Ashen Dragon

Kingdom of Seleucis, Lin Ying City.

The air was mixed with a thick scent of blood, the stench of rot, and a pungent acidic smell. The ground was covered with bloodstains, and many buildings had become ruins, as if they had experienced an earthquake.

In the corners of the streets, piles of dragon beast dung and rotting flesh and limbs emitted a foul odor.

The wide streets were filled with dragonborn, their appearances ugly and faces ferocious. Some had dragon horns on their heads; others had sparse dark green scales on their skin. They were adorned with either armor or luxurious robes, strutting about ostentatiously.

Humans, on the other hand, were mostly ragged and disheveled, walking timidly in the corners, heads down and backs hunched, taking extra care with their steps, not even daring to step on the shadows of the dragonborn — for ordinary humans, this constituted a whipping offense.

When faced with real giant dragons, they bowed their heads even lower, kneeling among the filthy dung by the roadside, shivering, unable to even look up directly.

This is the rule of the Dragon Worship Church. In this extremely strict and cruel hierarchy, mortals must abandon all dignity to survive, becoming the most loyal slaves of the giant dragons and dragonborn.

Under the watchful eyes of the Dragon Descendant Guards, Mantou surveyed the surroundings, maintaining his air of arrogance on the surface but secretly sending messages in a group chat.

I'm Going to Eat Mantou: Damn, this place is practically a human purgatory. Who knew there was such a place in the Material Plane.

Natural War Maniac: Hmm... In my experience, the environment of Aphernas' Bronze Fortress is much better than here.

Singo: The doctrine of the Dragon Worship Church is to make Tiamat return to the world and let the giant dragons rule the earth. Humans, in their view, are a bunch of animals. Think of those humans as chickens, ducks, and pigs waiting to be slaughtered on a farm, and you should be able to understand this city's operating mode.

Summer Night Autumn Rain: The NPC intelligence of Erezer is very high; their way of thinking is almost indistinguishable from real people. Even if it's just game data, it seems too cruel to me.

Natural War Maniac: Sigh, I never thought I'd see living people treated as animals; it really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. If there's a chance, we must turn this place upside down.

I'm Going to Eat Mantou: By the way, was the scroll you gave to that cultist real?

Singo: It was real, but it's not to the so-called Dragon Blood Altar; instead, it leads to the Mechanical God Cult's live experiment laboratory. They're short on experimental materials over there, and each person I trick over there nets a seven or eight Ginnar commission, enough to buy several teleportation scrolls.

I'm Going to Eat Mantou: Tsk tsk, I've heard of that laboratory — a notorious gathering place for perverts. You're ruthless, turning around and selling people there, while also making good money.

Singo: What do you know, the richer you are, the more you need to be meticulous. Don't mention Ginnar; I wouldn't even pass up copper.

Summer Night Autumn Rain: Look quickly, we're about to enter the Inner City Area.

Mantou looked up, and a tall city wall appeared in front of him, inscribed on its surface with rough, mysterious runes exuding a deep, evil aura.

After some communication, the heavy iron gate on the wall slowly opened, allowing their group to enter the inner parts of Lin Ying City.

Here, ordinary humans were almost nowhere to be seen; if there were any, they only appeared as pitiable "sacrifices" in the forces going towards the Dragon Breeding Ground.

Mantou noticed the woman he had previously rescued in the escort team, bound by heavy chains stained with blood. Her face was ashen, full of despair, seemingly having accepted her fate as a sacrifice.

In the sky of the Inner City Area, the figures of Green Dragons frequently appeared. They competed here for treasures plundered from various regions and enjoyed the freshest and most tender bloody meals.

In Grotar's view, the Inner City Area housed his most elite Dragon Descendant Army, along with numerous Green Dragons overseeing it. That Red Dragon cub, frightened to silence, wouldn't escape from his grasp.

No matter what, he couldn't have imagined that the true target of Mantou and his companions was the Dragon Breeding Ground deep in the dungeon.

Soon, the Cultist Priest led the group to a towering tower. They entered it, passed through a long corridor, and reached the end of the first floor.

"Please, this is a residence specially prepared for you by Lord Grotar."

It seemed they had reached their destination. The Cultist Priest smiled as he gestured to a rather spacious room.

This room, though called a room, was more like a cage.

The inner walls were forged from hard steel, the door inscribed with incantations of an Arcane Lock, while outside the corridor, over twenty fully armed dragonborn soldiers patrolled back and forth.

Stone dragon heads protruded on either side of the corridor, and if someone attempted to trespass, they would shoot arrows coated with Green Dragon toxin from their mouths.

Additionally, Dragon Worship Priests used the Magic Crystal Ball to monitor everything here. Once any disturbance was detected, the surrounding elite troops would swarm in.

Seizing this precious opportunity, Singo, Natural War Maniac, and other professional gamers keenly observed everything around, uncovering traps and identifying escape routes.

Meanwhile, Mantou maintained the persona of a brainless Red Dragon, casting a disdainful yet slightly irritated glance at the Cultist Priest.

"Half-breed, you'll regret this. Do you know who my father is? He's none other than the renowned Ancient Dragon! Stand aside; I want to meet—"

"My lord, you should rest early."

After a moment of stalemate, the Cultist Priest awkwardly smiled and left the room. The dragonborn soldiers finally escorted Singo, Natural War Maniac, and Summer Night Autumn Rain into the room.