Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 621 - 574: The Giant Dragon Exhibition
The lingering heat from the flames poured through the cracks, as if someone had lifted the lid off a feast platter, the intense aroma permeating the vast skeletal remains. From beneath the bone wings of the Giant Dragon, Lyle stumbled out of the protective flesh layer. Unharmed, under the Giant Dragon’s meticulous protection, Lyle couldn’t even feel the vibration; if not for his cerebellum reminding him that the kinetic energy was gone, he might have believed he was still falling.
Lyle crawled out of the large crater created by the Giant Dragon. The burning scorched earth had spread about two meters before the flames were extinguished. Under the icy gaze, Lyle’s somewhat confused mind instantly cleared. Andrey had arrived, and those somewhat surprised Lich companions watched the scene, dumbfounded, with some having only half stuffed cheese into their mouths.
What set the still scene back into motion was the second person emerging from the dragon bones.
"Plague Doctor, lend me a hand. I feel like my bones could be used for a soup, as long as water is poured over them."
Tentacles pulled up Mr. Zhiyan, who struggled to climb the slope. Mr. Zhiyan was naked, with steam evaporating from his thin bones, his body loose, like a lump of cheese.
"Mr. Zhiyan? I had no idea you were also on this flight."
Zhiyan weakly pushed away the tentacles and sat down on the ground, bone-weary.
"The Giant Dragon thought I couldn’t withstand the assault of high-altitude winds, so... he fixed me inside the breastbone. That feeling, it’s no different from being on the rack, and in the end, it really caught fire."
Lyle, who suffered from a fear of heights, felt a bit more balanced; he patted Zhiyan’s shoulder blade as a gesture of comfort.
"Mr. Plague Doctor?" The gathering Liches recognized the young man, expressing their concern while keeping their distance.
Mr. Zhiyan put on a new robe.
"I didn’t expect you to be so famous at the academy. Is it still timely to address you as ’Your Excellency’, Mr. Plague Doctor?"
Lyle pointed at the top of his head, the radiant light from the Lich Crown was as conspicuous as the Liches’ soul flames they stared at. "They recognize this. If these were Liches who know me, they would have pounced by now..."
"Boss!!!"
The roaring Spine Wheel smashed through the crowd, with bone spurs spinning unabated, heading straight for Lyle’s face.
Lyle, expressionless, squatted down and snapped his fingers with his right hand. The speeding vehicle disintegrated in the air, and the exploding fragments, mixed with the driver, flew over Lyle’s head and crashed into the Giant Dragon’s shell.
Rising unhurriedly, Lyle greeted his companion who had fallen into the pit and now resembled scattered silver on the ground, the shiny scales indeed very beautiful.
"Shiny, sometimes I find it hard to distinguish your intentions, whether as a welcome or a scare..."
"Both, you know Shiny is a bastard, boss." Mr. Flexibility smiled as he walked down from another Spine Wheel, the perpetual smile on his face.
"Attempting to provoke someone bolstered by the Lich Crown, you really are a fool." The operator still had that unapproachably cold expression.
Lyle smiled, "I’ll take it you all came to welcome me, not out of curiosity... "
"Boss, what is this?" Shiny had already climbed onto the Giant Dragon’s shell, the destructive bombing that compromised the defense barrier turned the outermost dragon bone into a blurry carbon layer, looking like a crater-filled giant dirt clod.
The topmost carbon shell was loosening, and from this angle, Shiny probably couldn’t see underneath. Lyle squinted and answered Shiny’s confusion.
"This is what you fear the most."
Shiny was stunned, his memory search failing to yield anything he feared. In the end, the Lich nature and the young man’s competitiveness outweighed Shiny’s admiration for Lyle.
"Just this? This thing?"
"Mr. Shiny, I can understand being tricked by a friend into saying something offensive about me," Lyle’s talent for being undying and indestructible took effect, the charred carbon flaked off in large swathes, revealing the new, gleaming Dragon Bone inside. The Giant Dragon extended its body, presenting its noble posture before Andrey and his people.
The Giant Dragon roared, "But still, being duped into saying something stupid is just foolishness, the ugliest flaw in Spellcasters. You’re exceedingly stupid, so..."
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"Fly, Shiny."
"Eh?"
Mr. Giant Dragon gently patted Shiny, who transformed into a streak of light and crashed against the outer wall of the castle.
"Remember to apply two bottles of Resurrection Marrow Fluid; it’ll help you recover quickly. If the bones are misplaced, you can come back to me," Mr. Giant Dragon’s latter words were probably unheard by Shiny.
The Dragon Bone withdrew his gaze and turned it to the few people frozen in place. Wherever his eyes fell, the Liches fell silent.
"I am a Giant Dragon, the former head professor of White Bone Spirit Summoning Studies. My friends, gaze upon me, admire me! Behold my proudest student, Mr. Plague Doctor, who crafted this Giant Dragon body for me! Now, I have achieved my heart’s desire! I have become a Giant Dragon!!!"
After a brief silence, Andrey erupted into loud applause. A few Spirit Summoning Studies Liches started clapping, and like the spread of a plague, all the Liches joined in. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖
"You know this skeletal creation?"
"I do not."
"Then why are you clapping?"
"I just saw a Lich fly into the fifth-floor outer wall of the castle; I don’t want to try that."
"..." The applause grew even more enthusiastic.
The Liches who had the fortune to have participated in Mr. Giant Dragon’s White Bone Spirit Summoning Studies were the most excited, nearly breaking their own hand bones. They weren’t sure if this was their former mentor, but they didn’t dare to gamble; some apprentices disguised with flesh and blood even shed tears of emotion.
"Mr. Giant Dragon could take on all of us in human form. By the White Bone above, he has actually become a dragon now. How am I supposed to survive next semester?"
"Play dead."
The assembly that completely twisted the original intent of clapping continued, but fortunately, the real person in charge finally came out to stabilize the situation.
The Dean’s clapping wasn’t vigorous, but it was infectious, making the Liches who passed by him match their rhythm to his, creating an elegant and comfortable pace of applause.
Mr. Giant Dragon noticed the Dean, bent his dragon’s spine, lowered his head, and expressed his gratitude to this leader.
"Magnificent, Mr. Giant Dragon, your new appearance is even more... beautiful than I remembered. Just looking at you gives me an illusion of time flowing backward. Dragons are such exhilarating creatures, and now, you are one, too."
The Dean’s praise pleased Mr. Giant Dragon greatly, who laughed joyously and discussed the arrangements for his transformation with the Dean.
The change in form meant that Mr. Giant Dragon no longer suited to stay in Lich Crown. His intention for this visit was to bid farewell to Andrey. He would blend into the council of Dragon Priests, resign completely from his work in Andrey, leaving behind only some connections.
The Dean didn’t fuss over Mr. Giant Dragon’s series of actions, akin to betrayal of his kind.
"You will always be one of us, Giant Dragon. You can treat the White Bone Forest as your private airstrip; it was a teaching ground you meticulously maintained. The gates of Andrey will always be open for you, and you will need them, Mr. Giant Dragon."
The Dean looked around; there was plenty of time.
"Could you share your feelings about your new body with me, Mr. Giant Dragon? I must confess, I’m quite curious about the construction of a dragon. We have ample time..."
"I would be delighted to share with you, Mr. Dean. In fact, my friends from the Dragon Priest council will also need some time before they can meet with me."
"Dragon Priests? They will appear here too?" The Dean expressed great happiness at the news of the Dragon Priests arriving in the territory of Andrey, "That’s wonderful news. In fact, I have also invited some club members to hold an academic meeting on dragon transformation experiments right here. What do you think?"
"It would be my honor."
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