Chapter 53.2 - Reader: The call from the artifact. (1/2)

Chapter 53.2 – Reader: The call from the artifact.

black dragon

A black dragon with the dragon spear

Xiu and Du Ze dismounted and walked towards the black dragon. Up close, they saw that the dragon’s body was unusually large. Du Ze’s entire body was only as big as half of its claw. He touched the dragon’s scales; they were as hard as armor. Xiu climbed up to one of its front paws, the silver-blue dragon spear in front of him.

The voice calling out to him was becoming louder and louder. Xiu clutched his temple, wrinkled his brows, and grabbed the handle of the spear with his other hand.

The noise quieted down. Xiu took his hand from his temple. Beneath the hand that was touching the dragon spear, a feeling rose up and made all the blood in his body surge as though it was communicating with something. He fell into a trance. This dragon spear recognized him, or recognized something in his blood.

Before he realized it, Xiu had pulled out the dragon spear. Du Ze felt that the black scale under his hand was no longer like cold steel. It began to warm up and the dragon’s body started moving slightly. It felt … alive. Du Ze had no time to react before Xiu jumped down and grabbed him, quickly running away.

“Hilda-”

The roar echoed in the cave, like thunder. Du Ze was shocked to see the black dragon come alive – how can it still be alive?! Xiu stared at the black dragon’s nilin. It had no wound and the knowledge he gained from touching the dragon spear told him why: the silver-blue dragon spear can cut off time, not just matter. The spear’s previous wielder had stabbed the black dragon to seal him, not kill him.

After the black dragon shouted out that name, it looked around in consternation, as if he didn’t know why he was here. When the black dragon saw Xiu and Du Ze, he smashed his front paws into the stone ground and stretched out his long neck, staring angrily at the two men below.

“Where’s Hilda? Tell me where Hilda is!”

Du Ze saw that the black dragon was blind in one eye; a long scar ran across its left eye. The black dragon’s remaining right eye looked at the dragon spear in Xiu’s hands and its expression became ferocious.

“You can wield it? What’s your relationship with Hilda? Are you her new dragon rider?”

The Black Dragon opened his mouth angrily, as if to swallow Xiu.

“First an elf, now a human! Why does Hilda always sign contracts with you tiny creatures? Even getting rid of me. You don’t deserve Hilda. She’s mine!”

When the dragon had angrily roared out that name, Du Ze had thought Hilda was his enemy, but now he knew he was wrong. Hilda seems to be a female dragon that the black dragon likes but he was sealed in here by Hilda after they quarreled.

Facing the furiously roaring black dragon, Xiu’s voice was very calm. “I don’t know Hilda.”

“Only Hilda and their Dragon Knights can pick up this dragon spear!”

Du Ze’s heart leapt. Xiu is not a dragon knight, so he and Hilda must be related by blood. Judging from the black dragon’s words just now, Hilda was with an elf – this must be the Moe Lord’s elf and dragon ancestors that he saw in the Time Corridor! Xiu also seemed to think of the Time Corridor’s murals. He looked at the spear in his hands. This is Hilda’s, his…

When Xiu did not respond, the black dragon wanted to rage but heard the sound of wings. A golden dragon flew down and squinted at the black dragon. This was just the beginning. More and more dragons, of all different colors, came flying down, filling the entire cave. They folded their wings and perched on the cave’s many protrusions, surrounding the black dragon.

“So you’re not dead, Muir.”

When the golden dragon landed, the black dragon just looked at him and continued asking Xiu: “Where’s Hilda?”

The golden dragon was infuriated at being ignored by the black dragon and raised its voice: “Hilda is dead!”

The black dragon roared with rage: “Shut up! How could Hilda die?!”

“Hilda is dead, Muir. When you helped the red dragon to eat her dragon rider, you had her cornered.” The golden dragon’s voice taunted: “Hilda put the dragon spear into your body, then she chased after the elf.”

“If you talk nonsense I’ll bite your neck off!”

The black dragon glared at the golden dragon and golden dragon returned that fierce look.

“Hilda is dead, I saw it with my own eyes! She dug out her own nilin! Her blood flowed for three days and three nights while she lay crying beside the elf’s mutilated corpse. She wouldn’t let anyone approach!”