Escape

But when he saw the Sandworm roar and suddenly open its enormous mouth, revealing row upon row of saw-sharp teeth inside,

only then did the cold, hard facts force him to accept this absurd reality.

He distinctly remembered that over the past six months or so,

he and the three dragons had killed every Sandworm they could find in this area, and even throughout the entire ruins.

How could he still see such a massive creature bursting out of the ground here?

A chill of sheer disbelief instantly shot through Redd's entire body.

What made his scalp prickle even more was that he noticed the stones on the ground beginning to shake violently, one after another.

Clearly, there was definitely more than one Sandworm emerging from the earth!

"Ehm! Climb! Get away from the ground, now!" Redd made the call immediately. He could not worry about saving face; staying alive came first! He decisively gave the order.

The Black Dragon Ehm seemed to sense the threat beneath the ground as well. Without the slightest hesitation, he beat his enormous wings hard, his massive body rapidly climbing into the sky.

The instant he rose away from the ground, more Sandworms burst out of the earth like an army of monsters!

The creatures shaped like lumps of flesh that had been crowding nearby were flung into the air by the sudden, tremendous disturbance, then came pattering down like dumplings dropped into a pot.

And the churning, dense black mist seemed to command all this chaos, silently driving these newly arrived reinforcements.

The Sandworms opened their enormous mouths and began attacking the targets in the sky.

What shot from their mouths was neither venom nor sharp teeth, but enormous rocks they had forcibly thrust up from underground!

Even the smaller ones weighed dozens of pounds, while the larger ones might weigh over a hundred.

Every rock shrieked through the air like a deadly cannonball, hurtling toward Redd and Ehm!

Redd clung desperately to the Black Dragon Ehm's back as the fierce winds stirred up by the boulders whistling past sent his hair and the hems of his clothes whipping wildly.

All he could do was press himself as tightly as possible against the cold dragon scales, trembling like a leaf amid the fierce winds and boulders,

and pray that no rock struck him.

He could even hear several smaller rocks striking Ehm's thick, heavy body with dull thuds,

accompanied by Ehm's low roars of pain and anger. This night had descended into utter chaos.

Fortunately, Redd had ordered Ehm to retreat in time, and with a little luck,

they had ultimately escaped the meteor-shower-like barrage, bedraggled though they were.

The Black Dragon Ehm used the last of his strength to beat his wings and carry Redd back to the relatively safe dragon lair atop the volcano.

The moment they entered the lair, a wave of warm air mingled with sulfur and dragon breath washed over them.

Redd immediately spotted the Red Dragon Aegon curled up in a corner, already so weak that he had fallen into a deep sleep. The curse on him seemed to still be slowly eating away at his vitality.

Seeing that Aegon was safe for the moment, Redd finally relaxed after a whole night of tension. He let out a long breath, his heart finally settling.

He jumped down from Ehm's back, his feet landing on the lair's rough stone floor, and felt utterly grounded.

Yet everything he had experienced tonight felt like a bizarre nightmare, leaving him with a sense of unreality.

Where exactly had those Sandworms come from?

He remembered perfectly clearly that, to obtain evolution points,

he and the three dragons had killed every Sandworm they could find throughout the Valyria Ruins. The evolution points on the system panel did not lie.

Yet tonight, they had appeared like Sandworms emerging from underground, and in such great numbers.

And then there was that damned black mist!

During the day, it was silent and still, as though it did not exist in this world, but once night fell, it became so strange.

Not only could it buff those already disgusting, terrifying flesh creatures, driving them into an utter frenzy,

it could even summon Sandworms and direct them to attack as though commanding an army!

An even greater headache was that curse, which simply would not leave them alone.

First Aegon, then Ehm, and even King Ghidorah had nearly been affected.

Fortunately, he and King Ghidorah seemed to have a natural immunity to this curse. Otherwise, they might truly have died here tonight.

Redd rubbed his throbbing temples. He had originally thought that after six months of exploration and hunting,

he had gained some understanding of these ruins, and could even say he had figured out their nature.

But tonight's experience had undoubtedly thrown cold water on him.

The Valyria Ruins at night were far more unfathomable and dangerous than he had imagined.

He even felt a lingering fear. If they had been any slower tonight, or if Ehm had been unable to hold on, the Red Dragon Aegon might truly never have made it back.

These Valyria Ruins really did harbor deadly danger at every turn.

Redd collected himself, walked over to a relatively flat rock in a corner of the lair, and sat down to check his personal information.

[Name: Redd]

[Sex: Male]

[Age: 12 (12-unlimited)]

[Evolution points: 7051]

[Storage space: 100 cubic meters (+)]

[Bloodlines: Old Valyria Dragon King bloodline, Dragon Rider bloodline, titan king bloodline]

[Abilities: King's Might, Gravity Beams, Storm Control, Electricity Manipulation, Accelerated Regeneration]

[Status: Good]

Seeing the information displayed on the illusory screen, Redd let out a breath of relief.

His evolution points had risen from over six thousand to just over seven thousand. Though he was still quite far from ten thousand, at least he had made progress.

What reassured him most was "Status: Good." It seemed that although tonight's battle had been perilous, it had not inflicted any fatal injury or curse on his body.

He then brought up King Ghidorah's information. [Status: Good]. This put him a little more at ease. At least his smallest companion was safe.

Next was the Black Dragon Ehm. [Status: Weakened].

Redd frowned. Thankfully, he was merely weakened, rather than afflicted by that damned curse.

It seemed that letting his own blood flow into Ehm's flesh earlier had indeed worked. At the very least, it had temporarily contained the spread of the curse, and now even the curse had been lifted.

Finally, he opened the Red Dragon Aegon's information. [Status: Cursed].

That word stood glaringly in the status field, like two sharp swords hanging overhead, making Redd's heart clench once more.

There was no other choice. The curse had to be lifted immediately.

Redd took a deep breath and raised his right hand without hesitation. With the small knife he carried, he cut hard across his palm.

Blood instantly welled up, warm and sticky.

Looking at Aegon, who remained fast asleep and terribly weak, Redd knew he had to find a way to make him swallow the blood.

He patted King Ghidorah, who had just come up beside him, then gestured for Ehm to move closer.

Though both dragons were somewhat tired, they were still fairly obedient.