Rising god-Chapter 131: Just ten minutes...

As soon as Roderick received the distress signal, he gathered the remaining dragons and flew to the scene at his top speed. For their current family situation, the vessel was so important, they couldn’t afford to lose it.

However, they should have known; had they known, none of them would have come. It took only ten minutes for it all to happen

Roderick cried deeply as he fled the scene with his scales covered in blood. He was the only survivor. They had lost the vessel, family members, and the red fang.

["Why"]

Roderick roared, his voice lost in the wind as he escaped.

He fled out of Darkan’s territory.

...

When Roderick and his dragons arrived, they’d descended from the sky, expecting a coordinated assault. Instead, a lone figure stood on the ground, his aura suffocating.

They dove down from the sky to further assess the situation.

["Maroon!"] Roderick bellowed, recognizing the Maroon Marauders’ leader.

Maroon grinned, his cloak rippling with waves of aura. "Oh, I remember that voice. Roderick, is that you? You’ve grown." His voice was casual, but the pressure radiating from him was unlike anything Darkan had seen in years, an 8th star.

["What do you think you are doing?"] Roderick demanded, his dragon fear faltering against Maroon’s oppressive aura. Normally, his pressure would be useful; however, not when it was a threat to his very life.

"Taking Darkan," Maroon said, smirking. "What else?"

The dragons growled, their scales bristling at his words.

Bang... bang. The vessel shook nearby, drawing their eyes.

"Don’t worry about that," Maroon said. "It’ll be over soon." He released his pressure from the vessel, redirecting it onto the dragons.

Kiiieeeee.

The air grew heavy, forcing many to plummet, cratering the earth. Even Roderick, a mature dragon, struggled to stay aloft, his wings trembling.

"But since you’re here, we can start the reformation, no?" Marron smiled as he gazed down at the dragons. He shook his head. "I’ve watched Darkan weaken, but I didn’t think it was this bad." He snapped his fingers, and underground members emerged with their weapons.

’Shit,’ Roderick cursed in regret. He understood what Marron was saying. A lot of Darkan dragons resented the empire for their deeds, and left to pursue their selfish desires, leaving the family with a lot of holes. Even for this emergency, Roderick wasn’t able to gather up a thousand dragons.

"Kill them. But of course, leave Roderick, for now."

The attackers lunged, channeling years of resentment, all their pent-up feelings, their continuous hunting, and built-up rage; they directed everything into their scales. The dragons’ cracked scales, weakened by Maroon’s pressure, offered little defense.

Blades and claws tore through flesh, dragon cries echoing in a chorus of agony. One could imagine the sound of a crying dragon, but this time, a multitude of them.

Inside the vessel, another battle raged. As they got into the vessel, they found the red fang waiting.

Tad, their leader, sneered at Doombringer. "Doombringer, so you’re now a dog for Marron?

"It doesn’t matter. You’re dying today," Doombringer retorted, his fist glowing with mountain-like force.

BOOOM. His punch struck a barrier formed by the Red Fangs’ combined mana, rippling but holding.

"You think this can stop me?" Doombringer sneered, hammering again.

However he wasn’t alone. A man cloaked in black also came and delivered a devastating palm strike that left a black palm mark on the barrier, he wasn’t called black hand for nothing.

For a brief moment, the surroundings went dark, followed by,

Pstch. A manic laugh followed as Sickle Man’s blade pierced a Red Fang from behind, his sickle bulging through the man’s chest. "Kikiki," he cackled.

"How’d he get there?" Tad growled, the barrier wavering. If he broke formation to attack Sickle Man, Doombringer would strike. But staying meant more deaths from behind.

The surroundings went dark again, before another slash came,

"Arghhh..."

Tad gritted his teeth and made a quick decision, "Half of you, handle the rear. The rest, hold the line!"

With the barrier split, Doombringer lunged at Tad, their blades and fists clashing in a shower of sparks. The Red Fangs tried to put up a formation; however, they were up against the members of Doombringers and the Marauders. These men weren’t like the rest; they used techniques and from behind, the Sickle man, the Night chaser, and the blood sword master dealt damage.

The moment they were all occupied, Doombringer shouted, "Now!"

Tad glanced, seeing nothing, until a Red Fang collided with an invisible figure, revealing a plant-chewing infiltrator.

’They’re sneaking in?’ The moment he saw the revealed figure, he pieced it together; however, something else disturbed him.

"Do you think you have the leniency of thinking?" Doombringer threw a large punch, but before it landed, a red surrounding had come into view.

Tad had used his domain, growled in a low and dangerous voice, "Where did you get that plant from?"

Doombringer didn’t entertain his question and matched it with his own domain, their energies clashing. Tad’s eyes burned.

Naturally, Tad knew of the happenings in the family, so he knew about that plant. At the moment, no one had any because the owner had made sure to only give the exact amount necessary.

That plant, only one person controlled its supply.

"I said, where did you get it?" he roared, kicking Doombringer’s chest with domain-fueled force, sending him crashing.

’It couldn’t be right?’ He looked back again, to see another man revealed with a plant on his lips. ’It can’t be Jin, no, no.’ He tried to deny it. The things the person had done for the family, he couldn’t also be behind this, right?

"You’re working with Jin?" he shouted, slamming Doombringer to the ground.

"What?" Doombringer blinked, confused. "What’re you babbling about?"

"That plant!" Tad roared. "Where is he?"

BANG.

A heavy fist suddenly struck Tad’s head, sending him flying.

"Boss," The second in command of Doombringer came to the rescue.

"What’s this fucker saying?" Doombringer rose, glaring at the stumbling Tad.

Tad’s heart sank. His current emotional turmoil was worse than any hit he had received today. ’Jin betrayed us.’ Only those words rang in his mind.

The battle resumed with the infiltrators slaughtering their way to the command center.

"Ahh..." The leftover operators gathered around each other, trembling. Unfortunately, none of them had any martial strength.

The black market just moved in excitedly. It was their first time handling something this grand, and they recognized the basics of what to do.

A few seconds later,

[Alliance leader Marron, Mission accomplished]

Outside, Maroon grinned at the vessel. "Perfect. Now, show us how it works." He pointed at the dragons, pinned by his pressure; however, the underground members scrambled away.

[Yes, sir.]

The cannon swiveled, runes flaring.

BOOOOOOM!

A blast tore through the dragons, earth erupting in a cloud of dust and blood. "Ohhhh!" Maroon laughed, exhilarated. That attack had done damage.

The survivors writhed, their scales shattered, and their faces filled with different sorts of pain. "Again!"

BOOOOOOM!

Another explosion set off, this time leaving only ten dragons alive, their bodies broken.

"Now," Maroon advanced, smirking. "It’s just you left."

However, as he got a few paces close, five dragons opened their maws, their voices resonating with ancient power.

"[STOP!]"

Marron’s eyes widened as his body froze in place.

The five dragons had just used their dragon tongue, but they weren’t close to strong enough to use them. Their bodies withered away on the spot.

Roderick seized the moment, the pressure lifting. He fled, wings beating through pain. The last five dragons, with their dying breaths, shouted,

"[STOP!]"

Their sacrifice bought Roderick more seconds, their bodies crumbling to ash.

Ten dragons used their lives for Roderick to escape.

The source of this c𝓸ntent is fr(e)𝒆novelkiss