Chapter 404: Chapter 406: Trace of the Black Dragon, The Struggle for Control of the Underworld (7400 words)

Twilight City had been completely integrated into Dawn City’s territory after a month of construction.

Or perhaps, into the hands of the Twilight Sect.

For this was a purely religious city, the sole manager being the Twilight Priest Group of the Twilight Sect, with a Level 18 Half-body Great Mage–Mahari–at its head.

The Twilight Sect’s military arm was named the Twilight Court by Lide, an institution responsible for forceful conquest and overseen by a super Cave Dweller transformed by the Power of Faith–Kedri Sharp Tooth.

With the two utilizing civil and military strategies together, and the additional help of Nicole, Cap, Audis, along with half of Dawn City Hall’s Think Tank,

in just a short month, this former Half-Elf city had all its dwellers–Half-Elves and those captive Dark Races–become believers of the Twilight Sect.

Of course, there were still some stubborn dark life forms, but they had been sent to the mines to labor.

Dealing with these beings from the Evil Camp, Lide took drastic, no-nonsense actions.

Heathens who did not follow the Twilight Sect either mined or met the Death God; an iron-fisted approach effectively deterred the dark life forms prone to evil and slaughter.

Twilight City was developing in the exact direction he had envisioned.

But today, an unexpected event occurred.

“Are you saying it was a conspiracy by this Naga that caused us to lose three hundred warriors?”

The original mansion of the Half-Elf City Lord now belonged to Lide. In the most luxuriously appointed central hall, Anthony, with the Fearless Holy Sword in hand, knelt on one knee, his face filled with guilt and remorse.

And beside Anthony, the figure lying prone and covered with scars was none other than the four-armed Naga leader with a crown of fleshy tumors atop its head.

Lide was unaware of the battle outside Twilight City. By the time the Magic Language Bats arrived to support after spotting a distress signal, all that remained on the scene was Anthony and a few Naga, unconscious on the ground.

The area surrounding the site of the battle, spanning hundreds of feet, had been leveled to the ground.

“Yes, Your Majesty, it is all my fault. I failed to recognize the Naga’s conspiracy in time.”

Seeing Anthony’s remorse, Lide’s brow furrowed but he did not rush to assign blame.

“Detail the entire incident for me.”

“Your Majesty, six Sunshine Hours ago, we discovered traces of the Naga…”

Anthony recounted the whole incident in detail, and after listening, Lide’s frown slightly eased.

Although this incident was inevitably Anthony’s fault as the commander, in such circumstances, any army except his own would likely have been ambushed.

The Naga’s ability to conceal their presence had been apparent when they escaped from the plaza last time.

The power of these Upper Races was not to be underestimated.

It was not surprising to be taken advantage of in this way.

“Later, go down to the military tribunal by yourself to face discipline.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.” Anthony did not offer a single Refutation. The guilt he felt for his fallen brothers was stronger than anyone else’s.

“Is this Dark Night Elf a captive of the Naga?”

Lide didn’t dwell on the matter, turning his gaze to the unconscious Dark Night Elf on the other side.

Their pale skin made these close relatives of the elves appear quite exotic, with curvaceous figures and nearly perfect faces, their beauty on par with that of the Bloodline, only marred by the scars on their bodies.

“Wake the Dark Night Elf.”

After finishing, he waved Anthony off, who was still kneeling on the ground.

“Rise, and when I conquer the Naga, you shall lead the vanguard, avenging our warriors of Dawn City.”

Anthony’s spirit was instantly shaken as he looked up with bloodshot eyes, his tone unwavering.

“Yes, Your Majesty! The blood of Dawn City’s warriors shall not be shed in vain!!”

Lide couldn’t help but fall silent. War was always cruel and bloody, without the slightest hint of romance.

Yet, in the struggle for survival space, there was no talk of giving up.

To give up the struggle was to eliminate oneself actively; if others grew stronger, they would certainly not cast aside their butcher’s knives.

The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest.

If Dawn City wished to continue existing, it had to advance through bloodshed, with no retreat possible.

Upon hearing the command, the two Bloodline members immediately stepped forward and used magic to awaken the Dark Night Elf who was bound and lying on the floor.

“Cough cough…”

After a series of violent coughs, the bound Dark Night Elf slowly opened her eyes.

A moment later, as if realizing something, she abruptly sat up but fell back to the floor due to the restraints throwing off her balance.

After a fierce struggle, she finally accepted her current predicament. With resentment and reluctance, she sat up again, and it was only now that the Dark Night Elf had time to observe her surroundings.

Without a doubt, the extraordinary Lide at the center of everyone’s attention immediately caught her eyes.

Although Lide’s bat wings were not unfurled at the moment, the crimson in his eyes, along with the tusks in his mouth, enabled the Dark Night Elf to recognize his Bloodline identity right away.

Startled, her expression turned very unsightly.

She hadn’t expected the Bloodline to be involved; these surface dwellers appeared terrifyingly powerful.

Her thoughts racing, she took the initiative to speak.

“Respected Bloodline warrior, may I ask what I must offer to gain my freedom?”

In the Underworld, there was no such thing as prisoners being released for nothing, and her question was clever. If Lide stated a price, then she could understand his intentions.

If Lide didn’t state a price, but as long as she followed with her question, she could deduce something.

“What would you pay?” Lide chuckled, a trace of amusement flashing in his eyes.

“What do you have to offer?”

“Respected Bloodline warrior, I can create magic scrolls. I can exchange my Magic Scroll Making Skill for my freedom.”

As the knife to the lamb, the Dark Night Elf was no Elf, lacking any will to resist to the death; her submission was no slower than that of the Cave Dwellers.

“Magic Scroll Making Skill?”

Lide nodded slightly; it was indeed a decent bargaining chip, but now he was not in the mood for such matters, his expression turning slightly colder.

“We’ll discuss that later.

Why did you become a captive of the Naga?”

Upon hearing the chilling tone, the Dark Night Elf felt an overwhelming pressure bearing down on her, as if she was being targeted by a giant dragon capable of shattering the earth.

The transcendent aura was simply too much for the Level 14 Dark Night Elf to resist; her soul itself seemed to tremble.

Without hesitation, she quickly began to speak.

“Bloodline noble, I was searching outside for information on a lost treasure of the Dark Night Elves when I was unfortunately discovered by the Nagas. The squad I led was entirely wiped out, and I too was captured by these Nagas.”

“Lost treasure? What is it?”

Lide was quite curious.

“It’s an Elf divine artifact–the Green Longbow.”

“Did you find it?”

“No, the information was a fake lead deliberately released by the Nagas to lure our tribespeople away.”

“What is the purpose of the Nagas doing this?”

“The Nagas have always wanted to conquer the Underworld, and we Dark Night Elves are their greatest obstacle. So they wanted to capture me for more information and also to lure you…”

“Lure me?”

“Yes, they wanted to create the false impression that we Dark Night Elves had attacked your army and then lure you into invading the territory of the Dark Night Elves.

When both of us are badly injured from the conflict, these Nagas would then finish us all off.”

After hearing this, Lide’s expression became somewhat subtle. He didn’t expect there to be so much behind this situation. It seemed that these Nagas were quite ambitious.

They even wanted to conquer the Underworld, consuming everyone in it.

“Can the Nagas defeat the Half-Elves who have more than one Transcendent?”

“Yes, Bloodline noble…”

The Dark Night Elf’s face revealed a barely perceivable fear, “They have allied with the Black Dragon in the Sludge Swamp.

That Black Dragon possesses a power unmatched by the entire Underworld. If our armies and yours are wiped out by the Nagas, they will enslave other races to attack the Half-Elves’ Liusi City together.”

The Nagas have allied with the Black Dragon??

This news made Lide’s pupils sharply constrict.

He hadn’t expected to encounter news of the Black Dragon here.

He had been relentlessly pursuing information on the Black Dragon for some time.

Whether it was the Twelve Magic Scrolls in the possession of the other party or the Black Dragon itself, Lide held significant interest.

But the most embarrassing thing was that he possessed the Dragon Slaying Skill but could not find the dragon.

The Sludge Swamp was too vast and too dangerous, filled with terrifying toxic mists and Demon Beasts.

The spies he sent suffered many losses, and up to now, they hadn’t even explored one-tenth of the area. He had no idea which year it would be if he were to actually find that Black Dragon.

Could this be considered a gain that required no effort?

“So, is that Black Dragon at the Naga base now?”

“No, Bloodline noble, the Black Dragon has always been in the Sludge Swamp, but the other party has a way to summon it.”

“If the other party can summon the Black Dragon, and the Black Dragon is the most powerful existence in the Underworld, then why hasn’t the Dark Night Elf tribe been overtaken by the Nagas?”

Lide noticed a loophole in the Dark Night Elf’s words, and his gaze turned a bit colder.

Feeling that suddenly terrifying aura, the Dark Night Elf’s body seemed to be crushed under the weight of a mountain.

His heart trembled, and he supported himself on the ground with both hands, his torso bending at this moment.

He spoke with a trembling voice.

“Bloodline noble, I’m not deceiving you, it’s just that my tribe possesses several Dragon Hunting Crossbows capable of hunting Transcendent and even Legendary beings. That’s what has been deterring that Black Dragon from coming forward.

If you attack the territory of the Dark Night Elves, it’s very likely we would use them to hunt you, and then the Nagas and the Black Dragon could profit from the situation…”

Dragon Hunting Crossbows that can hunt the Transcendent? Lide frowned slightly, the oppressive aura eased a little, and the Dark Night Elf could finally catch his breath.

“How many Dragon Hunting Crossbows are there? How powerful are they?”

“This is a secret of our tribe. Although I’m aware of the existence of the Dragon Hunting Crossbows, I can’t know the exact number and location. In the Dark Night Elves, only our Matriarch knows.”

“Do you know where the Naga Tribe is located?”

“Yes!” On this question, the Dark Night Elf instantly became more animated, “Those Nagas are hidden within a veil of mist.”

The next words out of the Dark Night Elf’s mouth made Lide’s eyes widen.

“This group of Nagas is not from the Underworld; they came to the Underworld through a Spatial Gate from the Abyss decades ago…”

This group of Nagas actually came from the Abyss?

This news truly surprised Lide.

“Is the Space Gate that connects to the Abyss still open?”

He asked the most critical point, if the Nagas could continuously summon forces from the Abyss, then he might not be able to handle these Nagas.

Although Dawn City was strong, it wasn’t strong enough to ignore everything.

“That Space Gate has already shattered. Our preceding Matriarch personally witnessed its destruction.”

Good, the Dark Night Elf’s words slightly relieved Lide, the situation hadn’t developed to the worst-case scenario.

“How many members do the Nagas have now?”

“Bloodline noble, I’m not exactly sure of the number, but the estimate should be around 80,000…”

Lide nodded without asking further, and with a wave of his hand,

“Take her down for the Think Tank to interrogate.

Dark Night Elf, you’re a smart person; tell us everything you know, and I’ll let you live.”

A Level 14 Dark Night Elf was not worth him using the Power of Faith to forcibly convert, and besides, Dark Night Elves are followers of Spider Queen Rose, the conspirator God who controls several Abyss Planes with a terrifying power. He didn’t want to rashly compete with the other party for believers.

Although the possibility of being discovered was extremely low, the benefit wasn’t great enough to warrant the risk.

The real prize lay with the unconscious Nagas.

Lide’s gaze turned towards the Naga.

This Naga’s level had reached 17. If he were to convert anyone, it would be this Naga. His primary target had always been the Nagas, the Dark Night Elf was just incidental.

For now, he had no thoughts of enslaving the Dark Night Elves–after all, who could withstand such a terrfying backer?

Once the Bloodline had taken the Dark Night Elf away, Lide ordered the Naga to be awakened.

“Damn surface life, do you know what kind of entity you have provoked??”

Upon discovering that it was bound, the crested Naga had none of the Dark Night Elf’s wits and began to roar in the cold Naga language.

“Lord Austin will destroy everything you have with his fury!!”

Nagas speak a highly obscure language; both Lide and the Bloodline couldn’t understand a word. All they heard was “**&%Y=#@#Y=!”

What the heck is this snake brat saying??

Lide waved his hand dismissively, “Cast a language comprehension spell on him.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

After cursing in a rage for a good while, the crested Naga realized that everyone around wore a baffled look, which only fueled his anger as he noticed they couldn’t understand him.

It’s damn irritating to rage and no one understands.

A moment later, a Bloodline hurried over and quickly cast a spell.

Language Comprehension.

It was only then the people around could make sense of the crested Naga’s words.

But understanding them only made them irked. Was this bastard courting death?

“You vampires on the surface!! The Nagas are under the great protection of His Majesty Austin!! Do you wish to taste the wrath of His Majesty Austin?!”

“Release me immediately, or the great Black Dragon His Majesty Austin and the mighty Naga tribe will surely annihilate you all!!”

Lide’s mouth twitched upon hearing this. Was this guy actually saying such things? Was he an idiot?

How did he even survive in the Underworld with such intelligence?

He wouldn’t make it past eighteen years old on the surface either.

Imbeciles are truly everywhere.

Used to dealing with high-intelligence natives, encountering such a fool was quite amusing to him.

He curled his lips mockingly, “Drag him down and beat him for a half Sunshine Hour.”

The crested Naga instantly burned with rage, “You damned bastard, this is a declaration of war against the great Nagas, a provocation to His Majesty Austin’s dignity!!”

Lide waved dismissively, “What are you waiting for? Drag him down and give him a group thrashing for a full Sunshine Hour.”

A few Bloodline finally reacted, “Yes, Your Majesty…”

And so, amidst Anthony’s flabbergasted gaze, the crested Naga was indeed dragged down and received a brutal beating…

Is such a method even possible? That’s a Level 17 Naga… It’s one thing to be tortured for questioning, but a beating? What’s going on??

Lide leisurely sat in the main seat, picked up a cup of tea from the round table, and sipped on the unique red tea of the Underworld.

Forcing a conversion on this foolish Naga would probably consume at least 100,000 Power of Faith…

With the introduction of the Faith Enhancement feature, the Power of Faith had become increasingly precious. Saving a bit where possible was ideal.

The crested Naga put up such fierce resistance that a forced conversion would consume even more Power of Faith.

Let’s not rush into it.

While the Level 17 crested Naga was being thrashed, Lide turned his attention to Anthony.

The bright Level 15 on his attribute panel was particularly conspicuous.

This was Dawn City’s very first human to break through Level 15, and he was one of their own cultivated talents.

Anthony Cleo

Title: Heart of Fearlessness (Fearless, undaunted, able to ignore any level of aura pressure, solidifies a buoyant and indestructible trait, always full of courage as long as not dead. When facing beings stronger than himself, all attributes increase by 1000%)

Level: 15

Profession: The Fearless (Legendary)

Unique Skill: The Fearless (Unaffected by any control skills, fears no adverse environments, the more dangerous the battle, the stronger the combat strength)

Heart of Fearlessness (No fear of life and death, no fear of pain, immune to all mental-class skills, and able to store Fearless Power, which can enhance the power of skills, current storage: 100, cap: 1000)

Inheritance Skills: Sword Intent Cross, Sword Slash Eight Directions, Fierce Sword Energy, Sword Qi Formation, Thousand Swords Release, Thousand Feet Sword Shadow.

Bloodline: Blood of Fearlessness (All Attributes increase by 1000%, affinity with longswords reaches full value, damage with sword weapons increased by 500%)

Evaluation: Inheritor of the ancient profession – Heart of Fearlessness, possesses a fearless heart and dares to draw his sword against Divine beings, only by confronting one’s inner fearlessness can the true power be awakened.

Even after reviewing it several times, Lide still found Anthony’s attributes extraordinary.

It’s actually a Legendary profession, which is quite impressive.

Although Anthony’s profession doesn’t appear to be overpoweringly invincible, the returning Bloodline clearly described his battlefield traces, and Imaging Magic also allowed him to directly witness just how astounding this guy’s burst of power was.

At Level 15, he flipped a Level 17 Naga, along with over a thousand Level 8 and 9 Naga warriors.

These defeated Nagas were an Upper Race, not some weak Cave Spiders.

To assess a profession’s combat strength, it suffices to look at the record and the opponents.

“Anthony, how did you obtain this profession’s inheritance?”

Upon hearing Lide’s question, Anthony looked up with admiring eyes and recounted in earnest the entire process: Meeting Uncle Jike, failing to join the Dawn City military several times, then receiving the Fearless Holy Sword from Uncle Jike, and lastly casting aside all fear to fully activate the inheritance of the Heart of Fearlessness.

After listening, Lide had a subtly expressive face.

He never expected that within Dawn City was hidden such a high-level personage, the last inheritor of the Heart of Fearlessness.

It looked like a thorough investigation of Dawn City would be necessary upon his return.

As a ruler, naturally, his thought process would not mirror that of common folks; he had to ensure Dawn City’s stability.

But of course, he wouldn’t mention this to Anthony.

“Very well, Anthony, your loyalty to Dawn City has earned my recognition.

You said the profession of the Heart of Fearlessness can also be passed down.

Given this, I will create a new legion later. It shall be named the Fearless Army, and you will be the commander.

You can select soldiers from King’s Blade whom you deem capable of inheriting the Heart of Fearlessness to join.

I hope that the Fearless Army will become an absolute trump card of Dawn City.”

Underlings labor physically, intellectuals labor mentally, superiors labor others.

As a superior, he needn’t carry out too many specific tasks; employing talent effectively was sufficient.

Whether it was the words Anthony had just spoken, or his verifiable service record, all indicated the loyalty of this Legendary profession’s recipient to Dawn City.

Under this premise, he also possessed great strength.

So promoting him wasn’t really something special.

Anthony hadn’t expected he could still get promoted after making such a big mistake; his expression was a mix of excitement and guilt.

“Your Highness, I…”

“No need for words. This time you’re only atoning for your crimes with meritorious service. When we attack the Naga Tribe, the Fearless Army will take the lead, and you must be the first to kill into the Naga Tribe.

Only by achieving ultimate victory will you truly qualify to command the Fearless Army. You’re not yet worthy of this army.”

Hearing Lide’s unreserved words, Anthony finally felt somewhat better,

“Yes, Your Highness!!”

Then Lide talked with Anthony about a lot, mostly about the Legendary profession, Inheritance Skill of the Heart of Fearlessness, satisfying his curiosity.

Of course, this profession now also belonged to Dawn City, which made Lide’s mood particularly joyful.

As the master of Dawn City, as long as his soldiers were loyal to him, no matter how strong the profession they obtained, he would ultimately benefit.

A day later, a few footsteps interrupted the conversation between the two.

At this moment, several Bloodline dragged a blood-covered, crested Naga into the hall.

The once bumbling crested Naga was now listless, barely breathing more than he exhaled.

After being beaten up by seven or eight Bloodline for a day, it was impressive he was still alive.

Looking at the crested Naga twitching on the ground from time to time,

Lide’s mouth twitched.

Serves you right…

Without a word, he unleashed his Transcendent power like a level twelve tempest.

The entire hall’s atmosphere suddenly became thick and sluggish as if stuck in mud, and even the surrounding Bloodline, including Anthony, felt a terrifying, formidable pressure descending upon them.

Lide’s gaze was as sharp as a blade’s edge, staring unflinchingly at the crested Naga.

The blasphemous language echoed in the hall, accompanied by an aura resembling the collapse of heaven and earth, shocking to hear.

“Submit, or be destroyed?”

But it seemed Lide didn’t really want an answer; the blasphemous language kept repeating relentlessly.

Submit or be destroyed, this phrase, along with that presence, weighed on the crested Naga’s soul like a heavy stone.

Again and again.

The already dying crested Naga’s life force was rapidly waning. After just three minutes, its body had grown cold, and the heartbeat weak.

It was then that Lide finally took action, stepping forward and placing his right hand on its skull.

The Power of Faith began to pour out wildly.

The crested Naga, whose consciousness was already blurred, wanted to resist, but had no strength left.

As the Power of Faith was rapidly depleted, the Naga’s soul also slowly transformed.

Thirty thousand, fifty thousand… until 100,000 of the Power of Faith was spent, and Lide finally heard the system’s prompt of a successful transformation.

He stood up with some relief and took a deep breath.

Good thing I didn’t force it…

As an Upper Race, the Naga was only at level 17, but the quality of its soul was more than three times stronger than an 18-level Half-Elf Great Mage’s.

Meaning if he had forced it when the Naga was conscious, he may have drained more than 300,000 of the Power of Faith.

The thought of that terrifying number made him somewhat afraid; indeed, a melon forced off its vine is not sweet.

But he wasn’t feeling good now either; he’d barely saved up 200,000 of the Power of Faith in a month, and now it was halved again.

And this time, the conversion was for this numbskull; had it not been for the need to obtain more useful information, he might not have been willing to convert.

The Dark Faith Power had accumulated over 50,000, but that was to be saved for unsealing the Twilight Godhood and wouldn’t be used unless it was a critical moment.

After a full five minutes, the crested Naga finally stood up. Now, healed by the Power of Faith, its injuries were cured.

Upon seeing Lide, the Naga which was previously quite hostile, immediately bowed in submission.

“Master…”

Lide nodded slightly. His heart was still aching for his lost Power of Faith, so he didn’t bother with small talk and went straight to the point, “Where is the Naga Tribe?”

He had long coveted the powerful race of Naga, and if he could enslave this unrivaled, close-combat Upper Race, Dawn City’s strength would certainly receive a significant boost.

Moreover, Twilight City needed Underworld Life to defend it. It didn’t matter if they were Beastman or human; surface life forms couldn’t possibly be stationed underground for long.

And with the Old Day approaching, he needed to pull the Underworld’s forces back to the surface to prevent unknown risks.

Currently, other Dark Races couldn’t meet Lide’s demands, only the Naga had the strength to deter other races.

Dark Night Elves were also an option, but they had the God of Conspiracy, the powerful Divine Power Abyss Dominator–Spider Queen Rose, behind them.

If he enslaved too many Dark Night Elves, there was a real risk of being discovered by that top-tier Evil God of the Abyss, so they were only a secondary option.

The Naga had no Main God, which naturally made them the easier target.

“Master, the Naga Tribe is within a place of mists, extremely dangerous, I must personally lead the way for you to enter…”

The crested Naga spoke respectfully.

Every time Lide saw the scene after a conversion by the Power of Faith, he would marvel at how it was like a bug, on par with the Bloodline’s First Embrace, even possibly stronger.

Although his thoughts were somewhat scattered initially, the next words from the crested Naga made Lide’s eyes narrow.

“Master, the Naga Tribe has recently found a way to reopen the Abyss Gate.

If you wish to conquer the Naga Tribe, you must act quickly.

And the Naga Tribe has also sought asylum with the Black Dragon, Austin…

That Black Dragon from the swamp has already touched the threshold of becoming Legendary, and if the Abyss Gate opens, once the dragon goes to the energy-rich Abyss, it will surely break through to Legendary…”

Break through to Legendary?

Hearing this, a sense of vigilance surged in Lide’s heart.

He was confident to face Transcendent levels, but Legendary was a whole other level. Even with his powerful Ancestor Bloodline, it wasn’t likely he could contend with a Legendary Black Dragon with equal, terrifying talent at level 23.

At that point, who would dominate the Underworld was still uncertain.

Lide immediately felt a sense of urgency.

Before, he had simply wanted to enslave the Naga–that’s why he pursued them. But now, he realized the situation had upgraded to a struggle for control of the Underworld against that Black Dragon.