Ember Dragon

Silver Moon Bay, Free Trade Association, Victoria Harbour.

Victoria Harbour, located at the mouth of the river in the middle of Silver Moon Bay, is an extremely rare large deep-water harbor and the most prosperous and wealthy city in this city-state alliance of over a hundred cities.

The sea shimmered under the moonlight at night, with countless sailboats crowded together. Dockworkers were busily moving wooden crates filled with all sorts of goods, including ores, grains, clothes, wine, and even guns.

Even late at night, the pier is still bustling with boatmen and workers, as well as Victoria Coast Guards who take turns guarding the area. They stop all smuggling and illegal immigration and guard against pirates or Yi people from the sea.

However, the "Pirate Queen" Victoria of yesteryear amassed her enormous wealth through smuggling and robbery, and built this renowned city.

The current rulers are extremely wary of this, fearing the emergence of another Victoria, which is quite ironic.

"Quick! Move today's cargo boxes upstairs!"

"Is everything checked? This belongs to the Severn family; don't even think about trying anything funny."

"Lord of Storms and Ocean, may tomorrow bring good weather."

Amidst the dilapidated buildings of the lower town, the white lighthouse stands out conspicuously, out of place with its surroundings, its lights flickering in the desolate night and cold wind.

That's the most mysterious building in the area—the Coast Tower. People can buy all sorts of magic scrolls, rare materials, and expensive equipment that are hard to find on the market from this tower.
To purchase items in the tower, you not only need gold coins, but also sufficient permissions. These permissions can only be increased by completing the commissions issued by the owner of the Coast Tower, the mysterious "Hermit".

The tower has been designated a no-go zone by local gangs, and anyone who dares to trespass is said to face terrible punishment—as evidenced by the mysterious disappearance of a large gang a few years ago.

Meanwhile, beneath the Wilson district of Victoria Harbour, in a place filled with filth, mud, and excrement, a battle was being fought silently and unnoticed.

Four players, cloaked in invisibility, were walking cautiously beside the sewer, conversing in hushed tones. Their team included a mage, a warrior, a rogue, and a priest.

"This is the Jones Gang's hideout, right?"

"Judging from this pirate skull symbol, it should be right. Let's check the intelligence. Twenty gang members possessed by mind demons, and four low-level mages. It shouldn't be a big problem."

"Be careful, don't use fire magic here. There's swamp gas everywhere, be careful of explosions."

"I know, just a bunch of small monsters."

The thief inserted a specially made tool into the lock, and with a "click," the heavy chain was opened, leaving the wooden door ajar.

The mage used his "Eye of Insight" to investigate the situation inside the house and learn about the enemy's distribution. Then, he began to prepare his spell silently, his crystal staff shimmering with a soft glow.

Dark Vision

Dark Arts

Instantly, the room was filled with thick blackness, which swallowed the light of the lamps. The candle holders were overturned, making a clattering sound. The enemies in the stronghold shouted in panic.

"who is it?"

"I sensed the psionic energy fluctuations of humans!"

The mage extended his staff, casting a [Mind Immunity] spell on the warrior, and whispered, "Alpha, clear out the enemies in the stronghold as quickly as possible."

"it is good."

The warrior, clad in light silver armor and a dark red cloak, responded softly and then kicked the door open.

In the darkness, the grotesque humans controlled by mind flayers are laid bare. Their eyes, shrouded in dark circles, resemble abysses, exuding an aura of greed.

Rather than humans, these creatures are more like petri dishes for mind flayers. Fragile larvae parasitize their brains, influencing and controlling their way of thinking. Once fully grown, they will completely transform and devour the human body.

The warrior known as Alpha, wielding twin swords, lunged forward, his arms flashing as the magically imbued blades tore through the air, slicing past the necks of the two men.

"Puch!"

The two heads hit the ground, rolling around with a gurgling sound, and blood gushed out of the carotid arteries in their necks like a fountain.

Before the remaining people could react, Alpha charged into the densest part of the enemy ranks, his body and dual blades spinning at high speed, creating a storm that tore everything apart around him.

Several more heads flew into the air, and the blood almost stained the entire wall red.

The followers of the Supreme God, smelling the blood, sensed something was wrong and cried out, "Great Supreme God, it must be those heretics! Stop them immediately!"

The believers' eyes widened in fury, veins bulging on their foreheads. The mind-stealing worms in their brains twisted and roared, their shrill cries echoing throughout the room, and a torrent of mental energy erupted.

Mind explosion!

Alpha's body was surrounded by a protective aura of mental immunity, and the Pure Soul Ring on his hand shone brightly.

"Go to hell, you low-value insects!"

The warrior wielding two swords charged forward despite the mental shockwave, the blades drawing crisscrossing silver lines in the air. The few remaining believers were decapitated and perished.

However, in a sense, they are not truly "dead" yet.

Priestess Lina used her Divine Eye to examine the situation before everyone entered the room. The darkness that had filled the room was dispelled by the mage Ludian.

"You're about to upgrade, Alpha."

"Hmm, we'll be level 10 soon. It seems we made the right choice in choosing Victoria Harbour as our starting point instead of Istalia."

Ludian slammed his staff on the ground indignantly: "Those who choose that place are all unambitious. Only swords, magic, and adventure are the romance of this kind of game!"

What are those Empire players doing? Mining, farming, and working every day. While the risk of death is much lower, what's the difference between that and reality? We're on the right path; the main mission of this game is definitely to overthrow the imperial tyranny!

Thief Fitz agreed wholeheartedly, nodding in agreement from the shadows: "Especially that mysterious 'hermit' from the Coast Tower, he seems like a reclusive master, perhaps the leader of some secret organization."

"Let's go outside and finish counting the spoils first."

Alpha used his sword to slice open the skull on the ground and easily picked out the white worm with sharp teeth inside.

"Be careful! What if you die? This is a valuable item worth 100 authority points!"

Ludian let out a wail, as if afraid that the ugly insect had died, and carefully used his magical hand to grab it and seal it in the pottery jar.

Alpha grinned and tapped the longsword in his hand: "Don't you believe in my swordsmanship?"

"Who has accidentally killed three of them?"

Lu Dian glared at him fiercely, still shaken, and used magic to force the Mind-Stealing Worm out of the corpse.

The germaphobic pastor, Lina, couldn't bear to look at it. She tried to face the wall, but found it covered in bits of flesh and blood, and could only sigh helplessly. "Stop talking nonsense and hurry up, I'm afraid something else will happen."

"Stop—don't forget that when you said that last time, the half-lich underground suddenly came back to life."

Ludian's face immediately darkened, and he cast a small Silence spell to cover Lina's mouth, after all, this priest had a jinx that was comparable to a prophetic spell.

This adventurer squad, named "Heart of the Warriors," is a rare group of fundamentalists compared to the heretics next door who are obsessed with driving tanks, building mechs, mechanical modifications, and even flesh-and-blood ascension.

For several years since entering the game, "Hero's Heart" has wandered the chaotic Silvermoon Bay area, accepting quests, exploring ruins and dungeons, and eliminating monsters. The art style is surprisingly normal.

Unable to speak for the time being, Lina angrily struck Ludian's head with her cane.

The three of them swiftly and efficiently removed the Mind Flayer larvae from the corpse, and Lina's voice was finally audible: "Seriously, what are you doing?"

Ludian raised his hands in surrender: "Alright, hurry up and leave. Your mouth is as fast as a great curse."

As soon as the group stepped out of the room and arrived at the sewage duct, Alpha stopped in his tracks, his eyelids twitching uncontrollably. The strong premonition of a high-ranking warrior welled up from the bottom of his heart, and he gripped his twin swords tightly, the hilts of which were soaked with sweat.

"Stop! I feel something's wrong."

Ludian dared not ignore it and quickly cast a spell to protect his teammates, while Lina also released a holy aura.

Just then, the sound of rushing water came from the sewage ditch, and a huge shadow suddenly rose from the sewage, accompanied by an overwhelming stench, rushing towards the group.

With its superhuman dynamic vision, Alpha saw the dark yellow fangs mixed with bits of flesh, the black scales covered with moss, the protruding horns, and the ferocious claws. Its pupils suddenly dilated.

"Damn it, that's—a black dragon!"

"Roar--"

The black dragon roared and pounced, its massive maw snapping at Ludian, who was standing on the outermost edge.

Alpha stepped forward, held his twin swords in front of him, and thrust them fiercely into the black dragon's sunken, skull-like eyes.

The black dragon's left eye was pierced by the sword tip, and blood gushed out. It roared in pain, its head shaking wildly as it slammed into Alpha with tremendous force.

"Get out of the way!"

"boom!"

Alpha was thrown backward, taking Ludian and Lina with it. The wall behind them collapsed, and the broken bricks buried everyone.

The black dragon roared furiously, spewing highly corrosive acid as it charged toward the ruins, intending to crush the humans who had injured it.

Fitz, the thief lurking in the shadows, suddenly unleashed a barrage of arrows from afar. Several arrows, trailing shadowy energy, pierced the air and aimed directly at the black dragon's remaining right eye.

The black dragon roared and shook its head, narrowly dodging the attack, but the arrow still pierced its scales and embedded itself deeply in its cheek and neck.

"Ow!"

A frenzied roar erupted, and a cone-shaped blast of acidic breath engulfed the corner where the figure stood, eroding the ground and leaving it pitted and uneven.

But Fitz had long since escaped from the shadows, leaving behind only a false illusion.

Alpha, Ludian, and Lina also crawled out of the ruins, completely unharmed, only shrouded in a faint light—the priest's protection spell.

Looking at the black dragon in the distance, Ludian couldn't help but complain:

"A dragon actually crawled out of the sewer! Your jinx is getting more and more accurate, Lina!"

Alpha also said with a serious expression, "We need to be careful when we go to the toilet, a Leviathan might just crawl out of the toilet bowl!"

"Enough, all of you shut up!"

Lina's face flushed with anger, but she still raised her scepter, and beams of light rained down, bestowing several blessings upon the group.

Lu Dian looked serious and, with just one glance, determined the basic information of the black dragon: "A sub-adult black dragon, its challenge level is around 11. Its intelligence seems a bit low. Could it be affected by a curse?"

Alpha fearlessly stood in front of the two, lowering its body slightly: "Tsk, if I hadn't been alert, we might have been wiped out by it."

"Now it's simple, a level 11 black dragon, hehe, what an unexpected gain."

Ludian smiled, waved his staff, and cast spells at an incredibly fast speed. Multiple spells, including protection against energy damage and steel bones, were cast on Alpha, and a semi-transparent energy shield appeared in front of them.

For this adventurer team, dragons were no longer invincible, just slightly more troublesome monsters.

Players far away in the Empire might even envy them, since most of the dragons and wyverns within the Empire's borders are officially bred. Although there are many of them, attacking them is considered poaching.

In their quest for experience, the frenzied Imperial players practically ransacked the entire wilderness of Anzeta, even destroying ancient tombs dating back thousands of years.

The black dragon glared at these tiny humans, seemingly sensing the contempt in their eyes, and became even more enraged.

It raised its head, took a deep breath, and shot out linear streams of acid like arrows. Once they hit, they could dissolve human flesh and blood, turning them into blood and skeletons.

Unfortunately, Ludian's protective spells easily blocked the breath attack.

While maintaining the shield, he even had the energy to draw a magic circle on the ground in front of him.

"Roar--"

The black dragon was furious. Its turbid eyes had turned frenzied. It tightened its wings, moved its limbs, and charged wildly toward the three of them with its mountain-like body.

A foul-smelling gale howled in, and the crazed black dragon opened its blood-red maw.

"It's now!"

Ludian raised his staff, and the magic circle in front of him suddenly lit up. Countless thorns rose from the ground and wrapped tightly around the black dragon's body like pythons.

As he accelerated his charge, his massive body suddenly leaned forward, tearing through more than a dozen thorns.

Alpha leaped high into the air, its body hanging upside down, its feet touching the ceiling of the underground world, and swooped down towards the black dragon.

The two swords were pressed tightly together, merging into a nearly two-meter-long blade that tore through the air and slammed down towards the black dragon's thick neck.

"Shh-"

Scales, bones, and muscles were cleanly severed, and warm dragon blood splattered onto Alpha's face. The black dragon was thus beheaded on the spot. (End of Chapter)