Chapter Seventy-Three: Such a Powerful Beauty Trap

"Poisoned!" The general drew a sharp breath at Lin Lei’s response.

"Of course. Did you think cultivating the Dao was so easy?" Lin Lei glanced at him. He himself had struggled for ages before succeeding, and even now the mages had to painstakingly convert their mana. No shortcut had been found to popularize cultivation, precisely because true energy fuses so deeply with the body and carries a strong personal signature. Weapons like the Twin Moons Wheel can absorb it without issue, but living beings are another matter—if it were possible, the mages would have siphoned Lin Lei's true energy again and again already, since he could recover so quickly.

"My true energy is inside the new king's body. Poisoning is only the mildest result—if it gets worse..." Lin Lei paused.

The general pressed anxiously, "What happens then?"

"Explosion," Lin Lei replied.

"Explosion!?" At the rear of the night elven squad, Eve cried out in alarm.

She, Irel, and Hera were mopping up the remaining enemies, while the panther, hidden in stealth, explained some basics of cultivation to them.

"True energy is stored in the dantian and the body, following a unique circulation method. Placed in an unfamiliar body, it becomes highly unstable, and at a certain threshold—explodes," the panther said. Even before blowing up, that energy might grant the host formidable strength, but the damage is tremendous.

Eve thought the new king had ensnared himself this time. Still, shouldn’t he sense something was wrong? Surely the Twin Moons Wheel could absorb the true energy before it reached a critical point.

Hera stared at the panther in puzzlement. "Aren’t you a druid? How do you know so much about cultivation?"

"I am a druid," the panther declared, pride clear in its voice. "But I am a druid who cultivates the Dao."

The three were stunned. Eve fixed her gaze on it. "You cultivate as well?"

"I train together with my little master," the panther nodded. Its method was different from the others—in truth, it was more like dual cultivation with Lin Lei.

The panther knew the consequences of absorbing true energy because, during its three years of slumber, it had absorbed quite a bit of Lin Lei’s true energy—with his help, it had only barely managed to integrate it into its own body, and even so, some strange side effects had resulted.

But that was another matter. At the head of the group, Lin Lei noticed someone pilfering from the royal palace.

"Put that down, all of you! What are you doing!" he rebuked them sharply. "As the saying goes, ‘A gust of wind scatters the eggshell; when wealth is gone, peace follows.’ Wealth matters little, my friends. We cannot stain our noble cause for its sake!"

He lectured as he walked, though inwardly he thought that once all was settled, he could openly search for treasure—no need for sneaking about.

What he did not realize was that the general's opinion of him rose considerably because of this speech.

The night elf squad pressed on. After tossing a batch of stubborn guards into the sewer, they entered a plaza, where they were stopped short by the sight before them.

A red dragon had just awakened from its slumber. It rose slowly, the ground trembling faintly under its bulk. Before the night elves, its colossal frame was like an unscalable mountain, its eyes glinting with murderous intent, its entire being radiating the oppressive might of a dragon.

"Look who’s come! You foolish mortals, you dare trespass in my domain? Do you know who I am? I—"

"I knew it," Lin Lei sighed as he led the night elves past the red dragon. "Every dungeon has a dragon. But how did you night elves wind up entangled with a red dragon?"

"It’s like this," the general replied, not sparing the dragon a glance. "Three years ago, two rash red dragons came to demand treasure from our palace. The Queen imprisoned them."

The red dragon could only watch helplessly as the night elf company marched past.

"Hey, hey! You wretched night elves, do you know who I am? Are you not afraid I’ll kill you?" The dragon’s words fell on deaf ears.

A passing night elf looked up and remarked, "But aren’t you locked in a cage?"

And indeed, a sign hung before the cage: "No room elsewhere—temporarily housing the dragon here. Its power is sealed. No need to worry about bites."

The red dragon’s eyes bulged, claws straining at its bonds. "Even caged, I am still a dragon!"

It roared in outrage, "At the very least, you should show some respect. Not even a greeting?"

But the rest of the night elves paid it little heed, their long column drifting away. The red dragon, on the verge of tears, clung to the bars and cried out, "At least chat with me! Since the goddess left, I haven’t spoken to anyone in days—I’m bored to death!"

No one answered.

Yet two minutes later, Lin Lei’s group came running back.

The night elves, in panic, dashed into the houses along the roadside. A massive red dragon followed, spewing fire as it flew. Its flames flowed across the ground like molten lava; plants and small animals vanished in an instant, even the stones exuding black smoke as if about to melt.

"General, didn’t you say both red dragons were locked up by the Queen?"

"I have no idea—when did this one get out?"

"And how many peppers has it eaten to breathe fire like that?" Lin Lei peered out, unsure. The heat was so intense that even an iron body would not withstand it.

"Boss, what now?" the night elves asked him. Lin Lei thought for a moment, then shouted, "Red dragon in the cage! If you help us, we’ll let you out."

"Hah!" the dragon burst out laughing. "Now you realize my value? Too bad, I won’t help you. That dragon is my elder brother—Ouch!"

A sudden cry of pain—the dragon in the cage was being scorched by the flames of the dragon above.

"Brother, what are you doing?"

"My foolish little brother," the red dragon in the sky laughed. "I have decided to ally with the new night elf king. There’s only room for one dragon here—you’re in my way. I will kill you."

The captive dragon was aghast. "You’re mad! What did he offer you?"

"An offer? If I help him deal with these people, he’ll give me the she-dragon who serves the Queen!" the red dragon above declared gleefully. "For three years, she’s cared for me with the utmost devotion. I’ve loved her for ages—and I know you do too. That’s why I must kill you."

The younger red dragon was furious. "The goddess is mine! You’ll never take her! Heroes, free me and I’ll help you!"

Lin Lei turned to the general. "There’s a she-dragon at the Queen’s side?"

"No," the general shook his head. "There’s only a little bear who tends these two red dragons. To win them over, the Queen cast an illusion on the bear, so... what they’re in love with is the bear."

Lin Lei was thunderstruck—so even in this world, beauty traps could be this powerful!