Chapter 38 The Meeting of the Kings of the Ring Realms (1) Let's get to work, work bag...

Xia Ying stared at the dragon, its eyes brimming with rage, for a while before turning her face away in fear, her shoulders trembling slightly.

"puff."

"..." The dragon turned her face back with displeasure. "What are you laughing at?"

"I think that rather than dragons becoming ferocious and irritable during their heat, they become more insecure and clingy."

Knowing the tricks of soap operas all too well, Xia Ying once again put on her scumbag acting skills, reaching out to hug the giant dragon and expertly soothing its fur.

“It’s my fault, Fafnir. I wasn’t there for you when you needed me most, which is why you felt insecure and lonely…”

The dragon unconsciously moved closer to her, actively responding to her caresses, seemingly enjoying it immensely, yet it wasn't completely overwhelmed by her advances.

"Don't try to change the subject," the dragon said. "Where have you been?"

"They're still not done with it?" Xia Ying couldn't help but feel a sense of awe; they were truly a formidable opponent.

She said without changing her expression, "I didn't go anywhere, it was just a dream."

The dragon narrowed its eyes, clearly not believing her sophistry.

He grasped Xia Ying's shoulders, reaching downwards and slipping his hand inside her waist. Xia Ying was bewildered by his actions when, unexpectedly, the massive dragon lifted her waist and abruptly flipped her over.

Before she could react, Xia Ying was pressed face down into the soft mattress.

She looked up and saw the little dragon who usually accompanied her to sleep not far ahead. She propped herself up and reached out to grab it, instinctively trying to escape the unexpected danger. But the dragon behind her grabbed her waist and pulled her back into its arms.

Fafnir leaned down, buried his face in the back of Xia Ying's neck, and slowly moved down, inhaling the scent of magic essence on her body, finally stopping at her slightly arched lower back due to tension.

“Here.” His fingers slid slowly across Xia Ying’s waist through the fabric. “There’s the scent of magic left by other abyssal creatures.”

"Aren't you completely ignorant about soul magic?" Xia Ying turned her face, gritted her teeth, and smiled at him. "Let go."

“It’s faint, but you can smell it,” Fafnir said to himself. “And it’s kind of familiar; I feel like I’ve smelled this unpleasant odor somewhere before…”

He released Xia Ying, then looked at his hand, lost in thought, seemingly searching for the source of this familiarity.

That was probably the demonic aura left behind by the siren.

While Fafnir was thinking, Xia Ying was also pondering.

By the way, although I don't know the reason, it seems that Charybdis and Fafnir had some kind of feud.

Just as she was thinking this, Fafnir suddenly moved, and Xia Ying's heart jumped...

But the dragon merely clenched its five fingers, somewhat reluctant to let go of the touch, and said with a hint of regret, "I wish you were a dragon, Xia Ying."

"Why?" The question slipped out, but Xia Ying suddenly realized something and immediately regretted it, saying, "Okay, stop talking! I don't want to know!!"

But it was too late. The shameless dragon had already honestly revealed his true feelings: "That way you will have a strong enough body to [do ***] with me, and then [do ***], and [do ***]... until the necromantic cycle is completely over."

“…” Xia Ying said, “How about we talk about where I went just now?”

She sighed helplessly and chose to tell the other party part of the truth: "I was very curious about what the spikes of the 'virus' were, so I conducted some investigations through dream entry."

Just as Fafnir was about to speak, a dark shadow suddenly emerged from a corner of the dragon's lair and attacked Fafnir with great speed.

"Isn't this an invitation to the King of the Rings Conference?"

The invitation slowly turned to ashes in the dragon fire, and the broken runes rose from it, reassembling into several lines of solemn and upright characters.

"This letter serves as a final reminder to the King of the Rings Conference:"

Today's meeting is being held within the jurisdiction of the Maritime Protestant Zone. The agenda is urgent, and your seat is ready. Please ensure you attend on time.

After a long while, the words turned to dust again, and a silver door wrapped in chains emerged from it.

"So today is the day of the meeting." Xia Ying looked at the suddenly appearing door, guessing it was some kind of special teleportation magic. "But why is it in the Tomb Ring?"

“The host of this meeting is the King of the Tomb Keepers.” Fafnir looked like he was finding things a bit troublesome. “And it just so happens to be that paranoid… Well, let’s leave it at that for now.”

Fafnir stood up, and a magical aura shone, transforming his attire from head to toe into a black suit that would be considered very formal even by human standards.

The dark gold-embroidered hairband automatically tied up his red hair, and even Xia Ying had to admit that the dragon looked impeccably handsome at this moment.

But this tall, handsome man was essentially a dragon. Fafnir was clearly uncomfortable in this attire; awkwardly adjusting his tie, he frowned and said, "You stay here for now, wait for me to return..."

Xia Ying stepped forward, adjusted his tie, and then tucked it between the knuckles of her index and middle fingers, gently smoothing it out.

Xia Ying paused when her knuckles slid to the end of her tie.

"By the time you come back, we might have already forgotten about this."

She said slyly, pulling him closer to her with a slight force.

"It seems a bit late to ask now, but Fafnir, how are you doing?"

“The interference from the ‘virus’ has completely disappeared, but the effects of the heat cycle are still a little bit.” Fafnir lowered his head even further, their noses almost touching. “What’s wrong, succubus? Do you have any ideas?”

Xia Ying pushed him away and said coldly, "Go to work. Work cures all ills."

The dragon chuckled, looked away, and walked toward the silver door.

As he approached, the chains wrapped around the door automatically untied, and Fafnir effortlessly pushed the door open and stepped to the other side.

The dragon left its lair, and this series of chaotic events finally came to an end.

Xia Ying breathed a sigh of relief, fell back onto the bed, closed her eyes, and planned to take a nap.

Unlike ordinary teleportation magic that is instantaneous, the silver door bound by chains remained in place after Fafnir left.

It was as if they were waiting for others to come in.

Xia Ying nimbly slid off the bed and walked towards the door, observing it as she went... Compared to the teleportation array, this silver door felt more real and tangible, and the chains wrapped around it looked very real. Xia Ying thought it might be a kind of identification magic that would only open when facing a specific person.

Out of caution, she did not intend to touch the door, but just as she took another step forward, the chains suddenly trembled and snapped.

As the chains snapped, the silver door slowly opened, revealing a magical vortex behind it... Xia Ying reacted quickly and jumped back, but just as she showed her intention to escape, the door actually left its original position and chased after Xia Ying.

Xia Ying stared in shock at the door that was lunging at her, never imagining that a door could be so agile. The door seized the momentary opening and swallowed Xia Ying whole.

The accident happened very quickly. After a dizzying moment, Xia Ying was thrown to a completely new location and landed on a hard stone slab.

Xia Ying stood up and found that the stone slab was not only hard, but also very smooth, and could even reflect her outline like a mirror.

She touched it carefully, feeling a soft, cool sensation on her fingertips.

"This is a gemstone... no, it's jade?" Xia Ying muttered to herself, standing up and raising her gaze from the bottom up.

The first thing she saw was the audience hall below, paved with pure white jade. The hall was almost undecorated, except for the cool, moonlight-like glow, and a silver carpet that ran precisely through the central axis, extending straight forward.

Xia Ying then raised her gaze and saw a vast sky carved from black jade above her head. A huge star tracker was suspended under the night sky, with black iron and obsidian forming a precisely nested circular track and celestial bodies moving within it.

The orbiter rotates silently, and the light and shadow reflected on the ground change subtly and regularly, stable and timeless, leaving no room for doubt.

Xia Ying's gaze returned to where she was now, in front of her a long corridor also made of jade, so smooth it reflected light. It wasn't cramped, but she still felt a little suffocated.

If the portal transported her and Fafnir to the same place, then this must be the site of the meeting of the Kings of the Rings.

In other words, is this a sealed tomb ring?

Xia Ying wanted to ask someone for directions, but for some reason, the jade palace was unusually quiet. She couldn't help but slow her pace, looking around as she went, and soon reached the corner of the corridor.

As she rounded the corner, Xia Ying finally spotted another lone abyssal creature ahead. Just as she was about to quicken her pace, several guards dressed in uniform white robes and carrying spears approached from the other end of the corridor.

Xia Ying instinctively hid behind the corner, and then heard a conversation coming from the other side.

"Who are you? Do you have an invitation or pass?"

The lone abyssal creature hesitated for a moment: "I..."

The sound of spears piercing and flesh tearing was quickly drowned out by its own noise. Blood splattered, and the abyssal creature fell backward. The part of its corpse above the chest came into Xia Ying's line of sight just around the corner.

"The body didn't decompose immediately, so it shouldn't be a disguised 'virus'," said the guard who killed it. "It's probably just an abyssal creature that wandered into the venue by mistake... Oh well, anyway, the King of the Tomb Keepers' orders were to execute all suspicious individuals."

The spear that had pierced its chest slowly withdrew, casually tossing the corpse aside, whereupon blood gushed forth.

Blood was flowing towards Xia Ying, but she did not make any rash moves. Instead, she glanced behind her and estimated the time it would take to cross the corridor.

As she pondered a solution, she overheard a few whispered conversations among the guards.

"The corridor is all dirty. What if the King of the Tomb Keepers sees this..."

"Stop complaining, hurry up and clean it up."

The guards stopped in their tracks, and one of them put down his spear and began to dispose of the corpse with magic.

A good opportunity.

Xia Ying retreated very quietly, preparing to evacuate quickly.

Just then, a spear suddenly shot out from around the corner, grazing Xia Ying's cheek and embedding itself in the wall. The guard shouted sharply, "Who's there?"

Xia Ying opened her eyes wide and turned her head, only to find that her reflection was already visible on the pool of blood, the ground, and the walls.

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Author's note: Happy National Day!