Evil dragon has a warm heart
Chapter 530 - 530 528 Thorn Rising

Chapter 530: Chapter 528: Thorn Rising Chapter 530: Chapter 528: Thorn Rising Initially, it seemed like just an ordinary earthquake, but as time went by, Russell shockingly discovered that not only was the entire Shadowflame Grand Duchy affected by the tremors, but the neighboring Scorching Torrent Kingdom was also experiencing nationwide earthquakes.

The earthquakes were not severe; by the standards of Earth, his old home, they would be considered mild, around magnitude two or three.

However, the extent of the earthquakes was astonishing. Usually, earthquakes occur only around the epicenter, with stronger tremors closer to the epicenter and weaker ones further away.

Russell compiled the news from the Scorching Torrent Kingdom and the Shadowflame Grand Duchy and found that the earthquakes that occurred everywhere were roughly of the same intensity, two to three on the scale, without significant weakening or strengthening.

In other words, this earthquake didn’t have an epicenter.

“In other words, this isn’t an earthquake at all!” Facing this conclusion, Russell furrowed his brows, “Lost One, the great trembling of the earth…”

He looked up at the sky: “The gate to another world… the gate to another world, Lost One must be the Frost Giant World. The earth’s tremble might just be the fluctuation from the gate opening… Last time when Lost One eclipsed, Rossay sensed the tumult of the Snowfield’s atmosphere…”

All signs indicated that every appearance of Lost One would cause anomalies on Dragon Sleep Continent.

“I need to write a letter to King Ares, have him be prepared. If the gate to another world really opens, I fear… Shuang Ge and Shuang Da might just be the vanguard of the rabble, the real Frost Giant army is still waiting behind!”

Russell felt deeply uneasy about the crisis they were about to face.

But his ability to adjust psychologically was strong, and he quickly let go of his worries: “It doesn’t matter. When the sky falls, there are tall ones to hold it up. King Ares always prides himself as a human leader, so naturally, he has it covered. Why should I worry unnecessarily?”

But then he reconsidered, “Wait, after Little Dream Dragon Volcano erupts, I’ll be a tall one too… If King Ares can’t handle it, I’ll still have to step in!”

Whew!

He exhaled a breath of foul air.

Russell became tense again: “Rossay, Polly, Hape, Uroboros, we must continue to train and become stronger!”

“Father, I’m ready to cooperate at any time,” Rossay responded.

“Alright then,” said Polly.

“Hmm,” Hape affirmed.

“I’ve already been fighting on the Snowfield, Russell!” Uroboros said, taking a moment from fighting to respond to Russell.

Training against the wind and snow.

Russell continually developed the combat skills of the Dragon Domain Lord and the tactics of the Flying Dragon Knight, trying to merge them with the secret techniques of his swordsmanship to ascend to higher levels of combat prowess, strengthening himself.

“Riding dragons is indeed a shortcut.”

Drenched in sweat, his muscles aching all over, Russell’s spirit surged even more powerfully: “But true strength requires a thousand hammerings and a hundred refinements. With every session of training, I can feel it, becoming stronger and stronger!”

Ever since he crossed to Dragon Sleep Continent.

Russell’s favorite thing has not been his noble title but the sensation of extraordinary powers coursing through his body.

Back on Earth, his old home, as a corporate slave addicted to creature comforts, he was frighteningly out of shape, becoming winded from running just eight hundred meters. But now, running wasn’t the issue; he wouldn’t feel tired even if he ran for three days and nights straight.

Every day, every minute and second, his body was in optimum condition, which was an incomparable feeling.

“Training, it makes me stronger… getting stronger, that’s what brings me joy!”

This was Russell’s attitude towards training, as well as the will that enabled him to keep climbing to the heights of the Way of the Knight.

After returning to Cigar Castle, he took a bath and changed his clothes, feeling utterly refreshed.

Just out of the bath, Russell was still drying his hair when he saw the Fluorescent Mushroom Bird Rosy flying towards him swiftly with a Spirit Insect in her beak, placing it in Russell’s hand before proudly raising her head.

Cheeping loudly: “Cheep cheep!”

Handling the Spirit Insect brought by Rosy, Russell said with exasperation, “Rosy, why are you playing this little trick again?”

He didn’t know how many times it had happened; Rosy would always bring Spirit Insects from the Spirit Room, hoping to receive Russell’s encouragement.

“Rosy!” A sharp rebuke came from the corridor. The Great Tobacco Sprite Niko flew over, grabbed Rosy in one swoop, “How many times have I told you not to fly around recklessly, and why do you keep pestering the Spirit Insects!”

The previously most mischievous Niko had now become the elder of the sprites.

Russell couldn’t help but smile, not out of mockery, but because of the warm and amusing sight. No matter how much he watched, he could never get enough of these magical creatures.

“Chirp chirp!” Rosy struggled in Niko’s grip, clearly unimpressed.

“Send it back to the spirit…” Russell was about to ask Niko to take Rosy back when he suddenly froze with a start, then looked down at the spirit insect in his hand.

The dark green and dark red patterns were interwoven, and though the boundaries between them were not distinct, these were patterns Russell had never seen before.

Among the many spirit insects bound by contract to him, none bore these patterns.

Moreover, he didn’t feel the existence of a contract between himself and the spirit insect in his hand.

“This…” Russell exclaimed in surprise, “Niko, wait, let Rosy go for a moment… Rosy, is this a wild spirit insect you found outside?”

“Chirp chirp!” Rosy held its head high.

“It’s amazing!” Russell laughed heartily, “You really have brought me a surprise. Alright, I owe you an apology; you hadn’t played a small trick this time!”

“Chirp chirp!” Rosy looked triumphant, glancing sideways at Niko.

Niko, curious, picked up the spirit insect from Russell’s hand and exclaimed, “Really! Russell, this is a new spirit insect!”

Grab the jade powder.

Russell held the wild spirit insect in his hand, then patted Rosy, “Come on, lead me to the cordyceps. Where did you find this spirit insect?”

Following Rosy, they quickly flew towards the birch forest to the north of the castle, and at the edge of the birch forest, Russell saw a cluster of shrubs covered in snow. The shrubs were comprised of thorny plants, and Rosy perched on top and began to chirp.

An Ice Pellet Pearl in his palm caught fire, and Russell used Ethereal Dream Gaze to swiftly discern that the thorny shrub was emanating a magic glow.

“Indeed, it’s a newly sprouted cordyceps!” Right away, Russell pricked his fingertip and used the jade powder to lure the spirit insect to swallow the droplet of blood.

Contract achieved.

The Jing Ji Sprite Bug gently licked Russell’s palm.

However, in the next moment, the Thorns Mark on Russell’s palm suddenly flashed, followed by the appearance of a Jing Ji Amber Bug, which transformed into a withered yellow thorn seed. Soon, the dried yellow thorn seed began to sprout, growing into a small thorn twig in the palm of Russell’s hand.

It bore a great resemblance to the small thorn twig manifested by the Jing Ji Amber Bug in the Gloomy Dreamland.

Crack!

Through the contract, Russell felt as if something had been broken when the thorn seed sprouted—the shackle that was bound to it.

“This is… the Jing Ji Amber Bug has evolved into a Jing Ji Amber Sprite!” Overjoyed, Russell now possessed his second Amber Sprite since the Sword Butterfly.

The small thorn twig transformed by the Jing Ji Amber Sprite swiftly returned to Russell’s palm and turned back into the Thorns Mark, but it had grown from the size of a sesame seed to that of a soybean.

Russell was blessed with serendipity.

He handed the Jing Ji Sprite Bug to Niko to hold, then raised his left hand, but the usual five-meter-long thorn whip failed to appear.

Instead, the snow-covered ground underneath began to loosen before numerous thorns broke through the soil. Each vine was dozens of meters long, some even reaching up to a hundred meters, resembling countless tentacles that danced at the behest of Russell’s will.

Within a radius of three hundred meters with Russell as the center, there was a terrifying forest of dancing thorns.

“This… this is the Thorn Rising brought about by the Jing Ji Amber Sprite!” Russell floated into the air and marveled at the thorn forest below, “Even a dragon entrapped within would be bound by the thorns!”

With a thought, the Meteor Butterfly Sword appeared in his hand. Russell swung it idly a few times, hacking at the dancing thorns.

The thorns did not break; their toughness was determined by Russell’s Dragon Breath.

However, as Russell increased his strength to chop, the thorns broke off, not proving any tougher than the prior five-meter-long thorn whip.

But the severed thorns soon regrew.

As long as Russell’s Dragon Breath did not run dry, this thorn forest could continuously regenerate, helping him to bind any prey.

“Cool!”

Russell laughed heartily once more, then with a casual wave, the countless thorns, as if in reverse, rapidly withdrew back into the ground.

They left behind a ground full of holes.

Just then, Niko shouted, “Russell, look at the Jing Ji Sprite Bug, it’s shedding its skin, it seems like it’s about to split open!”