Chapter 430: The Bait

Chapter 430: The Bait

The giant claw seemed unprepared for such a situation, and under Ren's powerful pull, it was suddenly dragged into the Secret Realm.

But before Ren could finish transforming, the opponent decisively released the black-robed maiden and quickly retracted.

"Swoosh!"

At that moment, a flash of light passed by the opponent's wrist.

A roar came from the other side of the rift, and the ground was left with a pool of glowing blood, but the giant claw was still drawn back! Lambert, who had swung the sword, now had a solemn expression on his face.

The fact that it had only suffered a minor injury under the full force of his Sword's Will indicated the opponent's strength—it was undoubtedly an Epic-level existence.

The rift began to shrink rapidly, changing from several meters in diameter to the size of a palm, and then quickly disappeared without a trace.

"It escaped so quickly."

Seeing this, Ren naturally abandoned his transformation and returned to his human form.

He approached the pool of blood, crouched down, and carefully sensed its aura.

Ren felt a strange familiarity with the aura emanating from the glowing blood. Recalling the shape of the claw and the exposed forearm from his earlier pull, Ren had a sudden realization.

"Lord Ren, it seems like it's a Void Dragon, and it's likely an Epic-level one," Lambert said, his face showing a mix of surprise and doubt.

"It should be a Void Dragon, and it's definitely an Epic-level one," Ren nodded after glancing at Lambert.

"But shouldn't the dragons here all be adolescent dragons? Even if they're corrupted by the void, they shouldn't be Epic-level," said Baldwin, the leader of the military squad, puzzled.

"I'm not entirely sure either, but judging from the blood it left behind and the shape of that claw, it's most likely a Void Dragon," Ren replied.

"Captain Baldwin, I'm also certain that with my full-strength sword strike, the opponent only suffered a minor injury. If it were a Legendary-level creature, its claw would have been severed by now," Lambert added.

"Understood," Baldwin nodded.

Ren glanced at the black-robed maiden, who seemed to be asleep but had already stopped breathing, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

"Perhaps I can find a way to make it attack again."

"Currently, this Void Dragon seems to have a strong interest in the Hela Vessel, the incarnation of the Goddess of the Abyss."

Ren's eyes flickered as he pondered.

He had always kept in mind that his Dragon Blood Essence transformation required a complete dragon blood essence.

Although Void Dragons were dragons corrupted by void energy, they were originally purebred dragons, fundamentally different from the flying dragons and progenitor dragons he had slain before.

Ren was confident that if he could kill this Void Dragon, the acquired blood essence would likely meet the final requirement for his Dragon Vein Wizard transformation—'a complete dragon blood essence.'

However, to lure the opponent into attacking again, the stability of the space couldn't be this high.

At the current level of stability, the opponent might not even be able to enter.

After some thought, Ren took out a well-preserved Communication Plate from his pocket and contacted the command hall:

"Command Hall, this is Ren."

At that moment, in the capital city of Taimuiral, the Astrologist's Platform, the crowd was still immersed in the scene of Ren's swift defeat of the Goddess of the Abyss's incarnation.

"Lord Ren's displayed strength just now was probably already at the Epic level, right?"

As the communication device vibrated, the crowd snapped back to reality, and Tatiya, slightly excited, picked up the Communication Plate and said,

"Lord Ren, this is Tatiya."

"Your Highness Tatiya, please help me contact Marshal Alfred."

"Okay, Lord Ren, please hold on for a moment."

Perhaps for ordinary task executors, directly contacting the marshal would be considered overstepping, but for Ren, the crowd believed it was only natural.

"Lord Ren, I'm Alfred. First of all, congratulations on defeating the incarnation of the Goddess of the Abyss. We will immediately reward you when you return from your mission," Alfred said, his solemn tone barely concealing his joy.

The incarnation of the Goddess of the Abyss, Hela, entering the Dragon Valley Secret Realm had exceeded the worst-case scenario in the emergency plan.

However, the command hall had made targeted deployments against the void creatures outside the secret realm, which was why the Rift Closer was activated at full capacity as part of the emergency plan.

"Thank you, Marshal. I'd like to request that the power of the Rift Closer be adjusted back to its original frequency. Is that possible?"

Ren's words left Alfred momentarily stunned, but he quickly recovered and replied,

"That's also what we were about to discuss with you. Power adjustment is necessary; otherwise, the Rift Closer won't last a month before running out of energy."

"During the initial design of the Rift Closer, a cyclic architecture was adopted. The multiple magic arrays within the closer can absorb energy from the void and use it to stabilize the secret realm."

"This, however, is only possible with low-power operation. Full-capacity operation will lead to rapid energy depletion."

"Originally, we planned to adjust the power after your mission was completed. But if we do it now, due to the energy impact from the recent battle, there's a chance that another rift could form if a Legendary-level battle occurs in the area again."

"Okay, thank you, Marshal, for your concern. But I'd like to adjust it now, if possible," Ren smiled and said.

There was silence on the other end of the Communication Plate for a few seconds, as if the other party was considering the request. Soon, Marshal Alfred's deep voice echoed again, "Lord Ren, are you sure about this?

"I've made up my mind."

"Excellent!" Marshal Alfred exclaimed.

It was necessary to reduce the power of the Rift Closer; otherwise, even with the Void Dragon's audacity, it wouldn't be able to enter the secret realm to seize it.

Ren naturally anticipated the opponent's arrival!

Although Baldwin and the others present didn't understand Ren's intentions, having just experienced the intense battle, they naturally wouldn't question him.

"Sir Ren, should we go to purge the corrupted juvenile dragons in the secret realm first, or should we start by searching for those heretic cultists?" Baldwin asked at this moment.

In fact, both tasks served the same purpose.

The juvenile dragons infected by the Void Beasts were ferocious and had been killing their own kind within the secret realm.

The heretic cult's legendary experts had also come to the secret realm to kill healthy juvenile dragons, weakening the foundation of the Drargon Empire.

But Ren was well aware that, in terms of strength, the former wasn't particularly powerful. On the contrary, some of the heretic cult's experts were more troublesome. Baldwin himself had been injured by a legendary heretic.

"Right, Aida, do you know who else from other sects has come?"

Aida shook her head. "I'm not too sure."

"This time, when we entered the secret realm, our superiors only told us that our task was to kill the underage dragons and members of the empire. Oh, and they also informed us of our designated area, which is the central region of the secret realm. The other areas are handled by other sects."

"Is it the Flame Mountain and this forest?"

"Yes," Aida nodded.

Ren nodded.

This presented a bit of a challenge.

If the heretic cult had brought a large force, it would have been easier to track them down.

However, the current issue was that each heretic sect had sent very few individuals, and each person possessed formidable strength. Moreover, they were all acting alone, making it more difficult to track them.

Especially if they deliberately concealed their whereabouts, it would be almost impossible to find them in a secret realm as vast as a county-sized city.

"Perhaps we can change our approach. Since their task is to kill underage dragons, they will likely head towards areas where dragons are more concentrated."

"Exactly."

"Lord Baldwin, please contact the command hall and confirm the several areas where the dragons are most concentrated."

"Alright, I'll contact them right away." Baldwin smiled and nodded, having understood Ren's intention.

After a while, Baldwin put down the communication plate and said, "Sir Ren, it's been confirmed that these are the areas where underage dragons are most concentrated: the Whispering Water Pool in the southwest of the secret realm, the Flame Mountain and Evergreen Forest in the central region, the Black Water Swamp in the northeast, and the Circular Mountain Cliffs surrounding the area."

"The command hall fully supports your decision, and they hope that you will take charge of this operation."

"Additionally, there are four combat-ready task force members available. If they work together, they should be able to handle one of these areas."

"Oh? That's good news. I understand." Ren's face showed his contemplation.

"Sir Ren, how about I take care of the Whispering Water Pool? I came from that direction earlier." Lambert thought for a moment and spoke up first.

He still wanted to continue with his task of finding the Blue Dragon Heir, and at the same time, he could kill the heretic legend, killing two birds with one stone.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you, Lord Lambert," Ren said with a slight smile.

"Sir Ren, then I'll take care of the farthest Circular Mountain Cliffs," Baldwin suggested after some thought.

"You alone? But your injuries haven't fully healed yet; it's not a good idea." Ren glanced at Baldwin and shook his head.

"How about letting the Aida Sisters accompany you?"

"No! No! That's not appropriate." Baldwin looked at the beautiful Aida Sisters, his face flushing for no apparent reason, and shook his head repeatedly.

"Sir Ren, then you'll be alone. Why don't you let Ailia accompany you, and I'll go with Lord Baldwin to the Circular Mountain Cliffs?" Aida turned to Ren, unable to contain her concern.

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"No need. If the two of you separate, your strength will be greatly reduced. But if you stay together, I believe that even if you encounter other heretic legends, you should be able to handle it without much trouble. With Lord Baldwin's help, it will be almost a sure thing." Ren waved his hand dismissively.

After losing the power of the Devouring Snake, the Aida Sisters' current strength was only at the late legendary stage.

However, the two sisters had a remarkable ability to work together, and their innate talents were exceptional. When they fought together, they still possessed strength comparable to the peak of the legendary stage.

"Sir Ren..."

Baldwin wanted to say something more, but Ren interrupted him.

"Lord Baldwin, didn't the command hall just inform you that I'm in charge of this operation? So, it's decided." Ren stated.

"Alright, Sir Ren, then please be careful on your own." Baldwin looked at Ren with concern.

"Thank you. Oh, Lord Baldwin, please inform the command hall to dispatch the remaining task force members to the Black Water Swamp. I'll take care of the Flame Mountain and Evergreen Forest area."

"Of course, Sir Ren."

If his guess was correct, the Flame Mountain and the nearby Evergreen Forest should be the responsibility of the Serpent Sect and the Limb Sect.

Previously, the Multi-armed Pierce had been killed by Ren, and the two Aida sisters from the Serpent Sect had also defected to him. This meant that there were likely no more heretic cult members in this area.

Even if there were, they would probably be members of the Limb Sect other than Pierce.

Ren planned to go to the top of Flame Mountain, where the spatial rift was weak, to lure the Void Dragon to attack again. At the same time, he could also complete the task of finding the Red Dragon Heir's Dragon Language Mark.

Soon after, the group split up and went their separate ways.

After their departure, Reign glanced at the Hellfire Enhanced Golem holding the Black Robed Maiden.

He picked her up and slung her over his shoulder, then headed towards the central Flame Mountain.

The warm and soft sensation from the maiden's body as he carried her was hard to reconcile with the fact that she was dead.

Reign carefully sensed her again and noticed that while she had no heartbeat, a residual energy within her body still circulated her blood, creating a full-body circulation. This explained her current state, akin to a sleeping beauty.

However, her mental energy fluctuations had ceased, which was unusual even for a sleeping infant, who would typically exhibit faint mental energy fluctuations.

Reign surmised that the Black Robed Maiden was likely in a state akin to brain death.

After taking a few steps, Reign suddenly stopped, his eyebrows furrowing as if struck by a thought.

He approached a golem and quickly formed a stretcher-like structure on its back, then placed the Black Robed Maiden on it.

Initially, Reign had considered carrying the maiden himself, as the Rift Closer had regained its normal power, and she might attract the Void Dragon again.

However, he realized the Void Dragon might be deterred by his strength and not appear.

So, Reign decided to use the maiden as bait, placing her on the golem's back to lure the dragon out.

This time, Reign was confident that with his focused attention, he wouldn't let the dragon escape again.

The golem's movement was loud, and Reign, accompanied by the two golems, easily traversed the dense forest towards the dark Flame Mountain.

Soon, Reign sensed a Void Whirlpool abruptly appearing a few hundred meters behind him. Several peculiar Void Beasts emerged stealthily from the whirlpool, following in his direction.

After a while, another Void Whirlpool appeared, eliciting a smile from Reign.

"Good, the fish hasn't given up."

"The fish has taken the bait."

At the same time, on the other side of Flame Mountain, a tall figure stood on a towering rock, his stature between robust and corpulent. He gazed at the direction where Reign and Hela had fought earlier.

The figure had disheveled gray-white hair, a pale and withered face, and two massive double-bladed warhammers on his back. The handles seemed to be made of gold, giving them a luxurious appearance.

Most peculiar, however, was his physique.

Despite the thick fabric of his cloak, which concealed most of his body, there was something odd about his appearance.

Upon closer inspection, it became clear that he was over 2.5 meters tall but gave the impression of being corpulent due to his width, nearly 2 meters across. This was highly unusual.

He was Collins Grik, the second and final member of the Limb Graft Church to enter the Secret Realm, and the direct son of the High Priest. He was known as Collins the Dragon Slayer.

Collins had sensed an energy fluctuation several kilometers away, an intense battle drawing him in despite the distance.

However, halfway up the mountain, he halted, sensing the battle's energy surge to an epic level. Collins realized this was beyond his capabilities.

He pondered the Dragon Valley Secret Realm's power restriction and wondered how the battle could have reached such epic proportions, far beyond the legendary tier.

Collins decided to return to the mountain's peak, following the Church's instructions to kill the juvenile Red Dragon Heir.

Although the Church had also tasked him with eliminating as many Imperial personnel as possible, he knew there were only a few dozen Imperial members in the realm. It would be easier to wait here for the dragon.

But as he jumped down, he heard a dull thud and turned to look down the mountain.

"Hmm? That sounds like a golem."

"I haven't heard of any legendary puppet masters in other sects."

"It seems the Imperials have arrived." Understanding this, a smile spread across Collins' face.

Two dark gray golems emerged from the forest, each over six or seven meters tall, controlled by a young wizard in a robe.

Collins had never seen golems like these, but he could quickly assess their strength.

Golems generally followed a simple rule: the larger the size, the greater the power.

"Six or seven meters tall? Together, they're barely a regular legendary-tier threat. They must be here for the Dragon Knight Trials."

Collins' smile widened as he observed them, confirming no one followed them.

He turned and descended the mountain, heading towards Reign.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end