“Who am I?”
The shadowy figure was silent for a moment, as if lost in thought.
After a brief pause, it spoke slowly, “Who am I? I don’t know. But others call me Lord Dragon.”
“What? You’re Lord Dragon?!”
Chris’s face was filled with shock upon hearing this.
He knew exactly who Lord Dragon was. A thousand years ago, Lord Dragon was a legend of Amerosia. It was said that Lord Dragon disappeared, but no one expected him to have come to Aethelgard.
Even after his departure, fragments of the Dragon Emblem he left behind created waves of chaos and bloodshed.
Chris had come to Aethelgard precisely because he had obtained the complete Dragon Emblem.
As Chris stood there in disbelief, a parchment scroll suddenly flew out from his storage ring.
It was none other than the Dragon Emblem Chris had painstakingly collected.
The scroll drifted into Lord Dragon’s hand.
Lord Dragon looked at the Dragon Emblem and sighed with emotion. “I never thought I would see you again after a thousand years.”
Raising his head, he stared at Chris. “You’ve obtained the Dragon Emblem, so you must be destined to cross paths with me. Unfortunately, I am now merely a remnant soul and cannot help you much.”
“What? A remnant soul?”
Chris was stunned to his core.
The shadowy figure before him was nothing more than a fragment of Lord Dragon’s soul.
Lord Dragon regarded him calmly. “There’s no need to be so surprised. I will keep the Dragon Emblem for now. When your strength is sufficient, return here, and I will pass on my legacy to you. For now, I will send you away.”
With that, Lord Dragon waved his hand.
Before Chris could say a word, a powerful wind enveloped him.
In the next instant, everything went black.
After the wind carried Chris out of the great hall, Lord Dragon let out a long sigh.
“I hope you grow quickly. If not, it won’t be long before this remnant soul of mine disappears forever…”
It was unclear how much time had passed when Chris slowly opened his eyes.
When he did, he realized he was no longer in Fort Dragon or Dragon Hall.
Before him stretched a vast desert. Was he still in the Silent Dunes?
Looking up, Chris spotted a distant oasis shimmering on the horizon. Could this be the edge of the Silent Dunes?
The thought sent a chill down his spine.
Moments ago, he had been inside Dragon Hall.
With just a wave of his hand, Lord Dragon had transported him to the edge of the Silent Dunes.
The distance between Fort Dragon and the desert’s edge spanned several miles.
Lord Dragon’s power-this was only a fragment of him-was truly unimaginable.
If Lord Dragon had been at his full strength, just how powerful would he have been?
The thought was beyond Chris’s comprehension.
Now the Dragon Emblem was in Lord Dragon’s possession. According to him, Chris would need to become stronger before returning to Dragon Hall to claim his legacy.
But how strong did he need to be?
Chris sighed and muttered to himself, “I never expected to meet Lord Dragon here. My master’s letters had hinted that Lord Dragon might not be dead. Now I see it’s true-he has perished, leaving only a remnant soul in this world. What could have happened in ancient times? Someone as powerful as Lord Dragon reduced to a fragment of his soul…”
In Chris’s understanding, Lord Dragon’s strength was unparalleled. Compared to him, Chris was nothing more than an ant.
Yet even someone as mighty as Lord Dragon was now just a remnant soul.
In ancient times, even the most powerful beings would leave behind remnants of their souls after death.
These remnants could linger for thousands, even tens of thousands of years.
But over time, they too would eventually fade from existence.
How much longer could Lord Dragon’s soul endure?
“My puppet!”
The thought struck Chris. He remembered the puppet he had acquired in Dragon Hall.
The puppet was of Solstice-level strength. Losing it would be a massive blow.
Chris quickly checked his storage ring and was relieved to find the puppet intact.
With this puppet, his trip to Fort Dragon had not been in vain.
Although it consumed a significant amount of Essence Stones, its power could be a game changer in critical moments.
Chris and his companion, Stripes, then made their way toward the oasis.
An hour later, they reached it.
The oasis was lush with greenery, teeming with wild beasts.
After surveying his surroundings, Chris determined he was now within the borders of Great Lyria.
To the north lay the frigid, snow-covered arctic region, an area with the harshest conditions imaginable.
Chris muttered to himself, “I’ve left the Silent Dunes. It seems I’m not far from Silver Crown, the capital of Great Lyria. I wonder how Lindsay Windson is faring?”
Chris had spent months in the Silent Dunes.
Had anything happened to Lindsay Windson during that time?
If Lindsay had come to harm, Chris would bear the blame.
After all, Lindsay’s capture was entirely his fault.
If it weren’t for him, Ethan Stone would never have taken her.
Silver Crown, the capital of Great Lyria.
Several months ago, Great Lyria had suffered a crushing defeat in its war with Amerosia.
Tens of thousands of soldiers retreated to Silver Crown in disgrace.
For Great Lyria, however, this loss was not insurmountable.
As the dominant power in northern Aethelgard, Great Lyria was a nation of warriors. Its people were brave and battle-hardened, with nearly everyone trained for combat.
But news of the defeat spread quickly, and the citizens of Great Lyria were furious.
The capture and subsequent rescue of Thorne Steelhart, however, brought shame to the entire nation.
Thorne Steelhart, a prince of Great Lyria, could barely endure the humiliation.
In a nation that revered strength, being captured by the enemy was a disgrace.
Thorne Steelhart felt as though every gaze mocked him. His face grew darker with every step as he rode through the city, eventually returning to his manor.
Once inside the grand hall, he barked, “Bring that wretch to me!”
His command was quickly followed, and soon a woman was brought forward, bound hand and foot.
That woman was Lindsay Windson.
Her mouth was gagged, rendering her unable to speak.
Thorne Steelhart’s face twisted with rage as he glared at her.
“Take this woman to my chambers!”