Against the Gods (Web Novel)
chapter-1825

Chapter 1825 - Venerable Withered Dragons

Even though the Dragon God Realm was the supreme ruler of the God Realm and the direct ruler of the Western Divine Region, the generations of Dragon Monarchs had very rarely given any orders to the Western Divine Region or the other king realms. They had also very rarely forced someone into compliance.

This was because the Dragon God race’s pride and strength caused them to look down on such methods. To them, such things were unnecessary.

However, the command that Long Bai had just given was extremely tyrannical and unyielding. He had even said the words “they can’t blame me for being ruthless”!

The eight Dragon Gods themselves were completely and utterly shocked by those words, so they could well imagine what sort of waves it would cause when it reached the ears of the five king realms of the Western Divine Region.

However, once they recovered from their shock, the eight Dragon Gods felt blood rushing through their bodies.

The Ash Dragon God had died a miserable death and the Crimson Destruction Dragon God had been utterly shamed and humiliated, so the proud dragon blood that had lain dormant in the eight Dragon Gods for countless years had been brought to a boil due to their shared wrath and indignation. As a result, Long Bai’s sudden heavy-handedness and ruthless decisiveness stirred them up much more than it had shocked them.

Long Bai only wanted the Divine Masters of the five king realms. This battle was going to be the grandest battle in the history of the God Realm, so he really only did need the Divine Masters.

Anybody who was weaker than a Divine Master would be no more than an ant in the upcoming battle.

“Yes!” The Azure Dragon God shouted, but he immediately continued after that, “All of the upper star realms have also prepared for battle, do we…”

“There’s no need,” Long Bai replied in a grave voice. “These upper star realms only have one or two Divine Masters apiece and all of them have their own grievances and petty squabbles, their own habits and idiosyncrasies. They are nothing more than a tray of loose sand. Furthermore, most of them won’t be able to get here within forty-eight hours, so it’s pointless to mobilize them.”

“Also.” Long Bai turned around, the touch of his dark and somber gaze making everyone feel as if a mountain had landed on their shoulders. “Summon back any and all of the Dragon Sovereigns and Master Dragons who are still abroad. This is a matter of extreme importance, so all of them need to rush back within the next forty-eight hours!”

Long Bai’s voice was calm and serious, but it was enough to shake the entire Dragon God Domain. As the hearts and souls of all those who were present trembled, they also noticed that Long Bai’s determination to wipe out the Northern Divine Region far exceeded even their wildest imaginations.

Zhou Xuzi found it hard to contain the excitement that was blooming on his wizened face. Before this moment, he had feared that the Dragon Monarch would do one of two things. The first was that the Dragon Monarch would completely underestimate the Northern Divine Region and the second was that he would be arrogant enough to disdain making any big moves, instead choosing to wait for Yun Che to come to him.

However, all those worries were for naught. The Dragon Monarch had returned and he had summoned all of the Dragon Gods, Dragon Sovereigns, and Master Dragons back to the Dragon God Realm. He had even forcibly conscripted all of the Divine Masters in the Western Region’s five king realms… The grand scale of this mobilization and the ruthless decisiveness that drove it convinced everyone present that the doom of the devil race was nigh.

“If the Dragon Monarch is going to be this vigilant, the Northern Divine Region is sure to die!” Zhou Xuzi mumbled to himself as he closed his eyes.

“Azure, Jade, Pure, White Rainbow, Cyan Abyss, Purple River, Sky.” Long Bai read out the titles of the Dragon Gods one by one. “All of you are to personally see to the order that I just gave. There must be no mistakes.”

“Crimson Destruction, you are to follow me.”

Southern Divine Region, Ten Directions Deep Sea Realm.

The jade finger that Chi Wuyao had pressed in the space in between her eyes unconsciously twitched as the black light in her eyes slowly transformed into a boundlessly deep vortex of darkness. A look of unprecedented solemness had also appeared on her face.

What sort of situation would cause a huge power to choose to cut off all methods of retreat and leave no room for error?

She had thought only the devil of the Northern Divine Region had the resolve to throw their lives away like this, and this had been due to their million years of hatred and resentment.

However, Long Bai, who stood above the entire universe and controlled the exalted Dragon God Realm in the palm of his hands had used his authority as the Dragon Monarch to give a similar order...

This definitely wasn’t due to the fact that he suddenly viewed the Northern Divine Region as a proper threat… It was clear that there was a dreadfully twisted reason for his actions.

A warped distortion in his heart induced by extreme hate.

Chi Wuyao felt a headache gathering at her temples.

The Dragon Monarch loved the Dragon Queen and viewed her as a treasure, this was something the entire God Realm knew about. However, Chi Wuyao knew a very long time ago that the Dragon Monarch’s infatuation with Shen Xi had far exceeded what any normal person could ever imagine.

It was at this moment that Chi Wuyao realized that she had been mistaken. The Dragon Monarch’s feelings toward Shen Xi could no longer be called simple infatuation. They had evolved into a crazed obsession!

He practically valued her more than the entire Dragon God Realm!

The Northern Divine Region had had a huge advantage against the other three divine regions in their previous fights, and that was their resolve to fight to the death. On the other hand, the major powers of the other three divine regions had put their survival first and foremost and none of them were willing to gamble their tens of thousands of years of power in a desperate life-or-death struggle against the devils of the north.

This huge advantage had just vanished into the aether now that they were facing the strongest Dragon God Realm.

The Dragon Monarch, who should have been the most steady and calculative person in the universe, had actually chosen a method that even a common realm king would consider extreme. He had not only chosen to mobilize the entire core of the Dragon God Realm’s power, but he was even forcefully conscripting the core forces of the other five king realms of the Western Divine Region.

The price Chi Wuyao had paid to defeat the Crimson Destruction Dragon God had not been small, but she had made that sacrifice in order to scare the five king realms of the Western Divine Region into thinking about self-preservation instead… Now, that effort had practically been nullified by the Dragon Monarch’s actions.

“To think that the supreme ruler of the God Realm, Long Bai, would turn out to be its biggest lunatic,” Chi Wuyao muttered to herself. “Shen Xi… Just what sort of person is she that she could make the ruler of the universe go mad for her?”

“In the end, this is really something that Yun Che brought on himself. Sigh…” Chi Wuyao gave a short sigh of lament as this unresolvable worry continued to gnaw at her mind.

“He also kept repeating and emphasizing forty-eight hours…”

Long Bai took the lead and Long Fei followed behind him as they traversed the length of the Dragon God Domain. They reached a very special barrier and opened it, stepping into an underground palace that had not been disturbed for many years.

The Crimson Destruction Dragon God suddenly halted, his draconic eyes shaking in their sockets. “Dragon Monarch, are we actually going to…”

Long Bai simply ignored his words and continued walking forward.

The Crimson Destruction Dragon God did not speak again. He gave a silent sigh as his face swiftly grew composed and solemn again.

This underground building that had not seen the light of day for countless years was both huge and desolate. A dim light that was radiating from some unknown place layered the entire space with gray. However, this desolate emptiness also contained an incredibly dreadful oppressiveness that was so heavy that it could even suffocate a Divine Master.

The pace of both dragons unconsciously started to slow.

This empty and gray space was exceptionally long and there were no more barriers to obstruct them. However, that dreadful and heavy oppressiveness made every step forward incredibly difficult.

Their slow and measured footsteps continued for a long time before they finally reached their destination.

The gray light in front of them revealed five figures that were sitting side by side.

No aura radiated from their bodies and they seemed to be the desiccated corpses of people who had died many years ago.

In this dreadful and solemn silence, Long Bai slowly raised a hand.

“Please wait a moment!”

The Crimson Destruction Dragon God anxiously stepped forward and forcefully grabbed Long Bai’s rising arm with his right hand. He said, “My lord Dragon Monarch, even though the Northern Region is strong, doing this is… too much!”

Long Bai did not speak. He merely looked at him with calm and steady eyes.

“...” The Crimson Destruction Dragon God quietly clenched his teeth. He quickly regained his composure and slowly released his grip on the Dragon Monarch’s arm.

He retreated a step and bowed his head in shame as he said, “I have overstepped my bounds. I beg the Dragon Monarch for forgiveness.”

Long Bai still didn’t reply. Instead, the draconic energy in his hand started to shake as his eyes flashed. He unleashed his draconic energy and his dragon soul at the same time, and a solid-looking wave of white light engulfed the five gray and withered figures.

Roaar——

Even though this dragon roar was rather soft and muffled, it reverberated violently in this dim space.

As the dragon roar resounded in this empty space, the five “mummified corpses” slowly opened eyes that had been closed for countless years as they started to straighten their backs.

Five pairs of turbid ancient eyes opened fully and the entire space became incredibly quiet… It seemed as if even the smallest mote of dust had become frozen in place.

“Who has awakened us?”

A voice as vast as the sky itself resounded in this sealed space. It had clearly come from the hunched figure in the middle, but it also seemed to have come from a vast and distant sky.

Thud!

The Crimson Destruction Dragon God fell to his knees heavily as the head of the strongest Dragon God deeply bowed towards the withered figure that sat on the extreme right. “Your unfilial son Long Fei… greets royal father.”

The hunched figure replied in a deep voice, “My name is Long Wu, I am not your deceased royal father. There is no need for the Crimson Destruction Dragon God to stand on ceremony.”

“...” The forehead of the Crimson Destruction Dragon God remained pressed to the ground for a very long time before he finally got to his feet. However, unshed tears could be seen glimmering in his eyes for the briefest of moments before they disappeared.

Long Bai stepped forward and announced in a calm voice, “I am the seventh realm king of the Dragon God Realm, Long Bai, and I was the one who awakened the five Venerable Withered Dragons from their slumber.”

“What calamity has befallen us?” The Venerable Withered Dragon in the middle asked.

Five pairs of eyes focused on Long Bai.

The Venerable Withered Dragons was a title that was not recorded in any annals or records, something that did not even exist in the memories of any king realms.

They had never once shown themselves to the world.

The lifespan of a dragon far exceeded that of the other races and the Dragon God race possessed the longest lifespan amongst the dragon races. The emperor of the Dragon Gods, Long Bai, could live up to five hundred thousand years, a number which was ten times the limit of the human race’s.

Furthermore, a Dragon God who had reached the peak of the Divine Master Realm, had reached the limits of their Dragon God divine power, and had full mastery over every strand of power in their body and soul, could cultivate an extremely mysterious forbidden art...

The Withered Dragon Divine Hibernation!

It was something that a Dragon God that had reached the peak of power could only use once in their lives.

Any Dragon God who cultivated the Withered Dragon Divine Hibernation could enter a unique state of “divine hibernation” when their life was about to reach its natural end.

Once they entered the state of “divine hibernation”, their body, power and soul would fall into a deep sleep. This deep sleep would also cause their bodies to age extremely slowly, to the point where a Dragon God’s final lifespan could be stretched by another two hundred thousand years.

The most absurd thing about the “Withered Dragon Divine Hibernation” was that it completely preserved the peak power and soul that the Dragon God possessed in life and they only had to be awakened once more to unleash their awe-inspiring might upon the world.

The caveat was that these sleeping Dragon Gods could only be awakened once.

Any Dragon God who was roused from the “Withered Dragon Divine Hibernation” would inevitably pass on after seven days. No matter what their age or condition before they entered into “divine hibernation”. Even a Dragon God who had entered into this state during his peak years would still pass after seven days.

As such, the most powerful Dragon Gods who were about to die a natural death chose to use this method instead. To the rest of the world, they had already become dust hundreds of thousands of years ago, merely words on the pages of history. However, unbeknownst to everyone else, they had instead become the slumbering “Venerable Withered Dragons”, who had devoted the very last embers of their lives and will to become the hidden guardians of the Dragon God Realm, the most powerful guardians of the Dragon God Realm.

If a calamity struck, they would be awakened from their sleep. If the eras were peaceful, they would naturally return to the dust after another two hundred thousand years… and a new Venerable Withered Dragon would immediately take the place of the one who had passed on.

In Long Bai’s generation, there were five Venerable Withered Dragons who were currently in hibernation. Furthermore the person who was the latest to wear the title of “Long Wu” was the Crimson Destruction Dragon God’s own father, the previous Dragon Monarch!

Long Yi, Long Er, Long San, Long Si, Long Wu… These were five names that could not be any more ordinary, but they belonged to the five strongest guardian Dragon Gods of the Dragon God Realm, who had willingly consigned themselves to slumber in this lightless and desolate place.

And today, they were all woken up by Long Bai.

This was also the very first time that any Venerable Withered Dragon had ever been roused in the history of the Dragon God Realm.

As he calmly met the gazes of the five great Venerable Withered Dragons, Long Bai calmly replied, “The devils of the Northern Region have exploded out of their hive of darkness. Both the Eastern Divine Region and Southern Divine Region have fallen, and the entire universe is in peril. In fact, our race lost one of our Nine Dragon Gods, to the shock and dismay of the other realms.”

“Even though the darkness has not yet encroached upon our borders, this dark calamity is entirely unprecedented in scale and impact. As such, I have come to awaken you five venerable ones.”

Long Bai’s words stirred up the hearts of all five Venerable Withered Dragons.

“How did the insignificant Northern Region become such a plague upon our lands?” Long Yi asked in a sonorous voice.

Long Bai replied, “Their leader is someone who inherited the powers of the Heretic God and he has also very likely inherited the legacy of the Heaven Smiting Devil Emperor. As such, the originally-harmless devils of the Northern Region have undergone a complete transformation in just a few short years thanks to him.”

The powers of the Heretic God, the legacy of a Devil Emperor… Those words caused the hearts of these five venerable ones, hearts which were as dry as petrified wood, to shudder in a violent and uncontrollable manner.

“The good thing is that Yun Che is young and reckless, wild and arrogant. Hence, he only dwelled in the Northern Divine Region for four years before leading that swarm of devils out of it. This has given us the best opportunity. If we cannot completely and utterly destroy him and his forces right now, he can simply flee back to the Northern Region and hole up in the darkness again. If that happens, the threat that awaits us in the future will be boundless.”

Four short years… Complete transformation of the Northern Region… The consecutive defeats of the Eastern Divine Region and Southern Divine Region… If we don’t kill him now, the threat that awaits us will be boundless.

These few words had become more than sufficient reason for the Venerable Withered Dragons to rouse themselves from their slumber.