Ashen Dragon

Chapter 65 Awakening (5)

Seeing the red dragon wantonly slaughtering, pressing step by step, Bennett finally made up his mind—this damned spell-hungry red dragon before him was unbeatable. He could only abandon his hard-recruited adventure group and leave this land of death.

"Damn it, I have to get out of here."

"Sorry, everyone, it's just... I'm still on the path to seeking the truth." Bennett found himself a grandiose excuse.

As a mage, he naturally had numerous means of escape.

Bennett took off the silver pendant hanging from his chest, on which was a delicate little door.

"Dimension Door."

While praying to the Goddess of Magic, he muttered silently.

The pendant glowed with a magical aura, and the space beside Bennett suddenly twisted and folded. Soon, a door-like spatial crack slowly emerged. On the other side of the crack was Victoria Port, his familiar and beloved home.

Bennett's face immediately lit up with joy, and he rushed toward the dimensional door.

"Great, finally, I can leave this damned place..."

However, before he finished speaking, the shadow of the red dragon's wings enveloped him. The spell nullification barrier surrounding the dragon ruthlessly smoothed out the nearby magic web. The spatial crack gradually healed and closed, the space stabilizing as if it had never fluctuated.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Uninvited guest."

The red dragon, looking down from above, scrutinized the mage with a particularly sinister look.

Bennett looked up at the red dragon, his hands holding the magic wand trembling slightly, cold sweat streaming down his forehead like free-flowing water, and a smile appeared more ugly than crying on his face.

His mage robe seemed to detect the danger, automatically casting a shield spell on him, but this did not increase his sense of security at all; instead, it brought about a strange awkwardness.

"I—I am right here, not going anywhere."

Bennett answered timidly.

"Why are you here?"

A hint of mockery glimmered in Cassius's golden eyes.

Half of this group had already been killed by him, and they were indeed the elite among adventurers. The majority of the team members were advanced professionals around the tenth level. If they had faced an ordinary young red dragon, they might have successfully slain it. Unfortunately, they encountered Cassius.

However, Cassius was not a genuine red dragon obsessed with killing. These adventurers kept coming, and even killing them all would be of no use. It was better to squeeze every bit of value out of them.

"I..."

Hearing the red dragon's words, Bennett was momentarily speechless.

He turned to look at the remaining team members beside him; they were also shivering, unable to speak.

One simply couldn't tell such a cruel, exceedingly proud red dragon that they were here to slay it! They would definitely be roasted to ashes or even swallowed alive.

Just as the air grew tense and the red dragon seemed to grow impatient,

a bard gathered his courage and stepped forward.

This bard, handsome in appearance, wore a green robe and carried an exquisite lute. However, at this moment, he looked somewhat haggard; his robe was tattered and scorched in places, obviously the result of the recent one-sided battle.

His name was Eugene, and he came to write the epic of dragon slayers.

Just when everyone, including the red dragon, thought the bard was about to deliver a passionate speech—

Eugene unhesitatingly knelt, tears welling up in his eyes, and shouted:

"Oh legendary Flame-winged Dragon King, your claws can shred all enemies, your flame can scorch all things in this world, your strength is enough to make the gods tremble! We followed your footsteps here to behold your true form but recklessly intruded upon your domain..."

"This is truly a desecration! They have already paid for their recklessness with death, and we, the remaining insignificant beings, are willing to become your eternal servants, by your side always. To witness your grand body, even death is worth it."

"This, this..."

This series of flattering words left everyone present dumbfounded, but they had no choice but to follow suit and kneel, pleading for the red dragon's forgiveness.

"Damn, he's quite a talent."

Cassius silently remarked, listening to the bard's rhythmic and melodious boot-licking.

The red dragon exhaled sulfurous hot breath, making everyone's eyes water, but none dared to move an inch.

"You speak well."

Kneeling on the ground, Eugene breathed a sigh of relief.

He slightly raised his head, noting that the red dragon's expression seemed to soften a bit, secretly rejoicing: "It's true, all giant dragons are incredibly vain. Thank the gods, this information was accurate!"

As everyone thought they might be forgiven and began to feel fortunate, Dolores led the goblin corps, encircling them tightly.

"It just lacked a bit of earnest emotion."

Cassius was not a simple-minded monster and would not be fooled by such shoddy lies. He merely found the flattery somewhat amusing.

"Take them all to the dungeon."

Red dragon casually instructed.

"Yes, master."

Dolores respectfully obeyed, commanding the burly dragon vein goblins to roughly haul away the kneeling adventurers.

Under the red dragon's watchful eyes, no one dared to resist, knowing well the consequence—that the corpses of their fallen comrades were still warm.

The ogre mage Ramp arrived late, flying clumsily through the air before landing with a bang—it seemed he was still not proficient in flight magic.

However, Ramp was brimming with excitement, his face full of joy from the harvest: "Master, see, I knew these adventurers would hide here. Haha, this huge rock appears to be natural, but actually, I placed it here deliberately. It is the only place nearby where you can spy on Rock Fortress."

He pointed to the runes and said.

"Whenever these adventurers hide here, they trigger my guardian inscriptions first, getting beaten half to death, then setting off my alert technique in succession. When they try to escape through the back passage, they encounter an automatically triggered web spell trap inside, and then the boulders would come rolling down. Pity they didn't trigger it this time."

Ramp's tone carried a hint of disappointment.

Cassius's mouth twitched slightly, momentarily speechless.

Ramp then asked: "Master, what will you do with these adventurers?"

"Strip the mage of his spell equipment, especially that Dimension Door necklace. Then drain every spell from his mind. After that, whether he lives or dies is irrelevant; he could be converted into a dragonborn to serve you or killed to avoid any future troubles."

"As for the rest, kill half and let the other half escape, but make sure they believe they escaped through their own strength."

"As for that bard..."

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Cassius's face revealed a playful smile.

"Make him a scribe, have him write some PR articles for us. Assign someone to check his progress; he can't rest until he's written at least twelve thousand words a day, even if he has to rely on mental stimulant elixirs to keep going."

"Yes, master."

Ramp couldn't help but admire his master for being so adept at tormenting people.