Chapter 280: The Death of the Dragon Mother

The summoned creatures—ice spirits—scattered to find the water inlet, while the gray dwarves and the White Dragon Lord waited quietly.

Over an hour passed.

The White Dragon Lord received a message from the ice spirits: they had found something. He turned his gaze to the gray dwarves.

These gray dwarves carried steel spears and wore heavy armor; if they entered the water, they would likely sink straight to the bottom. But if he asked them to abandon their gear, he would end up having to rescue them anyway should danger arise.

He couldn't count on the gray dwarves. The White Dragon Lord decided to handle it himself.

"Looks like I'll have to dispatch a Murloc tribe here."

The White Dragon Lord muttered under his breath, then leaped into the deep pool. Tucking his claws beneath his belly and pressing his wings tight against his body, he propelled himself with powerful sweeps of his long tail, shooting far away in the blink of an eye.

On the shore, the gray dwarf prince, Thaurissan Darkforge, activated the magic ring on his hand. Its blue gemstone flashed, casting a buffing spell over the prince.

Water Walking!

"You all stand guard here."

Leaving the order to his subordinates, Thaurissan launched into the air like a cannonball. Tracing an arc through the air, he landed on the water's surface and immediately began sprinting across it, chasing after the massive silhouette moving beneath the waves.

After swimming for a short while, the White Dragon Lord reached the ice spirits' location and spotted the inlet causing the water level to rise.

It was a slope about a meter below the surface. Seawater was bubbling up from it, releasing strings of bubbles like a natural spring.

The White Dragon Lord placed a claw by the spring and wiped away a thin layer of sludge, revealing the cold rock beneath. He dug his claws into a rocky protrusion and hoisted it upward with a powerful heave.

It actually moved!

By then, Thaurissan had caught up. Seeing this, he glanced around.

"Ancient texts record that a passage leading to another Dark Lands region once existed in this direction," Thaurissan said. "It collapsed ten thousand years ago. To think it wasn't completely blocked off."

"Let's see if we can clear the passage."

The White Dragon Lord grabbed a massive boulder and tossed it behind him. Thaurissan quickly joined in moving the rocks.

Thanks to the efforts of the two immensely strong powerhouses, over a hundred meters of the tunnel were soon cleared. To his surprise, the White Dragon Lord discovered that only the front half of the passage had caved in; the back half was largely intact.

The White Dragon Lord shrank his massive body and cast Underwater Breathing on Thaurissan. The two swam deeper into the tunnel together.

After about ten minutes of navigating the pitch-black underwater passage, they finally reached the end.

Spotting a faint light above, the White Dragon Lord swam toward the surface.

Within a certain section of the Dark Lands, luminescent stones on the cavern ceiling cast a hazy glow over a perfectly still body of water. The silence was absolute, as if the area had remained this way since the dawn of time.

Suddenly, near the edge of this underground realm, a giant silhouette ascended toward the surface. Ripples spread outward as a massive dragon's head broke the water.

Cool seawater cascaded off the White Dragon Lord's head and plunged back into the pool with a splash.

The White Dragon Lord turned his head to survey his surroundings and suddenly noticed an isolated island in the middle of the water.

A sense of familiarity washed over him, leaving him slightly bewildered. He swam toward the island, with the gray dwarf prince hurrying to keep up.

Reaching the island's edge, the White Dragon Lord found the frozen, stiff corpses of several demonized creatures, as well as some ruined buildings scattered across the land.

This was the exact Demon Cultists base he had accidentally discovered while pursuing the Nether Panther.

Staring at the crumbling, dust-covered structures, the White Dragon Lord fell into deep thought.

Back then, after the Nether Panther destroyed the Demon Cultists' concealment array, the White Dragon Lord had contacted the Council and waited for three High-Tier Legend reinforcements to arrive.

The three reinforcements had banished the mighty Thousand-Handed Demon back to the Abyss. The Demon Church's conspiracy was exposed, and the majority of the Demon Cultists were eradicated. However, two demonized Benthic Demon Fish had escaped, which meant this section of the Dark Lands likely connected to others.

The White Dragon Lord shared his theory with the gray dwarf prince.

Thaurissan furrowed his brow.

"Master, what should we do? Should we continue searching for the passage, or figure out another way?"

The White Dragon Lord pondered for a moment.

"Forget it. Our priority right now is ensuring the safety of the three sub-dragon chieftains. Tracking down the other sections of the Dark Lands can wait. We'll go back and seal this passage."

The White Dragon Lord and Thaurissan retraced their route. The White Dragon Lord hauled over a large rock, blocked the tunnel, and set up a magical warning array before teleporting back to the surface.

In the grand hall of the White Castle, the White Dragon Lord sat high upon his luxurious throne. Gurgalu's assistant, Hobbes, stood in the center of the hall, holding a document filled with text as he reported the major events that had occurred across the continent over the past few days.

"The Scourge of the North Wind, Salilina, has returned. Three nights ago, she launched a surprise attack on the Sacred Mountain of the Northern Barbarians. She dug up the grave of their Legendary Priest, Ogsger, and brought his corpse back to the North Wind Ice Plain, threatening to whip it for seven days to vent her hatred."

The White Dragon Lord raised an eyebrow. The Dragon Mother truly lived up to her title as a priestess of Tiamat. This style of seeking revenge for the smallest grievance was identical to that of the Mother of Evil Dragons.

Hobbes shot a stealthy glance at the White Dragon Lord on his throne. Seeing no particular reaction, he continued reading.

"The current chieftain of the barbarians, The Berserker Siegfried, flew into a rage. He issued a quest to the Adventurer's Guild, vowing to subjugate the Scourge of the North Wind."

The White Dragon Lord chuckled softly. The Barbarian Tribe currently lacked the strength to face the Dragon Mother head-on; otherwise, Siegfried would have led his people straight to her doorstep for revenge.

However, the Adventurer's Guild posed a bit of a problem. The White Dragon Lord frowned slightly.

Adventuring was a booming trend across the Nordhill Continent. Many legendary powerhouses had once been adventurers themselves, retaining their guild badges even after breaking through to the Legendary Rank. There was no guarantee someone wouldn't be tempted by the wealth and conspire with the barbarians to slay a dragon.

"What reward did the Barbarian Tribe offer?"

"Ten million gold coins."

The White Dragon Lord mused over this for a moment before speaking.

"Hobbes, write a letter to the king of the Kingdom of Rowe. I need the royal family to step forward and issue a bounty at the Assassins Guild. Place a hit on anyone who attempts to kill Salilina, with a reward of thirty million gold coins. The White Castle will cover the funds. Then, make sure this news is widely circulated."

The Kingdom of Rowe suffered year-round raids from the barbarians. The enemy of an enemy was a friend. Issuing this assassination bounty to protect the Dragon Mother, thereby allowing her to continue weakening the barbarians, aligned perfectly with the kingdom's interests. Therefore, the king of Rowe would never refuse the White Dragon Lord's proposal.

Hobbes accepted the order and left the hall.

...

In the blink of an eye, half a year passed.

During this time, the conflict between the Dragon Mother and the Northern Barbarians was the matter on the Nordhill Continent that most occupied the White Dragon Lord's attention. Just as he had expected, the Kingdom of Rowe accepted his proposal and cooperated with the White Castle to publicize the matter.

The moment the bounty hit the Assassins Guild's main hall, it stamped out any thoughts the vast majority of mercenary groups had about hunting the Scourge of the North Wind.

Any legendary powerhouse tempted by ten million gold coins wouldn't be overly strong. On the flip side, the legendary powerhouses who scoffed at that sum were mostly members of major factions. Though the relationship between the White Dragon Lord and the Scourge of the North Wind was a secret, those long-established factions had caught enough wind of the rumors to know better.

After all, the Dragon Mother's escape route clearly led to the Overseas Archipelago, and even upon returning to the mainland, she had lingered there for some time. None of this escaped the eyes of those paying attention. Thus, the major factions wouldn't dare move against the Scourge of the North Wind.

The Dragon Mother had been riding high during this period. Not only had she managed to pull together a new fighting force in the Northern Icefield, but she also frequently raided the Barbarian Tribe's settlements.

If the church of the barbarian god, Balinor, hadn't recently produced another Legendary Priest, her actions would likely have escalated far beyond mere raiding.

It was also worth noting that the White Dragon Lord's dragon beast transit station in the North Wind Ice Plain had been successfully established.

Today, as the White Dragon Lord was conducting experiments in the White Tower as usual, a sudden, restless feeling washed over him—as if something terrible was about to happen.

The intuition of a powerhouse was a profound and mysterious thing, and generally quite accurate.

The White Dragon Lord felt increasingly irritable and halted his magical experiment. But no matter how hard he racked his brain, he couldn't pinpoint the source of his unease.

Suddenly, a pulse of magical energy rippled from the White Tower's Teleportation Chamber. The White Dragon Lord's expression shifted, and he hurried to the room.

Throwing the door open, he saw the Dragon Mother collapsed on the Teleportation Platform, drenched in her own blood.

A glimmer of hope surfaced in the Dragon Mother's eyes when she saw the White Dragon Lord open the door.

"Save me."

"What happened?!"

Alarmed, the White Dragon Lord rushed over to inspect her wounds.

The fine, smooth scales that usually covered her body were now marred by countless lacerations. The smallest were merely the length of a finger joint, but the largest gash stretched all the way from her neck down to her abdomen, exposing the organs within her chest cavity. Scalding dragon blood poured from the wound like a small stream.

The White Dragon Lord's face went pale. He hurriedly pulled out the holy healing medicines he carried, administering some orally and applying others directly to the wounds.

Because he frequently found himself in conflicts, the White Dragon Lord made it a habit to always carry a stock of emergency potions for every possible situation.

Yet, these exorbitantly expensive medicines failed to produce their intended effect.

"This—this! What is going on?!"

The White Dragon Lord was in disbelief. He had paid a massive price to obtain these healing agents. Each one was of the Legendary Rank Level; even if the injured only had one breath left, these medicines should have pulled them back from the brink.

Although the White Dragon Lord was in disbelief, the grim reality lay right before his eyes.

"Cough, cough, cough."

The Dragon Mother coughed up a few more mouthfuls of dragon blood. The signs of life in her body were growing increasingly weak.

As the White Dragon Lord examined the Dragon Mother's wounds, he found a sharp divine power lingering around the lacerations. Even though this power was clinging to the Dragon Mother, the White Dragon Lord still felt his own scales sting in pain.

"Divine power?!!!"

This wasn't the divine power wielded by a priest, but high-purity divine power straight from a deity. The White Dragon Lord was horrified.

"Mother! What happened?!"

Hearing the White Dragon Lord's cry of alarm, Salilina's gaze grew incredibly complex. Agony, regret, fury, shock, and sudden clarity—all these emotions could be found in the Dragon Mother's eyes.

The Dragon Mother's breath was faint as a thread.

"It was Ogsger. He came back."

"What?! He's not dead?! How is that possible!"

The White Dragon Lord was utterly stunned.

The Dragon Mother's claws clamped tightly onto the White Dragon Lord's arm.

"Listen to me. Ogsger is indeed dead. His soul was converted into a divine servitor. He ambushed me. He was holding a scimitar, and my dragon scales were practically nonexistent before it. It has to be a Divine Artifact."

The White Dragon Lord felt a surge of shock and outrage.

"Balinor! Balinor! How dare he do this?!"

Across the multiverse, there was an unwritten rule among the deities: once a believer ascended to a Divine Kingdom, they severed all ties with the mortal world, and the grudges of their past life were no longer pursued. Otherwise, the feuds among the Church of Gods would never end.

A flash of understanding crossed the Dragon Mother's eyes, and she spoke weakly. "The Sacred Mountain... I attacked the Sacred Mountain."

Hearing this, the White Dragon Lord fell silent.

The Sacred Mountain was the earthly resting place for the upper echelons of the deities' church. The Dragon Mother assaulting it could be treated the same as attacking a holy temple—it was seen as a provocation against the deity, granting the god a reason to seek revenge.

But the White Dragon Lord had never imagined that Balinor would disregard his divine dignity to dispatch Ogsger, who had become a divine servitor, and bestow a Divine Artifact upon him.

Generally, toward mortals who offended them, a deity would simply order their church to hunt the transgressor down. They rarely resorted to such a shameless method as dispatching a divine servitor, because doing so meant that the deity's church had no one capable left.

"Amos, beware the Cult of the Dragon!"

The Dragon Mother's spirit suddenly improved. Her grip on the White Dragon Lord's claws grew stronger, and her speech flowed more smoothly.

The White Dragon Lord felt a profound sorrow in his heart. This was a terminal lucidity; the Dragon Mother was about to go meet Tiamat.

The Dragon Mother continued speaking.

"Ogsger ambushed me at the location where I had agreed to meet with the Cult of the Dragon. Those bastards must have reached a secret agreement with Ogsger. They've been searching for dragon corpses to convert into the undead. If it weren't for the Teleportation Scroll you gave me, my corpse might have been defiled by the Cult of the Dragon."

"The Cult of the Dragon is very powerful. They have branches across many planes. There seem to be traces of the Necromantic Realm backing them, so you must be extremely careful when dealing with the Cult of the Dragon."

A dying dragon's words come from the heart. The Dragon Mother gritted her teeth and spoke again.

"You must go to the North Wind Ice Plain and inherit my legacy. Under no circumstances can my territory fall into the hands of that bitch."

The White Dragon Lord asked, "That bitch? Do you have another enemy? Tell me. Rest assured, if I get the chance, I'll eliminate her for you too."

The Dragon Mother shook her head.

"There is no need. That bitch is my sister. We've been fighting each other ever since our Very Young Dragon stage, and we actually seized the North Wind Ice Plain together. Once I am dead, she will definitely return."

The White Dragon Lord automatically pictured the scenario in his mind: two white dragons supporting each other as they grew up, who then teamed up as adults to seize a territory—only to fall into a bitter dispute over the land and turn against one another.

The Dragon Mother did not elaborate further on her sister. Instead, she shared a bit more about what she knew regarding the Cult of the Dragon.

Before long, the golden light in the Dragon Mother's eyes extinguished.

"Sigh..."

The White Dragon Lord set down the lifeless Dragon Mother and let out a long, heavy sigh.

Although the Dragon Mother's death was highly unexpected, she had certainly paved the way for her own demise.

That is, even a dragon shouldn't push things too far. Killing an enemy was one thing, but dragging out their corpse just to whip it was a bit much.

However, no matter how terribly the Dragon Mother had behaved, she was still the mother of the four dragons.

Covered in the Dragon Mother's fresh blood, the White Dragon Lord suppressed the rising anger in his heart.

"The barbarians! Balinor! The Cult of the Dragon!"

"Very well! Very well!"