Ashen Dragon

Northwind Castle Suburbs.

Portals opened one after another, bringing mages to a hidden clearing.

This clearing was not far from Northwind Castle, surrounded by tall dense forest. The area was quite quiet, and the flat ground had nothing but wildflowers and weeds.

This was the site Cassius had chosen to build a grand palace in the future, the "safe casting place" he had provided for Schroeder.

In a month's time, he had completely transformed this place into his Kingdom Domain.

Schroeder looked around nervously. He did not sense any danger, but the higher rank mage's intuition made him detect a slight anomaly.

"Lord Remnant Fire, it seems a bit... too quiet here."

He gently felt the air with his hand.

"The flow of elements here is extremely calm."

Cassius calmly explained, "This is a barrier of breath isolation. It prevents prying from the outside. Otherwise, how do you think I managed to create this secret base right under that red dragon's nose? It cost me quite a bit of effort."

"Truly ingenious."

Schroeder nodded slightly.

After all, that red dragon could cast Eighth Tier Spells. Being cautious was very normal.

"Let's start drawing the array."

Schroeder ordered.

His voice trembled slightly. The Greyhawk Mage knew this was his last chance to redeem himself.

The twelve Grey Robe Mages cast sound isolation spells, just in case.

The parchment scroll radiated a dangerous aura, and its complex and abundant magical power poured out.

A man's strange wailing echoed, blocked by the spell but still resonating within the clearing.

"Fear it, praise the dragon's strength."

"Its gaping maw can swallow me whole."

"Its sharp fangs can tear me apart."

"Its flame can burn me to ashes."

"I will control it, I will bind it, I will become the dragon!"

The players guided that magical power, drawing complex and eerie patterns on the ground. These patterns combined to form the powerful Eighth Tier Spell— Vagnard's Dragon Binding Magic Circle.

"It's finally starting."

"I will become a dragon-slaying hero."

Thinking of the red dragon that had destroyed everything he had, hatred gleamed deeply in Schroeder's eyes. He had dreamt countless times about thrusting his sword into that red dragon's chest, making the dragon wail and die before him, just as the Allied Forces had once been slaughtered.

Schroeder took a deep breath, stepped forward a few paces, and walked to the center of the array.

The twelve court spellcasters of the Northern Kingdom took their positions at the central nodes, forming a circle.

The twenty-something players stood at the outer edge, handling the most basic spell controls.

"Buzz—"
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As the last controller took their place, the complex patterns lit up immediately. The surging magic flow roared within the array like a massive vortex. Even Cassius could deeply feel the terrifying power.

Vagnard's Dragon Binding Magic Circle, being an Eighth Tier Spell, was chaotic and complex. Even with dozens of spellcasters working together, it was extremely draining.

Schroeder struggled to maintain primary control over the array, gasping for breath as he pleaded:

"Lord Remnant Fire..."

"Please transform back to your noble and grand form, and lower yourself to provide a dragon scale and fifteen drops of dragon blood for the binding array."

"As long as you lure that red dragon here, I can ensure it gets trapped!"

Cassius curiously observed him, his body flickering with subtle magical radiance.

"No problem."

His body rapidly expanded, and a colossal figure soon dominated everyone's sight. The enormous shadow cast by it enveloped those within the array.

Schroeder looked up in amazement.

But soon, that amazement turned into terror.

——A body nearly twenty meters long, as if the embodiment of strength, covered in crimson scales. Jagged spikes jutted outward, and the backward-swept fringe extended to the tail tip. The massive horns atop its head resembled a majestic crown, and its golden, vertical pupils danced with fierce flames.

This was no gold dragon at all but an incredibly terrifying red dragon!

Moreover, Schroeder recognized it at once. It was the one that haunted his nightmares countless times, the Infernal Calamity, the King of Ashen, Red Dragon Cassius!

Schroeder stood trembling, shaking his head repeatedly as if he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"No, no, this is absolutely impossible."

"You... you're no damn gold dragon. You are that cursed red dragon!"

Schroeder had lost his sanity, pointing at the players, shouting maniacally.

"They, they are all spies too!"

"Damn it!"

"This was all a lie from the start!"

Over twenty players revealed their true identities as spies, launching attacks on the defenseless court mages. Various spell radiances flew about chaotically.

The red dragon did not attack but watched those panicked mages from above with a hint of mockery in its golden eyes.

"For justice... isn't that right?"

"I never said I was a so-called gold dragon."

"Schroeder."

Schroeder had fully come to his senses by now, realizing he had fallen into a trap. His eyes burned with endless hatred and bitterness directed at Cassius.

"Red dragon, you ruined everything I had."

"My family, my status..."

"You even crushed my last hope... I want you dead! At any cost!"

Schroeder, driven mad, as the primary controller, forcibly activated the incomplete Vagnard's Dragon Binding Magic Circle, attempting a final gamble against Cassius with the strong magic targeting dragons.

However, Cassius had been prepared.

In this month, he had completely transformed the area into his Kingdom Domain.

The red dragon's eyes glowed with golden energy, an ethereal crown crowning him with his will.

An invisible aura spread out, and the surrounding elements fell under his control. All magical energy became his subjects; even the Magic Web submitted to his will.

Kingdom Domain, ForbiddenProhibition.

Instantly, the surrounding magical energy fell silent.

Vagnard's Dragon Binding Magic Circle dimmed once more.

"Damn, damn it..."

"It failed."

Schroeder, losing the support of that powerful force, felt the dead magic domain-like space around him. His last resort was futile.

He collapsed to the ground, his face pale as death, his eyes empty, filled with deep despair.

The twelve court mages tried to escape using spatial magic, but the surrounding Magic Web didn't budge, rendering them no different than ordinary people.

The Great Goblin army surrounded them, capturing the powerless mages. They would be sent to Ramp's new "Tower of the Great Sage" to become unfortunate test subjects.