This was not the first time Anbaixiu had seen such an enormous dragon; the time dragon conjured by the Dragon Tyrant Armament had been roughly this size.
And because a bone dragon lacked flesh and blood, it appeared far more "slender."
Yet no matter how slender it was, a single talon of this bone dragon was still larger than Anbaixiu's entire body.
Anbaixiu studied the massive skeleton carefully and soon noted several distinct features. A thin veil of light and shadow enveloped the bones, constantly shifting colors like a rainbow. Furthermore, there was a glaring wound on the bone dragon's right wing, which had nearly severed the entire wing at its root.
This was a bone dragon created from a prismatic dragon. Judging by its size, it had to be an old relic who had survived from the era of the Demonic Dragon Tyrant. The wound on its wing was likely inflicted by those rebellious heroes from back then.
This was a prismatic dragon!
Time dragons, prismatic dragons, and force dragons—these three species were known as the three great legendary dragons because they were legends from the moment of their birth.
Prismatic dragons were born with mastery over light and were exceptionally gifted in magic. They could bend light and shadow to weave illusions, completely concealing their immense frames, and could perform dimensional leaps to slip straight into another plane to evade harm.
A prismatic dragon also boasted extraordinarily high magic resistance, and its spellcasting prowess was the greatest among the three legendary dragon kinds; any random prismatic wyrmling was equivalent to an entire regiment of high-ranking mages.
The heroes of that era were truly formidable, able to bring down a monster like this.
Sefris, Master of the Dragon Tomb, lowered his massive skull. With twin eyes ablaze with soul fire, he gazed upon the ghost ship, sweeping his glance across the deck before locking his sight onto Aige.
In a deep, rumbling voice, Sefris spoke: "Master of the Silent Night Sea, your sudden visit is quite a surprise. I trust you have not come to bring strife to this Island of Eternal Rest."
Aige did not reply at once. Instead, she yielded the bow of the ship to Anbaixiu and introduced him to Sefris: "Lord Sefris, I am merely a ship. The true guest is this one."
Sefris tilted his head to look at Anbaixiu and said with a touch of disdain, "This lich... I assumed he was one of your subordinates. Little skeleton, who might you be?"
Anbaixiu lamented inwardly that a bone dragon had no facial expressions, making it impossible to read what the old fellow was thinking.
Sefris claiming not to know him was almost certainly a bluff. After the battle in the Kingdom of the Unholy Hymn, Anbaixiu's name had surely spread across the world.
A divination wizard capable of banishing an entire kingdom—that feat alone was enough to earn Anbaixiu anyone's respect. So what if he was the Master of the Dragon Tomb? How big was this island anyway?
So why feign ignorance?
An attempt to assert dominance? Or simply... Anbaixiu glanced toward Gareth, and sure enough, saw the Headless Horseman discreetly making hand signals: *Bear with him, consider it a favor you're doing me.*
Anbaixiu understood in an instant.
His situation was different from Aige's. Aige was a powerful neighbor to the bone dragons, the illustrious Master of the Silent Night Sea. But to this old dragon, aside from his identity as a divination wizard and a lich, Anbaixiu had another label attached to him: the disreputable buddy his son-in-law had run off to when he bolted from home.
Seriously? How childish could this old fellow get? As the grand Master of the Dragon Tomb, he cared about such petty nonsense?
Then again, thinking back to the behavior of the Bone Dragon Eldest Miss... every undead in this family had something wrong with their soul; their emotions seemed overly intense.
"Respected Lord Sefris, the name of a minor figure like me is hardly worth mentioning," Anbaixiu said. "You need not pay it any mind. However, our visit today is not merely to catch up with Gareth; we have also come to discuss the matter of the Astral red dragons and the Githyanki with Your Excellency."
Anbaixiu gave Gareth face, choosing not to bicker with Sefris over such childish antics and getting straight to the point.
Sure enough, the moment serious business was mentioned, Sefris's tone shifted. He said to Anbaixiu, "What does that have to do with you?"
"Originally, nothing. But I heard from Gareth that the bone dragons have been harassed by those Astral red dragons. Lord Sefris, I couldn't care less about the feud between your bone dragons and the other dragons, nor does it matter much to us undead whether the Githyanki wish to conquer this world or destroy it..."
Anbaixiu stepped to the bow of the ship and levitated into midair, rising until he was level with Sefris's burning eyes. With immense solemnity, Anbaixiu addressed the ancient bone dragon: "However, we cannot abide anyone provoking the Elegy Poetry Society. You ought to know that your daughter and Gareth are both members of the Elegy Poetry Society. Gareth and Canggu have both helped me in the past, so this time, I have come to help them take their revenge."
Sefris turned his head and glared daggers at Gareth.
The fierce warrior who had just parted the ocean in a wild dash scratched his helmet awkwardly, saying to Sefris, "Father-in-law, you know how it is. I can't let her suffer any grievance!"
Sefris said in fury, "You slaughtered over a dozen red dragons and tens of thousands of Githyanki! Is that still not enough?"
Sefris deeply regretted it; he never should have allowed his daughter to step forward and parley with those Githyanki back then. A moment's delay had been all it took for the situation to spiral out of his control.
Gareth had mounted Canggu and charged straight into the swarm of dragons. Broken scales and severed wings filled the sky. Those Astral red dragons were no match for Gareth whatsoever; in the blink of an eye, they were sliced into pieces by Gareth's chained saber.
Gareth's gear was forged from the most precious materials in the Dragon Tomb, and Sefris knew better than anyone just how formidable it was. Those Githyanki were utter fools—why provoke his son-in-law of all people?
When Gareth went berserk, even mobilizing every bone dragon on the island wouldn't be enough to hold him down.
He had thought that after that incident, the grudge between the Githyanki and the Dragon Tomb would be set aside, and mutual estrangement—each staying out of the other's business—would be an acceptable compromise.
Who could have guessed that Gareth would actually summon other members of the Elegy Poetry Society? Very few had ever heard the name "Elegy Poetry Society," but Sefris happened to be one of them.
Years ago, when his daughter transformed into a bone dragon and became a dracolich, an old man had abruptly appeared in the Dragon Tomb and placed a Necrotic Codex beside her.
Sefris had been shocked to his core. Countless layers of magical wards guarded the Dragon Tomb inside and out; how could a stranger have slipped through, arriving right at the critical sanctuary for the bone dragon's transformation?
At the time, Sefris had intended to incinerate the old man to ashes with dragon breath, but the instant his eyes met the old man's gaze, he felt his entire body freeze stiff. It was as if innumerable shackles bound every single bone, locking him firmly in place.
The old man introduced himself: "No need to be alarmed; I mean your daughter no harm. I am the President of the Elegy Poetry Society. I have come today to invite your daughter to join our ranks. Disturbing the tranquility of the Dragon Tomb is my fault. I have slumbered for too long; my bones are somewhat stiff, and my movements are clumsy. Here is a small token of my apology."
The old man had left behind an inconspicuous ring and departed.
Only after he vanished did Sefris regain the ability to move.
Left with no choice, Sefris had accepted Canggu's induction into the Elegy Poetry Society, and over the years, he had continually sought information about that mysterious President.
Unfortunately, it had all been in vain.
Even the Necrotic Codex could only be used by the chosen; an outsider opening it would see nothing but blank pages.
Still, Sefris had gleaned quite a bit about the Elegy Poetry Society from his daughter. Though its members were few, every one of them seemed deeply enigmatic, and the President in particular possessed unfathomable power.
Later on, Canggu received a distress call from Gareth through the Necrotic Codex.
At that time, Gareth had only recently become a Headless Horseman and was being hunted down by Ryan after exacting his vengeance. He had no idea how he had turned into an undead; all he knew was that upon his transformation, this Necrotic Codex was beside him.
Then came his revenge, followed by the pursuit of the paladin legion.
When Gareth reached out to the Elegy Poetry Society for help, the Bone Dragon Eldest Miss had answered.
In theory, bone dragons were not classified among dragonkind and were not heavily bound by the ancient pact, so they could enter the continent.
Using the Underdark as a stepping stone, Canggu teleported several times and arrived at the border between Ryan and the Desert Kingdom.
She had assumed it would be impossible for Gareth to escape Ryan—that was the Ryan Empire, after all, a formidable nemesis to the undead.
Yet against all odds, Gareth had carved a bloody path out of encirclement. He ran a jagged, meandering route, but he truly fought his way through more than half of the Ryan Empire.
Gareth could no longer remember when he had advanced to legend; he only knew that he had fought back while on the run, slaying countless paladins. But when he finally set foot into that golden desert, he was on his last legs, his dark magic nearly exhausted.
The gravity of crossing international borders gave the pursuing paladins pause for a brief moment. In that very window, Canggu emerged from hiding and whisked Gareth away back to the Dragon Tomb.
The first time she ever deployed her legendary boon in real combat, it turned out to be for saving a life.
Just like that, the Dragon Tomb gained another member of the Elegy Poetry Society.
Sefris regretted it deeply. He never should have permitted Gareth to marry his daughter in the first place—undead getting married was sheer absurdity! Who knew what had transpired between them, but genuine love had actually blossomed between the two undead. If Sefris hadn't consented, Canggu would have run away with Gareth.
Out of sheer helplessness, Sefris had reluctantly accepted this son-in-law.
Gareth was usually fairly well-behaved, but who would have imagined he'd be bold enough to bring other members of the Elegy Poetry Society here this time? Moreover, neither of these two was an ordinary figure. The Master of the Silent Night Sea was a long-time neighbor, and Sefris was well aware of Aige's prowess. Combined with the lich whose fame was on the rise, their arrival clearly signaled an intent to wipe out the Githyanki entirely.
This time, Anbaixiu caught Sefris's hesitation and inquired, "Lord Sefris, I find it strange. Our dealing with the Githyanki has nothing to do with the Dragon Tomb, so why do you seem so opposed to it? If there are hidden details behind this, feel free to speak plainly."
Sefris let out a heavy sigh and said helplessly, "In truth, you have likely already guessed it. The Githyanki and those Astral red dragons came here precisely to lift the dragonkind curse. Opposing these Githyanki is effectively severing dragonkind's path to return. Though I have become an undead, I still hope my kin can leave this godforsaken place and return to their ancestral homeland."
Anbaixiu laughed inwardly. *This was precisely what I've been waiting for.*
Anbaixiu said to Sefris, "Then permit me to ask, Lord Sefris: what exactly is the nature of this dragonkind curse, and how do they intend to resolve it? Perhaps we can find a solution that satisfies both ends."
Chapter 372