Chapter 572 - 430: Astra’s Journey to the Giant Dragon Realm

The return journey was much quieter than the trip out.

A subtle yet oppressive atmosphere filled theair.

The soldiers of Black Stone Territory had achieved an unprecedented victory. Without shedding a single drop of blood, they had forced the entire Demon Legion of the Black Stone Mountain Range to bow in submission.

Yet, their faces held little of the joy of victory.

Everyone’s eyes, whether intentionally or not, drifted toward the rear of the procession.

There, a massive Black Dragon trudged along with heavy steps, silently following.

Thanks to its powerful regenerative abilities, the wounds on its body had stopped bleeding. Even so, the sight of its torn flesh and shattered scales was still horrifying.

Its dark gold, slitted pupils were downcast, revealing no emotion—only a desolate, stagnant silence.

This beast, once the master of the Black Stone Mountain Range who struck fear into the hearts of countless adventurers, now followed the victors like the most wretched prisoner in chains.

Half of Raylo’s attention was fixed on the silent Black Dragon behind him.

Through the Soul Link of their Master-Servant Contract, he could clearly perceive the Black King’s true thoughts.

Resentment, indignation, humiliation, murderous intent...

These negative emotions churned and converged in the depths of its heart like thick, black lava.

It was waiting.

Waiting for an opportunity.

An opportunity to break free from its bonds and devour him, its so-called "master," flesh and bone.

He knew this Black Dragon had not yet truly recognized its own predicament.

As for the Black King...

Raylo defined it as a subordinate—a kind of "High Level consumable" for the war against the Jade Swamp.

Raylo didn’t need its loyalty. He only needed to ensure that it remained under his control.

Moonlight, fluid as water, washed over the rolling mountains of the Black Stone Territory.

By the time Raylo and his party returned to Black Stone Castle, the night was deep.

The exhausted Griffins and Earth Dragons let out low whinnies and hisses as the Knights guided them to their respective quarters in the newly expanded Earth Dragon Ranch and the Griffin Stone Forest.

"Ed, give the order. All soldiers are to rest for three days."

"Yes, My Lord!"

Ed replied, his voice deep.

By the time the post-war affairs were settled, it was already midnight.

Not far away, Astra was sprawled across an open clearing outside the camp.

It held its head high, staring blankly at the full moon in the sky.

The reason this Catastrophe Level being was staring into space was simple. Just after they had returned to the Black Stone Territory, Raylo had told it about a spatial rift within the territory that led to the Giant Dragon Realm. He had expressed his hope that they could explore the Giant Dragon Realm together tomorrow.

’Giant Dragon Realm?’

’That was the place of origin for all Giant Dragons.’

As a Giant Dragon born in this world, Astra’s bloodline carried an important piece of ancestral knowledge about the Giant Dragon Realm, their place of origin: only in the Giant Dragon Realm could a Giant Dragon find the opportunity to ascend to the Tier Seven World Destruction Level.

Stars dotted the night sky, and darkness shrouded the vast plains.

「The next morning.」

As the morning light fell upon the Black Stone Territory, Raylo had already arrived at the main square of Black Stone Castle.

"Coal Ball."

Raylo called out.

A black shadow leaped gracefully from his shoulder. The moment it landed, Coal Ball’s form began to distort and elongate.

Space rippled around it, like the surface of a lake after a stone is tossed in.

Coal Ball revealed its true form: that of a Space Giant Dragon.

Its body, stretching dozens of meters long, indicated it was still in its Growth Stage, but the fluctuations of the Law of Space emanating from it were not to be underestimated.

It walked to the center of the square. Within its obsidian-like eyes, a brilliant starlight began to glow.

Then, it tilted its head back and let out a low, draconic hum.

HUMMM!

There was no earth-shattering roar, only a low hum that seemed to emanate from another dimension.

The Space Stone Wall before them seemed to be violently torn asunder by an invisible force.

A spatial rift appeared.

Coal Ball’s body began to tremble faintly, and the fluctuations of Magic Power radiating from it grew increasingly violent.

It was pouring every ounce of its strength, all of its Magic Power, into the spatial rift, attempting to force it wider.

The rift slowly expanded, the change visible to the naked eye.

Five meters... ten meters... fifteen meters...

When the rift reached a height of thirty meters and a width of nearly two, its expansion came to an abrupt halt.

GRRR...

Coal Ball let out a strained, hoarse growl.

Its Magic Power was nearly depleted. Even though it had grown significantly, opening a spatial rift large enough for Astra to pass through was beyond its current capabilities.

Just then, Astra, who had been resting with its eyes closed, opened its enormous eyes.

Astra sensed the faint aura of the Otherworld seeping out from the spatial rift.

At that moment, its breathing grew heavy.

For the first time outside of battle, its massive draconic body tensed.

The azure scales covering its body flickered with unstable arcs of lightning, a reaction to its intense emotional turmoil.

’It’s real...’

’It’s actually real!’

It slowly turned its mountain-sized head, its gaze falling upon Raylo once more.

This time, the look in its eyes was more complex than ever before.

Astra stared at the spatial rift, a mere thirty meters high. The thoughtful light in its eyes was soon replaced by a fiercer, more intense emotion.

It was longing.