Chapter 628: A Decision Contrary to the Ancestors

Chapter 628: A Decision Against the Ancestors

Kallen was indeed startled, for the man represented by this skeleton had once exerted tremendous pressure upon him.

Yet that habitual "meow" instantly shattered the atmosphere, like a brick dropped onto a newly frozen lake, cracking it wide open with a sharp snap.

A faint smile appeared at the corners of Kallen's mouth; he felt no anger toward Purr's prank.

Many people easily grow numb and exhausted in the daily grind of work and domestic life, feeling their existence belongs neither to a heavy black nor a dazzling white, but rather an oppressive gray.

It was precisely at times like these that one needed to consciously and proactively seek out some color for their life, and Purr was Kallen's color.

If he returned home and Purr was not in the bedroom, it would be no different from not going home at all; after all, he spent most of his working hours sleeping in the office anyway.

Upon seeing Kallen's smile, Purr, realizing she had been "exposed," did not feel discouraged; sometimes she truly uttered a habitual "meow" when speaking, but if she truly wished to disguise herself, how could she, as a highly experienced veteran explorer, fail to control it?

Adding that "meow" on purpose was nothing more than an attempt to scare her little Kallen while simultaneously worrying that she might genuinely terrify him.

"Ah, how dare you show disrespect to this deity!"

The skeleton spread

Yet, conversely, the reason gods required their own churches was precisely because much of what they desired to accomplish could only be realized by relying on a massive ecclesiastical machine.

The Gate of Reincarnation was hardly forged by the God of Reincarnation alone, striking it bit by bit with a hammer."

"Woof, woof, woof!" Kevin chimed in, offering his supplement.

"The stupid dog is right. There is one reason that cannot be ignored as to why the Church of Order is currently the premier faith in religious circles: while everyone is presently competing to see who can sink lower, the Church of Order possesses a deeper reserve of 'sleeping talent.'"

"I see." Karen nodded. "No wonder when I read 'The Light of Order' in the past, the sections concerning the church and warfare felt so disconnected from the present. I originally thought it was merely hyperbole, but in truth, it is we who have regressed."

"Indeed, exactly so."

"Take this skeleton and modify it; she committed suicide, so she is remarkably well-preserved."

"Oh, truly?"

"Yes, there is no need to hand her over, but you must mind her appearance."

"Mm, that is simple enough—just drape a layer of skin over it."

"Ah, right. You can ask Neo to prepare the materials and labor required for the modification. Now is the time to take advantage of the Earth Vault Church; have Kevin go speak to Neo."

"Undoubtedly. That seeker of amusement holds our stupid dog in quite high regard, meow."

"Woof!"

Kevin raised his canine head with pride.

Just then, Aisli stepped into the room, holding that particular raven in her hand.

"Chief, I have retrieved it."

Karen took it from her, opened it, and knit his brows slightly.

"What is the matter, meow?"

"That bone dragon has escaped."

"My, that truly is a massive loss, meow. Can it be caught again?"

"Muri is currently in pursuit." Karen looked toward Aisli and instructed, "Go inform Alfred and the others. I will pursue the matter of the bone dragon myself; tell them to keep busy with their own tasks."

"But Chief, are you going alone? I mean, you still seem to carry injuries, and Blanche will be back shortly to tend to you..."

"It is no matter, I am merely a bit fatigued."

Purr said excitedly, "Remember, tell the radio fairy not to arrange for anyone else to come over. It might actually be a good thing that the bone dragon escaped. If it were brought back to the task force office, it would be quite troublesome for our Karen to claim it for himself afterward. After all, Miss Dana's objective was also the dragon, and she was injured this time; it is not out of the question that the bone dragon would be given to her as a consolation prize.

If Karen catches it himself, if he can capture it out in the wild, then just like this skeleton, there will be no need to report it..."

Purr paused, realizing she had overlooked a critical detail.

"Oh dear, we cannot even catch it secretly; it must go through the proper procedures of the Church of Order... otherwise, even if we drag it back, our household cannot afford to raise a dragon!"

Indeed, without a partnership bond recognized by the Church of Order, even if this bone dragon were brought back, it could not be properly nurtured. If they ended up breeding a misshapen, useless creature in the end, it would be a waste and entirely meaningless.

Karen spoke, "There are ways. We can first establish a few accomplished facts, such as forcibly compelling that bone dragon to bind some connections to me beforehand. Furthermore, Miss Dana is still unconscious, and for this Selection Assembly, I hold the highest overt status. The higher-ups will likely grant me the bone dragon out of respect for appearances."

Purr instantly clenched her feline paws. "Precisely, meow! Pickle the soybeans into paste first!"

Karen walked out of the room, taking the serpentine elevator downward. As he passed through the hotel lobby, he spotted Lord Ogie sitting there.

Lord Ogie leaned against the bench, her gaze leveled forward at the small fountain, her expression somewhat desolate.

This time, Lord Ogie also saw Karen directly. She stood up with a trace of surprise and answered before being asked, "I originally intended to return to my hotel room to rest. I am not waiting for you here."

"Did you find your mother?"

"I found her."

"Did you speak?"

"We spoke."

"Are there any regrets left?"

"There was never much hope to begin with, so there can be no talk of regrets."

The insincere exchange concluded, and Karen gestured to Lord Ogie. "I happen to be heading out."

Lord Ogie repeated, "I am not waiting for you here."

"I intended to look for you anyway. So, give me a lift."

"Are you truly so stingy with your carriage fare?"

"I merely prefer to pursue efficiency. Come, enough nonsense; this is an official operation of the Whip of Order. As a dragon of the Whip of Order, it is only right that you assist."

Lord Ogie felt utterly helpless, yet she followed Karen out of the hotel lobby and into the open air.

Karen familiarly reached out and grasped Lord Ogie's left arm, saying, "I shall point out the location, you shall proceed."

"To catch a person?"

"To catch a dragon. That bone dragon has escaped, and I intend to bring it back."

Upon hearing this, Lord Ogie immediately took two steps back, breaking free from Karen's grip at the same time.

"It deserves freedom."

Evidently, Lord Ogie was projecting her own plight onto the creature.

"If you had not grown into your complete form, your current brain development might not even comprehend what the concept of 'freedom' means."

"I can assist you with other matters, but this..."

"It seems the conversation with your mother was highly effective; you have become quite sentimental now. Let me tell you plainly: if that bone dragon cannot be brought back, I will pull out a coin to flip, deciding whether it is you or your mother who becomes the part of the dragon race to be diminished."

"The higher-ups..."

"Yes, exactly so. Instructions have come down from above. Of course, you may interpret this as me deceiving you. I have said before, at least here and during this period, your proud head should bow to me.

We can continue to waste breath here, and when that bone dragon completely eludes capture, I will count the failure against you."

"I truly wish to bite you to death; I am even somewhat impatient to hear the crisp sound of your body being chewed between my teeth."

Karen asked, "And then?"

Lord Ogie raised her arm.

"Come then. You show the way."

...

Tracking was a grueling endeavor. Muri felt that if the original members of "Karen's" squad were together, it ought not to be this difficult, and the capture could be executed with greater composure;

But the problem was that the men under his command were temporarily assigned, lacking inherent coordination, not to mention that many among them were originally clerical investigators.

Consequently, Muri stopped waiting for them, allowing them to fall behind one by one during the pursuit. He simply became a lone wolf, continuing the hunt by himself while remembering to leave squad markers behind.

That bone dragon was exceptionally adept at running, but Muri gritted his teeth and remained fastened to her trail.

It was precisely because of Muri's sheer tenacity that the white-haired girl was thoroughly enraged.

She understood clearly that if she could not shake off the man behind her, her peril would never cease.

By now, the positions of both parties had left the main city area, surrounded entirely by rock and earth.

The white-haired girl launched an attack at Muri once more. Unlike their very first clash, where she had used only her claws to scratch, this time she consciously utilized the bones extending from her body to deliver whipping blows.

Crisis and combat were inherently the most direct ways to stimulate potential. Conversely, this also demonstrated how high the talent of this bone dragon truly was, despite her having just been born.

However, Muri was the most composed and grounded personality among Karen’s subordinates; otherwise, Karen would not have arranged for him to be vice-captain when he served as the grand captain back then.

At this moment, Muri opted for a completely defensive stance, the barrier formed by his round shield shattering time and again, only to reconstitute itself each time.

He simply took the beating, constantly shifting his posture to endure the blows, abandoning all offensive actions solely to ensure no flaw was exposed.

Roars of the dragon erupted repeatedly from the mouth of the white-haired girl, while the phantom of a lion manifested on Muri’s body from time to time.

Confronted by this nearly unbreakable turtle shell, the irritation in the white-haired girl's heart was thoroughly sparked. Having dug too many holes earlier, she now perceived that her strength was waning, and fatigue began to set in.

Muri detected the decline in the opponent's onslaught, yet he still chose not to attack. He had made up his mind: if the opponent stopped to fight, he would defend; if the opponent stopped fighting and wished to flee, he would pursue.

For he believed that reinforcements would arrive, and his duty now was to perform his own role well.

"Roar!"

Yet, when the emotional breaking point arrived, the white-haired girl’s hair flew completely wild, and her body finally shattered the last layer of restraint at this precise moment. Accompanied by the spreading of a dense undead aura, she transformed into her draconic form.

Compared to the adult Lady Augie, her physique was somewhat too minuscule, measuring only a dozen or so meters in body length at present. However, blessed by her true form, the boost to her strength was terrifyingly immense.

A single dragon claw struck down. Muri let out a muffled groan, his entire being retreating rapidly as blood spilled from the corners of his mouth. More severe were his arms, which were beginning to go numb and lose sensation.

Thus, it stood to reason that every time Karen saw Lady Augie, he would subconsciously imagine her "dragonized." For the dragon race, the true form and the human form were entirely disparate concepts.

Muri lacked a clear understanding in this regard. Due to the absence of crucial information, he found it somewhat incomprehensible now: relying merely on that level of guardianship and the low-quality cage at the breeding ground earlier, why had this bone dragon remained there all along without escaping?

The tail of the bone dragon swept across horizontally, a succession of deafening, explosive cracks resounding through the air.

Muri uttered a low growl, forcibly moving his numbed arms with his shoulders as his physical strength leaned forward to condense a new barrier, once more enduring this tail strike head-on.

"Smack!"

He blocked it yet again, but blood began to ooze from his eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

Hovering in mid-air, a glimmer of triumphant fortune surfaced within the eyes of the bone dragon. She could sense that the death of this "insect" before her was very nigh.

In the next instant, the front claw of the bone dragon lunged down fiercely, intending to crush Muri directly.

"Pfft!"

Before the dragon claw could descend, Muri plunged his short blade into his own abdomen, the blade instantly drenched in fresh blood. As the dragon claw came down, Muri drew the short blade out from within his body and slashed upward.

A blood-colored blade shadow materialized, cleaving directly across the abdomen of the bone dragon.

"Boom!"

A violent explosion echoed. The body of the bone dragon remained hovering in the air, but a crimson fissure appeared across her abdomen.

Muri, meanwhile, still stood below, ignoring the wounds on his own body. He gave his arm a swing and pressed the short blade against his chest, evidently prepared to execute the previous blade-drawing technique once more.

The bone dragon hesitated. She feared pain, she did not wish to be injured, but a sense of crisis told her that if she abandoned the kill now to resume her flight, this seemingly weakened man would continue to hunt her.

She was inherently immature; calculated by human years, she was merely equivalent to an infant a few months old.

A smile appeared on Muri's face, and opening his mouth, he let out a great shout: "Ah!"

This was a highly chaotic battle, filled from the very beginning with brutality and irrationality. Granted, facing a dragon, expecting to fight in an orderly fashion was unrealistic.

Even so, Muri knew that if he were replaced by Philomena, she would certainly handle such a situation with greater ease than himself.

His advantage lay in his versatility; his disadvantage lay in his relative mediocrity.

If it were Philomena, she could completely suppress this bone dragon using her movement techniques. Whether the bone dragon chose to flee or fight, she could subject it to continuous harassment, a feat he could not replicate.

Of course, if the Director himself were here, things would likely be even simpler. With the Director's power, he could just summon dozens of Chains of Order to bind this bone dragon utterly fast.

Yet, none of this was within his capability.

"Roar!"

The bone dragon made her decision, launching an attack on Muri once more as another tail strike swept toward him.

Without a shred of hesitation, Muri thrust the short blade into his own chest. But before he could draw the blade out, a voice echoed from behind him:

"Do not pull it out, it will worsen the injury."

Muri responded immediately: "Yes."

Karen’s figure materialized in front of Muri. Raising his hand, he spoke in a deep voice:

"Order—Barrier Guard."

A massive screen seemed to fall from the heavens, instantly standing erect before Karen.

The tail of the bone dragon struck this screen, and black smoke rapidly evaporated from around the barrier. This was the leakage of spiritual power under the impact, but Karen could replenish it in an instant, so the barrier could be said to have not trembled at all.

In other words, this strike from the bone dragon's tail was akin to a human kicking a steel plate.

"Crack... Crack..."

The successive sounds of fracturing bones echoed. Her body spun several times in the air, her mouth emitting a trembling wail, as though crying out from intense pain.

When she finally came to a halt, the very tip of her tail was conspicuously bent.

If Alfred were standing here at this moment, to liven up the atmosphere and share a knowing smile with his young master, he would probably quip: It truly resembles a splendid calligraphy stroke.

"Director, it was my negligence in handling this matter."

"It is no fault of yours. However, there is no need for you to resort to self-mutilation to deal with her. I do want the bone dragon, but to trade your life for it strikes me as an unprofitable bargain. This is the honest truth; I am still waiting for that batch of Dark Moon Warriors to arrive, so you can take charge of commanding and training them."

"Yes, Director."

Having suffered a major setback at Karen’s hands, the bone dragon clearly dared not continue her attack and intended to flee.

Karen was not about to indulge her. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the barrier defense, the Thousand Charms wings behind him fluttering as his entire being soared upward. Upon reaching a position above the bone dragon, Karen extended his hand and pointed downward:

"Order—Death Lockdown."

From the ground beneath the bone dragon, massive and towering black cones erupted directly, while the bone dragon flying mid-air resembled a caterpillar falling into a ball of steel wool.

Her body instantly began to be pierced and squeezed. No matter how fiercely she struggled, even if she crushed a few black cones, more cones would immediately grow out to continue compressing her space.

In the end, the more she struggled, the less she was able to move. Ultimately, she was completely wedged in, absolutely motionless.

Karen watched this scene below with great tranquility. This type of large-scale, high-intensity formation would inflict immense consumption and burden upon the caster, but for Karen, it was mere child's play.

During the previous clash with the skeleton, the Old Ville Restaurant had only sustained damage to some furniture, and the restaurant was largely preserved. This was not due to any tacit agreement between the two to protect the seeds of Viennese cuisine, but purely because utilizing such large-scale techniques against an opponent of the same tier was completely ineffective; the adversary could easily evade them or even discover the flaws in your casting.

If the former were compared to cautiously testing and seeking opportunities in a fencing match, then against this massive bone dragon who was clearly unfamiliar with combat, the most suitable method was to hoist a door plank and smash her wildly with it, pursuing effect through sheer force.

As it appeared now, the effect was excellent.

Karen opened his palm, and the Sword of Diamans flew into his hand. Immediately following this, his figure descended slowly.

It was undeniable that Karen himself was influenced by the ethos within the Church of Order that treated dragons as livestock;

To him, the dragon race no longer possessed any sense of sanctity.

Furthermore, Muri’s injuries had kindled anger within Karen’s heart. Had he not arrived in time, Muri would either be dead or ruined.

Therefore, next, he intended to use a somewhat cruel yet direct method to demand the submission of this bone dragon.

Ask a question: Are you willing to submit to me?

A denial or silence, and he would use the greatsword to shatter a piece of her bone.

Then continue to ask, and continue to shatter, to see just how long she could endure.

However, although his course of action was already clear, Karen deliberately slowed his pace, continuing his gradual descent. He possessed another method to achieve his goal, one that offered far greater efficiency and left more room to maneuver when smoothing over relationships later—though it all depended on whether that particular individual was willing to cooperate.

This bone dragon had no inkling of what was about to befall it, but the other dragon beside them, the one who had brought Karen here yet had no intention of lending him a hand, had already sensed it.

Lord Ogy knew all too well that beneath the surface of this young man—who maintained a gentlemanly demeanor, possessed impeccable manners, and was considered exceptionally handsome even by human standards—there lay a hidden depth of profound coldness and... brutality.

For instance, fully aware of Miss Dena's true identity, he had still dared to wield his greatsword, repeatedly teeing off and swinging at her as if she were a golf ball.

Thus, accompanied by a sudden drop in the surrounding temperature as snowflakes began to drift downward, Lord Ogy revealed her massive frost dragon form. She coiled high above, lowering her head to gaze downward.

Compared to her immense bulk, the bone dragon below truly resembled nothing more than an earthworm.

At that moment, the bone dragon also raised its head, looking up at Lord Ogy in utter bewilderment and shock.

A faint smile brushed across the corners of Karen's lips.

In this instant, Lord Ogy made a decision that went against her own heart, and likewise defied the proud legacy of the dragon ancestors.

She spoke, asking:

"Do you wish to grow just like me?"