“Alright, it’s not exactly appropriate for you two to be fooling around in a place like this. Let’s get back to the topic. Why do you think Senior Angela called us here?” Starlight asked with a gentle smile and a wave of his hand, seeing that Po Kong and Wuka had finally called a truce.
“I suspect it has something to do with the upcoming operation,” Xia Duo, who was walking at the front, said first. “After all, we’re all involved in this mess now; it’s hard to stay out of it.”
“That might be true, but didn't they say at the meeting that the operation should be led by the Dark Tribe? Even if someone were to call for us, it shouldn't have been Aunt Angela,” Moen said, blinking as she offered her own perspective on her sister's guess.
“Oh? Little Shadow, are you saying Senior Angela plans to have us join the mission to Dragon Valley? Hmm... Dragons, huh? That sounds pretty interesting. Now that you mention it, I'm starting to get excited!”
Po Kong rubbed his chin, a look of eagerness spreading across his face. He turned to Starlight and asked, “Little Star, what do you think?”
“Me? I don't really care who the opponent is. The priority right now is to rescue Lian. Although I haven't sensed anything unusual yet, as more time passes, it's hard to say what might happen.” Starlight shook his head, his expression turning heavy.
“Exactly. And it’s not just Lian. Over two thousand elves were kidnapped during that incident. This scale far exceeds the missing person cases we were investigating before. The most ridiculous part is that we still don't know the motive. It’s infuriating!” Xia Duo gritted her teeth, speaking with indignation.
“Then... do you think there's a connection between these two things? I feel like something is off, but I can't put my finger on it... That guy hiding behind the portal clearly used death power, so why would he kidnap so many priests?” Moen pondered for a moment before slowly voicing her doubts to the group.
“Sigh, heaven only knows. Let's see what Senior Angela has to say first.” Starlight sighed. He had been puzzled by this question for the past few days as well, but he hadn't found a logical answer either.
As they spoke, the group had quietly entered the core space of the World Tree.
What met their eyes was a massive black silhouette lying silently beneath the altar where Angela stood. A faint death power swirled around it, appearing jarringly out of place in the harmonious surroundings.
“That's—! That's the monster that attacked the World Tree that day!” Seeing the scene, Po Kong instinctively rushed in front of Xia Duo. With a jerk of his arms, he prepared to summon his weapon.
However, his bracelet only glowed slightly without transforming. Only then did he remember that his spirit armament had been severely damaged during the battle with Ming Ye and could not be used normally until it was fully repaired.
“Don't worry, it hasn't shown any signs of life for a long time. Look over there.” Xia Duo gently patted Po Kong's shoulder to calm him down, pointing toward the bottom of the massive figure.
A pale green magic formation was slowly rotating there, emitting a soft light.
Although the monster had long since lost its breath of life, its body continued to release a faint death power. However, under the effect of that formation, the hazy grey aura was dissipating at an incredible speed.
While Starlight and the others were still marveling at the wonders of the formation, Moen frowned as she stared at the giant figure.
She recalled when they first saw the monster a few days ago; its entire body had been covered in thick grey mist, making it impossible to see its original form.
Now that the monster had been eliminated by Angela, the remaining corpse naturally revealed its true appearance. However, this form was indeed quite unexpected.
Although the monster's corpse was now covered in ghastly wounds and festering sores glowing with an ominous white light, making it look hideous, a bit of observation revealed a striking similarity to certain dragon species.
Most people might not be particularly sensitive to this, but as a qualified Nature Priest, Moen had to master the physical forms and characteristics of various creatures during her studies, so she was naturally very observant.
“Eh? This is...” Seeing the grave look on her sister's face, Xia Duo also quickly noticed the abnormality on the corpse.
Possessing the talent of a Dragon Speaker, she was very sensitive to the aura of dragons, even though she hadn't systematically studied professional knowledge.
“It seems you've already discovered something?” As the four of them carefully examined the monster's remains, Angela's soft voice suddenly came from behind them.
Starlight looked back to see Angela gracefully descending from the air. She approached them and said softly, “After extensive investigation and experimentation, I can confirm that this monster belongs to the Dragon Race—and it is an adult dragon.”
“Senior? This is really a dragon?! You've got to be joking. In my experience, there are no dragons this revolting in the world. Could you have gotten something wrong?” Hearing Angela's words, Po Kong immediately voiced his doubts.
“In truth, I wish it weren't so... but after my dissection and analysis, its similarity to the Dragon Race is over ninety percent... What I want to know even more, however, is who could possibly torture an adult dragon into this state.” Angela looked deeply at Po Kong, then turned her gaze back to the nearby corpse as she spoke slowly.
“I see... No wonder you agreed to participate in this operation with the Night Elves, Senior. Have you already considered the cause and effect of this matter?” Starlight asked, looking up after a moment of contemplation.
Angela's slender eyebrows twitched slightly, and she gave a small nod. Her soft voice took on a hint of gravity. “While I do have some suspicions, I cannot reach a definitive conclusion. Furthermore, this matter is of great consequence. If handled improperly, it could very likely trigger a war between the elves and the Dragon Race...”
At this point, Angela's words came to a halt. She could indeed use the power of the World Tree to deduce many things, but that was limited to the territory of Star-Song Forest and the elves she knew well.
When faced with this unprecedented creature, the results of her deductions were too broad and vague. Even she found it difficult to distinguish truth from falsehood, which troubled her deeply.
“So, you plan to use the strength of the Night Elves to investigate this, so that even if something goes wrong, you can avoid directly involving the elves, right?” Starlight looked directly at Angela and stated his deduction without hesitation.
As Lian's friend, Starlight naturally did not want the Night Elves to encounter any misfortune, but since no one else was present, he didn't care if he was being offensive to Angela.
“Starlight!...” Hearing the questioning tone in Starlight's voice, Xia Duo was about to say something, but Angela raised a hand to stop her.
“You're right. I indeed intend to utilize the Dark Tribe, but it is out of necessity. After losing Ming Ye and Yuta, we can no longer afford to disperse our vital combat strength, and I cannot leave this place... so this was the only way.”
Angela's honesty caught Starlight off guard. He had expected her to be vague or avoid the subject, but he hadn't expected her to admit it so directly. This frankness actually left him feeling a bit bewildered.
“I have no intention of deceiving you on this point. In fact, on the way back with Lord You just now, I already discussed this matter with him, and he had no objections.”
Noticing the surprise on Starlight's face, Angela continued, “Furthermore, Lord You also mentioned the power within you—the prototype of the Power of Destruction...”
With that, Angela took a light step forward, appearing in front of Starlight in the blink of an eye. Before he could react, a warm palm had already gently covered his forehead.
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