chsdbacks Page 58
Page 58
Unless it's like the battle with Julius, where they bite open Balagas's neck and pour their full-power dragon breath into its chest, Casalos can't find any other way to harm an Ancient Red Dragon. But to engage in melee combat with an Ancient Red Dragon that's been fully enhanced and has become as tough as steel...
Casalos isn't crazy.
It dodged Baragas's straight-down dive with a right-hand roll, using the opportunity to spiral upwards with great force. Waiting for Baragas to re-climb and catch up, it turned sideways at a small angle and swooped down to pass it head-on, using the horizontal, crashing motion of its flames and gravity to quickly create a huge distance. Then, Casalos summoned a high-level wind elemental, which shaped itself into a dragon armor form and attached itself to its body. Riding the wind, it soared away at several times the speed of Baragas's flight.
Elemental armor is the second enhancement branch derived from the top of the Elemental Master talent tree after mastering the true essence of elements. Armor shaped by different elements can bring different properties and powers. A coat of high-level wind element allows Casaloz to fly at speeds exceeding 300 km/h for extended periods, making it impossible for Baragas to catch up, even with indiscriminate teleportation.
Watching helplessly as the iron dragon cub that had tricked him drove away, Balagas unleashed his fury on the grassland, destroying countless flowers and plants in the process.
“You wait, you iron dragon cub, I will find you, capture you, skin you, eat your flesh, pull out your bones, and chop your entrails into pieces and scatter them across every inch of Faerûn…”
"Of course, I will definitely wait for you."
Casalos glanced back at the vast expanse of land ignited by the red dragon's breath, then soared into the sky, completely disappearing from Baragas's sight.
The author says:
Author's note: Acute renal colic...
It feels like I haven't had a good day in the last few years... my luck just keeps getting worse every day, sigh.
83. Reputation Farming Plan
Two days later, Casalos, dressed as a tall adventurer warrior, carried a large sword and swaggered into the West Gate of the city under the watchful eyes of the city gate guards.
Two days was enough for Casalos to confirm that he had shaken off Baragas's pursuit. While Flame possessed a unique magical talent for luck, its strength lay not in searching, scouting, or tracking, but rather in avoiding danger. Otherwise, a dragon as reckless as it would normally have been wiped out by some meddlesome, powerful group long ago.
The encounter with Flying Flame was purely accidental. It does not yet have the will or strength to confront the Primordial Red Dragon head-on, and is under the watchful eyes of many. It is better not to expose its power too early. Therefore, after confirming that it has gotten rid of this trouble, Casalos has finally chosen its short-term action target and arrived at the port city at the easternmost part of the Traders' Road, West Gate City, which is located at the junction of Dragon Lake and Falling Star Sea.
Its reason for choosing West Gate was simple: every year, a large number of Harpist spies disappeared there, and the Harpist Alliance had long been keeping an eye on the area. West Gate was clearly a good place to farm Harpist reputation. In addition, it wanted to try its luck and see if it could find any important information that might have been left behind.
Westgate is an ancient city, having witnessed the rise and fall of several dynasties. Its recorded history in human society can be traced back directly to the time of Netheril. But Casalos also knows that before the archmages of Netheril conquered it, it was a city ruled by dragons, perhaps the last legacy of the dragon age in Faerûn.
Casalos planned to infiltrate Westgate as an adventurer, uncover a few conspiracies, then reveal his dragon form and eliminate the mastermind—a simple, direct, and effective plan. However, events seemed to have deviated slightly from his plan.
"It seems this city is not very welcoming to adventurers."
Looking at the "thug" who had blocked him at the entrance of an alley, whose body was filled with a strong aura of shadow negative energy and who was at least level seven or eight in a shadow-related profession, Casalos couldn't help but sigh: "Indeed, a bunch of shady thieves, of course they don't like meddlesome guys."
"Outsider, what are you muttering about over there?" A man leaned against the wall of the alley, his butterfly knife whirring in his hand.
“Who says we don’t welcome adventurers?” Another man, with his hands in his pockets—he was wearing ripped jeans that didn’t quite match the style of Faerûn. The fashion sense of Isis, the supermodel, had spread to the heart of Faerûn, and it seemed that some of her clothing styles were popular among certain social classes. He chuckled, “But, Westgate has never been a safe place. If you want to get into the city, we’ll have to talk to you about the rules first.”
"What are the rules?" Since the other party was a user of his own product, Casalos did not immediately retaliate against the two-legged ant who had offended him, but asked curiously.
"Ha, you're really an adventurer?" The man leaning against the wall looked exaggeratedly surprised. He walked up to Casalos, wanting to put his arm around his shoulder, but due to the height difference, he had to give up and could only stand there saying, "The rule, of course, is that you pay a small amount of gold coins, and we'll provide you with satisfactory protection services..."
"What if I don't pay?" Casalos's tone turned cold upon hearing about the payment. It decided that if the two tried to fight later, it would simply swallow them whole.
"Hehe, you don't want to?" The man in ripped jeans chimed in, "If you don't want to, that's fine, but what if you get your things stolen on the street, or find a stone or worm in your food, or even while you're sleeping..."
At this point, the man in ripped jeans stopped talking, made a knife shape with his hand and slashed his face before continuing in a sinister tone, "If you come back to us then, it won't be this price!"
"Heh." Casalos chuckled, pushed past the two men, and walked out of the alley, completely ignoring their increasingly gloomy gazes.
What Casalos encountered next seemed to confirm the two thugs' "prophecy." Before he had even walked one street, he was targeted by three groups of pickpockets. He crushed the first thief's hand, kicked the second away, and when the third reached for his backpack, he could only sigh that this approach was not going to work. Then he drew the greatsword from his back and stabbed the third thief through the chest and abdomen, holding his struggling body on the tip of the sword and raising him high above his head. Amidst the terrified screams of passersby, he stood in the middle of the street and shouted, "Go ahead and try! He's your role model!"
He then flicked his sword, and the thief who had been ordered to harass him was cut in two and fell to the ground without a sound.
The brutal act had a deterrent effect, and Casalos was not harassed again until he found lodging. When the city guards arrived, they only questioned him briefly before letting him go. It seems that as long as there is a reason, killing someone in the street is not a big deal in Westgate City—this is the norm in Faerûn City. Places with good public security, such as Deepwater, Silvermoon, and Cormier's capital Alabel, are exceptions.
Interestingly, Casalos noticed that there were a few in the city guard...
Chapter 161
The team members still gave it the same unfriendly look as the guards at the gate.
The Dark Mask's infiltration and control over Ximen City is not yet complete!
After wandering aimlessly around the city, visiting the Mysterious Items Exhibition Hall, exploring the various temples, and then watching a rather unremarkable fight at the underground arena, Casalos, with a long trail of followers, went to the lower city and found a rather dilapidated adventurer's tavern to check into, waiting for the night to fall.
Those who seek to hide prefer to operate at night. Before Suren's light could even shine, the first wave of armed thugs sneaked into Casaloz's room and instantly fell silent.
Then came the second wave, the third wave... Casaloz's room seemed to have turned into a dark house that devoured everything, and all the thieves who went in seemed to be crushed and swallowed up without making a sound.
Finally, the mastermind behind the scenes, who wanted to teach the new adventurers a lesson, could no longer sit still and had to personally lead two of his subordinates to sneak into Casalos's room through the window.
"Hello, nice to see you again."
In the pitch-black room, Casalos sat casually on the bed, greeting the two subordinates behind the mastermind.
The two men didn't respond. The man leading them wore a mask, his eyes carefully scanning the room in the darkness: the adventurer's weapon, the terrifying greatsword resembling a door panel, leaned casually against the door. The thieves who had entered earlier were all gone, and there were no signs of a struggle...
84. The ways of the dragon
The masked man's aura felt familiar to Casalorus; his magical "aura," blending seamlessly with the shadows, was similar to that of the kobold assassins trained by the Charson family, but far more obscure and dim. Casalorus wouldn't have detected it unless his perception of magic was exceptionally sharp. Clearly, this was an assassin who walked in the shadows.
Casalos tentatively asked, "An assassin?"
Upon hearing the question, the assassin frowned, and the power of shadow gathered around it, ready to erupt at any moment.
"Although it's not your vampire master, it's still quite good that an assassin has come."
Before he could finish speaking, the assassin had already stealthily moved to Casalos's side, a dagger like a venomous snake in the darkness biting upwards at his neck. In comparison, the two thieves Casalos had seen during the day reacted much slower, but still far beyond the average person's ability. Each of them carried a short sword, coordinating with the assassin to attack from both sides.
"Hehe, why the sudden rush? Assassins aren't a profession for head-on combat."
Casalos still wore a relaxed smile, but his eyes had turned a deep indigo with vertical pupils. The edges of his iron-like, plate-like dragon scales flashed across his face, and a terrifying aura instantly enveloped the room before vanishing without a trace leaking out. The assassin and two thieves were completely thrown to the ground, fear overwhelming their will and rendering their bodies trembling and unable to move.
The ability to partially transform body parts into dragon forms when not in their original form is an additional ability of elementalization, greatly enhancing Casalos's safety in other forms. This is the biggest reason why Casalos, who suffers from mild paranoia, was willing to use human form to enter the "danger zone" this time.
"Dragon's Might is quite effective at dealing with two-legged ants, but unfortunately..."
It sighed, then crouched down and patted the assassin's face to bring him back to his senses. It then placed its hand on the two thieves' bodies, its palm revealing the true form of a winged hand. The disintegration spell was activated on its wingtips, instantly separating the two men into basic particles that dissipated into the air. Witnessing this tragedy, the assassin's trembling body stiffened slightly; he finally understood where the intruders who had entered the room had gone.
The intelligence was seriously flawed. The warrior who was judged to be a big, dumb guy was actually a mage with advanced spells and high-level casting skills. We need to find a way to get this message out!
Even amidst the panic of forced incapacitation, the assassins remain mindful of their duty. They are essentially a group of death warriors who have undergone devilish training since childhood, their will and minds twisted by dark magic, their eyes fixed solely on their master's mission, never prioritizing their own safety.
The assassin shuddered and curled up, pressing one hand underneath to cover himself, and tremblingly used shadow magic to write some coded message on the stone ground.
Sensing a faint and eerie fluctuation of magical energy, Casalos stood up and lifted the entire object, using his restored dragon eyes to examine the ground. However, the completed minor spell vanished without a trace as the magical energy dissipated. It seemed that, apart from specific methods, only archmages specializing in shadow magic could uncover what the assassin had done here.
"what have you done?"
Somewhat annoyed, Casalos grabbed the assassin by the neck and pulled him close to his face. Frowning at the hidden disdain and indifference to death on the assassin's face, Casalos suddenly felt relieved and threw him back to the ground.
"Forget it... It doesn't matter what you did, I'm going to crush the 'Dark Mask' completely anyway."
After speaking, Casalos walked to the door, picked up the +2 magic greatsword he had been using as a decoy, and before the assassin could break free of the Dragon's Might effect, he stabbed him through the back and chest, then lifted him up, opened the window, and used brute force to shove the greatsword handle into the wall, making the assassin's corpse flutter like a banner in the moonlight.
The clear, cold light of Suren was tinged with a crimson hue, and the ancient city of Ximen was suddenly filled with unease.
The Mask of Night, a notorious evil organization on the continent of Faerûn, is currently plotting to secretly take control of Westgate City. Like other evil forces throughout history, the Mask of Night has set their sights on Westgate City's wealth potential. Westgate City guards the vital trade route between Dragon Lake and the Fallen Star Sea, serving as a trade hub for the surrounding countries and regions of Sword Bay and the Fallen Star Sea on the continent of Faerûn. However, the nobles who govern the city are as corrupt and old-fashioned as the nobles of any ancient city, easily manipulated—or, to be more accurate, these ancient nobles have long since fallen into decadence while constantly reminiscing about their glorious past, losing the vigor and ambition of younger noble families. They only want to cling to their existing wealth and power, lacking the courage to take risks. They don't care about evil or good; as long as someone can promise to protect their existing status and wealth, they won't hesitate to support them as the new rulers. And those who can make such promises are often evil forces adept at deception.
Since the Archmage seized Westgate from the dragons, the city has been ruled by various evil beings, including orcs, sphinxes, and the first generation of Tieflins from hell. Yet, the human noble families have endured to this day and will continue into the future. Rulers come and go, but the noble families remain steadfast. Who can say their strategy was wrong?
However, the Dark Masks are different from other evil forces, because this is a force formed by vampires. These guys not only covet the wealth of Ximen City, but also covet its vast population and the ancient noble families themselves. If they can turn the key figures of those noble families into vampires, then the entire Ximen City will belong to the Dark Masks forever.
They have been working towards this goal for a long time. To this end, they first controlled the city's thieves' guild and other rogue organizations, and engaged in criminal competition with the city's business families for more than 20 years. Only recently have they gradually gained the upper hand. Then they set about eliminating the city's harpists, the priests of the temples of the various benevolent gods, and anyone else who might interfere with their plans, turning the entire Westgate City into chaos.
Now, Dark Mask is just one hurdle away from success.
How to destroy an evil force that is about to become the ruler of the city?
Braving numerous risks to conduct a clandestine investigation, racking his brains to overcome countless obstacles while concealing his identity and intentions, he gathers sufficient evidence to publicly expose the crimes before taking the final step.
Chapter 162
A just trial?
Sorry, that's the mindset and behavior of kind-hearted human adventurers. Dragons don't do that, at least Casalos wouldn't.
Casalos's act of hanging an assassin's corpse outside the building was a resounding slap in the face to the arrogant Dark Mask; it was a declaration of war.
85. The Calm Before the Storm
Lady Dalia sat quietly on the cold stone chair, her purple pupils reflecting the dim, flickering light of the torches on the stone fortress walls. Her pale, emaciated body made her as cold as the ancient fortress itself.
creak...
The rotten yet sturdy wooden door was pushed open, and a tall, thin man in a tailcoat hurriedly entered the hall. He prostrated himself on the ground from a distance, crawling all the way to the lady's feet. After kissing her boots, he said in a high-pitched, trembling voice, "Forgive me, my mistress, we have failed."
"Useless!" Dalia muttered under her breath. She slowly stood up, as stiff as a wooden puppet, her long, black hair swaying gently, her high cheekbones making her look even more stern. "Have you found out who that person is?"
"Not yet... not yet. All we know right now is that he's a very strong warrior, but no one has ever heard of him before. He entered the city during the day and was targeted by Kylar because he didn't pay protection money to the thugs. Kylar wanted to teach him a lesson, so he went after 'Brown Viper'..."
“Those idiots under Tybrun’s command, I told you long ago that associating with them would get you into big trouble!” The woman interrupted her adjutant’s report.
Kylar was an adjutant to a count under Duke Thabulin of the Shadows. He was responsible for managing most of the villains within Westgate City, using warnings and threats to enforce Westgate City's underground rules on outsiders. Of course, everyone knew what kind of villains they were; it was perfectly normal for them to extort small sums to supplement their income. But these were minor matters, and Kylar never reprimanded any of them for it. As a result, their behavior became increasingly brazen.
"Brown Viper" is a secret assassin directly under the Dark Lady, also known as the vicious Duchess Dalia. They belong to a different "department" from Kylar, and in the case of a secretive dark force like the Dark Mask, they should not have any interaction.
But assassins are human too, and they need to eat. During a major operation, Kylar made contact with the Brown Viper, and from then on, the Brown Viper frequently cleaned up Kylar's messes, earning some extra money in the process. Dalia had verbally warned the Brown Viper that an assassin who associated with those damned villains was bound to get into trouble sooner or later. It seems the Brown Viper didn't heed her warning.
Now, the carcass of the spotted viper is impaled on the outside of the tavern wall by a large sword.
The outsiders and villains clashed, which was originally the Shadow Duke's problem, and had little to do with her, the Dark Lady. But every assassin of the Dark Mask was personally selected and trained by Dalia… well, actually, she didn't really care about their lives. More importantly, even the Faceless Ones and the other two dukes didn't know that Dalia was actually the Dark Lady Shar's secret bishop in Westgate, and she had long since seduced and led these assassins to become Shar's devout followers. Her goal was to make the entire Dark Mask a convert to the merciless goddess.
Thus, the loss of each assassin was a heavy price for Dalia. Especially since the Brown Viper was her chosen bishop, and this was all over a trivial matter that had nothing to do with her faith, the master she served, or her own ambitions.
Upon seeing the corpse of the Brown Viper fluttering in the night wind like a tattered banner, an enraged Dalia accepted the challenge, ordering her adjutant to deal with the arrogant outsider. Then, the corpses of three more assassins were hung outside the room. She finally realized that this outsider was a powerful being beyond the assassins' capabilities.
"No news from that fat pig, Fultan?"
“I contacted Meredith, but she had no clue about the warrior’s origins either. However, she hinted that the Duke might know something…” The adjutant hesitated at this point. Dalia, who knew her men well, immediately understood what was going on.
"Have you gone to see that fat pig? Just tell me what price he offered!"
The adjutant lowered his head even further, almost touching the ground, and said, "The Duke of Whispers said this information is extremely valuable. If you want to exchange it for him, he wants half of the assassins' control..."
"Roar, this is a dream!" Dalia kicked his adjutant against the wall, roaring with a ferocious expression, revealing long fangs beneath his pale lips.
“Get up, call Maurice and Joshua to wait for me outside the tavern. I will personally contact Tybron and go together. I just hope this will not alarm our master.”
-----
Almost an hour had passed since Casalos had hung the two new assassins on short spears, and he began cleaning his own armor out of boredom, even though there were no stains on it.
The Night Mask organization is tightly structured, with communication between superiors and subordinates primarily conducted through secret, one-way channels, making it virtually impossible to trace back to the higher-ups. Furthermore, Westgate is a vast city, and Casalos couldn't possibly search every inch of it to find the Nightborne hidden among the people.
Fortunately, the Night Masks, poised to seize control of Westgate, have become increasingly arrogant with their expanding power, relentlessly retaliating against any provocation. This has given Casalos the opportunity to wipe them out... no, it knows perfectly well that it cannot eliminate such a force entirely. Its predetermined goal is to capture a few high-ranking Night Masks vampires and hand them over to the Harpist, which will be enough to rack up considerable reputation.
The harpists are extremely interested in a group of vampires who want to rule human cities and raise humans as livestock.
Casalos wasn't in a hurry. After killing two waves of assassins, the Night Masks went silent, which meant they were gathering forces to prepare for a big attack, and everything was proceeding according to its rudimentary plan.
Sure enough, when it wiped the armor a second time, the stench of undead creatures mixed with the smell of blood wafted into its nostrils, which were still partially dragon-like.
Carefully discerning the aura of the newcomer by twitching the armor plates on his nostrils, Casalos slowly donned his somewhat simple and plain armor. He reached out the window and drew his greatsword and short spear. Sheathing the greatsword and inserting the short spear into the spear rest at his back, he tossed the corpse aside like a garbage bag before leaping out of the window.
In mid-air, two dark figures attacked from behind and below. It drew its sword, held it to its waist, and slashed horizontally, spinning around to cleave the probing attack before landing heavily on the stone-paved street.
"Now that you're here, why be afraid to show your face?"
Casalos roared, pointing his greatsword at the dark alleyway where the strongest odor was strongest.
Judging from its aura, the newcomer is not a powerful being that the humanoid form cannot handle. Its primary target, the Faceless One, may not have appeared yet; now is not the time to revert to its dragon form and wreak havoc.
The author says:
Author's note: This random cramping is really awful...
86. Street Fighting
The creature hiding in the dark alley did not reveal itself, but the negative energy that troubled the dragon slowly enveloped the entire street. The sleeping residents affected by the turmoil were plagued by nightmares, and if it continued any longer, they would inevitably become seriously ill.
Vampires' use of blasphemy to pollute the environment is certainly not for tormenting ordinary people. The abundant negative energy makes them stronger and immune to powers that are natural enemies of the undead, such as holy dispel. It can also suppress and weaken non-evil beings within their range to a certain extent.
In the wild, Casalos could simply spit out a blanket of poison to deal with this effect, but now, to avoid scaring away the Faceless Ones, he has to find a way to withstand this disgusting poison.
Chapter 177
It is suspected that this was met with collective opposition and strong resistance from the Sun Elf nobles—from this day on, assassinations and conflicts occurred for the first time in the streets of Mysdrano, and several nobles lay dead on the spot.
Seeing the long-standing peace shattered, the non-elven races realized that the noble Sun Elf families were unworthy to be the new Crown Kings. Although only elves could participate in the Sword Selection Ceremony, some non-elven races, unwilling to accept the broken peace and the shattered dreams of Iltagrim, hoped to stop the conflict from continuing. On the sixth day after the ceremony began, a group of half-elves, dwarves, and humans approached the Tower of Domination. Among them, three men and two women decided to participate in the ceremony, even knowing they would surely die. Unable to fly, they could only ascend the tower via the stairs. At this point, the elves who had once called them friends blocked their path.
The utopia of Mysdronor shattered the moment the elves launched their attack on the dwarves and men.
The Kingsguard were immediately drawn into the battle; some hoped to stop the conflict and uphold Iltagrim's dream, while others sought to "eliminate the non-elf mob." Many good people perished in the clash. In the chaos, nine dwarves and twenty humans ascended the stairs of the Tower of Domination, but an explosion silenced them all. The Tower of Domination, which had stood for millennia, collapsed, and all twenty-nine perished—to this day, no one knows who unleashed the killing magic within the Tower of Domination.
The explosion had no effect on the Crown Sword or the court mages atop the tower; they hovered silently in mid-air, observing the chaos below. The sixth day's ritual continued amidst this confusion, once again resulting in six elves transforming into fireworks in the sky. These six elves were all lowly commoners or servants of noble families, who only wished to salvage peace.