great-warnovel Chapter 124 Dragon Palace Guard, activated
Chapter 124 Dragon Palace Guard, activated
The golden dragon's eyes lost focus, and a tyrannical aura swept across the entire underwater palace.
Zhao Lei had just raised his shield back in front of him, preparing to meet the next wave of attacks. But the expected attack did not come.
The dragon, driven mad, circled in the water, its massive body ignoring the first squad that was right in front of it, and instead spewed a destructive dragon breath toward the other side of the Dragon Palace.
A beam of light, condensed from the flowing water, drew a deadly straight line through the magnificent palace.
At the other end of the distant palace, a thick coral pillar silently vaporized the instant it was touched by the dragon's breath.
Immediately following, a burst of angry shouts filled with Southeast Asian flavor came through the water, only to be completely drowned out by the explosion that followed.
"We will remain hidden, minimize our movements, and refrain from launching an attack."
Xiao Qianyu understood immediately. She made a hand gesture, and the seven members of the team quickly used the towering pillars in the hall as cover to conceal their presence.
On the other side of the Dragon Palace, chaos reigned.
Several South Asian squads were cautiously moving through the area. They were pawns planted by the White Eagle Empire, who intended to reap the benefits after the Chinese and Basong forces were weakened.
But before they could find the entrance to the treasure vault, they were met with the Dragon King's wrath.
"Why! Why does it only chase after us and attack us!"
A Filipino Awakener let out a desperate roar. His Grade A sea beast leather armor, which had just grazed the edge of the dragon's breath, quickly carbonized and peeled off, revealing the scorched flesh underneath.
They couldn't understand why the dragon seemed blind, targeting only their group when the Chinese team was clearly nearby.
A thick water jet pierced his chest with pinpoint accuracy, leaving all his questions frozen in place.
Despair spread rapidly.
Under the ferocious attack of the S+ level dragon soul, their prized equipment became as fragile as paper.
"Hold on! We have Lord White Eagle's divine artifact protecting us!"
The leader of a foreign squad shouted, trying to boost morale, as he pulled a small, black conch shell, the same type as the one Basong had.
However, it was this very "divine object" that he relied on for survival that brought him the most swift death.
In the chaotic perception of Zhenhai Dragon Soul, this aura was exactly the same as the source that had enslaved it just now.
New and old grudges combined and erupted.
The dragon's massive body swung violently, its tail sweeping across with immense force.
The captain's expression froze. He only had time to lift the conch shell before the dragon's tail slammed him and his equipment into a cloud of brilliant blood mist.
The first squad members concealed themselves behind the giant pillar, coldly observing this one-sided massacre through the holographic projection on their tactical terminals.
Zhao Leiguang clicked his tongue in amazement: "Old Lu, how did you know the dragon would attack them first?"
"They have the same scent as Basong." Lu Yan's gaze fell on the black conch shell that Basong had dropped after his death.
The massacre ended quickly.
After wiping out all the invaders who carried the aura of "gods," the Dragon Soul of Zhenhai seemed to have vented most of its anger.
It let out a long and desolate roar, its massive body swaying as it swam towards a certain direction deep within the palace, quickly disappearing from everyone's sight.
The oppressive dragon's might dissipated, and the Dragon Palace returned to silence.
"Alright, let's get to work."
At Xiao Qianyu's command, the first squad quickly set out, like a group of professional battlefield cleaners, heading towards the location where the foreign squads had been wiped out.
The scene was somewhat brutal, but the gleam of the spoils was always so pleasing to the eye.
"I have an S-rank 'Wave-Breaking Blade' here, but unfortunately its durability has dropped by 30%."
"Here's half a Grade A 'Deep Sea Hunter' suit, it's fairly complete."
"Look! This kid's spatial ring wasn't destroyed!"
Zhao Leiguang was the most excited. As he stuffed the usable equipment into the recycling bag, he muttered indignantly, "These bastards, bringing White Eagle equipment to cause trouble at our doorstep, they should be made to leave with their equipment."
Lu Yan did not participate in the inventory. He went straight to the place where the Indonesian captain had burst out of the blood mist and picked up a black conch from the gap in the coral.
The moment he touched the shard, a cold system notification popped up in his mind:
[Divinely Corrupted Item: This item contains a faint high-dimensional divine curse, once used to briefly enslave powerful beings with unstable minds. Possessing or using this item will permanently mark your coordinates with the 'Observer of All Things'.]
Observer of all things...
Lu Yan's pupils contracted slightly.
He instantly understood the White Eagle Empire's insidious combination of tactics.
They didn't actually intend to use these South Asian teams to conquer the secret realm; rather, they used these people as mobile "signal towers." Using these "divine gifts" imbued with the aura of higher-dimensional deities, they spread "coordinates" globally, paving an unobstructed path for the descent of the unknown god behind them.
This is no longer a simple struggle for secret realms, but an invasion and counter-invasion at the level of gods.
Lu Yan immediately sent this discovery, along with a screenshot of the system notification, directly to Li Tianshan, who was at the Northwest base, using the highest level of encryption.
After doing all this, he raised his head, and the atmosphere in the Dragon Palace seemed to have become even more somber.
"Lu Yan, look at this!"
Wen Yue's voice came through. In the ashes left after a body was vaporized by dragon breath, she found a peculiar jade piece that was not completely destroyed.
The jade piece felt warm and smooth to the touch, and a map was carved on it using an unknown technique.
[Dragon Palace Map (Fragment): Records the structure of part of the Dragon Palace and marks the secret passage leading to the "Dragon King's Treasury".]
"Dragon King's Treasure Vault!" Zhao Leiguang's eyes lit up, and he leaned closer. "I knew it! How could an S+ level secret realm not have a treasure chest section!"
The map clearly marks the location of the treasure vault and the "Dragon Palace Guard" that protects it.
While others were eager to get started, Lu Yan's gaze fell on the patrol routes of the guards on the map.
On that roadmap, there was an extremely small, yet illogical, periodic gap.
This guard appears to leave the vault entrance collectively at fixed times, heading to another area not marked on the map.
They don't seem to be guarding a treasure vault.
It's more like guarding something more important and dangerous than the treasure trove.
"Let's go, follow the map, and head to the treasure vault first."
Lu Yan didn't reveal his discovery. He believed in taking things one step at a time and focusing on securing the tangible benefits first.
He subtly gave Shen Xinglin, the most perceptive person in the group, a wink.
"Starfall, pay attention to the water flow along the way, and report any abnormal fluctuations immediately."
"Understood," Shen Xinglin replied succinctly.
Following the map's directions, the team soon arrived at a secluded corridor.
Along both sides of the long corridor, every ten steps, stands a stone statue of a shrimp soldier or crab general wielding various weapons. These statues are carved with lifelike detail, their expressions ferocious, their cold stone eyes seemingly spying on every living being that enters this place.
The air grew oppressive, and a sense of being scrutinized enveloped everyone's hearts.
"Everyone be careful, something feels off." Xiao Qianyu gripped her gun tightly and walked at the front of the group.
The crowd filed in.
The moment the last team member, Shen Xinglin, stepped into the corridor.
hum-
At the entrance and exit of the corridor, two invisible energy barriers rose silently, completely sealing off any escape route.
at the same time.
On both sides of the corridor, the hundreds of stone statues that had been silent for thousands of years suddenly lit up with a scarlet light in their empty eye sockets.
Click, click.
The sound of the stone statue turning its neck was particularly jarring in the deathly silent corridor.
The Dragon Palace Guard has been activated.