Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

"Actually... I have something I'd like to ask Susanna for help with."

"I'll help you."

"Hey... but I haven't told you what it is yet."

"No matter what it is, I will help you. Is there anything more difficult than helping you manage a country and raising a queen?"

"Like resurrecting a dragon?"

Susanna paused for a moment, her usually calm face showing a change in expression. She looked at Irason and finally smiled happily.

"I'm so happy... Ilan, you finally have ambition! I'm so happy! I'll definitely help you! But we need to gather some materials first... I'll try to kill a dragon priest."

The Green Dragon Priest stopped Susanna from continuing her horrific plan, explaining loudly.

"No! My friend has already completed part of the work to revive the dragons. Now I just need to gather the power of the dream elves!"

Susanna's excitement seemed to subside a little, and a smile remained on her face. "Isn't that much easier? Ilan is great, you've learned to use others." Susanna wiped the crumbs from the corner of her mouth, clapped her hands, and the black thorn bushes came to life, like a group of snakes moving around Ilan and crawling towards Susanna.

“But now that I’m awake, Ilan doesn’t need to rely on those outsiders anymore. Let’s deal with those troublesome things.”

Thorns transformed into branches, climbing up Susanna's body. The cluster of withered branches lifted her up, and maple-leaf-like hard pieces sprouted from the thorns, becoming a sturdy and tight dress, though its hardness and material resembled armor like an iron tower. Willow branches intertwined and wove, covering Susanna's delicate skin, and slender branches supported her frame, making her appear very tall. Wood chips and vines wove into a stag antler crown atop her head, and her hair and plants blended together.

This was Susanna's usual attire, a lichen similar to that of Irason, except that she was now a towering, two-meter-tall, eerie and austere wooden golem. Her once gentle voice had become a hoarse whisper. The Susanna in this new outfit was no longer the kind friend; she had become the Nightmare Druid, the founder of the Senate, the majestic elven archon, and the godmother of the elven queen. Perhaps, Susanna was originally just a friend of the Green Dragon Priest.

The aloof golem turned its head, and from within its antler helmet, its eyes gleamed with a cold light. Susanna stretched out her withered, branch-like arm and asked Irason.

Do you want me to carry you?

"No! I'm a dragon priest! How could I be carried like a princess! I want to walk there myself." Irason grumbled and strode forward.

“She clearly didn’t like walking before.” Susanna walked beside her, black vines from beneath her armor piercing the ground through the gaps, dragging Susanna’s body forward. Forcing herself to trace the green dragon priest’s slender waist with her hands, Susanna was more interested in reaping the power of her race than the dragon priest.

"How is the Dream Elf situation now? After assisting Tiffany in ascending the throne, I fell into a deep sleep. Without the suppression of your and my authority, the Dream Elf should be developing quite well, right?"

"...In fact, I messed up. Some of my people were corrupted by nightmares while purifying their dreams, becoming a new kind of druid with doctrines completely opposite to the mainstream. I took them and ran away, and haven't returned since..."

The Green Dragon Priestess's feet left the ground as she was embraced by Susanna. Her visor opened, and her face rubbed intimately against Irason's.

"Yilan, you must have suffered a lot outside of home..."

The Green Dragon Priest recalled his life in the City of Wandering, living a life of idleness, seeking help from his elder brother when needed, and teasing his juniors when not.

Faced with Susanna's worried gaze, Irason dared not speak.

"It's not actually that bad."

"No need to explain, Elaine, I will protect you from now on."

"..."

"In other words, we need to regain power, whether it's Tiffany's existing Queen's faction or the Senate faction I established. Don't worry, Elan, I won't sideline Tiffany; after all, she's your daughter. As long as you become the guide of the Dream Elves again, the problem of the Wither Druids will be solved."

"I'm not too worried about the Queen's mission, because you are Tiffany's godmother. But what about the Senate?"

"The Senate, the Druid Senate was originally established to help purify the dream world and reduce your workload... The Senate is a voting system, and over the years, countless members have changed. Although it's a bit troublesome, I've retained five Grand Elder positions, which means five Grand Druids including myself. Our votes are equivalent to two votes of a normal elder. As long as the five of us support you, it won't be difficult for the Senate to support you as well."

"The remaining four archdruids... could it be those four guys?! Those four are such old fogies, when they were assisting me in governing, they wouldn't allow me to slack off! How could the four elders possibly support me?"

“They might support you. They won’t outwardly support you, but they will cast their precious vote for you at my signal.” Susanna smiled, the leaves rustling as the antlers brushed against her.

"Susanna, you controlled them?"

“No, my dear. I will not control any dream spirits; it is our agreement.” Susanna opened her palm, revealing four gleaming insignia. “I merely guided them to the depths of the dream realm where the nightmares were most deeply entrenched. As guardians of the dream forest, the four most powerful druids decided to personally suppress the nightmares. They entrusted their insignia to me, making me their representative as the Grand Elder. Just as before…”

After that, Susanna and the Green Dragon Priest talked about what they had seen and heard in the outside world.

"Brother Morokui is amazing! He raised Lyle! A kind-hearted child, and also the nascent form of an evil god. Evil gods have a bright side, but I knew that all along. Look, my flesh disguise was designed by Lyle, and the resurrected dragon was also Lyle's creation! What a wonderful child!"

Susanna smiled. "I'd love to meet Mr. Lyle. Would you like to invite him to visit Thamewood?"

“Alright, even if I don’t invite him, Lyle’s connection with the Dragon Priest is already unbreakable. Leave it to me, Susanna. I will definitely arrange for Lyle to meet you.”

"Thank you, Ilan."

Susanna couldn't help but hug the green dragon priest again.

Faint whispers followed the black thorns deeper into the earth.

“Evil God embryo, Lyle… to Irason… you are a dangerous being…”

"I long to see Lyle again soon... I wish I could seal him away in my dreams..."

"Just like the Father God who sealed me away... the Sleeper Triton..."

Chapter 590 The Ancient Call

"Ah—" "Ah—"

A dark shadow swept swiftly across the treetops, the loud sound startling birds into flight. It wasn't a scream of terror, at least not Lyle thought so. Since being carried off by the dragon, poor Mr. Lyle had gradually grown accustomed to the high altitudes; the howling wind felt like it was connected to his veins, the storm drawing all the boy's blood out of him. So he cried out, like the exhilarating shouts that emanated from swinging through the bushes of Leviathan.

Holding onto the protruding bone spikes on the dragon's spine, Lyle gradually got used to the journey on its back. Nia was even more cheerful than Lyle; she opened her mouth to the wind, the air inflating her body like a balloon hanging on its back.

"Where are we going, teacher?"

“Anywhere far away from the Dragon Priest…” The bone dragon’s speed gradually decreased until it could communicate verbally without any obstacles, “but those guys left a mark on me, it’s only a matter of time before they find me.”

Mr. Dragon regained his composure, overcame the period of adjustment to his powers, and transformed back into the calm mentor Lyle remembered.

"Teacher, I thought you wouldn't mind having a few animal partners, since you liked them so much before."

"My dragon life! I don't need a partner! I don't need an animal partner either!" Mr. Dragon roared a few times at the open space in front of him, flapped his wings and floated in the air.

“I do like animals, but not to that extent. My fondness is the kind of interest and affection a biologist has for other species, which may also be mixed with my gratitude for the black bear I was with back then. But my feelings are very pure.”

Lyle pondered for a moment, "So, Mr. Dragon, your criteria for choosing a partner is still limited to humanoid beings?"

"No."

Mr. Dragon's reply startled Lyle, but thankfully Mr. Dragon quickly added more details.

"I have no desire for love or marriage. Such thoughts did not exist in my life, and they are even less likely to arise after my death. My ideal and my obsession is to become a dragon. I have not considered the issue of a mate, and I will not consider it in the future. Thinking about it carefully, how could a noble dragon only have primitive reproduction as its only way out? Spirit summoning can create fresh flesh. I do not believe that the dragon priests who control those ancient knowledge cannot eliminate similar hidden dangers."

"At the very least, it's impossible for me to find a partner and have children."

The bone dragon flew forward again, and the calm dragon covered Lyle with a magical membrane to block the gale.

"So what do we do now, teacher? Your ideal is already mostly fulfilled. The scholar teacher tells us to wait..."

“We still have a lot to do, such as studying my new body. I’m so excited to have awakened. Apart from the ability to fly, I haven’t used the power hidden in this body yet. Here’s a simple ability test; you can be my juror.”

“With pleasure.” Lyle took out a parchment, and Nia’s tentacles, covered in black slime, patted the paper. “What shall we test first?”

"For example, spellcasting ability."

The bone dragon's scales stood on end, and its sternum opened like shutters. Lyle could feel magic flowing and gathering in the cavity protected by its ribs. Its two claws were brought together in front of its chest, and a magic orb took shape in its claws. The magic on the bone dragon was drawn in, and a precise magic circle quickly formed on the orb.

Lyle recognized the magic circle; it was one of the rituals of advanced necromancy.

Legion of the Dead

The power of death fell from the dragon's hand, burrowing into the earth. Pale lines spread across the ground, and a large group of skeletons roared as they emerged from the earth. But because this was a desolate wilderness, most of these skeletons were the remains of wild beasts that had died here, and some were brittle due to their age, collapsing the moment the soul flame ignited.

Awaken all the corpses within a hundred-meter radius, making them obey the spellcaster's commands. These corpses will gain some of their former abilities, forming an army of the dead. On the battlefield, this spell could determine the outcome of an ordinary war. Lyle could achieve a similar effect even better with his Omen Avatar, but Mr. Dragon is clearly just warming up.

The Legion of the Dead can bring in a large number of cannon fodder and is one of the signature spells of high-level necromancers to bully the weak.

Transforming into a dragon affected the level of the necromancy master's magic lock, but he was still the same necromancy master. Now he was an undead dragon who wielded the power of death, or rather, a dragon lich.

"The effects have weakened, but it's acceptable. The strength of bone spike and bone shield spells remains unchanged, but the effects of curse and spirit summoning spells have weakened. If I continue the research, I need to redesign the experimental area and a series of equipment, as well as a huge experimental table that my dragon body can easily use..."

"Ah, and there's also the [Dragon] part of the ability..."

Mr. Dragon, who habitually assembles skeletons, disassembles the skeleton he has mostly completed and buries it in the ground, leaving it as it is.

The dragon landed on all fours, allowing Lyle to slide down its ribs.

“Stay away from me, my student, I’m going to try out ‘Dragon’s Breath’.”

Lyle thought of the laser barrage released by the Gem Bone Dragon before, that powerful firepower that could change the terrain, and quietly moved a little further away.

The dragon's wings stretched out with all their might, beginning to glow. Tiny magical tides, resembling a magical network reaction, began to form around the dragon. This was its maximum dragon breath. A piercing buzzing sound echoed within the dragon's body. Its chest cavity had transformed into a dazzling sphere of light. Its head was raised high, and the joints of its neck unfolded one by one, like a gun bolt slowly being pulled back.

A flash of cold light, and the bone dragon opened its massive jaws.

The dragon unleashed a storm. Starting from its snout, everything within a 90-degree fan-shaped area was destroyed, creating a fissure in the plain that could completely bury the bone dragon's body at its deepest point.

If the Gem Dragon's breath is a laser beam, then the Dragon Master's full-force breath is a nuclear bomb.

This is... an attack at the level of the Advanced Magic Research Society.

To Lyle's horror, the dragon exhaled a puff of smoke and slowly nodded.

"The full power of the dragon breath in an undisturbed state is indeed quite impressive. My dragon species leans more towards warrior dragons; if I were a spellcasting dragon, the power of the dragon breath would likely be even greater. But this is still quite good, even better than any dragon species in the Dragon Priest's memory. Is it because of Lyle's modified super-large body...?"

"There is absolutely no need to worry about physical fitness."

"As for dragon language magic and the more profound dragon roars, those are knowledge passed down in one's bloodline, and I don't have a single drop of that blood now..."

"If our combat strength is guaranteed, then let's try the dragon's roar..."

"The language of dragons..."

After instructing Lyle to cover his ears, the dragon raised its head and puffed out its chest, letting out a high-pitched roar based on its memory. It was the most magnificent roar from the previous era, a roar that blew up grass, shook the forest, collided with the mountains, and soared into the sky.

"Teacher, you have a really loud voice." Lyle rubbed his ears, which still trembled from the sound.

“A dragon’s roar represents a degree of power; the volume of the roar corresponds to the strength. You should be glad that my roar is so loud; I am no less powerful than my dragon father, Yemotar, my student.”

Lyle smiled.

"If Dragon Father were still alive, I really wish he could have a shouting contest with you. I'd love to see the two of you yell at each other..."

Not long after the roar of the dragon disappeared, a deafening roar, like thunder, exploded in the sky from afar.

"Roar!!!"

The master and apprentice looked at each other, and Lyle broke out in a cold sweat.

"That's the echo of your roar, isn't it?"