Chapter 196: Dragon ridge
"Seriously… who was that?"
"I'm not sure, but damn, the Chi Clan bannerman's head is still on that pole."
As a large group of Bastion battleships flashed rapidly through the dark skies of the Netherworld, a common topic spread throughout the cabin.
Exhausted soldiers wiped sweat and grime from their faces as they recounted the sheer brutality they had just witnessed on the front lines.
A man dressed entirely in black had fallen directly from the sky like a descending meteor.
He had taken the lives of at least ten fully formed dragons one after the other in a terrifying display of martial dominance.
After butchering the giant beasts, he had proceeded to completely collapse an entire battalion of aggressive Demi Humans.
Those forces had been desperately attempting to seize a heavily fortified human position deep within the contested zones of Dragon Ridge.
The bloody battle had been incredibly sudden and overwhelming.
One moment, the exhausted human forces had been struggling fiercely just to hold their defensive perimeter against the endless tide.
The enemy forces had practically breached the main gates, pushing the defending troops to the absolute breaking point.
The next moment, a mysterious stranger had descended into the chaotic battlefield and completely changed the entire tactical situation.
He tore through the enemy ranks with a level of ruthlessness that left veteran soldiers completely stunned in his wake.
No one in the trench lines knew who he actually was or what faction he belonged to.
No one knew exactly where he had come from.
And judging from the overwhelming, tyrannical strength he had just casually displayed, that unknown factor alone was enough to raise massive alarm.
The established dragon families stationed within the human territory were currently spread incredibly thin across multiple active war zones.
Every recognized hero and elite fighter of their prestigious families was already well known amongst each military circle.
There simply weren't enough powerful dragon-blooded warriors stationed across every battlefield to account for a hidden expert of this caliber.
Because of this glaring numerical deficit, whenever someone unfamiliar appeared and demonstrated such overwhelming strength, people immediately became suspicious.
"Well, we'll know soon enough," one of the veteran men said, looking up through the reinforced glass viewport.
He pointed toward a sleek battleship painted entirely in dark red that was cruising steadily just above their own transport vessel.
There, a young man with dark black hair stood quietly on the observation deck, looking out into the vast chaos.
His expression was perfectly calm as he watched the countless, bloody battles taking place throughout the jagged peaks of Dragon Ridge.
He stood completely still, the dark winds of the Nether Realm whipping fiercely against his clothes as the fleet pushed forward.
He said absolutely nothing to the crew operating the vessel around him.
The others observing from the lower ships could only wonder in silence about the true identity of the young man.
They had no idea that the quiet figure standing above them was the very same person who had caused such a massive commotion.
…
Some thirty minutes later, the heavy fleet of battleships began their final descent, docking safely inside a massive, heavily fortified canyon.
Several hundred military battleships were already lined up perfectly along the stone walls, all armed to the absolute teeth with siege weaponry.
The sheer scale of the military encampment immediately showed just how serious the tactical situation in Dragon Ridge truly was.
Battleships covered almost every inch of the massive canyon floor, their engines humming loudly as logistics teams rushed to refuel them.
Thousands of armored soldiers and powerful cultivators moved rapidly between the docked vessels, urgently preparing for whatever bloody battle would come next.
As the group of soldiers exited their transports, they watched the young man and his small group disembark from the red ship.
The soldiers immediately focused their attention on them as the young man was quickly approached by two high-ranking nobles.
The two women were recognized instantly as authoritative figures hailing directly from the prestigious Dracontis family.
"Lady Liana and Lady Arian, it is a true pleasure seeing you two again."
Ethen smiled coyly as the two noble in-laws approached him across the busy landing pad.
His sudden arrival in Dragon Ridge had not been formally announced to the Dragon Council that oversaw the ongoing territorial struggle.
He had purposefully bypassed the political channels that managed the brutal border war between the Bastion and the opposing Dragon Clan.
This was partly because they simply didn't want to draw any unnecessary attention from enemy spies or rival political factions.
After all, Ethen's newly acquired position as the official Messenger of Karth was a very serious and heavy status within the Bastion.
It was a divine title that usually required elaborate welcoming ceremonies, heavy security details, and incredibly tedious formal arrangements.
Announcing his arrival to the broader military command would only create massive, unnecessary complications for everyone involved.
It would severely stall the active war efforts as generals rushed to accommodate a divine messenger.
That kind of bureaucratic delay would be entirely counterproductive to the real reason why he was secretly here in the first place.
"You stubborn brat. If Hela and Ella didn't let us know, I'm sure you would come here and leave without even saying a single word."
Lady Liana sneered sharply, looking at Ethen with a deeply annoyed, critical expression on her wrinkled face.
Ethen's confident expression stiffened slightly as he realized his absolute secrecy had been thoroughly compromised from the inside.
He had specifically not wanted Hela or Ella to come to the dangerous front lines of Dragon Ridge with him.
Who would have thought that they would immediately go behind his back and inform their mother and grandmother about this hidden deployment?
They had completely exposed his movements, causing him to lose all face before he had even properly settled into the military base.
"Hehe."
Ethen could only force a dry smile and look at his wives with a bitter, defeated expression.
He knew much better than to try and argue with the matriarchs of the Dracontis family in the middle of a public docking bay.
"Great Dragoness Liana, it has been a very long time, no see."
As Ethen quietly received his verbal scolding, a man from the adjacent ship that had previously approached the docks stepped forward.
He greeted Lady Liana straightforwardly, his voice carrying a calm, measured tone that demanded immediate respect from everyone listening.
Liana herself was an authentic Demi God, commanding immense authority and spiritual pressure within the Bastion's strict hierarchy.
It only made logical sense that anyone who saw her and wanted to interact with her needed to bow their head respectfully.
So seeing the incredibly casual way this newcomer approached her without doing so immediately caught Ethen's sharp attention.
"Senior Tang…"
Liana smiled warmly, the stern annoyance on her wrinkled face instantly curling into a respectful, polite smirk.
This man was an established Demi God hailing directly from the ancient and powerful Great Tang Sect.
He was chronologically much older than Lady Liana, having lived through countless generational wars across the border territories.
However, he maintained a remarkably youthful, unblemished appearance by using highly specialized, secret cultivation methods passed down from his sect.
Typically, an ancient expert of this man's caliber would absolutely not speak casually to someone from the younger generation.
Especially someone hailing from the Dracontis family, a clan which relied heavily on their inherent bloodlines to summon their power.
Sect cultivators usually looked down on bloodline inheritors, meaning there was only one real reason he was trying to strike up a conversation now.
"Let me introduce you to my son-in-law, Ethen Algar."
Lady Liana smiled proudly, stepping slightly aside and allowing the ancient sect master to extend his hand and shake Ethen's hand.
"We've already met on the field. You are quite a remarkable young man."
Tang San smiled thinly as he gripped and shook Ethen's hand once again, his eyes assessing the young summoner closely.
Ethen's raw physical strength and combat instincts were absolutely brutal, completely defying the typical fragility of a backline summoner.
The violent way he had dived straight into the enemy lines and cut down fully formed dragon after dragon had been witnessed by many.
Several of the veteran people stationed in the forward trenches of Dragon Ridge had watched the bloody massacre unfold.
That kind of overwhelming, dominant combat ability was only possessed by a very select few geniuses within the entire human domain.
Even among the most celebrated prodigies of the younger generation, very few could fight that aggressively against fully formed dragons and survive.
"Oh? Well, he's here to visit us from afar. I hope you don't mind his sudden intrusion into your sector."
Lady Liana said the words clearly, her tone carrying a very distinct, undeniable hint of smug gloating toward the older Demi God.
Tang San's expression remained perfectly calm and unreadable, refusing to rise to the subtle political bait dangled by the matriarch.
He simply glanced at Ethen once more, his eyes lingering on the young man's calm posture before giving a small, respectful nod.
After a few more short, polite conversational exchanges between the elders, the newly arrived group finally separated from the sect members.
Liana immediately took charge of the procession, bringing Ethen and his companions directly to the Dracontis family's secured quarters within the base.
There, they finally settled down for the day, consciously putting aside the chaotic, bloody happenings of the day before.
The journey from the Bastion had been incredibly long and mentally exhausting for everyone involved in the covert transport.
The heavily fortified canyon of Dragon Ridge was already filled with more than enough ambient tension without them actively adding to it.
The soldiers needed rest, and Ethen needed time to properly analyze the shifting battlefield dynamics before making his next strategic move.
However…
The very next morning, the fragile peace of their secured quarters was abruptly shattered before the sun even fully crested the canyon walls.
They were suddenly awoken by the sharp, rhythmic sound of heavy military boots hitting the stone ground directly outside their private quarters.
A high-ranking, heavily armored official of the Dragon Ridge Division abruptly appeared before their sealed doors, demanding immediate entry.