Academic gathering with a lich-Chapter 608 - 561: The Newborn Dragon Priest

The flickering bone wings scattered the flying gravel, and three-fingered dragon claws gripped the ground. At the joints of the ancient dragon’s claws, a human skull faced Kolosis, emitting a cold phosphorescence from the pitch-dark eye sockets. This skeletal creature, resembling a giant dragon, crouched down, its bones clearly visible to all without the covering of skin and flesh. It was a Bone Dragon assembled from human skeletons, with skulls of the firstborn dragon at the shoulders, wrists, joints, and ribcage, each skull casting a sinister gaze upon Kolosis.

The Bone Dragon and the Giant Gemstone Dragon were similar in that they both could emit light.

Only, the latter radiated the brilliant light of gemstones, while the former, the ghastly gaze of the deceased from the grave.

The Bone Dragon’s jaw touched the ground as Dragon Priest stepped upon the bony hands that stretched out from between the Bone Dragon’s teeth, walking step by step onto the ground. Magic Chains, signifying rank, wrapped around the dragon’s trunk. Four segments wound around the limbs, while the remaining three emerged from Dragon Priest’s back, coiling around the massive Bone Dragon. The seventh chain bound the Bone Dragon’s skull, linking Dragon Priest and the Bone Dragon together.

"Trouble you’ve caused, Scholar," the pale death power of the Seven Locks rank wrapped around the dragon’s body, making him look like a grim reaper in a white robe.

"Congratulations, Dragon. Since you’ve reached the Seven Locks, that also means... you’ve met the minimum standard of a Dragon Priest," the Scholar spoke to the dragon, but his mask faced Kolosis. A sinister premonition arose in Kolosis’s heart as Mr. Scholar’s bronze mask nodded slightly.

"He is yours now, Dragon." Mr. Scholar floated up, moving himself above the sandpit, and the earth and stone he gathered buried the weakened Giant Gemstone Dragon alive. The dragon certainly had strong Magic Resistance, but this attribute also depended on the spellcaster’s skill and power.

The sandpit filled with rocks, and the Scholar continued to clench his hands. The stones heeded his command, pressing together, clutching the Giant Gemstone Dragon in the palm of the earth, with the rock rising high, leaving only a dragon head exposed on the surface.

The Scholar was employing his magic, Dragon Priest, having learned to contain his newfound power, approached the frenzied Dragon Priest.

In the face of their common nemesis, both sides maintained their composure. One side possessed assured calmness, while the other a silent stillness with no retreat and only battle as an option.

Behind the gemstone mask, Kolosis’s voice was no longer as wild as before.

"You, are the replacement chosen by the council for me?"

"No, I am much stronger than you," Dragon Priest patted his new creation. The Bone Dragon disintegrated and turned back into a large group of humanoid minions, standing behind the dragon. He pulled out a two-meter-long giant Bone Scythe from his pocket, the crescent blade reflecting the cold light of the moon. Dragon Priest slowly approached, his fingers gently touching the blade, which froze moisture into frost.

"Not using your new power, Dragon Priest?" Kolosis lifted the Mercury Stone Staff, holding it horizontally before him, "I will, with all my might, finish you off."

"I don’t want my new pet to get hurt, and besides, I don’t need it to break you. I am enough on my own." The hand holding the Bone Scythe hung naturally, its tip aimed at the fully focused spellcaster. The dragon leaned forward, like a jumping spider encountering prey, lifting its fangs and lunging violently.

A white specter charged at the mage, leaving only a fleeting streak of sword light in the air.

"Crystal Spikes!" Kolosis swung his staff, as the Crystallization beneath his feet grew spikes, suddenly ambushing the charging dragon.

"Too slow!" The first spike shattered under the Bone Scythe, and the dragon twisted his body, allowing the second and third spikes to pass through the gaps in his ribs. A fan-shaped Bone Shield formed on his left arm, fanning away the remaining spikes. Using the force of the strike, the dragon turned on his axis, beginning to rotate left. His white bone armor blocked the raining spikes, his strength transferring from his left arm to his torso, then to his right arm, finally reaching the raised Bone Scythe, and then, it came crashing down fiercely.

"Proliferation Barrier!" The descending blade broke through five layers of crystal barriers, finally, its tip stopped just before Kolosis’s forehead. An astonished Kolosis pushed the barrier sideways, and in the process of repelling the dragon, detonated the crystal.

"Spear of Bones!" Amidst the explosion, several white bone spears tore through the smoke, slicing through the air towards the Dragon Priest.

Kolosis’s crystal veered off the bone spear’s aim.

"Bone Burst." The Dragon Priest, having anticipated the move, raised a barrier and retracted it without a scratch.

On the other side, the unscathed Mr. Giant Gemstone Dragon also climbed out of the crystalline pit, the bones of his skull clicking, his soul flame growing more vigorous. He had found the thrill of battle once again.

A new round of clashes began! Explosions, shards of bone and crystal danced in the air, as the swift-as-a-shadow Mr. Giant Gemstone Dragon and the immovable Dragon Priest collided with spells time and time again. The collision of spells meant that Mr. Giant Gemstone Dragon’s flesh collided with gem spells.

After several collisions, Kolosis finally understood what kind of monster he was facing. The dragon was utterly tireless; even the most powerful explosions didn’t faze him. Worse, his speed was increasing constantly, and the gem spells were gradually unable to keep up. Kolosis narrowly avoided the dragon’s three slashes using crystal teleportation, but he wasn’t sure if his reflexes would be fast enough to cast spells in time next time.

Soon, the perilous situation arose again. Before the blade even fell, half of Kolosis’s body had sunk into the crystal. Through the mirror-like surface, he saw the suddenly magnified skull of the dragon, which seemed to be smiling, a chilling smile.

"Touch of the Dead." A bone hand infused with the power of death curved into a claw, piercing into the mirror surface where the Dragon Priest’s image still lingered. The death force disrupted the crystal’s structure, denying that piece of crystal from its crystalline lineage in that instant. In that moment, while still inside the crystal, the Dragon Priest witnessed the dragon shatter that piece of crystal.

Among the exploding debris, the dragon’s hand held a skull wearing an ancient mask.

"Got you."

The dragon gripped Kolosis’s head with one hand, dropped the Bone Scythe with the other, and clenched its fist. In Kolosis’s fearful gaze, the fist hammered into the body of the Dragon Priest.

The fists rained down like a torrential storm, and Lyle was watching from not too far away, his cherished mentor, laughing maniacally as he reduced the Dragon Priest to smithereens.

"No! No! No!!! This is not how my end should be, Lord Koranac! Please... forgive me..."

The completely obliterated Kolosis uttered his last words, and the Dragon Priest mask on the Giant Gemstone Dragon’s fist shattered, turning into a cloud of light dust that rose from the remnants of the Dragon Priest, forming a dragon-shaped shadow.

"Soul of the Dragon."

Sensing Mr. Giant Gemstone Dragon’s intent, the Soul of the Dragon roared and plunged into the dragon’s body.

The Dragon Priest ritual began. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

A new mask formed on the dragon’s face, and with it, power and memories surfaced in his mind.

They were the combined memories of the dragon Conanlark and King Manu Kolosis.

As well as the bond between the Giant Gemstone Dragon and Manu.