The Dragon Temple had a characteristic—it was big. Everything seemed huge, such as the passageway that the Red Dragon Elder Pettalong was leading Link down. It was 300 feet wide, and it felt like he was walking in an empty town square.
After walking with Elder Pettalong for a while, Link and Elin realized that they were walking toward the backyard of the Holy Temple. They exchanged glances, their spirits low.
They had last seen the queen in the huge square behind the Holy Temple. Now, she was meeting the guests there. This meant that the Red Dragon Queen was very weak and couldn't even move.
The situation was horrible.
After walking for five or six minutes, the passageway ended. A 150-foot-tall arch appeared. A 30-foot-tall Warrior stood on either side of the entrance.
They grasped huge battle swords and were covered fully in dark red body armor. Only their silvery eyes were revealed. Their auras were obscure and deep. When they looked down at someone, there was an indescribable pressure.
Link recognized this type of Warrior. Called Apocalypse Dragon Guards, they were currently at Level-8. Later, when the Mana density rose, they all passed the Legendary State and had terrifying combat ability.
Before, Apocalypse Dragon Guards had appeared on the battlefield and were like doomsday war chariots. Anyone who tried to block them would die. Only the Abyssal Horn, a high-level demon of similar physique, could stop them.
Even more frightening, there were at least 100 of them in this Dragon Temple. Clearly, the title of legendary race was veritable for the dragons.
Stared at by these Warriors, Elin shrunk into herself and looked like a little bird. Hunched over, she followed Link and was too scared to even breathe loudly.
At the entrance, Pettalong stopped. "The queen is not feeling well recently," he said quietly. "In order for her health not to be damaged further, pay attention to how you speak when reporting the truth to the queen, understood?"
Link and Elin exchanged glances. The Red Dragon Queen was a legendary force, but now she was in the state where her mood could affect her body. How horrible was the situation?
Pettalong's gaze was sharp, and Link could only nod. "We will do our best to take care of the queen's emotions."
"Okay, come with me." The dragon elder continued to guide them.
The group passed under the tall arch and saw the huge square of thousands of feet wide. The Red Dragon Queen was sprawled in the center quietly.
This scene was almost identical to that of the Soul Realm. The only difference was that the black light sphere that represented the Equal Scale was gone. The dragons had probably concealed it.
There were at least 30 dragons beside the queen. They were all over 60 feet tall, and the weakest one was above Level-8. They were all streaming crystal-red dragon power into the queen's body.
The queen's head drooped limply on the ground. The huge golden eyes were half-closed. When she saw Link's group, a gentle yet omnipresent voice sounded. "Apologies, my friends. There is a problem with my health, so I can only welcome you like this."
Her mouth didn't move as she spoke while her eyes stared at Link and Elin. She was speaking with a spell. Despite being so weak, the elegancy she emanated was still suffocating.
Elin didn't dare to breathe too loudly. She walked up, bowed seriously, and said softly, "Elin, Yabba Magician, greets Your Majesty."
Observing from the distance in the Soul Realm was one thing; actually facing the Red Dragon Queen was another. To Elin, the queen was like a mountain while she was just a small bunny.
She felt huge pressure, and her voice was tiny when she spoke. Elin had become a Yabba lady, nothing like the frustrated and furious girl at the Night of the Dragon Inn.
Link, on the other hand, had seen the Red Dragon Queen many times in the past life, so his expression was still normal. He bowed and greeted her to follow customs. "Your Majesty."
The Red Dragon Queen gazed at Link and continued, "I've heard of you. You've been investigating Duke Osiris recently. Do you have any results?"
"Of course," Link replied. Then he saw Pettalong's warning glance, telling him to pay attention to his speaking technique. This was quite annoying. He had to describe the truth, and the only technique was to be as objective as possible. What other techniques were there?
He decided to ignore Pettalong. Link stepped forward and took out the letters from Osiris' table. He used the Magician's Hand to open them in the air. Compared to the queen's body, the envelopes were very small, and the words were even smaller. However, Link knew the queen could read it.
The queen focused on the letters, reading them one by one. She was expressionless. During this time, Link was also reading the letters, as well as the dragon elders nearby. Dragons had very good vision. They could see clearly from a few hundred feet away.
These letters were mostly written to Osiris by Isendilan after the latter was banished from the Dragon Valley. The contents were simple. He urged Osiris to hurt the queen, and in return, he would give Osiris the Heart of Dramos.
"Dramos" was a word from the dragon language. It meant "legendary," or "holy." In the common language, it was the Heart of the Legendary. It could help Osiris enter the Legendary State.
The envelope also contained the unfinished reply from Osiris. It was clear from the letter that he'd already completed the task and wanted Isendilan to pay him.
The entire square was silent after the dragons finished reading the letter. Link didn't speak either. He placed the papers on the ground. Almost simultaneously, a message appeared in his vision. It was about the mission.
Mission reveal complete. Mission set completed.
Player receives Magic Surge Talisman (enchantment)
A light spot flashed in Link's vision, and a six-sided pale purple gem appeared. It flashed and stopped in the bottom right corner of his vision with the description awaiting materialization after it.
Link didn't have time to care about this reward. He was waiting for the Red Dragon Queen's reaction.
At this time, he suddenly realized that the queen's expression was strange. Nothing had changed except the two large golden eyes. A translucent teardrop formed and rolled down.
When the teardrop fell to the ground, it shattered into countless grains that converged and solidified into pearls. They rolled in all directions; one rolled to Link's foot.
He looked from side to side. Seeing that no one was paying attention, he collected this "pearl" the size of an infant's fist. He looked at it, and its statistics showed up in his vision.
Red Dragon's Tears
Quality: Epic
Effect: A dragon's tears can change a mortal's physique, allowing them forge a closer relationship with Mana. The queen's tears are the most effective and are known as the "legendary seed."
(Note: one can only come across this object serendipitously.)
Isendilan and Osiris' betrayals truly hurt the queen's heart, but Link felt nothing towards these lovey-dovey things. He was secretly so happy at receiving this teardrop. Of course, he couldn't reveal this. Otherwise, he'd be despised by all the dragons.
After a long while, the queen spoke again. Her voice was not calm like before and sounded a bit waterlogged. "This is very unfortunate news. Mortal, thank you for letting me know the truth. I—"
Before she could finish, a young dragon burst through the arch. He'd rushed here and was panting for his breath.
Elder Pettalong immediately reprimanded him. "Oro, why are you like this? Where are your manners?"
The young dragon in question tried to catch his breath. He looked terrified. "Something horrible happened. Duke Osiris and Duke Davosus are all dead. They…they're all dead!"
"What?!" all the dragons present uttered in unison.
Link and Elin looked at each other. This was unbelievable, and neither of them had thought things would progress to this state. Weren't the dragons known for their hardy vitality? How could two dukes with such powerful Level-9 strength die?
The dragons at the square were all shocked.
Osiris and Davosus were pillars of the dragons. They were geniuses and had the potential of entering the Legendary State.
Osiris' betrayal was already a huge blow, but now Davosus was dead? He'd died with Osiris too. This was a disaster!
This meant that of the three grand dukes of the Red Dragons, one had betrayed, and two had died. The Red Dragons' power was reduced by at least 30%!
The Red Dragon Queen finally lost her calm. Shaking, her voice trembled as she asked, "Explain clearly. What exactly happened?"
Seeing that something was wrong, Pettalong gestured at the young dragon with his eyes to take care of the queen's emotions. However, the dragon was extremely panicked as well. He didn't even notice Pettalong's warning.
"When we found them, they were at the border of the Dragon Valley," he said hurriedly. "Duke Osiris' neck was broken by Duke Davosus, but he'd paid heavily for it too. His internal organs all exploded…it was a battle to the death."
Hearing this, the queen began moving. She pushed herself up with her front claws, her eyes filled with disbelief. "Why did they do this? Why did this happen? Why did they betray me?"
"Your Majesty, this is Isendilan's fault. Please take care of your health!" Pettalong advised anxiously.
The queen paid him no heed. "I treated Isendilan and Osiris genuinely," she muttered. "Osiris, I'd already prepared to choose you. Why did you do this? Why?"
"Your Highness. Your Highness?" Pettalong was still trying to comfort the queen.
Throwing her head back, the Red Dragon Queen let out a long roar. It was filled with sadness and anger. Under that was complete despair and hopelessness. The emotion was so strong that even the foreigners, Link, and Elin, could feel it clearly.
While roaring, the queen suddenly unfurled her wings. They flapped violently, and under the screaming wind, she flew up unsteadily.
But a few hundred feet up in the air, a black net of light suddenly appeared above the square. It tangled onto the queen like a spider web, dragging her down. She struggled but to no avail.
With a loud boom, she crashed to the ground pathetically. Then she laid there without moving. Her eyes were blank as if she'd died.
Even scarier, veins of dark aura snaked across her dark red body. It was corroding her body at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Pettalong panicked. "What are you waiting for?" he roared. "Help the queen scatter the dark aura! Dammit, hurry!"
He charged forward and transmitted power into the Red Dragon Queen with all his might. The other dragons did the same, but this could only slightly slow down the speed of corrosion.
The queen seemed to have completely given up. Her consciousness and legendary power were gone. She was just like a regular dragon.
The Red Dragon Queen's corrosion seemed to be irreversible.