Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Chapter 260 - 254: The Illusion Monster’s Secret

The smoke of battle had not yet completely dissipated. Under Ed’s command, the soldiers of Black Stone Territory were cleaning up the battlefield and collecting the spoils of war.

Not far away, the hundred-meter-long Golden Dragon Sun was conversing in a low voice with the Eternal Giant Turtle.

The turtle’s mountain-like head was slightly lowered, and a flame burned within its ancient, murky eyes.

"Sun, my friend, this is a Communication Water Snail, unique to the Black Water River. Just crush it, and no matter where I am, I will receive your message."

The Eternal Giant Turtle’s voice was like the muffled thunder from deep within the earth’s crust. It used its Magic Power to lift a palm-sized conch, wreathed in a halo of aquamarine light, and presented it to Sun.

Sun solemnly extended a massive claw and carefully accepted the water snail.

"I look forward to the day of our revenge."

The Eternal Giant Turtle let out a roar.

Their agreement made, it did not linger.

Its enormous body slowly turned, and it moved its pillar-like limbs, walking step by step toward the edge of the Black Water River.

With an earth-shattering crash, it leaped into the murky river water, kicking up a monstrous wave. Then, it silently submerged, leaving only giant ripples spreading out into the distance.

Raylo retracted his gaze.

"Bolin, I’m leaving this to you. Tally all the spoils and lead the main force back afterward."

"As you command, my lord!"

Bolin straightened his chest and answered loudly.

Raylo delayed no longer and turned toward Baofeng.

Baofeng was already waiting nearby. It was preening its yellowish-brown Iron Feathers, and upon seeing its master approach, it let out a low, affectionate cry.

Raylo vaulted onto the Griffin’s broad back and gestured to the flying unit in the sky.

"We’re leaving first!"

At his command, Baofeng beat its wings fiercely, stirring up a gale as it was the first to soar into the sky.

Following closely behind, an aerial formation composed of sixteen Griffin Knights and two hundred and forty Pegasus Knights, like a moving dark cloud, majestically followed their Lord, speeding toward Black Stone Castle.

By the time the imposing silhouette of Black Stone Castle appeared on the horizon, it was already dusk.

Raylo leaped nimbly from Baofeng’s back and walked straight to his bedroom.

He gently placed the little fellow on the soft velvet bed, even thoughtfully covering it with a corner of the blanket.

Coal Ball smacked its lips, rolled over, and continued to snore contentedly. A glistening thread of drool from the corner of its mouth left a small wet spot on the pillow.

After settling the little one, Raylo looked at Moonlight, who had jumped onto the bed and was rolling around. He remembered the Illusion Monster still locked in the dungeon—a perfect subject to test the ’Eye of Truth’ ability Moonlight had learned.

"Ed."

"Here."

"Bring the Illusion Monster from the dungeon to the castle’s great hall."

A flicker of surprise crossed Ed’s eyes, but he didn’t ask any questions, only replying in a deep voice.

"Yes, sir."

Soon, the heavy oak doors of the castle’s great hall were pushed open.

Two fully-armed Personal Guards entered, escorting a strange creature.

The thing had a roughly humanoid silhouette. Its entire body was grayish-white, with no skin or Scale Armor on its surface. It was like a blob of sludge in constant, slow motion, emitting an unpleasant, foul odor.

Several ropes, shimmering with Magic Runes, were bound tightly around it, restricting its shapeshifting abilities.

Raylo frowned, not bothering to hide his disgust.

"How ugly. Change back to the Baron of Eagle’s Nest Castle."

The blob of sludge squirmed, seemingly reluctant.

Raylo’s gaze turned cold.

The sludge monster didn’t dare hesitate any longer. Its grayish-white body twisted and contracted, and after a few seconds, it had taken on the appearance of the Baron of Eagle’s Nest Castle.

But now, there was no longer any arrogance on his face, only deep fear.

"My lord."

The Illusion Monster forced a smile that was uglier than a grimace.

"You... you sent for me... Are there any orders?"

Raylo ignored him, instead looking at Moonlight, who had padded over to his feet.

The large white cat was curiously sizing up this "Baron," a hint of inquiry in its pale golden eyes.

"Moonlight."

Raylo said softly.

"Do you remember the Magic on that turtle shell? Now is the time to test its effects."

As if it understood, Moonlight walked up to the Illusion Monster.

It closed its eyes. A sliver of silver light shone from the center of its paw, then flowed throughout its entire body.

When it opened its eyes again, it was as if countless intricate runes were flowing and fading in the depths of its pale golden eyes, as cold and clear as moonlight, yet carrying a brilliance that could pierce through all falsehoods.

The Eye of Truth.

Raylo understood.

He pulled over a chair and sat down, leaning his body slightly forward with his fingers interlaced over his knees. His calm gaze fell upon the Illusion Monster.

"First question: where are you from?"

The Illusion Monster’s eyes darted around, clearly concocting a lie on the spot.

"I... I come from the swamps in the south of the Continent. I only ended up in the Northern Territory by accident..."

Before he could finish his sentence, a crisp cracking sound cut through the air.

"CRACK!"

A swift whip shadow lashed across the Illusion Monster’s back. The blow wasn’t heavy, but it was extremely humiliating.

The Illusion Monster screamed and staggered, nearly falling over.

He looked back in terror, only to see that the leather whip, which had been leaning in the corner just moments ago, was now coiled in the large white cat’s massive tail. The tip of its tail even flicked impatiently in the air.

Moonlight tilted its head, its pale golden eyes filled with coldness, as if to say,

’Keep lying.’

The corner of Raylo’s mouth curled up. ’This is far more interesting than any torture device.’

"It seems you weren’t telling the truth," he said, his tone flat.

"Second question: what are you doing in the Human World? What is your purpose?"

Cold sweat broke out on the Illusion Monster’s face. He looked at the whip in Moonlight’s tail, his voice trembling.

"I... I just wanted to find a place to live peacefully, imitate a human noble, and enjoy a life of luxury. I have no malicious intent, really!"

"CRACK!"

Another lash, accurately striking the exact same spot.

The Illusion Monster grimaced in pain, the fat on its face twitching.

He finally realized that in front of this seemingly harmless cat, no lie could be hidden.

Raylo’s patience seemed to be wearing thin, and his voice grew cold.

"Last chance. Do you—or rather, *your kind*—have a way to return to your own world?"

This question seemed to touch upon the Illusion Monster’s core secret. His face turned deathly pale, his lips trembled, and his eyes shifted evasively as he stammered.

"N-no! Our arrival here was one-way, there’s no way back! Otherwise, I would have gone back long ago. Who would want to stay in this godforsaken place!"

"CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!"

This time, Moonlight had clearly lost its patience.

Its large tail danced nimbly, the whip leaving three afterimages in the air as it lashed the Illusion Monster repeatedly.

"Agh! I’ll talk! I’ll talk! Stop hitting me!"

The Illusion Monster completely broke down. He squatted on the ground, clutching his head, with tears and snot streaming down his face.

"Yes! There is a way back! I’ll tell the truth! I’ll tell you everything!"

The whipping stopped. The tip of Moonlight’s tail tapped in the air, as if urging him on.

Raylo leaned back in his chair, waiting quietly.

The Illusion Monster panted heavily and, in a tone of near despair, spilled everything.

"We... we don’t belong to this world. We come from the other side of the ’Curtain,’ from a place called the ’Void Realm.’"

"The Void Realm?"

Raylo repeated the unfamiliar term.

"Yes, it is a world without stable form, where energy is chaotic. Our race is known there as the ’Shapers.’"

There was a tremor in the Illusion Monster’s voice.

"About three years ago, an unstable rift appeared between the Void Realm and this world. The Great Monarch of our race sent us, the advance teams, through this rift."

His words made Raylo’s pupils contract slightly.

"Advance teams?"

"Yes."

The Illusion Monster’s head drooped even lower.

"We have two missions. First, to investigate this world’s energy composition, species strength, and level of civilization. Second, to find and corrupt this world’s ’World Anchor’ to prepare for the arrival of the Great Monarch’s true body."

"World Anchor..."

"What is that?"

"I... I don’t know what it is exactly."

The Illusion Monster hurriedly shook his head.

"Our rank is too low. We only know that the ’World Anchor’ is the most stable point in every world. If that anchor point’s location is found... the Great Monarch can tear open an even larger rift and lead the entire race to descend upon this world."

A dead silence fell over the room.

This news was far more serious than the threat of a Nine-headed Demon Serpent.

This was not a crisis for a single territory, but a catastrophe for the entire world.

"The way back."

Raylo’s voice was devoid of any emotion.

The Illusion Monster didn’t dare hide anything else.

"The rift is unstable; we can’t return through it. But... but the Great Monarch granted us another method. As long as we collect powerful enough souls, or Magic Items containing vast Spatial Energy, we can perform a ritual at a specific location to construct a temporary ’Reverse Waymark’ and teleport information and ourselves back... The territory of the Baron of Eagle’s Nest Castle was the ritual site I chose."

Raylo stood up and paced back and forth in the room.

A race from an Otherworld. An invasion planned for fifty years.

And he, by pure chance, had only just uncovered the tip of the iceberg.

He stopped pacing and looked at the Illusion Monster on the floor, which had completely lost its will to resist.

"One last question."

Raylo’s voice was very soft, yet it made the Illusion Monster feel as if he had been plunged into an icy cavern.

"How many more ’advance teams’ like yours are there?"

The Illusion Monster’s body trembled violently, and all the color drained from its face.

"I... I don’t know the exact number... but... but there’s definitely more than just me..."