In the darkness, Onyxia suddenly opened her eyes from her sleep. She turned to her side, as if listening or sensing something. Then she stretched out her right hand from under the covers and gently pinched her index finger and thumb together.
In the stillness of the night, in the shadows of the alley where the streetlights couldn't reach, a soft thud suddenly came from the ground.
"Honey, what's wrong?" Deren vaguely sensed his wife doing something. "Let me sleep a little longer, my back is a bit sore!" he mumbled.
The Black Dragon Princess said irritably, "Go to sleep, go to sleep! I didn't ask you to do anything. What a weak man!"
Deren fell asleep again. A smug smile played on the Black Dragon Princess's lips as she whispered, "Another insect. Don't let it disturb my evening with my darling."
She then waved her hand, and a silent Shadow Energy swept through the alley outside. Something in the shadows seemed to be ignited by an even darker flame. Soon, a night wind blew by, scattering scattered bits of ash that swirled and disappeared into the night in Theramore.
Further down the street, a figure draped in a grey cloak glided silently through the alley. Then Twilight Follower Ares, pressed himself against the wall, motionless, his breathing so light it was almost inaudible. But the moon was high in the sky, and the person he was supposed to meet had not yet appeared. His gaze fell on the two-story building in the distance— Deren's residence.
"Damn Black Dragon!" Aeris cursed inwardly. But she immediately realized her grave disrespect and bowed to the Void in repentance, "Lord Deathwing, I was not insulting you!"
After a while, he realized that Deathwing had forgiven him, and he quietly waited for his companion who would never return.
This is the third spy the organization has sent; the first two vanished without a trace, as if they evaporated into thin air. According to intelligence, Onyxia, the daughter of Lord Deathwing, is guarding Deren, and that mother Black Dragon is not easy to deal with. Now, the third one has been sent out, and he still hasn't returned.
"What's going on? Why would an ordinary human be protected by a Black Dragon?" This was the first time Aeris had encountered such a situation. After all, she had assassinated human nobles and lords before, but those important figures were usually accompanied by knights, mages, or other skilled warriors. She had never encountered a target protected by Black Dragon.
Even more strangely, their orders were to assassinate a young human man named Deren. True to the Twilight Assassin ' nature, they spent some time investigating Deren's background beforehand, looking for any connections they could exploit. Whether it was impersonating his family or friends, or kidnapping him, they needed to understand the target's network of relationships.
As a result, after much investigation, all they found was that Deren was originally a refugee in the Westfall. Somehow, he got involved with the Black Dragon Princess and eventually became some kind of Tactical Advisor to Jaina, the mistress of Theramore. But the reason for assassinating such an ordinary man was never explicitly stated.
Aeris felt like he was going crazy. Three spies he sent had already disappeared without a trace. How was he supposed to carry out the assassination now? But as Twilight Cultists, the unconditional obedience to orders was deeply ingrained in his mind—if he still had that thing.
Aeris waited a while longer in the shadows, making sure her companions weren't coming back.
With a pained expression, he pulled a Crystal Ball from his robes. Inside the ball, dark purple energy slowly swirled. He chanted an incantation softly, and the Crystal Ball began to change, but Aeris trembled all over, his face pale, and he almost couldn't stand. Sweat soaked his clothes. It seemed that using the Crystal Ball would come at a great cost.
The Crystal Ball reflected the magical outline of the target house—the entire building was enveloped in a layer of almost invisible black energy.
"As expected, there's dragon protection." Aeris gritted his teeth. He carefully put away the Crystal Ball and retreated to a more secluded corner. The assassination plan needed to be reconsidered; at the very least, he needed to request reinforcements.
Just then, he keenly heard a heavy breathing sound coming from not far away. Aeris held his breath and slowly turned his head—at the end of the alley, a tall, green figure was furtively peering in this direction.
Orcs?
Aeris narrowed her eyes. The orc wore strange red leather armor, with a blurred mark on his shoulder indicating the Dragonmaw Clan! Aeris recognized the crossed-out mark; weren't these madmen almost wiped out in the last war?
The orc seemed to sense something, its green nose twitching in the air. Aeris quickly crushed a small pouch at her waist, releasing a powder to mask the scent. The orc shook its head in confusion, then turned and disappeared into the night.
"Interesting." A cold smile curled at the corner of Aeris's lips. Perhaps tonight's reconnaissance wasn't entirely fruitless.
Back in her lair, Aeris whispered into the Communication Crystal, "We need more people." The blurry figure on the other end of the sphere remained silent. "To complete the mission, we need at least three high-ranking cultists, and equipment effective against dragons."
"Are you sure the target is in Theramore?" a hoarse voice came from the Crystal Ball.
Aeris nodded. " Onyxia is indeed here, and her Agricultural Advisor, Deren, lives with her. But the problem is that Onyxia is the noble Black Dragon Princess. We won't gain the upper hand in a direct confrontation. The three we sent out earlier haven't returned. They must have been discovered and killed by the Black Dragon Princess."
So what's your suggestion?
"I've discovered something interesting," Aeris said in a low voice. " The Dragonmaw Clan is also active here. They should be quite interested in that Blue Dragon in the city who fell in love with the Sunwell."
There was a moment of silence on the other end of the Crystal Ball: "Continue to observe. If the situation is true, I will send reinforcements."
After the communication was cut off, Aeris put away the Crystal Ball and decided to investigate the orcs further. He followed the direction in which he had seen the orcs and soon found an abandoned warehouse. From the broken windows, faint firelight and the rough Orcish could be heard.
Aeris approached stealthily. Thanks to the "contributions" of the orc followers in the organization, he could understand most of the Orcish.
"That foolish Blue Dragon guards that tower every day; it's practically inviting us in!" a hoarse voice said.
"Lord Zuluhed will be pleased," another, even deeper voice replied. "A true Blue Dragon, far superior to those Red Dragon bastards."
Aeris raised an eyebrow. Zuluhed? That old madman is still alive?
"When do we make our move?" the third voice asked.
"When the moon is obscured by clouds," the first voice replied, "Bring the prepared tranquilizer darts and Dragon Sickness Potion. Even though it's a useless dragon, it's still a dragon."
A rough laugh echoed from the warehouse. Aeris cautiously took a few steps back, his mind racing. The Dragonmaw Clan wanted to kidnap Kalecgos? Why? Suddenly, he remembered the records in the organization's archives about the Second War — the Dragonmaw Clan had once used Demon Soul to control the Red Dragon Queen.
A crazy idea flashed through Aeris's mind. Instead of risking assassinating a wary Black Dragon, why not help kidnap a foolish Blue Dragon? At least the latter would be easier, and the reward would be considerable.
Second update, still asking for votes and subscriptions. Two updates today as usual. The Female Orc Experimenter is about to arrive on the battlefield, target: the useless Blue Dragon! The stage is set, the actors are about to take their positions, lighting, photography, script supervisor, props, sound effects, makeup, beast trainers, all in place.