Chapter 457: Swamp of Submerged Corpses

Phield frowned. "What tier is that dragon? An adult dragon or a young dragon?"

"I don’t know. But I do know one thing. That monster has been wrapped up in a mass of corpses, forming a giant ball, and it’s currently dormant. You’d better kill it instantly while it’s still unable to move. At the very least, you need to inflict serious damage."

"Once that dragon takes to the sky, it’ll be a catastrophe."

Black dragons were among the fearsome Chromatic Dragons. After being corrupted, they would only become even stronger. It was certainly not some low-level monster that could be casually slain.

"Alright. Thanks for the information."

Comparing the black dragon’s marker on the minimap and judging by how vivid the red skull icon was, it was probably around the fifth or sixth tier, already possessing enough power to destroy an entire town.

Phield gently rubbed his brow as he considered his options.

"Why don’t we just dig another river beside it?" Rosalia lazily stretched and shoved her greatsword into Violet’s hands. "Go. Start digging."

"No way. And replacing the existing river is impossible anyway." Violet disdainfully tossed the greatsword into the water. "Even if we dug a new river, the corpses from the mass grave would quickly clog it up again. It’s like dealing with one enormous slime."

Rosalia hurriedly retrieved her greatsword and shook off the filthy water, splashing Violet right in the face. "Fine, we won’t dig. But why did you throw my sword? Have you no manners?"

"You bastard!" Violet looked ready to bite her.

"I get it now. We first kill the corrupted black dragon beneath the water, then wipe out the mountain of corpses piled up around it. That’s the key to breaking this deadlock."

Violet nodded. "Exactly."

"Then we need to find the black dragon’s exact location and figure out its weaknesses."

Although the minimap showed its location, the dragon was completely buried beneath the corpse tide, making it impossible to determine its condition.

"My lord, I’ll scout ahead. I can move extremely quickly underwater." Aikalia raised her slender, snow-white hand before clasping it protectively against her chest. "I’m sure I can help."

"No. You have almost no combat ability. It’s too dangerous." Phield rejected the idea immediately. He drew his longsword and quickly inspected it. "I’ll go with you and protect you."

"Mm-hmm." Aikalia was deeply moved. She immediately stepped forward and took Phield’s hand, tears glistening in her eyes. "If we have to die, I’ll die before you, my lord."

"Say something more optimistic."

Phield was speechless. "We’re just going there to scout. We’re not going there to die."

"Oh, oh, okay."

Aikalia quickly wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

"I can’t swim. If I go underwater, you’ll probably have to fish me out at the river mouth." Rosalia shook her head regretfully before stepping forward. "But I don’t want my lord risking himself. I’ll possess you, and we’ll go together."

"Alright." Phield nodded repeatedly.

Rosalia’s possession ability was incredibly convenient.

"You..." Seeing everyone acting so united, Firomina became unhappy.

Phield waved his hands repeatedly. "It’s fine. You don’t need to say anything. Just wait here for a while."

Firomina of the Sunlight Patterns was rebellious and arrogant by nature. She definitely wouldn’t have anything nice to say. She was probably already preparing to insult them.

"Hey, human! I’m not finished yet. You can’t just ignore me." Firomina was furious.

"Then say it."

"Even if you knelt down and begged me, I wouldn’t touch that filthy water." Firomina answered with an unbearably smug expression, her pride practically overflowing.

Phield burst out laughing. "See? What did I tell you? This is hilarious."

"That’s ridiculous. Hehe." Rosalia covered her mouth and giggled. Everyone else laughed as well, filling the area with a cheerful atmosphere.

Firomina pouted, looking deeply aggrieved, but she still maintained her haughty demeanor. "You, you people... I can’t be bothered with you."

"Alright, enough fooling around." Rosalia’s eyes flashed.

"Incarnate Synergy Battle, Corrupted Dragon Guard!"

A colossal corrupted dragon suddenly emerged from the void. Its enormous skeletal wings spread dozens of meters wide, wrapped in chains, flesh, and strange runes. Its grayish white eyes stared lifelessly at everything below, radiating overwhelming dominance like a demon god descending from hell.

"What the hell..."

Violet stared blankly at the colossal dragon rising from the ground. She was so terrified that a few drops of urine escaped before she even realized it. Completely dumbfounded, she asked, "Is this your Divine Skill? How did you do that?"

When Violet had been first order, she had clearly been no weaker than Rosalia. Yet only a few days had passed, and Rosalia had somehow become this terrifying.

"Secret." Rosalia might have been outrageous, but she was extremely guarded around anyone who had not yet entered into a lord contract with Phield. "Maybe I’ll tell you after you truly join us."

"Even Agnes couldn’t do this, could she?" Violet’s mouth hung open as she remained deeply shocked. "If it could reach the sixth tier, this dragon alone would be enough to destroy a small kingdom."

A genuine dragon. And not just any dragon, but one radiating the fluctuations of divine power.

Violet couldn’t even imagine how terrifying a divine-powered dragon like this could become.

"Phield, I never expected you to have a trump card like this."

Violet looked at Phield completely differently now. The shock on her face was so intense that it looked as though two eggs could fit inside her tiny mouth.

"Alright, if you’re jealous, go find yourself a lord." Rosalia pushed Violet aside and sent several slender chains shooting from her greatsword. "Everyone, grab onto these."

"If anything happens, pull the chains twice. The corrupted dragon will pull you back up."

With that, the chains seemed to come alive, hooking themselves around the corrupted dragon’s claws.

"Alright, let’s go!"

Rosalia transformed into a streak of blood and slipped into Phield’s neck. In an instant, divine power surged through Phield’s body. A thick layer of divine energy enveloped him from head to toe, preventing the filthy water from infecting him.

"Divine Skill, Overture of Surging Tides!"

Aikalia proved herself incredibly dependable and immediately cast a buff on Phield.

Holding Aikalia’s hand, Phield plunged straight into the water.

He opened his eyes, and everything around him was dark red.

The water was thick and viscous. Every casual movement brought his hand into contact with bones and rotting flesh. It was like descending into hell itself.

"Don’t worry. Aikalia will help you."

As expected of the Tidal Divine Chosen, Aikalia was surrounded by pristine seawater. She controlled the water around them, slowly forcing away the filthy water and making things much more bearable for Phield.

She then grabbed Phield’s hand and flicked her fish tail, sending the two of them racing toward the black dragon at astonishing speed.

"Be careful! There are monsters coming!"

Aikalia sensed the disturbance in the water and somehow managed to shout a warning despite being underwater.

Following her gaze, Phield saw several clumps of what appeared to be "seaweed" drifting toward them.

Taking a closer look, they were actually pale female corpses with long hair floating around their faces.

Even more terrifying was the fact that they weren’t swimming.

They were walking upright along the bottom of the water.

The scene was extraordinarily eerie.

Only a few minutes later, the aquatic corpses lunged at them with their claws bared.

Phield thrust his sword forward, but the resistance of the water caused the strike to veer slightly off target.