Ember Dragon

Green Valley Town, Cathedral.

Mantou, Singo, Tiansheng Zhankuang, Xia Ye Qiuyu gathered together after a long absence, and seemed to be planning something.

Mantou played with the emerald dragon scales in his hand and asked casually, "Can we really sneak into Linying City? Don't let us get killed."

Singo glanced at him, pointed at the scales on his arm and said, "We have drunk dragon blood, so we are considered to be the red flags of old Tiamat."

"The blood concentration of those evil followers of the Dragon Worship Church is definitely not as high as ours. According to the tradition over there, they might even have to kneel down when they see us."

Hearing this, Mantou's mouth twitched slightly: "That being said, the risk of doing this is too great. What if there is a mismatch in the secret code, won't the whole team be wiped out?"

"So we need the natives to lead the way." Singo pointed at the natural warrior and continued, "In this regard, the warrior is more experienced. He has previously infiltrated the Bronze Fortress under Zariel's rule and laid the foundation for victory in the Hell War."

Tiansheng Zhan Kuang touched his bald head and said a little embarrassedly: "I just had better luck, it's not worth mentioning."

Xia Ye Qiu Yu next to him complained: "Yeah, you just assassinated a Hell General, messed up the entire Bronze Fortress, and brought in the former Hell Lord Bayer."

Mantou looked at Singo, who looked very confident, and asked in confusion: "So where should we start?"

Singo pulled out a long-prepared map from his bosom, on which several eye-catching routes were marked: "Did you see it? These are the transportation routes of the Dragon Worship Church's convoy. This group of cultists will transport the living people, gold, silver and treasures looted from all over the world to the dragon breeding farm."

He placed his hand on a red line and said with great certainty, "This is our chance to sneak into Linying City and even destroy the Dragon Breeding Farm."

Xia Ye Qiu Yu asked, "Then we should follow behind the Dragon Worshiping Cult's transport team and sneak in?"

The natural warrior wiped the bloody battle axe with a cloth and said in a relaxed tone: "It is better to kill all those cultists to avoid any trouble."

Singo smiled strangely and shook his head: "No, we have to walk in openly and let them welcome us."

Mantou looked at the sinister smile on Singo's face and immediately understood what was going on. He thought that this guy must have come up with some trickery.

"Okay, I'll do as you say." Mantou sighed and observed a moment of silence for the cultists whom he had never met.

Singo then said, "As far as I know, within the Dragon Worship Church, the concentration of dragon blood determines one's status, and a strict caste system similar to the caste system has been formed. The degree of dragonization is reflected in the external characteristics, and the highest status is the real dragon."

"In the Dragon Cult system, if a dragon kills a low-level cultist, it only needs to pay one silver coin as compensation. Even this silver coin is often refused. And you—"

"I?"

Mantou pointed at his nose.

Singo looked at Mantou, who was full of doubt, and said with a grim smile: "Mantou, you have the ability to transform into a baby dragon! If you were put in the Church of Byron, you would be a natural Brahmin!"

"It seems. It's really like that." Mantou was stunned at first, then a look of joy appeared on his face. He had never experienced the feeling of being a superior person.

Singo nodded and said, "It's settled then, Mantou. Remember your identity. You are the descendant of an ancient red dragon far in the north. You came here in compliance with the will of the Dragon Queen with an important mission, and we are your loyal servants."

"I didn't expect such a good thing to happen."

Mantou rubbed his hands excitedly, already imagining the admiring and awed looks people would give him after he entered Linying City.

The edge of the Ash Marsh.

It was muddy and foggy here, and the humid air was filled with the smell of decay and mold.

Everywhere you look is green and brown. The ground is covered with moss and mushrooms, duckweed floats on the water, and bubbles occasionally appear.

The wooden boardwalk winds through the swamp like a tired snake. It has fallen into disrepair due to years of disrepair, and the wooden planks are rotten and covered with moss. They squeak when you step on them and even sink slightly.

At the end of the road, shrouded in fog, a team slowly drove out. They were all wearing long robes and wearing five-headed dragon medals on their chests. Their identities were obvious - they were cultists of the Dragon Worship Church.

The cultists were holding rusty chains, and behind the chains were dozens of ragged civilians.

Their faces were pale, their breathing was heavy, their clothes were soaked with moisture and stuck to their bodies, and they were obviously in panic.

"Snapped!"

The cult leader at the front used a long whip to whip a woman who was walking a little slowly, and shouted angrily: "Hurry up! If you dawdle again, I will throw you to the crocodiles!"

The woman was so frightened that she was shaking all over. She sobbed and begged, "Sir, sir, I was wrong! Please don't abandon me!"

The cult leader snorted coldly: "Be smarter next time. The noble dragon does not need such a clumsy slave."

"Yes, my lord."

The woman lowered her head and responded fearfully, and the cult leader then turned away and ignored her.

Another cultist walked up to the leader and whispered in a voice that only they could hear: "Lord Duka, are all these short-lived ghosts going to be fed to the Dragon Breeding Pond?"

The cultist known as Duka turned his head impatiently, his reptilian pupils revealing a sinister look: "Ryder, is this something you should ask?"

Reid was sweating profusely, and he quickly smiled and said, "Of course not, sir, I was presumptuous and did not recognize my identity."

After saying this, he deliberately released a magical spell to isolate the sound, covering the two of them with a thin black mist.

Duka glared at him and then complained, "But you guessed right, these are all nutrients that will be sent to the dragon pond."

"That damned human duke won a victory in the north, angering the Lord of the Rotten Swamp, who wanted to send out a large army to fight. As a result, the demand for breeding dragon beasts increased sharply, and the quota for the consumables required for breeding dragon beasts was all assigned to us."

"Damn it, our town doesn't have many people to begin with, not to mention there are people hiding here and there. Now they have to use women to make up the numbers. If they continue to capture people, there will be no one to serve us!"

"In a few days, we will have to pay at least 5,000 gold coins worth of gold and silver treasures. By then, even if we turn over the floors of those poor guys' houses, we won't be able to come up with enough!"

Having said this, Duka became even more furious. He stomped on the ground hard, and the wooden board suddenly made a "crackling" sound and broke, almost causing his foot to sink into the swamp.

Duka was furious, but had no way to vent his anger, so he slapped Reid in the face, leaving a clear red mark on his right cheek.

"Damn it! Can't you be more careful?!"

Reid covered his face, still smiling apologetically, as if nothing had happened: "My lord, I'm really sorry, we will soon cross this swamp, you can just rest there for a while."

Even though he was filled with dissatisfaction, Reid could never vent it out, after all, Duka was a "Dragonborn" who was one level higher than him.

This is the bloodline system of the Byron Church, with clear distinctions between the upper and lower levels and strict hierarchy. Given Duka's bloodline concentration, no one would care even if he was beaten to death on the spot.

If he showed any resistance, he would be thrown into the dragon breeding farm and become consumable, a capital crime.

Fortunately, Duka had vented most of his anger after the slap, and he just waved his hand impatiently: "Get out of here." The end of the swamp was not far away, and they could take the opportunity to rest for a while and recharge their energy so that they could continue on their journey.

And those civilians behind him?

In the eyes of the cultists, they are not human beings, but sacrifices and consumables to be thrown into the dragon-breeding pond.

Three days ago, Duka arrested a large number of people in the town on the pretext of "looking for slaves for the noble dragon" and wanted to send these civilians all the way to Linying City.

Due to the thick fog above the swamp, the cultists could not see the road ahead, but they saw several blurry figures emerging from the fog, some tall and some short, blocking their way.

Reid whispered, "Sir, it is said that there are many rebels in this area recently. We must be careful."

"Do not talk nonsense!"

Duka looked solemn. He pulled out a dragon claw scepter from the sleeve of his robe, pointed it at the blurry figures, and shouted, "Who are you? We are a convoy heading to Linying City! We are carrying out the mission of the Lord of the Rotten Swamp!"

The other cultists also shouted, "Get out of here if you know what's best for you! Otherwise, don't blame us for being merciless!"

However, what responded to them was a rather sharp roar, and the mist in front of them gradually dissipated, and the figure shrouded in it revealed its true face.

Bright scarlet scales, golden vertical pupils, sharp claws, and a slender tail
Feeling the sulfur smell and the faint dragon power coming towards him, Duka's pupils suddenly shrank into needles, cold sweat ran down his forehead, and he thought to himself that something was wrong.

It turned out to be a dragon!

Moreover, it was the most respected and powerful red dragon among the five colored dragons! Although this red dragon was only the size of a horse and looked quite immature, it was probably just a young dragon, but it was definitely not something that a dragon descendant of such low blood could afford to offend.

Moreover, this time, he was the one who "provoked" it first. If this red dragon kills him, the Dragon Worship Church probably won't dare to say a word.

Duka looked behind the red dragon and saw several dragon-like humanoid creatures, including a sorceress with dragon horns, a berserker covered in scales, and a knight leading a wyvern - each of them was actually more dragon-like than himself!

With such a powerful dragonborn as a servant, the status of this young red dragon must be very high!
In this case, if the opponent does not use the transformation spell
Without any hesitation, Duka knelt down, looked up at the red dragon, and cried for mercy: "Noble and powerful red dragon, it is our fault for being blind! We actually offended you!"

Before he finished speaking, the cultists behind him knelt down in unison, and even the civilians followed suit, feeling uneasy.

After all, it is well known that the red dragon is the most brutal and crazy of the five colored dragons. If you are not careful, you will become the opponent's snack and die without a burial place.

"You lowly bastard! Do you realize it now?"

The red dragon on the opposite side sneered, walked over calmly, stepped on Duka's head with its dragon claws, and slammed his face to the ground: "Who allowed you to raise your head and look at me, bastard?"

The sharp dragon claws pierced Duka's scalp, causing blood to flow from his head. A strong pain came from the top of his head, but Duka felt it was natural, not ashamed at all, and even smiled.

This familiar insult, the arrogant tone, the attitude of treating him as garbage - the red dragon in front of him must be real!

The young red dragon, or Mantou, was shocked and let go of its claws with disgust. He took a few steps back and thought to himself: Could this be a perverted masochist?
Duka was seen floating on the ground with his forehead touching the ground. He said in an extremely flattering tone: "Lord Red Dragon, we are willing to obey your orders. Can you tell us your name?"

Did he really enjoy being stepped on?

Hearing Duka's tone, Mantou felt his scalp tingling and shouted angrily: "You lowly human, are you worthy of knowing my name? Goudan, beat me up!"

Hearing this, Singo's mouth twitched slightly, but he still resisted the urge to beat up Mantou. He rushed to Duka, gathered all his strength, and kicked him in the stomach.

"puff--"

Duka flew backwards, spurting out a mouthful of blood. He rolled on the ground for several times and almost fell into the crowd of civilians.

"Good job, Goudan."

Mantou nodded in satisfaction, looked around with an oppressive gaze, and said, "See? This is what happens when you disobey me!"

Xia Ye Qiu Yu, who was standing next to him, also took a step forward and said in a cold voice, "Our master is the descendant of the great ancient red dragon in the north. He has come here at the command of Her Majesty the Dragon Queen. From now on, you must obey his orders. Do you understand?"

"Yes, my lord."

Everyone looked at Duka with blood in his mouth and nodded in agreement.

Duka, who was far away, felt a chill in his heart, as if he had fallen into an icy cave. Could it be that this red dragon wanted to kill him?
No, he must survive! He finally became a dragonborn and dominated the town, how could he just die here?
We must please this red dragon!
Thinking of this, Duka looked terrified. He used his hands and feet to get up from the ground, grabbed the woman next to him, pulled her wrist and walked forward.

"You, what are you going to do?" The woman struggled.

But Duka, as a dragonborn, was much stronger than the woman. He dragged her forward and threw her in front of the red dragon, shouting:

"My lord, it's her! It was this damn female human who pointed you out just now, causing us to mistake you for an enemy!"

Duka smiled grimly: "Well, as a punishment, let her become your food! This is also an honor for this bastard."

"No, my lord!"

"Not me! I didn't!"

The woman knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face, sobbing and trying to defend herself, but no one spoke for her.

In the minds of the cultists, she was completely dead.

Duka raised the corner of his mouth, revealing a cruel smile - he had already imagined the scene where the woman would be torn to pieces by her fangs, and the red dragon would feast on her broken and bloody corpse.

When the brainless red dragon has eaten and drunk enough, it will definitely forget the previous unpleasantness.
Soon, a gust of hot air blew towards me.

Duka looked up in surprise, but his eyes reflected a dazzling fire: "Wait, sir, you are not--"

"boom!"

With a loud bang, a huge fireball hit him directly on the head, engulfing his head and leaving only a charred headless corpse.

Duka died just like that!
The cultists were shocked, their hearts trembled, and they subconsciously looked towards the source of the fireball.

Not far away, the dragonborn sorceress had a cold expression on her face, with wisps of black smoke coming out of her outstretched palm.

"I said"

Mantou, who had transformed into a red dragon, swept his fierce gaze over the trembling cultists and said in a cold tone, "I don't like others making decisions for me. Do you understand?"

Looking at the charred headless corpse, the cultists swallowed their saliva and nodded repeatedly. (End of this chapter)