In the deep darkness, a faint glimmer flickered.
The air was thick with the heavy scent of sulfur and damp mildew, as if even time had congealed here.
The stone walls were covered with the marks of age, the pits and protrusions carved out by dripping water interwoven into a silent tableau.
Dragon's Lair, this was the forbidden ground of the Azure Dragon Court, a place only the Azure Dragon Royal Family could step into.
The Azure Dragon King arrived at the Dragon's Lair, accompanied by several noble Dragon Knights.
In the dim light, the enormous dragon bones could be vaguely seen lying across the lair, like the colonnade of an ancient temple.
The reflection of the dragon scales leaped between the cracks in the stone, seeming to warn intruders that this was still her territory.
On the walls, ancient runes, like spells forgotten by time, quietly guarded the slumbering behemoth.
Suddenly, a heavy breathing sound arose, and with each breath, the air seemed to tremble.
It was the Dragon Mother's snore; she slept in this darkness, and even the Azure Dragon King, at the pinnacle of power, did not dare to wake her easily.
Her size was enormous; she was the mother of all the guardian dragons on the island, and even the Wyvern Army; a behemoth comparable to an ancient dragon, so large that even the Azure Dragon Court could not accommodate her, which was why she lived in the Dragon's Lair.
She was also the Azure Dragon King's wife, the queen of the Azure Dragon Court.
Many small flying dragons perched on the dragon walls in the Dragon's Lair, and they did not dare to wake their mother either.
These small dragons varied in size, some only the size of horses, others similar in size to elephants, and they also varied in appearance; they were predators, a unit dedicated to providing food for the Dragon Mother, and usually rested in the Dragon's Lair when they had nothing to do.
In her arms, curled up, was a black-haired, pale-skinned girl filled with a sense of fragility. Although the girl's features were not particularly outstanding, they combined to give a just-right sense of beauty, coupled with a unique temperament, making those who saw her unable to resist a feeling of pity, wanting to protect the girl.
The girl leaned against the Dragon Mother, seemingly asleep.
When she heard someone approaching, the girl warily opened her eyes and saw the Azure Dragon King and his Dragon Knights.
The Azure Dragon King bowed to the girl with great respect, lowering his voice and saying,
"Saintess, may I ask, has the Eighth Guardian been born?"
The Saintess shook her head, looking at the dragon egg beside her, which showed no signs of activity.
The Azure Dragon King frowned slightly; at this moment, he seemed to understand something, and immediately turned around with the knights and left the Dragon's Lair.
The Saintess watched them leave, closed her eyes again, and fell asleep with the dragon.
"Your Majesty, that black shadow just now was not the Eighth Guardian; what could it be? Could it be that there are dragons in places other than the Azure Dragon Court?"
The noble knight captain asked, puzzled.
"That is the enemy; we must find that black dragon as soon as possible, gather the army, and go look for it immediately."
The Azure Dragon King said with utmost certainty.
He already knew that there was more than just the Azure Dragon Continent in this world; he knew about Earl Hall and the Holy Empire. Although he had signed a war agreement with Earl Hall, agreeing that Earl Hall would send his most elite soldiers to test his troops, in exchange for lending the Holy Empire the Azure Dragon Whip for three months, he could not rule out other possibilities.
What if humans wanted more than just the right to use the Azure Dragon Whip for three months? What if they allied with the Sea Demons?
Although Sea Demons rarely appeared capable of flying in the sky, it was impossible to rule out the existence of mutations.
The Coral Clouds in the sky were the best example.
These Coral Clouds released highly corrosive acid rain every year to harm the Azure Dragon people, making it impossible for them to grow fruits and grains on their continent. Relying solely on eating sea monsters could no longer sustain the massive population growth.
The Azure Dragon King had to go to the sea to open up a new world, to increase new territory and resources for the kingdom, and to do so, he had to have a powerful army.
And this Wyvern Army, since helping him unify the Azure Dragon Continent, had not had an enemy to sharpen their blades against. Even the Azure Dragon King did not know if he could defeat those formidable Sea Demons.
If a Sky Sea Demon more troublesome than the Coral Clouds really appeared, then the problem would become even more complicated.
Meanwhile, Alexander, who was suspected of being a Sea Demon, was gnawing on the Red Dragon's neck.
The Red Dragon possessed the hardest scales in the world, scales that made it unafraid of any hacking, slashing, lightning, or fire; any physical attack was a meaningless tickle to the Red Dragon.
But Alexander directly bit through its incredibly hard skin and tore off a piece of its flesh.
The Red Dragon felt the suppression from Alexander's position and strength, and actually let out a whimper of begging for mercy.
"What's wrong with it?"
Li En asked.
"It's begging me not to eat it."
Alexander swallowed the dragon meat, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Good, Alexander, ask it where Catherine is."
Since Alexander had no communication barriers with this Red Dragon, things became much simpler.
Li En had Alexander translate his words.
The Red Dragon made aWuMingMing sound.
"It says it doesn't know who Catherine is."
"A black-haired female human."
Li En felt that he had summarized it well; there shouldn't be too many female humans in the Azure Dragon Court. The main thing was that even if he described it in too much detail, the dragon's aesthetics probably wouldn't be able to distinguish them. It was better to say the key clues.
Sure enough, the Red Dragon gave an affirmative answer.
"It says it can take us to find her."
Alexander said.
The Red Dragon flapped its wings and flew towards the Dragon's Lair.
The Dragon's Lair was hidden in the huge mountains.
Almost no birds or animals flew here, giving Li En a sense of danger.
But he already smelled a familiar scent, the aura that belonged to Catherine.
Seeming to sense someone approaching, the predators of the Dragon's Lair flew out.
From a distance, they looked like a group of bats, but up close, they turned out to be all different forms of Wyverns.
The Red Dragon really wanted to give the three guys on its back to the hunting team, but it was worried that it wouldn't be safe enough, so it continued to move towards the depths of the Dragon's Lair. It wanted to send the three of them directly to Mother.
"It's very dangerous here."
Sophie reminded him.
Li En nodded. "I know, but Catherine is here."
"Don't worry, I'll protect you."
Alexander clenched his fists confidently.
The hunting team saw that it was the Red Dragon, so they dispersed. They were no match for a Guardian Dragon.
Even if they were all brothers and sisters, there was a hierarchy.
Guardian Dragons were the highest existence among them.
The three were brought into the Dragon's Lair by the Red Dragon, saw the Dragon Mother, who was dozens of times larger than the Red Dragon, and Catherine, who looked incredibly small in the Dragon Mother's arms.
Li En recognized Catherine at first glance. She was still wearing the dress she had worn on the day of their farewell. She had gotten into the carriage and never appeared again.
At this moment, Li En's thoughts seemed to return to outside Alexburg a few months ago.
He had personally sent off his fiancée, Catherine, and Dora.
Then he had completely forgotten about Catherine.
And when he recalled Catherine, she was gone.
The Red Dragon placed the three in front of the Dragon Mother and specially shouted, waking the sleeping Dragon Mother.
Catherine was also awakened again, and she looked at the Red Dragon with some dissatisfaction.
The Red Dragon seemed a little afraid of her, took two steps back, and turned around and flew away.
"Crap, what it said just now was, 'Mother, this is food for you.'"
Alexander translated.
Catherine's eyes flashed with confusion when she saw Li En, Sophie, and Alexander.
She didn't know why, but she always felt that the people in front of her were strangely familiar, but she couldn't remember where she had seen them.
The awakened Dragon Mother was obviously a little angry, but when she saw Li En, the anger in her eyes instantly turned into grievance and pain.
The Dragon Mother flicked her tail like a raging wave, violently tearing through the silent air.
The rocks on the stone walls in the cave fell with the vibration, and dust billowed, obscuring the sky.
Countless small cracks opened on the ground, and the cracks continued to widen, spreading to the feet of the three.
The surrounding torches flickered, and the light danced in fear.
The predators in the cave were frightened by the sudden vibration and fled in all directions.
The Dragon Mother's roar echoed in the cave, making people's eardrums ache and their hearts constrict.
The air was filled with the smell of gunpowder and smoke, the prelude to power and destruction.
The Dragon Mother's huge body seemed a little cramped in the cave, and each of her breaths was accompanied by the howling of wind in the cave.
Those originally calm corners were now stirred by her breath, becoming restless.
Catherine saw the Dragon Mother in this state for the first time, and she couldn't help but frown slightly, reaching out to hug the Dragon Mother's huge body and gently singing songs to soothe the Dragon Mother's emotions.
The song Catherine sang was a nursery rhyme from the Blue Moon Territory. Li En had heard the locals sing it when he was in the Blue Moon Territory.
But for some reason, Li En felt that Catherine's eyes were very unfamiliar.
Moreover, Catherine's original entries had been basically erased.
If her appearance and aura hadn't remained unchanged, Li En might have suspected that he had found the wrong person.
The Dragon Mother's gaze was even stranger; her expression was full of grievance, as if to say, 'Why did you only appear now?'
Could it be that he and the Dragon Mother knew each other before?
Li En couldn't see the Dragon Mother's entries, just like he couldn't see Alexander's and other Wyverns' entries.
The Dragon Mother's emotions were finally soothed by Catherine, and she turned her head to look at Li En and the others.
"Who are you? Why are you here?"
Li En frowned slightly. She really didn't remember him?
Sophie had an ice spear in her hand at some point, and she saw the Dragon Mother's hostility towards her.
Sure enough, before the others could answer Catherine's question, the flying dragons, who understood the Dragon Mother's eyes, attacked Sophie.
After the Dragon Mother's emotions stabilized, they immediately flew back to the Dragon's Lair, vowing to protect Mother.
Sophie threw out the spear, and the spear pierced through three flying dragons, nailing their bodies to the walls of the Dragon's Lair.
Their bodies instantly turned into ice sculptures, and even the walls of the cave were frozen into ice walls.
The places where the spear passed quickly began to freeze.
After that, Sophie used ice magic to solve the predators who wanted to win with a numerical advantage. Constantly, flying dragons frozen into ice sculptures fell to the ground, which made other Wyverns dare not act rashly and could only watch from the sidelines, seeking opportunities.
Sophie's quick counterattack bought Li En time to speak.
He looked at Catherine and said, "I am Li En Moria."
When she heard this name, a look of confusion flashed in Catherine's eyes. She felt it was very familiar, but not familiar enough, as if she had heard it somewhere.
But she still shook her head and said the words that Li En was most afraid to hear: "I don't know you."
The Dragon Mother's reaction was completely different from Catherine's.
The three words 'Moria' seemed to have magic power, causing her to roar again.
She had lost the ability to speak human language and could only use cries to express her inner emotions.
However, Alexander happened to understand the dragon language.
"Dad, she seems to know you."
Alexander pointed to the Dragon Mother's huge body.
This made Li En very strange. Why had the Dragon Mother shown such strange emotions from the beginning when she saw him, even more excited than Catherine?
And Catherine, who should have recognized him, seemed so strange?
"Can you communicate with her?"
Li En asked.
He was thinking that perhaps this dragon knew what had happened to Catherine.
Alexander nodded. "She seems to be human, able to understand what you are saying, but she has lost her language ability."
The Dragon Mother was human? Was this a transformation spell? Then why couldn't he see her entries?
Li En found it incredible. It seemed that this world still held too many unknown secrets.
Someone could hide entries, and someone could change races through magic.
At the same time, this also proved Li En's previous idea that this world was not just Tiger as the only true god, but only the believers who believed in Tiger were willing to believe that Tiger was the true god.
Otherwise, why were some races without entries? Didn't this mean that they didn't belong to Tiger's believers?
Humans, mermaids, elves, goblins, goblins, and vampires all believed in Tiger, so they all had specific entries that could be glimpsed.
But monsters, some sea monsters, as well as the Wyvern race, and demi-human races all believed in other existences, so they didn't have entries.
Perhaps the dragons and Wyverns all believed in Mohan, the master of the [Mouth of Temptation], the subordinate god described as a traitor in the book "The Annals of the Holy Canon", who was actually a true god equal to Tiger, and they controlled different authorities.
Li En restrained his thoughts and took the initiative to communicate with the Dragon Mother, who was not very stable in her emotions.
He was a little worried that the Dragon Mother was the real Catherine.
If Catherine's soul had entered the Dragon Mother's body, and the Dragon Mother's body was imprisoned in Catherine's current body, then the performance of the two could be understood.
Of course, this was the worst result.
If that was the case, Li En would regret not taking Catherine away sooner, so that she was imprisoned here and suffered so much.
"Who are you? Why do you seem to know me?"
Li En asked the Dragon Mother.
The Dragon Mother flicked her tail again, this time almost causing the cave to collapse. Fortunately, Sophie intervened in time and supported the cave with ice pillars.
She seemed very angry at this sentence, because the man in front of her had forgotten her.
But thinking about her current appearance, it was normal to be forgotten.
The Dragon Mother shed tears sadly.
Seeing the Dragon Mother's tears, all her children panicked, thinking that the man in front of them had made their mother sad and shed tears, so they rushed towards Li En, wanting to tear Li En into pieces.
But as soon as they got close, the Dragon Mother burst out with an even more angry voice, spewing out dragon breath, blowing all these Wyvern children away like a hurricane, falling outside the Dragon's Lair and falling apart.
The guards in the mountain saw a strange sight, countless small flying dragons flying upside down like flies, like a volcanic eruption, except that it spewed out flying dragons instead of lava.
Both the Dragon Mother's tears and her actions of driving away the flying dragons made Li En's heart sink.
Could it be that Catherine's soul was really in the Dragon Mother's body?
Li En looked at Catherine, who looked dazed, and then looked at the Dragon Mother, feeling complicated.
Catherine gently stroked the dragon's scales and asked softly, "Great Dragon Mother, what's wrong with you?"
The Dragon Mother murmured in Catherine's ear.
Catherine turned her face to look at Li En,
"The Dragon Mother doesn't want to see you, she wants you to leave here immediately."
"Leave with me, you all come with me."
Because he couldn't determine whether Catherine's soul was in her original body or in the dragon's body, Li En decided to take both of them away and study them when he returned. Staying in someone else's territory made him feel uneasy.
Hearing Li En's words, the Dragon Mother was slightly stunned, and then shed tears again.
Her sad eyes seemed to say, 'Why did you only come now?'
And Catherine seemed relatively indifferent: "I am the Saintess of the Azure Dragon Court, the queen of the next king, I can't leave here with you, and I can't let you take away the great Dragon Mother. She belongs here, she is the court's noble queen."
"If being imprisoned in this dark, sunless cave can be called a queen, then what's the difference between that and a prisoner? And the next queen you're talking about is just the next war machine, a machine for the Azure Dragon Court to create troops and population."
The anger in Li En's heart was ignited.
He couldn't accept his woman becoming like an ant queen, and he couldn't accept her being imprisoned here all the time.
The Dragon Mother roared again.
Catherine frowned slightly. She didn't expect the Dragon Mother to agree to leave the Dragon's Lair with the strange man in front of her.
"Dad, she said she's willing to go with you, wherever you go, she's willing to follow you."
Alexander took the initiative to translate, blinking her lively eyes with a look of gossip.
It was as if to say, 'So it turns out that you and this big guy are also related.'
Sophie stood quietly to the side, she was thinking.
Why did Li En want to take the Dragon Mother away too.
Doing so might cause a commotion throughout the Azure Dragon Court.
But since Li En wanted to do this, she could only help him.
"Catherine, what about you?"
Li En looked at Catherine again.
"I don't know, maybe you're right, being imprisoned here all the time is no different from a prisoner, so the great Dragon Mother is also tired of this kind of life, but if you want the Dragon Mother to leave smoothly, I must stay here and be the next Dragon Mother, I can't escape my responsibility, you go, I won't let anyone hunt you down, leave the Azure Dragon Court as soon as possible."
Catherine said seriously.
Although she had lost her memory, her personality remained unchanged.
This scene inexplicably reminded Li En of when Catherine took over the position of Lord of the Blue Moon Territory, pulled out her sword,
Stabbed the rebellious minister to death, and declared that the Jackson family would never tolerate traitors.
His heart, which had been hanging, finally returned to his stomach, and he almost thought that the Dragon Mother was his fiancée.
Now that he had determined that Catherine was his fiancée, there was no need to risk taking the Dragon Mother away.
Even if she cried to him twice, looking indeed a little pitiful, but Li En was not a saint and could only do what he could.
Taking away the Dragon Mother, this behemoth, would anger the entire Azure Dragon Court, the cost was too high.
If she wasn't Catherine, then it really wasn't necessary.
He grabbed Catherine's hand and said to Sophie and Alexander, "Go."
Then he rushed out of the Dragon's Lair without looking back.
Sophie and Alexander followed closely behind.
The Dragon Mother also followed.
The entire Dragon's Lair shook and was on the verge of collapse due to the Dragon Mother's movement.
"Sophie, stop her, don't let her follow."
Li En said.
Sophie immediately used ice magic, forming a thick ice wall, blocking the Dragon Mother's steps.
Only then did the Dragon Mother realize that she had been abandoned again, and her anger turned into a helpless dragon roar, awakening all the guards of the Azure Dragon Court.
Not only the seven colorful guardian dragons, but also the kingdom's army, all sensed their mother's anger.
"Damn it, go."
The Dragon Mother's emotional fluctuations were too great, completely beyond expectations.
Alexander also sensed a dangerous aura and transformed into a black dragon the moment she rushed out of the Dragon's Lair, carrying Li En, Catherine, and Sophie on her back and rushing into the sky.
The Dragon Mother also shattered the ice wall with her claws and rushed out of the Dragon's Lair.
The dazzling sunlight shone on the Dragon Mother, making her yellowish-brown eyes a little uncomfortable, briefly losing focus.
The guardian dragons, led by the Red Dragon, were the first to fly to their mother's side, followed by the Azure Dragon King and the prince leading the guards to the scene.
The Azure Dragon King looked at the black dragon soaring in the sky and immediately issued an order to pursue.
The prince looked angrily at Li En, the strange human male who had taken away his fiancée.
"Capture that black dragon for me and take back the Saintess!"
The guardian dragons flew into the sky, searching for the black dragon.
Many of the Wyverns in the army transformed into flying dragons and jumped into the sky.
The sky quickly became a battlefield where a large army had gathered, but this was a hunt with absolutely unequal forces.
Looking at the dark army pressing over, Li En told his daughter Alexander to speed up, as long as they reached the portal, they would be safe.
Alexander used all her strength, but she had just been born, how could she compare to the well-trained senior guardian dragons?
A golden dragon known for its speed blocked Alexander's path.
Alexander spat out dragon flames, wanting to burn this blocking dragon.
But the golden dragon's body turned into light and disappeared directly, and the flames did not attack its body at all.
Sophie threw out a long sword forged from frost, which was also ineffective against the light dragon.
"It's a light dragon, you can only use the power of erosion."
Li En reminded Alexander and Sophie, so he pulled out Enzo and slashed out the power of shadow with a sword, wounding the light dragon blocking the front.
The power of a six-star blood knight could only hurt this light dragon at most and could not kill it instantly.
The light dragon let out an angry roar, and one of its wings was cut off by Li En. It could not maintain its balance in the air,
Its body fell askew, but it stubbornly wanted to continue pursuing the others.
And although the light dragon was injured, it bought valuable time for the army behind it, and the other guardian dragons and army caught up with Alexander.
"They're chasing me, let me go back."
Catherine said to Li En.
Although she didn't know why the man in front of her wanted to take her away, she could feel that he had no ill intentions.
So Catherine was not angry because of this, but just wanted to rely on her return to calm the Azure Dragon Court's anger,
So that Li En could leave smoothly.
