Chapter 632: Armor of the Dragon God!

Chapter 632: Armor of the Dragon God!

The little bone dragon was delighted, spinning in circles as if chasing and biting her own tail.

She was too young, so young that her responses to everything around her were acute and pure, utterly devoid of flexibility.

Yet at times, flexibility was merely a synonym for surrendering to reality, a perpetual compromise with one's own inner self.

In Karen’s eyes, this trait made her truly endearing, for his own greatest flaw in the past had been understanding flexibility too well, and being far too adept at it.

Thus, at this very moment, Karen was genuinely willing to grant his protection to this little bone dragon.

The path of exploration was like drifting upon a vast ocean, requiring many, many anchors; Alfred was one, but Alfred idolized him a bit too much. If this little bone dragon could remain by his side forever, her existence could serve as an anchor for him to hold fast to his core devotion to Order.

In moments of hesitation and bewilderment, a single glance at her might make his decisions much easier to resolve.

Karen firmly believed that above Order, there should be no god.

Though the little bone dragon could not yet express her thoughts in mature speech, her behavior made it clear that her definition of rebellion was to shatter every shackle bound above her head.

Even the rebellious Dragon God, who had once epitomized this very conviction, could not be permitted above her head; it made her profoundly uncomfortable.

To oppose the existence of gods in a world where they clearly existed, where they were worshiped, and where the turning of the world was measured by divine will, was destined to be misunderstood and lonely.

Beneath the night sky of the grasslands, a bonfire is kindled, and looking up, you seem to perceive through the unseen threads that upon the moon, in another world, across countless layers of distance within some exiled space, another soul has lit a bonfire just like yours.

The sensation of these flames reflecting upon each other's faces could instantly dispel all loneliness, illuminating and warming one another.

There is a single word that can pierce through the barriers of age, the divisions of nations, the classifications of race, and the definitions of class; when you hear him address you by this word, the instantaneous resonance and trust generated are enough to break through all obstacles, even allowing you to leave your back to them with absolute peace of mind.

The moment Karen stepped upon the head of the God of Order, the little bone dragon seemed to hear that very call.

All words, lies, and hypocrisy appeared pale and powerless before it.

Karen waved his hand, and the phantom manifestation of the God of Order dissolved.

Thousand Charms: "..."

With a sharp whoosh, Thousand Charms instantly fled back behind Karen, coiling itself around his right arm.

Seeing this, the little bone dragon ceased her spinning and raised her body; under her guidance, the illusion of the Dragon God instantly grew more majestic and formidable, as if poised to roar downward.

Thousand Charms was utterly bewildered, unable to comprehend why, in a situation of certain victory, its master would choose to abandon resistance.

Yet Karen showed no trace of panic, standing calmly in place.

Having verified the sentiment, he knew she would not harm him again.

The little bone dragon shook her head, only then realizing she seemed to have forgotten to retract the giant shadow; she quickly shook her body, and the illusion of the Dragon God vanished, whereupon the little bone dragon lunged toward Karen.

Thousand Charms immediately braced itself again, preparing to step forward and continue the fight, but Karen reached out and caught its tail.

The little bone dragon rushed before Karen, but instead of launching an attack, she came to a halt; this creature, previously so violent in temperament, now appeared remarkably bashful.

Karen extended his hand to her; the little bone dragon hesitated, raising her dragon claw to measure it against his, only to find it entirely mismatched.

Following this, her form underwent a transformation, and a young girl with long white hair appeared before Karen.

She was slender, her face and body marked with injuries, frail yet unyielding.

She raised her small hand and placed it into Karen's palm.

Karen gave it a gentle squeeze; once the handshake concluded, the white-haired girl grasped one of Karen's fingers and squeezed it in turn. She did not fully understand, but she felt this must be a ritual of equality.

Karen smiled and raised his other hand to touch her face; she flinched away slightly, but Karen's hand remained there without moving, and gradually, she stopped evading, allowing Karen's palm to rest against her cheek.

Immediately afterward, a surge of soul energy poured into her body through Karen's palm, beginning to mend her spiritual injuries.

The sensation was incredibly comfortable and warm; for a moment, the white-haired girl felt only that the hand caressing her cheek was wonderfully benign, and her own hand subconsciously pressed against the back of Karen's hand.

After instilling a portion of his soul energy, Karen felt his own consciousness begin to sink into a state of lethargy and weakness; his expenditure today had indeed been too immense. Though it was not severe enough to cause a comatose collapse, he was essentially walking and testing the boundaries along that very line.

Watching this scene, Thousand Charms found it utterly incomprehensible and simultaneously felt deeply wronged; the sensation was akin to a loach accidentally slipping into a jar filled with fruit vinegar.

It desperately wished to emulate that black cat, throwing a tantrum and rolling on the ground while screaming repeatedly: Why? On what grounds? How can this be!

But it did not dare.

For it knew well that its master could tolerate any behavior from that black cat, whereas if it were to mimic her, it would only be waiting to be swatted to death with a single strike.

Karen's soul consciousness began to withdraw; in reality, Karen opened his eyes and pulled his hand back from the ice.

Lord Ogy, who still maintained her kneeling posture, saw Karen "return," and the corners of her mouth twitched subconsciously; she likely wanted to sneer, but she restrained herself, though not entirely.

"Did you succeed?"

It sounded like concern, but was in truth a mockery.

She believed no one understood that bone dragon better than she did; how could it possibly be subdued so easily? If the inheritor of the Dragon God were to acknowledge a master so lightly, wouldn't the dragon race become an utter laughingstock?

"Sigh."

Karen let out a sigh, already somewhat speechless regarding this foolish female dragon.

Clearly she herself was in such a wretched plight, yet she still had the mind to indulge in mockery.

What exactly gave her the confidence to think she could disguise it so that he wouldn't perceive it?

Stripped of her dragon identity and the aura of a "lord," she was merely a twisted maid with a highly distorted character, possesses a fragile self-esteem alongside a very blurred sense of her own position, and felt immense jealousy toward her young mistress’s living conditions.

Xili was optimistic and forward-looking, always willing to learn new things, whereas Ogy preferred to lean against the railings and criticize her own family members, possessing her own closed-loop logic into which she could cast everything to function.

Karen could not be bothered to pay her any mind.

Yet she continued to speak: "Hand her over to the Church; this is a grand achievement, and it will improve your current predicament within the York City District."

Karen turned his head to look at Lord Ogy,

and said:

"Truly, I now find our Whipper-in to be exceedingly merciful; otherwise, there is no explaining how you have managed to survive until now."

"I have said before, regarding your attitude toward the dragon race, you and the Whipper-in are very alike."

"It is an inevitable attitude after being driven to exasperation by your stupidity."

"Otherwise, what do you intend? To kill me and let her slip away? Hand her over, you keep my previous actions a secret for me, and I will do something for you..."

"What can you possibly do for me?"

Lord Ogy: "Err..."

She suddenly realized that she seemed to have nothing to offer Karen.

Karen walked up to Ogy, reached out to wrap his arm around her neck, and brought his face close to her ear:

"Listen, if I had failed to subdue her, given my character, I would rather have let her leave and killed you, purely because you wished to kill me earlier."

Lord Ogy's countenance shifted slightly as she asked, "And... and then?"

"Fortunately, I succeeded."

"What!"

Having succeeded in subduing her, it was no longer appropriate to kill Lord Ogy, for it would be impossible to explain.

The little bone dragon's identity needed to be officially registered with the Church of Order; otherwise, given Karen's resources and capabilities, even if he could persuade Neo to join him in extreme corruption, it would be virtually impossible to feed the little bone dragon perfectly until she reached maturity.

Rearing a member of the dragon race required providing a massive and diverse array of resources tailored to its attributes; many things truly could not be purchased merely with sufficient points, for it demanded a tremendously vast breeding team.

Aislinn's parents might, for Karen's sake, provide Purr with quite a few targeted supplements, but they could never empty their treasury just to help Karen feed a dragon.

If they wanted the young bone dragon to grow in the most perfect and robust manner, it would require the collective operation of the research institute where Aislinn's parents worked, designating the young bone dragon as their key cultivation subject and formulating a detailed, long-term plan.

This was precisely the kind of treatment Augie used to enjoy.

Therefore, Augie could not be killed; if she died, many things would become impossible to explain, which would arouse suspicion from above regarding this matter and even the young bone dragon's true identity, and to some extent, Augie was genuinely needed to round out this lie.

"I want her to be my partner. You should know exactly what can and cannot be said regarding this matter. You know her true identity and secrets, and I can grant her the greatest degree of freedom.

Of course, if you want the future hope of your Dragon Race to be completely exposed to the Church of Order, and if you wish to bear the responsibility for your own mistakes, you are welcome to report this on your own initiative.

Let me remind you one last time: I did not spare your life this time because of my mercy, but because you were fortunate.

In the future, we should avoid dealing with each other as much as possible. If there is a next time, I will kill you at any cost.

Now, dispel the freezing. I know you currently lack the ability to cast spells, but you can end the technique."

Augie spoke, "I do not like your threats."

"But you are afraid. In your repeated narratives, I can sense that you seem to regard me as the future Whip-Bearer. Is it because of your mother? Because of that skeleton? Or because of your own observations of me?"

"You..."

"Thank you for your high regard. Now, do your job obediently."

Lord Augie closed her eyes and opened them again, and the massive block of ice began to melt rapidly.

The young bone dragon regained its freedom and landed on the ground, its body shrinking until, finally, it transformed into the exact same white-haired little girl from the soul space.

In reality, she appeared with a bit more delicacy and realism than she had in her soul state.

Ah, a stubborn little white-haired girl.

Karen took off his divine robe, controlling the Sword of Diamans to slice it, cutting away more than half of it. Holding the upper portion of the divine robe, Karen walked over to the young girl.

She struggled slightly to climb up, and Karen draped the clothing over her.

Karen was no master tailor, so the divine robe still appeared excessively baggy on her; her white hair and pale face, paired with the dark tones of the robe, created a striking contrast of charm.

"Heh."

Karen reached out and gently pinched her cheek.

She did not seem accustomed to such intimate gestures from Karen yet, dodging slightly, but Karen believed she would get used to it in the future, just as Purr had in the beginning.

"I ought to give you a name, but what would be a good name to choose?"

Kneeling there, Lord Augie watched this interaction, her eyes instantly widening. Had he really... tamed her?

Karen wanted to lead the little girl by the hand, but she walked with some difficulty, partly because her body was already severely injured, but primarily because her form had been severed by the Thousand Charms in the soul space, leaving her current perception of her upper and lower body somewhat uncoordinated, requiring some time to readjust.

However, Karen quickly bent down and hoisted her onto his back. She did not know where to place her hands and seemed rather anxious; Karen placed one hand behind her to support her backside and caught her two hands with his other hand, making them wrap around his neck.

The little girl was "forced" to do so, and then she continued to clasp Karen's neck without letting go.

Carrying her on his back, Karen walked up to Lord Augie. The little girl looked at Augie, making no effort to conceal the disgust in her gaze.

The shame of the Dragon Race... livestock!

Augie could bear and was accustomed to the gaze of others, but facing her gaze, Augie found it excruciating.

It was as if any reaction directed at her by the little girl could easily break through Augie's defenses.

"How much longer until your seal is lifted?" Karen asked.

"I must wait for the Whip-Bearer to send someone to confirm it, report back to the Whip-Bearer, and then the Whip-Bearer will lift it."

"Oh, then you will have to continue kneeling here."

"I will keep this secret for you, and I will keep her identity a secret. This is not because I yield to your threats, but because it is what I ought to do as a member of the... Dragon Race."

"Very well."

"But she is the gift promised to Miss Dena. Even though Miss Dena is currently injured and confined to her bed, her status remains higher than yours."

"What kind of status does she have."

"This is the reality..."

"I will fight for it; at worst, I will just submit a public application."

In this selection grand assembly, Karen held the highest position and had achieved the greatest merits, so it was only natural that the best Crypt Church partner should be given to him.

Dena was the adopted daughter of the Grand Priest, and her status was indeed noble, but if Karen made a public application, even the Grand Priest could not openly practice favoritism.

This belonged to the political correctness of the Church of Order.

Of course, breaking such unspoken rules would come with a corresponding price, but Karen did not care anymore. He had already become one of the notorious figures in York City; whether he left a good impression or not, the higher-ups would likely never allow him to leave the York City region again.

Augie suggested, "You can sign a contract with her first."

Even at this point, Augie did not forget to strive for better treatment for the young bone dragon, adding, "A symbiosis contract."

"I already have a symbiosis contract partner."

"You have a symbiosis contract partner..." A dark shadow surfaced in Augie's mind, and then she immediately realized she was about to trigger a forbidden memory zone, promptly banishing her stray thoughts as she said, "A master-servant contract is something she would rather die than sign."

Lord Augie knew her pride well; when the young bone dragon had controlled her earlier, she could also sense the dragon.

Judging by Karen's attitude toward the young bone dragon just now and his action of personally carrying her on his back, the relationship between them was one of equality.

At the very least, Augie would never dare to imagine a scenario where the Whip-Bearer carried her on his back.

Karen turned his face slightly toward the little girl on his back and said:

"If you trust my words, we will sign a master-servant contract first. Once you reach adulthood by relying on the treatment provided by the Church of Order, we will dissolve this contract. Because they will certainly perform frequent physical examinations on you along the way, dissolving the contract too early would arouse their suspicion."

Hearing this, Augie sneered inwardly, and then she saw that the little girl on Karen's back had changed her hands from wrapping around Karen's neck to choking it.

Karen sensed the coldness and force pressing against his neck, but he made no other movement.

He could offer his back to her and trust her; though the trust between them had only just been established, Karen believed in its purity.

*Pff... Pff... Pff...*

Nails pierced Karen's skin as the little girl's ten fingers sank into the flesh of his neck.

Karen sensed a massive weight of oppression that left him almost unable to breathe, yet he still did not resist.

Promptly,

The little girl who was originally being carried on Karen's back began to fade away, her body seemingly melting into his.

New strength and a new physique began to enter him, and Karen clearly perceived them, along with the emergence of a new consciousness.

A starlight contract array appeared before Karen; on the servant's side, it was already signed, leaving only the blank space on the master's side for Karen.

Karen spoke, "The contract is sealed."

The light flashed, and the contract took effect. From this moment on, Karen held her life and death in his hands.

*Buzz!*

Karen spread his hands and straightened his posture.

Ribs of dragon bone materialized outside his body, as if someone were knitting a sweater for him; though somewhat chaotic and unpracticed, that primal and ancient aura was enough to suppress any flaws in the details.

"Heh..."

A low growl rumbled in Cullen’s throat as an armor composed of dragon bone manifested upon him, its sheer solidity far surpassing anything he had ever imagined.

Lowering his head, he looked down at his own palm and slowly clenched it into a fist.

The moment the fist closed, eight colossal dragon bones erupted from the earth around him, arching like the ribs of a great dragon to entwine and shield him within.

Lord Augie felt the very foundations of his worldview shatter: "How... is this possible..."

What kind of magic did this man possess to make the successor of the Dragon God go to such lengths for him?

Cullen admired the armor on his body, sensing the formidable barrier of protection formed by the massive ribs on either side, a feeling of security that defied description.

Yet, he felt little surprise in his heart;

When you choose to surrender your back entirely to her, she too is willing to use her own body to shield you.

For what bound them together was not profit, nor status, nor resources, but an identical ambition and ideal.

"If there ever comes a day when I grow cowardly, when I flinch, when I fall from grace, or when I betray..."

Cullen bowed his head, looking down at his chest, and continued:

"Please do not hesitate to strip this armor from my body,

And let the sharp sword

Pierce through my heart."