Chapter 302 - 179: Shadow Giant Dragon Egg and the Spider Elves’ Attack

Chapter 302: Chapter 179: Shadow Giant Dragon Egg and the Spider Elves’ Attack

Upon reaching maturity, they could even attain the Sixth Level.

Buying a Dragon Egg and raising it for a hundred years would yield a high-tier combatant equivalent to a Sixth-level Wizard. It was undoubtedly a very worthwhile investment.

Of course, the resources needed to raise a young dragon to maturity would cost far more than the money spent on the Dragon Egg itself.

This wasn’t a one-and-done deal like Cassia’s embrace. Anyone who wanted to buy a Dragon Egg had to consider whether they could truly afford the expense of raising a dragon.

Therefore, although Pei Ze was tempted, he didn’t join the bidding.

In truth, he couldn’t have joined even if he wanted to. He only had about two hundred thousand Magic Stone Coins to his name—not enough to buy even the shell of a Dragon Egg.

A moment later, the price for the Dragon Egg had already surpassed ten million Magic Stone Coins, and it quickly reached twelve million.

But after that, the pace of the bidding slowed considerably, finally settling at thirteen million, eight hundred thousand Magic Stone Coins.

The person who bought the Dragon Egg was a figure in a hooded cloak and mask, their body completely concealed.

There were two similarly dressed people by their side, presumably companions.

In fact, apart from those whose racial features were too obvious to hide—like the Dragon-men and Pengyu Angels—most visitors of other races at Awo Castle used cloaks and masks to conceal their appearance.

Pei Ze was no exception.

Long before entering Awo Castle, he had manipulated his Silver Star to form a mask over his face.

Su Ya and Peng Yan had also put on masks.

"Let’s go."

Seeing the Dragon Egg get auctioned off, Pei Ze immediately lost interest in watching. He gestured to Su Ya and Peng Yan, and they turned to leave.

Once they were away from the wooden stage, Pei Ze continued to wander through the square, stopping here and there and picking up quite a few good items.

After a while, his gaze suddenly froze, landing on a small stall more than twenty meters away.

Several metal cages engraved with runes were displayed there, and inside were three imprisoned Netherworld Crows.

Even though he already knew the whereabouts of an entire Netherworld Crow Swarm, Pei Ze decided to buy these three without a second thought, operating on the principle that every little bit helps.

The price was a full five hundred Magic Stone Coins more than at the Ten Thousand Realms Slave Market in Chenxi City.

But that was to be expected. It was common for items from the material plane to double in price upon reaching the Shadow Realm.

However, just as Pei Ze was about to pay, a hoarse voice suddenly rang out.

"Wait a minute. I’ll pay five thousand Magic Stone Coins. I’m taking these three Netherworld Crows!"

Pei Ze turned to look and found that the speaker was none other than the person who had just bought the Shadow Giant Dragon Egg.

Despite the cloak and mask, it wasn’t hard to tell from a few small details that it was the same person.

Moreover, their two companions were also following behind them.

Pei Ze’s eyes narrowed. "I saw these Netherworld Crows first," he said coolly.

The cloaked figure sneered. "Highest bidder wins. Surely you understand a concept that simple."

With that, they looked toward the stall owner.

The stall owner, a Dragon-man, looked at Pei Ze and shrugged. "Sorry, customer. I’m a businessman. I sell to the highest bidder. So, do you want to raise your offer?"

Pei Ze gave the cloaked figure a long look, then shook his head. "No."

With that, he turned to leave.

The cloaked figure shot him a mocking glance, paid the Magic Stone Coins, and stowed the metal cages in a Space Ring before turning to leave as well.

After they had walked some distance, one of the companions spoke in a hushed voice, "Yuri, we already know the whereabouts of a Netherworld Crow Swarm. We’ll be able to get a whole flock of them soon. Why waste money on these three?"

Yuri replied without turning his head, "Our family doesn’t even have a Level 4 Wizard right now, and we’re busy establishing our foothold. We simply can’t spare enough combat power to take down that Netherworld Crow Swarm. Who knows how long we’d have to wait to get our hands on enough Netherworld Crows? It’s better to just buy them ourselves."

He stroked his ring, a glimmer of delight flashing in his eyes.

"The Shadow Giant Dragon Egg is for the family; we can only look, not touch. But these three Netherworld Crows are ours. With these three test subjects, our research might finally have a breakthrough. You don’t want to be stuck in the Shadow Realm for the rest of your lives, do you?"

His two companions fell silent and said no more.

...

After another lap, Pei Ze acquired a few more materials before leaving the Trading Square, still feeling a bit unsatisfied, and headed for the city gate.

"Sir, where are we going next?" Peng Yan asked.

"To the location of the Netherworld Crow Swarm first," said Pei Ze.

Of his two destinations, the Netherworld Crow Swarm’s location was closer to Awo Castle, only a little over six hundred kilometers away, so it was natural to go there first.

To conserve energy while traveling, Pei Ze purchased three Shadow Eagles.

These were Magical Creatures about the size of giant eagles, but they had mastered some of the Power of Shadow and possessed venomous talons. Their power was around the level of a Tier One Legend, and they were a common sight in the Shadow Realm.

After leaving the castle, Pei Ze and his two companions mounted the Shadow Eagles, soared into the sky, and sped toward their destination.

Shielded by an Invisibility Spell Ball, they were largely untroubled by attacks from Magical Creatures and quickly covered more than a hundred kilometers.

But just then, Pei Ze’s expression flickered.

At the same time, Su Ya and Peng Yan noticed it too.

"Sir, there’s a battle happening up ahead!"

Pei Ze nodded slightly. He had sensed it long before they did.

As they drew closer, the scene ahead gradually came into view.

Two parties were locked in a fierce battle high in the sky.

One of the groups was composed of beings with the upper bodies of graceful women. Though their skin was dark, their features were exquisite and alluring.

But their lower halves were the hideous bodies of spiders, creating a deeply twisted and jarring contrast.

"Spider Elves!"

Pei Ze raised an eyebrow.

Spider Elves were originally Dark Elves from the Dark Territory. Having angered the Spider Goddess Rose, they were cursed into this monstrous half-human, half-spider form and exiled from their homeland.

Frankly, it wasn’t strange to see Spider Elves in the Shadow Realm.

Among the many outer planes, the Shadow Realm’s environment was the most similar to the Dark Territory. It was perfectly normal for Spider Elves, unable to return to their homeland, to choose the Shadow Realm as their new habitat.

What surprised Pei Ze was that the party fighting the Spider Elves was none other than the trio of cloaked figures who had just won the Shadow Giant Dragon Egg at Awo Castle.

’What a coincidence,’ Pei Ze thought, a dark glint flashing in his eyes.

Spider Elves inherited the powerful dual mastery of melee combat and Magic from the Dark Elves. Furthermore, their transformation into half-human, half-spider beings made their attack methods even more bizarre.

Among the twenty-odd Spider Elves besieging the cloaked trio, the weakest possessed the combat strength of a Tier Five Legend, while the strongest had even reached the level of a Tier Seven Legend.

However, their opponents were by no means weak.

The three cloaked figures were all Wizards, each possessing strength at least equivalent to the Second-Level Liquefaction stage. Faced with the Spider Elves’ ferocious assault, they were on the defensive, but showed no signs of imminent defeat.

Both sides now noticed the arrival of Pei Ze’s party, but seeing there were only three of them—and that two had weak auras, clearly only Tier Three Legendary Knights—they paid them no mind and refocused on each other.

"Hand over the Shadow Giant Dragon’s Egg, and we’ll let you leave!" the lead Spider Elf said coldly.

Yuri scoffed, sneering, "Since when has the promise of a Dark Elf ever been trustworthy?"

The Spider Goddess Rose is a Divine Spirit of the chaotic evil alignment, notoriously cruel and capricious, reveling in chaos, evil, destruction, and darkness.

Under her influence, most Dark Elves are treacherous, cunning, and cruel, giving them an abysmal reputation across the Multiverse.

Almost everyone knows to never trust the promise of a Dark Elf. The next moment, you’re likely to find a poisoned dagger in your back, robbing you of everything you have.

Though the Spider Elves have been exiled from the Dark Elf race, their fundamental nature has not changed. In fact, due to their physical transformation, their minds and personalities have only grown more twisted and deranged.

"In that case, you can all just die!"

With those cold words, the Spider Elf leader’s form abruptly blurred and vanished into the shadowy mist.

When she reappeared, it was already behind Yuri, a dagger shimmering with a faint blue light plunging viciously toward his neck.