Chapter 1209 - Hidden Secret (1/2)

“Why… is Mother here?”

Gazing at the Dark Dragon who seemed to have sunken into an eternal sleep, Erin couldn’t conceal her bewilderment. Angelina shifted her gaze from Erin to the Dark Dragon, but didn’t say a word as she sauntered to the side. As an ex-citizen of the Country of Darkness, it went without saying that she understood the higher authorities of the country well. Just like how dragon soul heirs of the Country of Law were born from the Spirit Tree, dragon soul heirs of the Country of Darkness were born from the dragon family. However, the number of wyverns was small, with less than 20 remaining in this generation. Besides, the wyverns basically spent most of their time sleeping. Unless it involved a moment of life and death for the Country of Darkness, they would never show themselves. If Erin weren’t Ion’s younger sister, she would only be one of the wyverns, sleeping away and wouldn’t roam the world.

Angelina more or less knew who Erin’s mother was. After all, Erin’s mother was the one who gave birth to a Creator Dragon, so she naturally was one of the revered figures in the Country of Darkness. It was said that she died of a serious illness but now, it turned out that she was actually imprisoned here. Well, Angelina wasn’t too surprised by how the truth played out. After all, her family was also destroyed by her own relatives—no, perhaps such ruthless family plots were common occurrences for vampires in the Country of Darkness. That was why Angelina went to the side silently. Anyway, this was Erin’s private affair, so Angelina was better off not interfering and acting as though she didn’t see anything.

“Mother?!”

At that moment, Erin wasn’t in the mood to care about Angelina anymore. She stared at the Dark Dragon in shock. She was aware of the news of her mother succumbing to a serious illness and didn’t feel like anything was amiss. That was because even though dragons were vigorous, whenever they were sick, it was always caused by a serious illness. When Erin heard news about her mother’s illness and rushed back home to visit her, she was already dead. It was Ion who was responsible for arranging matters. Back then, Erin was frustrated by her mother’s passing, so she passed everything to Ion’s care. It was then when Ion received the inheritance of the dragon soul and officially became a dragon soul heir.

But now, it seemed like the truth was otherwise. Erin was certain that it was her mother right in front of her now and not an illusion. The familiar scent, aura, appearance, and everything. She was sure that it was indeed her mother!

“… Who is it…”

As though she heard Erin’s call, the seemingly-unconscious, enormous dragon lifted her head slowly, opening her eyes and gazing ahead. She looked with dazed eyes for a few moments, before barely gaining clarity and locking onto Erin dubiously.

“… Who is it…”

“Mother! It’s me, Erin! Why are you here…? And why did you end up like this?!”

Looking at the Dark Dragon who was covered with wounds, Erin bit her lip tightly and her head was in a total mess. As a matter of fact, she wasn’t naive. She instantly guessed the actual issue after facing her mother. Back then, she was also present at her funeral. According to the customs of dragons, all dead dragons would be sent to the Dragon Valley for burial, which was why Erin didn’t see her corpse. According to Ion, their mother died a horrible death to the illness and it was hard to look straight at her. Erin didn’t wish to see the unfortunate state of her mother, which was why she accepted Ion’s advice. But now, she recalled that the funeral was full of loopholes.

She had heard rumors and gossip, but they were gone entirely after Ion became the dragon soul heir who ruled the Country of Darkness. Erin thought the rumors about her big brother were spread by jealous people, which wasn’t uncommon in the Country of Darkness, after all. Besides, there also wasn’t any concrete evidence to back up the rumors. Of course, everyone was prohibited to head to Dragon Valley and dig up the corpse because only dragons who were on the verge of death could open up and enter the sacred venue. In other words, Erin would need to bash herself up thoroughly in order to enter Dragon Valley and investigate the rumors, which was naturally impossible…

“… Erin…?”

Upon hearing this name, the Dark Dragon’s eyes glinted, before drastically turning dim.

“… Erin… I have heard… this name… from… somewhere…”

“Mother?”

Gazing at the condition of the Dark Dragon, Erin gnashed her teeth and swept glances at the surrounding swiftly. Shortly after, she discovered moss-green radiances flickering from the large steel chains binding the Dark Dragon. They were apparently the reason why her mother turned into this state! Erin hesitated no more. She extended her arm to draw the sword, leaped up abruptly, and raised the sword high. She targeted the steel chains and flourished the sword with might!

Clang!

To Erin’s astonishment, the moment the tip of the blade came into contact with the steel chain, a powerful energy exploded from the surface and deflected the blade strongly. Erin was stumped, but didn’t give up just yet. She gripped the hilt with both hands and a dazzling ray as pure as moonlight erupted from the blade. She brandished the sword from above but in a loud clang, the blade glanced off again.

It failed again?