Chapter 262: The Value of Life

If he wasn’t already aware of the disguise, Sila knew it would be impossible for him to realize that Vata and Himeko were the same person. He tried to find the truth hidden behind her slender body, but the only thing he could see clearly was her shell, which was full of lies.

Vata, in light green magician clothing, was standing next to him. In her hand was a mage staff with a lantern hanging from its tip. Her magic power was weak as her rank was only Knight. Sila started to doubt her ability to finish the job he had assigned her.

“Can you survive?” asked Sila. “What will you do after you have pinpointed the location of the two dragons?”

Himeko replied, “Don’t worry. Did you forget that I am a member of the dragon race? If I don’t take any offensive actions, the dragons won’t easily target me. You should worry about yourself more. You are their nemesis after all. All of the dragons will set you as their primary target. Will you be able to complete your quest?”

Himeko had received Wind Dragon Cards from Sila on the Island of Beginnings. Even though she had yet to perform a Dragon Ritual and acquire Dragon Domain, she already possessed the Dragon Scales skill. The skill both increased her health and magic points as well as granted her the ability to manipulate a spell’s result.

Sila didn’t reply. He was seventy percent confident that he would be successful. The reason why the slime race became the dragon race’s nemesis in the first place was that the three slime skills were specially designed for slaying dragons. His level used to be lower than the dragons that he killed. If some low-leveled dragons were to meet him today, that would be their misfortune.

Sila had been evaluating his skills since yesterday. Dragons possessed thick scales, high health points, and large magic capacity. He would have to rely on the three racial skills or sword arts to deal significant damage. Meanwhile, Flaming Cloud Qi would descend in priority and end up as a supporting skill.

The assembled raid members grew quieter as the pillar glowed brighter, including Sila. When the countdown on the screen reached ten, he was deep in focus according to Moon Reflecting Mirror’s principles. Every breath and every subtle movement, he could perceive it all in his current state.

The image in front of them finally became clear. It seemed they had teleported to the edge of a certain canyon. They could see a massive forest on one side and a swamp on the other. Hundreds of dragons could be seen flying far away.

“This place is the Sacred Canyon,” Himeko explained to the raid members. She was of the dragon race. As a spy, it was obvious that she had been there before to investigate the area.

It was difficult to decide whether it was a stroke of luck or misfortune. The Dragon Kingdom was enormous in size. The center of the Sacred Canyon was often inhabited by the Dragon Empress, Infernee. Normally, using an invitation card would teleport the user to the Coiling Forest surrounding this place. The dragons were a race revered nobility. Because of this, no low-rank dragons were allowed to visit the home of the race.

The meaning of this meant they didn’t have to fight hundreds of lesser dragons in the forest anymore, since those dragons wouldn’t dare to invade the canyon. On the other hand, Marquis Rank dragons would be their opponents. In other words, they got to encounter fewer opponents, yet the ones they still had to face were far more dangerous.

They all felt the hostility in the air. Everyone subconsciously exerted more power to increase their defense.

Sila’s experience in fighting dragons was superior to the rest of the players. He quickly shouted to inform everyone, “Be careful! We are already within their Dragon Domains!!”

No dragons were within their sight, but Sila could sense them. He suspected there were less than ten nearby. Their domains were overlapping and exerting terrifying might.

“Eight... No, there are nine of them! The last one possesses more power than others. It is probably Lord Rank!!”

The moment they heard this, all of the raid members showed stern expressions. Their original plan was to start from the forest and slowly march forward, taking care of Knight Rank dragons along the way. With their numbers, they were confident that they could take down a few Marquis Rank dragons. However, fighting eight Marquis Rank dragons plus a Lord Rank one simultaneously was no different from a suicide mission.

Sila made a quick judgment. “Stick together, everyone! Don’t go wandering on your own. Be sure to constantly protect yourself against Dragon Domains by using energy reinforcement. All monsters, focus on defense! Players, join forces against them, and focus on killing them one by one. Remember that a dragon’s weakness is their heart under the scales on their chest. They may possess high health points, but we can kill them easily so long as we destroy their hearts.”

They all listened to Sila’s instructions without questioning anything he said. The system recognized their arrival as a kingdom invasion, so it wouldn’t notify them of any incoming monsters. They still didn’t see even one dragon despite Sila stating there were nine nearby. Still, the hostile atmosphere and the density of mana around them clearly implied that they were indeed in a crisis.

“Arghh!” One player cried as his body was sliced into two without warning. At the same time, the earth suddenly shook and a mysterious explosion occurred on their left, sending a dozen players flying.

Even Sila wondered what was happening. He could clearly feel the dragons’ presence yet it seemed all of them were invisible. His anxiety continued to grow until Himeko’s voice entered his ears.

“It’s the Dragon Domain of Grimphast—the Night Dragon. It makes all dragons within the domain invisible.” Himeko had read the Dragon’s Record, an item that dragon-race players could read to find information on existing dragons in order to select one of them for their Dragon Ritual, so she had memorized every ability listed.

“What about the others?” Sila asked while searching for Himeko. He couldn’t find her though. It seemed she was affected by Grimphast’s Dragon Domain as well.

“I can’t tell yet. Grimphast’s ability is very unique, so I could immediately identify it. However, the rest aren’t as obvious.”

“Which one is the Night Dragon?” asked Sila. It was too dangerous for them to fight invisible enemies. At the very least, Grimphast had to be taken down quickly.

“I don’t know. It seems its domain also has a concealment property.”

It was Sila who was more used to dragons. He quickly explained, “The shape of Dragon Domain is always a sphere, and the user is always in the center. Tell me which dragon is currently in the center of Grimphast’s Dragon Domain.”

Given a direct clue, it was easy for Himeko to pinpoint an enemy using Goddess’ Resonance. As such, Sila received an answer almost immediately.

“The third one from the left.”

Actually, gauging the size of the sphere was not a difficult task for Sila. However, it was too much for him to determine which dragon formed the center of the sphere when they were all so close together like this.

It was a race against time. Sila marked that dragon’s presence before cladding himself with Divine Raiment and darting at it as if he was an arrow being fired.

Not only was he the sole person separating from the group, but Sila was also a member of the slime race. The collected killing intent instantly concentrated on him as invisible attacks were simultaneously launching at him. In fact, just the combined pressure would have been enough to make him cough out blood if he hadn’t protected his body beforehand.

Sila sensed the incoming attacks with the keen perception he had sublimated after mastering the Cloud Part. He jumped around while summoning the Crystal Divine Sword in his hand. The power of the Great Flow was slowly accumulating within, making the sword glow blue.

Recently, Sila had been honing his own swordsmanship after he realized that the best sword art for him must be the one he invented personally.

Heaven’s Decree was the art Pumin invented for himself to use. No matter how much Sila practiced, there would be no way he could surpass his father.

Each profound art represented the will of the creator. Heaven’s Decree was a sword art that embraced a user with the flow of nature. The user focused on maintaining their best form while punishing opponents who resisted the Great Flow. It represented the Sword Prodigy’s principles.

On the other hand, Sila’s way of living was different. Even though Pumin and Sila were father and son, their ways of life were polar opposites. Sila refused to submit himself to the Great Flow. He had a desire to oppose heaven’s will and break the so-called destiny. Instead of embracing and riding the Great Flow as his father did, he decided he would use the power of nature as a tool and focus more on offense.

The more difficult the obstacle before him was or the stronger his opponent became, the more he would defy them with greater strength. The Great Flow was his tool. The power of nature existed for him to strengthen his sword with it.

The sword styles which became stronger in relation to the one he was fighting against. That was Sila’s sword art—Heaven’s Dismissal.

Heaven’s Dismissal — Third Sword Style, Redirect Stream.

The Great Flow was spinning around his blade, redirecting all the attacks to clash against each other. The remnants of magic power from the clash were later absorbed into the Crystal Divine Sword. Despite it only being temporary, Sila’s sword right now possessed peerless strength rivalling the dragons’ combined attacks.

Heaven’s Dismissal — Fourth Sword Style, Demonic Gales.

Sila’s eyes gleamed red as if he were an evil spirit. The people nearby felt like time was slowing down. Sila had successfully and flawlessly adapted Pumin’s sword art to become his own. The number of sword waves increased from one to a hundred in the blink of an eye. It was like Sila’s speed had transcended their perception.

Several dragon scales were scraped off and scattered around by the fierce gales. Blood splattered in the air while nearby trees and boulders started to crack.

Sila swiftly swung his sword, sending all of the dragons except one away from his path. He stomped his feet on the remaining dragon while cutting its limbs off.

“Grrrraaawr!!” Grimphast let out a painful cry. Its domain was forcefully canceled due to its extreme pain. As the domain faded away, the black slimy body of a certain dragon appeared. Its eyes were glowing yellow in a berserk state.

The Crystal Divine Sword immediately pierced through its chest, denying it the chance to show more of its skills.

No one could believe what they saw. Sila had killed a Marquis Rank dragon so quickly and effortlessly when, normally, tens or even hundreds of players were required to hunt one down.

Even those who had sparred with Sila found this situation too shocking. It seemed Sila’s true strength was immeasurable as it could continue to grow endlessly.

However, what Sila had done was not as easy as it appeared to be. He took the initiative when the dragons were just probing his strength, borrowing their powers to strengthen his sword then unleashing the sword’s power in an instant. Even his feet were clad with Formless Soldier in order to destroy Grimphast’s Dragon Scales and reveal its chest. His last stab was also strengthened by magical qi and Orbiting Cosmos.

Sila showed no change in his expression, yet the truth was he had lost a third of his special points.

“Miss Vata. Please start doing your job,” Sila issued a reminder when Himeko, along with the remaining dragons, also lost their invisibility. The dragons had various kinds of physiques and appearances, including sizes. One of them was about forty feet long from snout to tail-tip while some were as small as humans.

Among them stood a white-haired woman in a celestial robe. The players immediately realised her rank had to be Lord.

For the record, Lord Rank dragons couldn’t be encountered anywhere in the New World, except for two places—the Dragon Kingdom and the Single-Horned Dragon Forest. The second exception was only possible due to Sila helping Rex surpass his limits.

“I’m Eleanor. State your name, Slime.”

Sila wasn’t interested in participating in the conversation, yet a certain someone shouted out from the group of players.

“Stop right there, Lady~! This handsome one is here, so why didn’t you ask for my name first? This is my first time seeing such a gorgeous dragon like you.” Lomyok stepped forward, leaving the others behind. His attitude was casual as if he didn’t feel any tension.

Eleanor only shot a side glance at Lomyok. Her magic power silently surged. Sila wanted to give out a warning but it was too late. Her magic power, which was so sharp and so quiet, flew at Lomyok.

Lomyok playfully unfolded his fan and waved it once, generating an air pocket in front of him through the use of Vast Sky Qi. The pocket sucked Eleanor’s attack into it and silently disappeared.

“I still haven’t introduced myself, yet you already tried to kill me. Are all the beauties this hot-tempered?”

An imposing aura was exuded from Lomyok as soon as he took out the fan. His skin was subtly illuminated with God’s Grace Qi. No one, including Eleanor, could remove their gazes from him at that time.

Lomyok’s God’s Grace Qi possessed one unique attribute. Once activated, the user’s body would emit a charming aura that would make the user become the target of every non-targeted skill, especially offensive ones. No one would want this kind of qi, so the system easily recognized it as a new form of qi and Lomyok finally attained the essence of qi.

Some dragons had appearances similar to an alligator covered in flames. Some were like a moth while others were hardly different from a giant rock. Some had no wings and no legs, like a snake.

Himeko quickly and dutifully informed everyone of the characteristics of each dragon.

“The Raiment Dragon, Eleanor, the one who weaved clothing and built an elegant nest for the Dragon Empress,” Lomyok repeated what he heard from Himeko.

“You are a mere peasant. How could you...?” Eleanor had her doubts. The weak qi she sensed from Lomyok implied that the man was only a Squire Rank human.

“Fine feathers make fine birds. I’m weak, so I have to rely on this and that. I hope you don’t mind,” Lomyok replied coyly.

He transmitted a small portion of his qi into his fan and waved it, sending sword energy at Eleanor.

Seeing his attack, Eleanor elegantly moved her fingers as if playing a musical instrument. A shield made of silk thread was beautifully created in front of her, and she was one hundred percent certain that it could easily block Lomyok’s attack. As if to mock her confidence, the sword energy effortlessly pierced through the shield like it was made of paper. The sword energy stopped one foot in front of her face before vanishing.

“I’ll tell you this only once, but you better not underestimate me. Even a weakling has a fighting style that can allow them to win.”

Lomyok suddenly seemed impressive in everyone’s eyes. He had always been considered a well-known player with no strength to speak of. Nevertheless, it turned out that he could easily tease the Lord Rank dragon once he revealed his fangs.

Sila was no longer worried about Lomyok’s safety. Even though Lomyok’s health and special points were low, he had clothing that could resist magic power and a fan that could deal surreal damage and create an impenetrable defense. His speed was also inhuman due to Sky-Soaring White Horse Magic Qi. It seemed Lomyok could stand his ground even if he didn’t have any surprising or complicated skills. He was the prime example of qi-type’s principle—back to basics. The three basic stats—attack, defense, and speed—were all he needed to overwhelm an opponent.

Himeko seized the chance to whisper to Sila, “Eight kilometers to the north. There are two powerful beings. Based on their conversations, I’m sure the two must be Aurora and Tiamat in their human forms.”

Sila finally knew the destination. “Everyone, listen! These dragons are weaker than they appear to be. This is the end of the era claiming that dragons are the strongest race! Show them our power! Kill them all!!”

To respond to Sila’s declaration, a warcry full of energy echoed throughout the canyon.

In any case, dragons weren’t weak like Sila claimed. He simply wanted to raise their morale. He was aware that more than half of the players present had a high chance of dying. Their deaths would contribute to his quest’s accomplishment.

For him to achieve his goal, Sila was prepared to step on his followers’ dead bodies. He needed strength—an unparalleled strength that would make him unbeatable, a strength that turned him into an unshakeable mountain instead of a mere rock.

Even though he possessed the ability to invite the slime army to help, Sila never considered this a viable option.

‘Slimes will permanently die if they are killed by these dragons, while players can revive no matter how many times they die. I won’t use monsters unless it is absolutely necessary.’

From the players’ perspective, monsters were only masses of data that were created and killed every single day. Their lives were worthless and couldn’t be compared to the life of even the most ordinary player.

Sila had no idea that his unusual stance on the value of life would come back to bite him one day.

No human, no matter who they are, has the right to determine the value of life.