Chapter 874

【 THE DESOLATE DRAGON ISLAND 】

Late February marked the end of winter. The world of Seigües had yet to welcome the spring breeze that would bring life back to all things, and the lingering cold had not yet subsided.

However, Dragon Island which is isolated from the mainland was different.

This enormous island, personally reshaped by Urinos, was blessed with divine power and possessed a unique climate similar to that of Dream Island, making its weather remained remarkably stable all throughout the year.

Of course, Dragon Island’s climate was quite complex, with vastly different conditions across its various regions. There were valleys where spring lasted all year round, freezing mountain peaks, humid swamps, and scorching lava pools…

All of this had been carefully designed with the living habits of different dragon species in mind.

Dragon Island naturally possessed its own extraordinary qualities, allowing thousands upon thousands of dragons to live here in peace and prosperity.

Of course, as the heart of Dragon Island, Dragon Valley was always its liveliest zone.

After leaving her cavern, Urinos arrived at the central basin of Dragon Valley.

However, when she looked around, she could not help but be slightly taken aback.

There was only one reason.

The basin was simply far too deserted today.

As the very heart of Dragon Island, Dragon Valley was home to a large number of dragons. Moreover, as the sacred site where the dragon race’s heritage was preserved, the central basin was also a place where dragons frequently gathered.

Especially after the elves introduced various games to Dragon Island, one could see dragons excitedly playing cards here every day. It had practically become a recreational center for the dragon race.

But today…

Not only were the dragons who usually played here nowhere to be seen, but even the few Legendary-rank dragons specifically assigned to guard this sacred site had also disappeared…

The entire basin was empty.

There was not even a single dragon in sight.

A cool breeze swept past, lifting a few fallen leaves and sending them spiraling through the air before they drifted past Urinos.

Standing in the wind, Urinos was momentarily at a loss.

—Wait.

Where had that bunch of lazy, gluttonous, stupid dragons gone to?

Suddenly, an excited dragon roar came from nearby, attracting her attention.

Urinos frowned and looked toward the source of the sound.

On the other side of the basin, a majestic red dragon emerged from the cave reserved exclusively for Dragon Island’s Great Elder.

The dragon carried an enormous, bulging pack on its back. Its face was full of excitement, and its thick tail swung back and forth behind it.

This was none other than the current Great Elder of Dragon Island, the Red Dragon King, Hertos.

“Hertos? What are you planning to do?”

Urinos called out to him.

The Red Dragon King clearly had not expected to hear the voice of his Ancestral Mother and after hearing it, his enormous body instinctively trembled slightly.

It was almost as if he had been caught doing something he should not have been doing red handed…

Hertos slowly turned around, concealing the hint of panic and embarrassment in his eyes. His bright red face quickly broke into a smile, and he lowered his head to bow respectfully to Urinos.

“M-Mother… why have you awakened?”

Urinos: “…”

“Am I not supposed to awaken at this time?”

Her expression darkened as she replied irritably.

“Uh…”

The Red Dragon King Hertos gave an awkward smile.

Urinos could not be bothered to argue with this fellow.

If she had to choose the most unreliable Great Elder in the past tens of thousands of years, the red dragon standing before her would undoubtedly be the one.

She had no idea how those little brats had managed to elect such a dim-witted fellow as their Great Elder over the past five hundred years.

“Where is everyone? Where have they all gone to?”

Urinos looked around and asked with some displeasure.

She had just sensed the situation on the island. At least seventy percent of the adult dragons were missing. Of the remaining thirty percent, some were underage and lacked the ability to leave, while others were Mythical-rank dragons still sleeping soundly in their nests.

As for the adults, almost all of them had slipped away.

Hearing the Ancestral Dragon’s question, the Red Dragon King’s expression stiffened.

He stammered, his gaze shifting uneasily.

“Uh… Well… I… I…”

“I don’t know!”

After saying that, Hertos actually hoisted his pack onto his back and turned to flee.

Urinos: “…”

She stared speechlessly at Hertos’s retreating figure and rolled her eyes. Then, she lightly tapped the ground with one foot.

A sharp earthen spike suddenly emerged from beneath the fleeing Red Dragon King and before Hertos could even react, it tripped him and sent him crashing to the ground.

The bulging pack on his back fell open, scattering a pile of glittering spatial storage equipment across the ground…

Among them, an amber marble that had clearly come from the Elven Forest even rolled right up to Urinos’s feet.

Hertos: “…”

Urinos: “…”

The two Mythical-rank dragons stared at each other.

“Hertos… What exactly are you trying to do? Are you moving away from Dragon Island? Don’t you know that, as the Great Elder responsible for managing Dragon Island, you are not allowed to leave the island at will?”

Urinos’s expression darkened completely.

“…Uh.”

The Red Dragon King’s expression became even more awkward.

He scratched his head, then gave a foolish grin and said:

“M-Mother, it’s just that I haven’t been out for a stroll in ages. I thought I’d take a little trip around the mainland for a bit…”

Hearing his explanation, Urinos’s expression darkened further.

She glanced at the Yu-Gi-Oh cards that Hertos had carefully tied around his neck, then casually picked up a spatial ring from the ground. Breaking through the divine power barrier protecting it, she dumped everything inside onto the ground.

Soon, a small mountain of dragon scales, both large and small, appeared before the two Mythical-rank dragons.

Most of them were red, but there were also quite a few of other colors.

Who knew how many years this Red Dragon King had spent collecting them?

“Why are you carrying so many dragon scales? Tell me the truth. Are you planning to go to the Elven Forest and participate in the war between the Church of Life and the Eternal Church?”

Urinos sighed and asked helplessly.

Upon hearing her words, the Red Dragon King’s eyes widened. His expression seemed to say, How did you know?

Urinos could not help but feel the urge to cover her face.

She was now more curious than ever about how those dragon brats had managed to elect this brainless fellow in the first place.

No, perhaps it was precisely because he was so brainless that they had chosen him.

Urinos sighed.

“The world of Seigües is about to face a major upheaval. As Mythical-rank dragons, none of you are permitted to leave the island without my permission.”

As she spoke, she glared at the enormous fellow before her, frustrated by his inability to understand reason.

“Especially you, the Great Elder of Dragon Island!”

Hertos shrank his neck and tucked his tail between his legs, looking just like a schoolchild being reprimanded.

“B-But… But everyone else has already gone…! Besides, Reinhardt said that you had told us that any dragon wishing to help the elves could freely participate in the war…”

He could not help muttering under his breath.

Urinos: “…”

She opened her mouth, then looked at the deserted Dragon Island and fell silent.

Now she finally understood why Reinhardt’s expression had been so peculiar before he left…

As it turned out, that fellow had already known that those lazy, gluttonous brats were planning to sneak away!

Even worse, despite knowing all of this, he had not told her directly!

Urinos was both exasperated and amused.

At the same time, however, she could understand Reinhardt’s actions.

The Platinum Dragon King Reinhardt was a friend of Evé.

When a friend was in trouble, it was only natural that he would want to help as much as possible.

With that thought, Urinos felt even more helpless.

More than seventy percent of the adult dragons on the entire island had mobilized at once.

This was no small number.

If not for the increase in magical power throughout the world of Seigües, this force alone would have been enough to turn the entire continent upside down.

And now, even if she personally stepped forward and declared that the dragon race had not sided with the Goddess of Life, she doubted anyone would believe her.

As for bringing the brats back…

Urinos had never even considered that possibility.

Pride was deeply ingrained in the nature of dragons.

Since she had already declared that any dragon wishing to help the elves could participate in the war, she would not take back her words.

She could only hope… that not too many dragons would die in battle.

Thinking of this, Urinos felt a little regretful.

And as she watched Hertos before her, who still wore an expression of disappointment, her mood grew even worse.

She snorted and kicked Hertos in the backside.

“What are you still standing there for? Pack up your things and get back to your nest! Go reflect on your actions!”

Red Dragon King: “…”

He cast a deeply aggrieved glance at Urinos, then dejectedly dragged his pack back into his cave.

Only after the Red Dragon King had left did Urinos withdraw her gaze.

Looking at the increasingly deserted Dragon Island, she could not help but smile ruefully.

When had these brats become so close to the elves?

Forget it. She would simply keep a close eye on the situation on the continent…

༺⟐༻

Beyond Dragon Island, over the boundless expanse of the sea.

The sky was clear, with scattered clouds drifting across an endless blue horizon.

One adult dragon after another soared through the heavens, spreading their wings as they flew toward the same destination.

Looking into the distance, they blotted out the sun and sky. Their numbers likely reached into the thousands.

Their scales came in a wide variety of colors. Most were Chromatic dragons, known for their combative nature, but there were also quite a few Metallic dragons who simply enjoyed joining in the excitement.

As for their strength, they were at least intermediate Gold-rank. The vast majority were high Gold-rank, and among them were no shortage of genuine Legendary-rank dragons.

Their resounding dragon roars rose and fell, weaving an uplifting melody across the sky.

The dragons roared and raced forward, seemingly unable to wait any longer.

On the backs of several dragons flying at the very front, a few humanoid figures could also be seen.

They wore magnificent equipment, each with a distinctive appearance. All of them were exceptionally handsome.

They were elves.

More precisely, they were players who had made their way to Dragon Island after the route connecting it to the mainland had been established.

“Mr. Natsume, I heard that the Elven Forest has unlimited supplies of roasted meat. Is that true? And will we receive limited-edition Yu-Gi-Oh cards just for participating in the war?”

The dragon spread its wings and turned its head toward the elven figure on its back, asking expectantly.

The figure was none other than Natsume, a member of Heart of Nature.

Ever since the route to Dragon Island had been established, the players’ major guilds had gradually established stable connections with the island. This naturally included Heart of Nature, and Natsume was one of the players who had recently come to Dragon Island on behalf of his guild to recruit some dragons.

In terms of results, his efforts had been extremely fruitful.

Of course, the overwhelming force of dragons mobilized here was not the achievement of his guild alone. It was the result of the entire player community working together.

He was merely one of their representatives.

Looking at the dragon’s enormous, gleaming eyes, filled with anticipation, Natsume chuckled.

“Of course. Our Guildmaster has already said that all dragons that would participate in this war will receive free food and lodging, along with a limited-edition Yu-Gi-Oh deck.”

After speaking, he gently patted Dingdang, the Elemental Fairy, who was clinging tightly to his neck.

The little creature seemed somewhat afraid of dragons. Ever since arriving on Dragon Island, she had stayed glued to his side.

At that moment, she was gazing excitedly at the tiny sea surface far below with her bright, sparkling eyes. Her butterfly wings fluttered behind her.

The dragons, however, were not particularly interested in these tiny Elemental Fairy.

But after hearing Natsume’s words, their ears immediately perked up, and their eyes began to shine.

“Really? What about limited-edition Gwent cards? I want a set of diamond-encrusted Gwent cards! The kind with advanced magical effects! It would be even better if they had magical intelligence and could play cards with me!”

Another giant dragon turned its head and asked expectantly.

This was a Copper Dragon.

As a dragon species with an intense passion for magical items, they were practically incapable of resisting enchanted objects that possessed a certain degree of intelligence and could communicate with them.

Among the players, there were also some talented individuals who knew exactly how to cater to their preferences. Using certain summoning spells learned from demons and undead, they had created talking magical cards that were extremely popular among Copper dragons.

“Of course. As long as you participate in the war, we will do our best to meet everyone’s needs. Furthermore, we have already notified the Church of your support. When you arrive, the Church of Life will have a comfortable, oversized dragon bed custom-made for every one of you. All of them will be crafted from beautiful elven amber.”

Natsume smiled.

“Beds made from elven amber!”

Hearing his words, the dragons’ eyes lit up, and they became even more excited.

Several Gold Dragons even instinctively swallowed, feeling a little hungry.

They had all seen elven amber before. In the eyes of many giant dragons, it was already hardly distinguishable from genuine gemstones.

Dragon Island had remained secluded from the world for many years. Many of its dragons, especially the vast majority of ordinary adult dragons, did not possess particularly substantial fortunes.

They could afford to cover their beds with gold coins, but gemstones… Their wealth was simply insufficient to afford a luxurious bed made from precious stones.

But at that moment, they saw a new hope!

“Beds made from elven amber…”

The Metallic dragons, who were particularly fond of gemstones, swallowed as their eyes filled with longing.

“Roasted meat… Cards… Fighting…”

The Chromatic dragons, who were gluttonous and obsessed with games and combat, drooled as they flew, grinning foolishly.

Gemstone beds, roasted meat, cards…

This was practically the very essence of a dragon’s romantic ideals!

Imagining the wonderful life awaiting them in the Elven Forest, these group of adult dragons became even more enthusiastic. Their flying speed increased.

“Fly faster! Come on! Faster!”

Many dragons urged one another impatiently.

Meanwhile, even more dragons continued to praise the Elven Forest as they flew.

“As expected of the Elven Forest!”

“As expected of the elves!”

“For the roasted meat!”

“For the cards!”

“For the glittering beds made from elven amber!”

“Let’s give those scum from the Eternal Church a good beating!”

“RUA!”

One by one, they flew with their heads held high.

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