Chapter 1180: Separate and Finding II

"Bandits!!"

"Prepare for battle!!"

Voices shouted from outside the carriage.

Sergine stood up and leapt down, gripping a metal pipe in her hand.

Eztein glanced at her, sensing the mana flowing through her body. He stood, brushed off his clothes, and stepped outside.

Sergine tightened her grip on her weapon, scanning the surroundings. The others around the carriage were also on guard, cautiously watching the bandits hidden among the bushes.

With his perception, Eztein counted twenty-three bandits. He had no intention of taking initiative since he didn’t want to trouble himself. He would act only if their lives were truly in danger.

Eztein calmly observed everything.

The bandits launched their attack, and Sergine along with the others fought back. The battle was fierce, but Sergine’s group was composed of professionals. They were strong enough to take down the bandits one after another.

The bandits were weak; numbers were the only advantage they had.

Half an hour later, Sergine and the others finally managed to repel the bandits. There was no earth-shattering battle as the bandits’ levels were too low for that.

Eztein knew that Sergine was hiding her true strength. After all, her mission involved a dragon, and she wouldn’t have been chosen if she were weak. Even without knowing her assignment, his senses could easily detect the undulating mana surrounding her.

S-rank.

Quite strong, but still insufficient when facing a higher-evolution monster.

Perhaps they believed the dragon was only at the third evolution.

Well, it didn’t matter. His goal was also the dragon. Once he finished his business, he would leave this land behind.

Their journey continued.

Along the way, they encountered more bandit attacks, and even monsters that wanted to feed on their flesh. The road was dangerous, there were simply too many threats. Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to cross this land at all.

Even though the situation here was insignificant in the grand scheme of things, it still had a massive impact on the common folk.

The next day, the group arrived at Reijun Mountain. Eztein and Sergine bid farewell to the others in the carriages; this was their destination, and they had no reason to accompany the group any further.

Sergine glanced at Eztein beside her and said, "Hmm... So your destination is this mountain too."

"Haven’t I told you already? I came here to meet a friend." Eztein chuckled.

They chatted as they headed toward the mountain. Reijun Mountain was enormous, home to countless monsters. It was considered one of the most dangerous locations in the region and some people even labeled it a forbidden zone.

Eztein and Sergine concealed their presence well as they climbed, eventually reaching the peak. There was nothing at the summit except a cave entrance carved into the side.

"Is this the cave?" Eztein asked.

"Probably." Sergine replied, stealing a glance at him, unsure of his true motives.

She noticed Eztein suddenly looking away, a faint frown on his face. "What’s wrong?" she asked.

Eztein snapped out of it and shook his head. "Nothing."

Sergine remained suspicious, but she didn’t press further. She stepped into the cave, finding a pitch-black passage stretching inward. She placed a hand against the damp wall, feeling the moisture cling to her skin.

A gust of wind howled through the tunnel, causing her expression to tighten. The energy here was dense, far denser than she expected. She wondered if the dragon had already recovered from its injuries.

As for why it had been injured in the first place, no one knew. The dragon had already been wounded when it claimed this mountain.

Eztein said nothing. He trailed behind Sergine, his mind a storm of thoughts he could not quiet, each one heavy and unrelenting.

The narrow, shadowed passage gave way to a vast chamber that seemed to breathe with fire. Rivers of molten magma snaked across the floor, glowing like liquid suns, and waves of heat rolled toward them in stifling, almost tangible waves. The air shimmered, heavy and thick, making every breath taste of iron and ash.

Eztein paused, feeling the heat singe the edges of his cloak, watching Sergine advance with careful, deliberate steps. Then he turned, his boots crunching on the scorched stone, and left.

Sergine pressed on, weaving her mana into a shimmering barrier that rippled with the intensity of the heat. Sweat ran down her face, stinging her eyes, and the acrid scent of burning rock filled her nostrils. Then, the magma before her convulsed and parted, and from it emerged a colossal head, the dragon, larger than anything she had imagined. Its scales shimmered like black obsidian, eyes molten gold, radiating an aura so intense it warped the air and made the ground tremble.

A crushing pressure slammed into her chest, making her knees weak. It was as if the heat and the very weight of the dragon were trying to force her to the ground. Every instinct screamed that this was no ordinary beast, no wonder the nobles’ elite forces had been obliterated.

"Speak. Why have you come here?" The voice rolled through the chamber, a thunderous rumble that vibrated the air, rattling her bones and making the magma hiss and spurt as if in fear.

Sergine’s face drained of color. Her hands shook violently, and her throat felt dry as stone. The smell of sulfur was suffocating. The power behind that voice, it could shatter her with a single thought.

"I... I have come to ask you to leave this place," she said, forcing herself to stand tall, though her legs threatened to give way beneath her.

"Leave this place?!" The dragon’s roar was sharp, explosive, echoing off the cavern walls like molten thunder. "Why would I do that?"

"The nobles in the royal capital are preparing to subjugate you," Sergine said, her voice trembling yet firm. "We, from the Grand Life School, do not wish to see you fall, nor to see their people suffer. We are prepared to help you recover from your injuries."

The dragon’s gaze bore into her, burning hotter than the magma around them.

"Why?"

"Because the Gluttony Army is advancing. We need every force we can muster, even the nobles, to stand against them."

The chamber fell into a suspended silence. The dragon did not move, did not speak. Its eyes, molten and fathomless, seemed to weigh her very soul. The air was thick with sulfur and the heat radiated in waves that made the skin on her arms prickle and sizzle. Even her mana shield trembled under the oppressive force, quivering like a fragile bubble.

The Gluttony Army had become a nightmare on this continent over the past few months. They had claimed countless lives, their brutality surpassing even that of the demons.

The dragon stared at Sergine, silent and unmoving.

"Stop, Doranjan... they are already here." A firm voice broke the tension.

Sergine and the dragon both turned to see Eztein walking toward them.

"I already felt your energy. I thought you were going to stay out of this place," Doranjan said, his gaze fixed on Eztein.

"Well... I just checked if there were other people, and I was right," Eztein replied with a casual shrug.

Sergine watched the exchange between Eztein and the revered dragon, realization dawning on her. The friend Eztein had mentioned before, he was talking about this dragon, Doranjan.

Eztein turned toward Sergine, a faint smile on his face. "You think this guy is injured? No, he isn’t hurt at all. He’s just baiting those who are lurking in the shadows."

Sergine’s eyes widened as she glanced at the massive dragon.

"He’s far stronger than you can imagine. Even if he were injured, the nobles in the royal capital wouldn’t stand a chance," Eztein added with a chuckle, the corners of his lips curling with quiet amusement.

Eztein spoke plainly because from his perspective, it was the truth. The nation Sergine hailed from was weak. This land was barren, and most experts who managed to rise here eventually fled to other regions in search of better opportunities.

It was almost as desolate as Mine Valley; the resources available here were few, and those worth plundering were even fewer.

Sergine was left speechless.

"Those people from the Gluttony Army? Their target is this guy." Eztein pointed casually at Doranjan. "So you don’t have to worry. We’ll handle them."

"I already planned to kill them all," Doranjan added, his deep voice rumbling through the chamber. "They were simply fortunate last time."

Sergine had no words. She didn’t understand where Eztein and Doranjan came from, nor why the Gluttony Army would go so far as to hunt a dragon of Doranjan’s stature.

"They’ve arrived..." Eztein murmured, his voice barely audible over the oppressive heat.

The moment the words left his lips, a colossal wave of mana erupted from him, flowing outward like molten energy. It surged through the chamber, probing every shadow, every crevice, every inch of space. The air itself seemed to hum and crackle under its force.

"They’ve detected us," Doranjan rumbled, his voice echoing like distant thunder, reverberating through the stone and making the very magma ripple.

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