barnes' expression changed!

"His Dragonkin form is so powerful, even stronger than the strength of a transformed Black Dragon Bloodline possessor!"

Barnes was certain that Lord Rayen was also in the first stage of transformation.

But when Lord Rayen blocked his strike, his arm didn't budge, and Barnes' claw attack was deflected. Moreover, his arm felt slightly numb, indicating that Lord Rayen's strength was indeed greater than his own.

However, Barnes wasn't afraid; instead, he felt excited!

Aside from the fact that Reagen and Bronson were about to arrive, Barnes also had his own trump card and wasn't intimidated by Lord Rayen.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end