The takeoff went smoothly, and the drowsy Little Red Dragon flapped her wings with all her might, but she was able to fly mainly because of the rope around her neck—the other end of the rope was tied to the Blue Dragon's hind leg.
Everyone remained highly vigilant. Even after reaching a safe altitude, the assassins hidden in the dense forest did not launch another attack; they had either fled or were unable to strike again.
The Forest under the moonlight seemed draped in a thin veil, like a still painting. The dense canopy provided the best cover, making it impossible to spot a swarm of spiders approaching from above.
Not long after Unas and his group left, the true form of the Purple-robed Person arrived at the center of the Evil Woodland, surrounded by a swarm of Mutant Spiders. By then, the Giant Fir had completely disintegrated and collapsed, leaving only a bare half of its trunk and the ruins of wood that almost buried it.
The Purple-robed Person let out an extremely shrill roar. He had poured countless efforts into transforming this Giant Fir, and it was one of his most important works, which would be of great use in the future. He never expected that it would vanish overnight.
Even more critically, something of paramount importance has gone missing, and if it falls into the hands of the enemy, it will pose a huge threat to him.
As dawn approached, the Blue Dragon carried everyone safely back to Dragon Mound. The two dragons landed with a thud one after the other. Mati'gosa had never been so exhausted; she felt as if she could fall asleep the moment she closed her eyes.
Unas quickly untied several nets, freeing the Blue Dragon from its burden. "Miss Mati, thank you so much, you've worked so hard."
He was genuinely grateful. The journey had been full of dangers. As the Levitate gradually wore off, the Blue Dragon became increasingly weak, flying erratically and erratically, making Unas feel as if the plane had turned into a roller coaster.
It wasn't the Blue Dragon's fault. The battle with the Giant Fir had already drained her energy, and with a Little Red Dragon as a burden and so many people hanging on her, she almost "crashed" several times.
But with her own perseverance and the potential of her Dragonflight bloodline, plus the slight help of Huoye magic, Mati'gosa has managed to hold on until now, making her an absolutely admirable heroine.
"You're welcome, human." Although exhausted, the Blue Dragon responded politely, then turned around and dragged the Little Red Dragon behind him toward the Cave behind the hill. They both needed a good night's sleep.
Unas quickly followed, and after entering the large cave, he took out five giant eggs from his bag and asked, "Are these Red Dragons?"
"Yes." Mati'gosa up, her sleepiness dissipating somewhat.
"What I found inside the Giant Fir, do you think are Miss Alice's children?"
"Only when she regains consciousness and figures it out herself will she know. In fact, I've never actually seen her dragon egg."
The Little Red Dragon had fallen into a deep sleep and could not even sense the dragon egg that was right in front of it.
Blue Dragon asked doubtfully, "But I heard her say that six were stolen, and one is still missing."
I only found five.
"What happened? Why is one missing? Usually, they're hidden together."
Unas briefly recounted how he found the dragon egg, "Perhaps the Magic Circle only needed five dragon eggs, and the Purple-robed Person used the last one for something else."
"In any case, thank you, human Paladin. You kept your promise, which is different from what I've heard about the nature of humans."
"Are all humans in the stories you've heard liars?" Unas shamelessly coaxed, "But there are indeed many bad people in this world, and very few good ones. Don't worry, I'm one in a million good people."
"Hmm," Blue Dragon actually nodded, giving him a "good guy" card, "You're a good guy."
"Ahem," Unas coughed twice, "These eggs are yours now. Get some rest."
The Blue Dragon coiled up, protecting the dragon egg, closed her eyes, and quickly fell asleep. Her lack of vigilance in front of a human showed that she trusted Unas completely.
The group returned to the military camp Blue Rock Pass. Some were treated for their injuries, while others rested. Unas had many things to do, but the most urgent matter was to treat Master Oakleaf.
He summoned all the army's Priests and doctors to find a way to detoxify the old Druid. After discussing and researching for a long time, no one could come up with an effective treatment. Delaying it would only make things worse, as the toxins were constantly eroding Oakleaf's body.
This terrible toxin possesses a certain biological quality, as if it were sentient, relentlessly pursuing its target until it kills them. It has spread to almost every corner of Oakleaf's body; had it not been for the Watcher's life-saving pills keeping him alive, the old Druid would have long since perished.
Unas had no intention of letting Oakleaf die like this. The only way forward was to kill him before the poison completely drained his body, and then use Redemption to resurrect him.
Only Natasha could cooperate with him on this operation. Unas ordered his men to find a fat pig, a sheep, and several chickens and ducks. Didn't the toxin like living creatures? He would use these animals to "lure" it out.
Those who were unaware of the situation watched with great concern as their commander bustled in and out with the animal in his arms, thinking that the Warden had gone mad and was resorting to the ancient method of sacrificing animals to save people.
The two young Druids wanted to stop it, but ultimately did not act. They were helpless against the poison, and although the Warden's actions were absurd, it was better than watching Master Oakleaf slowly lose his life.
After the preparations were completed, Unas strictly forbade anyone to disturb the Tents and sent his personal guards to surround them.
The "surgery" went smoothly. Natasha made more than a dozen small incisions all over Oakleaf's body with a scalpel before severing his trachea.
After the old Druid breathed his last, the two pushed the cage containing the livestock around him. The toxins in the Druid's body were indeed unable to resist the temptation; for them, fresh life was more alluring than a corpse.
Black liquid flowed from various small openings, then splashed onto the fat pigs, sheep, chickens, and ducks.
The two waited until the venom had drained and bright red blood seeped from all the wounds before sealing the cage in a pre-prepared wooden box.
Then Unas released Redemption, and a quarter of an hour later, Oakleaf was revived.
Unas immediately went out to announce the good news, and the incredulous people rushed in to check on Oakleaf's condition. When they saw that the old Druid could open his eyes and speak, enthusiastic cheers resounded throughout the entire camp.
There were more curious people than happy ones. Unas responded to the Priests and Doctors who inquired about the secret by saying that the divine skill of saving lives, bestowed by the Holy-favored, could not be replicated a second time and must never be passed on, otherwise divine retribution would be incurred. He put on a great show of confidence.
From then on, the two young Druids never dared to talk back to him again, and would respectfully call him "Sir" whenever they met.
However, unpleasant things soon followed. When Oakleaf heard the news of the deaths of the two young Druids, he lamented, "I thought I had awakened from a chaotic nightmare, but I never expected to be greeted by another painful one."
Unas put on a serious expression and comforted him, "Master, there is no need to be too sad. Masa and Rudel died gloriously in battle, and they must have already returned to the embrace of nature."
Oakleaf silently recited his prayer, without answering the Warden's question.
"Everyone, go back and let the master rest well."
The others tactfully dispersed, and Unas returned to his Tent to deal with the second urgent matter—his own body.
The remaining Fel from the Metamorphosis hasn't been dealt with yet, but what's more serious is that Bessarius has condensed a large amount of Fel in his heart, mimicking Holy Power Vortex to envelop the entire heart. Unas can't do anything about it for the time being. He can deal with small remnants, but he can't be so ruthless with highly condensed Fel.
Using Holy Light rashly to cleanse himself could very well lead to another loss of energy control, and he didn't want to experience the feeling of his entire body splattering with blood again.
The problem still lies in the "Life Drain" technique. The spell the demon taught Unas contained a trap, like paying a tax, where the life force Unas absorbed would unknowingly be diverted to Bessarius.
Unas absorbed all the Life Essence from the Emerald Tree, and Bessarius also gained a considerable amount of life energy. He sacrificed it to obtain even more powerful Fel, thus instantly becoming a powerful figure.
If the Dreadlord of the past was a homeless man clinging to Unas's house, then now he is a holdout building a house in Unas's house, possessing the power to rival his master.
But this is also Bessarius's limit. No matter how cunning and treacherous he is, he is just a remnant soul living under someone else's roof. He cannot control too much Fel, and most of the spells he knows require Unas's cooperation to be cast.
Will Unas still cooperate with him? The answer is definitely no.
"You damned demon! What do you want?"
"I said a long time ago that cooperation leads to win-win results. You and I are now a community with a shared future, and our cooperation will surely be successful."
"Win? Win what?"
"Freedom and independence, you see, I really want to leave you, and you really want to get rid of me. We have the same goal, so why not cooperate?"
The demon, unusually, spoke the truth. Although Unas didn't trust him, he still asked, "What do you intend to do?"
"The first step is to find someone who knows how to use the Soul-splitting Technique."
"Soul-splitting Technique? I've never heard of that spell..."
Wait, Unas vaguely remembers that in the game's storyline, King Varian Wrynn of Stormwind City was split into two by the Black Dragon Aspect, each inheriting different personality traits. Does that mean Onyxia knows Soul-splitting Technique?
A single original human can be split into two people; the souls of Unas and Bessarius were forcibly combined by chance, so they should be easier to separate.
Bessarius had a different answer, "Those who can use Soul-splitting Technique are indeed hard to find, but there is one right now."
"Who?"
"The Purple-robed Person."
"How do you know he knows the Soul-splitting Technique? Oh right, he knows the Shadow Clone Technique."
"It's not because of his ability to create clones; he's a Lich, and a high-ranking Lich at that."
"What does this have to do with the Soul-splitting Technique?"
"Take out the box you got from the tree's brain."
Unas took out the square black box. He only glanced at it briefly and, not noticing anything special, casually stuffed it into his backpack.
Upon closer inspection, it's impossible to identify the material used to make the box; it looks like both wood and jade.
"What exactly is this thing?"
"Phylactery, or a Phylactery."
"I see," Unas exclaimed, suddenly understanding. In legend, Phylactery Arcane Artifacts created by Liches to save their lives. The Lich would seal a part of their soul into one of these artifacts and hide it in a secret place. If the Lich's main body was killed, it could be resurrected using the Phylactery.
Conversely, if the Phylactery is found, the Lich will be at the mercy of others.
"Great! With this, I can control the Purple-robed Person! Why did you try to run away last night? Why didn't you remind me sooner?"
"You're oversimplifying things. Obtaining Phylactery doesn't necessarily mean you can control Lich. In my opinion, the Purple-robed Person may have more than one Phylactery."
A powerful Lich can create multiple Phylactery, up to seven in total. Dreadlords are almost all proficient in Necromancy and have a deep understanding of the Undead, so his speculation may have some merit.
"What if I destroy it?"
"This will definitely cause permanent damage to the Purple-robed Person, but why would you do it?"
"Why? The Purple-robed Person is my enemy, so it's only natural to harm him!"
"Returning to our previous topic, we are looking for someone who knows the Soul-splitting Technique. If the Purple-robed Person has multiple Phylactery, it means he is the person we are looking for. We can use this Phylactery to blackmail him, and even find other Phylactery based on the connections between Phylactery. At that time, he will be in our hands."
"The Demon King is indeed a master strategist."
"Hehe, I..."
Before the demon could finish his boast, Unas interrupted, "But I need to think about it. Let's deal with the current problem first. Demon King, what are you trying to do by putting a lump of Fel on my chest? It's easy to give yourself away like this, and those with keen senses will notice something's wrong."
"I was just learning from you. Before, you sealed me in with the Holy Light Orb, and it was very stuffy inside, so I had to create a place for myself to enjoy the scenery."
"Alright, I'll add some more scenery for you." Unas ordered the Shadowfiend residing in his left arm to move towards his heart, its slender shadow tentacles quickly reaching out and forcibly clinging to the Fel vortex.
More and more tentacles appeared, until finally the Shadowfiend's entire body moved forward, like a giant octopus, baring its fangs and claws as it embedded itself into the Fel vortex, devouring the energy with its gaping maw.
Several streams of Holy Power also shot out from between his eyebrows, bypassing his heart and flowing to his limbs and bones to wash away the remnants of Fel.
Bessarius knew that spreading out the Fel vortex to escape would only lead to being picked off one by one, so he kept shrinking it until the vortex was completely obscured by the Shadowfiend, like the moon being swallowed by a celestial dog.
On the surface, Unas has the upper hand, but both sides know that this is a protracted battle and the outcome is uncertain.
"Stop! Now is not the time for us to fight," Bessarius quickly called for a halt. "Who among you knows more about Liches and Phylactery than I do? I can definitely help you deal with the Purple-robed Person."
The demon does still have some value, so it's not wise to offend it too much right now. Eliminating the Fel won't be a quick fix either. Unas stopped applying pressure but kept the Shadowfiend enveloping the Fel vortex, hoping to eventually devour it completely.