A man among dragons, building a mysterious ancient church.

Chapter 286 I ask you, who dares to stand in the front row?
On the warship, a confident elder of the Secret Party nearly popped his eyes out of their sockets: "Why? The Immortals? What's wrong with the Immortals?!"

This is their ace immortal, on whom they have placed their highest hopes!

The Secret Society has used the Immortals to slay dragons many times throughout history, and knows that the Immortals are extremely reliable, will not go out of control, will not betray them, and will only return after completing the dragon-slaying mission.

It was precisely because of this stability that the Immortals could become the Secret Society's biggest trump card. How come they were all snatched away the moment they appeared?!
The other mixed-race individuals watching the live stream trembled: "No, no, they, these immortals, are starting to mingle with the dragons? Could it be, could it be that this is also one of the Black King's methods?!"

"Then what's the point of fighting? We were already unable to break through the dragons' blockade, and now the other side has added immortals from the Secret Party. If we go, wouldn't we just be throwing our lives away?!"

"Fuck! The Secret Society! The Secret Society! This is aiding the enemy! This is colluding with dragons! This is betraying the entire human society and all hybrids!"

In the live stream, the dragons had released the immortals, and the immortals no longer attacked the dragons. Instead, they stood beside the dragons and patrolled their territory together.

The two seemed to be getting along harmoniously, and you couldn't tell that they had just been fighting to the death. What was going on?

Caesar, who had successfully 'rescued' Chen Motong, watched the live stream on his phone and, recalling the fish bones he had encountered earlier, had a sudden inspiration!
"I understand, Black King. Black King can control the skeletons of fish. Similarly, Black King should also be able to control immortals. Immortals are essentially the same as fish bones; they are all corpses that have already died!"

Lu Mingfei glanced at his phone, then turned to look at Caesar, so nervous that he swallowed twice before finally managing to gulp down his saliva.

Previously, because Boss Caesar was going to find Senior Sister Nono, their student council team stayed put and thus luckily avoided running headfirst into the dragon territory.

When Caesar, Percy, and Senior Sister Nono returned, Lu Mingfei heard that they had accidentally entered an alchemical trap and fainted upon entering. Fortunately, they were not in any danger and woke up before being entangled in blood and having their blood drawn.

This Bellow Island is way too dangerous!

The outer perimeter is riddled with alchemical traps, the depths are teeming with dragons, and now there's an even larger group of immortals. What's the point of even trying to break through here? This is definitely not a place for a pseudo-S-rank like him!
He really wants to go home!

Apart from Renata, no one noticed Lu Mingfei's terrified expression; Caesar even excitedly reported his own reasoning.

The many hybrids were almost in despair. Hundreds of dragons were already difficult enough, but now even the Secret Party's immortals were being controlled by the other side. What was the point of fighting?
Why not return home now and enjoy the last moments of life before the Black King emerges from its cocoon?

Fortunately, Caesar's timely reasoning was recognized, and the alchemist Nicholas stepped forward, saying he would immediately take his disciple Fingel to study the fish bones.

To find a way to break the Black King's spell and save the Immortals.

This barely managed to calm morale and prevent the united group that was fighting against the Black King from losing heart.

The head of the Sigurd family seized the opportunity and hurriedly discussed with various forces whether they should gather all their strength to fight the dragons in a quick battle, or take a more gradual approach.
Needless to say, the losses from the former are foreseeable and will inevitably be severe, but if we can win, we might be able to quickly defeat Nidhogg the Black King and eliminate him while he is still in a weak and powerless embryonic state.
The latter method is safer. It relies on its superior numbers to slowly find opportunities, ambush and kill a dragon, and then quickly retreat. Since the dragons cannot get out and are confined to the inner circle, it is much safer. It can slowly wear them down until they are defeated.

The problem is that this takes too much time. If it drags on until the Black King emerges from his cocoon, then everything done will be meaningless.

A smart person would immediately know that in a time of life-or-death struggle like the Black King's resurrection, the former should be chosen, and victory should be achieved in one battle.

But if there are too many smart people, new problems can easily arise.

For example, a high knight of the Temple of Solomon pointedly questioned Sigurd: "Then I would like to ask, in the great battle against the dragons, who was at the front? Who stood in the first row to resist the dragons' charge?"

Upon hearing this, the mixed-race people trembled inwardly. Recalling the thunderous and earthquake-like charge of the dragons, the rolling thunder, and the earth shaking, who would dare to stand in the first row to resist?

Do you think you're living too long?

To say "resist" is an understatement; to put it bluntly, it's asking who would willingly go and die!

The online meeting fell silent because of the Grand Knight's question. The head of the Sigurd family realized that this would not do; the Secret Party had to consider the bigger picture!

The head of the Sigurd family took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully, then stood up and slammed his hand on the table, leading by example: "We, the warriors of Beowulf, are willing to stand at the forefront of the dragon-slaying campaign, just to destroy the Black King and prevent the tyrant from returning!"

"Even if it means sacrificing the bravest warriors of our clan, I believe my people will agree if it's to save the world!"

The impetuous Beowulf family actually respected Sigurd, so they didn't blame him for dragging them into this mess and readily agreed: "That's right! We, the Beowulf family, are also willing to stand at the forefront of the fight against the dragons!"

"There are no cowards in the Beowulf family, and they will never yield to dragons!"

The two elder patriarchs took turns speaking, one with an air of righteous indignation, the other using a provocative tactic of "there are no cowards."

Unfortunately, some people don't buy into that.

The chief of the Ruben tribe, one of the six major tribes in North Africa, raised his hand to press his right eye socket and slammed his fist on the table as well: "So what?!" "What good is it if only your two families stand in the first row? Can you withstand it? You want a decisive battle? Fine, let the six major tribes stand in the last row, and we'll join the final battle!"

Nobody's stupid, and the other factions don't want to stand in the second or third row either: "No, we have to stand in the last row. Our family has alchemical tools to help restore stamina, and we're experts in logistics!"

"Get out! Our family excels at ranged attacks, so we should be in the back!"

“What ranged attack? Haven’t you realized yet? When facing dragons, you can only rely on your sword. Since we happen to be skilled in forging, why don’t we stay here and provide you with weapons?”

To put it bluntly, if it really came down to a decisive battle with the dragons, whoever was in the first few rows was basically doomed, and not just any doomed death. Everyone wanted to stand in the last row to gain an advantage and was unwilling to go to the front and suffer a loss.

The Grand Knight and Chief Ruben exchanged a knowing glance, smiled at each other, and then resumed their frantic efforts to slow down the attack and buy time for the main body to perform the ritual.

Many high-ranking members of various factions were parasitized and understood the intentions of the two avatars, the Grand Knight and the Chieftain. They followed behind the two, all clamoring to stand at the very back.

With everyone collectively setting the pace and hindering progress, the various factions argue back and forth without reaching a conclusion.

Human nature is selfish, and few people can make a completely rational choice in such situations.

Even the exemplary actions of Sigurd and Beowulf failed to change the minds of various factions, including Genjiro, who also harbored selfish thoughts.

He brought so many brothers from the Executive Bureau out here. If possible, of course he would bring them back safely. Why would he want to bring them along and stand at the forefront of resisting the dragons?
The Grand Knight and Chief Reuben nearly made the Sigurd family head furious. If it weren't for these two selfish guys, he might have successfully organized a decisive battle!
How can there be such a selfish person?
Pompeii, also a member of the Secret Party, chose to follow the crowd. He knew very well that it took a very long time for an ordinary dragon king to hatch from its cocoon.

Even Jormungandr, the most adept at surviving by spinning a cocoon among his brothers and sisters, could not possibly emerge from his cocoon in just one day.

Since that's the case, let's wait and see, Pompeii tried to reassure himself.

It's clear that a decisive battle is not an option; a gradual approach is necessary, but various factions are worried about delaying the Black King's resurgence.

So, school board member Elizabeth compromised and offered a new suggestion: "Gentlemen, continuing to argue will only allow the Black King to grow and develop in vain."

"It's a complete waste of time."

"If no one wants a decisive battle, nor does anyone want to divide and conquer the dragons, then let's all treat each other equally, and attack together from different regions, different directions, and at the same time, and let's just rely on luck."

"If you're unlucky, you'll attract dragons and immortals, and then you'll have to rely on your own abilities to escape; if you're lucky, the dragons and immortals will be attracted away, and you can take the opportunity to go deep into the island and face the Black King's embryo!"

Elizabeth's proposal was approved by all parties. Selfish as it may be, when it comes to relying purely on luck, everyone will have a glimmer of hope that their own family will be the lucky one.

Therefore, I am not particularly resistant to this proposal.

"That's a good suggestion. As expected of Miss Elizabeth Laurent, a jewel in the field of metallurgy in Europe and America."

"There is no time to lose. The longer we delay, the more likely the Black King will break free of his cocoon. I will now have my people take action."

"Alright, let's gather now! We'll storm into the dragons' territory together and see who they're after."

Then fortune and misfortune reverse, and good luck turns into a nightmare.

All factions acted according to Elizabeth's plan, and many of them were attacked by dragons and immortals. They managed to buy as much time as possible before fleeing in disarray.

Even so, many people were hurt.

The lucky West Asian mixed-race families, along with the Pharaoh's Council, did not encounter the dragons, indicating that the dragons and immortals were lured away by other forces.

The two forces were overjoyed and quickly advanced into the depths of the island.

The deeper they went, the happier they became. Their fear had somehow turned into greed—greed for the legendary bones and blood of the Supreme Black King!

Neither of the last two factions had a single hybrid survivor. They only managed to send back messages with regretful tones via cell phone before they died.

The most central dormant volcanic area on Bello Island also harbors dragons!
There are also seven third-generation dragons guarding the area, as well as one second-generation dragon servant!
With the release of this intelligence, all parties fell silent. At this point, even if they were unwilling, they could only choose to proceed slowly.

(End of this chapter)