"Something's wrong, something's wrong, the situation is very wrong," the purple-haired youth in leather pants, part of a five-person team, murmured to his companion while frowning in thought as he walked behind the group.
But none of his companions paid him any mind, as they were already accustomed to their teammate's behavior. Every established team usually has one member who acts as the team's strategist.
The purple-haired youth was naturally such a character, but because he was a chatterbox, many of his words were automatically filtered out by his teammates.
Ever since they had been checked by the Forest Ranger and put on their marked identification tags, the purple-haired youth, whose perception was particularly outstanding within the team, noticed that his internal power and perception had both become more active to varying degrees.
In other words, it was only after they put on these approved identification tags that they truly faced the real nature of the entire world.
Their previous perceptions and understanding had been suppressed by the vast Forest Will, making it impossible to accurately judge the rules of the entire world.
The few teammates around the purple-haired youth had been admiring the unique exotic customs of this city, the Kings Capital, the capital city of the True Dragon, ever since they stepped into it.
Although the city's majesty and vastness also gave them a sense of shock, they had, after all, seen more landscapes and modern metropolises, so they quickly dismissed this feeling, focusing more on the novelty.
Only the steady middle-aged captain paid attention to the casual mercenaries and travelers, the numerous spellcasters, the fierce-looking Barbarian berserkers, various strange races, and a considerable number of mixed-blood children that filled the city.
From a glance down the street, the middle-aged captain could even sense several obscure auras that made him, a veteran who had experienced several worlds, feel a sense of danger.
This made the deep furrow between the middle-aged captain's eyebrows, already prominent, capable of directly trapping a mosquito.
"What did you just say was wrong?" the middle-aged captain turned his head and asked the purple-haired youth. Only the captain's steady personality in the team could fully listen to the chatterbox's words and filter out useful information.
"The Forest Will that suppressed us doesn't seem like the collective subconscious produced by an ordinary, generalized forest. Instead, there's a powerful, independent consciousness dominating the entire forest's will."
"So our previous judgment of our strength might have been greatly inaccurate. Didn't you notice the changes that occurred in you after gaining the territory's recognition?"
The purple-haired youth stated his findings, looking seriously at his captain.
"You're relying on them?" the middle-aged captain quietly approached his team's strategist, criticizing his teammates in front of them: "One is a third-generation zombie who exchanged for zombie bloodline, only knowing how to howl and rush into fights first."
"One is a ticking time bomb who cultivates with the Blacklight Virus and Demonic Arts, and one is a tank vampire who wants to exchange for and develop the River of Death. It's good enough that they even have a normal human appearance!"
The middle-aged captain said with dissatisfaction. The team, having switched languages, was not worried about others understanding their conversation. In a city where many different races lived together, these people did not need to pay special attention to such details.
"However, the remnant Nephalem blood in my body has indeed become more active, but I didn't pay attention to this information because I thought that demons and angels also exist in this world."
"In short, we need to re-evaluate the strength of this world. It's very likely that the world we accepted the pioneering mission for is an extremely high-level world. We cannot be careless!"
Before the purple-haired youth's words could be answered by the captain, the few people turned the street and saw the towering mountain standing majestically on the distant horizon of the Kings Capital.
That was the Dragon Nest of the True Dragon, the holy mountain of the territory, the divine land of their dependents.
From a distance, the few people had seen the towering mountains, but they had no reaction because they could not yet sense any information.
But at this distance, the few people could already feel an incredibly terrifying pressure from that several-thousand-meter-high peak, from that burning volcanic Dragon Nest that resembled a giant torch.
It was a will like that of a high and mighty monarch looking down on all living beings on the ground, attached to the entire mountain.
As long as you didn't actively explore or observe it, it was like an emperor ruling by doing nothing, serene and inactive, just an ordinary peak.
But the bold active exploration of the few people touched that deep, immense, and supremely powerful will that viewed the living beings of the world as its subjects. It was like an overlord seated on a throne, casting a downward gaze that could not be avoided and was difficult to resist.
They could even visualize in their minds a massive Red Dragon, coiled on the peak of the mountains, turning its head to cast a majestic and stern gaze.
Even from a considerable distance, the faces of the few people couldn't help but darken, oppressed by the True Dragon's majesty. They immediately cut off their active spiritual probing, which then allowed them to recover.
"I think this mission needs discussion. How about we go see the situation with the Orcs before making a judgment? This fellow seems very difficult to deal with. No wonder the residents of the city don't show any tension about the coming war," the fair-skinned girl with yellow hair suggested seriously, stopping her chewing gum, her pale face now as dark as if smeared with black paste.
"I agree," the white-haired high school student quickly raised his hand, expressing his stance swiftly.
"Boss, it seems this guy is not on the same level as the original target True Dragon. They are both Young Red Dragon, but this guy is worth two A-level plot points and fifty thousand reward points. I don't think we need to touch this tough nut."
The golden-haired youth, who had originally suggested choosing this mission, also looked grave. He looked towards another Dragon Nest.
That was the Dragon Nest of the female True Dragon Klenaya, also a volcano, but it only emitted black smoke, and rarely did flames and magma erupt from the Dragon Nest.
Although these people hadn't had time to inquire about the detailed situation, the team members, who had some rough understanding of True Dragon, knew that Red Dragon liked to sleep in hot environments. With two volcanoes, it was clear which one belonged to the creature specified in the mission.
"What a terrifying fellow. The will merely ingrained from living in the Dragon Nest for a long time can possess such powerful oppressive force. According to the information we have, a sleeping Red Dragon usually actively restrains its True Dragon might to ensure it fully enters growth," the golden-haired youth said to his captain, "Judging by this terrifying oppressive will, this guy truly lives up to the evaluation of a overlord-level creature. My vampire bloodline is already ancient enough, but under this majesty, I can't even muster the thought of actively resisting. My suggestion is, how about we reconsider?"
"No, no, no, I think the mission given to us by the Main God has another purpose, but I can't think of it right now. We can't jump to conclusions so quickly. Give me some time to think it over properly," the team's strategist shook his head, the purple-haired youth looking thoughtful, swaying back and forth behind the others.
"How about this, we split up, go gather information, and then meet at the tavern tonight to make a decision. Anyway, we still have one day to make our choice," the steady middle-aged captain gave the order, watching his teammates scatter like birds and beasts, but the golden-haired youth's hand was held by the captain.
"Ew, what are you doing, Captain? Don't make such gestures. You know I'm most resistant to intimate contact with men. Only fragrant virgins are worthy of touching my noble body," the golden-haired youth with ancient vampire bloodline quickly shook off his captain's hand with a look of disgust, goosebumps almost erupting on his skin. He even took out an exquisite silk handkerchief to wipe his left hand, which had touched the captain's.
The middle-aged captain's eye twitched, and he said earnestly, "You are becoming more and more deeply affected by the vampire bloodline, Little Gold. I still remember when you first joined the team, you loved hugging that warrior's arm the most."
"Tsk, what's so good about hugging stinky men? At that time, I was weak and needed to find shelter from a backer. Why are you keeping me? Don't tell me there's another dangerous place where I have to be the meat shield. Why don't you find that zombie?" The golden-haired youth looked displeased, but he was already unaware that even his own thoughts were being subtly changed to some extent.
"That zombie howls every time before he makes a move, which is not conducive to stealth. If we encounter an accident, everyone will be alerted," the middle-aged captain said, looking at the mountain spewing flames and magma, "Let's go. We still need to see the specific situation of our target. Knowing ourselves and our enemy allows us to formulate strategies. A sleeping Red Dragon is difficult to awaken by small movements, and a True Dragon will not allow other people to move around his Dragon Nest."
"As long as we use the Shadow Stealth Talisman, we can ascend the mountain. After all, this is a good item worth 1,200 reward points. If the reward wasn't so generous this time, I wouldn't be willing to use it so casually."
"Alright," the golden-haired youth frowned, reluctantly following beside the middle-aged captain. The two of them left the city and traversed the sparsely populated forest.
The strength of the two could be considered elite among veterans, so they easily avoided the detection of ordinary Kobold Guards.
It was not until they reached the clear-cut isolation zone that the captain took out a talisman twisted from shadow traces, infusing his power into it to make the stealth talisman last longer.
The two quietly crossed the defense line set up by the Imperial Guard at the foot of the mountain. Just as they crossed the line, the leader of the Imperial Guard, the Sahar, who was personally on duty, suddenly looked in their direction with a puzzled expression, startling both of them.
"This guy is definitely a powerful monster, his innate intuition is so terrifying," the two communicated using their team's communication method, trying to make their shadow stealth talisman more effective.
The highest peak in these mountains now stands nearly three thousand meters tall. Fortunately, both of them had good strength and physical fitness, allowing them to easily climb this high mountain.
However, they still could not be too careless, because along the path at the foot of the mountain, War Treants were resting on both sides of the stone steps. These War Treants had the ability to communicate with nature, which made the two of them dare not relax too much.
"Hmph, this guy is really generous, actually using these treants as a green belt," the golden-haired youth's eyes gleamed with the light of money.
"The heartwood of treants of this age is a good item. It can be made into various magical equipment and props with powerful benefits. I really want to dig a couple back. Even if we don't use them, we can sell them. They are very valuable."
Although these treants looked no different from ordinary plants in their tree form, neither of them were ordinary people and could detect the life fluctuations beneath the surface of these giant trees.
"Don't mess around," the middle-aged captain subconsciously warned his teammate.
Fortunately, as they ascended the path, the temperature of the space near the entire peak gradually rose, and there was no longer any trace of treants. The two then accelerated their pace and quickly climbed towards the summit.
"This guy wouldn't really be sleeping in volcanic magma, would he?" The golden-haired youth was already sweating from the heat. The two had no choice but to raise a temperature-isolating shield on their bodies, which made the shadow stealth talisman prone to energy leakage.
"Perhaps. Although according to the information we've gathered, these Red Dragons, despite their powerful talent, can swim in magma, only a sufficiently mature Young Red Dragon can freely enter a volcano to sleep. However, this Red Dragon's talent is clearly abnormal, so it wouldn't be surprising if he slept in magma,"
The middle-aged captain looked at the summit, where the entire space was already occupied by magma boiling with flames and heat, and voluntarily stopped his footsteps.
"We can't go any further. This Dragon Nest not only has spells set by this True Dragon, but also a super-large barrier, similar to a domain. Once we step into it, we will be forced to contend with the power of the entire domain, and then we will be exposed."
The middle-aged captain pulled out a small, ancient round mirror from his pocket. Maintaining the temperature-isolating defense for a long time and resisting the overflowing domain pressure required him to focus extra hard on mobilizing his power. The shadow stealth talisman had already been taken over by the golden-haired youth.
He carefully maintained the power input, pouring his power into this small mirror. The ancient mirror immediately rippled faintly, and a scene appeared vaguely on the mirror, as if covered by a faint mist.
What appeared before the two of them was a scene like purgatory. Countless lava and magma flowed from thick cracks into a huge magma lake. The boiling heat filled the entire space, making both of them seem to feel that suffocating temperature.
There were also cracks flowing with pure elemental energy. When these energies exploded, they were enough to blow the entire mountaintop into the sky. The terrifying energy fluctuations made both of them subconsciously hold their breath.
The rising magma lake was wide and violent. In the continuously rolling magma, the figure of the Red Dragon could no longer be seen. Only occasionally, from the fluctuations of the magma, could a few True Dragon horns, thick as ancient gnarled trees and sharp as peerless divine weapons, be seen emerging from the lake.
The two had not yet had time to observe carefully. The next moment, in the space filled with heat, on the ground everywhere with flames, countless running and jumping creatures appeared. These creatures were completely composed of flames, spirits born from fire.
At this instant, all the flame creatures simultaneously turned their heads to look at the mirror, and a feeling of terror beyond measure instantly gripped the hearts of the two.
Crack,
The mirror shattered and fell from the middle-aged captain's hand onto the ground.
That night, in the tavern, the reunited team gathered together again.
However, compared to the relaxed attitude of the other three who had spent the day exploring and playing, the middle-aged captain and the golden-haired youth, who were sitting in the corner somewhat withdrawn, appeared particularly silent and solemn.
The rest of the teammates, however, actively shared the information they had gathered.
"According to my rough estimation, our strength, compared to the combat power of this world, is probably at the initial stage of the Saint rank, which can be considered an elite,"
The yellow-haired girl was still chewing gum, two packs at a time, making her mouth always puffy, like a small squirrel hiding food in its mouth.
The white-haired youth glanced at the captain before speaking: "I found out about the original target. The original target, Klenaya, is called the Red Queen by the residents of the territory. She is the Red Dragon's sister, and her strength is also very powerful. According to our strength, taking her down would be very easy,"
"However, there are still several True Dragon s in the territory. The strongest one currently is the Young Red Dragon Kadilos, who is the mayor of the town behind Kadilos. Besides fighting, this guy holds open parties in his territory all day, with all races participating. If he were our target, it would feel easier."
"My suggestion is to abandon this mission and choose another one. Although the mission to kill the Orc Prince is equally difficult, this time there is no time limit set for us, which means we have almost unlimited time to complete this matter,"
The golden-haired youth also glanced at the dark-faced captain before slowly speaking: "As long as we don't care about this one-to-one time standard, wasting a lot of time in this world."
The middle-aged captain also nodded, saying with a heavy expression: "We secretly observed that Red Dragon. Although we haven't seen him completely, he alone is an insurmountable mountain for us. His comprehension of fire no longer belongs to the level of the Red Dragon's bloodline talent,"
"He already possesses a true domain. Most importantly, within his domain, the essence of flame has actually been born, or to put it another way that you can understand more easily, in the domain of fire, he is equivalent to the magical illusion of orthodox cultivation, or even the manifestation of the spirit of law."
"We absolutely cannot complete this mission! His level of power comprehension far exceeds his life level, and that is the most terrifying thing!"
Everyone fell silent for a moment, but only the purple-haired youth, upon hearing the captain's words, muttered repeatedly: "No time limit, impossible to contend with, I know, I think I know!"
The dark-faced crowd looked at the self-muttering purple-haired youth, somewhat gnashing their teeth as they said in unison: "What do you know? Tell us quickly, don't keep us in suspense."
"The Main God never sets impossible missions, except in extremely special circumstances, just like our initial target was just another Red Dragon, which we could easily complete. We only considered how to escape."
The purple-haired youth clapped his hands excitedly, "But then, because it sensed certain reasons, it changed to a very tempting yet seemingly impossible mission,"
"It never stood on the side of the Orcs, but it didn't stand on the side of the True Dragon either at first, until it changed the mission for some reason, and it has always been using huge differences in rewards to entice us to make a choice!"
"I guess our pioneering mission hides the Main God's true intention: to obtain the ancestral blood of this Red Dragon. We don't necessarily have to go through a real battle. We have another path, which is to become a Dragonborn, or rather, to be qualified to become the Dragonborn of that True Dragon!"
The purple-haired youth was a bit incoherent, but his familiar teammates quickly understood what he meant.
"The Main God, to us, is also a deity, but to the truly existing deities of this world, it is a heretical god. What method is simpler and more effective for developing the entire world than colluding with the gods of the original world?!"
"Perhaps it found traces of the Dragon God on this Red Dragon, and given this True Dragon's outstanding talent, it's normal for him to enjoy the Dragon God's attention!"
"Whoo-hoo," everyone gathered around, picked up the purple-haired youth, and tossed him into the air.
"I have to admit, you are indeed a tiny bit smarter than me," the yellow-haired girl spat out her gum, secretly sticking it on her teammate's butt, and shouted loudly.