The Almighty Ring

Outside the small mountainous valley, Jiang Fei looked for a quiet spot to land. He then requested Isabella to activate the Hidden Shadow so that the two of them could sneak into the valley.

Upon entering the valley, Jiang Fei was wary of getting too close to the small castle. After all, it was the place specifically meant for holding criminals captive. It was obvious there would be some kind of magical trap. If he barged right in, he would undoubtedly be discovered.

“Bella, do you have any ideas?” Jiang Fei and Isabella hid near the castle. As they observed the situation of the castle from afar, they discussed softly to come up with a plan.

“Based on my current observation, it is impossible for us to break through the castle’s defense. We can only wait until they are about to commence the punishment before we can nab the hostages,” Isabella said.

“Alright.” Jiang Fei nodded. Although it was extremely risky due to the short frame of time they had to rescue the hostages, the method was much easier than trying to break into the castle forcefully.

Right then, there were still ten hours of game time before Hua Mulan and the rest would face their punishment of being burned. Jiang Fei and Isabella sneaked around the valley to investigate.

There was a vast open space approximately five miles away from the small castle. There were 500 crosses enacted and a bunch of firewood lying about. It seemed to be the execution spot. Between the execution spot and the castle, there were only plain lands. There was nowhere for Jiang Fei and Isabella to hide.

If Jiang Fei and Isabella were to forcefully attack their opponents during the execution, even with Isabella’s Demonic Naga state, they would only be able to rescue Hua Mulan if they were lucky enough.

However, if they were to attack while the hostages were being transported to the execution spot, Jiang Fei and Isabella might be able to rescue more of the hostages. However, the journey from the castle to the execution spot was a very short one. It would be easy for more of the guards from the castle to engage them. However, if they chose to attack too close to the execution spot, they would still have to pass by the castle on their way out from the valley. If they were delayed during that process, things might turn out even worse.

“It is better to do it here!” Finally, Isabella suggested to attack at a place nearer to the execution spot en route from the castle.

“Alright! All we can do is wait now!” Jiang Fei nodded. The spot they chose was further away from the castle. If they could end the battle fast enough, the guards in the castle may not even notice them. Moreover, the location was also relatively closer to the exit from the valley and would be more convenient for Jiang Fei and the rest to escape.

“Let’s find a place to hide ourselves!” Isabella said. Although they would not be discovered due to Isabella’s Hidden Shadow as long as they were not too close to their enemies, the skill still consumed Isabella’s Mana Points. Even if Isabella had a lot of Mana Points, she could not sustain the Hidden Shadow state for an extended period.

“Alright!” Jiang Fei nodded. The two then quietly sneaked to a corner of the valley.

“Eh? There is a cave here!” Isabella suddenly said.

“Oh? Let’s have a look!” Jiang Fei exclaimed happily. If this cave contained a passage for them to go through, they would be able to escape after rescuing the hostages without having to pass by the castle.

“Yeah!” Isabella nodded and approached the entrance of the cave with Jiang Fei.

“Would there be any magical traps here?” Jiang Fei asked suspiciously.

“Hold on a second!” Isabella said as a dim light appeared in her hands.

Buzz… As the light flashed, nothing odd appeared.

“Alright, there isn’t any magical trap here. I did not sense any living being either.” Isabella laughed. She had just cast a Secret Draconian Spell. It was an ability that she inherited from the Black Dragon Prince’s bloodline.

“Let’s go in!” Jiang Fei nodded as he led the way.

“Yo! I have got visitors!” Jiang Fei and Isabella had only just stepped into the cave when they heard someone speaking nonchalantly.

“Screw me!” Jiang Fei was taken by surprise. He instantly got into his battle pose.

They had only just verified that there were neither traps nor living beings in this cave. However, they were shocked by someone speaking in the cave the moment they walked in.

“Hehe, little kids, don’t panic. We’re all of the same kind!” As the nonchalant voice rang through his ears, Jiang Fei noticed two bright lamps in the deeper end of the cave.

“What the hell is this?” Although the cave was not deep, it was pitch black inside. Jiang Fei could not see a single thing in there.

“Illuminate!” As Isabella shouted, a bright light appeared to light up the cave.

“Holy cow!” As the light appeared, Jiang Fei was able to see the being before him clearly. He nearly fell to the ground from the shock.

The two lamps that Jiang Fei saw were actually a pair of eyes which belonged to a giant golden dragon almost a hundred meters long.

“Seriously. I just told you that we are all of the same kind. Why must you unveil my mysteriousness and ruin the fun?” The giant dragon’s voice still sounded rather nonchalant. Moreover, as the dragon spoke, it let out a breath of air which instantly extinguished the light created by Isabella’s Illuminate spell.

The cave turned pitch black once again. Moreover, as Jiang Fei was taken by surprise by the giant dragon head before him, he did not react in time to check out the fellow’s Attributes. However, from the looks of the dragon’s size, this was not an opponent Jiang Fei and Isabella were capable of defeating.

However, fortunately, the fellow was from the Naga race. Between Isabella and Jiang Fei, one of them was a Demonic Naga while the other was a Halfbred Dragon. Therefore, the giant dragon treated both of them as its own kind.

“Who would you be among the elder Nagas?” Isabella tried to ask.

“Hehe, young one, you are rather lucky. A giant dragon of royalty was willing to cast the Dragon Soul Sacrifice on you!” The giant golden dragon did not answer Isabella’s question. Instead, it scanned Isabella with a look of interest.

As Demonic Nagas originally did not exist in the Naga race, the giant golden dragon was able to see through Isabella’s identity instantly due to its vast amount of life experience.

“It’s all because of me that brother Ignis Straz was…” When the Dragon Soul Sacrifice was brought up, Isabella immediately started tearing up. If not for the Black Dragon Prince’s self-sacrifice, Isabella would not have been successfully revived.

“Haih, that young man… He was indeed a rare Naga. There are very few selfless giant dragons like him.” The giant golden dragon sighed.

“Do you know brother Ignis Straz?” Isabella asked curiously.

“Hehe. Although he is a few generations younger than me, we are both of the odd kind in the Naga race. Therefore, although we have never met, we somehow can relate to each other.” The giant golden dragon sounded very melancholic.

“Elder, you still have not told me. How shall I address you?” Isabella asked once again.

“Me? No one has mentioned my name for a very long time. I am Bennette Straz,” the giant golden dragon said.

“Bennette… What?! You are the Casanova Dragon?!” Isabella was so greatly shocked that she jumped right into Jiang Fei’s embrace.