By the time the smoke cleared, the three players had completed their advancement.
As players who possessed only the "Basic Human Stat Sheet," the commotion caused by their advancement was nowhere near as grand as that of Misha, a "Child of the Elements."
At the temples of Xiaye Qiuyu, Art is an Explosion, and Ailong Rufeng, reddish-brown dragon horns sprouted, while the rims of their ears developed frills that tapered into pointed tips.
Their eyes had transformed into slit pupils pulsing with fire, radiating draconic arrogance.
The contracts dissolved, re-emerging across the surface of their skin in the form of magical patterns, tracing ribbons of red-gold markings.
"So pretty!"
"The cosmetics are maxed out too!"
The two female players could not help but exclaim in delight.
Meanwhile, Ailong Rufeng looked rather crestfallen. He muttered under his breath in a voice meant only for his own ears:
"Where's my muscular half-dragon? Why did it turn out to be this humanoid-looking ugly style..."
"*Sob, sob, sob...* My muscular half-dragon..."
"If I go back to the guild like this, they're going to laugh me to death. After going through all that blood, sweat, and tears, I didn't even get a dragon head..."
However, Xiaye Qiuyu was the first to react. Remaining down on one knee, she said to the emperor in human form, "We thank Your Majesty for your boundless grace!"
"We shall become your most devout believers, your most loyal servants!"
"Your power is as deep as the abyssal sea, your stature as majestic as the grand mountains, your wisdom as vast as the stars, your benevolence as radiant as the sun..."
"Indeed..."
As a professional player, Xiaye Qiuyu naturally knew how to maximize her gains, especially now that she was bound to this faction.
Flattering and pledging loyalty never hurt.
The other two players hurriedly followed suit.
When it came to displaying "loyalty," players seasoned by the information age were vastly superior to the natives.
According to official imperial statistics, players already accounted for a staggering eighty percent of the Propaganda Department. Their job performance thoroughly crushed the locals, practically squeezing out any native whose imagination was not wild enough or whose skin was not thick enough.
Cassius gave a slight nod.
"I hope you will not fail my expectations or squander this power."
"Go back. Return to the Tower of Karmic Fire, and make the imperial flames burn even brighter."
He waved a hand gently, stirring spatial ripples as he prepared to teleport the players back to Mount Baras.
But an urgent voice cried out.
"Your Majesty! Please, wait—"
Ailong Rufeng raised his head gingerly, sporting a sycophantic smile.
"Um... Great Emperor Cassius, before we depart, could you perhaps let us gaze upon your majestic, magnificent form?"
"It would be my greatest honor, the lifelong dream of my days—"
By the end, tears were practically streaming down his face as he spoke with utter earnestness.
*It'd be even better if I could touch your tail,* Ailong Rufeng added inwardly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.
Cassius, however, remained expressionless. With a broad wave of his hand, golden-red flames swirled around the players, tearing open space and teleporting all of them straight to Mount Baras.
*Whoosh!*
Right before departing, Ailong Rufeng reached a desperate hand out from the spatial rift, wailing sorrowfully, "Your Majesty! Just let me have one look—just one!"
Noticing that Cassius's expression seemed somewhat off, Misha quickly stepped forward to console him. "Please quell your anger, Your Majesty."
"He was likely just... so devout that he lost his senses."
"I know," Cassius said curtly.
Yet upon closer inspection, one could see the corner of his mouth twitching slightly, revealing a rather helpless grimace.
Devout?
Like hell he was!
Did they think Cassius had never browsed the forums, that he did not know what kind of degenerates the members of the Dragon Lovers Association were?
If he had shifted back into his true form, that guy probably would have risked life and limb to grope his tail.
He was not about to take that gamble.
If such a scene actually played out and got posted onto the forums, the image of a "mysterious, powerful faction leader" that Cassius had worked so hard to cultivate would collapse in an instant.
Once the players were gone, flecks of magical brilliance shimmered over Cassius's body as his form suddenly expanded—only then did he revert to his massive, majestic red dragon body.
When disguised as a human, Cassius found it hard to restrain his overwhelming aura, and returning to his true form made it even more pronounced.
"Human form is so suffocating. Dragon form is so much more comfortable after all..."
He shook his massive frame and stretched his broad wings, instantly feeling thoroughly relieved.
Cassius had lived in the world of Elezerg in the body of a red dragon for more than a decade. He was long accustomed to this form; on the contrary, every time he assumed human shape, it felt foreign and constricting.
"Your Majesty..."
Misha looked up at the red dragon coiled atop the altar, her expression overflowing with reverent devotion.
Recalling Misha's trials in the Elemental Plane, Cassius asked casually, "Misha, did you meet the Sultan of the City of Brass?"
The City of Brass was the most famous realm in the Elemental Plane of Fire, as well as the destination travelers from the Material Plane were most likely to visit.
The city was teeming with powerful efreet, many of whom considered it their home and capital. Even distant colonies swore fealty to the Grand Sultan who ruled over the City of Brass from his burning palace.
"I apologize, Your Majesty."
Misha shook her head slightly.
Hesitating for a moment, she slowly began, "Those efreet were far too arrogant..."
"At first, we stayed in a city ruled by an efreeti noble, a so-called 'malik,' and asked him for directions to the City of Brass."
"Yet that efreeti noble contemptuously referred to me as a 'mongrel with human blood.' Worse still..."
Misha's voice grew increasingly agitated.
Recalling the encounter, flames of fury danced in her eyes once more, and her long crimson hair whipped about behind her.
"He also insulted the great Cinder Empire and... You."
"Oh?"
Cassius showed an intrigued expression.
"What did that efreeti noble say?"
"He said... he said..."
Misha hesitated, but then ground her teeth and said, "He said you were a brainless beast, unworthy of being compared to the efreet. He even claimed your empire was on the verge of collapse..."
"So, at that banquet, I severed the foul-mouthed noble's finger and brought this back for you."
Misha drew the Ring of the Efreeti Noble from her robes and presented it.
A golden ring, flowing with fiery light.
It was indeed a Rare-tier item.
Cassius accepted it. Misha continued:
"Ever since, I was hunted down by that efreeti lord and had to flee all across the plane. He sent azers, efreet, salamanders, and even dispatched an Elder Fire Elemental. But relying on your power, I defeated them all."
Misha lowered her eyelids, looking despondent as she apologized once more.
"I am sorry, Your Majesty. I failed to meet your expectations. Not only did I fail your mission, but I also brought enemies upon the Empire."
"However... any citizen of the Empire would have burned with righteous fury upon hearing such insolence."
Cassius's expression turned rather peculiar.
*As expected of a boss from my past life. No wonder she leveled up so quickly.*
*Good grief. Crashing someone else's banquet, chopping off the city lord's finger in a fit of rage, and then totally wiping out every hunting party sent after her.*
*What kind of protagonist storyline is this?*
The red dragon exhaled a puff of sulfurous heat and stretched his wings slightly, a faint glint shimmering in his pale-gold slit pupils.
"It has been a while since I stretched my limbs."
"Heh... Perhaps it is time for a stroll through the Elemental Plane of Fire."
Chapter 438