The altar does not appear to be a dead thing.
Li Wen's eyes fell on the foreheads of the corpses of the townspeople. Those gold coins with "Crown of Thorns" engraved on them were emitting a dark glimmer that was difficult to detect with the naked eye. This glimmer of light is like a trickle, flowing silently into the ground beneath your feet, following some invisible veins, and finally being absorbed by the central altar.
This is a ritual that has begun and is still ongoing. These dead townspeople, together with their greed and desire that were catalyzed to the extreme before their death, have become the food that nourishes the altar.
The moment Li Wen came to this conclusion, the entire cave shook violently without warning.
There was a dull roar from the ground beneath his feet, and the stalactites on the roof of the cave rustled down dust and gravel. The Obsidian Altar that had been silent seemed to wake up from a long slumber at this moment, with countless scarlet lines appearing on its surface. Those lines were like red-hot irons, emitting ominous light and heat, dyeing the entire cave with a layer of blood.
On the altar, the gold coins on the foreheads of the corpses of the townspeople shone brightly at the same moment, and then melted quickly like candles by Ignite, turning into pools of golden liquid, seeping into the skin of the corpses, and finally disappearing.
Moria immediately protected Li Wen behind him, holding the long sword across his chest, watching the changes in the altar with vigilance. He could feel that an aura that was far larger, older and more terrifying than the previous thorn monster was rapidly condensing in the center of the altar.
Li Wen poked half of his head out from behind his arm and observed all this with cold eyes.
The bloody light became more intense, and finally converged into a huge rotating vortex above the altar. Immediately afterwards, a roar that seemed to come from the ancient earth suddenly exploded from the center of the whirlpool. The roar did not spread through the air, but sounded directly deep in the souls of the two people, with unparalleled majesty and violence.
A huge shadow slowly emerged from the bloody whirlpool.
First there is a huge head covered with fine dark red scales. The outline of the head is ferocious and elegant. The two ferocious dragon horns, as black as ink and curved backwards, demonstrate its undisputed ruler status.
Then came a long and powerful neck, and a huge body as towering as a mountain. Its shadow is almost translucent, but it has an undeniable sense of solidity, as if it is a reflection projected here from another ancient and long-forgotten world.
It is entrenched in the mid-air of the cave. Its huge body almost fills the entire space. Its huge flesh wings are folded on both sides of the body. Every slight flap will bring up a suffocating wind.
This is a dragon.
An ancient creature that only exists in epics and legends, and has long been extinct along with the primitive giants and Golden Elves.
Moria's pupils shrank slightly in shock. As a knight who grew up in the Temple, he knew better than anyone else the weight that the word "dragon" represented. It is a symbol of power, destruction and ancient authority. It is a terrifying existence that is hostile to God.
But it shouldn't have appeared in this era.
Li Wen also felt a little surprised. She carefully observed every detail of the giant dragon's shadow. Its shape is perfect, matching the descriptions of ancient dragons in all the classics, and its pupils are in the shape of burning scarlet vertical pupils. In the depths of his pupils, there seemed to be hot lava slowly flowing inside.
The dragon's head slowly lowered, and its lava-like eyes locked onto the two tiny beings below. It opens its huge mouth, and the words it speaks are not in any known language, but the listener can directly understand its meaning.
"Human..." Its voice was like countless rocks rubbing against each other, dull and majestic, "Why did you intrude into my territory and disturb my sleep?"
Its gaze stayed on Moria for a moment, and a trace of obvious disgust flashed in its scarlet vertical pupils. The dragon is the leader of all things, and Radiance is the enemy of all things.
Moria raised his eyebrows and suppressed the shock and vigilance in his heart. He took a step forward, pointed the tip of the long sword downward, and said in a deep voice, "We have no intention of offending the respected ancient existence. We are only here to investigate the disappearance of the townspeople. The evil entrenched here has claimed too many innocent lives."
He tried to communicate to understand the position of the dragon in front of him. If the other party is not the source of evil, or even just trapped here, then there may be a possibility of a peaceful solution.
However, his words were like Ignite setting off the fuse in a powder keg.
"Evil?" The dragon's shadow let out a low roar, and the entire cave trembled. "In our eyes, order is a cage, faith is a shackle, and you, the lives bathed in the so-called 'Radiance', are the most disgusting evil in the world!"
"It was your greed that awakened me! It was your desire that supported me! Now, you want to act as a judge to accuse the sins you created with your own hands?"
The dragon's voice became more and more violent, and the blood on the altar also skyrocketed.
"Hypocritical ant! Now that you are here, be the stepping stone for me to return to the world!"
It raised its head suddenly, opened its huge mouth, and destructive energy began to gather in its throat. The temperature in the air suddenly increased, and a dazzling red light lit up deep in its throat and expanded rapidly. That is dragon's breath, which is the ultimate weapon of dragons that can melt steel instantly, turn the earth into scorched earth, and evaporate the ocean instantly.
Moria's face instantly became extremely solemn. He could feel that the energy contained in it was terrifying enough to kill the two of them instantly. He immediately prepared for this devastating blow with all his strength.
But at this moment, a slender hand gently pressed on his shoulder.
Li Wen didn't know when she had walked to his side, her voice was so calm that there was no wave.
"Don't be nervous, it won't hurt us."
Moria looked at her in confusion, but saw that Li Wen had walked out from behind him, alone, calmly facing the giant dragon that was accumulating breath of destruction.
Li Wen raised his head, his eyes reflecting the increasingly blazing ball of light in the dragon's throat. There was no fear on her face, and there was even a hint of mockery on her face.
It's not a real ancient dragon.
Its power is too real, its aura cannot be faked at all, and everything about it caters to the appearance of the legendary ancient dragon. But the more it is like this, the more it proves that it is not a dragon, but a fake.
It is just a fake that was forcibly "fabricated" by the believers of False Court through a certain ritual, using life and desire as materials, and using the altar as the core. A fake that imitates the form of a dragon and possesses its power, but without its soul and reality.
She raised her hand, and the ancient book quietly appeared again.
Poem of Paradise, Gift of Temperance.
Ripples of soft light spread out, and the dragon's shadow instantly shattered.