Beneath the Red Dragon

The ranger Nayole, with his exceptionally keen perception, felt his back drenched in cold sweat. From the mage’s description, he could already imagine the scenes of cognitive alteration right from the source.

"Those poor mages, if they weren’t caught, should be able to use Divine Art to remove such negative illusions, otherwise it would be too terrifying," Nayole said.

The mage Lor shook his head and, not without regret, remarked, "Divine Art cannot solve such issues. For those mages, it is not a negative magical influence or a curse-like negative effect."

"It’s more like a spontaneous transformation in their cognitive perspective, as if the reality of the world differs for each person’s eyes."

"In these mages’ cognition, they have already transformed into another being. It’s a permanent transformation skill in cognition, influenced by the world’s actual reality, and cannot be dispelled by Divine Art."

"Unless there is a Chosen One from legends, a master of their own Law of Destiny, who can rewrite these mages’ will and cognition, may the problem be resolved."

"But then, these mages will never achieve breakthroughs and success on their own path,"

Lor clicked his tongue in regret, "It’s a pity, those mages might have been taken away by the Judgment Knights of the Golden Empire, otherwise, I could have studied them to glimpse some of the Red Dragon’s power essence."

"So, are we just doing nothing and waiting here?" Jesi asked, "We’ve been here for half a year already with no progress, I am almost ready to use my skills to buy a small villa in the Golden Empire."

"Or should we just abandon this task? I see there’s good money to be made in the Golden Empire, abandon this dangerous ’Lure the Dragon Out’ plan, and maybe we can live nice lives here."

The White Armor Knight Gao’er listened to his companion’s complaints, shook his head, and said, "The foundation of world order is established by humans, no matter how mighty the Golden Empire is, it cannot surpass the civilized nations of humans."

"It’s only those without ability who fancy this Giant Dragon-ruled land. Jesi, stop complaining. We should patiently search for opportunities, find the right timing,"

"My only question is, is this thing really as powerful as those nobles say?"

Everyone’s gaze shifted to the giant wooden box on the table, layered in a series of magic seals. Inside the wooden box was a treasure hard to measure by normal standards, possessing power far greater than Legendary Treasure under certain circumstances.

Najamate’s Heart, a heart of a Giant Dragon preserved since ancient times.

In the distant ancient eras, the followers of Platinum Dragon King Bahamut attacked and slew the followers of the Immortal Nayamata, which triggered the Dragon Fall Holy War between Ancient Metal Dragons and Colorful Dragons that stretched on for thousands of years.

Najamata was the most crucial trigger. The heart left by this ancient and deceased dragon somehow fell into the hands of these people.

"The power of this treasure, enhanced by Magic Spell, will wield unexpected might against dragons," mage Lor said gravely, "I only worry about one thing; after releasing this treasure, how can we safely escape the Golden Empire’s realm and flee from the claws of the mad Red Dragon."

"After all, what we’re facing is no ordinary dragon. Even the once-mature Red Dragon, the Deep Red Queen Dickris, could not return to the source in the Mortal World, to become the pinnacle of the Material Plane’s bloodline—Ancestral Dragon."