From Blood Mage to Styx Ancestor

Chapter 411 Falling into the Shadows, Second Upgrade

Before Mordi arrived, ancient dragons roamed the land, and everything seemed to stagnate, with development halted.

Despite the passage of ten thousand years, the ancient dragon civilization has not developed in the slightest. Whether in terms of systems, technology, or other aspects, everything remains the same as when the civilization was first established ten thousand years ago.

A slave at the bottom will always be a slave at the bottom, and an ancient dragon priest will always be a priest, just like the ancient dragon sculptures in the temple that have remained unchanged for thousands of years.

"This is a corrupt civilization with no future," Modi declared, standing atop the Dragonbone Mountains.

He believed that the corrupt should be discarded and the backward should be eliminated, and his followers did just that.

One after another, the Dragonbone Mountains were transformed, and one war fortress after another took to the skies, rushing to battlefields in all directions.

Go and destroy the stagnant civilization of the ancient dragons, and bring change to this stagnant world.

The Dragon Hunters conquered cities and fortresses, annihilating any ancient dragons that dared to stand in their way, and contemptuously referring to them as "evil dragons."

Meanwhile, whenever the Lightbringers arrived in a city, they would control the fortresses, use artillery fire to destroy the temples dedicated to the ancient dragons, and kill the ancient dragon priests who resisted.

There was no prior ultimatum, no signal of surrender, only pure destruction.

In the civilization ruled by the ancient dragons, there were only three identities: ancient dragons, ancient dragon priests, and slaves.

Apart from a small number of priests, the vast majority of people in each city were slaves, living at the mercy of the priests on a daily basis.

Such a distorted social structure would probably have collapsed long ago if it weren't for the power of Gu Long.

No matter how many mortals there are, they are no match for the Ancient Dragon Priest, after all, the latter is equivalent to an immortal being who can cause natural disasters, while the former is just a mortal.

They had no path to take to achieve the extraordinary, nor could they develop science and technology—the shackles set by Gu Long even stifled their creativity.

This situation was not changed until Mordi arrived.

Each time a city is conquered, the immortals under his rule will abolish their status as slaves and select suitable people from among them to join the army.

They will implant a seed of extraordinary ability into the selected individuals and perform up to seven mark implantation surgeries, cultivating them into qualified Light Path extraordinary beings within a single day.

Those who survive seven surgeries and successfully have seven marks implanted have a chance to become immortals.

Under this snowballing offensive, the entire eastern border of the continent has been completely transformed.

"We have hunted down and driven out all the ancient dragons in the entire Eastern Territory," Janus reported. "The entire Eastern Territory is under our control."

He faced a mountain of unknown height, his attitude respectful, his whole being bathed in the light emanating from the crimson sun atop the mountain.

Before this, there was no concept of "yang" in this world, and the entire world was always shrouded in a gray mist.

But not long ago, this mountain range, made up of ancient dragon heads, rose from the ground and lifted the crimson sun into the sky. It was then that the people of the Eastern Realm came to know the concept of "Yang" for the first time.

The blazing sun casts its rays, dispelling the pervasive haze and allowing the path of light to penetrate deep into people's hearts through the sunlight.

From this day forward, it is destined that all humankind will pursue brilliance, like sparks soaring upwards.

"Don't stop." An indistinct voice came from the mountaintop. "Keep pushing outwards. My light can only illuminate the Eastern Territory. Ancient dragon forces still exist in the other four regions. Clear them out and dispel the fog from the world."

"Your will."

Janus rose and immediately relayed his orders to his subordinates.

The numerous war fortresses displayed along the border sprang into action upon hearing the news. Their powerful cannons and light spears had already locked onto the enemy's coordinates, and upon receiving the order, they eagerly dispatched gifts one by one.

Their gifts are naturally closely related to light.

On this day, Middle-earth, the North, and the South were all bathed in the scorching sun. Terrifying radiation swept across the soil where the ancient dragons lived, breaking the stagnant ethereal environment.

The ether began to flow again, and overly vibrant colors invaded the world, making everything look so fresh.

This was the first time they had seen a world without fog, and the first time they had seen such a magnificent and dazzling light.

No matter how they covered their eyes, the light always managed to pierce their skin and drip into their pupils.

For ordinary people, this is a beacon of enlightenment, but for ancient dragons and their priests, it is nothing short of poison; even a mere touch to their scales and skin will corrode their bodies.

The ancient dragon roared, urging the chaotic mist to try and obscure the crimson sunlight shining from the east.

As the mist came into contact with the light, it emitted a soft, hissing corrosion sound, struggling to regain its position and blocking the crimson sunlight from entering.

But this was only a temporary measure. As the war fortresses launched a major offensive, the Crimson Sun extended its reach inland, and its light once again broke through the mist, illuminating the lands under the ancient dragon's rule.

On that day, most of the towns in the Middle Kingdom were breached, and dozens of ancient dragons perished under the crimson sun.

Their dragon heads were sent to the eastern border and piled up at the foot of the mountain where Chiyang was located.

As the mountains became more treacherous, the sun rose higher and higher, its rays covering almost half of Itnity, and the ancient dragons suffered increasingly severe weakening.

This is a vicious cycle that is difficult to break. Unless the crimson sun on the mountaintop is directly shattered, the ancient dragon clan can only be bled to death.

However, how difficult it would be to shatter the Crimson Sun under the sunlight with the Dragon Slayer Apostles! It would be almost impossible.

Unless their king, the Ancient Dragon King who has been asleep since the beginning of the ancient dragons' birth and has never awakened, can be summoned.

Although he was called a king, he hardly ever managed anything and remained in a deep sleep, no different from a stubborn rock.

In order to awaken their king, the ancient dragons gathered in the North, converging at the place where the ancient dragon king slumbered.

They circled a north-south mountain range, chanting ancient dragon language and twisting their bodies in a sacrificial dance, trying to convey their thoughts to the sleeping ancient dragon king.

On this day, an unprecedented blizzard swept through the North, turning the entire world into pure white, and even cities guarded by ancient dragon priests were not spared.

The streets were filled with swirling snowflakes, and once mortal slaves were swallowed by the blizzard, they were never seen again.

In an instant, the population of the entire Northern Territory plummeted, but the ancient dragon priests did not care about this.

They faced the sacred mountain, prostrating themselves devoutly and fervently, chanting words of praise for the ancient dragon king.

The blizzard swept across the northern mountains, its momentum undiminished, and continued its southward advance, crashing headlong into the blazing sun.

As the ice and snow melted and the sun waned, the two sides engaged in a stalemate on the northern border.

"Finally awake?" Modiyou stood atop Paradise Mountain, surrounded by a halo of light, his face blurred and indistinct.

He looked northwest, his gaze traversing mountains and rivers through the crimson sunlight, landing on the raging blizzard.

In a daze, he seemed to see a pair of gilded vertical pupils staring at him from afar through the blizzard that blocked the northern border.

Without a doubt, the ancient dragon king had awakened and was showing him undisguised killing intent.

Coincidentally, he had the same idea.

"The last piece of the puzzle needed for the second upgrade has been found, but we don't know if He is willing to hand it over."

Having said all he could say, Mo Di's eyes flashed with a fierce light, and his body, along with the Heavenly Mountain beneath his feet, suddenly rose higher.

In a short while, he arrived in the outer space, looking down at the fierce battle in the northern border.

The war fortress struggled to maintain its balance amidst the raging blizzard, while also having to be wary of attacks from the ancient dragons lurking within.

The Dragon Hunters were unable to fight freely in the blizzard and could only stay on the fortress, constantly repelling the ancient dragons that were hiding in the blizzard.

The intense sunlight could not dispel the wind and snow blowing from the north.

The enormous black shadow loomed in and out of sight in the snow, and even the sprawling war fortresses could barely compare to it.

Suddenly, the wandering black image seemed to sense something, and it flapped its wings violently, rising in altitude and crashing into the red sun that had already risen into outer space.

"Good timing."

Modi neither dodged nor evaded, but gathered his crimson sun body, transforming it into a nearly pure white ball of light, and fiercely collided with the black shadow.

The intense light melted the ice and snow, while the blizzard, in turn, blocked out the sunlight. Accompanied by the roars of dragons, the struggle between the two continued.

"The King of Ancient Dragons..." Mordy glanced at the tiny cracks on his body, knowing that this was no easy enemy to deal with.

Opposite him, the Ancient Dragon King also looked at the cracks on his scales and remained silent.

They exchanged a glance and charged at each other once more.

The beings on Earth were unaware of the intense battle raging in outer space.

All they knew was that the situation was changing rapidly; one second the sun was shining brightly, and the next a blizzard was lashing their faces.

These unusual celestial phenomena symbolize the battle between the two in the sky. When one side is overwhelmed by the other, it means that the other side has temporarily fallen into a disadvantageous position.

The side at a disadvantage will also have its apostles affected, ranging from minor disturbances of their aura to serious damage to their spiritual path.

Neither the ancient dragon nor the dragon hunters knew when this seemingly endless war would end.

All they could do was grit their teeth and persevere, hoping to live until the end of the war... or die a glorious death.

The battle lines remain deadlocked at the border between Middle-earth and the North. Even when one side manages to push the lines forward, it doesn't last long before they are pushed back.

The only two battlefields that saw progress were the western and southern ones.

Without the protection of the blizzard, the Dragon Hunters swept through these two battlefields with unstoppable momentum, easily capturing both areas.

"The Southwestern Army is about to move north, and with their reinforcements, our pressure will be much less."

Janus breathed a sigh of relief; this was probably the best news he had heard in a long time.

With the reinforcements of these two armies, even if they cannot conquer the entire northern border, they can still push the front line forward a bit.

"How long have we been fighting?" he asked his comrade Warber.

"I don't know. You know, since the war started, the world has been either shrouded in darkness or scorching hot. Who knows how much time has passed?"

Warber shook his head, shouldered his greatsword, and walked out.

"Instead of thinking about that, I should go out and hunt a few more evil dragons."

"That's true. The number of evil dragons is limited. After this battle is over, there probably won't be many evil dragons left in the world."

Janus smiled and shook his head, then picked up the spiral spear with one hand and followed Warber.

Stepping outside, he was bathed in sunlight, which lifted his spirits considerably.

"It's rare to see sunshine outside instead of a blizzard. I wish it could stay like this forever... Hmm, is it just my imagination? Why does the sun seem to be getting bigger?"

He looked up at the sky and froze on the spot.

It wasn't his imagination; the crimson sun was indeed getting bigger—no, it should be said that it was getting closer to the ground.

The blizzard was receding, while the sun was shining brighter, as if the two sides in the battle were about to determine a victor.

"Look, the blizzard has subsided!"

Warber bumped into an ancient dragon that emerged from the blizzard, completely unaware that the blizzard was receding.

This also led to its exposure to the blazing sun, whereupon it was targeted by several dragon hunters.

"Blood sacrifice to the God of Light, skull offered to the crimson sun!"

Several dragon hunters brandished their swords and spears and charged forward, while in the distant northern sky, a massive black shadow plummeted straight to the ground.

boom!

The mountain range descended from the sky, shattering a layer of the ground and creating a shockwave that nearly blew away the fortified positions at the front.

As the blizzard gradually dissipated, everything that had just happened was revealed to the dragon hunters.

"That's... the King of Evil Dragons!"

Janus stared in awe at the figure that far surpassed that of an ordinary ancient dragon. Even just a glance at it made his soul tremble.

The scorching sunlight shone down, dispelling the chill deep within my soul.

He immediately snapped out of his daze, glanced respectfully at the fiery red sun that was spitting out tongues of flame, and his fear of the Ancient Dragon King instantly transformed into a fighting spirit.

"The evil dragon... deserves to die!"

Having said that, he jumped off the fortress, the blazing sun overhead, and engaged in a fierce battle with an ancient dragon that hadn't had time to retreat.

"Red Sun, bear witness to me!"

Hearing the sound from somewhere, Modi glanced down, casually sprinkled some blessings, and then turned his attention back to his real prey.

"You have already lost," Mordy said. "This world has no need for stagnant eternity."

Change is instability, and instability is incompleteness.

The King of Ancient Dragons took a deep breath, braced himself on all fours, and vowed to get up.

"Imperfection means lack of perfection. My world only needs things that are eternal and perfect. Everything should be frozen in perfect eternity."

A still wind rose behind her, howling as the crimson sun swept away.

"They are spouting fallacies and heresies, and stubbornly resisting."

Modi snorted coldly, and his crimson sun body shone brightly and heated up, instantly melting away the blizzard that symbolized stillness.

The crimson sun expanded rapidly, descending from the sky and engulfing the ancient dragon king entirely.

The ceremony for the second upgrade has begun.

With his incomplete demonic body, Modi eroded the static concept of the Ancient Dragon King's oath, examining everything from the surface to the core—dragon scales, skin, blood vessels, bones, internal organs... down to the very essence. He spared no one.

The King of Ancient Dragons did rebel, but his rebellion was utterly futile.

The war fortresses have reached the North, and now even the North is enveloped in the light of the crimson sun.

In the entirety of Itnity, if there is anyone who is not within the sphere of influence of the Red Sun, then it is probably only the shadow within the Red Sun itself.

Only there was the place that Chiyang had prepared for the King of Ancient Dragons.

He will fall into his shadow in exchange for the opportunity to rise to a higher level.