Imperial Crown.

Chapter 143 Bone Dragon Gregory
The sharp claws on the bone dragon's limbs were nailed into the city wall. Its back was tall, its head was lowered, and its mouth like an ancient giant crocodile opened wide, and the dead white dragon's breath roared out like a thick cloud!

More than a dozen defenders on the city wall were frightened by the dragon's might. They stood there trembling. Under the impact of the dragon's breath, their armor and weapons decayed and shattered. Their flesh seemed to have experienced the baptism of time, first becoming shriveled and wrinkled, and then turning to ashes. They didn't even have time to scream before they turned into charred bones.

They are lucky.

Because the dragon's breath did not stop, the blazing white flames rushed into the city wall, and large pieces of bricks broke and shattered, turning into dust. Every inch of the gap was filled with dragon's breath from the inside out, and it trembled and roared, then collapsed in all directions!

The debris stained with dragon's breath flew everywhere, and the power was even more ferocious than that of a catapult. As long as they were hit by a little bit, the defenders would have broken bones and blood spurted everywhere.

Unfortunately, these people were not fatally injured and could not die immediately, but the dragon's breath was like a cancer that would spread throughout the body once it touched them, corroding their skin, flesh, and even their souls. The screams were so miserable that even ghosts would have nightmares after hearing them.

call--

The bone dragon flapped its wings and soared into the air. A strong wind swept across the sky, raising a large cloud of dust.

Raven's heart was beating wildly, and he turned his horse around immediately: "Retreat——"

If we rush to the inner city at this time, we will be giving the Bone Dragon kills and achievements.

Sacrificing your life for the Slater family? You must be kidding!

In mid-air, the bone dragon turned its head, and looked at Raven and his group from its empty eye sockets.

The perspective of undead creatures is different from that of living people. What they see is not the appearance, but the life energy beneath the skin.

A few first-level creatures and one second-level creature are not worth Lord Gregory's energy.

The bone dragon named Gregory flapped its wings and patrolled the sky above the inner city.

The inner city, which is less than one-tenth the size of the outer city, is built on a hill. The city wall is nearly twice as high as the outer city. There is a vertical drop of nearly 20 meters from the top of the wall to the ground. Even if the entire army of undead gathered at the foot of the city, they would not be able to climb up.

The only access was a ramp in the southwest direction, which was large enough for five or six carriages to pass side by side. At the moment, it was filled with undead troops, but they were suppressed by the guards on the city wall and could not move forward at all.

You still have to rely on me, Lord Gregory!

He appeared here today in response to Sachseni's request to break down the gate of the inner city.

Flapping his wings, Gregory quickened his pace and rushed towards the city gate, but he was in a bad mood.

Although it has been more than half a year since it was revived, it still feels quite uncomfortable with this skeleton. Every time it flies from a high altitude, the feeling of the airflow blowing through the joints between its bones makes it very uncomfortable.

He wanted a flesh body, a majestic dragon body covered with muscles and scales, not just this dry body of bones!

He bet that no female dragon would like this body.

Even if he likes her, he doesn't have the tools to commit the crime now!
Ultimate Transfiguration, Wish, Advanced Shaping, these magics can all improve his current situation, but Gregory only remembers the names now and has forgotten how to use them.

Long ago, when he was alive... when he was alive...

The memory began to blur. Every time this happened, Gregory would become irritable, and today was no exception.

On the slope leading from the inner city to the lower city, skeleton soldiers were crowded together. Under the guidance of the Plague Colossus, they tried to break through the city gate, but their offensive was blocked by the defenders on the city wall.

Kerosene, crossbows, and magic bombarded each other like a noisy stage play, or like two groups of ants fighting for territory.

Gregory became more and more irritated. The dragon breath brewing in his chest condensed in his throat. He flapped his wings and swooped down, aiming at the inner city gate and dived violently!

The huge body brought with it wind pressure, and before the dragon arrived, the strong wind had already made the defenders on the city wall unstable. Combined with the looming dragon power, under the shadow, some defenders had already jumped off the city wall in panic.

Diving to the edge of the city wall, Gregory opened his huge mouth and gushed out a deadly white dragon breath!

At this moment, a knight in black armor suddenly leaped up six or seven meters high, holding a giant flaming sword in his hand. A fiery lavender flame was burning all over his body. Under the surging fighting spirit, the flame on the giant sword had turned purple!
Level 3 Flame Knight!

The giant sword swung in the air, and the lavender flame drew an arc of light, meeting the gushing dragon breath!
This is exactly the fighting skill that Fire Beard once used, the Flame Slash!

Now in the hands of the third-level Flame Knight, this fighting skill is even more powerful. The blazing purple fire is like a long sword, ready to split the dragon's breath in half!
However, the dragon's breath swallowed up the purple fire almost without stopping, washed over the third-level knight, blew out his protective flame, and imprinted the entire person on the city wall. When the dragon's breath swept past, only a black mark was left on the ground!

The dragon's breath was like a carving knife, piercing into the paper-thin city wall and then cutting it horizontally!
The dead white jet spread along the city wall. For a moment, no matter whether it was people on or off the city wall, living or dead, they were all swallowed up by the dragon's breath.

The terrifying impact force caused the bricks and stones on the city wall to collapse, and the earth began to tremble at this moment.

This dragon's breath lasted only more than ten seconds, but it wrapped the hundred-meter-long city wall in dead white, and then - it collapsed with a loud bang!
The defenders on the city wall were thrown away like stones, and the undead creatures under the wall were destroyed by the fire of their souls and turned into a pile of bones.

"hold head high--"

There was another roar. Looking at the destruction he had caused, Gregory's annoyance was not relieved at all. He just felt hungrier.

He drew an arc in the sky, flapped his wings, and suddenly grabbed a defender. The armor was shattered between his sharp teeth, and blood splattered everywhere, but he couldn't taste a single bit!

Empty and hungry.

This feeling filled Gregory's consciousness. He shook his head to get rid of the corpse, flapped his wings, landed in the army of undead, opened his mouth and bit off the head of a Plague Colossus, and violently absorbed its soul fire.

The green flames went into the skull through the nostrils and then overflowed from the cracks in the bones, without giving Gregory any benefit at all.

Gregory waved his limbs like crazy, sweeping his tail everywhere, and his huge body rushed left and right in the sea of ​​skeletons. No matter whether they were cannon fodder skeletons or first-level elites, or undead cavalry and plague colossi, they were all turned into broken bones. For a moment, various colors of soul fire bloomed on the high slope like fireworks.

This scene also stunned the defenders in the city.

Just when Gregory was going crazy and almost uncontrollable, he suddenly heard a voice: "Master Gregory!"

Gregory looked over and saw a living being with the power of the dead rising from its body approaching him. The voice was very familiar; it was the "Soul Saint" Parisil.

Just as he was about to pounce and absorb the pure power of death, Parisil suddenly raised an emblem high in both hands.

The emblem was the size of a plate, completely black, with a withered arm engraved in gold.

This is the emblem of the Death Hand Cult and one of the five holy relics of the Death Hand Cult.

The energy emitted from it temporarily calmed Gregory's restlessness, making him calm down. He made a gurgling sound in his throat: "Hungry..."

"Please take me with you." Parisil said, "I will fulfill your wish."

Gregory did not refuse.

Parisil took a deep breath, walked carefully to the bone dragon, climbed up along its huge front paws, and sat on the back of its neck.

The next moment, Gregory soared into the sky and flew towards the bone spire outside the city.

Parisil swallowed and looked back at the high slope behind her.

In just less than two minutes, the nearly 100-meter-long city wall on the high slope had collapsed completely, and no one knew how many casualties there were. The originally dense army of undead outside the city gate had dented a large area, and the ground was covered with broken bones.

For a moment, Parihil was very glad that the bone dragon was on her side.

When she turned around, a crow flew past in her peripheral vision, making Parihil feel dazed for a moment.

Should there be crows in this season?

When I wanted to pay attention again, the crow had disappeared.

Gregory flew all the way back to the Bone Tower and landed on the top of the tower. There were still many undead creatures guarding the tower. At this moment, affected by the increasingly powerful pressure, they all knelt down.

This is the instinctive obedience of lower-level undead creatures to their superiors.

"Let's start, don't make me wait too long!" said Gregory.

The voice was hollow but full of majesty. Parisil nodded slightly, held the holy emblem in both hands, and recited the prayer in a low voice.

The bone spire began to vibrate, and the aura of death rose, enveloping Gregory.

This made Gregory feel as relaxed as soaking in a hot spring, but it was just a drop in the bucket for the hunger that filled his chest. It was like feeding grains of wheat to a starving person, which only made him feel more unbearable. "Not enough--"

Gregory shook his body irritably.

Parisil trembled: "Please wait a moment."

As she spoke, the necromancy power in her body poured into her hands, wrapping the holy emblem. As she chanted a strange spell, bits of silver light floated out from it. All of a sudden, all kinds of screams and cries were heard, and there were gusts of cold wind, as if one had arrived at the bank of the River Styx.

These are souls, souls collected in this war.

These souls flowed into Gregory's nostrils and penetrated into his skull, calming the restless soul fire in his eyes and finally giving him a sense of satisfaction.

His body slowly relaxed, and Gregory's huge form perched on the top of the tower, falling into a deep sleep.

There was worry in Parisil's eyes.

On the one hand, the bone dragon's combat power is extremely strong, but the resources it consumes are also enormous. Just in this moment, it has devoured more than 600 souls, which is a considerable hidden danger for the Holy Church.

On the other hand...

How should I go down!?
At the same time, in the Silver Hand Brotherhood headquarters in the old town of Mon'en City, Margaret also told Raven about what the bone dragon had done before.

"My Lord Baron, I think this is a good opportunity." Margaret said seriously, "I can help you subdue the bone dragon! Once this legendary creature is controlled, the entire Nord Province will have to act according to your wishes from now on!"

Raven was noncommittal: "Can you really tame the bone dragon? You can't even deal with me."

Margaret said: "That's different. The curse in your body, Baron, is too powerful. I can't fight it."

"But this skull dragon is different. He is a dead creature, born from a powerful necromancy spell, but it is beyond the control of his master. It is better to say that he is now in a helpless partnership with the Hand of Death rather than serving it."

"Oh?" Raven showed some interest: "Tell me about it."

Margaret said, "This skull dragon is called 'Gregory' by the Soul Saint Parisil of the Death Hand Cult. I have heard of this name before. It is indeed an adult dragon. Like all dragons, it is irritable, easily angered, lustful, and hedonistic. It was seriously injured in a war that lasted about 1,200 years, and has never appeared since."

“Many people thought he left the continent and went to the Land of Dragons, but they didn’t expect that he actually fell.”

"Even if an adult dragon of this type dies and is resurrected as a dead creature, even if its power is greatly reduced, its nature will never change. It will never condescend to a mere human."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Baron." Margaret apologized hastily, "To legendary creatures like dragons, most species on earth are just ants."

"And judging from his crazy behavior today, he is not controlled by any contract. The Death Hand Cult must have tried, but failed. With the soul strength of a legendary creature, it is not easy to enslave it."

Raven slowly digested Margaret's words and asked a question: "Since the Death Hand Cult that awakened it cannot control him, how can you do it?"

"It's not me, it's you." Margaret looked at Raven with bright eyes: "Undead creatures have their own undead plane suitable for survival, and if they want to stay in the material plane, although they don't need food and water, they still consume it."

"They consume the power of the dead, especially when the dead breath is not strong in the environment. The higher the level of the dead creature, the greater the consumption. For high-level creatures like bone dragons, even their souls will slowly dissipate, and the undead created like it does not have the instinct to directly absorb souls."

"And the Hand of Death obviously has the ability to make up for the consumption of the bone dragon." Raven said with a look of enlightenment: "So that's why you said that Gregory cooperated with the Hand of Death Cult out of helplessness."

Living things naturally have the instinct to survive. If Gregory is awakened, he will certainly avoid extinction.

"But what does this have to do with me?"

Margaret said: "Corrupted soul essence."

"I told you before that the essence of corrupted souls is extremely pure negative energy. It can fully meet the daily consumption of undead creatures and can even replenish Gregory's soul. This is a temptation he cannot refuse."

"The Hand of Death is only a minor nuisance to the Keynes Empire. Gregory is a highly intelligent creature who knows how to judge the situation. If it continues to cooperate with the Hand of Death Cult, it will only return to the grave once again."

"With the Corrupted Soul Essence as bait and your title and honor as a guarantee, I believe he will be able to clearly judge the situation."

Raven looked at Margaret with a scrutinizing gaze: "This is indeed a good idea."

"But..." Raven paused and asked, "If you betray me, wouldn't that be a huge loss?"

"No, Lord Baron, how could I betray you?" Margaret rubbed her hands: "Even the great God-Blood Witch Anno favors you, how could I have the courage to do that!"

Raven frowned slightly, tapping his fingers on the armrest, thinking about the pros and cons.

Judging from its performance today, the mental state of this bone dragon is really worrying. If it can be subdued as Margaret said, even if it is just moved away from the battlefield, it will be a good thing for Raven.

He has accumulated a lot of Corrupted Soul Essence now, and he can't use it for the time being, so it won't hurt to give some to Margaret.

Moreover, Margaret herself does not have the ability to extract the essence of corrupt souls. If she wants to keep controlling the bone dragon, she cannot do without herself.

Even if Margaret found some other way to appease the bone dragon, as long as she dared to appear around him, she would inevitably be under his control.

At that time, even if Margaret wanted to do something bad, it would never affect herself or the Eagle Territory.

Calculating it this way, the most that would be spent would be a few bottles of Corrupted Soul Essence and the loss of a witch.

The reward is likely to be a bone dragon.

Worth doing!
"I agree to your request." Raven nodded, and with a flick of his belt, three crystal bottles shining with purple-black light suddenly appeared on the table.

It is the essence of corrupted souls. Each bottle is extracted from sixty or seventy essences of corrupted souls.

Margaret's eyes sparkled as she took the three crystal bottles into her arms: "My Lord Baron, I will definitely not let you down!"

Raven nodded: "Go ahead."

Margaret left quietly, as if she had never been there.

At this time, Raven was not the only one who was secretly planning.

The news that the inner city had been breached quickly spread throughout the city of Mon'en, and the nobles began to become anxious.

A small number of people have a gambler-like mentality. Now is undoubtedly the weakest time for the Slater family. Whoever can go to the inner city at this time is simply sending water to travelers in the desert. The significance is unquestionable.

Most of them made up their minds to stay put and wait for the Fox family and the Church of Light to arrive together. Even if they get less credit by then, their lives will not be in danger.

Raven traveled between the villa and the military camp every day, and came into contact with both types of nobles. If someone asked for his advice, Raven would never reveal his position at all, and would just wear the badge on his chest.

If someone wanted to charge, he expressed his full support and assured them that he would never steal the credit; if someone wanted to stay, he also expressed his full support and assured them that he would never stand against the majority of the nobles just because of a medal and become a dog of the Slater family.

Time passed day by day, and soon it was late April.

In the first rainstorm of spring, the Governor of Nord Province, Montreal Shiva Fox, and Cardinal Thomas of the Church of Light, led their troops to the outskirts of Monen City.

Unlike the four temporary legions that were obviously a mob, the Fox family's army was neatly organized with flags flying. Montreal's bright red fourth-level enchanted plate armor "Molten Embers" was spewing flames, and even the defenders on the city wall could see it clearly.

Without stopping, the Fox family's army immediately launched a charge, led by Montreal.

With the help of Molten Embers, Montreal is like a comet, unstoppable.

With the help of the magic of the priests, the army's offensive was unstoppable. In just half a day, they broke into the gap in the city wall and split the undead army inside and outside the city into two parts.

Count Montreal did not advance rashly. After entering the city, he immediately set up camp to rest and sent out messengers to contact the inner city and the temporary legion's station.

By nightfall, the camp had taken shape and messengers had returned one after another, delivering their respective news.

"Are you sure that this letter was handed to you by Tyrone personally?" Montreal asked, staring at the messenger.

……

(End of this chapter)