Chapter 1399: An Invitation by Force

Ethan and the others had no idea what had happened behind them.

Only Kaelira lifted her head slightly in the direction of the explosion. She couldn’t see the mushroom cloud, yet a strange sense of satisfaction rose inside her for no apparent reason.

How odd.

At Seraphina’s speed, the group quickly covered an enormous distance.

Exactly how far, no one could tell.

The scenery in the stratosphere barely changed. Clear blue sky stretched above them, an endless sea of clouds below. Bright sunlight fell across the dragon’s back, making it easy to lose all sense of distance.

Then they spotted a patch of clouds in a different color.

The surrounding clouds were pure white.

These were pale green.

Auri was the first to sense what was different about them. She covered her mouth and stared ahead in surprise, green light flashing in her eyes.

The pale green clouds contained an incredibly dense concentration of life energy.

"Daddy, let’s go over there!"

Auri tugged on Ethan’s clothes and looked up at him expectantly.

"I bet it’ll be fun!"

Ethan didn’t agree right away.

He studied the clouds, then closed his eyes and felt the life energy flowing inside them. Only after a few moments did he nod and pat Seraphina on the back.

"We can take a look."

He kept his gaze fixed on the green clouds.

"But be careful. Something about that place feels wrong."

The more beautiful something was, the more likely it was to hide thorns.

If even the clouds contained that much life energy, the region beneath them could only have more.

Seraphina slowed down and approached cautiously.

Before making contact with the pale green clouds, she beat one wing and sent a powerful gust ahead, trying to clear the mist from their path.

The wind struck the cloud bank.

The pale green mist neither dispersed nor moved. It remained perfectly in place, with only the faintest ripple passing over its surface.

Seraphina stopped flapping her wing.

Everyone else noticed the anomaly as well.

These were no ordinary clouds.

As they watched, several green lights appeared beneath the cloud layer.

The lights brightened and dimmed in a slow rhythm, their gentle color naturally drawing the eye. At first, everyone only wanted to identify their source, but the longer they stared, the harder it became to look away.

That attraction was the trap.

Ethan was the first to notice his thoughts slowing.

He shook his head hard. White lightning flashed through his eyes, weakening the green lights’ pull.

He turned toward the others.

Everyone was still staring beneath the clouds.

Their eyes had lost focus, and their breathing had gradually synchronized with the pulsing green lights. Even Seraphina had fallen under their influence. Her wings stopped making their normal adjustments, leaving her to glide forward on momentum alone.

Then their bodies began to move.

They slowly walked toward the front of the dragon’s back, drawn by some invisible force. Seraphina began beating her wings again, carrying everyone into the pale green clouds before changing direction and descending toward the lights.

Ethan didn’t wait any longer.

A sphere of white energy flew from his palm and rose above the group. He immediately threw a second one after it.

The two spheres collided overhead.

Boom!

White lightning erupted from the point of impact.

Instead of striking anyone, the electrical arcs closed around the group and formed a shield. Waves of lightning repeatedly swept through its interior, isolating them from the power of the green lights.

It took a long time for clarity to return to everyone’s eyes.

Their minds had awakened, but the lingering compulsion hadn’t completely left their bodies. They still drifted toward the edge of the shield without realizing it, their hands and shoulders repeatedly bumping against the white barrier as they tried to force their way through.

Ethan maintained the shield and waited for the control to weaken.

Then the distant cloud bank changed again.

A dark green cloud separated from the sea of clouds and slowly drifted toward Seraphina. Its direction left no room for doubt. It was coming straight for the shielded dragon.

Andona moved to the front.

Divine Power surged from her body as golden wings spread to either side. She gripped her blade and slashed at the dark green cloud.

A golden arc of sword energy left the blade and shot forward in a straight line.

The pale green clouds in its path parted on their own, opening a clear passage. The attack met no resistance before entering the dark green cloud.

The surrounding sea of clouds began to churn.

Every cloud that had remained motionless until now came alive. They pressed in from above, below, and both sides, converging on Andona’s divine shield. Layer after layer of pale green mist piled against it until the golden glow on its surface disappeared from view.

The dark green cloud remained where it was.

Time passed.

Several minutes later, it shifted slightly to one side.

That tiny movement brought every cloud pressing against the shield to an immediate halt. The pale green mist then withdrew to either side, opening a path beneath the group that led toward the ground.

The clouds above the shield didn’t leave.

They remained pressed against the barrier, steadily pushing downward. Their impatience was unmistakable—were these people going down or not? If they didn’t move soon, the clouds would shove them down themselves.

The group was still confused.

The clouds’ attitude had changed too quickly.

They had been trying to crush the shield moments ago, and now they were clearing a path. Before anyone could observe further, the clouds overhead lost patience and pushed down again.

Everyone inside the shield immediately noticed something was wrong.

The barrier above them was sinking closer and closer.

They had no choice but to wrap their bodies in energy, form wings behind themselves, and fly toward the shield’s edge.

Ethan looked through the barrier at the clouds still pressing against it.

"I think they’re trying to make us leave."

He turned to ask the others what they thought.

"What do you—"

His gaze happened to land on Seraphina.

Without a word, Seraphina returned to her full dragon form and moved right up against the shield’s edge. She extended a claw and repeatedly scratched at the barrier, making her meaning perfectly clear.

She was a dragon.

They couldn’t expect her to sprout a pair of humanoid wings and fly like everyone else.

Ethan stared at her, speechless.

He looked up at the clouds still bearing down on them, the white wings behind him beating gently.

"Forget it. We’re going down."

"There’s no point wasting time here."

Ethan flew downward first.

The others followed close behind, while Andona adjusted the shield to open a passage for them. Seraphina beat her wings and passed through the barrier, descending along the route the clouds had cleared.

After flying through a stretch of pale green mist, they encountered several clusters of smaller clouds.

One of them approached Ethan on its own.

It moved extremely cautiously, advancing only a tiny distance each time. Before it could get close, Ethan raised a hand and placed an energy sphere between them.

White lightning danced across the sphere’s surface.

If the cloud came one step closer, the sphere would discharge.

It immediately stopped.

The little cloud bobbed up and down anxiously, as if trying to communicate but unable to find the right way. Everyone could only stare at it in confusion, unsure whether to attack or keep waiting.

After a while, it began shaking even harder.

Tiny wisps of pale green mist fell from its body. The other clouds quickly moved closer, catching and absorbing every piece that came loose.

Ethan was considering whether to destroy it first when the cloud in front of him suddenly changed.

Two small hands made of mist extended from its sides.

Right in front of everyone, it reached into the larger cloud bank beside it, casually pulled out a smaller cloud, and placed it on top of its head.

Then it raised one hand and pointed at Ethan and the others.

Ethan looked at the little cloud on its head, then pointed to himself.

The energy sphere in his palm dispersed.

"You want us to stand on you?"