Ember Dragon

Chapter 834 The Beast Stuck in the Mud

The Blue Dragonflight legion, shrouded in sand and rubble, was buried under the empire's artillery fire. The allied forces, with lightning speed, swiftly captured dozens of cities, occupied the Taliro Desert and its surrounding vast territory, and brought the western part of the Seleucia region—the territory occupied by the Blue Dragon Cult—into their grasp.

The Taliro Desert is arid and hot year-round with a harsh climate. Most of its population lives in cities along the Il River Valley. Occupying these major cities means controlling extremely valuable resources in the desert, such as water, food, and habitat, which would be enough to control this vast desert.

The ancient desert kingdoms arose in the Il River Valley and gradually occupied the entire Taliro Desert over a century. For thousands of years, they fought back and forth for control of this fertile valley, with dynasties constantly changing until they were destroyed by the rising Holy Falland.

Because the Blue Dragon Cult acts recklessly and commits atrocities, treating the people as sacrifices and tools, resentment has long been boiling over in all parts of Taliro. However, people dare not resist only because of the powerful influence of the Blue Dragon Cult.

Now, the allied forces have destroyed the main force of the Church of the Dragon, successively captured cities occupied by the Blue Dragon Cult, and absorbed resistance forces from all over the country. The local people can be said to be "welcoming the king's army with food and drink".

Since then, the allied forces have annihilated the Green Dragon and Blue Dragon factions, reclaimed more than half of the territory of the Seleucia Kingdom, and are about to achieve the great goal of "restoring Seleucia".

However, there is a sad fact: the proportion of Seleucid natives in the allied forces is less than 30%. In reality, the Burning Empire from the north controls most of the Seleucid kingdom.

It's a cruel cycle. The poor Seleucids have just driven away a group of dragon minions, only to be met with a new group of dragon minions as their rulers. It seems that no matter what, the shadow of dragons always looms over this land.

The Great Desert of Taliro, the city of Kafal.

This city was once the capital of an ancient desert kingdom. It is located in the Ir River Valley, situated on the most fertile and abundant oasis in this desolate and barren desert.

Now, it is the last city still under the rule of the Blue Dragon Cult.

On the pyramid altar in the center of the city of Kafal, a priest wearing a golden dragon head mask and a blue scale robe raised his scepter and shouted amidst the cultists: "Gentlemen—we have not lost yet! This is a test given to us by Her Majesty the Dragon Queen!"

He was Mahmoud, the ruler of the city and the last evil dragon bishop in the entire Taliro Desert. The other bishops were basically captured by the Imperial Guard and died on the gallows.

At that moment, Mahmoud waved his scepter, pointed south, and exclaimed excitedly, "I have received the decree of the gods: lava covers the earth, ashes shroud the sky, and the great Mother of Dragons will descend upon the earth to usher in a new era!"

"Brothers and sisters who believe in the Mother of Dragons, as long as we hold on to this final moment, we will usher in a glorious era in which dragons rule the earth!"

Praise be to the Mother of Dragons!

Below him, the followers of the Dragon Cult raised their arms and shouted with fanaticism. Their hoarse shouts surged like a tide and continued for a long time.

Amid cheers and shouts, several strong dragonborn soldiers dragged the human prisoners to the edge of the blood pool.

The prisoners, dressed in rags and covered in whip marks and charred branding, were bound to pillars at the top of the altar with rough hemp ropes. Their wounded bodies were soaked in a filthy pool of blood.

Mahmoud extended his scepter, pointing at the wounded humans, and said in a chilling tone: "And they—the lowly humans—actually dared to overthrow the dragons' rule, prevent the arrival of the Dragon Mother, and even killed several noble dragonborn."

This is utterly unforgivable! They will die in agony, offered as sacrifices to Her Majesty the Dragon Queen!

"Blood sacrifice! Blood sacrifice!"

"Kill them!"

"These lowly, despicable humans deserve to be punished!"

The cult members were enraged, shouting angrily, wishing they could tear them to pieces, seemingly forgetting that most of them were also human.

A human prisoner, bound to a pillar, strained to raise his head, glaring at the cultists with hatred, and roared with a ferocious laugh: "Hahahaha! Followers of the evil dragon, traitors to humanity, are you afraid!"

The allied army is about to arrive, and you will all be hanged! Pay the price for your sins!

"Insolence! Shut him up!"

Mahmoud shouted sternly.

The dragonborn soldier next to him immediately stepped forward and used a rough hemp rope to gag the human warrior, leaving him only able to utter muffled whimpers.

This human prisoner was Bald Love, the leader of the resistance in Kafar City. He led the rebels who refused to submit to the Church of the Dragons to kill dozens of dragonborn and even hunted down a young blue dragon.

"kill him!"

"Damn humans!"

The cultists' shouts grew even more furious, reaching the heavens.

Mahmoud raised his arms high and shouted almost frantically: "Great Mother of Dragons, Queen of Chaos! Your five heads are the crown of greed, your wings are the shadow of tyranny! Drink this blood of chaos and grant us the power to tear apart the shackles of order!"
The priest raised his scepter high, and the dragon eye at the top emitted a blinding five-colored evil light that shot straight into the center of the blood pool.

The liquid in the pool instantly became violent, and the five-colored light streams coiled and rose like giant pythons, forming a rotating vortex filled with blasphemous energy.

"In the name of my queen Tiamat!"

Mahmoud roared, pointing his scepter at the body of a human prisoner, "Devour this fragile shell! Reshape it into the claws of a dragon!"

Accompanied by a hoarse roar from the void, a filthy dark ray shot out from the dragon's eye at the top of the scepter. The captive's body convulsed violently, and his pupils were instantly filled with a mixture of five colors of evil light.

The liquid in the pool of blood churned and surged, causing the human captives' skin to melt like candles. Under the erosion of that evil power, their skin carbonized and peeled off, revealing bright red muscle. The intense pain caused them to let out inhuman screams.

"what--"

Immediately afterwards, the filthy, foul dragon blood in the pool of blood frantically burrowed into his exposed wounds, mouth, nose, and eye sockets, causing his body to swell as if inflated, and his bones to make a teeth-grinding creaking sound.

His spine grew and stretched wildly, piercing the skin on his back. His body was covered with scales of mixed colors, and his limbs twisted and broke, then sculpted into beast claws covered with sharp bone spurs under a layer of mucus.

The most terrifying thing is the change in the head.

The skulls of the human captives cracked and grew in excruciating pain, but failed to form a unified dragon head. Instead, they twisted into three deformed, tumor-like protrusions.

It was covered in scarlet scales and spewed out black smoke.

A huge blue horn sprouted, bursting forth with crisscrossing, pulsating arcs of electricity.

The other one split open into a gigantic mouth dripping with green venom and covered with tiny, sharp teeth.

The original human facial features were torn and crushed, and the eye sockets burned with angry, endless, and agonizing flames.

Staring intently at the three blasphemous heads, Mahmoud was filled with joy and muttered to himself, "Excellent! By Tiamat, it's a perfect form!"

"No, kill me, kill me!"

The prisoner, no longer recognizable as human, raised a twisted dragon claw and looked at Baldr, a glimmer of lingering human fear and pleading flashing in his eyes.

But the next second, that last vestige of humanity was completely consumed by the evil fire, leaving only rage, pain, and a thirst for destruction in the empty eye sockets.

"Uh-uh-"

Baldr's eyes were bloodshot, tears of extreme anger welling up within them. He struggled almost frantically, trying to bring peace to his fallen comrade and fulfill his last wish, but he could not break free of his restraints. In just a few dozen seconds, a blasphemous creation about three meters tall and of extremely unstable form slowly rose from the pool of blood, letting out a hoarse growl.

It is no longer human, but a monster forcibly pieced together from twisted, proliferating flesh and filth.

From the outside, it looks like a giant beast that has been skinned and forcibly sewn with various dragon-like organs. Its body is covered with mottled scales, exposing pulsating blood vessels and muscles. The five elemental energies clash and flicker on its body, causing parts of its limbs to sometimes burn, sometimes freeze, and sometimes rot.

But instead of being afraid of this hideous monster, the cultists fell into even deeper fanaticism.

They shouted loudly:

"miracle!"

"This is a blessing from my queen!"

"What a perfect weapon! Those Imperials will tremble before it!"

Mahmoud pulled out the chains and wrapped them around the newly born monster, grinning and roaring, "Behold! This is the end for mortals! Fight for my Queen! Born for destruction!"

The heavy iron chains rattled, and the monster, with a ferocious face, roared and splashed crimson water into the pool of blood.

Mahmoud wiped the scepter in his hand, looked at Bald with a mocking expression, and said with a sneer, "Human, I've thought of a good idea. Let you become the first meal of this Tiamat offspring after its birth! You should feel quite satisfied to die in the mouth of your comrade!"

Bald stared intently at the evil dragon priest, his eyes filled with hatred, wishing he could grind him to dust.

But soon, under Mahmoud's command, the newborn monster looked at Bald, its eyes showing no familiarity, only greed for its prey and thirst for destroying life, its muscles trembling with extreme excitement.

“Go, tear him to pieces!” Mahamaud laughed wildly.

Bald struggled desperately, but still couldn't escape from the pool of blood, and could only watch helplessly as the monster drew closer.

"Roar--"

A stench and a sweltering heat assaulted our senses, followed by a hoarse growl. The monster suddenly opened its blood-red maw, its eyes filled with murderous intent, and lunged forward.

Just then, a powerful voice resounded through the sky, coming from afar.

"boom!"

A blurry afterimage came hurtling in, accompanied by a scorching heat, and suddenly burrowed into the dragon-blooded monster's back, mercilessly shattering its beating heart. The heart, soaked in blood, then burst out of its chest, tearing a huge hole in its entire body.

Blood gushed from the dragon-blooded monster's chest like a fountain, mixed with fragments of internal organs, broken scales, and various filthy red and white substances, flowing all over the ground.

"Ow"

It only managed to let out a painful and powerless wail before collapsing to the ground, its three twisted heads spewing blood, bits of flesh, and viscous fluid.

Even on its deathbed, the dragon-blooded monster stared at Bald with a yearning, resentful gaze, a look that sent chills down one's spine, as if it regretted not killing its prey sooner.

"who is it?"

"How dare you disturb this great sacrificial ceremony!"

Mahmoud cried out in alarm, his eyes revealing barely suppressed panic.

High in the sky, a small, concealed spaceship slowly opened its hatch, revealing a group of exceptionally tall Vitagis dragonscale cultivators covered in heavy scales, eager to descend from the sky.

Steel Frenzy pressed down on the tactical glasses covering his right eye socket and whispered into the walkie-talkie on his chest:

"The Fourth Legion reports that 2453 enemy targets have been detected at this location, with an average challenge level of 3.47 and a maximum challenge level of 15. The danger level is assessed as low, and our legion can handle it independently."

The Fourth Legion, comprising eighteen Generation III Dragon Scale cultivators and nine Generation IV Dragon Scale cultivators, is fully equipped and ready to attack at any time. They request the order to launch an attack.

On the altar, Mahmoud raised his scepter high, angrily pointing it at the spaceship, and roared, "It's that blasphemous creation of those Imperials again! Shoot it down!"

In an instant, flames, lightning, and deadly poison—all sorts of dragon breaths—slammed towards the airship high in the sky, but they were all blocked by the semi-transparent energy field surrounding the airship, causing it no damage whatsoever.

"Attack with all your might."

Upon hearing the instructions through the headset, Steel Tide grinned and leaped out of the spaceship's cabin, followed closely by more than twenty Dragon Scale cultivators who jumped down from hundreds of meters in the air without hesitation.

"It's those rebels who stole Her Majesty the Dragon Queen's power! Kill them!" Mahmoud roared, his face contorted with rage, raising his staff as if to unleash a divine spell on the dragon-scaled cultivators.

However, at that moment, more than a dozen orange-red missiles shot out from the bottom of the airship, accompanied by a piercing whistle and trailing blinding flashes of fire, and hurtled toward the altar.

"boom!"

Dust and flames shot into the sky, debris flew everywhere, and the violent explosion engulfed hundreds of cultists, causing the tall altar to shake violently as if it were about to collapse.

Even Mahmoud lost his balance and almost fell off the altar. He looked up in frustration, only to find that the sky was shrouded in smoke, and he could not see the rebels at all.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

With a series of muffled thuds, the dragon-scale cultivators landed one after another, concealing themselves in the smoke screen and using thermal imaging goggles to search for the cultists of the Dragon Worship Sect.

"I can't see clearly!"

"careful!"

"Damn it, where are those rebels?"

The cult members panicked, and their cacophony of shouts was drowned out by the roar of the explosion.

Suddenly, a scream came from the smoke. The dragon-scale cultivator approached from behind and pierced the cultist's chest with a single sword, almost splitting his body in two.

"boom!"

Another gunshot rang out, the acrid smell of gunpowder filling the air. The bolter fired a dense barrage of bullets, creating a metallic storm that riddled the cultists' bodies with gruesome holes.

Gunshots, screams, the sound of flesh being torn apart, and the cracking of bones breaking rang out one after another. Tall figures moved through the thick smoke, and the cultists were being killed at an extremely fast pace.

The remaining cult members were bewildered and helpless, as if shrouded in the shadow of death, and completely plunged into panic.

A killing spree, a one-sided massacre—began.

(End of this chapter)