School Transmigration: I, Chosen as the Saint by Dragons at the Start-Chapter 139 --Grandmasters Gather, The Red General Appears
As Barlo flew, he sent messages to Bilqis and Nidaam: "The target is Heaven Summit."
Bilqis and Nidaam were originally under his tutelage, intended to assist Owen.
However, with the emergence of issues at the Dragon Slaying Field, he had sent the two dragons to uncover the truth, following the trails left by the instigator.
Now, with a lead on the matter, it was natural to focus their efforts and head together to Heaven Summit.
...
Deep within the corridors of Heaven Summit, dark energy spread around like dense clouds.
Leopold looked at the small mirror in his hands with a pained expression.
This was a legendary-tier arcanergy artifact, a creation of his own crafting, known as the Thousand Miles Sound Transmission Mirror.
If it were merely for sound transmission over a thousand miles, this item would not be considered a legendary-tier artifact.
Its most crucial feature allowed the user to transmit messages to anyone they visualized in their mind.
Who on Novalia continent didn’t recognize Barlo? However, each use consumed a significant amount of resources, which was the source of his distress.
A grandmaster, thinking of his academy’s prodigy, couldn’t help but look towards the composed Eldrich: "Teacher, are we just going to wait like this?"
Clearly, he was also one of Eldrich’s students.
Many from the four academies had studied at the Grand Magus Academy.
Eldrich responded coolly, "Naturally, we can’t just sit and wait. I’m considering how to influence the illusionary world we’ve constructed."
All the grandmasters turned their gaze towards Eldrich, some frowning, others pursing their lips...
Influencing the illusionary world was a daunting task.
The most critical aspect of the worlds they built was stability, leaving no gaps for exploitation.
After all, if they could find loopholes, so could other grandmasters, making the trials not only unfair but also providing a backdoor for those with malicious intent.
Such a thought seemed quite fanciful.
Eldrich stroked his beard, his eyes lighting up slightly, "Perhaps we can utilize this magic array to our advantage."
"What do you mean?" Lauder raised an eyebrow, beginning to understand, "Can this magic array, which absorbs the souls of the students, also be used to send in part of our souls to influence the constructed world?"
Eldrich chuckled softly, "Correct, well said." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
Lauder’s eyelids twitched, observing the souls swirling within the magic array, "It seems it won’t be that easy."
"We don’t need to have our entire souls absorbed, just need to do something to help alleviate the students’ pressure," Eldrich explained.
"Like what?" Lauder was again a bit lost.
"When the Red General of Coiled Dragon City established his illustrious military achievements, sadly, he was not accepted by his homeland and could only remain in Coiled Dragon City, which henceforth became an exclave. If we can assume the guise of the Red General and awaken the flesh fortress’s mother entity, it might cause some trouble for the River Crossing Demon spawn," Eldrich elaborated slowly, making everyone understand.
"But who will go?" Lauder posed the question.
Eldrich, without hesitation, said lightly, "I’ll go."
"Teacher," the grandmasters, who shared a mentor-disciple relationship with Eldrich, all stepped forward to object.
"No need for further discussion," Eldrich waved his hand, having made up his mind.
...
Outside Heaven Summit, with the sun tilting westward, the clearing of the landslide was nearly complete.
The snow leopard atop the rocks hadn’t been idle, using magus reinforcements on the large stones prone to weathering and falling, ensuring they’d stay in place for at least a day or two.
Abbott came to check the progress for the fourth time, craning his neck to look down the mountain path.
That stretch of the road was eerily quiet, devoid of any human sounds.
The patrol that had entered the mine had yet to emerge.
"It’s good they haven’t come out," Abbott murmured under his breath, a hint of reluctance on his face.
Just then, the rapid sound of horse hooves approached, sounding like seven or eight riders.
Abbott’s expression shifted as he turned, torch in hand, and soon saw blood-red armor in the distance.
This was the insignia of the Ambition Army, the regular forces of Coiled Dragon City.
Had the incident here actually alarmed the Ambition Army?
Seeing this, the snow leopard leaped down from the rocks and ran over with quick steps.
The leading figure stopped in front of Abbott, pulling on the reins to halt his horse: "Are you the town mayor?"
"Yes, yes," Abbott stammered, "What brings the military here?"
He recognized the leading officer and was so shocked that his eyes widened.
"How long have the four patrol teams been inside?" asked the leading figure.
"About, about four hours," Abbott replied.
"Do you know your crime?" Suddenly, the officer’s tone shifted.
"Ah?" Abbott was startled, "What crime do I know?"
The mount behind the officer snorted loudly.
Abbott shivered, a warm stream trickling down his legs in fear.
A cold voice carried through: "Quartz, the patrolmen haven’t returned yet?"
The snow leopard was originally named Quartz.
Once proud, it now lowered its ears, speaking softly, "They have not returned yet."
"Why did you not follow them in?" The cold voice, devoid of questioning yet filled with authority, pressed on.
Quartz’s tail twirled in guilt, caught in its attempt to shirk duty.
As a guardian beast with awakened intelligence, it naturally knew better than to voice its true thoughts.
The icy voice spoke again: "Leave two people to clarify the reasons, the rest will come with me."
She spurred her horse forward, leaving behind a trail of blood-red cloak.
Abbott managed to call out from behind with difficulty: "Red General, spare my life!" But no one paid him any heed.
As they turned into the pathway leading up the mountain, Abbott, despite the freezing weather, was sweating profusely, with pale steam rising from his head.
The remaining officer sneered, "Thirty-seven miners met with disaster, minus the two who escaped, that leaves thirty-five dead. Heh, you delayed reporting the incident for two days. During these two days, you also privately contacted outsiders to enter the mine, bringing in at least forty to fifty people, none of whom came out today. This doesn’t even account for today’s patrol..."
Abbott’s face turned ashen, his lips trembling uncontrollably as he knelt, repeatedly kowtowing and pleading, "Spare me, military lord, I was only following orders, please spare my life!"
The officer kicked him in the head, scoffing coldly, "Do you realize your false report has led to a disaster? The monster from the cave went north these past two days and devoured a whole village, nearly eighty to ninety people."
Abbott’s head thundered, half of his body numbing.
"In just three days, this monster has consumed over a hundred people, not even counting the spellbeasts," the officer’s gaze was ice-cold, as if he wanted to devour Abbott whole.
Abbott was speechless, merely kneeling on the ground, pleading, "Please spare my life, I truly didn’t know, I really didn’t know..."
The officer calmed down, stating flatly, "As long as you reveal who instructed you, you might still have a chance to live."
Abbott’s head was pressed tightly against the frozen ground, colder than the ice beneath him, yet not as cold as his heart.
...
The Red General moved swiftly; in just five minutes, they had already reached the entrance to the mine.
Positioned where the sun’s rays could not reach, the mine now appeared ominously shadowy, like a monster with its mouth wide open waiting for people to leap in.
An officer beside her asked, "General, shall we enter the cave?"
"Not in a hurry." To others, the scene might seem peacefully ancient, but in the Red General’s eyes, this place was filled with a sinister aura, with the souls seemingly glaring at the sun, ready to rise in resentment.
Approaching the mine, she could already sense the so-called divine offspring’s presence.
The River Crossing Demon spawn, lacking parental guidance, was naturally arrogant and did not know how to conceal its aura.
With a flick of her hand, the Red General produced an open gold artifact, slightly smaller than a washbasin, its three legs carved with dragons.
She gathered snow from an old locust tree, placing it into the gold artifact.
Her fingertips slid back and forth on the bottom of the artifact, arcanergy flowing, and in the blink of an eye, the snow turned into water.
As she caressed the bottom of the gold artifact, it quickly transformed, gradually taking on the appearance of mountains and rivers.
The landscape divided into high peaks and low valleys, with small houses and cave entrances emerging...
Was this not a miniature model of the Heaven Summit mine they were all situated in?
Even the twisted forms of the trees outside the cave entrance were perfectly replicated.
At this stage, the Red General dipped her finger into the gold artifact and stirred clockwise.
Whether she recited any incantations was unknown to the bystanders, but the air around her began to move suddenly, the wind growing stronger until the guards beside her could hardly stand steady, having to hold onto each other for support.
Mist began to form inside the gold artifact, from thin to thick, in just a blink of an eye.
The mist covered the gold artifact like an invisible lid, confined to swirl within.
Soon, the artifact contained nothing but thick mist.
The Red General withdrew her finger, yet the mist continued to churn as if something was moving beneath it.
In a moment, a long line of dorsal fins appeared on the surface, followed by what seemed to be a tail, undulating and coiling through the misty sea like a serpent or crocodile, exuding a terrifying presence.
Then, it revealed its true form: a super mini protodragon.
