Demon Dragon's Curse, Sacrifice to Surtr

Ryan ignored Arryris, lost in his own surging Old One divinity.

Who knows what Surtr did in the end? Along with the heavenly fire, Ryan's Spirituality Panel grew to four digits.

Of course, as the balance growth decreases, Ryan also needs to deal with Arryris. He still needs the other party's power to stabilize the ice on the sea surface so that these tens of thousands of troops can return to human land.

"We can't kill her. She disappeared after that battle. No one can kill her in the deep sea, that's what you said."

"She is very weak."

Arryris was somewhat unwilling, but in reality, she knew better than anyone else that this was an impossible thing.

It was just that seeing the power of these humans before made it want to try it out.

Humans are far more powerful than it imagined; it was right that it didn't rashly enter human territory on the Norris Continent.

"The war is not over, and perhaps Isabella is not the only one who knows of His existence."

The war is indeed not over, and there are still Dragons in this world, a small number of Dragons.

The battle between these two Great Being easily shattered even the frozen sea created by the raging Frost Giant, let alone the crawling Dragons. Many of them perished. In the final moments, the Demon Dragon did something to the Dragons, absorbing their life essence to fight against the Holy Radiance of Surtr and the Lord of Dawn.

Ryan ran away without looking back. The Flame Dragon Christman was still in the deep sea, but no one could pull him out. Frost gathered and swirled above the humans' heads. Although the Dragons in the distance roared and chased after him, they dared not get too close.

Without the will of the Demon Dragon, the Dragons' inherent instinct to be solitary makes them devoid of any sense of military might.

But the real fear is that this frigid ocean beneath their feet may be teeming with malevolent Dragons. If the ice were to collapse, both Ryan and Clayton would suffer enormous losses.

The Extraordinary Legion must return to human soil as soon as possible.

The Frost Dragon Arryris exhaled its breath to stabilize the ice layer in front of it. About half a day later, the Flame Dragon also returned. It was dazed and confused, but fortunately it still knew to follow behind Count Clayton.

"It looks like it's been damaged."

Ryan glanced back briefly and saw that the flight path of the Flame Dragon Christman was crooked and erratic.

It belongs to the Demon Dragon's side, so was it affected at the crucial moment?

With the protection of the two Legendary Dragons, the two Extraordinary Legion finally returned to solid ground, and everyone felt much more at ease.

However, Ryan's expression was not good.

"What can we do about this curse?"

He felt the coldness in his body. The Blaze Dragon Knight Breathing Technique was supposed to ignite the knight's body, but it made him shiver with cold.

"Let's think of something after Father wakes up."

Ivar didn't know what to do either. Every act of blasphemy, every confrontation with the Deities, came at a heavy price. The current outcome was already quite good.

Ryan tried to use his Old One divinity to counteract the curse, but to no avail; the curse was born from the Demon Dragon's will.

Not only was it the chill of the Demon Dragon's Curse, but Ryan also felt another power disrupting his blood and energy, which was the pact between him and Surtr.

He needs to fulfill his promise and give Surtr a sufficient share of the Old One Gods.

"Damn it, he really can't wait even a day longer."

Ryan shivered. Even the flames burning in his hands couldn't Dispel the chill of the curse. Ryan couldn't even imagine what would happen if Count Clayton couldn't hold on any longer and the curse were to erupt completely on all those with the Clayton bloodline.

He has Spirituality Panel and is not so afraid, but the Count Clayton Family could fall from grace in an instant.

Will my mother and the others notice?

Ryan asked, Ivar shook his head after thinking about it.

"The distance between the two worlds is farther than you imagine, but once you open the portal, the power of the curse will follow."

"That's good. As long as Mother and the others don't panic, the Empire won't take any action against the Clayton Family in the short term."

Ryan breathed a sigh of relief. Politically, his second brother was far inferior to him. Ryan could foresee that after the Count Clayton had been missing for a long time, the great nobles of the empire would definitely test him, and it would cause panic within the Clayton County.

This seriously affected their aristocratic faction's initiative in the current Imperial the Church War.

Speaking of which...

"Is that angel still alive?"

"I don't know, now is not the time to focus on it."

The war between Surtr and the Demon Dragon ended, and the two Great Being disappeared in Nidhogg, but it was not the end.

Count Clayton came here to wage war for unimaginable resources and wealth, and so did Ryan. They had merely driven out the hostile forces that would hinder their acquisition of all this; they had not yet entered the harvesting phase.

and...

"Achoo!"

Lord Ryan also wants to hold a sacrificial ceremony.

The Stag Legion mobilized, felling trees, chiseling stones, and building makeshift Altar.

Ryan's rituals did not require the same level of refinement and preparation as others.

"The immortality that leads to Twilight, reborn from the ashes..."

After offering a few perfunctory prayers, Ryan knelt amidst a group of corpses—the corpses of the Twilight Kin Dragons, who could serve as a medium for communicating with Surtr.

Gradually, the sky darkened, Twilight painted the clear sky, and Surtr's power slowly entered this world.

He felt more at ease, perhaps because the world had become more unstable, and the saying about the three keys was no longer absolute.

"As agreed, I will offer you my share of the sacrifice."

Ryan raised his head and spoke, Surtr's head with two large horns was already looking at him. Ryan couldn't bear it, so he simply began to release his Old One divinity onto the corpses of these Twilight Kin.

He didn't care how Surtr absorbed it; he had given it to him anyway.

"Not enough!!!"

When half of the Old One divinity had disappeared, Surtr transmitted his will.

"Don't be too greedy, we have an agreement."

"Not enough!"

Surtr roared in fury, causing Ryan's soul to tremble in agony.

"Here's a little more, don't go too far."

Ryan roared and continued to release his Old One divinity. The massive Divine Essence poured in, and the corpses began to glow.

Surtr took away all the offerings, and on Ryan's Spirituality Panel, only three hundred Old One Divinity remained.

"Would you like to collaborate again sometime?"

Ryan wasn't so easy to talk to, so he gave Surtr a little more because the guy was just too useful.

The connection to the sacrifice had not completely disappeared, Surtr, on his deathbed, seemed to be enjoying it, not refusing Ryan.

If there is no refusal, then it is taken as His consent.

Hopefully, Surtr won't be so irritable during the next sacrificial summons.

However, Surtr did leave something behind.

It wasn't meant for Ryan, but for Count Clayton.

A fiery red crystal floated beside Count Clayton, fighting against the Demon Dragon's curse. On the third day, after several brief moments of lucidity, Count Clayton finally awoke.

"This is also a curse, but the two curses are fighting each other. Surtr wants me to become His subject."

Count Clayton sneered. Surtr had discovered his kinship when he tore through the barrier of divinity. As Monarch of fire himself, Surtr coveted this Legendary blessing.

"If I die, my soul will be devoured by Surtr."

"This is the curse He placed upon me the moment He looked at me."

After Count Clayton finished speaking, he looked at Ryan and said:

"It seems your deal is complete."

Damn it, he kept it hidden until the deal was over before revealing the curse. Was he worried that Ryan would want Him to remove it?

The treacherous Surtr.

"He's become smarter, which doesn't seem like a good thing."

Surtr is also capable of playing tricks, it seems...

"He is not far from awakening."

"Hobii, Demon Dragon, and now Surtr, it seems these Great Being are adapting to the hibernation brought to them by the Northlands."

Count Clayton took a deep breath and felt a chill run through him.

"What to do about the Demon Dragon's curse?"

Ryan asked, feeling uneasy with the curse on him.

"Let's think of a way slowly. There will always be a way, and this might be an opportunity for the Clayton bloodline."

Count Clayton's words made Ryan suspect that he might have deliberately chosen to bear the curse.

Is it because of the way the Flame Dragon Knight Legion evolves into [Familiars]?

Ryan only wanted this one reason.

"I need to leave this world for a while."

Count Clayton said, Ryan nodded, directly tearing open the crack with the Dragon Emperor Crown.

The long-term disappearance of great nobles is never a trivial matter.

Especially at this crucial juncture.

Ryan doesn't need to leave. The portal he opened with the Dragon Emperor Crown is in Otherworld Plane controlled by Count Clayton. The same applies to the Planar Gate opened with the Spirituality Panel. His location on the Norris Continent is his anchor point.

He cannot return to the Frozen Earth Territory because there are still tens of thousands of the Flame Dragon Knight Legion to be sent out into this world, but they still need to wage war against the Dragons.

The Dragon God's solution was also not completed.

"I'm writing some letters to send to the Frozen Earth Territory."

After all, he had been away from the Frozen Earth Territory for some time.

Frozen Earth Territory.

Brendan Ignazio, a descendant of one of the ancient thirteen noble families from the South lands, once again faced setbacks and left.

After being refused an audience several times, he had already shown signs of barely suppressed anger.

"That damned Northern Baron! How dare he, a mere Baron, refuse noble bloodlines several times!"

He gritted his teeth, but dared not act recklessly in the Frozen Earth Territory. Because of Ryan's departure, the Frozen Earth Territory's vigilance was so thick that it could crush many people with ulterior motives.

"I brought him enormous wealth, but he didn't even glance at it."

"If it weren't for..."

Thinking of this, Brendan gritted his teeth in embarrassment. Another letter had arrived from the South urging them to bring back weapons and equipment as soon as possible.

War is imminent, those damned fanatics...

"The Path of Dawn is stained with blood every time. We must make the Church understand that they cannot shed blood on our land."

"We did not betray Dawn, that damned Emperor Flor, he just bites us when he gets his hands on us!!!"

Brendan looked around at the people of the Empire, their eyes filled with murderous intent.

The Holy Kingdom Knights Legion is about to arrive in the territory of the Ignazio Family.

It's okay that they walked past; the important thing is what happened after they passed by...

Ignazio has been at peace for too long. They are far from the wars in the four directions, and the comfortable living environment has dulled the claws of the once mighty lion.

When the threat arrived, the ancient bloodline finally remembered the war-making power of their ancestors, now gathering dust, and they needed to exchange their wealth accumulated over the years for sharp thorns.

Let the Church know that if they are touched, they too will bleed countless times.

But to this day, Brendan has not completed the mission.

"No, we have to send a batch of weapons back first, otherwise... they'll replace them."

Brendan understood perfectly well what his competitors would do, just as he had done to squeeze them out. If he didn't succeed, he would soon be abandoned as well.

Then... a very strange phenomenon occurred in the following days.

As the Northwind Province with the most Iron Ore, the most prosperous Zero Crossing City in the Northwind Province, and the blacksmith shop with the most metal weapons trade, weapons are no longer available.

"I don't know who bought all the weapons. If those armors hadn't been designated as non-sale items by Baron Ryan, they probably would have been bought too."

"Who has so much wealth?"

"What is the purpose?"

"Without weapons, you can't compete for the title of Eight Knights. The Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild sells them for a really high price."

"The person who bought the weapons wouldn't have done it to prevent others from competing for the Eight Knights Eight Knights, would they?"

Yes, in Otherworld, while Lord Ryan was battling Deities and Dragons, while in the South the empire, hundreds of thousands of troops were once again clashing with the legions of the Kingdom of Carlos, and while the Path of Dawn was gradually stained with blood, its crimson staining the South lands— Zero Crossing City was still immersed in the topic of the Eight Knights and Frostmourne.

Brendan, who was hiding in the shadows, was also extremely surprised, but at the same time, he breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that buying all the weapons at once would arouse the suspicion of the nobles.

This reason gave him the most appropriate means.

"That Viscount Miles is greedy for money. Give him a little something and he'll help, but we still need to arrange for some people to become those Northlands adventurers to confuse these country nobles."

Brendan looked at the pedestrians outside with his wise gaze and thought that the people here were incredibly stupid.

The lands of the Northlands and the South are different.

When survival itself is a source of pressure, people naturally don't think about problems like the nobles in the South lands who have nothing to do but scheme and fight.

In short, weapon prices in Zero Crossing City rose, leading to a mini-boom for the Northern Kingdom's Braveheart Guild, which sold a large number of elite weapons.

Meanwhile, Lord Ryan is still waging war against Dragons in Otherworld Plane.

According to Arryris's answer, the Dragon God... has also awakened.

Yes, there shouldn't be any surprises. He has no rivals in this world. The Dragon Emperor has fallen, and the Demon Dragon no longer compete with him for the remaining authority. He devours everything, and so he slowly opened his eyes to gaze at Nidhogg, who is more than a hundred years in the future.

The first to be hit was the Mainland where the Tidal Wave began to pound against the human settlement.

(End of this chapter)