Otherworld Bone Dragon Operation Guide

Chapter 404 Berlitt Manor

Elder Mo Yuan of the Black Dragon Clan gladly accepted Su Ming's invitation. After dinner, he and Elder Weaving Dreams set off with Su Ming and his entourage.

“The goblins have set up a series of warning arrays along the border with us,” Mo Yuan’s deep voice rang out. “They will detect us as soon as we get close.”

The goblins do not forbid dragons from entering, but all dragons entering their territory are required to register, explain their purpose, and specify the duration of their stay. Afterward, the dragons' movements will be exposed within the goblin territory and placed under the surveillance of their large anti-dragon magical weapons.

"These goblins are meddling way too much!" Rishuli complained. "This sky isn't theirs!"

“It’s not entirely their fault.” Violet rarely defended the goblins. “If they hadn’t done that, their livestock would probably have been snatched up and eaten by the dragons.”

Compared to the rare and extremely wary wild beasts in Dragon Valley, the cattle and sheep raised by the goblins are plump, strong, and tender, making them easy to catch.

When the two sides first demarcated their territories a thousand years ago, this was the dragons' favorite "hunting" shortcut. Back then, in the goblin territory, groups of dragons could often be seen wandering around under the pretext of being "lost."

"Then how should we sneak in undetected?" Su Ming asked.

Tonight they're going to violently disrupt the event, so naturally they can't make a big fuss about it.

"I have my own way!" Mo Yuan replied confidently.

He took Dreamweaver and flew straight to the vicinity of the border. Then, he circled seriously over the surrounding mountains and forests, pretending to carefully search for prey.

Sure enough, a sharp, piercing alarm immediately blared from the nearby goblin border camp. The goblin soldiers quickly launched an investigation and, as expected, discovered that it was another dragon that had come to "hunt for food."

Mo Yuan seemed to be having "bad luck" today. He wandered aimlessly near the border for about twenty minutes before "clumsily" swooping down and managing to catch a wild boar with difficulty. After sharing the meal with Zhi Meng, he left the area dejectedly and began his return journey to the heart of Dragon Valley.

Below, the goblin sentinels, who had been tensely monitoring and tracking the two dragons' behavior the whole time, breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that the dragons had finally decided to leave, and their tense nerves relaxed.

However, the instant they were out of sight of the goblin border post, the two dragons suddenly turned around and began flying towards the border. Powerful stealth spells quickly enveloped their massive bodies.

The dragon's body, which was originally emerald green and crystal clear, now became as clear and pure as the finest gemstone. The life aura and energy fluctuations it emitted disappeared without a trace in the deep night sky.

As for Mo Yuan, he was originally a jet-black dragon. Especially after being treated with a special matte wax, the entire dragon now resembled a piece of evenly light-absorbing black jade, blending into the boundless night. There was no need to make any further embellishments to its color; it was enough to simply conceal its aura.

Su Ming and the other three immediately put on their magic-banning cloaks.

The two enormous creatures instantly transformed into two silent shadows, swiftly crossing the border with an agility disproportionate to their size, and disappearing into the interior of Gray Ridge.

Below, the alert array of the goblin border camp was triggered again, and the urgent "beep beep beep" alarm sounded throughout the camp once more.

The duty officer hurriedly checked the magic circle, but found no trace of the dragon's signal, and the warning magic circle quickly quieted down.

The captain, who rushed over upon hearing the news, stared at the blank array feedback, also looking puzzled.

"A false alarm?"

He checked again, and the area above the camp was indeed empty; no dragon-shaped targets were found.

According to regulations, any alert regarding a dragon's entry into the country must be meticulously recorded and dealt with seriously. Even if it's a false alarm, the cause must be investigated and reported to higher authorities.

But the goblin border captain's eyes darted around, and he quickly came up with a reasonable explanation.

"It must have been those two dragons that left earlier. They were dawdling as they left, their flight paths barely touching the edge, triggering the alarm at the edge of the magic circle," the captain asserted. "In the report, let's include this alarm in the record of that incident as well."

"Yes!" the goblin on duty replied with immediate relief.

****
After crossing the border, Mo Yuan led the group, flying silently around the goblin city.

It was just past eight o'clock in the evening, and the goblin cities we passed through were already shrouded in darkness, with only a few scattered lights shining. These lights came either from the residences of the city's nobles or from places of gathering and entertainment such as taverns.

Even so, in the hazy night, the city's vast outline and the rolling buildings could still be vaguely discerned.

“I often wander over here.” Mo Yuan’s deliberately lowered voice rang out in the night breeze. “Every time I see these cities in the goblin territory, I can’t help but feel a sense of emotion.”

From Su Ming's perspective, the goblin city's backward appearance was hardly impressive. But from the dragon's point of view, envy was understandable.

“Currently, about five hundred dragons have gathered around the Ruby Base, forming a mobile settlement,” Violet said.

“As long as the necessary supporting facilities keep up in time, the flow of people in Longkou will tend to stabilize over time, and thus begin to form a town,” Su Ming stated. “Then, some service industries that would not exist in a scattered state will emerge within the town, and specific industries that can only be formed by agglomeration will also arise.”

As for what exactly it would be, Su Ming was not a dragon, so he couldn't predict what would happen.

"The core of this transformation lies in the improvement of the level of 'productivity,' right?" During this period, Zhimeng has obviously observed and thought a lot. "Our traditional agricultural economic structure, which exists only to fill our stomachs, cannot support the consumption brought about by large-scale settlement."

"That's how we should develop! We can't just be satisfied with eating!" Mo Yuan said firmly, turning his gaze to the center of the goblin city, where large-scale magic arrays and alchemical weapons stood. "Look at the goblins! Their individual strength is so weak, yet through production and accumulation, they have created weapons powerful enough to threaten us dragons—all of this is the power brought about by 'production'!"

Upon hearing this, Elder Dream Weaver fell into deep thought.

****
As Mo Yuan said, he was indeed very familiar with the goblin territory.

The black dragon elder led the group, taking a circuitous route to avoid the goblin's scouting points. When they had to cross sensitive areas, he and Dreamweaver both activated stealth spells, barely making their way through.

After a three-hour flight, they finally arrived at the estate called Burritt that Bowers had mentioned.

This place is outside the goblin city, and normally it would be a very secluded spot, but the assassin's soul "knew the way" and returned.

At the agreed meeting point, Su Ming quickly found the trees marked with concealed markers. Following the markers, they soon encountered Bowers.

"Your lineup..." Bowers glanced at everyone and commented, "You've truly brought out your best."

“The two dragon elders will not directly participate in the attack,” Su Ming stated clearly. “The traces they leave behind are too unique and would easily expose their identities.”

Although Ge Lie had already decided to settle old scores with the Gray Ridge goblins over the territorial division at the border between the two races, one matter should be dealt with separately. There was no need to give the goblins a handle to use against him for the sake of this current task, leaving them with an unjustifiable excuse for the dragon to cross the border and attack.

“I’ve only been observing for a short time, and the situation inside the manor is still unclear,” Bowers said. “However, logically speaking, with our current combat strength, we should be more than capable.”

“If we encounter any troublesome enemies, it’s not too late to ask the two Elder Dragons for help,” Rishuli said casually. “It’s been a long time since I’ve had such a confident and favorable game.”

Just as Su Ming was about to step forward, Jelus reached out and grabbed him.

Zijin, who was standing to the side, turned her head and glanced at the two of them.

“You have to stay here and can’t go in with us,” Gerus said. “Among us, you are the weakest in dealing with assassin-type combatants.”

Su Ming wanted to argue that he was perfectly capable of handling opponents of similar skill levels. The current situation was purely due to being led astray in higher-level matches!
But on second thought, it seems that from the moment the battle plan was formulated, no one took enemies below the master level seriously.

"Alright, I'll take care of the backup." Su Ming shrugged and accepted the arrangement helplessly.

****
Su Ming found a secluded spot on higher ground, set up the communication base station, tested the sound, and confirmed that everyone could receive the signal. Then he picked up his night vision goggles and carefully observed the movements within the manor.

The outskirts of Burritt Estate are dotted with a number of simple bungalows, where many ordinary guards are stationed or where some workers live.

These people were irrelevant to the purpose of this trip. The Grand Elder of Dream Weaver quietly cast a dream spell, and a powerful spiritual force spread out like a tide, instantly pulling everyone in the outer area into a deep sleep.

“These are just ordinary people,” Elder Dream Weaver confirmed. “They won’t wake up before dawn.”

Next is the core area of ​​the manor. Amidst a dense cluster of fruit trees stands a typical Gothic building. Its soaring roof is covered with sharp, pointed spires, and its walls feature distinctive large windows. Pointed arches are extensively used at the connections between the house and various parts of the corridor.

Su Ming sighed inwardly. With such an obvious church-style architectural style, couldn't these people know to be a little more discreet?

He activated the UWB ultra-wideband radar and began penetrating detection of the building. With each scan of the pulse signals, the main structure and internal spatial layout of the building were quickly outlined on the equipment screen. As more echo signals were further processed, the faint breathing and heartbeats of people inside the building were also detected by the radar system, and quickly marked and located.

"A total of twenty-seven people have been detected inside," Su Ming said into the communication microphone. "The specific location information has been transmitted to your wristband displays."

The group quickly looked down and started operating the touchscreens on their wrists, soon seeing the building's internal structure and the distribution of people.

"This thing of yours is really convenient," Bowers remarked.

“The leftmost room has the highest concentration of people.” Rishiri checked the enemy information on the screen. “I’ll storm in from there, then use the corpses to snowball and clear the area to the right.”

“Those two separate signal points on the third floor must be the ones on night watch,” Bowers deduced. “I’ll take care of them.”

"This building has a basement?" Zi Jin frowned as she looked at the structural diagram on the screen.

“Hmm.” Su Ming nodded in confirmation. “We can only detect a small area near the basement entrance. Further in, the soil is too thick to penetrate the radar.”

"In other words, there might be enemies lurking below as well." Violet immediately understood the situation. "Then I'll just break through from the main entrance and go straight to suppress the basement."

"Be careful to identify valuable targets and try to capture some alive," Su Ming concluded, giving everyone a final instruction.

****
It was Rishiri who launched the first attack. He smashed the window, burst into the designated room, and with a flash of cold light, instantly created two still-warm corpses.

The two men on night duty on the third floor reacted quickly, rushing towards the scene of the incident based on the commotion. However, they were intercepted by Bowers, who had been lying in ambush, and were struck by a heavy blow that Bowers had been preparing for.

One of the night watchmen was immediately severely injured and rendered incapable of fighting.

The other night watchman, however, was quite skilled and reacted swiftly to dodge the attack. He abandoned his attempt to provide support and launched a life-or-death battle against Bowers.

With such a huge advantage, Powers naturally had no need to fight him head-on, and for a moment the two became entangled in combat, resulting in a brief stalemate.

On the contrary, with a continuous supply of "materials", Ruixiuli made rapid progress, clearing out all the remaining enemies in the left room in just over ten breaths, and then rushing towards the awakened enemies on the right who were hurriedly gathering.

Gerus, who acted last, noticed the stalemate on Bowers' side and decisively chose to help him. A beam of light from an enhancement spell enveloped Bowers, followed by a halo of light shining with holy runes, which was then cast upon the desperate night watchman.

"Holy Imprisonment!"

Inside the building on the right, a group of enemies finally gathered and formed a coordinated defensive formation, causing considerable trouble for Rishiri's solo advance.

High up, Su Ming gripped the QLZ-201 automatic grenade launcher and snapped on the heavy belt of 50 35mm ammunition.

The distance wasn't too far, about 600 meters. Considering Su Ming's appalling shooting skills, Ji Su thoughtfully equipped it with a smart scope that integrates laser rangefinding and a real-time ballistics calculator.

Su Ming held his breath and focused intently, following the guide lines provided by the scope to lock onto the target and fire decisively.

boom! boom! boom!
A series of clicking sounds, interspersed with slightly muffled explosions, followed by the whooshing sounds of grenades tearing through the air at high speed—these sounds carried a strong sense of physical impact. They should have brought with them a powerful psychological pressure, but unfortunately, the otherworldly enemy being targeted merely tilted his head slightly, looked in this direction, and showed a puzzled expression.

A few seconds later, the seven or eight grenades, with their downward arcs, exploded precisely in the center of the enemy's formation!

With the help of technological cheats and saturation coverage attacks, Su Ming finally achieved his first effective hit at long range!
Several enemies were immediately thrown back by shrapnel and the blast wave, falling to the ground screaming in agony. The rest were also blown about, their tight formation collapsing instantly. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Rishiri charged into the chaotic enemy ranks like a tiger descending a mountain, swiftly and decisively eliminating the remaining enemies in a flash of his blade. Then, he looked up warily at Su Ming's direction.

"You didn't fire a second round, did you?" Rishiri asked cautiously. "These guys can't hurt me, but if they get blown up by the thing you have, I'll be in big trouble."

"...Can't you have a little more faith in me?!" Su Ming protested in dissatisfaction.

Powers' opponents were quickly and completely overwhelmed after Gerus joined the fray. They had intended to take one prisoner alive, but they found that the desperate fighter suddenly convulsed violently, collapsed to the ground, and died.

Bowers rushed to check on the man he had previously severely injured, only to find that he had met the same fate; the man had already passed away.

"Are all these people out of their minds?" he said, extremely dissatisfied. "They fight like madmen, and then commit suicide the moment they lose—don't they have any survival instinct?"

“These are members of the Divine Covenant, trained from childhood using mental magic and deep psychological suggestion to become death warriors,” Gerus explained. “They have long since lost normal fear and the will to survive.”

She casually cast a stamina recovery spell on Rishuri, then raised her wrist to check the monitor.

The screen indicated that several signal points were hidden on the second floor. She exchanged a glance with Bowers, and the two of them simultaneously lunged upwards to launch their attack.

Su Ming quickly turned his gun around and aimed it at another group of enemies, launching another barrage of grenades.

Soon, the enemies on the ground were completely wiped out.

Half of the enemy force consisted of low-level combatants, resulting in an overwhelming numerical superiority. Furthermore, our side possessed wallhacks and aimbots, making the outcome of this battle utterly unsolvable for the enemy from the very beginning.

However, the vast majority of Temple of Light agents chose to commit suicide when defeated or seriously injured, and some even shouted the slogan "Eternal Radiance" before they died.

One of them, clearly weak and seemingly an office worker, clutched a ball of alchemical explosives and attempted to lunge at Rishuli, intending to take him down with him. Rishuli reacted swiftly, unleashing several sharp bone fragments that instantly knocked Rishuli to the ground, transforming into a rapidly expanding orange-red fireball!

The Grand Elder of Dream Weaver above was prepared. With a sudden flap of his enormous dragon wings, the sound-absorbing magic instantly unfolded, forcibly absorbing and weakening the massive sound waves generated by the explosion.

The sound that reached Su Ming was as faint as a glass bottle being broken.

"They're complete fanatics, thoroughly brainwashed." Looking at the wreckage, shattered into pieces and splattered with flames, Rishuli sighed. "Is there any way to bring these people to their senses?"

"Of course there is," Violet's cool voice rang out in the communication channel. "We can just physically wash their brains away."

"Miss Scholar," Su Ming said half-jokingly, "how's your dungeon exploration going?"

Although UWB radar cannot penetrate deep underground structures, the sound detection equipment deployed by Su Ming did not detect any sounds of intense fighting underground.

“There’s only one researcher who seems to have been coerced into coming, and two guards,” Violet replied calmly. “I used too much force and accidentally killed one of the guards.”

Very well, after a fierce battle, not a single survivor was left, both on the surface and underground.

"Make sure that researcher is protected at all costs!" Su Ming emphasized immediately. "Otherwise, there won't be a single survivor today." He glanced at his watch. "Everyone, start searching for valuable documents and information immediately. Be quick, and evacuate as soon as you're done!"

****
The researcher who was found was a middle-aged man with a stubble beard and a haggard face. He was thin, with a sickly pallor that seemed to have never seen the light of day, and his hair was disheveled like straw.

When Su Ming entered the slightly damp basement, the "researcher" was huddled in the darkest corner of the room, his hands tightly covering his head, trembling uncontrollably. No matter how Su Ming questioned him, he remained silent.

"Why did you bully him?" Su Ming looked at Zi Jin with confusion.

Zijin innocently spread her hands, "You've seen it too, I'm very gentle."

"Then why is he like this?" Su Ming asked.

"how could I know."

As she spoke, Zijin was peeling a bright red mango, revealing its whitish flesh. It was already April, and some of the early-ripening varieties had grown quite large. Zijin had picked this mango from a mango tree in the manor when she came in.

She took a bite of the peeled mango, her brows immediately furrowing. She pursed her lips tightly, trying to suppress the sourness, concealing her expression, then took another mango from her pocket, turned to Su Ming, and tossed it to him.

"Thank you!" Su Ming, without suspecting anything, took the mango and began looking for a place to peel it.

Violet casually waved her hand, and an invisible force drew the souls of the two murdered guards from the ground, suspending them in front of her. She prepared to begin the interrogation, to extract information about the trembling researcher.

In that instant, a sudden change occurred! A shadow, so fast it was almost invisible, suddenly appeared behind Su Ming, and two sharp, cold lights, like the spitting of venomous snakes, slashed at the back of Su Ming's neck with a sharp sound as they tore through the air!
"The final act, the piercing!"

The entire process took only 0.2 or 0.3 seconds, fully demonstrating the assassin's extremely high level of skill and honed expertise.

However, Su Ming, who was hit by such a vicious attack, shattered like a mirage after being struck, turning into magical fragments that shimmered with light and scattered in the air.

It's a 'Higher Illusion' spell!
An undisguised look of astonishment flashed across the assassin's eyes. He, an expert in stealth and assassination, had been tricked into revealing his most deadly technique using a mere illusion?

While Zi Jin's ethereal illusion magic, devoid of any trace of human emotion, was certainly one reason, her interaction with "Su Ming" was so casual and natural that it left no room for doubt about its authenticity.

In particular, her interrogation of the guards' souls perfectly struck a nerve with the assassin—he was worried that the souls of these "one of his own" would reveal his existence, so he had to take action!
This person is a master at dealing with assassins; his skill level has reached the point where he can handle heavy tasks with ease and effortlessness!

Alarm bells rang in the assassin's mind. He shifted his stance, intending to retreat without hesitation. However, the mango, which had been levitating in mid-air, exploded before he could leave, bursting into blinding flames!

The assassin hastily deployed his shield, but the distance was too close. The scorching air blast slammed into his face, leaving several bloody marks and causing him to be temporarily blinded.

Taking advantage of this momentary delay, Violet released the binding spell she had prepared. Several energy chains, shimmering with an eerie light, wrapped around the assassin as if they were alive, tightening around all the joints of his body.

The powerful binding force rendered the assassin unable to make any effective struggles, and all his prized escape techniques were firmly sealed off. Following closely behind was the Elemental Deprivation spell, which instantly suppressed the assassin's magic power, completely eliminating his spellcasting ability.

Violet's movements were fluid and seamless, without the slightest pause. With a light tap of her staff, a magical blade formed from pure light energy, gleaming with a dangerous light, was placed against the neck of the defenseless assassin.

But what happened next was not unexpected—a resolute glint flashed in the assassin's eyes, then his body stiffened abruptly, and a torrent of dark red blood gushed from his mouth and nose. He lay there, lifeless, devoid of any vitality. The assassin's soul, too, was shattered along with the glow of the magical brand on his skin.

Looking at the corpse on the ground and the scattered fragments of souls in the air, Zi Jin sighed softly, then waved her staff. Several sharp blades of light flashed, cleanly slicing the assassin's body into several pieces, completely eliminating any possibility that the opponent might have faked their death or been disguising themselves.

"The target on the other side has always been you." From a high vantage point near the Berlitz Manor, Mo Yuan's enormous dragon head turned towards Su Ming.

"That would be an honor," Su Ming said with a self-deprecating laugh.

****
The operation quickly came to an end. The group hastily bundled up the large bags of documents they had looted and tossed them onto the broad backs of the two giant dragons.

Rishiri found a body that had not been dead for long in the graveyard outside the manor, threw it into the basement, and filled the void left by the researcher.

"Basic operation," he said to Su Ming.

“Then we should set it on fire and burn everything beyond recognition,” Su Ming said.

"necessary!"

Then they indeed set it on fire. The core buildings of the manor were engulfed in flames, the timber burned fiercely, crackling and splintering, and thick smoke billowed into the sky.

They didn't manage to capture any survivors besides the researchers, but they did manage to leave quite a few dead ones behind. Gerus took out a specially made alchemical vial and drew over the still intact souls from the scene, imprisoning them inside.

Even a wealthy and powerful organization like the Temple of Light cannot afford to equip all its members with the expensive mark of separation after death.

Of course, those fanatical believers were an exception. Driven by their fervent faith, at the moment of their death, they exploded along with their souls, turning into dazzling specks of light, leaving onlookers sighing in disbelief.

"Hopefully, when we launch our final assault on the Temple of Light, we won't encounter too many guys like these," Rishuli murmured, watching the dissipating light.

“That’s hard to say.” Gerus put away the small bottle, put the stopper on and sealed it. “Fanatical followers of any sect are the most troublesome and headache-inducing group.”

In the distance, goblin figures, startled by the fire and explosion, were already rushing towards this place in the darkness.

Without further delay, the group leaped onto the dragon's back. Mo Yuan and Zhi Meng immediately flapped their enormous wings, soaring into the air and leaving the escalating flames below behind.

Compared to the group that arrived, there was now a silent, huddled researcher on the dragon's back. From her initial questioning of the basement guardian's soul, Zi Jin learned that he was called "Quail" by this group, and his real name was unknown.

The member of the Bone Mage who accompanied Bowers was left to lie in wait in the vicinity, responsible for gathering information on what happened after the manor was destroyed.

"I'm genuinely starting to fear the Temple of Light now," Su Ming sighed, watching the flames gradually shrink. "Special agents and high-ranking assassins keep appearing one after another." He shook his head. "Is this the profound foundation of this so-called millennium-old organization?"

“I think they should be the ones crying even harder,” Zijin smiled slightly. “These strongholds that have been established for many years, along with those well-trained agents and highly skilled and devoted top assassins, are not like cabbages that can just grow in the ground. Such a huge loss must be a deep pain for them.”

“The problem is,” Su Ming retorted, “if even one operation isn’t defended, it’s the end for me.” He rubbed his shoulder; the recoil from the grenade launcher was considerable. “This kind of gameplay is just not fair at all!”

“Excuse me for interrupting,” Rishiri interjected, “When you’re using those weird and wonderful ‘devices’ to humiliate the other side, it’s them who should be complaining about how unfair it is.”

Su thought about it and it seemed to make sense. "Alright, then let's just hurt each other."

Zijin took out a few mangoes from her pocket—she had picked them from the tree before leaving. She quietly pinched them all, softening the outer layer of the fruit, and then distributed them to everyone.

Su Ming, Jelus, and Ruixiu took the mangoes, looked at their bright and tempting orange-red skin, and squeezed them. They felt the soft texture of ripe fruit.

"Thanks!" said Rishiri. "I was really thirsty after that fight."

"It's been so long since I've had a mango!" Jelus said happily.

Preserving fruits from another world is very difficult, and there are almost no fruits that can be harvested out of season.

Zijin's lips curved upwards in a barely perceptible arc. "You're welcome."

Su Ming took the first bite of the plump fruit. However, almost simultaneously, Jelus and Ruishuli, who were also enjoying their fruit, suddenly changed their expressions and spat out the fruit in their mouths with a "whoosh!"
Violet immediately giggled, a gleam of triumphant mischief flashing in her eyes.

Su Ming looked puzzled, glancing at the half-eaten mango in his hand. "What's wrong?"

"It's so sour! It's so astringent it's almost bitter!" Jelus clearly realized she'd been tricked, tossed the mango aside, and then looked at Su Ming with some confusion, "Isn't yours... astringent?"

Su Ming lowered his head and took another bite, chewing and tasting it, confirming, "Mine is very sweet and juicy."

"You're so biased, Chestnut Owl!" Rishiri complained, "You're only giving Su Ming the good food."

Zijin suddenly reached out and snatched the sweet mango back from Su Ming's hand. She tossed another mango to Su Ming, "Then try this one, see if it's sour."

Then, she picked up the mango and took a big bite. Instantly, a strong sour and astringent taste exploded in her mouth, causing her pretty brows to furrow and her whole face to wrinkle.

Seeing Zijin's face contorted from the sourness, Su Ming couldn't hold back any longer and burst into laughter, covering his mouth.

Zijin also covered her mouth, clenched one fist, and angrily punched Su Ming's shoulder.

(End of this chapter)