Chapter 580, The Strength of Motherhood

Translator: Silavin

 

Lu Fan had initially expected a fierce battle to the death with the Blade Armour Dragon King. However, it turned out that the Blade Armour Dragon King had already perished long ago, leaving behind merely an illusion to guard her Dragon Egg.

 

Such an outcome left Lu Fan feeling rather melancholic.

 

To be honest, he was no saint, so when the opportunity arose to obtain the Blade Armour Dragon King Egg, he had come here willingly, intending to take the Dragon Egg to make himself stronger.

 

Nevertheless, he was ultimately Human and had sensed a strong maternal protectiveness from the now deceased Blade Armour Dragon King.

 

This maternal nature had enabled the Blade Armour Dragon King to remain fearless even when facing the combined forces of the Devouring Dragon King and Hell Poison Dragon King. She had engaged in fierce combat with these two Dragon Kings, whose strength was no less formidable than her own, ultimately achieving victory and departing with her Dragon Egg as the victor, ensuring the Dragon Egg would not be devoured by the Devouring Dragon King.

 

Regardless of anything else, the Blade Armour Dragon King deserved respect.

 

The Devouring Dragon King seemed to perceive Lu Fan’s thoughts and let out a cold laugh. “What’s this? Have you developed some compassion, unique to you Humans? Are you thinking of me as a villain?”

 

Lu Fan smiled and shook his head. “Not quite. I simply find the Blade Armour Dragon King to be rather admirable. As for you and me, to the Blade Armour Dragon King, we are indeed villains. But in this world of survival of the fittest, are there any absolute villains to realistically speak of?”

 

“You and I merely seek to become stronger, just as Humans or wild beasts must eat when hungry. When hunting, can’t one distinguish whether the prey is a great Mother or not?”

 

“I certainly do not regret coming here with you. I simply find this Blade Armour Dragon King to be worthy of my respect, nothing more.”

 

The Devouring Dragon King’s eyes gleamed with approval. “Your perspective is sound. If you had truly become sentimental and harboured psychological burden over the Blade Armour Dragon King’s death, I would never tolerate associating myself with you. Speaking of which, fortunately we arrived at precisely the right moment. Had we been here a day later, that Dragon Egg would likely have been taken by that person earlier.”

 

Lu Fan nodded in agreement.

 

Indeed, the Blade Armour Dragon King was merely an illusion. Even Kage Mako would have had the opportunity to shatter it and take the Dragon Egg.

 

If Kage Mako could have withstood the pressure and remained unafraid when facing the illusion, he might very well have become the greatest beneficiary atop the Heavenly Divine Peak.

 

However, in Lu Fan’s view, when the Blade Armour Dragon King had displayed its domineering aura, Kage Mako would have most likely fled in terror.

 

Although the Blade Armour Dragon King’s final gambit was merely a facade, how many would dare risk their lives to test the strength of this Blade Armour Dragon King?

 

As Lu Fan pondered this, a gust of wind arose, blowing away the iron filings scattered on the ground, dispersing them completely into the wider world.

 

With this, whatever was left of the Blade Armour Dragon King had entirely disappeared, leaving only a Dragon Egg behind.

 

The Devouring Dragon King stepped forward and directly picked up the Dragon Egg.

 

This Dragon Egg was particularly unique, its entire body appearing as if cast from iron, with countless sharp blades covering its exterior. Were it not for the Devouring Dragon King’s High Defence, merely picking up the Dragon Egg would have resulted in cuts from its blades.

 

As the Devouring Dragon King lifted the Dragon Egg, Lu Fan observed two palm-sized jade stones beneath it, one utterly black and the other gleaming with soft white light.

 

The radiance emanating from the Dragon Egg earlier must have been the reflection of these two stones.

 

Before Lu Fan could use Appraisal to examine what these two stones actually were, once the Dragon Egg was lifted, the lustre of both stones dimmed and they completely crumbled to dust, rendering even Appraisal unable to discern their true nature.

 

“What might those be?” Lu Fan looked towards the Devouring Dragon King. For all matters beyond his knowledge, consulting the Devouring Dragon King was certainly the right approach.

 

The Devouring Dragon King, indeed well-informed, replied matter-of-factly. “They should be Divine Crystal Cores. Divine Beings above Level 180 nurture Divine Crystal Cores within their bodies, which contain the greater portion of their power. These are the most important possessions of Divine Beings, only obtainable after death. For Divine Beings to advance in Level is extraordinarily difficult. However, hunting other Divine Beings to obtain their Divine Crystal Cores and devouring them enables direct advancement, representing the simplest method of Levelling Up.”

 

Upon hearing this, Lu Fan was utterly astonished, thinking to himself, [To think Divine Beings operate under such Mechanics… But then again, advancement beyond Level 90, after our Fourth Profession Change can no longer be achieved merely through defeating Monsters. So, for Divine Beings beyond their Sixth Profession Change, to advance must surely be even more challenging than ascending to Heaven. I guess it makes sense for them to require something else to advance.]

 

While hunting Divine Beings to obtain Divine Crystal Cores might be termed simple, how easy could it truly be to hunt genuine Divine Beings?

 

In this world, only Heaven knew precisely how many Divine Beings there might be.

 

Once one becomes a Divine Being, they must also guard against other Divine Beings coming to hunt oneself. This Mechanic was indeed rather intriguing.

 

The Devouring Dragon King glanced at the two Divine Crystal Cores on the ground and remarked with slight surprise. “It appears that atop this Heavenly Divine Peak, there were two Divine Beings. These two Divine Beings should have been slain by the Blade Armour Dragon King while she was severely injured, after which she obtained their Divine Crystal Cores to use them incubating her own Dragon Egg.”

 

“If I’m not wrong, she might have originally intended to use the Divine Crystal Cores to heal her wounds. But, the two Divine Beings’ strength caused her injuries to worsen further, ultimately rendering even the Divine Crystal Cores insufficient to heal herself, leaving her only able to await death.”

 

“So, she used both Divine Crystal Cores to accelerate the incubation of her Dragon Egg, hoping to allow her offspring to hatch and escape from here before I arrived.”

 

“To her regret, I arrived faster than she had anticipated. Before the Dragon Egg hatched, we already got here.”

 

“The Blade Armour Dragon King, severely injured, came here and still managed to slay two Divine Beings?” Lu Fan was extraordinarily surprised. “Is such a thing possible? Did you not say that after sustaining injuries, both you and the Blade Armour Dragon King were far from your peak strength? How could she still hunt down Divine Beings, and two of them at that?”

 

The Devouring Dragon King replied, “Most likely these two Divine Beings had also reached the end of their lifespans, causing their strength to decline substantially. Still, for the Blade Armour Dragon King to have slain two aged Divine Beings in that condition of hers can only be described as miraculous.”

 

Indeed, everything the Blade Armour Dragon King had accomplished could only be described as miraculous.

 

Lu Fan’s admiration for the Blade Armour Dragon King deepened further.

 

However, immediately afterwards, observing how the Devouring Dragon King kept staring intently at the Dragon Egg, Lu Fan considered a troubling question. [Oi. Surely you are not harbouring any intention of contesting me for the Dragon Egg, right?]