Conquest of the Dragon Sovereign

As Feicui Long moved, at the front of the city a massive horde of beasts emerged. At first, they had been waiting at the edges, but with the roar of the great beast, they marched forward. There were beasts of all kinds, yet for some reason, the normally chaotic creatures were not disorganized this time. They all followed a specific order.

At the front moved the beasts focused on defense, such as rock rhinoceroses, iron or rock elephants, earth turtles, iron bulls, and many others, with a great variety among them. Behind them were support beasts along with melee-specialized beasts, like wood deer, green foxes, and others among the support beasts. As for the melee fighters, there were blood bears, steel-spiked lizards, wind gorillas, and a bit further back, beasts specialized in ranged attacks and mixed combat. The ranged attackers included ice eagles, venomous salamanders, and several more, while the mixed-type beasts included fire wolves, lightning pumas, and others.

It was almost like watching a mortal army with different types of soldiers and formations. This was one of the most terrifying aspects of leader-type beasts, their ability to command all kinds of creatures, and combined with their great intelligence, they could devise fearsome tactics.

Soon, another terrifying roar sounded ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR, and the beasts advanced in their positions without breaking formation, as if they were trained soldiers. The mortal races of the Habsburg Empire on the city walls of Vienna responded with all kinds of ranged attacks, from arrows made of different materials and energy arrows to spells, elemental, psionic, and spiritual attacks, as well as shots from various materials and energy rifles. But perhaps the most powerful were the mighty energy cannons bombarding the beasts. However, there were so many of them, and some were so strong that they could not even slightly slow down the horde. The stronger ones quickly adapted and protected the weaker ones while they recovered thanks to the support beasts and returned to the front.

Even so, several beast corpses lay on the ground, but the others stepped over them as if nothing had happened. Soon, they would reach the walls. In this desperate situation, the most powerful cannons located in each tower prepared to fire, but that was when the third roar came ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. From the forest, moving at an almost imperceptible speed, three to four giant bears with incredibly beautiful fur of a color reminiscent of the moon came rushing out and intercepted the cannon fire as if it were nothing.

The commander on the wall watched in horror as there were four beasts at Mythical Realm Grade 1, all of them adult Lunar Rock Bears. With them leading the charge, the beasts advanced even faster. Every time one of the large tower cannons gathered enough energy, these beasts would either block the shots or use their abilities or techniques to stop them, shielding the horde from damage.

…

While all of this was happening, Feicui Long kept running as fast as he could, even casting the Light Feet spell on himself, not caring if he exhausted his energy. Though he had to keep taking energy recovery pills and mana potions to sustain it, he could hear the roars and tell that the beast was growing impatient. The tremors he felt, despite being so far away, indicated that a massive battle had broken out.

It was when he started to tire that he finally caught sight of the great lunar rock bear he had seen before, back when he was on the verge of death. Only a few meters remained, but at that moment, he simply began walking slowly, carefully ensuring that there were no other creatures around. Once he was certain, he entered the area where the lunar rock bear was—a space filled with fallen trees arranged in a circle. It seemed that just the impact of her roars had caused such destruction, though the sight didn't surprise him.

So, Feicui Long walked forward with slow, steady steps, exuding confidence and pride. He was getting closer and closer to the bear, yet he wasn't afraid of a surprise attack. He was 100% sure that she had already detected him. The Spirit Palace realms had something called a spiritual detection area, and while there were ways to hide from its automatic tracking, its power increased when used consciously. Ironically, it was also possible to conceal oneself from that as well, but that wasn't an option for him. He neither had the power nor any artifact, medicine, or tool to do so.

For that reason, it was obvious that her spiritual detection area had already locked onto him. If she hadn't done anything yet, it was likely because she didn't see him as a threat, or more likely, because she was being cautious due to Huo Baoshi.

Whatever the case was, it didn't matter to him. So, when he got close to the bear, Feicui Long spoke with confidence: "Hey, you want your cub back, don't you?"

The lunar rock bear didn't answer him; she simply kept looking straight ahead.

But Feicui Long didn't find that strange: "I could give your cub back to you if you want… in exchange, you'll have to do what I say."

This time, the lunar rock bear turned around and looked at him before speaking in the mature voice of a grown woman: "Pfff, and what could you possibly do? You couldn't even handle mere beasts from the elemental realm."

Feicui Long responded without falling for her provocation: "Yeah, yeah, I might be weak and whatever you say, but do you want your child or not? If not, I'll just leave and let you be."

The lunar rock bear spoke again: "You sure have a lot of guts for someone so weak, don't you think? I must admit, it's pretty brave of you to come here alone. But how are you going to bring my child from the city?"

Feicui Long said: "There's no need to go to the city. I already have him here with me. So, decide now—do you want him back, or should I leave? Hurry up, I'm very busy and don't have time to waste."

The lunar rock bear directed a powerful spiritual pressure at Feicui Long. This time, it was difficult for him to withstand, especially due to a mix of exhaustion and the beast's close proximity. Although his special soul dissipated part of the effect, it was still dormant and not as effective. Cold sweat began to run down his back, and his legs weakened slightly.

Yet, through sheer willpower, Feicui Long remained standing and said: "Then, if you want him, you'll have to sign this." Feicui Long placed his palms on top of each other and slowly opened them, revealing a contract with the same seal he had used with Leader Eltein.

The lunar rock bear looked at him with suspicious eyes and smiled. She slowly approached Feicui Long when, all of a sudden, a thick mist began to rise. As the mist enveloped the bear, her figure started to disappear. Then, a slender woman's silhouette, with wide hips and ample breasts, began to take shape as she walked. When she finally reached Feicui Long, she leaned her head out of the mist, which then started to dissipate.

With that, her face was just inches away from Feicui Long, and a beautiful face emerged from the mist as she spoke: "And… did you ever imagine that it would be easier for me to just kill you?"

Feicui Long, unfazed, opened his mouth: "If you really wanted to do that, you would have done it from the beginning, wouldn't you? More importantly, I know that lunar rock bears and lunar bears have a very strong bond with their offspring, especially mothers, and they are capable of sensing them. It's impossible that you didn't know your cub was in my possession, and yet, you did nothing. That means you don't dare to kill me because of the phoenix from that moment, isn't that right?"

The lunar rock bear changed her mocking expression to a more serious one upon hearing that and replied, both annoyed and serious: "But I could kill you quickly before she can do anything, especially from this distance."

This time, it was Feicui Long's turn to smile as he spoke with a certain disdain in his voice: "Oh, is that really what you think? I don't believe you dare. For starters, you care a lot about your children, don't you? Both the cub I have here and the other four on the battlefield are your children. Are you sure you want them to be killed… and for you to die as well?"

The bear now looked him in the eyes seriously and said: "But you are alone here. There is no one to protect you. By the time I return, I will already be gone."

Feicui Long replied mockingly: "Pfff, who said I'm alone?"

From deep within the Golsen Forest, an ear-piercing screech erupted without any attempt to restrain it. SCREEEEEEEECH! This time, the screech was so loud and powerful that it echoed everywhere. The previous roars of the lunar rock bear seemed like a timid child's whisper in comparison. The screech spread rapidly, reaching the ears of millions of people living in Vienna. But not just them, the sound extended to all the surrounding areas, from the Golsen Forest to other forests, mountains, and deserts, even reaching the distant maritime zone.

But what was truly terrifying was not the eagle-like screech, but the overwhelming pressure that came with it. An unprecedented, unmatched, and utterly dominant force descended upon all creatures hostile to the city. The aura and pressure released by the mother lunar rock bear were nothing but child's play in comparison. If one were to compare them, it would be like lifting a few grams of dirt versus having an entire planet placed on top of a person. The pressure was so immense, so terrifying that it forced the lunar rock bear to collapse onto the ground, lying motionless and unable to move.

Meanwhile, on the battlefield, all the beasts halted and fell, lying flat and trembling. In other places, the same sight could be seen, the usually noisy and dangerous areas now seemed like quiet, desolate graveyards.

After this, Huo Baoshi emerged from the Golsen Forest, flying majestically over Feicui Long and the lunar rock bear. She took a glance around and then soared forward until she disappeared from sight.

Feicui Long smiled joyfully, it seemed he had guessed correctly. Huo Baoshi had advanced to the demigod realm. He had already sensed it from her divine presence, but he had not been certain since his cultivation was too weak to perceive it clearly. However, this did not surprise him, as back when he still lived in the sanctuary, Huo Baoshi had already reached the earthly immortal realm.

Even though she had not undergone an evolution, a rare occurrence for eastern fire phoenixes and beings such as the most basic dragons, or even the lunar rock bears themselves, who were innately born at the epic realm, it was not unusual. These creatures are born with a cultivation level in the epic realm and naturally reach its peak upon adulthood. Despite this, their bloodlines are so powerful that they can easily transcend the legendary and mythical realms, reaching the spiritual palace realm and even going beyond into the astral soul or astral spirit realms. However, from the astral soul realm onward, these creatures become increasingly rare, and the higher the realm, the rarer they become.

In the pure realm, they are uncommon. In the saint realm, they become rare. In the sacred realm, they are exceedingly rare. In the earthly immortal realm, they are extremely rare. In the true immortal realm, they are hyper rare. In the divine immortal realm, they are ultra rare. And in the demigod realm, they are supremely rare, almost impossible to find... yet even then, it is still possible to encounter divine realm beings among them.

The reason why their rarity increases so much is because, first, their current bloodline does not have the strength to take them any further. Second, their cultivation techniques lack the capacity to do so. Third, they do not have the necessary treasures to advance or evolve. And fourth, every time a beast or another race breaks through beyond the level they can naturally reach upon adulthood, they have a minuscule chance of evolving or mutating on their own. This chance increases when breaking through a realm, and the further apart the realm is, the chance increases exponentially until it reaches almost 99.99999%.

This makes Huo Baoshi, who reached the demigod realm, a special case. For some reason, she has not evolved despite all predictions, and this is also the reason why people tend to underestimate her.

That being said, it was no longer important. Feicui Long, smiling, crouched down and looked the lunar rock bear in the face. He even leaned in a little closer so that his face was near hers and said, "See? I'm not alone, so... will you sign or not?"

The lunar rock bear, both embarrassed and angry, replied, "Bastard human, don't get too full of yourself. I'll only sign if it doesn't contain anything that puts my freedom or that of my own children at risk."

The lunar rock bear managed to stand now that the pressure was gone and sat down, watching him cautiously.

Feicui Long, knowing he could not delay any longer or she would realize that Huo Baoshi had left, spoke more politely, "Don't worry. The contract doesn't contain anything that requires you to do anything for me, nor is it meant to make you a slave or anything like that. It only ensures that you take the beast horde, leave the city, and return to your original home."

The lunar rock bear shuddered for a second, almost as if she had been caught, and then feigned ignorance, saying, "What do you mean by that? Are you suggesting that my home isn't around here?"

Feicui Long said with a serious face, "Don't play dumb. I know the Golsen Forest very well, and right now it not only lacks a leader-type beast, but the previous one was killed a few years ago. Besides, a lunar rock bear has never been seen in the Golsen Forest before. You're not from here, and you know it. You intended to take control of this forest and expand your territory all the way to the city, didn't you? But you were caught off guard when you left your temporary home, and some humans stole your cub. You lost your patience because of your bond with them, and now we're here. I just want you to leave and abandon your ambitions toward Viene and its lands. In exchange, you'll have your cub, and you can leave without any problems. Isn't that fair?"

The lunar rock bear, shocked, froze. How could this insignificant human figure out her intentions so quickly?

What she didn't know was that Feicui Long was originally a dragon. Although dragons were originally a separate racial clan and could still be considered as such, they eventually became part of the beast clan. The foundation of the beast clan was built using dragons and part of their power over the skies. Because of this, they are also considered part of the beast clan. But it's not just a matter of recognition—since the supreme divine authority of the beast clan also affects dragons, they truly are a part of it. Dragons coexist with other beasts and understand them perfectly, sharing many traits. The most similar case is that of the phoenixes. On top of that, the one he was closest to, the one he had the best relationship with, was the supreme god of the beast clan. Because of this, he understood the way other beasts thought very well.

Surrendering, the lunar rock bear simply took the paper, read it, and bit her finger, letting a drop of blood fall onto the seal. With the contract signed, Feicui Long retrieved the cub from the luxurious spatial cage it had been kept in. Although there were various storage methods besides cages, such as bags or medallions, for those who were not tamers, summoners, necromancers, or creators of golems and puppets, those with such abilities had special dimensional spaces where they could store or release their creatures at will. Others had to use such containers unless they took a creature as their companion or familiar. Judging by the luxurious design and the use of a cage, it was obvious that the one who wanted to tame the cub was likely a highly influential noble, as such items were very expensive. In any case, Feicui Long released the cub and let the mother take it.

After that, with her cub in her arms, she let out a roar, not as angry this time, but loud enough for all the beasts, including her sons and daughters, to hear. Roaaaar! At last, the beasts, still trembling, began to retreat in an orderly manner, following the lunar rock bear's children. She herself also returned to her beast form and quickly left with her cub on her back. It wasn't just because of the contract, she no longer wanted to be near Feicui Long. She felt that something bad would happen if she stayed any longer.

…

Shortly after the bear left, Feicui Long sighed in relief. Not only had he prevented a disaster, but more than anything, he hadn't lost his new "home" so quickly. After all, his "house" was very close to the branches of the Triple Union. In fact, that was the main reason he did it, not because he was a good person or considered himself a hero. Feicui Long had always seen himself as someone neutral with a slight inclination toward good, but not much beyond that.

At some point, Feicui Long spoke to himself and said, "Good thing I stopped that bear from causing trouble. She was worse than I imagined. She had already mastered human transformation… Her great control over it meant she had a lot of experience, which reveals she had considerable talent. If I had let her grow unchecked, this city wouldn't be standing in just a few years." Feicui Long finished speaking, a bit worried.

The reason behind his concern was that the lunar rock bear had mastered the human transformation ability too quickly and very few races, not only beast clans but all racial clans in general, were born with this ability and although today it is known as the human form since the creation of humans by the magic clan, in reality, this form did not have that name and at the time it was and still is a very advanced technique, that as mentioned, very few races were born innately with it. This technique originally belonged to the three original races and was passed down to their first creations and these were inherited in some races and species, the dragon and phoenix clans are examples of these clans, but not all have that fortune, for example, the wolf clan and the bear clan, not all species and races as such have it, only very few.

And that includes the lunar rock bears that do not possess it, that means that to obtain the transformation they must acquire it, there are different ways, learning it from a normal skill book or scroll in the old-fashioned way which is a very slow and difficult process or through a version of these same ones for instant use that teach it to you immediately but these are super rare and expensive, another is by devouring the origin core of someone who possesses it, but the probability is even lower than finding an instant teaching book, another is that someone who already masters it teaches it to you whether they have learned it or were born with it, but that would be complicated if they are not of your species since many of those who have it innately are extremely proud and in fact, it is a matter of pride for them, there is also the option that a deity or god grants it to you but that is also rare, of course, there are all kinds of treasures but the same thing happens as the previous ones, they are very rare.

Besides the previous ones, there are four more ways that are the most "accessible", one is that you learn it at once by breaking grade, another that you learn it by ascending to a new realm, another that you obtain enlightenment while cultivating or breaking grade or realm, and the last that you enter in harmony with the laws you cultivate and can learn certain secrets that will allow you to know them.

But despite all that and being more "accessible," in reality, none of them are, since they depend on luck or, in the case of enlightenment or harmony, on one's talent. And that is why it stood out so much to Feicui Long. The faster a beast obtains the ability despite not being born with it, the more it means that either it was very lucky or it has extremely high talent. And high talent combined with being a leader type is almost like a guaranteed winning bet.

That being said, Feicui Long had no mind to keep thinking about all this. It was getting late, and he just wanted to go home. He took the cage with him, which, although not very useful to him, held great value and could possibly be used for some of its materials. As for whether the owner would come looking for it, he doubted that they would even dare to appear. The disaster that almost happened had probably already reached the duke's ears, and the duke was one of the most influential and powerful people in the empire.

In fact, the duke was originally supposed to be here only for a while, but he took it upon himself to protect the city, which gave the imperial family headaches since he refused to return to his duchy. However, it was impossible for them to make him go back, as his cultivation was among the strongest. But more importantly, he was a rare type of genius the way mortal races liked to refer to leader types.

Additionally, he was a genius strategist, and as such, the duke took his duty very seriously. He was known as "the lion" for a reason. If the duke found the noble responsible, his head would roll regardless of his rank, so that noble would not be returning to Vienna for a long time.