On a desolate snowfield, a lonely mountain peak was covered in thick snow. The howling wind whipped up swirling snow mist, filling the air with solitude and mystery.
On the mountainside, there was a cave, deep and dark within. At that moment, a red-haired man emerged, standing at the cave entrance, his gaze fixed on the distance.
"Osta, have you figured out how to replenish your magic power?"
A man clad in black strode forward, his entire body exuding a dark aura.
The red-haired man was none other than the King of Red Dragons in human form. Hearing the black-clad man's words, he shook his head and said, "No, I thought the Magic Council and Tartaros would be locked in a fierce battle. I never expected this organization, hailed as the strongest on the continent, to be so useless."
"It's said they were wiped out by a single Nine Demon Gates member. It's practically a joke."
"Solence, any progress on your end? How many dragon souls have you collected?"
"Only thirteen dragon souls."
As he said this, Solence revealed an expression of anger. He was the Undead Dragon King. To hide from Acnologia, he had concealed himself from four hundred years ago until now. It was only when the King of Red Dragons, Osta, found him that he began to move in the world again.
He had originally thought that with his power, he could resurrect all the great dragons that died four hundred years ago, leaping to become the King of Ten Thousand Dragons, the master of the world.
But he never imagined the dragon souls in this world were pitifully few. Searching the entire continent, he found only thirteen.
Facing that monster Acnologia, without at least a thousand dragons, there was simply no way to kill him.
The King of Red Dragons, Osta, pondered and said, "Acnologia controls Devouring Magic. Perhaps he is the one who devoured all the dragon souls."
Solence waved his hand, condensing a black crystal chair, and sat down, his voice icy. "What's the use of saying that now? If we can't open the Eclipse Gate and bring the dragon race from four hundred years ago over, everything is meaningless. I'm sick of living in hiding!"
Hiding from four hundred years ago until now, he didn't believe there was a dragon more cowardly than him. It was utterly disgraceful to the dragon race.
"Don't want to hide anymore?"
Osta clasped his hands behind his back and said calmly, "If you want to die, I won't stop you. Go ahead and fight Acnologia to the death."
"Not just Acnologia, you might not even be a match for the human race as it is now."
He still remembered being toyed with by the Mages of the Dragnof Kingdom. That method of hiding in space and casting magic was simply cheating.
"In this era, aside from the decrease in Dragon Slayer Mages, the human race has advanced by leaps and bounds in other aspects. Not only have they created extra-dimensional Space Magic, but they also have weapons like Magic Particles that are stronger than a Dragon King's Roar."
Osta didn't know that the Dragnof Kingdom had spent all these years specifically developing special magic to counter Evil Dragons. Other kingdoms didn't do this; instead, they applied it to life and development.
He continued, "Don't forget, the Eclipse Gate, capable of crossing time and space, was also created by human Mages!"
The legend of that Black Mage, Zeref, spread across the continent. His knowledge and talent even evoked a bit of admiration in Osta.
Solence showed a trace of unwillingness. "Are you saying that, excluding Acnologia, we still can't defeat the human race?"
"It's difficult!"
Osta casually conjured a red chair and leisurely sat down. "The entire continent is searching for us now. Let's hide for a while."
Solence said mockingly, "Have you lost your nerve? Do those fragile humans really dare to move against us?"
"They might not dare, but Acnologia does."
The two fell into silence, a headache coming on just thinking about that monster.
After a while, Osta suddenly said, "Opening the Eclipse Gate isn't urgent. We've waited four hundred years; a little longer won't matter. We can change our appearances and integrate into human society."
"Integrate into human society? That's not a good idea. Do you think we can adapt?"
The mere thought of living alongside those ant-like humans filled Solence with anger. He was a Dragon King!
"We have to, whether we can or not. We need to understand how many powerful individuals and weapons the human race still has. It was because of our arrogance that our entire dragon race paid the price back then."
Osta had become much calmer than in the past. Blindly starting a war would only lead to self-destruction. Even Acnologia hadn't tried to rule the world; he must be wary of the human race.
Perhaps there was something he didn't know?
There must be!
That guy Acnologia was more brutal than the Evil Dragons. If he wasn't being restrained by someone or some weapon, he wouldn't be so quiet.
Osta frowned, his eyes gleaming with thought. He said gravely, "First, we'll change our appearances, then use an Undead Illusion Dragon to mask our auras. That way, no one will recognize us."
"Then, we'll go to a human kingdom and establish a Guild. We can usually recruit some human Mages as cover."
The more Osta spoke, the more feasible it seemed. To understand the human race, one must integrate into it.
"Are you joking? What an unreliable plan you've come up with. I'm telling you, I'm not going!"
Solence found his train of thought hard to comprehend. He was already planning it out.
Osta said seriously, "I'm not joking. We'll go to Magnolia Town in the Fiore Kingdom to establish a Guild. I want to see what exactly Acnologia is up to."
"As for the Eclipse Gate, only in the human world can we gather sufficient magic power. We might not even need to guide things; humans will fight among themselves."
He had seen the true nature of humans: greed, selfishness, violence, cruelty, and endless, insatiable desires.
Solence said coldly, "I'm not going. Go by yourself! You go sneak around and be a stinking rat by yourself!"
"Are you pushing your luck?!"
Osta flew into a rage. His fist, as big as a sandbag, slammed into Solence's head, driving him and his chair straight into the ground.
"Going or not?!"
"Not going!"
Solence, buried up to his waist in the ground, stubbornly insisted, "I am the Undead Dragon King. Violence will never make me yield, unless you..."
"Going or not?!"
"Going or not?!"
"Going or not?!"
Bam! Bam! Bam!!!
Three minutes later, a bruised and battered Solence finally couldn't take it anymore and hurriedly said, "Stop hitting! I'll go, I'll go! I'll f***ing go!"
Osta sneered, "If you'd said so earlier, you wouldn't have gotten beaten up."
After all, he was still the strongest King of Evil Dragons. How dare a mere Undead Dragon King refuse him? He'd smash his head in.
Solence looked resentful. Couldn't this bastard give him a way out? With only the two of them, Evil Dragons left, he still hit so hard. Wasn't he afraid he'd kick the bucket?
Osta was more decisive. He immediately said, "We'll set off now. You bring the Eclipse Gate."
Solence nodded, "Got it!"
In truth, he had already summoned an Undead Shadow Dragon, and the Eclipse Gate had always been in the Shadow Space. As long as there were no other Shadow Dragons in this world, no one could find it.
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