Dragons begin with courage

The air in the office seemed to have been suddenly chilled by the words "sub-species," becoming solidified and icy.

It's not the Dragon King.

That terrifying being that almost crushed the will of two A-level specialists with just a single glance, plunging them into the abyss of despair, was actually... just a second-generation species?

Ye Sheng's breath hitched slightly. He and Jiu Deya were not newcomers; they had joined forces with other elites to hunt down second-generation species on the brink of death. That was why, in the cage of deep water and bronze, when faced with those golden eyes that burned with everything, he subconsciously, almost instinctively, categorized them as "first-generation species"—the absolute sense of suppression from that level of life was too terrifying.

Reality delivered a cruel slap in the face. The gap between different generations of species can sometimes be as vast as the heavens and the earth. The ancient dragon guarding the Bronze City, though far more powerful than its ordinary peers, still hovered just outside the threshold of becoming a "monarch."

Angers leaned forward slightly, the lamplight casting his shadow large on the bookshelf filled with ancient books behind him. He picked up a few of the oldest silk facsimiles from the table and pushed them toward Mans and Ye Sheng.

"These are fragments of information that have been cross-referenced and deciphered from the 'Fragments of the Ice Sea,' 'Funerary Objects from the Tomb of an Egyptian Pharaoh,' and 'Secret Records of Local Scholars in Shu during the Northern Song Dynasty.'" His fingertip pointed to one of the pictures—a strangely shaped bronze bottle with dragon and fire patterns wrapped around its body, drawn at the very core of the bronze city's structural diagram.

Upon seeing the strangely shaped bronze bottle, Ye Sheng's pupils contracted, and he exclaimed in surprise, "The bronze jar we found in that place looks similar."

It is obvious that Angers, or rather the Kassel College, must have learned some secrets through some clues, which is why they found the Bronze City hidden under the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, and why they allowed Ye Sheng and Jiu Deyafei to enter the Bronze City. Their purpose is clearly this bronze bottle.

Professor Mans' breathing became heavy as he stared intently at the design on the bronze bottle: "Could this be...?"

"Bone vesicle," Angers pronounced clearly. "It's the core container used by the Dragon King to store, protect, and even resurrect the true dragon body at crucial moments. It is an invaluable alchemical treasure and the key to understanding the secret of the Dragon King's immortality. We speculate that the reason the Dragon King is immortal is that they can be resurrected with their memories intact through some means, and the bone vesicle is the key to this resurrection."

"So, does destroying the bone flask mean... that we can completely kill the Dragon King?" Professor Mans' eyes were a little red. For thousands of years, the conflict between hybrids and dragons has never stopped, but there are legends that the Dragon King is immortal and cannot be killed even by time.

Angers slowly leaned back into the depths of the high-backed sofa, shadows enveloping half his face. He silently took a puff of his cigar, letting the smoke swirl in the lamplight, and in the depths of his silver-grey eyes, it seemed as if extremely distant and heavy images flashed by.

"No one has ever successfully verified it." After a long silence, his deep voice rang out, carrying a cautious, almost cruel honesty, "But ancient taboo records and our logical deductions both point to one possibility: it is possible. At least, we can sever their infinite path of return."

It was only then that Mans and Ye Sheng realized what their mission was all about: to kill the Dragon King, and even to completely exterminate all dragons!

Nidhogg, the Black King and the origin of all dragons, has fallen, but the Four Sovereigns still exist and are immortal. To completely eliminate all dragons, it is necessary to eliminate them from the source, namely the Four Sovereigns.

As long as the four monarchs live, dragons will continue to be created; it's a vicious cycle.

Mans and Ye Sheng felt a chill and a burning sensation run down their spines simultaneously. Only now did they truly grasp the strategic core of this mission, buried deep beneath the iceberg, a core capable of shaking the balance of war—the foundation of god-slaying.

The Black King has fallen, but the Four Sovereigns remain like the Sword of Damocles hanging high. If their immortality stems from creations like the "Bone Bottle," then finding and controlling it would undoubtedly be like grasping the blade to sever the cycle of reincarnation!

“However, the flask is only the first step.” Angers’ fingertips moved to another, more blurred, yet chilling rubbing. It depicted sketches of seven weapons, each with a distinct design but exuding the same menacing and violent aura, surrounding a shadow symbolizing a throne, seemingly both protecting and coveting it. “Even if we obtain the flask, how to ‘kill’ a monarch at his peak remains an insurmountable chasm.”

His voice echoed in the quiet room, like the unveiling of a lost epic: "Norton, the Bronze and Fire King, is unique among the four monarchs. He is not only a violent ruler, but also the supreme master of alchemy. His power extends not only to destruction, but also to 'creation.' Based on these fragmented pieces of information, he painstakingly forged a set of weapons specifically designed to kill the kings of his own kind—"

"The Seven Deadly Sins," Ye Sheng replied softly, his mind flashing through related knowledge of dragon studies and religion. "Pride, envy, wrath, sloth, greed, gluttony, lust... the seven original sins. Seven weapons?"

Professor Mans abruptly stood up, the chair slamming against the carpet. His eyes gleamed with astonishment: "Seven?! Could that controversial hypothesis be true?... The four monarchs are all twins, meaning there are actually eight Dragon Kings in the world?!"

This hypothesis, long debated in the academic community of the dragon race, suggests that the original species experienced a greater sense of loneliness and sorrow due to their bloodlust. Therefore, when the Black King created the four monarchs, he endowed them with the characteristic of being paired. If the "Seven Deadly Sins" correspond to seven targets who need to be eliminated, then the possibility of this hypothesis is suddenly amplified!

"Norton forged the 'Seven Deadly Sins' not merely for protection or collection," Ye Sheng felt a chilling realization wash over him. "It wants to... hunt other monarchs? It wants to use this weapon to ascend to the supreme position above the Dragon King?"

What they infiltrated was not merely a ruin; it was the core armory and life support pods of an ambitious alchemist king! Every step could tread upon ultimate secrets and deadly traps.

Angers' silver-grey eyes were incredibly open under the light, yet unfathomable: "Regular exploration has its value, but the 'Bone Vial' and the 'Seven Deadly Sins' are strategic targets. They may be related to the future course of the war with the Dragon King. This intelligence is too high-level, and the source is too vague. It should not be disseminated before it is confirmed, not even to the mission takers. I need the best specialists to enter in the most 'natural' state. Their reactions and encounters are themselves part of verifying the authenticity of the intelligence."