From Blood Mage to Styx Ancestor

Chapter 50 Mormontis is a Winner Who Doesn't Strike While Lying Down

Baihe Town, Oak Barrel Tavern.

A bearded man wearing leather armor and a long sword at his waist pushed open the door and entered. The heat from the hearth fire dispelled the cold wind of the North, softening his gaze.

Judging from his attire, he was no different from an ordinary adventurer.

The people in the tavern only glanced at him, noticed he was a stranger, and didn't pay much attention, continuing to drink and boast.

The bearded man looked around and soon found his target. He strode over to an old man who was drinking silently.

"Do you mind if I sit across from you?"

Before the old man could reply, he pulled out a chair and sat down.

"You're drinking Thorn mead? Thorn Winery is quite far from this remote town; this wine must have cost a lot of money!"

The bearded man spoke up quite casually, even though the old man didn't respond to a word.

"Unfortunately, I don't like mead; I prefer the wine made by the Arlonis."

After saying this, a glint of light flashed in the old man's cloudy eyes, and his previously nonchalant attitude became serious.

He glanced at the bearded man in front of him out of the corner of his eye, then snapped his fingers lightly under the table, and the barrier silently unfolded.

"This area is now covered by my barrier. Let's get down to business."

The old man spoke in a hoarse voice, his throat sounding as if he had swallowed razor blades, sending chills down one's spine.

"I have found the way to the Frost Tomb of Frost, and I am certain that one of my ancient priests lies buried here."

The bearded man took out a map with the route from White River Town to Frostmound marked on it.

The old man memorized the route, his hoarse voice revealing barely suppressed excitement.

"Our Holy Dragon Cult has been silent for so long, and we can finally welcome back our first High Priest."

"When we awaken the slumbering High Priest, and then pay homage to the great Frostwing Shadow, the glory of the ancient Holy Dragon Cult will surely be restored in our hands!"

The bearded man was infected by his emotions, and his face also showed a hint of excitement.

Just as he was about to say something, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the tavern.

The two turned around and saw a large group of drinkers rushing out, as if there was some excitement to be had.

"What happened?" the old man asked, puzzled.

"I don't know, I'll go ask."

The bearded man stood up, grabbed someone at random, asked a few simple questions, and his expression immediately froze.

"What's wrong?" the old man patted his arm impatiently.

He turned his head stiffly, his face contorted with grief, and said, "Someone has successfully slain the dragon."

Slaying a dragon?

The old man's mind went blank for a moment, then he flew into a rage:

"This is blasphemy! Blasphemy! We must go out and see who this blasphemer is!"

The two immediately left the tavern, and as soon as they stepped outside, they saw a carriage drive by.

On a cart pulled by several horses lay a huge, pale skull that exuded a chilling aura.

Based solely on the faint dragon aura emanating from it, the two members of the Dragon Worship Cult recognized that this was definitely a genuine dragon skull.

It wasn't a flying dragon, nor a serpent, but a true dragon.

"This, this..." The bearded man's eyes were lifeless, like a believer whose faith had been shattered, as he watched the carriage drive past him.

"I've heard of those people." The old man stared intently at the carriage driver, saying each word carefully, "The Windrunner Squad."

After asking around, he became even more certain of his guess.

"The despicable Windrunner, together with a lowly pawn named Mormontis, besieged the great Frostwing Shadow."

The main force in this battle will undoubtedly be Windranger.

As for the man named Mormontis and the other beautiful girl whose name was unknown, who were in the carriage?

Ha, I guess he's just like that mage apprentice in the car, winning by doing nothing.

"We must reclaim the sacred remains of Frostwing Shadow; we cannot allow them to be defiled by these blasphemers!"

The old man was agitated. He instructed the bearded man to stay in town and keep a close eye on the blasphemers' movements.

He himself rushed to the nearby entrance to the Deeplands to find the Bishop of the Dragon Cult who was making deals with the Dark Elves and inciting them to attack the surface world.

The carriage carrying the ice dragon skull quickly arrived at the center of White River Town. Upon hearing the news, Mayor Burke rushed over and saw the pale skull on the carriage. His weariness was completely replaced by joy.

He quickly went to the carriage, warmly took Modi's hand, and said gratefully:

"Thank you, 'Dragon Hunter' Mormontis, you have dealt with the evil dragon that threatened us, and White River will remember your name."

Your name will be known throughout Frostfire Territory, and even throughout the North.

With a humble smile, Mordi pointed at Windranger and said:

"In fact, these Windrunner friends also made significant contributions in this battle. Elena, of course, was one of them."

Mayor Burke then noticed the other people in the carriage, none of whom he recognized.

But since Modi had said so, he didn't neglect the others and instead expressed his sincere gratitude to them.

"Brave dragon hunters, please wait here for a moment. I have already ordered a banquet to be prepared, and we will treat you with the highest honors."

"I have no objection," Elena said, raising her hand.

"Who asked you?" Mordy shoved her back down and looked at the Windrunner squad.

The Windrunners did not refuse; the dragon hunt had exhausted them, and they could replenish their strength at the banquet.

Seeing this, he did not refuse and nodded in agreement with Mayor Burke's proposal.

Mayor Burke left in a hurry; besides the banquet, he also needed to prepare the thousand gold coins he had promised Mordy.

After he left, a large number of townspeople still gathered in the central square to look at the ice dragon skull. Their eyes were filled with undisguised amazement, and some even showed the joy of revenge.

Colin of the Windrunner squad quite enjoyed the attention. He chatted with the bards who had come over, embellishing his dragon hunt story before relaying it to them.

Just like he used to share his adventures.

Orfgang and Celia were scrutinizing Levi, the mage apprentice who had just expressed his desire to join the Windrunners.

Elena spotted the grocer in the crowd at a glance, handed the Golden Dragon Claw back to him, and received the agreed-upon commission in return.

She ran to Modi's side with small, quick steps, and said expectantly:

"Mortis, what should we do next? Should we go on an adventure somewhere else?"

"Adventure? Of course not." Mordy looked at her with pity. "What awaits you is all sorts of obscure and difficult knowledge."

Even though she had acquired the ancient knowledge within the Dragon Soul, the ancient magical theories were not necessarily the same as those of today, and she still needed to catch up on a lot of things.

That being said, he certainly wouldn't say it directly, but instead gave this answer:

"Next, we need to return to Frostmound and complete the post-processing of the dragon bones."

The post-processing he mentioned actually refers to transforming the dragon bones into a bone dragon, which is a slang term used by the two of them.

Thanks to Mordy's subtle influence on Elena, she is now used to necromancy.

"Once I've dealt with the dragon bones, we can set off on our adventure."

Yes, he'll take Elena to hunt dragons then, hoping she'll quickly grow into a fully-fledged dragonborn and then carry him on.

As for whether or not to let her fight Audurian... Mordy doesn't have that idea for the time being.

Audurian is too dangerous; unless he also becomes an immortal, he will never take Elena on this risk.

Elena was not his tool, but his companion; they should have a mutually beneficial relationship.

"Alright then, I'll do whatever you say."

Elena turned her head, but couldn't come up with anything. She immediately abandoned her brain and followed the instructions of her external brain, Mortis.

After fooling Elena, Mordy was about to drive the carriage to the mayor's house.

A feeling of unease washed over him, and he stopped in his tracks, turning around abruptly, his sharp gaze piercing a certain spot in the crowd.

"Were you watching me as I walked towards the carriage?"

With a slight movement of his lips, he used a technique from martial arts to transmit his words secretly to the ears of his two targets.

The moment the words were delivered, two unremarkable passersby in the crowd simultaneously took a step back, their figures collapsing and vanishing into shadows.

"Shadow Transformation, another member of the Darkscale Cult?"

Modi narrowed his eyes, vaguely sensing that the Dark Scale Cult had its eye on him.

But so what? Those Dark Scale Assassins couldn't even scratch him now.

Even if they let their ace, Edith, win the repechage, it's impossible to leave a single scar on him.

This is the confidence a Blood Mage has in stacking meat.

After parking the carriage behind the mayor's house, Mordis thought it over and decided it was better to be on the safe side.

He went to Mayor Burke and told him about the Darkscale Hermitage's presence in White River.

Because the informant was Mordy, and given the Darkscale Order's bad reputation, the mayor took the news very seriously and immediately sent people to investigate the new faces that had recently flooded into the town.

"The Darkscale Cult... I don't know what they're up to, but I assure you, they won't disrupt the celebration banquet prepared for all the dragon hunters."

Mayor Burke made a solemn guarantee, just like an old general on a theatrical stage.

Modi and Elena exchanged a glance, both thinking he was likely to make a mistake.

"Remember that crazy woman who tried to attack you? She was also a member of the Darkscale Order."

Mordy took the initiative to introduce the organization to Elena, revealing its secrets:

"The Darkscale Order is a clandestine assassin organization. Unlike other assassin organizations, they do not accept commissions; their assassination lists all come from... spinning wheels and looms."

"...Spinning wheels and looms?" Elena's eyes were strange. "How could these machines generate an assassination list?"

"Who knows? Maybe they are some ancient relics."

Besides, putting everything else aside, the Darkscale Brotherhood is probably corrupted by gold coins by now; who would listen to these machines anymore?

Modi was quite curious about them, because they were clearly related to fate, and such things were often good things.

The headquarters of the Darkscale Brotherhood appears to be in the Barren Rocks region, which borders the North.

If they're really after me, I'll fly over and give them a piece of my mind once my bone dragon is finished.