At the summit of a mountain range stood a majestic palace, permeated everywhere by an atmosphere of grim slaughter.
Vaguely, an enormous Dragon Vein seemed to lie dormant deep within the mountains. The dense energy and aura of Dragon World's origin filled the surroundings, making the entire range teem with life and lush vegetation.
This place was the headquarters of Black Wind Stronghold.
Inside the palace, numerous elite members of Black Wind Stronghold had gathered. Their leader, Black Dragon Basta, sat upon the throne, a terrifying dark aura emanating from his body and warping the surrounding space-time.
He was in an exceptionally foul mood. Every bandit dragon present trembled in fear, terrified that one careless misstep might offend this Black Dragon of the Middle Ancient Realm and bring about a fatal disaster.
Some dragons had once offended the Black Dragon, only to be swallowed whole by him in a single bite. One could well imagine his savagery. He was an evil dragon capable of intimidating a region spanning millions of light-years.
"What exactly is going on?"
A vicious glint flashed in Black Dragon Basta's eyes. "Where did those three pieces of trash, Jerak and the others, go? According to the plan, they should have returned to Black Wind Stronghold with that group of special dragons three days ago.
But now? Where the hell did they die? They vanished without a sound? Don't tell me they ran off with those special dragons."
He greatly suspected that his three trusted subordinates had betrayed him.
The reason was simple: those special dragons were far too valuable. Every one of them was worth a fortune, enough to sell for at least several million Dragon Crystals.
That Fate Dragon in particular—if it were put up at an underground auction, fetching over a hundred million Dragon