Chapter 973 - Saving the Great Fire Dragon’s Mother
Han Wu drew a small amount of Dragon Blood from Esquiem and used it to soak the Golden Rune. The second layer of the seal dissolved, leaving only the final layer intact.
The last seal required a branch from the Golden Tree, but Han Wu had no idea what that referred to. After consulting the Desolation Manifestation, he learned that the Golden Tree was actually the Golden Will’s physical manifestation.
That revelation made the final condition nearly impossible to fulfill. Asking the White Soul Civilization’s very own Will for a piece of its body to break a seal was like trying to skin a tiger while riding it.
Han Wu had been fairly confident in his strength until now. If his opponent was the Golden Will, though, he had no confidence whatsoever. A civilization’s Will was certainly not the strongest existence in its world, but it was undoubtedly among the most powerful. He was only at the Sixth Form, yet he was expected to pull a tooth from a tiger’s jaws? It sounded like a suicide mission.
“No, absolutely not. With my current strength, going there would be throwing my life away. I need to find a way to get stronger first,” Han Wu muttered to himself.
Esquiem had shrunk to the size of a charm and perched on Han Wu’s shoulder. Thanks to their contract, it could now understand Han Wu’s words.
“Noble Defier, if you want to get stronger, I know a place,” Esquiem said.
Han Wu turned to look at the tiny dragon. “Where?”
“The Full Moon Library at the top of the Laurel Tree! Mama always said knowledge is power!” Esquiem replied earnestly.
Han Wu perked up at that, though not because of the Full Moon Library. His attention shifted to Esquiem’s mother. As a capable Major God, Han Wu had personally raised many units and forged deep bonds with them. He understood better than most how painful it was for a mother to lose her child.
To prevent such a tragedy, Han Wu felt it was his duty to bring Esquiem’s mother into his divine realm as well. That way, the whole dragon family could stay together. His divine realm already housed plenty of dragons, so she would never lack companions.
If Esquiem’s mother was willing, he could even arrange a stepfather for Esquiem. He could provide everything a Great Dragon would ever need in its life.
The innocent Esquiem failed to notice Han Wu’s ulterior motives. When Han Wu asked where its mother had gone, Esquiem’s mood immediately darkened.
After listening to Esquiem’s disjointed explanation, Han Wu managed to piece together the most important detail: its mother had been captured.
“Damn it, I was too late!” Han Wu cursed.
Esquiem stared at him with wide, confused eyes.
Han Wu quickly corrected himself. “I mean I got here too late. If I had arrived sooner, I could’ve helped protect your mother from the bad guys.”
Esquiem nodded, deeply touched. Its inherited dragon memories told it that the Defier was a noble figure among the Great Dragon race. Now it seemed that the Defier was not only noble but kind-hearted as well.
Han Wu couldn’t let this matter rest. After all, a full-grown Great Dragon was at stake. He immediately asked the Desolation Manifestation to compile intelligence based on Esquiem’s account to determine who had taken the Great Fire Dragon’s mother.
The Desolation Manifestation lacked combat ability, but its clearance level for information here was extensive. After a thorough search, it narrowed the suspects down to three organizations.
The first was the Full Moon Library that Esquiem had mentioned. Their members’ clothing matched Esquiem’s description. The second was a group known as the Fire Worship Cult. Their robes closely resembled those of the Full Moon Library, and because they worshipped fire, capturing a Great Fire Dragon would fit their beliefs.
The third was a notorious figure within the White Soul Civilization named Corpse Fiend Hennibal. He enjoyed consuming the corpses of various creatures and grafting their body parts onto his own.
The probability of Corpse Fiend Hennibal’s involvement was low, but the Desolation Manifestation included him because of one small detail in Esquiem’s account. Among the captors, one individual had an unusual physique and displayed a wide variety of combat techniques.
Han Wu trusted the Desolation Manifestation completely. With the analysis complete, the Full Moon Library on the Laurel Tree became the first destination in the search for Esquiem’s mother.
Once they had settled on their destination, Esquiem transformed into its Great Dragon form and carried Han Wu through the sky. Its flying speed was three times Han Wu’s own speed, reducing a journey that would have taken three months to a single day.
Seated on Esquiem’s back, Han Wu gazed at the enormous Laurel Tree rising in the distance. He had no idea how many years it had been growing. The higher it stretched, the more branches it spread. The life forms living on it had built all sorts of uniquely styled houses among its boughs, weaving them seamlessly into the tree’s natural contours. The sight was nothing short of extraordinary.
Han Wu was about to guide Esquiem closer when a figure suddenly appeared before him. The man wore solemn robes, carried an ornate staff, and hovered in midair. Powerful energy radiated from him.
Han Wu could sense that the man had definitely reached the Microcosm rank. He himself hadn’t recovered his Microcosm strength, so he chose not to force his way through.
“The Full Moon Library is a restricted zone. No insects. No fire. Fire-type life forms are not permitted inside!” the man declared. [1]
Esquiem immediately looked hurt. It had dreamed of visiting the knowledge treasury its mother had spoken about, only to be turned away at the entrance.
Meanwhile, Han Wu felt a wave of relief. A library that prohibited bugs and fire made perfect sense. Denying Esquiem entry was entirely reasonable.
He comforted Esquiem, then stored it inside the summoning space tied to his Sixth Form, Fire Dragon Knight.
“Can I enter now?” Han Wu asked.
The man regarded him with a stern expression. “I am Cage, the Dark Archmage and director of the Full Moon Library. Once inside, do not engage in any activities beyond seeking knowledge. If I find you engaging in anything else, I reserve the right to punish and expel you.”
“No problem,” Han Wu replied.
With that, he was finally granted entry.
Inside the library, Han Wu found life forms from all kinds of races, including humans, ram-headed people, kobolds, and even Little Dwarves. Beyond these walls, many of them would have been enemies. Within the Full Moon Library, however, they were all students hungry for knowledge.
Han Wu found this amusing. Curious to see how extensive the library’s collection was, he pulled a random book from a nearby shelf. Its title read Human Pregnancy: Postnatal Care and Recovery. Just as he was about to open it, a mental prompt came from the book. Accessing its content required payment of 1 White Soul Coin, and the book could only be read for a single day.
Han Wu froze. “Dark Archmage Cage... So the Dark in his title refers to his personality!”[2]
1. Fair enough to be honest ☜
2. Dark here refers to being shady. In this case, asking someone to pay one coin to read a book with a time limit of a day! ☜