novelraw Chapter 742 - 742 731 Never to Turn Over a New Leaf
Chapter 742 - 742 731 Never to Turn Over a New Leaf
Chapter 742: Chapter 731: Never to Turn Over a New Leaf Chapter 742: Chapter 731: Never to Turn Over a New Leaf “A pale skinned giant, driving a giant wolf, and accompanied by a monumental griffin.” Upon hearing this description from the Sword Lion, Bernard’s heart skipped a beat. He was not a crude commoner who had stumbled upon wealth; he belonged to a three-generation nobility line after all. He knew about some famous intelligent creatures, “Isn’t this a Cloud Giant?”
“If I recall correctly, Cloud Giants always gravitate toward Golden Dragons, wherever the Golden Dragons establish their domain, there surely are Cloud Giants.” A shadow of discontent hovered over Bernard’s heart. A Golden Dragon of unfathomable strength had appeared near his territory not long ago. And now, the origin of this sudden beast tide was a group of Cloud Giants. It was impossible for him not to associate these odd occurrences. After all, this was too much of a coincidence. He would not believe that they were unrelated.
With a heavy heart, Bernard continued to investigate the beast tide on his Red Dragon. However, after learning that a Giant Dragon had been captured alive by these giants, he became much more cautious.
Next, he captured several Gold Rank ferocious beasts in the beast tide and interrogated them. To his amusement, Bernard discovered that some beasts merely followed the crowd. Seeing so many of their peers of similar strength fleeing, they simply followed suit without having any idea who the enemy was. But some beasts indeed identified what forced them to abandon their homes.
As the initial Sword Lion described, it was a gargantuan, boundless legion of giants. Each giant possessed enough power to rule over a jungle, their might reaching an unbelievable extent.
Despite his skepticism, Bernard continued toward the source of the beast tide. He then laid eyes on the vanguard of the Cloud Giant Legion of Xena Pus.
“Those are Cloud Giants? Holy shit.” Immersed in a thicket, Bernard had concealed his aura and hidden himself atop an ancient tree. He gazed at a Cloud Giant leading a herd of Dragonized Giant Wolves and Dragonized Griffins patrolling through the sky, his face a tapestry of disbelief.
“If I hadn’t seen a real Cloud Giant, I damn well would have believed it,” he muttered while observing the muscular, robust giants in the sky, his legs trembling uncontrollably. “How could a regular Cloud Giant be this colossal? They must have undergone some sort of mutation.”
Bernard carefully studied the Cloud Giant closest to him. Comparing its height to the trees around it, he determined that it must be around twenty meters tall.
However, according to records from books, a regular Cloud Giant should only stands around twelve meters tall. These abnormally large giants could easily make mincemeat out of regular ones with a single punch.
“One or two would be manageable, but there’s a whole damn bunch of them.” As Bernard scanned the surroundings with a pale face, he saw more giants of similar height patrolling the land on either side of the first Cloud Giant. This giant was not unique, countless of the same kind roam around, and there seemed to be even larger ones in the distance.
“Judging by their current path, they will pass through my Thorn Ridge.” After calculating the Giants’ trajectory, Bernard’s disposition worsened. He did not believe his legions are equipped to combat these giants. Compared to these giants, his painstakingly trained Knight Regiments seemed like a joke. He estimated that merely seven or eight of these giants charging into battle would obliterate his legions.
“Screech!” Suddenly, a deafening bird call resounded over Bernard’s head. Looking upward, he saw a rainbow-colored giant bird flying above him. The dazzling colors hurt his eyes. Ridden on this giant bird was an imposing figure that twisted Bernard’s face in envy.
“A Soul-intent Storm Giant, and with a Giant Peng mount as well.” At this moment, Bernard felt like he knew too much. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss, but sadly he recognized them. “Battling a boundary-breaking Storm Giant with a Giant Peng mount, I can win, but hardly with ease.”
“But the Giant Peng knight is not the only one.” As he raised his gaze to the distant sky, Bernard saw shapes similar to the giant mount riders within the clouds.
Feeling despondent, Bernard returned to Thorn Ridge. After reaching his castle, he contemplated an interrogation of Muria to clarify the origins of these giants. However, he refrained after considering the repercussions. He feared.
The giants were still some time away. If they really were connected to Mr. Mu, breaching this delicate topic could provoke Mr. Mu’s wrath, a situation Bernard surmised could bode ill for him.
“Am I to abandon the territory I’ve nurtured for thirteen years? How unacceptable!” Bernard, who has been pondering for seven days and seven nights in Thorn Castle, had bloodshot eyes. He couldn’t find a way to preserve his territory against the ominous onslaught of the giants.
He had only two choices. The first was to locate the leader of the Cloud Giant Legion and to submit and pledge loyalty, becoming a lackey. The second was to abandon the territory, retreat to the mainland with his elites, and continue his life as a minor noble, leveraging his identity as a Dragon Knight to live comfortably.
“I do not want to be a noble, I wish to be a king.” Bernard’s eyes flashed with a mix of anger and desperation. No one knew how excited he was when he first arrived at the Evil Dragon Peninsula, blessed by a twist of fate.
He had decided to conquer this peninsula in the fullness of time and make it his kingdom. He dreamt of becoming a revolutionary Dragon Knight, creating a legend that would be admired for millennia. But just as he made his first stride, his territory is threatened with destruction.
“I do not wish to kneel before anyone again.” After some contemplation, Bernard decided to evacuate his forces from the peninsula and abandon his territory. After all, it was a territory he had developed over only thirteen years, no matter how heartrending, it wasn’t non-negotiable.
Having signed a contract with the Red Dragon, breaking through to legendary status was only a matter of time for him. He had countless thirteen years ahead of him in his life. He could afford to wait. Although there were fewer masterless wastelands, they were not nonexistent on the mainland. If push came to shove, he could find groups of islands overseas to build a nation.
Bernard began to prepare for his withdrawal, planning to take away all the elite forces he had trained on this land. However, when he led his fleet to sail, something that made him despair happened.
In the sea route from Thorn Territory leading to the mainland, a giant water curtain rose from the ground to the sky, blocking everything. Tens of thousands of Nagas were roaming there, hindering all marine creatures and ships that were intending to escape from Thorn Territory to the mainland.
When Bernard wanted to leave through the teleportation array, all of them failed. Space had been locked, and the area of confinement went beyond Bernard’s imagination. He couldn’t open any teleportation array anywhere in Thorn Territory.
By the time he started to find a way out, Thorn Territory had already become a prison that only allowed entry but not exit. The choice he made was just self-deception. When Muria arrived in the territory, he had only one choice.
“Heh, all what I’ve done is in vain!” The Dragon Knight, Bernard, who realized that he could not escape from his territory, gave a bitter smile.
The Dragon Knight, understanding that it was futile to struggle, returned to Thorn Castle. Then he found Muria sitting in the dining room, waiting for the meal as usual. He was ready to lay his cards on the table.
“Mr. Mu, can you let me go?” Without speculation or inquiry, Bernard concluded that the cloud giants, the giant curtain on the sea, and the blocked space all had something to do with the mysterious figure in front of him.
“What do you think?” Muria picked up a fruit, bit through its hard skin, and sweet juice splashed in his mouth, putting a look of enjoyment on his face.
“Since you came to my territory, I have not mistreated you at all. I have given you whatever you asked for. Is this how you treat me?”
“Indeed, during my time in this castle, everything I wanted, you gave it to me without reservation. But I never told you that I wanted to eat the Bewildering Dragon Heart Fruit,”
Muria had a playful smile on his face, “I ate four Bewildering Dragon Heart Fruit from you, and I had no reaction. I guess you’re quite disappointed!”
“So you knew all along.” Seeing the playful smile on Muria’s face, Bernard backed away a few steps involuntarily.
“Why wouldn’t I? This kind of thing is in my heritage memory. You wanted to harm me with it. I think you’ve underestimated me. The world is vast, don’t limit your view to this trivial land. The Bewildering Dragon Heart Fruit is indeed a marvelous fruit the world has evolved against dragons, but it will not have any effect on dragons with powerful bloodlines. For me, it’s just a fruit with a good taste.”
“I see, my apologies, I was wrong, I shouldn’t have harbored malicious thoughts against you. But even if I gave you Bewildering Dragon Heart Fruits, I didn’t mean to harm you, I had no malice towards you. You don’t want to let me go, I accept that. But could you let my people leave? They are innocent.”
“Don’t panic!” Muria enjoyed Bernard’s performance, chuckling as he took out a crystal. Inside this crystal, one could see a drop of golden blood sealed. He tossed the crystal to Bernard.
“You are a talent, I admire you. As long as you integrate this drop of blood from the crystal, everything about you will be preserved. You will not lose anything.”
“Dragon Blood!” Catching the crystal thrown by Muria, Bernard could clearly feel the power contained in the blood within the crystal. Although Muria asked him to integrate the blood from the crystal, there was no joy on his face.
He was not a fool knowing nothing. For commoners, integrating a drop of Dragon Blood to become a Dragonkin would naturally be a joyous occasion that could change their fate. But for a person at his level of power, although integrating Dragon Blood would indeed increase some strength, he would become subservient to dragons, becoming a dragon servant, with no chance of breaking free ever again. This result was unbearable for him.
“Bernard, my patience is limited.” Muria watched the hesitant Dragon Knight, knocked on the table, adding tremendous psychological pressure on him.
This was deliberate. For an ambitious and enterprising human, becoming a servant who can never rise again was even more unbearable than killing him.