bigabreads Chapter 886 - 401: How Can You Lose with a Flying Dragon on Your Side? (Part 2)
Chapter 886 - 401: How Can You Lose with a Flying Dragon on Your Side? (Part 2)
Aurelian’s eyebrows slightly arched.
Ye Qingzhou retrieved a scroll of parchment from his chest. As he unfurled it in front of everyone, Lady Serena, who was seated to the side, suddenly stood up. The "Frost Magic Dictionary" in her hand automatically started flipping pages.
"Is this... a Blood Race rune?"
Her beautifully composed face displayed a rare shock.
"Found in Hecate’s laboratory."
Laine handed the parchment to his mother. "It bears Bishop Victor’s signature. They plan to use the ’Sun Bloodline’ to concoct a plague targeting the Holy Sun followers."
Aurelian suddenly drew his greatsword, and the temperature of the entire hall plummeted.
"Flame Scale Family."
He spoke in a low voice, "Only they in the Northern Territory possess enough alchemists."
"It’s more than that."
Laine pointed to a tiny mark in the corner of the parchment—a pattern of flames and scales, "The secret emblem of the Flame Scale Family. Lady Monica is evidently more deeply involved than she appears."
Someone voiced an objection, "What does this prove? It could be a setup..."
"Because the Flame Scale Family is ranked second in the Northern Territory."
Ye Qingzhou suddenly raised his voice, his tone unusually cold, "They pose the greatest threat to us. And..."
He turned to Aurelian, "Their only remaining legendary powerhouse is already on the decline, yet they’ve failed to produce a second legendary figure. They are the most likely faction to collaborate with the Blood Race."
The hall fell into a dead silence.
Aurelian stared at his suddenly unfamiliar second son, a hint of approval flickering in his eyes. He slowly raised his greatsword, "Laine."
"Present."
"In my name as the lord of Frost Iron City, I command you to lead the Flame Dragon Cavalry."
The greatsword pointed east, Aurelian’s order brimming with killing intent, "By dawn tomorrow, I want to see the traitor’s flag of the Flame Scale Family fallen in the snow."
The abrupt decision to go to war immediately drew objections from various members within the family, "Duke! Shouldn’t we first ascertain the truth?"
"Enough!"
Aurelian’s roar made the crystal chandelier jingle, "Laine brought back crucial intelligence; we can’t give the enemy a chance to react."
Laine knelt on one knee, his right hand pressed to his chest, "In the name of Morning Star."
When he lifted his head, he met his mother’s eyes for the first time.
Lady Serena’s eyes bore no surprise, only deep worry.
Before dawn, fifty Flame Dragons soared through the clouds above the Frost Mountain Range.
Laine rode atop the lead Blazing Flame Flying Dragon, "Xiaohuo," his cloak billowing in the cold wind.
This young male dragon was a gift from their father to his brother Kane on his tenth birthday. Now it belonged to him, reflecting the family’s resources shifting in his favor.
"Three miles down to the left, Flame Scale Castle."
Adjutant Calvin approached on his dragon, reminding him, "Young Master Laine, according to the plan, we breach from the east side."
Laine checked the "Dawn" at his waist, gently stroking Xiaohuo’s neck, "Xiaohuo, it’s your time to shine."
The dragon responded with a low growl.
"All troops, attention!"
Laine raised his left hand high, and the dragon knights of the cavalry immediately tightened their reins, "First Squadron, dive with me; destroy the east watchtower. Second and Third Squadrons, spread out and flank, intercept any Dragon Riders attempting to escape. Leave no survivors."
Calvin frowned, "The lord only ordered us to destroy the traitor’s flag..."
"War isn’t a tournament; it’s a life-and-death gamble."
Laine’s voice suddenly turned exceptionally icy, "If we let a single messenger go today, Frost Iron City’s women and children will pay the price tomorrow."
Before the adjutant could respond, Laine had already lowered his posture, "Xiaohuo, fiery dive!"
The Blazing Flame Flying Dragon let out a deafening roar, its wings tucking in as it shot towards the castle like an arrow.
Other Blazing Flame Flying Dragons followed closely, magical crossbow cannons attached to their saddles beginning to charge, emitting a dangerous hum.
The guards of Flame Scale Castle were clearly unprepared for such a sudden assault.
When the first fire arrow struck the east tower, the alarm horn was tardily sounded. Laine guided Xiaohuo to glide along the castle walls, the dragon flame melting the stone walls like butter.
"Break the gate!"
Xiaohuo executed a sharp turn, its tail striking the rising iron gate heavily.
With an ear-piercing screech of twisting metal, the gate jammed halfway open.
Laine leaped from the dragon’s back, a flash of his sword, two guards who hurriedly arrived, blood spurting from their throats.
"Control the east gate!"
He blew the dragon bone whistle, and the Flame Dragon Knights immediately poured into the castle from various entry points.
The well-trained warriors of the Morning Star Family swiftly occupied the high ground, magic crossbow cannons aimed at the main fortress of the Inner City.
Laine was about to advance when he suddenly felt a sharp pain—his scar below the left eye began to heat up without warning.
Instinctively, he rolled to the side as a crimson lightning bolt grazed his shoulder, leaving a smoke-emitting crater where he had just stood.
"Youngling of the Morning Star Family."
A raspy voice emanated from the shadows, "Did Aurelian finally decide to send a son to his death?"
A hunched figure, leaning on a flaming staff, slowly emerged.
Chaos Flame Scale, the Patriarch of the Flame Scale Family, once the fearsome "Flame Demon" of the Northern Territory, was now a frail old man on the brink of death.
But those eyes—Ye Qingzhou’s heart tightened—they were absolutely not the eyes of a dying man; unnatural vitality flickered within the crimson pupils.
"Lord Chaos."
Ye Qingzhou held his sword in salute, his movements impeccably standard. "I swear by Morning Star, I am here to seize the evidence of the Flame Scale Family’s collusion with the Eternal Night Council."
The old nobleman emitted an owl-like laughter, "Evidence?"
His staff tapped the ground, and numerous blood-red runes suddenly emerged on the courtyard floor of the castle, "Here is the evidence you seek!"
As the runes lit up, Laine felt a wave of dizziness.
The burning pain of the scar under his left eye intensified, the icy blue light uncontrollably spilling from his pupil. He hastily suppressed the anomaly, but Chaos had already keenly noticed the peculiar change.
"Intriguing..."
The old man licked his cracked lips, "Too intriguing. Has Aurelian realized his youngest son has completely transformed his Sun Bloodline?"
Ye Qingzhou wasted no more words, "Dawn" unsheathed, directly targeting the opponent’s throat.
Chaos’s staff lightly touched the ground, a fire wall appeared out of nowhere, yet Laine cut through it at an incredible angle—his swordsmanship wasn’t the Morning Star Family’s inherited "Frost Winter Swordsmanship," but a more pure, more refined sword skill.
"You are not Laine Morning Star."
Chaos retreated while laughing, his voice gradually becoming younger and more excited, "No young person could possess such a sword skill honed by a ’Thousand Hammers and Hundred Refinements’!"
Ye Qingzhou’s sword suddenly sped up, carving a deep wound across the old man’s shoulder, deep enough to reveal bone.
Yet what flowed out wasn’t blood, but some viscous black liquid.
Chaos’s visage began to distort, wrinkles peeling off like shedding skin, revealing pale, waxy flesh beneath.
"Blood Race Secret Technique..."
Ye Qingzhou’s pupils contracted, "You’ve transformed yourself!"
"How could short-lived beings like you understand immortality?"
Chaos—or rather, the presence occupying Chaos’s body—opened its mouth, revealing sharp fangs, "And where is your Morning Star Family’s nobility? Your dealings with the Eternal Night Council..."
Ye Qingzhou thrust a sword through its throat with a quick stroke.
Yet the monster continued to cackle, black liquid creeping up the blade, "You think... only the Flame Scale Family... has fallen? No one can refuse immortality, even the Duke of the Northern Territory..."
The icy blue light from his left eye finally exploded, beyond suppression.
Ye Qingzhou grabbed the monster’s face with his left hand, chanting a magic spell, "Star Ice Burst!"
The chill surged down his palm, instantly freezing the monster into an ice sculpture.
But just before the ice could cover its entire body, the monster’s lips moved to utter a final few words, "...Kane... brought back the Holy Blood... and your father... did not refuse..."