My Living Shadow System Devours To Make Me Stronger

Chapter 1045: Chapter 1047: The Nest

Ashergon soon reached his mountain and dived inside. The moment he entered, the wyverns that guarded his territory all looked spooked. To them, Ashergon was a god, so what could possibly frighten a god into such frantic motion?

Ashergon paid them no mind. He rushed straight to the center of his den where he slept. A massive underground volcanic stream passed deeper into the earth, bathing the cavern in a red glow. Fallen dragon scales littered the ground, and mana crystals filled the entire space, most likely born from the rich mana that constantly leaked from Ashergon’s body and crystallized over time. Anyone who could mine these alone would become unimaginably rich.

However, what came next was enough to make even the wealthiest person go red eyed with greed.

As far as the eye could see were treasures. Gold, diamonds, mithril, oricalcum, gems, magic crystals, ores carrying divinity, rare magical artifacts, glittering trinkets, rare plants, and so much more. This was more wealth than the Valtheron Empire and the next great kingdoms put together.

Then again, some of these had been plundered from them over several generations.

He landed with a heavy thud that shook the cavern and immediately began packing up his treasures, his head constantly snapping over his shoulders. He opened his maw and began to suck them in with a spatial spell, swallowing mountains of wealth in seconds.

Ashergon was fast and efficient.

Yet no matter how fast he moved, he felt too slow.

His eyes kept darting around as he packed his loot. He did not even consider which direction he would flee, only that he would fly and escape.

Meanwhile, Damon finally caught up.

After a few more minutes of relentless flight, he reached the broken crossing and landed at the edge of the chasm. He stared down into the abyss, frowning. There used to be a bridge here that crossed the Duhu Mountains, but Damon himself had destroyed it. Now he was unsure if he could simply fly across without attracting the murmur worms below.

He exhaled slowly and raised his hand.

Shadows pooled beneath his feet and stretched forward, weaving themselves into a solid bridge from one end of the chasm to the other. Just as he was about to step onto it, two streaks burst out of the forest behind him.

One was a golden light.

Evangeline stepped out of it and frowned at him.

The other was a flash of lightning. When it settled, Leona stood there, her armor still giving off faint sparks.

’Damn, these two are fast,’ Damon thought. Light and lightning were fast attributes from the very beginning. Coupled with their strength, it was no surprise they had caught up.

Evangeline glanced behind her, then back at Damon.

”I think we passed Lysithara by quite a bit, don’t you think?”

Damon nodded. They had made it this far without incident because of Ashergon. His presence had deterred anything from attacking along the path he had taken, and for that reason Damon, Evangeline, and Leona had been able to follow safely.

However, Ashergon had given the chasm a wide berth. Damon was not sure if that would be enough to stop the murmur worms below. They only attacked when something flew over them.

Damon nodded slowly.

”Ashergon is that way. Let’s go around the Duhu Mountains. Just run after me and don’t stop no matter what you see. And if you do see something, just burn the whole damn mountain down.”

Evangeline was not sure if that would work, but they were far stronger now than when they had first crossed these mountains. Each of them could level these peaks with brute force if necessary.

Still, something in their instincts told them that would be a very bad idea.

Damon stepped onto the shadow bridge and ran across. The moment he reached the other side, he took off toward Ashergon’s nest in the distance. Leona and Evangeline followed behind him as streaks of light.

Many kilometers of relentless running later, they reached the foot of the mountain. Wyverns circled overhead on high alert.

Damon slowed and scanned the entrance. A massive magical barrier shimmered there, preventing intruders from entering.

Evangeline narrowed her eyes and glanced at him.

”What did you do to cause such a reaction? And more importantly, why did you chase after a great dragon?”

Damon ignored her question by asking one of his own.

”I think the important question is why you followed me without thinking.”

Evangeline gritted her teeth. Right. She had followed him first.

”Because you said I was crucial for your plan.”

”Well, that plan is ruined, so we have to improvise.”

Damon stepped forward and studied the barrier for several long seconds. Then he placed his palm against it and calmly began drawing runes into the surface. The runes sank into the barrier like ink into water, and a small opening formed.

Leona blinked.

She did not remember any runes like that being taught to them.

”What type of runes did you use?”

Damon waved his hand dismissively.

”It’s nothing much. Just a little trick I picked up. They’re called tampering runes.”

He gestured for them to follow.

”Come on. Let’s go.”

He cast concealment runes with a flick of his fingers as they entered.

The inside of the mountain looked like a cathedral, not built to worship a god, but built to glorify a dragon.

Murals of Ashergon lined the walls, but what truly caught Damon’s eyes was a massive carving of a dragon holding a spiral of stars at the tip of its smallest claw.

”What is this?” Leona asked, staring at the murals.

Damon sighed softly, knowing she was asking him.

”It’s a mural that speaks of the dragons. The big ones toying with the cosmos. Those are most likely the true dragons. Vast and infinite, like true gods. It is from them that all dragons are born. Ashergon is not different.”

Then he pointed at a crimson colored mural. This dragon’s likeness appeared more than any other and was clearly glorified above the rest.

”The true dragon that dwells within the abyss,” Ashcroft said in Damon’s mind.

That was most likely the dragon from whose scale fragments Ashergon had been born.

”Another name for true dragons is dragon gods, for they are the gods of all dragons,” Ashcroft added.

”All dragons must glorify their gods. Ashergon is no different.”

Damon fell quiet.

He glanced at Evangeline.

Alright.

Time for action.