Chapter 881: A Prisoner's Proposal

Chapter 881: A Prisoner’s Proposal

“A Lunar Serpent.”

The one who answered Orion wasn’t Leonidas, but Alexander.

“The monster in the chains is a Lunar Serpent,” Alexander’s voice was laced with shock. “A Jiao on the verge of becoming a true dragon.”

The creature before them was draconic, but it was a world away from the brutish, winged lizards they were used to.

Normally, the dragons they encountered had massive, bat-like wings, four clawed feet, mouths full of sharp teeth, and long, winding tails tipped with spikes or barbs. But there were other, vastly different branches of dragonkind. There were Faerie Dragons and Tyrant Dragons, Bone Dragons and Sea-Drakes, even the divine Azure Dragons of legend. These creatures broke the mold—some had no wings, some had feathered pinions, and others had entirely different body structures.

“A Divine Dragon?” Leonidas’s voice trembled, his dragon soul form wavering with excitement. It was obvious this Lunar Serpent had captured his complete interest.

Only then did it fully register with Orion. The monster before them had no wings. It had four legs, and a body like a colossal python.

“Look at its head,” Alexander continued. “Those markings like fractured moonstones. That’s the Lunar Mark. The lunar affinity is tied to water. A creature like this can passively generate and control the fundamental laws of ice and cold. It can freeze the land themselves.”

His voice was filled with a strange reverence. “I never thought we’d find a mythological creature from the records of our last world, here.”

Orion felt a flicker of understanding, a connection he couldn’t quite grasp.

“It’s trapped… and in a deep sleep. Its aura is incredibly weak,” Leonidas observed. “Wait. No. This isn’t the real Dragon Mausoleum! This is a Dragon-Burial Formation!”

His sudden shout was a shock. He had just sensed the dragon soul that led them here disappear completely after entering the magical formation beneath the Lunar Serpent. His eyes darted to the four giant dragon statues, and the memories of his time as a void dragon began to surface. He understood.

“Bro…?” Orion transmitted.

Before he could even ask, Leonidas was already explaining. “This place is a Dragon Mausoleum, but it’s also not. The mausoleum we’re seeing right now isn’t the real deal. It’s a prison, built specifically for that Lunar Serpent. This hall only becomes a true mausoleum after the serpent dies.”

Leonidas’s voice was rushed, his mind racing as more pieces fell into place. “The real Dragon Mausoleum is inside the magical formation beneath the serpent’s body. It must be a hybrid—a mix of a spirit-siphoning formation and a teleportation array. It not only draws in dragon souls, but it also drains the magical power from the Lunar Serpent’s body.”

“This whole place… it’s a vampire. It’s feeding on the Lunar Serpent’s energy to power the true mausoleum. With its incredibly long lifespan, the serpent is the perfect battery.”

As he finished, Leonidas let out a low, greedy chuckle, like a cat that had just found the canary cage.

“So, killing the serpent would disrupt the power supply and shut down the real mausoleum?” Alexander’s voice was cold, cutting straight to the point.

“No, no, no, now is not the time to kill it,” Leonidas shot back. “If the serpent dies, the magical formation will become unstable. The real mausoleum could be damaged or lost, and that would screw up our egg hunt.”

His dragon soul form did a slow lap around the fifty-foot-long Lunar Serpent before settling beside the spirit swordavatar.

“Then what’s your plan?” Alexander asked calmly. He knew Leonidas’s moods; the excitement meant he already had an idea.

“Same old plan. We split up,” Leonidas said. “Alexander, you stay here as backup and wait for me and our bro to return. If we’re not back in half a month, you kill this sleeping serpent. Cut off the power supply, throw the whole system into chaos.”

He paused. “And then we all run like hell.”

It was a reasonably solid plan. Alexander’s spirit swordavatar wasn’t suited for carrying dragon eggs anyway. By staying here, he could not only provide backup but also serve as a final trump card.

“Alright. We’ll do it your way.” Orion and Alexander both agreed.

Orion and Leonidas turned and flew toward the teleportation array beneath the Lunar Serpent. Just as they were about to enter, a weary, ageless voice echoed in all three of their minds.

“Perhaps… you would be willing to hear my proposal.”

In an instant, the spirit sword trembled. The dragon souls wavered. Orion, Leonidas, and Alexander froze, instinctively preparing for an attack. Orion and Leonidas exchanged a look, their shared shock palpable even in their soul-forms.

A strange voice, a calm tone—this had to be a demigod.

“Do not be alarmed,” the voice continued. “I am also in an ethereal state. I can do you no harm.”

Orion and Leonidas said nothing, their senses stretched to the absolute limit, searching for the source of the voice.

“Are you the Lunar Serpent?” After a long moment, it was Alexander who spoke, his spirit swordavatar flying to hover directly above the serpent’s head, poised to strike at any second. It was both a threat and a warning.

The strange voice went silent for a long time before finally answering with a tired, drawn-out sigh. “I did not think anyone was left in this world who could recognize my kind.”

“The Lunar Serpent is attuned to water, able to generate its own fundamental laws. That means you should be a demigod,” Alexander pressed, his tone cold and questioning. “Why are you trapped here?”

“Look around you. Look at my body. You should be able to guess. I have been imprisoned, sealed… enslaved. I have been chained here since the day this mausoleum was built. Countless years have passed. I no longer remember how long.”

The voice was filled with an ancient sorrow. “I do not know this term, ‘demigod.’ If you are speaking of power, I had not yet reached this level when I was captured.”

The great hall of the Dragon Mausoleum fell silent.

“When I was first brought here, I had only two claws. Over the millennia, I have grown four, as well as these scales and horns. But my body is bound by the formation. I cannot move an inch. The one who sealed me was a dragon far more powerful than I. He not only carved a sealing array into my flesh, but he placed a seal upon my soul as well.”

The Lunar Serpent’s voice was incredibly faint, as if recounting its past was draining what little energy it had left.

“Your soul is sealed?” Leonidas, ever the old cynic, wasn’t buying it. “Then how are you communicating with us right now?”

“The fact that you cannot sense my soul is the best proof,” the serpent replied. “I am speaking to you now only by vibrating the Dragon Pearl within my body.”

Leonidas was about to retort, but Alexander cut in first. “You said you had a proposal. What is it?”