NOVEL NEXT Chapter 28
A golden pillar of magic power pierced through heaven and earth, with Alpha at its center, turning a forest a kilometer in diameter to ashes under this force.
The children of the Beast People were enveloped in a layer of starlight-shimmering magic power.
They stood within Alpha’s Sacred Domain, experiencing firsthand the terror of the destined death and the strike of the Golden Sword.
“Truly exaggerated.”
Xue Ji also stood amidst Alpha’s torrent of magic power.
The silver fox girl felt no envy, for Bai Luo had granted her strength not inferior to Alpha’s.
Besides, Xue Ji wasn’t one to boast.
She didn’t mind letting Alpha have the spotlight.
“The boy we encountered earlier still needed to utilize advanced magic manipulation techniques to produce such powerful skills.”
“But now we’ve only mastered magic compression.”
Even compared to Cid’s nuclear explosion sword from the original story, this single slash, which consumed a great amount of magic power, was no less impressive.
And this wasn’t even Alpha’s full strength.
If all her forces were unleashed without restraint, it wouldn’t just be a kilometer of forest; the surrounding several large mountains would likely be flattened instantly.
Previously, Xue Ji believed she could crush this era’s Cid.
There was nothing wrong with that.
The enhancement of sacred domain combined with demonic possession allowed them to surpass Cid in terms of data.
What they lacked was the application of magic power.
But even so, relying solely on magic compression, Alpha achieved what Cid required magic fission to accomplish.
When Alpha and Xue Ji also master magic fission, the gap between them will become even more terrifying.
“Ah~ Feels a bit overdone, doesn’t it?”
Xue Ji covered her mouth and chuckled lightly, her attractive fox eyes gazing at Alpha returning with her sword, teasingly saying, “Such a good natural barrier destroyed, it’s quite a pity.”
“I’ll make them grow back.”
Alpha replied nonchalantly, her thoughts entirely on Bai Luo.
With such a powerful move, Alpha wanted to hear Bai Luo’s evaluation.
It would be best if he could give praise.
Unfortunately, when Alpha looked up, she couldn’t find Bai Luo’s figure.
“That’s right.”
Xue Ji’s water, earth, and wood element powers could achieve the same thing.
The difference lay in Alpha’s purer life force.
Not just plants, but animals, and even more sophisticated genetically modified or synthetic life forms could benefit.
Of course, Alpha was still far from reaching that level.
“Hmm? Where is Lord Bai Luo?”
“There he is.”
Xue Ji gestured for Alpha to turn around. The latter quickly turned and indeed saw Bai Luo standing where she had previously fought the Mist Dragon.
“Lord Bai Luo?”
“I’m here.”
Bai Luo stood amidst the ruins after the magic bombardment, surrounded by multicolored particles that were visibly gathering.
“What is this?”
“The Mist Dragon.”
“Uh…”
Alpha and Xue Ji exchanged glances, both seeing surprise in each other’s expressions.
“Lord Bai Luo, shouldn’t the dragon have been destroyed by me?”
“It should have been.”
Bai Luo touched Alpha’s waterfall-like golden hair, praised the Pokémon girl a few times, then said, “However, just before you finished it off, I slightly reduced the lethal amount in the fate force.”
“Oh, I see.”
Alpha understood, realizing Bai Luo had intervened to save the Mist Dragon.
“But why?”
Alpha didn’t understand Bai Luo’s reasoning, but Xue Ji did: “Because there was no reason to kill it, right?”
“Exactly.”
You might call Bai Luo overly merciful, lacking ruthlessness.
But Bai Luo believed that gaining power yet becoming unreasonable and tyrannical meant that so-called power was merely a key to unleash the demon within one’s heart.
Bai Luo didn’t want to become a slave to power.
Before obtaining power, he was a certain kind of person; after obtaining it, Bai Luo would continue to adhere to his principles.
“We are outsiders who intruded upon their territory.”
The Mist Dragon once destroyed an ancient kingdom, but it was also the kingdom’s founder and protector for countless years.
Without enmity, killing the dragon outright would be excessive.
If the dragon were a mindless beast, Bai Luo wouldn’t care.
He wasn’t Buddha or a saint; he wouldn’t lecture chickens, ducks, fish, or meat about fairness.
“Since the dragon can communicate, it should be given basic respect.”
Bai Luo said, “At least, we should ask if it’s willing.”
“What if it refuses?”
“If it refuses… ”
Bai Luo paused for a moment, looking toward the distant children, and said, “Then we’ll have to be unwelcome guests.”
Adhering to principles was Bai Luo’s way.
But now, Bai Luo wasn’t alone; he had over thirty children to take care of.
A secure base was urgently needed.
“One must have a moral bottom line, but not be rigid.”
“When necessary, I can also be ruthless.”
Bai Luo was selfish; if someone like Cid attacked him, regardless of their intentions, Bai Luo would retaliate without hesitation.
Similarly, Bai Luo wouldn’t sacrifice his own people for strangers.
He liked these furry little ones.
After spending time with them, Bai Luo had already considered them companions.
Therefore, Bai Luo didn’t mind transforming into a world-ending devil for these children.
“Well.”
Bai Luo smiled and said, “But these are just our guesses; specifically, we need to see what the dragon intends.”
Thus, Bai Luo let the children prepare dinner while he waited with Alpha and Xue Ji for the dragon to recover.
Soon enough, the dragon’s body reappeared before Bai Luo and the others.
“So, this guy actually possesses such a powerful regenerative ability?”
Looking at the dragon’s unscathed body, Alpha sighed, “Clearly, it was reduced to ash, yet it can fully restore itself.”
Fortunately, she used ‘destined death’ against the dragon.
Otherwise, using other abilities, it would probably be difficult to even cause it harm.
“This is?!”
On the other side, the Mist Dragon groggily opened its eyes.
It first appeared confused, then as if suddenly realizing something, it looked shocked at the three ‘humans’ before it.
“What an astonishing magic power.”
The Mist Dragon didn’t look at Alpha and Xue Ji; though these two were indeed strong enough to completely kill it.
Compared to Bai Luo, however, they seemed so insignificant.
Yes, the Mist Dragon sensed Bai Luo’s power.
Just before being erased by ‘destined death,’ the Mist Dragon ‘saw’ that towering figure.
“Who exactly are you?”
Such magic power—what a joke—is he really human?
Earlier, the Mist Dragon had been drawn to the magic emitted by Alpha and Xue Ji, assuming they were the strongest in the group.
Yet Bai Luo surpassed them.
In the brief moment of saving the dragon, the mere trace of magic power Bai Luo released made the Mist Dragon feel crushed by dimensional superiority.
To Bai Luo, the dragon was like ants to it!
‘This guy!’
The dragon’s bloodline instincts told it: ‘Even the legendary First Demon King, no, even the entire world, would not be a match for this man!’
“HAHAHAHA!!!”
Faced with despair, the Mist Dragon erupted in a howling laughter: “Is this fear? I am trembling with fear!”
“How long has it been since I last experienced such suffocating despair?”
Even facing Alpha’s fatal blow, the dragon merely thought its time had come and accepted death calmly.
But in front of Bai Luo, the very presence of the man caused the Mist Dragon to tremble involuntarily.
No matter how strong-willed or proud one was,
the biological instinct never ceased telling the Mist Dragon how fearsome the man before it was.
“So, why?!”
Dragon: “Why did you save me?”
Saying that, the dragon was somewhat relieved.
Not because it survived, but because it got to witness Bai Luo.
Had Bai Luo not existed, dying at the hands of Alpha would have satisfied the Mist Dragon greatly.
But the world doesn’t allow comparisons.
“Come on, kill me!”
“Break the curse placed on my dragon race across worlds, grant me a death that transcends destiny!”
“If the one to slay me is you,” the Mist Dragon excitedly said, “it will be the greatest honor of my life!”
Among those present, only Bai Luo understood what the dragon meant.
“What does it mean?”
“Is it giving up?”
“Tsk, don’t waste Lord Bai Luo’s effort!”
Alpha and Xue Ji were dissatisfied with the Mist Dragon’s attitude.
Bai Luo respected it, saved it, and gave it a chance for a fair trade.
Wishing for death wholeheartedly was something Xue Ji couldn’t comprehend.
Isn’t a creature’s instinct to survive?
“I have no intention of killing you.”
Bai Luo shook his head and said, “For me, as long as you don’t attack immediately, I won’t kill intelligent beings without reason.”
“Not planning to kill me?”
The Mist Dragon had lived for countless years and could sense that Bai Luo didn’t view it purely as a beast.
“What a pity, possessing such immense power.”
Upon hearing the Mist Dragon’s lamentation, Alpha was puzzled, “Do you wish to die? Why? Isn’t living better?”
Even though she almost killed it moments ago, she asked now.
If the Mist Dragon cared about such matters, Alpha would surely have angered it to death.
“Death is the fate of our dragon race.”
The Mist Dragon said calmly, “Our dragon race was cursed by this world in ancient times, unable to pass away peacefully.”
“To die, we must do so spectacularly.”
Whether perishing during a hero’s conquest or like a Demon King, slain by a human hero leading an army.
In short, nameless individuals, weaklings, or devious plots cannot kill dragons.
Moreover, if the death isn’t arranged as the world’s intended conclusion,
even mighty beings like Alpha and Xue Ji at their level can’t kill it.
Of course, nothing is absolute.
Take Alpha, who wields the power of fate.
The power of fate can break the world’s curse and perfectly align with the destined death form to annihilate the Mist Dragon.
Also, Bai Luo.
He could destroy the planet itself, let alone a Mist Dragon bound to it.
To Bai Luo, the Mist Dragon was akin to the embodiment of the planet’s will.
Similar to antibodies or white blood cells, used to clear viruses and bacteria that might harm the planet.
This is why dragons can’t be killed easily.
“In ancient times, I swore an oath with a powerful kingdom.”
“I would protect this country, and he would grant me eternal slumber on a certain day.”
Hearing this, Xue Ji immediately realized it was the story of the ancient kingdom of Alexandria.
Regarding the fall of the ancient kingdom, people had various theories but never found a reasonable answer.
Currently, the most convincing explanation is that a catastrophic monster destroyed the nation.
“I heard a powerful monster destroyed the ancient kingdom.”
Xue Ji asked, puzzled, “If you were the kingdom’s guardian, why did you destroy it?”
“Because they forgot about me.”
The Mist Dragon guarded the kingdom for hundreds, even thousands of years.
It was immortal, but the lives of the kingdom’s people were limited.
Generation after generation bred, whether commoners or rulers, they had long forgotten the existence of the Mist Dragon and the agreement with the founding hero.
The Mist Dragon yearned for the destined death.
Whether the nation produced a hero or united the people, the Mist Dragon could accept it.
But they shouldn’t forget it!
“I protected them so that one day they could destroy me.”
However, the development of the ancient kingdom stagnated; the people became complacent and forgot the initial agreement.
Noble qualities disappeared, and the royal descendants gradually fell into decadence, indulgence, and debauchery.
“I used mist to guard the land and its people generation after generation.”
“But!”
“The fertile land, the excellent life enjoyed by these people, requires sufficient strength or noble character!”
The Mist Dragon wasn’t obsessed with power. If the ancient kingdom had truly been like the Peach Blossom Spring, where the citizens lived harmoniously, it wouldn’t have done anything.
But the dragon witnessed disasters and the evil in humanity!
Describing it, it was like a miniature version of the Scarlet Empire, almost exceeding the dragon’s understanding of humans.
Thus, the Mist Dragon appeared.
It attacked the country, destroying it overnight with overwhelming force.
The people fled their homeland, causing the nation to collapse.
Heartbroken, the Mist Dragon covered the mountains with toxic fog and slept ever since.
“A thousand years ago, the ancient kingdom, this was the truth, wasn’t it?”
Xue Ji loved reading books to enrich her knowledge. Now knowing the history of the ancient capital, the fox maiden expressed satisfaction.
“The sleeping dragon, like the Sword of Damocles hanging over the ancient kingdom.”
“If they could not strive ceaselessly and grow stronger, they would face the arrival of calamity.”
In a sense, the dragon equivalent to the planet’s will, calling it a calamity was not excessive.
“Personally granting and personally taking back.”
Alpha sighed, “A touching outcome.”
“Powerful one who possesses the power to destroy the world, what brings you here?”
The Mist Dragon showed extreme respect towards Bai Luo.
Dying is one thing, but reverence for heroes is an instinct of the dragons in this world.
“Coming here uninvited was our fault.”
“I brought them here intending to use the ancient capital’s ruins as the territory for our future power.”
Bai Luo said, “Since this place already has an owner, I wonder what I can offer the dragon in exchange for this land?”
“With your strength, why bother dealing with me?”
The dragon was curious why Bai Luo conversed with it so peacefully.
In the world of beasts, it’s survival of the fittest.
The dragon disliked savage civilizations, but when it came to being slaughtered, it wouldn’t resent it.
Dislike the law of the jungle, but accept it.
“We aren’t bandits.”
“Hahaha~~”
The Mist Dragon laughed loudly, “Possessing such power yet adhering to morality, your character is equally worthy of my admiration!”
Strength and virtue, both possessed by one individual.
Being able to die in Bai Luo’s hands…
“Honor! This is my honor!!”
The Mist Dragon said, “Sorry, I have no other wishes, I only pray for death!”
“As for this forest and the abandoned ancient city,” the dragon continued, “after my demise, you may use them freely.”
“If it goes against your principles, then I shall gift this territory to you.”
Thus, whether in name or reality, Bai Luo would become the legitimate owner of this land.
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