Chapter Sixty-Four: The Frenzied Dragon

The incantation came to an end, and a massive meteor hurtled toward Blackstone City from afar.

“You’re mad, all of you are mad!” Hager could hardly believe they had actually cast such a spell, and conjured a meteor of such size.

“Heh, hand the girl over and let us retreat, or countless lives in Blackstone City will be lost because of you,” a deep voice laughed from beneath the mask.

Hager had no time to hesitate; even a moment’s delay would make it too late to alter the meteor’s path. He had thought taking a hostage would guarantee at least a stalemate, but now he could only relinquish his advantage.

“Hand her over,” Hager said in resignation.

If Matthew were here, perhaps he wouldn’t be in such a passive position today. Unfortunately, due to their quarrel over the shard of divinity, Matthew had not come with him this time.

The knights were reluctant, but they understood the gravity of the situation. With no other choice, they returned the white dragon-blooded girl to Shivana’s group.

The battle between Shivana and Hager thus came to an abrupt halt, with Shivana withdrawing to her fellow Dragon Cultists.

“Retreat.”

“Wait, the meteor…” Hager called out in alarm as he saw them begin to withdraw.

Fortunately, though the Dragon Cult was now an underground sect rather than an official organization, they still kept their word. The masked mage began another incantation, redirecting the meteor away from the city. Had Hager hesitated a few seconds longer, it would have been too late.

Another explosion sounded—the eastern wall was obliterated. Thankfully, it wasn’t the main gate, or many would have perished.

This magic was incredibly difficult to control; the meteor’s speed increased as it fell, allowing less and less time to react. Precision was nearly impossible—if the masked mage had dropped the meteor on the battlefield, not only would Shivana have died, but he himself as well.

Even now, the main reason to redirect the meteor was to avoid hitting their own people—after all, the original target had been the main auction hall.

“After them! Don’t let them escape!”

The only reason they had been threatened into this situation was because they were too passive, unable to stop the masked mage in time. Now that the mage had just expended so much power, and with Hager’s focus locked onto him, there would be no second escape.

Meanwhile, the other patrol teams within Blackstone City were rushing to the scene. Not a single member of the Dragon Cult would escape!

But what happened next made Hager curse aloud.

The masked mage pulled out a flute, and while running, blew into it. No sound was audible; the banshee bone flute’s frequency was beyond the range of human hearing, perceptible only to certain creatures.

Such as…the undead dragon lurking in the skies above.

The Dragon Cult was infamous for slaying dragons and turning them into undead. This particular undead dragon was the hatchling Shivana had previously helped slay alongside others—a reward the Dragon Cult had promised her.

Undead dragons came in many forms: bone dragons, ghost dragons, zombie dragons. Pressed for time, this hatchling had only become a zombie dragon. It was by riding this beast that the group had reached Blackstone City so quickly and set their plans in motion.

To avoid causing a panic, they hadn’t unleashed the zombie dragon until now, making it the perfect means for retreat.

Normally, the statue of the goddess before the Temple of Life would have detected such a massive, evil creature, but the goddess was currently indisposed, so no one noticed the undead dragon hidden in the clouds above the city.

In the mirror world, Chu Yun felt nothing but disdain for the Dragon Cultists. If Hager hadn’t reacted so quickly, the auction’s attendees would have suffered terrible casualties. If Chu Yun hadn’t left in time, he might have been killed before he could enter the mirror world.

Chu Yun decided to intervene—not only out of anger at their actions, but also out of curiosity about the masked mage’s spells.

The masked mage and his companions had stopped, the road ahead blocked by the knights, but the zombie dragon was descending rapidly. As long as the diehard cultists at the rear held off their pursuers a little longer, the core members would escape.

Activating his invisibility ring, Chu Yun slipped past the defensive line and positioned himself not far from the masked mage. There was no ideal spot for an ambush, but one must seize their own opportunities.

The zombie dragon crashed down, flattening a shop as it landed. The cultists scrambled up the debris and the beast’s scales to climb onto its back.

Hager, eyes blazing with fury, threw himself at Shivana—only to be driven back by a gout of dark green fire from the zombie dragon. The flames were laced with poison, and Hager’s current magical gear offered no protection against toxins, forcing him to retreat.

The masked mage sneered, preparing to step onto the extended claw of the zombie dragon—a privilege reserved for its true master.

Just as everyone thought the situation was settled and the villains would escape unscathed, a brilliant flash of lightning erupted from the ground.

Anticipating a possible battle when he left the auction hall, Chu Yun had pocketed several mirrors from the VIP corridor for later use.

As the zombie dragon extended its claw to retrieve the masked mage, Chu Yun swiftly produced a full-length mirror and tossed it beneath the dragon’s claw, then drew his thunderbone staff and began to chant.

This time, he invoked the Law of Distortion, elevating his lightning spell to the second tier.

Three bolts, far thicker than those of a first-tier spell, shot through the mirror in the reflection world, and, to the bewilderment of all, burst forth from the ground in reality.

The lightning missed the masked mage, but struck the massive claw.

The zombie dragon’s body was newly dead, its flesh and sinew still conducted electricity well.

The intense current surged from the claw into the mage’s body, but the mage’s protective gear absorbed the brunt of Chu Yun’s sneak attack.

The masked mage breathed a sigh of relief—yet Chu Yun only smiled. Suddenly, the dragon’s claw snapped shut, crushing both mage and protective barrier into pulp.

Most of the power from Chu Yun’s second-tier lightning spell had been absorbed by the dragon’s claw, causing it to convulse uncontrollably. While the mage’s magical defenses could withstand spells, they were useless against crushing force—especially with the shield destabilized by the lightning.

Without magical protection, the mage could not hope to withstand the dragon’s grip.

Worse still, with the mage dead, the zombie dragon was masterless—and now, in a frenzy, saw every living thing as an enemy.

A thunderous roar, filled with humiliation and rage, erupted from the dragon’s throat as it turned its head toward Shivana and her companions on its back, jaws open wide.