Ashen Dragon-Chapter 639 - 67 Radiating Brilliance
Chapter 639: Chapter 67: Radiating Brilliance
Chapter 639 -67: Radiating Brilliance
“Roar—”
A long, resounding Dragon’s Roar spread throughout a hundred miles, the slowly descending Dragon’s Might made everyone’s shoulders heavy, unable to resist the urge to kneel in worship.
“Sizzle—”
The sound of air bursting rang out, followed by a howling wind.
A Red Dragon over forty meters in length beat its wings, stirring up a scorching hurricane with flashing sparks, leaping from the top of the Isdalia Grand Altar.
The sunlight showered over the Red Dragon’s scarlet scales, enshrouding its body in a thin, blurred halo, as if a Divine being had descended.
Its broad Dragon Wings obscured the sun, casting vast shadows over the thousands of Imperial People below, all fearless within the shadow, instead filled with excitement and feeling tremendously honored.
Beneath the shade of the Red Dragon’s wings, in other regions this might signal death, but in the Ashen Empire, it was a symbol of glory and luck.
“Cassius above…”
“Such an honor.”
“His Majesty, he is right over my head!”
The people looked up into the sky, where hundreds of thousands of gazes converged on the majestic and towering form of the giant dragon, feelings of reverence and admiration spontaneously rising.
Yet within that shadowed crowd, there was a hooded figure disguised as an Imperial Merchant—none other than a Half-elf, the double agent spy for both the Empire and the Harpist, Richard.
At this moment, he numbly gazed up at the giant dragon in the sky, his expression particularly complex, as if his soul was lost.
“Cassius above…”
Having spent several years undercover in the Empire, even this phrase had become his habitual expression, unconsciously slipping out.
Years ago, during that continent-shaking coronation ceremony, Richard realized something— that giant dragon, the Ashen Empire’s Emperor, was invincible against human strength.
He probably would never be able to defeat this “enemy” in his lifetime, let alone any so-called revenge. His only goal was to rescue Abir and return to the South to live a peaceful life away from the world.
However, just then, Richard witnessed a scene that filled him with complete despair—
On the altar, a familiar figure appeared, with a tall stature, green pupils, and the sharp-eared feature unique to Elves.
It was her, Abir, the Elf Ranger from Serinia, the one he yearned for day and night, the love who appeared countless times in his dreams.
But now, she was standing on the Great Altar of Isdalia, her face zealously lifted towards the Red Dragon in the sky, waiting to receive a blessing from the Emperor.
Richard dared not show his loss and despair too obviously and could only manage a forced smile, lest he be easily mistaken for a spy and traded for Gold Coin.
Within the Empire, this had even sparked a special trade, with some making a living out of it, and thus spies were affectionately referred to by the Imperial People as “Fifty Gold.”
“No, this can’t be…”
Richard’s voice trembled, drowning amid the cheers of the crowd.
“Long live His Majesty Cassius!”
“Long live the Empire!”
“For the Great Red Dragon!”
Amidst the roaring of the surrounding crowd, Richard felt an eerie silence around him as he looked at that unreachable figure, a piercing buzzing even sounding in his ears.
He saw the Elf on the altar cheering too, with flushed cheeks and a fervent gaze, indistinguishable from the excited Imperial People.
In the official rhetoric of the Half-Red Dragons, Abir was a model of “reevaluation and conversion to the Empire,” the first Elf to join the Empire.
She too had been brainwashed!
Richard’s mind flashed back to a passage he had read in the Imperial Daily:
“The blessed ones, their souls shall receive a blessing, they will remain loyal to the Empire forever, in eternal pursuit of the magnificent Ashen Emperor.”
“No, Abir, you cannot become a Retainer of the Emperor…”
Richard murmured to himself, helplessly reaching out towards the distant figure, yet she was only devoutly looking up at the sky, totally unaware of him.
He also knew, if he really tried to stop the ceremony, not only would he himself be ensnared, Abir’s fate would not be any better.
But if he stood by idly, Abir would become the soul slave of the Emperor, her liberation impossible for all eternity, and they could never return to the beginning.
“Abir, don’t…”
Suddenly, a suffocating helplessness washed over Richard, as if an invisible hand was strangling his throat, leaving him only able to utter a whimper of despair.
The Richard of yesteryear, full of vigor, who had signed a contract with the Wilderness Fairy, thought himself capable of becoming a Legendary Hero who would save the world.
But now, Richard had long recognized that he was merely a Mortal unable to control his fate.
In the face of such a colossus as the Ashen Empire, before that Divine Emperor, he was nothing more than an insignificant speck of dust.
Struggling to lift his head, looking up at the giant dragon soaring into the sky, the sky-dimming Dragon Wings, Richard’s eyes revealed a trace of despair.
“No…”
Yet at this moment, amidst the fervent atmosphere, in this glorious and sacred moment, with nearly everyone looking up at the Emperor’s majestic form, no one noticed anything amiss with Richard.
The ritual continued, the Ashen Empire’s Emperor still suspended in the sky, like the sunrise and sunset, unchanged by any Mortal’s Will.
“Roar—”
The Red Dragon once again raised its head for a mighty roar.
That Dragon’s Roar, even more majestic and powerful, swept across the sky and the earth, echoing throughout Anzeta, making all creatures tremble, all eyes turning towards the direction of the City of Isdalia.
