Chapter 516: Chapter 298: Inside, There is a Spirit (This Book has Reached 1,000,000 Words)_1
Being able to transform into the Dragon God but not Locke, both essentially involve the Ultimate Transformation Technique. What could cause this discrepancy?
Negris is at a loss. He can’t sense any fluctuations from the egg-shaped stone and can’t understand the situation Ange describes.
Upon leaving the Temple of Rest and returning to his body, Negris notices Brooks behaving strangely, highly focused and incredibly alert.
“What’s wrong?” Negris asks.
Brooks hesitates, then replies, “I sense something, but I don’t know what.”
This could be a severe problem. The Dragon Clan Chief, the God of Truth and Law, senses something but doesn’t know what it is. This means something was able to evade his perception, a truly terrifying prospect. Who could have such ability?
“When?” Negris grows alert.
“Just now, but it’s gone now,” Brooks explains.
Just now? Negris hesitates after calculating the time. Could it be due to the stone egg? Ange mentioned some fluctuations, could they have caused this?
Could fluctuations originating from within the Temple of Rest be felt even outside? If these fluctuations operate at the level of bloodlines, then it makes sense for them to be perceivable.
With that thought, Negris asks, “Was it only you who felt it? Maybe we should ask if others felt something as well.”
Brooks catches on, but before he could send out a bloodline call, the dragons’ bloodline calls reach him. Brooks listens carefully before stating, “It seems like all dragons and dragonkin felt it. What could this mean?”
After conjecturing for a moment, Brooks suddenly turns to look at Negris on his back.
Seeing Negris’s calm smile, Brooks asks in shock, “Is that really an egg? Has it hatched?”
Negris smiles mysteriously, “An egg? I didn’t see one. I merely took a stone.”
Despite Negris’s outright denial, Brooks attains sudden clarity. This discussion comes to a close. Regardless of who asks in the future, they will all say the same story, that it was merely a stone that was taken.
Upon landing on Crow Island, Brooks and Negris share a conspiratorial whisper and seem to reach an agreement.
Crow Island is a fat-ended, thin-waisted island with hundreds of square kilometers of densely forested and rugged terrain.
In the narrow bay at the center of the island, well-protected by the land on its flanks, safe from wind, highly secluded and with level ground, becomes the nest of the Black Night Raven, home to thousands of people.
However, the current settlements and farmland have been destroyed, leaving ragged, sallow-faced people scavenging for anything of value within the ruins.
In the water channel of the bay, a few Snake People bearing human torsos and snake tails surface onto the beach, spearfishing bounty in tow. “Dinner’s ready! We have a big catch today, a tuna, come now while it’s still fresh.”
Human survivors light up with smiles and flock over. Some bleed it, some cut it, some start a fire. For the young and weak who can’t eat it raw, grilling it would be better.
Leading the Snake People, who made a small pit on the sand that fills quickly with water where he coiled into to prevent drying out, asks, “What’s the situation? Has the Captain not returned yet?”
“Not yet,” a middle-aged human replies anxiously, “I don’t know if the voyage is going well, whether they’ll be able to buy food. If they don’t bring food back soon, people are going to starve to death on this island.”
The leading Snake Person looks embarrassed, “It’s too bad there are so few of us Snake People. We can’t catch enough fish. Otherwise, nobody would starve.”
The middle-aged human quickly shakes his head, “It’s not your fault. Don’t ever think that. You’ve been very dedicated lately. We humans wouldn’t get by with just eating fish. You’ve already helped us a lot. If it weren’t for the fish you’ve caught, many of us would have starved by now.”
“It’s necessary,” the Snake Person gives a matter-of-fact reply, “If it weren’t for Captain Black Crow rescuing us and allowing us to live here, we would have been captured and put on display ashore long ago. We’re like a big family.”
“Yes, we are a family. To say any different would be to put too much distance between us. If it comes to an irrevocable point, you need to prioritize yourselves. After all, you Snake People can live well in these seas. If we starve in the end, then it’s the will of the Dragon God,” the middle-aged man laughs sadly.
Just as he finished speaking, a roar echoes from the sky: “Bullshit! What does the Dragon God have to do with it! The Dragon God can’t be bothered with your lives!”
The middle-aged man, spotting the source of the roar, collapses in terror. A colossal golden figure plummets from the sky, eyes wide in rage, clearly the source of the roar.
This is the end, the man thinks. The giant dragon heard me bad-mouth the Dragon God. I’m a goner.
Just as it’s about to hit the ground, the giant golden dragon flaps its wings, whipping up a wild wind, blowing away all nearby humans and Snake People.
The middle-aged human stammers, “I… I apologize, Lord Dragon God. I… I was wrong. I shouldn’t have spoken ill of You. Please, punish me. It has nothing to do with the others.”
The golden giant dragon grumbles, “Our reputation (as dragons) has been ruined by such talk. The ‘will’ and ‘purpose’ of the Dragon God, what the hell does that have to do with us? The Dragon God is far from leisurely.”