Chapter 146: True Dragon: Lord of the Twilight Kingdom [VIP]
This is a quiet world.
The sky seemed to be fixed in the moment of dusk, maintaining a drowsy and lazy state. The sun always kept its posture of setting but not yet setting, dyeing the surrounding clouds into a variety of colors.
A soft color like smoke was flowing in the air. Wherever it passed, whether it was flat grasslands, dense forests, rolling hills, or sparkling rivers, there were no settled humans, no human fields, and no orchards.
Because this is the Twilight Kingdom, the land of demons.
The demons have lived here for generations, thousands of years ago, and thousands of years from now - if the world allows the Twilight Kingdom to continue to exist a million years from now, they will continue to live the same way they do today.
At least, that's what the demons living in this land believe.
"Huh?"
The little demons in the dark shade of the trees suddenly made surprised sounds and widened their cloudy eyes!
A human traveler appeared in the Twilight Kingdom, galloping along the Twilight Avenue.
The horse was a rare purebred, with a strong physique and full muscles. Its head was pointed straight towards the East Continent. The traveler was wrapped in a long black cloak with the hood hanging down, covering his face. Only the texture of the cloak could confirm his extraordinary status.
The wind blew the cloak, faintly revealing the rider's body outline and the sword at his waist, suggesting that the intruder was a human male with a slender build and rich combat experience.
Of course, if the demon had previously disguised itself as a human and visited the Western Continent, and had some knowledge of the recent major events there, it would have been easy for it to identify the human traveler by the glittering white features revealed when he took off his hood to rest.
Lucien, the half-brother of the current head of the Holy Family, the oldest family in the Western Continent, which has been passed down for 357 generations.
As the Grand Marquis of Gora, he officially eliminated the six thousand year curse that lingered over Gora; he liberated Kukuchia, which had been ruled by the "Priests of the Sea God" for hundreds of years, and not long ago, in the name of Emperor Aura I of the Holy Sun Empire, he eliminated the brutal and terrifying Demon Prince, ending the reign of Edmund III, the last monarch of the Yula Dynasty.
However, this rare hero, after completing the great task of saving his motherland from the clutches of the alien demon king, did not hesitate to abandon the country that urgently needed his rule, and rode alone on horseback to the distant East Continent, just to fulfill his promise to his brother.
——As long as you wait for me, you will definitely wait for me.
…
…
(Yaris, are you still waiting for me?)
(By crossing this Dusk Avenue, can I reach the True Human Empire of the Eastern Continent?)
(Or, what I need to doubt most at this moment is myself... Who am I? Am I Lucien, Yaris's half-brother? Am I Xiao Yun from Earth civilization? Or...)
Xiao Yun was surrounded by a strange confusion, so much so that as he galloped on Dusk Avenue, the only thing he could trust at this moment was his own intuition and instinct, and the "Tower Master" who had shrunk his body to the thickness of a finger and was wrapped around his arm.
The human named Edmund wasn't lying. I can smell the unique scent of his master's body lingering on Dusk Avenue. Humans equate this scent to the perfume "Bisarua"...
"With your words, I feel relieved."
Xiao Yun let out a long sigh, his thoughts heading towards the distant East.
(Go to the East Continent! Go to the True Human Empire of the East Continent! Find Yaris!)
Thinking that he was getting closer and closer to Yaris, Xiao Yun's depressed mood finally became a little excited.
To ordinary people, the relationship between them might seem strange, even incomprehensible, but in his heart, Yaris was not only a close relative with a blood connection to this body, nor was he just the only confidant with whom his soul resonated.
Yaris represents the most beautiful, deepest and most important feelings he has in this world.
Only with Yaris can he be happy. Losing Yaris is like losing his soul.
After learning from Edmund that Yaris had been taken to the East Continent by the Dragon Emperor, he abandoned his country, which had just ended its war, and left the mess to Ulysses and John Deere in order to find Yaris faster. With the help of the "Tower Master", he chased after Yaris like a bloodhound and broke into the demonic twilight kingdom, galloping forward day and night along the Twilight Avenue, only stopping when the horse grew tired and taking a nap against the wooden stake.
After all, you can't deny the horse a rest.
The "Tower Master" shrank his body into a snake-shaped arm guard that wrapped around Xiao Yun's arm. His empty right eye still burned with a cold black flame, while his left eye embedded with a golden gem emitted a dazzling light.
[Now that I have escaped the constraints of the Tower of Sin, I have finally broken through the dimensional limitations and come into substantial contact with my master. If you can find another golden gem that can serve as my eyes, I will—]
"Will it become stronger?"
【Yes. 】
"Were you loong?"
【……】
The "Tower Master" suddenly fell silent.
Xiao Yun stretched out his hand and carefully touched the body of the "Tower Master" which had shrunk to the thickness of a finger, and felt the bone-chilling coldness.
"Across life and death, let?"
[That's probably it... I've been bound for too long, and I've lost most of my memories. I can only remember the content...]
"Yaris..."
Xiao Yun murmured, recalling once again the illusion of the black snake soaring into the sky, as well as the flames and dark throne of death formed by the dark body swirling around Zang Zhi.
(It’s obvious that the original body of the mysterious gene in Yaris’ body is the owner of the “Tower Master”, the god of death who dragged the world into hell! But none of this matters, not at all... My only concern now is how to find Yaris as soon as possible and rescue Yaris... The “Tower Master”’s intuition about Yaris is a vital aid to my journey to the East Continent...)
Before I knew it, the air had changed slightly.
Xiao Yun frowned and looked around warily: "I feel something approaching..."
[It smells like a demon.]
The "Tower Master" licked his lips and raised his head.
Xiao Yun then raised his head and saw a demon with the body of a human female falcon standing on a high branch looking down at him.
"Who are you?"
"You want to know who I am?"
The harpy-headed banshee laughed a clear and charming laugh. "Your Majesty, if you tell me your name, I will tell you mine."
"I'm not interested in you."
"But I am interested in you, the great human emperor."
The banshee's voice is as charming as her face.
Following the appearance of the banshee, a host of strange creatures began to appear in the shadows of the woods—a lovely flower fairy dressed in leaves and flowers, with transparent dragonfly-like wings; a slender humanoid monster resembling the legendary tree man, its body made of branches, vines, and moss; a dwarf-elf, only as tall as a five-year-old child but sporting a thick beard...
(Finally... they appeared...)
Xiao Yun looked around coldly, the "golden blade" in his arm glowing faintly.
The demons obviously also saw his "golden blade".
They took the initiative to salute Xiao Yun and introduced themselves.
"Greetings, monarch from the human world. We are demons living in the Twilight Kingdom. As you can see, I am a harpy, Sarah. My sisters and I often transform into human women to suck the warm blood of men. This is the Flower Queen, Flora. She was driven out of the kingdom by the flower demon Miranda, and you killed Miranda—"
"Your Majesty, you are my benefactor. You helped me kill my enemy."
The Flower Queen, Flora, raised her head, revealing her delicate and beautiful face. "To express my gratitude, I will satisfy you no matter what you ask for."
"What kind of reward is acceptable?"
"Yes."
"Has anyone recently passed by Dusk Boulevard emitting a scent similar to 'Bisarua'?"
“…”
Queen Flora was stunned for a moment, then bowed her head respectfully. "Are you looking for your brother, the princess who is also famous in our world?"
"good."
"Not long ago, a dragon's convoy carried him through Dusk Avenue."
"How long ago was a while ago?"
"Your Majesty, the Twilight Kingdom is a world without the concept of time. According to foreign time, this incident happened three days ago..."
"Okay, I understand."
Xiao Yun turned around and prepared to mount his horse.
"Wait a moment!"
Sarah the Harpy looked at Xiao Yun aggrievedly: "Can't you stay here for a moment?"
"cannot."
Xiao Yun said without hesitation: "He is waiting for me, I can't let him wait for long."
"But--"
"I have to leave right now."
"We haven't finished introducing ourselves yet."
"I came to the Twilight Kingdom to pursue him, not to meet you—"
"We can provide you with all kinds of assistance."
Sarah blinked, her eyes filled with love and admiration. "I can fly high in the sky, detect enemies in advance, and sing for you when I stop. Flora knows every water source, every nectar and fruit. The foolish tree man can drive away wild beasts and poisonous insects along the way..."
"My family has a pair of golden wristbands. Like your 'Golden Blade', they are made of Rhine gold."
The dwarf suddenly spoke.
“…”
Xiao Yun was startled by their words. "Why are you offering to help me? Aside from Flora, there's no favor between you and me."
"Because we have been waiting for you. The moment you entered the Twilight Kingdom, we felt the great power from ancient times." "Especially the golden wristband that has been kept by my family for generations—"
The dwarf said respectfully, "Long ago, a god gave the bracer to my ancestor. He told him that its true owner would return to this world in the future. If the dwarf took the bracer for himself, the Twilight Kingdom's never-ending twilight would come to an end."
【snort! 】
The "Tower Master" suddenly let out a low hum.
All the monsters immediately bowed their heads in their own way, like subjects saluting their monarch.
(——Are they afraid of the "Tower Master"?)
Xiao Yun took the golden wristband presented by the dwarf without hesitation and put it on his wrist.
As soon as the wristband touched the wrist, it immediately turned into a stream of light and merged into Xiao Yun's body.
The "Tower Master" who was holding Xiao Yun's arm nodded with satisfaction.
The harpy watched the scene intently, seemingly full of anticipation.
However, Xiao Yun rejected it.
"I don't need your company, Sarah."
"Why?"
"Because I don't want to wake up and find you eating on top of me."
"……His Majesty!"
Sarah the Harpy shouted, "But you accepted the dwarf's gift!"
"I just took back something I left with the dwarfs in their homes years ago. At least that's what the dwarfs said."
"All right!"
The harpy tilted her head unhappily: "Flore, His Majesty doesn't like us."
"His Majesty just doesn't like you, he didn't reject me."
The Flower Queen flew to Xiao Yun's shoulder and asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, may I go with you?"
"you--"
"I can smell every flower within a hundred kilometers, including the scent of Her Royal Highness the Princess."
“…”
Xiao Yun was a little moved.
"The scent of Her Royal Highness the Princess is similar to the perfume 'Bisarua', but they are actually two completely different scents."
"You actually know all this?"
"Your Majesty, not only do I know that the scent of Her Royal Highness the Princess is different from the perfume 'Bisarua', I also know that Her Royal Highness the Princess' body is subject to the Gods' Forbidden Rule. Because of this Forbidden Rule, no known external force in this world can cause substantial harm to Her body. Conversely, Her body cannot leave the Sun Empire for long, let alone enter the Great Desert of Death, until—"
"Until what?"
"The restriction of the gods on Her Royal Highness the Princess has been contaminated by the Demon Prince and is beginning to break down."
The harpy shouted, "After the gods' restrictions collapsed, his body was freed. He could leave the Sun Empire and even travel to the Eastern Continent. However, without the protection of the restricted cage, he would be in great danger."
"When the dragon's carriage carried him through Twilight Avenue, he was in a deep sleep, like a shining orb. If the entire Twilight Kingdom combined were no match for the dragon, we would have attacked the dragon's carriage and snatched this peerless orb."
(Sleeping... yes, Yaris said that he has the ultimate trump card called "Magic Sleep".)
(After activating "Demon Sleep," his body will fall into a state of absolute sleep in a very short time, forming a hard barrier on his body. No known worldly power can break through the barrier and harm him, even if he is taken back to his lair.)
(However, the "Demon Sleep" state can only last for two years at most... and... I have no doubt that a two-year sleep will cause new damage to his already weak body...)
"...The situation in the Twilight Kingdom is dire. Our world lies on the border between day and night, relying on the constant shifting of light and darkness to survive. However, in order to bring Her Highness back to her lair as quickly as possible, the dragon forcibly crossed our world, leaving a terrifying darkness along the Twilight Avenue... Fortunately, His Majesty has pursued Her Highness here—all you need to do is follow the path He has taken, and the light within you will naturally dispel the darkness He has left behind, restoring the Twilight Kingdom to its original order."
The banshee Sarah chattered incessantly, revealing a strong admiration.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to stay by your side forever and do anything for you."
"I'm not interested in you."
"But--"
"Stop talking."
Xiao Yun turned around and glanced at the horse, which had rested sufficiently. "I should set off now."
"Are you really not interested in me at all?"
Sarah the Harpy muttered, "I can lead the way."
"It's enough to have the 'Tower Master' and Flora leading the way."
"I can protect you!"
"I can protect myself."
"Well, I hope that when I see His Majesty again, you will have successfully rescued Her Royal Highness the Princess."
"Thank you for your blessing."
As he said that, Xiao Yun jumped on his horse and said goodbye to the demons.
"goodbye!"
…
…
After parting with the demons, Xiao Yun walked along Dusk Avenue for a period of time that, according to Fuluoer's estimation, was equivalent to two days and one night in the mortal world. When he was riding his horse across a stream, he suddenly felt a strange sense of heaviness, as if his body was falling rapidly due to the acceleration of gravity.
——Of course, the surrounding scenery did not actually change at all. The flower queen Flora who was resting on his shoulder also flashed and disappeared out of thin air as if there was a problem with the TV signal, and returned to normal after a moment.
"call--"
The horse's hooves landed and stopped steadily. Xiao Yun immediately asked Fuluoer: "What happened just now?"
"Your Majesty, we have successfully arrived at the Eastern Continent."
“…So soon?”
"The Twilight Realm exists on the dividing line between day and night. There is no passage of time in this world, and naturally no concept of space in this world."
"Are you saying that the stream we just crossed is the boundary between the Twilight Kingdom and the real world?"
"Yes."
Flora said cautiously.
Xiao Yun looked up and saw that the sun, which had always been at dusk, had unknowingly fallen into the valley. The translucent moon quietly climbed up the hillside, and night was about to fall.
The air also changed imperceptibly.
The surrounding scenery is still lush mountains and forests, bright blue lakes, and flat and soft grasslands, but the laziness and tranquility of the twilight kingdom are no longer to be found. Instead, there is the hustle and bustle of the human world, full of a vitality that is both exciting and unsettling.
"I see, this is what 'Twilight' in Twilight Kingdom means..."
Xiao Yun suddenly understood.
…
As night fell, Xiao Yun followed the starlight and found a small wooden house that had been abandoned for who knows how long.
He tied his horse to a big tree next to the cabin, ate some dry food and wild fruits, wrapped himself in a cloak, held his sword and prepared to go to bed.
Ding-a-ling! Ding-a-ling!
The bright sound of bells rang out outside the wooden house, accompanied by the sound of horse hooves and rolling axles getting closer and closer.
Creak—creak—
The sound stopped in front of the wooden house.
Xiao Yun's sleepiness suddenly disappeared. He sat up straight and stared at the wooden door that could be pushed open at any time.
Outside the door, the voices of young men and women talking could be heard.
They used the language of the East Continent, but fortunately there was a system for simultaneous translation.
"—A horse tied to a tree? Someone in the house?"
"There's only one horse. Even if there are people, there are at most two people. It shouldn't be."
"Yeah, but it's better to be careful."
"You're quite right."
As they were talking, the wooden door opened and a man and a woman came in holding a lamp.
Both of them were wrapped in black cloaks and looked very slim. As soon as they entered the house, they immediately looked at Xiao Yun, who was also wrapped in a black cloak with a hood covering his face in the corner of the wooden house.
"Who are you! Why are you here?!"
"This room has no owner, anyone can use it."
Xiao Yun said coldly.
Under the dim light, the two people, who were extremely nervous and within the system translation field, had no idea that Xiao Yun was using the language of the Western Continent, which they did not understand.
“This guy—”
The man glared at Xiao Yun in dissatisfaction.
After making sure that Xiao Yun had no hostility towards them, he and the woman went to the other corner of the wooden house.
The man took off his cloak and spread it on the ground.
"This room hasn't been cleaned in who knows how long. It's dirty and dusty."
"This place is close to the Twilight Kingdom, and almost no one lives here. We're lucky to find an abandoned wooden house here."
The woman sat gracefully on the floor covered with a cloak, opened her bag, and took out some dry food and water: "Samit, give this to that gentleman."
"Why?"
The man was somewhat reluctant.
"This is the edge of the Twilight Kingdom."
"All right."
The man took the rations, walked up to Xiao Yunbai, and asked reluctantly but politely, "Hello, do you know the entrance to the Twilight Kingdom?"
These two people wish to become residents of the Twilight Kingdom. However, humans who rashly enter the demonic realm usually become food for the demons.
Flora, hidden in the shadow of her cloak, giggled evilly.
(Searching for human men and women from the Twilight Realm?)
Xiao Yunan raised his head and looked at the young man named Samit.
He looked to be no more than twenty years old, with regular features, a resolute gaze, and dark yellow skin. He wore a rich oriental-style robe that reached his calf. His fingers, turban, and belt were all decorated with gold, and the scabbard of his sword was also inlaid with gold and gems. The surface of his boots was covered with dust.
While Xiao Yun was looking at Samit, Samit was also looking at Xiao Yun.
Looking at the graceful chin, lips, nose bridge and cheeks that gradually emerged from the shadow of the hood and came into view due to the movement of raising the head, Samit took a breath when he suddenly realized that the language used by the other party was not the common language of the East Continent!
(He’s a man, yet so handsome, and he’s using a language I’ve never heard of, yet I can clearly understand what he means—)
"Are you a demon?"
Samit blurted out!
"Um?"
Xiao Yun was stunned.
"You must be a demon!"
Samit shouted excitedly, then knelt on the ground and begged, "Please take us into the Twilight Kingdom. We are willing to be your slaves!"
The woman who was traveling with him also walked quickly to Xiao Yunbai and took off her cloak, revealing her beautiful young face and thick black curly hair adorned with numerous jewels. "Master Demon from the Twilight Kingdom, please take us in!"
"I don't understand what you're talking about."
Xiao Yun looked at the two of them speechlessly.
Flor flew out of the shadow of her cloak and surrounded the two men, laughing loudly: "Do you know what a foolish request you have made? Humans actually dream of becoming residents of the Twilight Kingdom!"
"us--"
"What do you want? Eternal youth?"
"Quiet!"
Xiao Yun interrupted Flora: "Humans wouldn't desire to become residents of the demon world for no reason. They must have their reasons."
"I'm so sorry, Your Majesty..."
Fuluoer quickly lowered her head and asked Xiao Yun for forgiveness.
When the woman heard Fuluoer address Xiao Yun as "Your Majesty," her attitude became even more humble. "Samit and I know that humans shouldn't dream of becoming residents of the Twilight Kingdom, but we have nowhere else to go now. We beg the Lord of the Twilight Kingdom to accept us."
“Why is there nowhere to go?”
Xiao Yun asked back, "You don't look like people living in poverty by the way you're dressed."
"We are certainly not poor, but our family wants to send me to the Holy City to serve Her Majesty the Queen... Samit had no choice but to bring me here to escape from my family and ask for acceptance into the Twilight Kingdom."
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