Chapter 1 The Mysterious Cloaked Figure

The news of the evil dragon Kazka, who had been entrenched on Thunder Sea Island for hundreds of years, being slain quickly spread to the city of Atlanta.

The city's residents cheered, finally solving this major problem.

However, no one knew that a mysterious cloaked figure had taken advantage of the crowd to infiltrate the city lord's castle.

Not long after, in the basement of the city lord's mansion.

The city lord, Balder, and his beloved wife and family were originally hiding in the basement, waiting for news that the evil dragon had eaten the sacrifices and left.

But instead of good news, they received bad news.

At this moment, the basement contained only a dozen or so human-shaped stone statues with horrified expressions.

Only Balder was still alive.

The city lord's body had already partially transformed into a demonic form, a hidden power granted by his worship of an evil god.

It was also thanks to the power of the evil god that they had gained a foothold in Atlanta for hundreds of years.

But even so, in front of this mysterious cloaked figure, Balder still had no power to resist, and could only kneel on the ground in terror, begging for mercy: "Great Sir, my Rodriguez family does indeed have a royal secret box passed down. But due to the treasure house theft and fire the night before last, it was stolen by someone."

Hearing this, the cloaked figure's eyes, hidden beneath the hood, suddenly flashed with a gray light.

Balder tried to escape, but his body visibly turned into a grayish-white petrified state.

......

On the other hand.

Suren accepted the invitation and followed the griffin knights of the Miracle Legion on a journey to Akronessa, the royal capital of the Silver Dragon Kingdom.

A griffin couldn't carry many people, so it was just him and Qian Tiao.

The rest of the Dawnbreaker Company continued by ship, heading north along the coastline.

It was Suren's first time riding a griffin, and he found it quite novel.

But after riding for a while, the novelty wore off.

Pseudo-dragons and pure-blooded dragons looked very similar in appearance, but their strengths were vastly different, like a chihuahua and a lion, almost two different species.

Perhaps it was because he had just fought a dragon that this contrast was so obvious.

But after all, they were dragonkin, and these griffins were much stronger than ordinary magical beasts of the same rank.

Suren thought that if he had the opportunity, he would get a few samples for the war workshop in the Little Void Realm to see if he could create some mechanical griffins that met special combat needs.

Pseudo-dragons had a very fast burst speed, but long-distance flight was average. Most of the time, they glided on air currents, had to rest and eat many times along the way, and usually didn't fly at night, traveling only two or three thousand kilometers a day.

Also, it wasn't very stable.

Anyway, riding them, apart from looking cool, there was no sense of comfort.

The legion commander Bennett said that it would take two full days to fly to the royal capital.

Suren calmed down and meditated on the griffin's back.

Since it was already afternoon when they set off, it was dark not long after.

The griffin knights landed in a forest.

The griffin knights set up camp and lit a bonfire.

After spending half a day together, Suren also learned that these griffins were quite troublesome to raise. Relying solely on hunting was difficult to meet the griffin legion's consumption needs, and at least these knights needed to carry a lot of meat with them. Humans could go hungry, but these griffin beasts couldn't be allowed to starve.

By the bonfire, although the march was simple, Suren and Qian Tiao were warmly welcomed.

The knights hunted some magical beasts unique to the Dragon Kingdom in the forest and roasted them on the bonfire. Before long, the aroma filled the air.

Suren and Qian Tiao were given the best parts.

They also found that Legion Commander Bennett was quite pleasant to get along with.

Talkative, brave, with an extraordinary temperament... strong people always have some common language, and Bennett made a good impression on both of them.

Suren had deciphered the common language of the Dragon Kingdom, so communication was no problem.

After dinner, with nothing to do, Bennett and his senior generals and subordinates eagerly inquired about the legendary overseas civilization.

"Legion Commander Suren, what kind of country do you come from? I see that you and your companions are very special, and it seems that you don't cultivate qi..."

"We are Mechanical Alchemists from the human empire to the west. Well... roughly similar to your wizards, we like to study everything in nature. But we have no divine beliefs. We are an adventure group, and we came here mainly to adventure in the Ancient Dragon Kingdom..."

"The Ancient Dragon Kingdom ruins? Oh, that place is very dangerous. As far as I know, there are many super-order monsters there..."

"Legion Commander Bennett, your information is a great help to us! I mean, it would be even better if we had a sea chart."

"Of course, the royal capital's library has some sea charts left by adventurers. If you need them, I can give you some."

"I see that some of your crew members have metal limbs. Good heavens, that's amazing. How can metal arms grow in flesh?"

"Those are mechanical prosthetics, also a branch of alchemy..."

"The ancestors have always said that the Eternal Night Sea is extremely dangerous. How did you get here? Oh, my grandfather was an explorer. He once wanted to cross that dangerous sea, but he disappeared in the end..."

"..."

As they talked, after becoming less estranged, the topics of conversation broadened.

Although Suren knew that these royal knights also had an element of gathering intelligence, there was nothing to hide.

Through chatting, he also learned some secrets that only senior officers knew, such as some legends about the eighth-order Silver Dragon guarding the kingdom on the snowy mountain of the royal capital, and some legends about the Ancient Dragon Kingdom.

However, Suren felt that the most important thing was the matter of the planar invasion.

Letting the high-level officials of the Dragon Kingdom's three kingdoms know about this information as soon as possible would also be more beneficial to stopping those Theocrats' actions.

Hearing Suren's words, Legion Commander Bennett was also shocked: "Planar invasion? Like the invasion of Hellfire Mountain?"

"Yes."

Suren nodded and roughly explained what he knew.

He had learned from the Nagas that there was a volcano in the center of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom ruins to the east that connected to hell, and hellish creatures would occasionally run out to harm humans.

So these griffin knights could quickly understand the concept of a planar invasion.

When Suren explained in detail, these knights immediately felt the crisis.

Although they didn't completely believe his one-sided words, at least they had been informed of the information, and they would have some intelligence preparations in the future.

The reason he said so much was entirely because Suren guessed that if those Theocrats knew that there were human kingdoms in this sea, they would definitely turn their attention to them.

After all, their seaships had been destroyed by the Dawnbreaker Company, so even if more people teleported over, they would only be trapped on Rainbow Island.

To change the status quo, they would inevitably need some ships.

If they could enslave the three kingdoms, they would have a firm foothold in this sea to search for treasures.

In fact, Suren faintly felt that those mages might have already discovered the existence of the three kingdoms and were already trying to infiltrate them.

......

As the topic of conversation turned to the planar invasion, the atmosphere became more and more heavy.

It wasn't until nearly midnight that Bennett stopped bothering them and arranged for Suren and Qian Tiao to rest in the best tent.

Before they knew it, the night was already deep.

Suren and Qian Tiao were meditating and resting in the tent.

There were hundreds of griffins in the camp, and no magical beasts dared to approach the forest, so it was very quiet.

But around one or two in the morning, Suren suddenly heard movement, and some people had joined the camp.

He didn't open his eyes and muttered to himself: "Oh... so they caught a prisoner and brought him back?"

When they were flying in the afternoon, he had seen communication hawks flying over. It seemed that the Miracle Legion had received some secret mission and sent some people to other places.

The group of people who had just returned were those who had left in the afternoon.

Suren could easily tell with his soul perception.

Moreover, when they came back, they brought a prison wagon covered in black cloth?

It seemed that the Miracle Legion was going to take this "prisoner" to the royal capital.

The person in the prison wagon was obviously a human, but the soul fluctuations made Suren feel a little strange: "Strange, what is in this prison wagon?"

Suren was curious, so he paid more attention.

Not that it was very strong... but it was a bit gloomy, and it didn't seem like a purely human soul.

Outside the tent, a black crow was watching everything in the camp.

Sharing his vision, Suren clearly saw this scene.

Strangely, the prison wagon was placed in the center of the camp, guarded by knights, but no one lifted the black cloth to see what was inside.

Probably some secret prisoner.

But after all, it had nothing to do with him, so Suren didn't intend to pry any further.

After observing for a while and finding nothing unusual, Suren gave up his curiosity and continued to meditate.

......

Before they knew it, the night was already deep.

Suddenly, Qian Tiao also opened her eyes and frowned, "I feel... like something is wrong tonight."

Hearing this, Suren also opened his eyes.

He held the black umbrella and carefully sensed, but he didn't sense anything.

Everything in the camp was normal. The knights were taking turns resting, the griffins were very quiet, and the prisoner in the cage didn't make any strange movements.

Looking at the drowsy black crow, the old man didn't show any expression.

Nothing unusual.

But Suren didn't dare to be careless.

Qian Tiao was a pure combat-type professional, and her ability to sense danger was extraordinary.

The two looked at each other, but they didn't confirm what that something wrong was pointing to.

Were they being watched?

Was some kind of mysterious technique targeting them?

Like divination?

A series of guesses flashed through Suren's mind.

Their current strength could already be considered among the top pyramid of professionals, and if an enemy wanted to divine them, it would be almost impossible. But if there really was one, it would definitely be very troublesome.

Did those mages from the Theocracy have some big plans?

Thinking about it, Suren and Qian Tiao became more vigilant.

However, not long after Qian Tiao had that feeling, she suddenly said urgently, "Here it comes!"

Without warning, a sorrowful dragon's roar suddenly resounded through the forest.

"Aong~"

It was the griffin sentries arranged on the outskirts of the Miracle Legion, a cry of agony from being ambushed and killed by some monster.

Almost at the same time, everyone in the camp instantly reacted, and the sentry shouted, "Enemy attack!"

In an instant, the huge camp moved.

Suren and Qian Tiao also walked out of the tent, just in time to see Legion Commander Bennett walking over with an apologetic expression, explaining: "Sorry, I disturbed the rest of the two honored guests. It looks like a beast tide. It often happens when camping in the forests of the uninhabited area."

As he spoke, he put on his helmet in preparation for battle, and added: "You two can continue to rest. Don't worry too much, we'll take care of it."

Listening to this, Suren nodded and didn't say anything to remind him.

These professional knights had plenty of combat experience, and he didn't need to say more about the danger.

Bennett didn't say much, quickly went to his griffin, jumped on its back, and took off into the air.

......

There were one or two thousand griffin knights in the camp, and some of them had already taken off, and this combat power couldn't be underestimated.

Suren and the two of them didn't intend to participate in the battle, and watched the battle from the side of the tent.

The battle was very intense, and the sounds of fighting in the forest became more and more exaggerated.

Gradually, they also realized that this was not an ordinary beast tide.

Qian Tiao put her hand on the sword at her waist, released her qi, keenly captured the sounds of fighting, and muttered, "The situation is not good..."

Suren also nodded, frowned, and fell into thought.

Suddenly, he looked at the prison wagon wrapped in black cloth not far away.

"Could it be for that prisoner?"

The thought popped into Suren's mind.

After all, ordinary prison wagons don't need to be escorted by the kingdom's elite legions.

And it was so coincidental that they encountered a beast tide as soon as it was delivered.

Suren felt that he and Qian Tiao might have been implicated.

If he could help, he wouldn't mind lending a hand.

But the strength of the griffin legion was not weak, and if it really reached the point where guests needed to help, the enemy would probably be ridiculously strong.

Suren still felt that it was best not to take action.

However, things didn't go as planned.

At this moment, an accident occurred!

Suddenly, a strange gray light illuminated a corner of the distant sky. The movements of the dozen or so griffins still flapping their wings in the sky instantly froze, and both humans and dragons turned gray.

They fell from a hundred meters in the air, and the sound of "crashing" and cracking rocks echoed throughout the camp.

Suren and Qian Tiao both had excellent night vision, and they clearly saw this bizarre scene, and their pupils shrank sharply.

Because they didn't understand what that gray light was.

It actually killed more than a dozen fifth-order griffins in seconds?

In the camp, someone shouted, "It's a gorgon! Everyone, don't look into its eyes!"

Listening to this, Suren was also surprised.

They actually encountered the legendary gorgon?

Without hesitation, the two closed their eyes.

They didn't know how powerful the gorgon was, the demon that legend said would petrify anyone who looked into its eyes.

Tani's mother's stone sculpture was now in the Little Void Realm, and that kind of divine petrification was still unsolvable.

Suren didn't think he had any means to block it.

After this sudden change, the griffin legion, which had just been fighting fiercely, immediately began to collapse, and the "rock breaking" sound became more and more intense.

The sounds of fighting were getting closer and closer, and Suren immediately realized that it might be a gorgon with a very high rank!

......

"Is it coming for the camp?"

Suren was a little strange. Gorgons were demi-god bloodlines, top creatures with mythical legends like dragons.

Why would it come and attack a human camp for no reason?

In an instant, some clues in his mind suddenly connected.

Who was in the camp's prison wagon?

Why was the Silver Dragon Kingdom's queen cursed with gorgon petrification?

Who exactly was the wanted "Helen"?

Suren felt that this matter seemed to involve some kind of great secret, and he was already prepared to teleport at any moment.

A suspected high-ranking gorgon was not so easy to deal with, and he didn't want to take risks without being sure.

However, it wasn't just them who had the intention of retreating.

As soon as the gorgon appeared, it caused great casualties to the griffin legion in a blink of an eye. They had no effective means to deal with it at all.

At this moment, a knight wearing armor also closed his eyes and hurried over, saying very quickly: "Two honored guests, the commander asked me to inform you that you are ready to evacuate!"

Suren remembered that this was Bennett's deputy, and he also nodded politely, "Okay."

Although he wanted to leave without needing anyone's help, Bennett was still thinking about taking care of the guests and evacuating first in this crisis, which was kind of him.

For a time, the entire camp's griffin riders were divided into three parts. Legion Commander Bennett led a group of people fighting on the front line, some people were transporting the prison wagon, and another team planned to lead Suren and the others to escape.

But before they could get on the griffin, an accident happened again.

Qian Tiao seemed to sense something, and suddenly her expression changed: "Such a strong sword qi!"

A moment later, Suren also sensed the suddenly descending extreme cold sword qi and shouted in his heart: "The Dragon Hunter, Bartolomeo Figaro, has he arrived?"

At that moment, a chilling and domineering sword qi suddenly exploded in the forest.

The surrounding air suddenly cooled, and Suren saw snowflakes falling through the black crow's shared vision.

This sword qi was quietly slashed from hundreds of meters away and instantly reversed the battle!

The griffin knight legion, which had been retreating steadily and blocking monsters with their lives, was instantly invigorated.

Everyone knew that reinforcements had arrived!

As a Sword Saint, Qian Tiao didn't fail to sense the foundation of this sword qi. Her expression was extremely stern as she exclaimed, "This sword has already surpassed the Saint Realm. Someone has really touched the legendary Sword God Realm..."

Sword God?

Suren's heart also trembled slightly.

In his perception, The Dragon Hunter, Bartolomeo, seemed to have killed the gorgon with one sword, and the monsters besieging the camp in the forest instantly scattered.

He opened his eyes and just happened to see an old man putting a single-edged long sword back into its bamboo sheath.

Suren identified the famous white-bladed sword and thought with emotion: "The second-ranked sword among the Twelve Master Swords, the Armor Cutter Frost Flower Whisper. It really is the Sword Demon Saito Mitsurugi, the grandmaster of the Shindo Munen-ryu swordsmanship..."

His bounty order was still hanging in the Outpost Bounty Guild.

And his sword was also the famous Armor Cutter Frost Flower Whisper, ranked one place higher than Qian Tiao's demon sword, Onimaru Hyakumei.

......

Because of The Dragon Hunter, Bartolomeo's sudden appearance, the situation immediately reversed.

Watching him kill the gorgon with one sword, Suren exclaimed, "What a strong strength..."

If it was really the Sword Demon he had guessed, he was already at the peak of the seventh order when he was wanted back then.

Now it seemed that he had already crossed the threshold of the eighth order.

Moreover, with just that one sword, Qian Tiao said it had exceeded the Saint Realm, so it was clear that Bartolomeo's current swordsmanship cultivation was already unknown.

Not long after, Bartolomeo used a cloth bag to pack up the head, and the griffin knights in the camp dared to approach the battle area to clear the battlefield.

Suren also walked over, curious to see the legendary gorgon.

It was a headless corpse of a human with a snake tail.

Hot blood was still gushing from the severed neck, and strangely, the blood on the left was black, and the blood on the right was red.

After identification, the left side was highly poisonous, and the right side was a good medicine that could cure many diseases.

Suren also exclaimed the uniqueness of these mythical gods, their whole bodies were treasures.

Legion Commander Bennett was also very accommodating and took the initiative to send him a bottle of blood, politely saying that it had implicated them and almost put them in danger.

Suren didn't think of it as an implication, after all, there was no danger to them from beginning to end.

Now he also had the Gorgon's Blood he needed for the petrification antidote.

He looked at Bartolomeo and greeted him, "Senior, we meet again."

Bartolomeo nodded slightly, probably knowing that he had been recognized.

Now that they had met again, Suren was not in a hurry to get close.

At this time, Legion Commander Bennett walked over with a grateful expression and said, "Senior Bartolomeo, thank you this time, otherwise it would have been terrible tonight... By the way, how did you come to be here?"

Bartolomeo replied: "I previously discovered traces of a gorgon in the city of Atlanta, and I followed it all the way here. I happened to see it driving monsters to besiege you."

Hearing this, Bennett asked in surprise: "This gorgon came from the city of Atlanta?"

Bartolomeo nodded and added: "Yes. It killed the city lord of Atlanta, Balder, and his family of sixteen people, leaving some traces behind, so I chased it here."

Bennett looked puzzled and asked, "Ah? Why would a gorgon kill City Lord Balder?"

Bartolomeo shook his head and pondered for a moment before saying: "Perhaps... it has something to do with the person in your prison wagon."

......

Listening to the conversation between the two, Suren's expression was no different, but his heart became more and more strange.

He had previously thought that he had been implicated by the people of the Miracle Legion, but after hearing Bartolomeo's words, an idea immediately popped into his head: Could it be coming for me?

That gorgon killed City Lord Balder?

Why?

Suren instantly came up with a bold guess.

Because the day before yesterday, he had stolen a gorgon scepter from City Lord Balder's treasury.

It was so coincidental that this gorgon came?

Could it be coming for the scepter?

If it really was, how did it know it was with me?

What was the relationship between this gorgon and the person in the prison wagon?

In an instant, Suren felt that he had been quietly involved in an extraordinary event.