Chapter 631: Alliance of Rebels

Chapter 631: The Rebel Alliance

For a moment, Karen wondered if he had misheard.

Did she mean that she simply did not want to become a dragon god raised like livestock, fearing it would tarnish the grand image of the "Rebel Dragon God"?

Or did she mean it quite literally—that she considered the Rebel Dragon God himself to be nothing more than a domesticated beast, harboring a deep, visceral contempt for that deity in her heart?

The former explanation was logical and easy to comprehend.

The latter, however, was somewhat too absurd.

Yet within that absurdity lay a strange veneer of reason, and the sole reason for its existence was simply because the one listening to these words was Karen.

"The Rebel Dragon God, raised like livestock."

"Praise the God of Order, raised by a prostitute."

Invisibly, it actually mirrored the aphorisms of the Inmeles family.

Karen's initial decision to attend the selection convention of the Crypt Church was mainly due to the sacred filter through which he viewed the dragon race.

Putting practicality aside, if he could truly have a dragon by his side just like the Whip-Bearer, the spiritual satisfaction of it would be absolutely enchanting.

However, after experiencing the affairs of the Crypt Church, the dragon filter had completely shattered for Karen.

He now felt that the Whip-Bearer probably wasn't too pleased with the dragon by his side either; it was purely because the upfront investment had been too high that he was forced to furrow his brows and tolerate its existence.

Karen had once questioned whether it was appropriate for the Whip-Bearer to treat his pet that way, naively thinking that with more care and understanding, perhaps Lord Augie could become a true companion, but now Karen understood the Whip-Bearer's methods more and more.

If criticizing racial discrimination was a form of political correctness, the modern concept of discrimination was built upon the foundation of fellow humans, emphasizing that discrimination should not exist between humans, rather than between different species.

Moreover, compared to the primitive and barbaric religious atmosphere of the Crypt Church, although members within the Church of Order often attacked each other with "have you forgotten that everyone is equal under Order?", in reality, the Church of Order was truly the one that implemented this dogma best.

Lord Augie... most likely had a bit of a problem with her brain; she was clever, and her attempt to use Rasma to break her own restriction had once won Karen's admiration, but no amount of petty cleverness could mask her foolishness in the grand scheme of things.

However, this little bone dragon, when faced with his previous threats, still preferred to perish together rather than yield, which instead earned Karen's appreciation.

Having grown accustomed to the calculation of interests, accustomed to submitting to reality, and even having to follow these stale, corrupt rules of the game himself most of the time, suddenly seeing something so pure truly gave a sense of pleasant surprise.

On the contrary, what Lord Augie mentioned about her possessing the inheritance of the Rebel Dragon God did not actually score many extra points in Karen's eyes.

Therefore, when the little bone dragon shouted such a sentence, Karen felt even more thrilled.

At this moment, the way Karen looked at her was much like how Dis had looked at him when he had just awakened.

We are, in fact, all rebels.

"I can understand you, truly."

Karen sighed with emotion, a sentence briefer than anything he had said before, because attempting to move her with rhetoric at this point was clearly impossible; her rebellion was not an imitation, but something from the inside out, and she had not inherited this faith from the Rebel Dragon God, because even having the Rebel Dragon God pressing down upon her head made her feel extremely uncomfortable.

In this regard, she was a mirror image of Karen back when he was merely a divine servant, writing so many "traitorous" phrases in his notebook.

After the little bone dragon stabilized her soul form once more, she launched an attack on Karen again.

She came with a fierce momentum, yet she could not pose a true threat to Karen; however, Karen no longer had any intention of suppressing her, feeling more like he was looking at the child of a close friend, throwing a pouting tantrum just because he had teased her, which actually seemed rather cute.

Well then, I will continue to tease you.

Karen simply withdrew the defense of the Gate of Reincarnation, spread his palm forward, and smiled:

"Go, play with her a bit."

Qianmei surged out from Karen's palm; ever since following Karen, Qianmei had enjoyed plenty of opportunities for grand nourishment, becoming far plumper than when it had first left the Gate of Reincarnation, and since it usually attached itself to the Chains of Order to fortify its soul form, which amounted to highly efficient training, though it still looked like a snake, it was now a python.

Even though it was now facing a dragon, it showed no fear.

But when the little bone dragon saw Karen release a black python to deal with her, she did not view it as care from "Uncle Karen" but rather as an insult to her, pouncing forward even more frantically.

"Boom!"

The black python and the bone dragon collided, and both sides quickly plunged into an intimate mode of biting and scratching at each other.

The bone dragon was berserk; as long as she launched an attack, it was bound to be a fight to the death, leaving herself no retreat.

Qianmei's nature was the very crystallization of violence and ferocity, and having seen the true, vast world, it did not hold the dragon race in any regard at all.

After a bout of biting, both of their soul forms became highly fractured; they had no intention of separating, but their holds on each other could no longer keep up, passively pushing them apart and inadvertently creating a half-time intermission.

The little bone dragon continued to draw upon the surrounding undead aura to replenish and repair her soul form, preparing for the next round of slaughter.

Qianmei, on the other hand, began to circle around Karen, drawing soul power from him to replenish itself; it did not care that this was the opponent's home field, for ever since it followed Karen out, it had never seen Karen lose to anyone in the spiritual world.

Furthermore, Karen constantly had to restrain his hunger addiction, often choosing not to eat even when "delicacies" were placed before him, which essentially ended up benefiting Qianmei.

Therefore, Qianmei took it for granted that the bone dragon before it would surely be its dinner.

Soon, both sides finished recovering and, with one accord, rushed toward each other again.

But just before contact, ripples of vibrant colors appeared before the little bone dragon, deathly energy swirling with vital energy within the halos; Qianmei, still prepared for another primitive brawl, crashed straight into them, its soul form instantly twisting rapidly, even showing signs of collapsing.

Seeing this, the little bone dragon immediately raised her head, her front claws waving as more colored halos were condensed and flung frantically at Qianmei, intending to utterly shred Qianmei's soul form in one fell swoop.

Karen, who had been standing behind watching the children fight, smiled faintly; this bone dragon's talent was indeed astounding, able to comprehend her racial ability so soon after consecutive battles shortly after birth.

In this regard, Qianmei was indeed far inferior, but Qianmei was after all just a soul form, and trying to compare it to a dragon possessing a bloodline inheritance was indeed a bit unfair.

But faced with this perilous situation, Qianmei quickly reacted; its current self-identity was as Karen's assistant, Karen's wings, so when it encountered danger, it naturally cried out to Karen for help.

Chains of Order extended from beneath Karen's feet; Karen did not guide them, nor did he stop them, and following Qianmei's call, the Chains of Order plunged into that circle of colors, quickly merging with Qianmei itself.

Fortified by the Chains of Order, Qianmei seemed to instantly evolve from a python into a centipede; it began to forcefully repel the halos that caused it discomfort, then suddenly appeared above the little bone dragon, plunging down fiercely.

The little bone dragon instinctively began to defend, but with the violent lashing of two Chains of Order, her defense collapsed, and Qianmei slammed into her, tearing a large piece of "flesh" from her body.

"Roar!"

After letting out a painful roar, the little bone dragon immediately retreated, while Qianmei remained where it was, slowly swallowing and digesting this surge of soul power, looking immensely delighted.

The little bone dragon glared at Qianmei, then shifted her gaze to Karen, her eyes mixed with jealousy and... grievance.

Clearly, she felt that Karen's "intervention" had ruined the fair duel between her and Qianmei.

Having digested the large piece of flesh, Qianmei let out a long howl and took the initiative to charge at the little bone dragon.

Armed with the enhancement of the Chains of Order upon its body, Qianmei fought exceptionally aggressively this time; as long as Karen did not call for a halt, it could assume it had an infinite supply.

Contests between soul forms were essentially just that; if one could not rely on quality to quickly secure a victory, they would inevitably fall into a war of attrition over reserves.

The little bone dragon began to gradually grow exhausted, and the rate at which she drew upon the surrounding undead aura to repair herself was also slowing down.

Though this was her home field, the provisions Karen carried as an outside invader were far, far more abundant than the local stores she possessed.

Gradually gaining control of the situation, Qianmei began to feast even more unscrupulously, wriggling its long body at a very high frequency, as gleeful as a loach sprinkled with a handful of salt.

The little bone dragon began to retreat continuously, the damaged parts of her body no longer receiving repairs, gradually becoming wretched.

Karen still did not call for a halt, continuing to stand there watching, because he knew the little bone dragon still had one thing she hadn't used.

Why wasn't she using it?

Was she unwilling?

Even unto death, was she unwilling to admit she had received the inheritance of the Rebel Dragon God?

"Crack!"

Amidst the strangulation of their bodies, the little bone dragon suffered defeat once more, her body severed into two halves by Qianmei.

At this moment, Qianmei made a very foolish decision, failing to press the advantage and instead stopping in place, admiring the opponent that had been severed into two halves by itself.

This scene caused Karen to frown slightly, thoroughly disliking this kind of idiotic behavior, but he said nothing, as Qianmei was usually under his control, and theoretically, as long as he did not act foolishly himself, Qianmei would have no chance to display this idiotic side in reality.

Moreover, it was good to give the little bone dragon a little more time to think.

The two halves of the body began to piece themselves back together, but because there was insufficient soul power to replenish it, even though the little bone dragon's body was barely put back together, it still appeared extremely uncoordinated.

Qianmei, however, assumed the posture of a victor ahead of time and began to "advance" toward the little bone dragon little by little.

Just then, Karen noticed that the light in the little bone dragon's eyes began to shift, gradually changing from the initial crimson to deep depth.

At the position of its neck, a dragon scale flashed with a golden luster, and a sacred aura began to emanate.

Qianmei immediately sensed that something was wrong, a strong sense of crisis assailed it, and it began to rush toward the little bone dragon like crazy.

But this time, before it could even get close, a grand phantom appeared outside the little bone dragon's body, sprawling, majestic, massive, and inviolable!

Flames instantly ignited upon Qianmei's body, its soul rapidly consuming away, and along with it, the Chains of Order it had borrowed from Karen could not endure and began to dissolve swiftly.

The little bone dragon stared coldly at Qianmei, while the massive figure covering its body bore no expression whatsoever, making it impossible to perceive any emotion, yet the moment it appeared, the entire layout of this place had shifted.

Possessing faith, possessing an inheritance, and being able to fully manifest it were entirely different concepts.

Just as there were many people in this world who believed in Order, and not a few who still persisted in their faith in Light, truly very few could establish the faithfully manifested bodies of two chief gods deep within their own souls as Karen did.

To break it down into finer distinctions, in the history of the Church, the disparity in strength and status among the God-sons was also incredibly vast; the inheritors of the exact same lord across different eras could display starkly different abilities and identities within the Church.

Therefore, although this little bone dragon relied on that dragon scale, she herself was a pure practitioner of the path of faith of the Rebel Dragon God, which was the recognition bestowed upon her by this sequence of rules.

This even had absolutely nothing to do with the Rebel Dragon God himself.

Just as the God of Order did not know of Karen's existence, it was not that the God of Order chose Karen, but rather that Karen was a better fit for this rule.

Gods had a dual nature; a god who closed his eyes to respond to the prayers of believers was more like the cold, programmed operation of a machine.

Karen sighed; Lord Augie had perceived the aura of the dragon god upon this bone dragon and deemed her noble because he believed she was the inheritor of the Rebel Dragon God, but in reality, Lord Augie's vision was still too shallow.

Merely the ability to invite the faithfully manifested body deep into the soul was enough to prove its potential;

people could not be compared to people, and dragons could not be compared to dragons.

Augie and her parents were still focusing on the purity of noble bloodlines, but this bone dragon, from the moment of her birth... no, perhaps even her "nurturer" or "creator" had never expected that she was aiming for the position of a dragon race branch deity.

Bloodlines could be pieced together through conscious breeding of high bloodlines; even if a massive number of failures occurred, as long as the attempts were numerous enough, an offspring with excellent bloodlines would surely be pieced together;

but the uniqueness of the soul, along with the personality and faith evolved with it as a representative, was