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*****
"Follow my Lord!"
Although Winnie was a little confused about what I did to them, out of trust, she didn't ask.
After a while, Mistress Elise and Maya came over together.
I glanced at the two drow, my curiosity piqued by their unusual demeanor. Today, something was off. Their outfits were far more daring than usual—tight black dresses that left little to the imagination, revealing more than they concealed. It reminded me of certain provocative streamers from my previous life...
But what caught my attention even more was the palpable tension between them. The air around them crackled with the unmistakable scent of rivalry, the kind that made it clear they couldn't stand each other.
I didn't care; they could do whatever they wanted, as long as it didn't affect my grand feast.
Soon, I also tied the soul chains to the two drow elves, who looked at me with puzzled expressions.
There were four soul chains in total. I felt that this was far from my limit.
But now, there were not too many subordinates who needed to be tied to my soul chains.
After all, in my view, my spiritual chain was not a cabbage.
Only the subordinates I valued more were eligible to receive it.
Forget about other tricks.
---
"Master, the Death Canyon is ahead!"
After adjusting for a day, I asked the drow mistress, Elise, to take me to Death Valley.
This canyon was very large, and the cliffs on both sides were hundreds of meters high. It seemed that a lot of effort had been spent in opening it.
"There was no name here before, but after the death knights occupied it, we called it Death Canyon," Elise said solemnly, looking at the black misty canyon in the distance.
I took Winnie with me this time.
They also brought along almost a hundred drow warriors and several drow mages.
It looked well-prepared.
"Master Barbatos, let me check the situation first," Winnie suggested.
She found that her talents seemed to be more powerful in the underground world.
There was a feeling of being at home, as if she belonged here...
"Winnie, you and Maya stay here!"
I looked at Winnie next to me and said, it would be more reassuring to position two observers at the entrance of the canyon first.
Then, I led Elise and the drow warriors toward the canyon.
I flew straight up.
Although the death knight was powerful, I wasn't a pushover either.
Visibility was only about 80 meters.
The black mist hung in the air, thick and ominous, cloaking everything around me in an eerie shroud. My vision could only cut through about eighty meters of it. It was a strange limitation, almost nostalgic—a reminder of the days when my sight was as limited as any mortal's. But this mist was no ordinary obscuration; it held something I couldn't easily pierce, as though it defied even the formidable eyesight of a true dragon.
One must know that the eyesight of a true dragon is beyond that of ordinary mortals.
Dragons' eyes are unique. The eye is actually hidden inside the skull of the dragon, so what one actually sees is merely a very small part. This is why, to a normal viewer, the whole eye appears to be just one enormous iris with a large vertical pupil.
The whites of a dragon's eye are typically hidden deep inside the skull, forming a range of colors from red to orange to yellow, rarely showing as white. And if they do, it's typically more like a silver.
In any case, the vertical eye slit of the dragon allows it to open extremely wide and emit far more light than a human eye could ever. If one were to stand on a dragon's snout and peer into its eyes, they would see something fascinating.
There are actually two eyes within one eyeball. A dragon has two irises and two pupils. The second pair is hidden behind the first, and the dragon can rotate the inner pupil 90 degrees to align it with the other pupil in different ways.
This is why dragons have supernatural depth perception, allowing them to cast spells with perfect precision. It also grants them excellent focus in extremely low-light conditions. Fortunately for the dragon—and unfortunately for its victim—the capabilities don't end there.
The creature also boasts an extra lens inside its eye, which, combined with its outer lens, allows the dragon to magnify distant objects like a digital zoom on a sniper scope. And we're not done yet; the retina has a secondary layer called the tapetum lucidum. When light hits the retina, it bounces off this layer, so a dragon literally sees light twice—once on the retina and again on the tapetum.
This is why dragons possess tremendous low-light vision and dark vision, seeing even in extreme darkness. Light bounces multiple times inside the dragon's eye, making it glow in the dark. A dragon can even control its eye glow with a set of transparent eyelids.
The innermost one is crystal clear, allowing the dragon to see while it's closed. This is useful during flight, swimming, or burrowing, as it shields the dragon's eyes from debris. The dragon can also close these transparent lids in battle, giving them extra protection. Each eyelid is as strong as the dragon's scales. These other lids reduce brightness from flashes, protect against extreme light, and clean the inner lids.
In any case, a dragon can see perfectly even with all three transparent layers closed. Eyes are one of the most fascinating aspects of dragons. But now is not the time to dwell on such things; focus on the task at hand.
I watched from midair as Elise, the mistress of the drows, led the drow warriors into the canyon.
Then, I flew in as well.
I was only seventy to eighty meters above the drow elves.
From high in the air, I switched focus to Elise's perspective on the ground.
I noticed that I couldn't see myself clearly from her vantage point.
Elise herself seemed perplexed.
It stands to reason that as a drow elf, she was born with the ability to see in the dark. Their dark vision is even better than that of other elves.
She shouldn't be able to see past this black mist!
"Everyone, be careful! Stay on guard!" Elise ordered.
She felt some regret for following that black dragon here.
Kacha Kacha~
Through Elise's enhanced hearing, I heard some strange sounds.
Intermittent grunts and groans echoed through the darkness, and a figure with stumped legs and swollen arms stumbled into view.
"Zombies!"
Elise recognized the creature; it was a drow-turned-zombie.
Immediately after, countless undead monsters rushed out of the black mist.
Skeleton warriors with bone knives and spears charged, followed by a few low-level creatures like ghouls.
"Attack!" Elise ordered.
They were only skeletons and ghouls, but Elise had many drow warriors on her side.
Shhhhh~
The drow warriors began to counterattack with bows and arrows.
As elves, archery was second nature to them.
The drow's accuracy was impressive, and they aimed for the heads of the undead.
For these creatures, only the soul fire in the skull mattered; other areas were irrelevant.
The skeleton warriors fell one by one.
But more zombies and skeleton warriors kept coming.
Yet, twenty meters in front of the drow warriors was like a no-go zone for the undead.
Zombies and ghouls couldn't break through the defense line.
Drow mages protected the area with spells.
Even if a stray creature broke through, Elise would deal with it herself.
Elise looked at the dark mist, suspecting things wouldn't be this simple.
Soon, skeleton warriors on skeletal horses charged over.
They were fast, catching the drow fighters off guard.
I watched the battle unfold from above.
Currently, the drow elves had the upper hand.
These zombies and skeleton warriors were numerous.
But they lacked any trace of thought, simply charging forward and dying.
Just as Elise corroded several skeleton knights with her spider web technique, a faint voice echoed from the darkness.
All the undead creatures began to retreat, like the tide receding.
After a while, only bones and remains littered the ground.
Step, step, step.
A knight emerged from the darkness, riding a burning nightmare mount.
He was clad in blue-black armor, his helmet concealing his face except for the eerie blue fire in his eyes. He wore a silver cape inscribed with runes.
He stood over four meters tall, and the nightmare beneath him was six to seven meters long and over three meters tall.
The nightmare's hooves, mane, tail, and nostrils glowed with green flames.
It looked imposing.
I watched with satisfaction; such a mount was truly majestic.
When I examined the death knight through my dual perspectives, he looked up.
We locked eyes.
The death knight had noticed me.
But strangely, he only glanced at me before focusing his attention on Elise.
It seemed the elf mistress was more enticing than the massive black dragon in the sky.
"Elf... die," the death knight muttered.
He drew a burning blade over three meters long.
The nightmare's fiery eyes brightened, and he flew to Elise's side almost instantly.
The death knight's greatsword slashed at her.
Elise barely dodged the blow that could have cut her in half.
She was stunned.
When the death knight looked up, she assumed he would engage the dragon in the sky.
But she hadn't expected him to try to kill her directly.
It seemed he harbored some deep-seated hatred.
But they were meeting for the first time!
Why was that?
"Spider web technique!"
A massive web shot towards the death knight.
But he sliced through it with a single swing.
The web's poison had no effect on him.
Furthermore, the death knight swiped three black and red hellfire balls with one hand and flew toward Elise.
At the same time, Nightmare sat down and roared.
The figure of the death knight appeared behind Elise.
"Great master, save me!" Elise shouted hastily.
I, who was in the sky, knew that this gal Elise should have some escape cards.
But it doesn't matter; since the real master has appeared, let's try the level!
I folded my wings and dived toward the death knight.
The moment the death knight charged, it bumped into me.
But the death knight reacted quickly. He sat down and avoided my attack with a single move of Nightmare's hooves.
Elise finally breathed a sigh of relief.
This death knight put too much pressure on her.
And this guy is vaguely restraining the drow elves.
After all, many of the drow's attacks rely on webs, toxins, poisons, and the like.
But you can't expect a powerful undead to be poisoned to death, can you?
Especially not such a powerful death knight.
This guy is basically immune to any poison, most types of damage, and more.
She felt that if the black dragon didn't come, she might really confess here.
"Dragon... I... don't want... to be an enemy! The target... is the elves!"
The death knight looked at my huge figure and said slowly.
The green undead flames in his eyes kept flickering.
"I don't want to be your enemy either!"
"I think we can be friends!" I said, staring at the death knight in front of me.
"Friend?" the death knight repeated in doubt.
I knew through telepathy that this guy was really confused.
"Yes, we are friends!"
"You're lying to me!!!"
The death knight suddenly became enraged.
The nightmare he sat upon felt his master's emotions.
With a hiss, his limbs were surrounded by flames, and he stepped into the air, appearing beside me at an extremely fast speed.
Bang
He is a little confused; this is crazy! I caught the opponent's giant sword with one paw.
The death knight froze for a moment. He didn't expect that his inevitable blow would be blocked so easily, especially with its effects.
A red light flickered in my eyes as I felt the force behind the strike. This guy's strength was formidable, far greater than I'd anticipated.
It was only with the strength nearing that of an 18th-order dragon—not any creature but a dragon, fueled by the blessings of The Void Feast—that I managed to take the blow with ease. Without that overwhelming strength, it might have been a different story.
It would definitely not be easy for even Mother; I compared the combat power of the Black Dragon Lady at that time.
This death knight should be exactly the same as the Black Dragon Lady!
And the death knight didn't care that his attack was easily blocked.
A faint blue flame emanating from his left hand formed a giant blue sword more than four meters long.
This is exactly the spells and skills he mastered when he was a paladin.
{Fourth Tier: Elemental Weapons!}
{Blazing Cut!} (Skill of the paladin)
Immediately, several blue flames slashed at me.
When I wanted to avoid it, I suddenly felt that these blue flames followed me as if they had eyes.
{Fifth Tier: Forced Confrontation!}
This is a basic spell of the paladin. Under the blessing of this spell, the opponent must confront his spells.
This spell was used to the extreme by the death knight.
On the other side, the death knight had a thought, and the Nightmare he was sitting on moved slightly with four hooves and ran to me.
He threw the huge elemental sword of the death knight toward me.
I stopped in mid-air; this guy's tricks really came out endlessly.
Roar {Wild Scream}
I let out a deafening dragon roar.
The sound of wild magic waves spread along with the roar of the dragon.
The black mist beside me surged, and the elemental giant sword in the death knight's hand flickered a few times before it turned into a blue flame and disappeared in his hand.
I forcibly received these blazing slashes.
My body is highly resistant to fire.
The blazing flames emitted bursts of faint blue light on my body.
Quickly!
The black mist dissipated, and there were no scars on my black golden dragon scales except for some corroded marks.
"My friend, I let you attack first many times; now it's my turn!" I said in a nonsense tone even though I was spouting bullshit.
Immediately, the atomic furnace in my body began to run at extremely high speed.
The golden silk thread on my body began to emit a dazzling light.
There were also red lines on the dragon horns above my head that emitted red light.
Swiss
I breathed a blue lightning breath at the death knight.
Prickly
The blue electric snake struck him, and the death knight looked at his body.
The surface of his body continued to crackle, and the Nightmare under him roared uneasily.
It doesn't feel good either.
The death knight opened his hands, and the black mist beside him began to gather toward him.
It's like being in a black storm.
"Annihilation Wave!"
A black energy radiated toward me.
Immediately, the lightning breath penetrated directly, and I tilted my head.
The Annihilation Wave cut off a piece of the mountain wall behind me silently.
Come again!
I stopped my Lightning Breath.
Immediately, a golden energy beam hit the death knight at an extremely fast speed.
This is exactly the combination of lightning breath and heat ray breath.
At this moment, the death knight felt that his body seemed to be melting slowly!
"I'm already dead. Will I die again?"
At this time, the black mist on the side scrambled to block the attack for the death knight.
The remaining black mist kept pouring into the death knight's body, trying to repair his body.
Suddenly, a strong sense of sadness enveloped the death knight.
At this time, in this state, my various attributes had been astonishingly improved.
A sudden rush of telepathic energy connected me to the death knight's mind, sensing the intense, twisted emotions that lingered beneath his cold, undead exterior. I tapped deeper into his thoughts, trying to grasp the full extent of the darkness that consumed him. The instant my mind made contact, a violent jolt surged through me.
Bang—
The world around me warped and twisted, pulling me into a vision. I found myself in a realm bathed in golden light, and within this ethereal glow, fragments of a tragic life began to play before me—a prince, a hero once destined for greatness, named Soest.
He had been a powerful paladin, revered not only for his strength and valor but for his potential to ascend into legend. His golden armor gleamed brighter than the stars, a champion of justice, and he bore the weight of his royal lineage as the prince of a mighty kingdom. Women adored him, men aspired to be like him, and kingdoms looked to him as the future of his people.
But all this crumbled the day he met her—Isolde, a beautiful elven maiden. It was supposed to be a simple journey, a fleeting adventure before he ascended the throne. Yet, when he rescued her from a horde of savage ogres in the ancient woods, something changed within him. The prince was consumed by love, a love so intense it blinded him to the consequences of his actions.
He traveled with Isolde, their bond growing stronger with each passing day. What she did not know, however, was that Soest already had a wife—a princess from a neighboring kingdom, bound to him by political marriage. Their union was to secure peace between their kingdoms. But now, in the presence of Isolde, his heart burned with a darker fire.
Soest made a choice, one that sealed his fate. He ordered his most trusted soldier to murder his wife, to erase her from his life like she was nothing but an obstacle in his path of love. The soldier, loyal to his prince, carried out the vile deed, ensuring that the royal blood spilled into the cold earth. But secrets have a way of revealing themselves, and this treachery came to light.
The soldier, consumed by guilt and disgust, sought out Isolde. He told her everything—who Soest truly was, the prince's cruel betrayal, and the innocent blood spilled at his command. Horrified, Isolde fled, vanishing into the wilderness with the same soldier Soest had trusted to carry out his heinous crime.
Devastated and betrayed, Soest set out to find her, madness creeping into his mind. But as he scoured the land in search of Isolde, tragedy struck. His former wife's father, the king of a neighboring kingdom, learned of his daughter's murder.
He sought justice for his daughter.
Originally, the strength of Soest's kingdom was to surpass that of the other party.
But because Soest did this kind of thing, a third party got involved.
Another kingdom on the mainland and the princess's father joined forces, and they decided to carve up Soest's country.
Blinded by vengeance, the king rallied his armies and invaded Soest's homeland. But it didn't end there—another kingdom, smelling blood, joined the fray, eager to seize land and power.
Soest's kingdom fell in less than a month. The capital was razed to the ground, and the royal family was brutally butchered. His father, the king, was slain in battle, and his mother, sisters, and all the relatives he knew were raped and slaughtered before the invaders set the palace ablaze, leaving nothing but ashes in their wake.
When Soest finally returned, he found nothing but ruins. His kingdom destroyed, his family dead. In his mind, only one thought remained: Isolde. Driven by insanity, his once holy power began to corrupt fully, warping his very soul. His quest for vengeance knew no bounds as he stormed the halls of the enemy's castle, tearing through their ranks with the fury of a man possessed. His divine light twisted into something far darker—holy power now tainted by the blackened rage festering within him.
Months later, he found her—Isolde, hidden away in a quiet corner of the world, sharing her life with the very soldier who had once served him loyally in Soest. Yet his arrival could not have been more ill-timed. From the shadows, he watched as they lay entangled in each other's arms somewhere very private sharing a very intimate moment, and at that moment, his heart, irrevocably within him, withered and died.
But the final, devastating blow came when his gaze fell upon a small, half-elven girl playing outside—their child of nearly four years, a living symbol of the life she had chosen without him. It was this innocent face, a blend of her mother's beauty and her father's strength, that shattered the last remnant of the prince's heart, as he couldn't differentiate the features of the little girl.
*****
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