Chapter 517: The Dragon Slayer’s Ambush
"Green?"
Even though I was convinced of the fact, I couldn’t help questioning the truth. I had many guesses about the hidden Dragon’s state, but I never expected to find such a cartoonish creature.
Even the incomplete juvenile sleeping in my arm looked more like an Adult Dragon when put next to it.
"Are you starting over from the first cycle?"
The only explanation that I could think of was that the Green Dragon’s timing was so bad that he had to start from an egg not too long ago.
{I see that Father didn’t hide much from you. It’s very reassuring that he found you trustworthy.}
Although the voice exuded ages of wisdom, the source looked like the exact opposite. Despite my ability to keep calm in most situations, I almost couldn’t hold myself back from laughing.
{But no, what you see can’t even be compared to my natural infancy, I’m currently just an empty husk. If it wasn’t for Brother’s help, I would have long withered away.}
Green’s words quickly became heavy. To begin with, this place housed a corpse, laughing should have never crossed my mind... Yet, I ended up realizing that my emotional stability wasn’t back at 100%.
"Is this also the Demons’ doing?"
Regardless, the matter at hand was much more important. It was one thing for the Demons to corrupt the young Sky Dragon by fluke, but for them to reduce the Green Dragon into this state...
{Truthfully, it’s hard to tell. The person... Rather, the being that attacked me was too obscure even for my eyes, but considering the recent events, it’s obvious that it was all part of one big plan.}
In short, even a Great Dragon couldn’t tell who hit him in the head, but they were definitely related to the Demons.
Naturally, hearing that the Demons had combatants of that level, even if they were just mercenaries of sorts, was the opposite of reassuring.
The path that I was walking on seemed to be a path of eventual destruction. Up until now, I could only do so much thanks to the help of the countless restrictions placed over the Demons’ necks.
However...
’Things could get ugly at any time.’
The closer I grew to the Demons’ origin point, the stronger they got. The close calls that I was met with on the Fire Domain were obviously just the start.
"If they have allies with that kind of strength, then why didn’t they appear here."
I was almost sure of this question’s answer, but being able to obtain immediate confirmation was better than guessing on my own.
{It’s all about timing. I was attacked while checking a certain node at the border of the Nature Domain, an area where almost every Law is in a state of void.}
My thoughts were confirmed, but they were followed by the addition of complicated concepts. Although I wanted to question these points, I feared that my understanding had yet to catch up.
{Just that on its own isn’t too surprising, I myself knew a few methods to catch others off guard. However, somehow, my hunter seemed like someone with boundless experience in Dragon Slaying. It was as if he already hunted dozens of our race.}
The Green Dragon seemed logical at the surface, but it denied the logic of the Lost Realm. Not to mention a few dozen dead ones, not even that many Dragons existed in all five Domains combined.
After traveling between three Domains, this was barely the second Dragon that I met!
"But even if they... Ended your life, shouldn’t you have just started over?"
This was the part that confused me the most. Even after falling into Corruption and dying by my own hand, the Sky Dragon was still alive in more than one form.
It simply didn’t make sense for the Green Dragon to be backed into such a strange corner.
{Precisely, killing me wasn’t their target. They wanted to completely destroy the concept of ’Green’. After surviving my counterattack through all kinds of methods, they used a strange device to extract my very own life essence, practically cutting off my ability to sustain myself through a new regrowth cycle.}
’Ah!’
My heavy heart suddenly shed some weight upon hearing the Green Dragon’s explanation.
Although it was already impressive to engage in combat with a fully aware Dragon, in the end, the feat of almost killing the closest thing to an Immortal in the Lost Realm was still achieved through trickery.
’Their artifacts are still endless.’
"In that case, how were you able to survive?"
That being said, trickery or not, that hunter did find the right combo to end the entire eternal Dragon race.
Even though the angle changed, the question remained the same. How was the Green Dragon able to remain in this silly form instead of simply perishing?
{Battling in a space node is a double-edged sword, it’s hard for it to be favorable for just one side. Although I was too late to realize the true purpose of the trap, I was still able to use my familiarity with the node to escape to the Fire Domain.}
Considering their legendary status in the Lost Realm, the thought of a Dragon fleeing for his life sounded so farfetched.
In my opinion, however, it was great that the Green Dragon knew when to give up. There was no shame in taking a hundred steps back if it was the only means to survival. Of course...
"Wasn’t your essence already separated by then?"
The fact that the Green Dragon elaborated on the artifact’s function so well meant that he personally experienced it. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be in this sorry state.
Though it sounded like he survived death, the source of regrowth had to be the essence of life itself. Without it, the Green Dragon was the same as dead.
At this point, I finally caught up, understanding why he was considered an empty husk. However, I had no idea how this empty husk kept functioning, even going as far as playing the role of the Dragon Clan’s elder.
I also had no idea which ’Brother’ achieved that impossible task.
{That’s right. However, I wasn’t the only target back then.}
Even through the cartoonish dots for eyes, I could feel the deep sorrow they held as the Green Dragon looked at the corpse that supported his feeble body...
