Ashen Dragon

Chapter 200: Chapter 125 Soul-Devouring Pot
 

The cold wind howled, and sunlight pierced through the thin clouds, casting a blinding glow over the white ice field.

The mountains rose and fell in dramatic waves, shrouded in layers of shadow. Within their depths stood a pitch-black high tower, its sharp spires like straight claws reaching toward the sky, as if about to tear through the heavens, evoking a deep sense of dread.

This was the Polar Night Demon Tower.

At this moment, Mantou and his two companions were at the very bottom of the Demon Tower.

The Natural War Maniac led them into the depths of a secret chamber and activated a mechanism.

“I fought my way here and found this thing.”

It was a strange jug. The rim was adorned with a ferocious dragon head, and from the jug came countless wails and moans, as if numerous souls were trapped inside, struggling in agony, accompanied by a deeply concealed laughter.

Singo carefully observed the jug, seemingly trying to discern its secrets.@@novelbin@@

“This thing feels familiar…”

Mantou stepped forward and said, “This is clearly some kind of magic artifact. It might even be a Soul-Refining Banner or something. You guys stand back; I’ll take it and study it.”

Singo suddenly remembered something and hurriedly stopped him: “Wait—”

“What did you say?”

By then, Mantou had already placed his hands on the jug and turned his head to look at Singo in confusion.

“There’s nothing wrong, why are you so nervous?”

But in the next moment, his eyes rolled back, then transformed into eerie vertical pupils, filled with a fanatical glow.

A spectral figure emerged from the jug and rushed into Mantou’s nose and mouth.

Soul-Devouring Pot

This was the infamous Sixth-Tier Necromancy Spell. The Magic Pot served as a vessel for souls. Once someone touched the jug, the souls within would possess the individual, seizing control of their body and trapping their soul within the vessel. The possessed soul could perceive the environment through its own senses but was unable to move or take any action.

“Mantou” looked down, touching his body, his claws caressing every scale and muscle of the half-dragon, an expression of utter enchantment appearing on his face.

“Ah, what a beautifully exquisite body.”

“Perfect, with no side effects—a flawless fusion of the Red Dragon’s flame and strength. In nearly a century of experimentation, I’ve never had such a perfect specimen. Thankfully, I left a sliver of my soul here, just in case of these despicable thieves.”

Singo asked coldly: “You’re not him. Who are you?”

The Natural War Maniac gripped his battle axe tightly, his arms trembling with bulging veins, ready to enter a frenzy at any moment.

They both knew Mantou had likely been possessed by a boss.

But at this moment, “Mantou” was engrossed in his new vessel, oblivious to them, marveling as though he were reciting poetry: “What immense strength. If my guess is correct, this body’s owner—this Red Dragon—is an even greater creation. It’s utterly fascinating.”

Only then did he notice the two people in front of him.

Although still Mantou’s face, the red vertical pupils fixed on the two of them made their hairs stand on end.

“Ah, two more valuable specimens. Today is truly a bountiful day.”

The entity occupying Mantou’s body slightly bowed, politely.

“Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I am a wizard, an artist, and a follower of dragons. You may call me by the name I had as a mortal—Vagnard.

“We should be spending a lot of time together from now on.”

Vagnard smiled, a chilling smile that sent shivers down one’s spine.

Dragon Fan Black Wizard Vagnard, once a mortal captured by the Dragon Shaman Cult, had gone completely mad after witnessing his wife being eaten as a sacrifice.

He pursued dragon strength at any cost, turned his own daughter into a monster, and kept countless dragonified monsters in the tower, even a genuine White Dragon.

Unlike the Dragon Shaman Cult, which worshipped evil dragons as deities, Vagnard revered only the dragons’ power. For this power, he created powerful spells to trap giant dragons and did not hesitate to experiment recklessly on his beloved daughter, treating her as a lowly specimen.

“Oh? Wait, my dear experiment is questioning me?”

“Did not expect someone with Red Dragon blood to speak like this.”

Vagnard brought the jug closer to his ear, attentively listening.

Mantou’s soul inside was furiously cursing, calling him a beast who experimented on his own daughter.

As a player, Mantou, whose body had been taken, felt anger but not fear, knowing he could revive. At worst, he would lose some experience points and start again.

“You beast! How could you do this to your own daughter, you should be…”

Hearing Mantou’s curses, Vagnard laughed lightly.

“You mean my daughter?”

“I loved her dearly. I poured the best of everything into her, but her lowly heritage disappointed me.”

“She refused to accept the great evolution, and I had no choice but to replace her arms, her torso, her legs… with the finest dragonified organs.

“Look at those scales, that surging dragon blood, those powerful muscles. Is this not far stronger than her fragile original form? She is now my most pleasing work, more perfect than all my previous creations.”

As he spoke, Vagnard’s tone grew more obsessive.

“Whoosh—”

Seizing Vagnard’s moment of distraction, Singo launched a surprise attack, marking Vagnard’s head with the Hunter’s Mark, followed by a swift arrow.

But a pitch-black spell force field appeared around Vagnard, effortlessly reducing the arrow to dust.

“This is your companion’s body.”

“If my soul division dissipates, his body will also die. Your companion will be eternally trapped in the Magic Pot.”

The Natural War Maniac roared in fury, charging up with a fierce slash of his battle axe.

“Die!”

“You don’t care about the original host’s life? How interesting.”

Vagnard’s eyes gleamed playfully, injected with fear energy, turning them into vacant, deep black holes.

Heart-Capturing Gaze

Black light flickered.

The Natural War Maniac, having met his gaze, fell into a deep sleep, lying on the cold ground.

Singo was also struck by the spell before he could react.

A needle with an inbuilt trigger jabbed into his neck, abruptly waking him from the induced slumber.

It was a device he had specially commissioned from the Mechanical God Cult, designed to wake him automatically if it detected he had fallen into unconsciousness.

“Oh?”

“What an interesting little thing.”

Vagnard grinned, his eyes flashing with scarlet spell radiance again.

Domination of Humans

His lips moved silently, but the command was issued.

Singo instantly felt a powerful spiritual force taking control of him, offering no room for resistance.

Even though this was merely a sliver of the Black Wizard’s soul, the immense mental strength accumulated over a century was as deep as an abyss, leaving the novice player powerless to fight back.