Chapter 21 Chapter 21

They had pulled all their strength - all their strength left on him, they had attacked Deathwing with physical and magical means, but he had dispelled them all with no effort at all.No matter how hard they attack, the brutal fact remains: having sacrificed their power to the Demon Soul so many years ago, the Aspects are puny compared to Deathwing. Nozdormu unleashed the quicksands of time on him, attempting to temporarily steal Deathwing's vitality.Deathwing felt weak all over, his bones stiffened and his mind dulled.Before these effects could cause permanent damage, however, the power of chaos within the dragon suddenly boiled away, evaporating the quicksand and breaking the sinister magic.

The one from Malygos is a more frontal attack.In its rage, the mad dragon was nearly as powerful as Deathwing.Icicles with lightning shot from all directions towards Malygos' enemies one by one, and the scorching heat and severe cold hit Deathwing at the same time.However, the enchanted plate armor inlaid on the black dragon hide almost completely removed the violent storm, which allowed Deathwing to easily withstand the few attacks that passed through. Of the three of them, however, the most cunning and dangerous enemy was Ysera.At first, she stayed behind, seemingly indifferent to the futility of her companions.After a while, however, Deathwing felt a tinge of contentment, which quickly made him distracted.It was almost too late when he realized he was falling into a daydream.He shook his head, quickly clearing the nets that Ysera had made in his mind—at this time, the three opponents in front of him had already rushed over, trying to grab Deathwing with their own claws.

Flapping his broad wings hastily, he freed himself from their claws, and fought back.A gigantic orb of pure energy appeared between his front paws, and he threw the orb of energy into the middle of the enemy. As soon as the sphere touched the three dragons, it exploded, sending Ysera and the other two rolling back. Deathwing growled contemptuously. "Idiots! Use all your tricks! The result will not change! I am the embodiment of power! You are nothing but shadows of the past in front of me!" "Black Dragon, don't underestimate our opponents from the past..." A shade of crimson that Deathwing never thought he'd see again filled his field of vision, surprising even him. "Alexstrasza... are you here to avenge your mate?"

"I've come to avenge my love and my children... Deathwing, I know it's all your fault!" "Me?" Black Dragon grinned. "But I can't touch the devil's soul at all, that's what you caused!" "But someone brought the orcs to a place that only the dragons know...someone hinted to them the energy contained in the disc!" "Well, but what does that matter? Your time is past, Alexstrasza, and mine is coming!" The red dragon spread its wings and showed her claws.Despite being tortured in captivity, she appears to show no sign of weakness at this time. "Your time is numbered, black dragon!"

"Thanks to them, I have withstood the baptism of the years, the curse of nightmares, and even the fog of magic! Then what did you bring to fight me?" Alexstrasza met his evil gaze, unwavering. "I bring life and hope...and everything connected to them!" Deathwing laughed. "Then you are as good as dead now!" The two giant dragons began to charge each other. "She can't win," Ronin muttered. "None of them can win because they've all lost the power this damned artifact took from them!" "If we can't help here, then we should go, Ronin."

"I can't go, Vereesa! I must do something for her—and for all of us! If they can't stop Deathwing, who can?" Falstad glanced at Demon Soul. "Can you do something with that thing?" "No. It's not going to work against Deathwing anyway." The dwarf touched his bearded chin. "It's a pity that this thing can't give them back the power it stole! That way they should be evenly matched." The mage shook his head. "That can't be—" He paused, thinking desperately.Broken fingers, aching head, and bruises all over his body made it difficult for him to stand still.Luo Ning concentrated his attention, trying to figure out what the Griffon Knight had just said. "But, maybe...it can really do that?"

His companions all looked at him with puzzled eyes.Ronin quickly glanced around to make sure they were still in a safe place, and found a stone. "What are you doing?" Vereesa asked, sounding like she thought Rhonin was mad. "I'm trying to find a way to give them the power back!" With that, he placed the Demon Soul on another stone, and lifted the one he had just found. "What on earth are you thinking—" Falstad could barely squeeze out a few words. Luo Ning exerted all his strength and smashed the stone hard on the disc. The stone split in two. There was a spark from the Demon Soul, but there was no sign of damage.

"Damn it! I knew it was coming!" He looked up at the dwarf. "Can you chop accurately with this thing?" Falstad looked insulted. "Although it's a cheap orc, it's still a weapon, so I can use it as well as any other weapon!" "Then use it to chop that disc, hurry up!" The ranger put a concerned hand on the mage's shoulder. "Ronin, are you sure this will work?" "I know of a spell that returns power to them. A variation of that method is used by all the Mages to draw energy from artifacts. But only if the artifact is broken so that the energy inside cannot be affected again. Bound! As long as I can open the Demon Soul, I can give the dragons back what they lost!"

"It's that simple?" Falstad weighed his tomahawk. "Stand back, mage! You don't want to be cut in half or chopped into pieces, do you?" "No matter what method you use, just break it!" "It's so simple..." The dwarf raised his battle ax high, took a deep breath - and then slashed down, so hard that Ronin could see the bulging veins on his arm. The ax hit the target exactly— Metal shards flew everywhere. "My God! That axe! It's broken!" A huge notch in the blade of the ax just shows how tough the Demon Soul is.Falstad dropped the ax in frustration, cursing the orcs for their poor work.

However, Rhonin knew that it wasn't the axe's fault. "This is worse than I thought!" "There must be some magic protecting it," Vereesa murmured. "Could it be possible to use magic to destroy it?" "It would have to be a powerful spell. But I don't have enough mana, unless I have another artifact—" He thought of Krasus, oh no, the pendant Kryostrasz gave to Vereesa , but he didn't bring it with him when he and the red dragon came back.Besides, Ronin had doubts about how useful it would be.Best to find what Deathwing gave, and the pendant that Black Dragon gave was also lost in the mountains—

But he still has gems set in it!That gem made from the scales of Deathwing! "Only by it!" he begged, reaching into his pocket. "What did you think of?" Falstad asked. "This!" He took out the humble gem, but they didn't pay attention to it at all. "Deathwing made this gem out of a part of himself, just as he made the Demon Soul out of his own magic! Maybe it can do what nothing else can!" As they watched, Rhonin approached the disc with the gem.After hesitating about what to do with the gem, he decided to follow the first rule of his craft: to try the easiest way first. The black gem seemed to glisten in his hand.He turned the gem on its sharpest side.Luo Ning clearly knew that this method might not succeed, but he had no choice. Carefully, he ran the gem across the center of the evil. Deathwing's scales sliced ​​through the solid gold surface of Demon Soul like a blade cutting through butter. "Be careful!" Vereesa pulled Ronin away in time, only to see a strong light suddenly erupt from the incision. Rhonin felt a huge surge of energy from the cracked artifact, and he knew he had to act quickly, or the energy would be lost forever. He uttered the spell, tweaking the spell over and over again.The mage was fully focused, he didn't want to and dared not make a mistake at such a critical moment.This spell has to work. A strange rainbow shone, rising continuously, and flying into the sky.Luo Ning recited the spell again, trying his best to emphasize the result he wanted... The blazing light had now risen a hundred feet into the air, circling there—and flying toward the fighting dragons. "Did it work?" the ranger asked panting. Rhonin stared at the distant figures of Alexstrasza, Deathwing, and the other dragons. "It should have worked—I hope so..." "Haven't you experienced enough? Are you still planning to continue fighting against invincible forces?" Deathwing looked at his opponents with complete disdain, and the slightest respect he had for them had long been forgotten.These idiots kept banging their heads against the wall in vain, though they all knew their strength wasn't enough even combined. "Deathwing, you have caused too much pain, too much tragedy," Alexstrasza retorted. "Not only for us dragons, but also for those mortal races in this world!" "What do they mean to me—and what do you mean to me? I still can't understand!" She seemed to shake her head helplessly. "No...you'll never understand..." "I've had enough with you—and all of you! I should have gotten rid of you four years ago!" "But you didn't! Making Demon Soul also made you weak for a long time..." He snorted coldly. "But now I have regained my full strength! My plan for this world is progressing rapidly... After I kill you all, I will take all your eggs and create a perfect world that belongs to me! " In response, the red dragon attacked again.Deathwing laughed, knowing that her spell, as before, could do him no harm at all.With his own strength and the protection of the plate armor inlaid under the dragon skin, no one can hurt him-- "Ah!" Her magic attack came violently with unexpected force.Not even the armor of adamantium did much to soften the terrible blow of the attack.Deathwing immediately unleashed a powerful shield to resist, but he was already damaged.His body endured pain it hadn't experienced in centuries. "You did - what - to me?" Alexstrasza was a little surprised at first, but then a knowing smile appeared on her face. "What I just did is exactly what I have dreamed of doing for years!" She looks bigger and stronger now.In fact, all four of their dragons underwent the same changes.Heilong felt chills in his heart, he felt that his originally perfect plan seemed to have made a fatal mistake. "Did you feel it? Did you feel it!" Malygos repeated over and over. "I'm back to myself! What a great thing!" "It's time~!" Nozdormu replied, his jewel-like eyes gleaming with unusual brightness. "Yes, it's time!" Ysera opened her enchanting eyes, so compelling that Deathwing could only avoid meeting her gaze. "The nightmare is over," she murmured. "Our dream is finally becoming a reality!" Alexstrasza nodded. "What we lost, has been returned to us. Demon Soul... Demon Soul no longer exists." "Impossible!" roared the dragon. "Lies! It's all lies!" "No," the red dragon corrected. "The only lie that needs to be corrected right now is your so-called invincibility." "That's right," Nozdormu said bitterly. "I've been trying to prove that's a ridiculous theory..." Deathwing found himself being attacked by four elemental forces he had never seen before.Now he is no longer competing with the opponent's afterimages, he is facing the full flanking attack of the four guardian dragons, and their strength is equal to his own - a joint attack that he cannot resist at all. The suffocating cloud from Malygos wrapped around the black dragon's throat and nostrils.Nozdormu accelerated time on Deathwing, causing him to endure the years and years that drained his strength.His defenses had been severely damaged by those attacks, and Ysera could easily invade his mind and lead him to his worst nightmares. Only then did Alexstrasza fly up in front of him, like a Nemesis descending.She glared at Deathwing, still with a hint of pity in her eyes, and said, "Life is mine, black dragon, and I, like all other mothers, know the pain and hope it brings! In the past For years I watched my children be raised as instruments of war and mercilessly slaughtered when they were incompetent or disobedient! I lived knowing that many lives were lost , there is nothing you can do about it!" "What you said has nothing to do with me," Deathwing roared while struggling needlessly, trying to escape the attacks of other dragons, "It doesn't matter!" "No, quite the opposite...and that's why I want you to taste all the pain I've been through..." She walks the talk.Against other attacks, even from Ysera's Nightmare, Deathwing has some resistance.But facing Alexstrasza, he has absolutely nothing to do.Her attack was accompanied by pain, her own pain.Her pain was not something he could understand, it was the torment each of her children suffered when they were snatched from them, each child was trained to be a terrible war machine. And the torment of their death. "You will go through what I have gone through, black dragon. See if you can take it a little better than me." But Deathwing experienced no such pain.Pain struck where claws and fangs couldn't reach, biting at the depths of his being. The most terrifying dragon in the world let out a shrill scream that no one had ever heard before. Maybe it was that scream that saved him.The other dragons were so shaken by the yell that they paused their spells.Deathwing finally broke free, turned and fled, flying away at great speed.His whole body was still trembling, and he kept screaming, and finally disappeared from sight quickly. "We can't let him escape!" Nozdormu suddenly came to his senses. "Follow him, chase him!" Malygos replied. "I agree," said the Dream Queen quietly.Ysera looked at Alexstrasza, who was still circling, marveling even at herself. "elder sister?" "Yes," replied the red dragon. "Use all means to chase! I will catch up soon..." "I understand……" The three guardian dragons turned and flew away, constantly speeding up to catch up with the deviant black dragon. Alexstrasza watched them fly away and wanted to join them immediately.She didn't know if they could end Deathwing's deeds forever, even with full power back, but Deathwing certainly should be restrained.Now, however, she has other things to attend to. The Red Dragon Queen surveyed the sky and the earth, and finally saw the person she was looking for. "Cleostrasz," she called softly. "You didn't become Ysera's dream after all..." Had they fought alone, the dwarves might have faced another fate.Of course they could hold on for a while, but the orcs not only far surpassed them in numbers, but also had much better physical strength.Years of crawling underground have strengthened Rom's tribe in some ways, but also drained them in others. It was a blessing, therefore, to have a mage, a skilled elven ranger, and their mad distant relative riding the clawed and beaked griffin at their side.Now that the Devil's Soul has been destroyed, the three of them each used their housekeeping skills to help those simple and honest copperbeard dwarves turn the tide of the battle. Of course, every time the orcs prepared to reorganize their offensive, the red dragon swooped down and helped a lot. Grim Batol's remnant orcs finally raised their flags and surrendered. They knelt in front of the victors in dejection, and what awaited them was inevitable death.Lom, with his hands in bandages, might be the one to execute the captives, after all many of his countrymen and friends died, including Jim.Still, the leader of the dwarves is at the beck and call of others—who would disagree with a dragon? "They will be escorted to the west, where Alliance ships will take them to the concentration camps that have been established. Enough blood has been shed today, and there will be more in North Khaz Modan..." Cleostrasz looked tired, very tired. "Today I witnessed too much bloodshed, thank you..." When Lom promised to do so, Cleostraz turned to Ronin "I will not tell anyone your secret, Krasus," said the young mage. "I think I understand why you did that." "But I will never forgive myself for the mistakes I made. I only hope that the queen can understand my choice..." The dragon reluctantly made a movement that resembled a shrug. "As for my position in the Kirin Tor, I need to think about it. I haven't figured out whether I want to stay or not, and the truth of this incident will definitely come out at least partly. They will think that I sent What you are going to perform is not a simple investigation mission." "So what's the situation now?" "There are too many things... The Horde still controls Dan Algaz, but this situation should be over soon. After that, if we have the chance, we will restore the world to its original state..." He paused, Then he said. "In addition, after today's incident, the political situation will almost certainly undergo some changes." Cleostraz glanced at the slightly uneasy little people in front of him. "And now I want to say that, in fact, our Dragon Clan is the same as everyone else, and it is the culprit that caused these changes." Rhonin wanted to press on, but he saw right away that Kleostraz would not answer those questions.After seeing Deathwing and the red dragon's ability to incarnate as a human, the mage will never doubt that this ancient race has had a profound impact not only on humans, but also on elves and other races. "You have a quick mind, Rhonin," said the dragon. "You have always been an excellent student..." At this time, a huge shadow passed over the crowd, and they had to end this conversation.For a moment, the sensitive mage thought that Deathwing had managed to escape capture and was back to avenge his defeat. However, the huge dragon hovering in the air was not black, but the same crimson color as Kleus Strasz.