novelnext Chapter 454 - 376: The Deal with Modi Caesar and Rewarding Merits
Chapter 454 - 376: The Deal with Modi Caesar and Rewarding Merits
For the next few days, Raylo inspected the Pegasus Ranch and the Earth Dragon Breeding Farm.
According to Lady Martha’s report, since the Pegasus Ranch and Earth Dragon Breeding Farm were established, they had already bred over forty Pegasi and six Earth Dragons.
Some of these newly bred Pegasi and Earth Dragons had already been assigned to the Knight Order. The rest, still young, remained at the breeding farms.
Good news also came from Master Barnaby’s Alchemy Workshop. With the large supply of Wind God Winged Dragon Essence Blood from Raylo, the production of the Flying Dragon Bloodline Potion was on track. The first batch of ten potions was expected to be completed within a month.
In the foreseeable future, a squad of Flying Dragon Knights would soon be formed.
「Several days later, at dusk.」
「The edge of the Jade Swamp.」
The fiery clouds on the horizon dyed the swamp’s surface a viscous orange-red, like congealed blood.
On a plateau where the vibrant swamp met solid ground, a Bone Fortress stood starkly.
It was ghastly white from top to bottom, gleaming with a sinister cold light in the twilight.
The fortress was not made of rock or wood, but of bone.
Countless, densely packed white bones.
The thick leg bones of Giant Beasts formed its load-bearing pillars. Skulls were stacked into crenellations, and countless curved ribs interlocked to form bizarre, twisted domes and walls.
The remains of nearly ten thousand creatures had been forcibly fused by an invisible power, creating this fearsome Bone Fortress.
Raylo stood before the Fortress. Beside him, Storm Griffin King Baofeng appeared agitated, periodically shaking its iron-feathered head and letting out a suppressed growl.
An aura emanating from deep within the swamp made the beast restless and uneasy.
Recently, the Pegasus Knights on reconnaissance duty had sent back numerous reports about unusual activity in the Jade Swamp.
Astonishing tremors and magical fluctuations emanated from deep within the swamp. Hordes of Snake-men were traveling toward the swamp’s center to perform rites of worship. The Swamp Magical Beasts would periodically rampage, as if agitated by some High Tier entity.
Raylo already knew the source of the anomaly at the swamp’s center. He had ordered the Pegasus Knights to halt their deep reconnaissance of the Jade Swamp to avoid unnecessary casualties.
’If my calculations are correct, the Nine-headed Demon Serpent’s Thunderbolt Demon Head Avatar should emerge within the next day or two.’
Behind Raylo, Alex and Bolin stood silently with solemn expressions.
Farther away were more than two hundred Elite Knights.
Raylo had already arranged for Knights to escort the workers who built the Bone Fortress back to Black Stone Territory.
Only a detachment of elites remained to stand guard and handle any unforeseen incidents.
A figure shrouded in a wide, black cloak stood like a solidified shadow.
He had no aura of life about him, as if he were merely a hollow, human-shaped shell.
"The timing is just right, Count Black Stone."
His voice was dry and hoarse, like two tombstones grinding against each other.
"The quality of the bones... is not bad. Lord Modi Caesar will be satisfied."
His voice was devoid of any emotion.
This man was an emissary of the Necromancer, Modi Caesar.
Dealing with a Necromancer was tantamount to asking a tiger for its hide, but for the future of his territory, some risks were necessary.
The emissary said no more. He extended a pale, bloodless hand, palm up.
A pitch-black Ring on his finger flashed faintly, and a black wooden box materialized in his hand.
He handed the box to Raylo.
Raylo took it and opened the lid.
A pure, surging wave of energy washed over him.
Inside the box, lined with black velvet, were forty neatly arranged Crystal Bottles.
In ten of the bottles was a blue potion that swirled like a miniature storm; it was the Sky Knight’s Breakthrough Potion.
The other thirty bottles contained a viscous, earthy-yellow liquid like molten amber—the Earth Knight Potion.
These Potions were enough to give Black Stone Territory’s knightly forces a qualitative leap in power in a short time.
Raylo closed the box and put it into his Spatial Bag.
"The deal is complete."
The emissary’s hoarse voice sounded again.
"As agreed, Count Black Stone, there is no longer a need for you and your men to stay here. Please leave."
Clearly, the emissary did not want Black Stone Territory involved in what was to follow.
"Alex, Bolin, take the men and head back," Raylo ordered.
"Yes, milord!"
The two responded in unison before turning to issue the order to withdraw.
The Knights turned in neat formation and set off on their journey home.
Raylo vaulted onto Baofeng’s back. The Griffin King let out a clear, piercing cry. With a powerful beat of its wings that kicked up a gale, it launched into the air, spiraling toward the sky.
He didn’t depart immediately, instead following slowly from above the column of Knights.
On the ground, the column of Knights kicked up a trail of dust as they marched, gradually distancing themselves from the swamp.
After traveling several kilometers, Raylo subconsciously looked back.
From high above, his field of view was vast. He could clearly see the Bone Fortress standing starkly in the twilight.
A faint, guttural roar—neither human nor beast—seemed to well up from the very veins of the earth, carrying with it an ancient desolation and deathly stillness.
The entire Bone Fortress shuddered.
The countless bones making up the Fortress’s walls began to writhe, separate, and reorganize.
The skulls forming the crenellations swiveled, and faint blue points of Soul Fire ignited within their hollow eye sockets.
The leg bones of the Giant Beasts that served as pillars began to CRACKLE as they bent and warped, transforming into four massive, thick claws covered in Bone Spikes.
The Fortress’s foundation tore itself from the earth, pulling up chunks of soil and shattered rock.