Chapter 160: Possible Encounter? Part Two

Chapter 160: Possible Encounter? Part Two



Back with Ren and the others, Kaida glanced at the horizon with a concerned expression on her face.

"Ren, isn't Alister taking too long? Shouldn't they be back by now?"

Ren let out a sigh, he was equally worried. He clicked his communicator and tried to contact Alister.

"Alister, do you copy? Alister, come in." Static filled the channel, and no response came through. He frowned, attempting again. "Alister, are you there?"

The signal remained dead. Ren's brow furrowed deeper.

"This isn't good. I can't get a signal through. Something might be wrong."

Razorgrin, leaning against the side of the truck, scoffed. "He's probably up to no good, like always, even after we decided to trust him. Besides, what's the worst that could happen, the kid has three freaking dragons for pets," he said with a smirk.

Ren shook his head, clearly troubled. "Even if that's the case, we need to make sure he's safe. We can't afford to lose contact with them out there."

Kaida nodded, her eyes looking around the horizon. "What should we do, Ren?"

Ren thought about it for a moment before responding. "We'll give it a few more minutes. If we still can't reach him, we'll have to go look for them ourselves."

Razorgrin shrugged, with an indifferent expression on his face. "Whatever you say, Ren. But mark my words, he's probably just messing around or doing something he shouldn't."

Ren ignored Razorgrin's words, "Stay alert, everyone. We need to be ready for anything."

....

Alister felt a strange pull in his stomach, an unfamiliar sensation that made the monster remains around him seem oddly palatable.

'The hell?!'

He shook his head, dismissing the idea. "I won't eat a monster," he said to himself, trying to push the bizarre craving away.

Just then, the system notified him:

[Ding!! The devouring value of your dragons has reached 40%.]

Alister was a bit surprised at how quickly it had increased. 'Forty percent already?' he thought.

'I thought we just got here a couple moments ago?'

'So can I consider that as one hundred and sixty of my dragons eating their fill or all of them eating a quarter of their fill.'

Before he could think further, he sensed a threat behind him. Spinning around, he saw a fairly large salamander leaping at him.

Alister prepared to counter, his claws glowing with golden mana. But before he could strike.

KRAKOOM!

Purple lightning rained down on the salamander, electrocuting it mid-air. Draven landed with a thud beside Alister and swiftly devoured the fallen salamander.

Alister, watching in surprise, remarked, "I didn't know you ate monsters."

Draven looked up, slightly shocked, and responded, "Surely you jest? Are there living beings that do not consume something for substance?"

Alister's expression remained serious as he repeated, "I'm not joking, Draven. I didn't know you, Cinder and Terra ate at all."

Draven tilted his head, clearly puzzled. "But... Isn't that part of the reason you took permission to leave the others? To find sustenance and grow stronger?"

Alister sighed, rubbing his temples. "How have you been going on all this while without eating anything?"

"We've been relying on your magic power."

Alister frowned. "That doesn't make much sense to me. Explain further."

Draven hesitated, struggling to find the right words. "It's... complicated my lord. Your presence and your magic... it sustains us, somehow. I believe Terra would be better at explaining such things."Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Before Draven could speak further, the system echoed Alister's thoughts.

[Ding!! An overlord's presence boosts and supports the growth of the dragon race.]

Alister slowly understood. "So, my mana alone has been enough to sustain you and help you grow?"

"Exactly, though actually eating something is far better." Draven confirmed.

Alister nodded, then asked, "Why haven't you asked to eat before now?"

Terra and Draven nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation. 'Understood my lord.' as they did, their firms slowly dissolved into particles of light, returning to the mind space. 'U-understood... my lord.' Cinder reluctantly said, her body now beginning to dissolve things

in the air.

Alister's hands reached into his inventory, pulling out the Phantom Spade's mask, then he wore it on, his voice suddenly got deeper.

'And Cinder, when this is all over, you and I will need to talk.'

'Un... understood, my lord.'

"Good, now I will go and find out who exactly is the murderer." as he spoke he dropped the

edge of his black scarf, adjusting it slightly as his yellow eyes glowed brightly.

...

Anya and her team moved cautiously across the rugged terrain, the air thick with the scent of sulfur and the low growls of the salamanders.

The sun was high up, casting long shadows over the rocky landscape. They were already in formation, with Maila in the air above, while Anya, and the others as they made their way across the treacherous ground.

Maila hovered with her metal construct zipping through the air. She targeted wyverns with swords, her constructs launching, impaling them and sending them crashing, metallic shards that pierced the wyverns' hide with explosive force.

Each kill was met with a momentary flicker of satisfaction in her eyes as she adjusted her

position for another strike.

"Maila, keep those wyverns off us! We're about to engage the salamanders!" Anya called out,

her voice barely audible over the roaring winds.

Maila's voice crackled through the communicator. "Got it, guild master. I've got the aerial

threats covered."

On the ground, Anya led the charge with her punches. Halzor, his massive gauntlets, smashed through salamander ranks with explosive punches, each strike causing the ground to tremble. Nyra darted between the creatures, her blades flashing as she dispatched salamanders by

slitting their throats.

Thorin's focus was sharp as he parried a salamander's swipe with his bare hands. He watched

as Halzor's gauntlets crushed another salamander, sending its remains skidding across the rocky surface.

Nyra, moving like a shadow, struck at the important leg muscles in the spots of the creatures, immobilizing then ending them.

"We've got to push through to the other side!" Anya shouted, rallying her team as they fought

their way forward.

Just

as they were making progress, a roar echoed through the battlefield. Anya looked up to

see a salamander hurtling through the air, seemingly propelled from a distance.

The creature landed with a thunderous crash, just inches from Anya, its massive body

sprawling out before her.

Anya's eyes widened in surprise. "Who sent that our way?"

Before she could process the situation, a voice cut through the chaos, calm and somewhat

amused.

"Well, this seems a bit... much. But oh well, I don't have a choice now do I?"

Anya turned towards the source of the voice, her gaze narrowing as she searched for the

speaker in all the dust risen from the crash.

Slowly... Two yellow eyes could be seen in the distance. And just then a masked figure

emerged, all black and wearing a strange black mask. They then spoke up, their voice

seemingly vibrating their surroundings.

"Now tell me..."

"Which one of you has been hunting wyverns?"