Downstream of the Three Gorges Dam, the Moniayah sailed alone, its Poseidon searchlight sweeping back and forth, casting beams of light onto the pitch-black river.
Caesar stood by the railing on the deck, using kama itachi to continue scanning below the river surface.
"According to the infrared scan, the temperature at the lake's bottom is rising rapidly!" Xia Mi, who was in the captain's room monitoring the instruments, stared at the massive red light blob on the screen, her expression serious.
"Caesar, have we heard anything from Professor Manstein? This situation doesn't look good."
"High temperature? Could it be the Word Soul of the King of Bronze and Fire?"
Caesar furrowed his brows, his blue eyes locked on the river surface, a hint of anxiety creeping in. "Does this mean the mission has failed? Has the Dragon King awakened?"
"Probably. A temperature like this…"
A flicker of worry passed through Xia Mi's eyes. She still had a half-finished sentence that she couldn't say out loud.
A Word Soul powerful enough to make the river boil is most likely the ultimate Word Soul... the Candle Dragon.
If the King of Bronze and Fire truly releases the Candle Dragon, forget about the mission's success. The people inside Bronze City are as good as dead!
Chu Zihang... will you die?
Xia Mi's gaze flickered as she bit her lip, seeming to resist the instinct in her heart.
Just as she was lost in thought, the voice of Caesar came through her earpiece with a sharp cry: "Nono!"
"Nono?"
Xia Mi froze for a moment, then seemed to realize something. She immediately ran out.
It was Professor Manstein. He had one hand on Nono and the other on Chu Zihang, slowly pulling them up with a black rope.
"Nono, are you alright?" Caesar ran quickly to the hoisting device, helping to pull all three onto the deck. He couldn't care about anything else and rushed to check on the girl he cared about.
It was hard to imagine that the usually calm young master, who always appeared indifferent no matter what he was doing, would now show signs of panic.
Although the bronze fragments that flew off had torn his diving suit, Nono wasn't seriously hurt. When Caesar got close, Nono immediately showed a look of disgust:
"Can you not get so close? Compared to me, Chu Zihang over there is hurt much worse. Thankfully, he protected me, or I'd be dead by now."
Caesar finally calmed down and turned to look at Chu Zihang.
But when he looked, he was shocked. The 'monster,' covered in dark scales with a terrifying face, could this really be Chu Zihang?
"Professor, what exactly happened?" Caesar asked, turning to ask Manstein after a pause.
"The Draconization has gone too deep," Manstein lowered his eyelids, gazing at Chu Zihang for a long time before sighing and speaking hoarsely, "His dragon blood concentration might have crossed the Critical Blood Limit."
Xia Mi bit his lip, staring at the unconscious Chu Zihang, who looked as though he had almost fallen into the abyss of a Death Servitor. His heart ached.
"Can he recover?" Caesar gritted his teeth, hot blood rushing to his forehead as he tried to suppress his anger and asked in a hoarse voice.
Manstein hesitated for a moment before answering reluctantly, "Not certain, but... we can try."
Everyone present could hear that this answer was more comforting than practical.
Once the blood threshold is crossed, stepping through that 'door' means there's no going back. It signifies crossing the line between human and dragon, and from then on, one would keep sliding deeper and deeper until reaching the bottom.
"Wait... something's coming!"
Suddenly, Xia Mi's pupils burst into golden light as he turned to look at the dark river, shouting a warning.
Strong signals rapidly transmitted in his mind, and the terrifying sensation made everyone on the ship instinctively activate their golden eyes.
A wave of intense unease surged through the cerebral cortex, like an electric shock. The skin was inexplicably stimulated, and goosebumps rose one by one, resembling a frightened cat.
The fear embedded deep within the genes was awakened, spreading throughout the body along the bones and blood vessels. Every cell seemed to be screaming in a hysterical wail.
Danger!
Extreme danger!
On the darkened river, countless fish flipped over and floated to the surface. The water seemed to be boiling, its steam rising in an ethereal mist.
Then, everyone heard a loud rumble. It was the sound of the water being stirred, accelerating in turbulence.
Following that, there was a deep, rhythmic sound, slow but powerful—like the heartbeat of an ancient war drum, resonating across time.
A massive black shadow slowly emerged from the water, its back covered with towering bone spines, resembling a sharp divine sword cleaving through the boiling river.
From the broken surface of the water, two blazing golden eyes, as intense as molten metal and filled with brutal rage, appeared.
A long neck rose above the surface, and the noble, yet brutal, body was fully revealed to everyone. A perfect creature at the peak of the evolutionary chain—the true ruler and hunter of the world!
In an instant, a terrifying pressure, as real as physical force, enveloped the river for several kilometers.
A domain infused with the Dragon King's will, almost pure psychic power, spread out in a domineering and violent manner. A fiery explosion ignited the river's surface, as if celebrating the birth of a king!
Everyone could clearly sense the domain that covered the area. Its majestic and tyrannical aura, like the raging waves of the ocean, constantly assaulted their mental state.
Anyone with weak willpower or lower bloodline purity would have been crushed by this pressure!
Fortunately, the people present had relatively high bloodlines, or the 'Dragon King's' pressure alone would have caused some Hybrids to kneel.
This was normal. In front of a true king, many Hybrids and even humans didn't have the right to even stand!
"Confirmed enemy identity as the King of Bronze and Fire, Norton!"
Manstein pressed the recording button, his voice low and hoarse. He said, "The Bronze Plan has failed. The Four Kings' Dragon-Slaying Campaign officially begins!"
On the turbulent riverbank, the black-haired boy sat on a rock, staring at the fiery red night sky. He clicked his tongue and said, "They're making so much noise, are they really that serious?"
"Who knows? They'll probably use some excuse to cover it up."
Next to him, a girl with a high ponytail, her bright face lightly made up and two long sideburns hanging down, walked over with long legs. She crouched down beside the boy and asked, "By the way, Boss Two, are we just watching? Shouldn't we help?"
"Boss Two? What's that supposed to mean?"
The black-haired boy twitched at the corner of his mouth and glanced at the girl next to him. His gaze unconsciously fell on her long, slender legs.
"How about... you touch them?" The girl noticed his gaze, and instead of avoiding it, she raised one of her pale, long legs, arching an eyebrow seductively.
"Don't worry, I won't tell the Chips Girl or the Emotionless Girl, and I definitely won't tell the big boss about you taking advantage of me."
"No need."
The black-haired boy's eyelid twitched as he quickly looked away.
"Hmm, maybe boys in their teens prefer the fuller type, like Chips Girl?" The ponytail girl pretended to think. "Such a pity. The boss assigned me this time. If not, I'd suggest next time Chips Girl accompany you, Routeclassmate."
Lu Mingfei's forehead bulged with veins, gritting his teeth as he said, "No need, I'm not interested in you guys!"
He regretted agreeing to Lu Mingze's suggestion to go on a mission with this wild girl. The worst part was that he was completely out of his league, constantly left speechless by her teasing.
"Alright, alright, no more teasing!"
The girl chuckled a few times before turning serious. She looked at the fiery night sky and the river surface, tilting her head. "Let me ask you, Lu Mingfei, your first mission is to slaughter one of the Four Kings, the King of Bronze and Fire. Are you nervous?"
Lu Mingfei looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the river's surface. He spoke calmly, "Not really. It's just a dragon. I've killed things far scarier than that."
********
Support me on my patreon and read upto 30 early chapters.
https://www.patreon.com/Unique_Writer