Newborn City's metal castle gleamed with a cold light in the morning sun, its towering black iron walls seeming to pierce the clouds, the metallic texture particularly dazzling under the sunlight.
Ezreal stood before the castle gate, looking up at the intricate dragon scale patterns covering the walls and doors, a look of admiration flashing in his eyes.
"Creak."
Ezreal gently pushed open the castle gate, his gaze naturally falling upon the burly man seated on a high-backed chair in the center of the castle.
Inside the castle, the hall was spacious, with magic crystals embedded in the ceiling for illumination, making the hall exceptionally bright.
Ezreal looked at the man opposite him, who had a single horn on his head and an air of self-assurance, and genuinely praised, "What a truly magnificent residence."
The burly man seated on the high-backed chair had his hands clasped on his lap, his fingertips adorned with long nails, and black, shield-shaped dragon scales extended from his fingers into his wide black robe.
Bright golden pupils locked onto Ezreal, and even from dozens of meters away, a sense of majesty could be felt from his stern face.
Chris spoke expressionlessly, "It's nothing compared to your world."
"Our world?" Ezreal smiled. "It sounds like you consider yourself a local of Newborn City."
"My bloodline comes from this lost city, so there's nothing wrong with calling myself a local." Chris didn't refute, but rather nodded slightly.
Ezreal chuckled, "In that case, I must congratulate you."
Chris looked up at him, "What do you mean?"
Ezreal carefully surveyed the castle's empty hall. The walls were covered in dragon scale patterns, dazzling to the eye, yet inexplicably conveying a sense of solemnity and killing intent. He took two steps forward.
"Where I come from, people believe in returning to their roots when they die."
"If this castle is to be your burial ground, you shouldn't have any regrets, should you?"
Ezreal tilted his head, a playful smile on his face.
"I like your confidence." Chris wasn't angered; his gaze calmly scrutinized Ezreal from head to toe, and he slowly said, "Why don't you join us? At your age, having integrated a magical beast bloodline, you could go much further. Newborn City still retains several rare magical beast bloodlines."
Ezreal raised his left hand and wagged his index finger, "Save the battlefield surrender talks."
"Looking at your ugly appearances, it holds no appeal for me." Ezreal looked at Chris meaningfully and said, "Even without considering outward appearance, whether integrating a magical beast bloodline allows one to go further, I don't know, but it will certainly make one's life go by very quickly."
"Am I wrong, Mr. Short-lived Dragon-man?" Ezreal paced in place, tapping his finger on his head as if in thought.
"Let me guess, how much longer do you have to live? A year? Half a year? Or three months?"
Ezreal's words finally made the previously expressionless Chris's face suddenly darken. A dense pressure from his golden eyes, almost tangible, fell upon the golden-haired youth along his gaze.
"Tsk tsk tsk." Ezreal's smile remained unchanged. "Dragon's might, huh? It seems you've undergone quite a few modifications yourself. In that case, perhaps our Mr. Dragon-man won't even live for three months?"
"How do you know this?" Chris slowly stood up, his black robe falling onto the chair, revealing his strong upper body covered in paint black shield-shaped dragon scales. His lower body was clad in black shorts, with thick thigh scales perfectly interlocked, and his massive feet were entirely in the shape of dragon claws, with sharp, metallic-sheened talons.
"If the bloodline fusion technology was truly perfected, I can't imagine why Newborn City would have disappeared without a trace."
"Nor would you be so eager to launch an invasion."
Ezreal slowly walked forward, speaking as he went, "A city that possessed such powerful technology and what was then considered top-tier life magic disappeared, and later generations didn't even thoroughly investigate. Is that reasonable?"
"I've always believed that in this world, there are only two things that cannot be looked at directly: one is the sun, and the other is the human heart."
"If bloodline fusion technology was truly perfected, I can't imagine how many people would be willing to abandon their humanity to gain power."
"There are always countless people who, to gain power, delve into dark magic, or even sacrifice their souls to summon demons."
"The greed of human nature cannot be easily curbed."
"If Newborn City's technology had no flaws, even if it were banished to another world, rest assured, driven by greed, people would still flock to it."
Chris interrupted him, "I led people to find this place."
Ezreal looked at him, a hint of disdain in his eyes, "Still the same point: if the technology had no problems, the one who found this place shouldn't be you."
Chris's golden pupils contracted slightly, and intense pressure emanated from his burly body. He stepped down from the high platform and walked towards Ezreal, "I found the bloodline fusion technology. All the New Humans you've encountered, including me, are beneficiaries of this technology."
"Oh, come on, Chris." Ezreal's steps didn't falter, gradually drawing closer to Chris. "It's just a crude, simple fusion of magical beast bloodlines with humans, unable to even resolve rejection reactions. Genetic incompatibility will eventually lead to genetic collapse, either deforming into monsters or dying directly."
The two had walked to within one body's length of each other, stopping simultaneously, their eyes meeting.
"Defective bloodline fusion technology, good for deceiving outsiders, but I'm an expert. I'm most familiar with this kind of fusion," Ezreal said with a slight smile.
"Your invasion war started as a joke. It seems the forces within the Fiore Kingdom are being suppressed by you, but across the entire continent, in terms of high-level Mage combat power, this country holds at least five seats."
"What are you fighting with?"
"This time, the gate was opened even more hastily, closing all other portals and concentrating spatial power to open a two-way portal that cannot be closed for a short time."
"Aside from the desperation of a last stand, you seem to be deliberately waiting for someone to break in."
"For what?" Ezreal looked directly at the dragon-man before him, his gaze sweeping up and down. "Are you hoping someone will break into this city and acquire the legacy of Newborn City?"
"You also believe in human greed."
"Once bloodline fusion technology is acquired, for the sake of power, perhaps someone will restart the research. If it can be perfected, great; if not, those who use this technology won't live long either."
"Greed will make one after another power-hungry individual eat this poisoned apple."
"You truly are very clever and knowledgeable." Chris bared his teeth; they were sharp, like those of some ferocious predator. "But do you understand the last desperate struggle of a dying person?"
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 40 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
[patreon.com/TripleCrown07]
Thank you so much for your support!!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"