Within the deep lair.
Ore containing Mana and a large quantity of Magic Items were piled up like a small mountain, casually placed in the corner of the cave.
A faint, colorful Mana glow.
Emanated from this pile of treasures, adding a touch of intangible brightness to the pitch-black, deep cave.
A black shadow, illuminated by the glow of this treasure pile, was cast on the cave ceiling, wriggling imperceptibly like a living thing!
Hoo... Shoo—
The sound of long, drawn-out breaths could be heard.
The shadow and the sound of breathing came from the colossal figure coiled at the center of the cave, merged with the darkness. Although its shadow was cast, this colossal figure seemed non-existent, completely integrated with the cave's darkness. All light that entered this area was instantly swallowed and disappeared, like a black hole!
Suddenly!
The figure slumbering in the darkness slightly opened its eyes, revealing slit-like amber vertical pupils, and gazed at the piled-up treasures.
A fleeting look of satisfaction and laziness flashed in its eyes.
The pitch-black, colossal figure shifted a few times in the darkness, seemingly adjusting to a comfortable lying posture.
These treasures were its spoils from over 300 years.
The majority of these treasures were contributed by a controlling organization called the [Abyss Body].
Dragons have a natural fondness and desire to collect treasures and Magic Items. Even with its restrained nature, it had unknowingly collected quite a lot.
This cave was its current base, entirely excavated by itself, bit by bit. Although it took considerable effort, its safety was extremely high!
This was because the entire underground cave had no additional magical enchantments. The obsidian vein above served to mask Mana and life fluctuations, forming a second natural barrier!
To discover this underground cave?
There was no possibility, even by stumbling upon it, because this underground cave had no entrance or exit.
To reach here, one could only do so through teleportation-type means.
As a base!
It was naturally unqualified. Describing it as "crude" would not be an exaggeration. If any other True Dragon Lord came here, they would likely mock it.
"Hoo~"
The mysterious True Dragon Lord exhaled a puff of black air from its nostrils, squinting as it admired the small mountain emitting magical light in the distance.
This was considered one of its few current pleasures.
Mockery?
It wouldn't care about such face-saving that offered no benefit.
As the saying goes, "learn from one's mistakes." If a base was built too luxuriously or conspicuously, it would only attract unnecessary trouble.
As the most powerful race in the entire world!
It shouldn't have to care about the attention of any other inferior races, those who grovel at its feet and don't even qualify to lick its fingernails.
Fear, trouble, attention!
These were things that inferior races needed to worry about.
But—!
This world had been tainted by corruption.
The mysterious True Dragon Lord's squinted eyes changed slightly as it thought of this, a fierce, deep malice flashing in its amber vertical pupils.
Its entire body seemed to feel an agonizing pain, the cold sensation of "death"!
This was naturally not its true base!
Even though its anger was difficult to contain and its pride refused to admit it, it had to face reality: it was forced to hide here.
Its true base had been destroyed!
And the culprit behind all of this was the evil Preya.
It was a sudden encounter three hundred years ago, when the evil Preya suddenly appeared near its base.
Arrogantly claiming it wanted to turn it into a pet or a mount!
What an ignorant fool!
That battle left it severely injured, even to the point of near death, but—
It had won!
It had torn the other party to shreds, turning them into mere remnants and nutrients for its stomach.
The mysterious True Dragon Lord slightly curled its lips, revealing a flash of sharp, white teeth, and let out a low, wicked laugh of satisfaction.
Of course, its gains were also immense.
The mysterious True Dragon Lord knew that there was a considerable amount of luck involved in its victory. The evil Preya must have mistaken it for an ordinary Dragon Lord and was unaware of the information regarding True Dragon Lords.
This led to a series of misjudgments, affecting the final balance!
Over 300 years passed.
Its near-fatal injuries had completely healed, and it had even absorbed the experience, silently planning countermeasures and preparations.
That Juayirim fellow had given it a good idea!
A complex thought flashed through the mysterious Dragon Lord's mind as it recalled that freak who abandoned their great dragon identity to become an undead.
It was all the fault of the evil Preya!
They were the world's filth and the enemy of all Dragon Lords.
Its amber vertical pupils closed.
In the deep, dark cavern, only the faint, long, drawn-out sound of breathing occasionally echoed. After an unknown amount of time.
"I've grown complacent," the mysterious True Dragon Lord reopened its eyes, a flicker of displeasure in its gaze.
If it remembered correctly.
It was time for the inner circle members of the Abyss Body to contribute their research and technology, yet they still hadn't appeared.
This was challenging its benevolence!
It was an honor for these insect-like undead to offer their technology and knowledge to the great True Dragon Lord.
Exploitation?
Wasn't that a given?
They should be grateful that it hadn't killed them.
Ever since the encounter 300 years ago, the mysterious True Dragon Lord had become extremely cautious. The Abyss Body, an undead organization that rarely interacted with the outside world and possessed value, was naturally brought under its control.
Swish!
A streak of red light suddenly flashed through the deep, dark cavern. In this environment, the red light was exceptionally glaring.
At that instant.
The mysterious Dragon Lord abruptly looked towards where the red light appeared, a chilling glint in its amber pupils.
"Alert!"
"The mark imprinted on Benjeri of the Abyss has been erased."
"Alert!"
"The mark imprinted on Glanz of the White Maiden has been erased."
"Alert!"
"The mark imprinted on Krunua of the Red-Eyed Lord has been erased."
"Alert!"
"..."
A mechanical voice, devoid of emotion, like the grinding of two stones, echoed within the dark cavern, accompanied by the flashing red light.
The sound wasn't loud.
But to the mysterious Dragon Lord's ears, it was incredibly grating.
Whoosh!
An almost tangible energy fluctuation erupted within the cavern, sweeping through the entire space like a gale. It left fine cracks on the surrounding solid obsidian walls.
"You're asking for death!"
The mysterious Dragon Lord opened its mouth and uttered two words in a chilling tone.
Its piercing amber eyes fixed on the source of the red light and the mechanical alert sound.
Although the cavern was dark.
Dragons possessed innate "night vision," so their sight was unaffected, allowing them to clearly see the object.
It was an object about a meter tall, resembling a crude humanoid in appearance, looking like a living human.
In reality.
It was an item, more precisely a Golem, an artificial creation that only accepted its master's commands and possessed no self-awareness or thought capabilities.
This "Golem" possessed special detection abilities and was a very valuable item!
Although the mysterious Dragon Lord had remained in the cavern and hadn't directly controlled the Abyss Body, it had accepted its control and commands.
This was due not only to its own immense power but also to the Golem's contribution. All inner circle members were, to a certain extent, monitored by this Golem!
Such a precious "Golem" was naturally not something it had created; it lacked the technology and ability. It was an unexpected acquisition.
Simply put.
It had found it; it was not an item captured from the evil Preya.
"Alert!"
"Nine marked personnel have all escaped surveillance. Do you wish to activate detection magic to determine their locations?"
The mechanical voice of the humanoid Golem echoed again, awaiting further instructions.
Anger flared in the eyes of the mysterious Dragon Lord. If only one or two members had escaped surveillance, it could be attributed to an accident.
But now!
This was clearly no accident. The Abyss Body had completely rebelled.
Facing this outcome, The mysterious Dragon Lord felt a sense of disbelief, coupled with an uncontrollable rage. However, these emotions were quickly replaced by deep vigilance.
It knew the strength of these Abyss Body insects very well. With their current power, they were no match for it.
These Undead were not foolish.
They understood the consequences of rebellion, which would only lead to their annihilation. Yet, they had still made this choice, which struck it as peculiar.
Thump!
A dull, heavy sound.
The mysterious Dragon Lord seemed to rise, though its entire form remained shrouded in dense darkness. Only its pupils, reflecting the magical light, emitted a chilling glint.
It had to make a decision quickly!
The Abyss Body held significant value, but if they rebelled, they had no reason to exist and must all be eliminated!
This was because these Abyss Body individuals knew its stronghold and some of its intelligence. It absolutely could not allow these Undead insects any possibility of leaking its information.
But—
The mysterious Dragon Lord could not currently ascertain why these insects dared to act this way, or if there were any means or countermeasures it was unaware of.
"Scan," the mysterious Dragon Lord commanded, swiftly making a judgment in its mind.
"Anti-detection initiated."
"Scan complete... No detection magic reactions detected."
Red light flickered within the humanoid Golem's eyes. Its magical fluctuations surged outward before dissipating, and it spoke in its mechanical tone.
Upon hearing this result, The mysterious Dragon Lord felt a sense of certainty. It concluded in its mind that the Abyss Body had likely not leaked the location of its stronghold.
Furthermore, the Abyss Body probably had no external support, or if it did, their strength was not considerable.
Otherwise!
Given the nature of those Undead insects, they would likely have directly led their allies to attack its stronghold, rather than choosing this current method of defection.
"Very good."
The mysterious Dragon Lord raised its proud head, revealing its gaping maw. "Mere insects, you will face a bitter price for such an ignorant decision!"
As it spoke, The mysterious Dragon Lord raised its arm and retrieved a gold coin from the darkness. It appeared to be slightly larger than normal currency.
A faint golden light emanated from it, Undeniably proving that this gold coin was a Magic Item.
Clink!
With a crisp sound, The coin was flipped into the air. The obverse and reverse sides spun back and forth, the faint golden light growing more intense.
On the coin's two sides, a crying face and a smiling face were depicted, giving it a somewhat comical appearance.
With a clack, The coin landed on one of the mysterious True Dragon Lord's finger bones, showing the smiling face.
"Activate detection magic."
Seeing the result of the coin flip, the mysterious Dragon Lord immediately issued the command to the humanoid Golem.
This gold coin was a Magic Item called the "Prank Coin," one of the items acquired from that wicked Preya.
It possessed divination capabilities.
Although its divination range was somewhat vague, it was a relatively useful Magic Item. If it could be combined with a profession that had divination abilities, it might be able to display more precise effects.
Unfortunately, The mysterious Dragon Lord had not encountered anyone with such professional abilities, rendering the item's true potential unrealized.
However, it was not entirely unusable.
What it had just divined was the level of danger, and the result was a "smiling face," indicating that the danger was not high.
"Instruction accepted."
The humanoid Golem's eyes glowed with an intense red light, and a mechanical voice spoke:
"Fifth Tier Magic—Clairvoyance!"
Invisible Mana spread out.
After a short while, the humanoid Golem seemed to have determined the location. It raised its arm, aiming at the Mysterious Dragon Lord's position, and spoke again:
"Fifth Tier Magic—Detection Link!"
A slightly blurry image appeared in the Mysterious True Dragon Lord's vision. It let out a disdainful snort:
"Filthy power."
"Mid-Tier Origin: World Shift!"
—Shua!
The Mysterious Dragon Lord flickered and vanished. The dense darkness disappeared like steam in an instant, and the deep cave became calm once more.
Only in the humanoid Golem's eyes did a faint red light still emanate, before gradually beginning to fade.
With a "crunch."
The humanoid Golem, which should have possessed no intelligence or self-awareness, suddenly twisted its neck, the sound of corroded metal plates grinding together echoing.
It quietly gazed at the spot where the Mysterious Dragon Lord had disappeared.
"Report intelligence."
The humanoid Golem emitted a faint low hum, then the red light in its eyes completely vanished.
—Bottom of Finlia Valley.
This was a desolate hilly area. It was not only remote, being close to the distant sea, but even the number of living creatures was scarce.
This was because, just like the Imperia Kingdom, this area was also part of the territory of a kingdom that had been destroyed over 200 years ago.
However, the Undead here had long since disappeared with the passage of time, leaving behind only land corrupted by negative energy, unable to grow any living things.
Yet, at this very moment!
The originally silent area was filled with a dense number of Undead monsters. In the sky, more than a dozen rare Bone Dragons even circled.
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