In their most glorious era, the monsters could go toe-to-toe with the gods, proving to be an immense headache for them. But after a group of peak-level monsters was imprisoned in the Dark World by the God of Darkness, and the gods subsequently withdrew from the Sitatul Continent, the monsters’ status began to plummet.

The Sitatul Continent started to collapse after the gods’ departure. The disasters brought trouble not only to races like humans, elves, and werewolves, but also sent the monsters fleeing in all directions. They, who should have become the new masters of this continent, found their power inexplicably waning day by day. Ultimately, they had no choice but to enter a deep slumber in an attempt to resist this sudden decline.

As the gods’ sworn enemies, the fact that the monsters didn’t seize the opportunity to occupy Sitatul after the gods left, but instead vanished along with them, was a matter of astonishment and curiosity for all races, including the Vampires.

Because the monsters spent most of their time slumbering, and the few active ones were too weak to cause any significant trouble, their “fearsome reputation” was quickly forgotten by the various races. As outcasts of the era, the monsters were naturally resentful. But not sleeping might mean disappearing completely. The desire for survival forced them to compromise, and the negative state brought on by their weakening gradually made them forget their former glory.

But Cynthia’s golden arrow had awakened the Magic Dragon’s memories. The Magic Dragon, which wouldn’t have been in such a sorry state even when facing the magic of the Goddess of Light, instantly became agitated. It writhed and struggled on the ground, and the golden arrow in its back sank deeper with its movements. Dark green scales and blackish-red blood stained the earth beneath it.

The arrow firmly pinned its body to the ground. After struggling for a while, the Magic Dragon was left with only enough strength to pant. It hung its head, looking dejected. The rage that had just surged in its heart vanished completely after only a few seconds.

A whirlwind kicked up the wild grass and sand around the Magic Dragon. It listlessly raised its eyelids, its dark green pupils reflecting two slender figures. The silver-haired woman among them, who exuded a pure Power of Light, made it subconsciously want to flinch.

It was no secret to the powerful monsters that before the gods chose to leave the Sitatul Continent, they had secretly plotted a plan to completely annihilate them.

Although they didn’t know the specifics, the gods had all created new races in unison. This included the supreme main gods, the Earth Mother and the Goddess of Light; the former created thousands of Dragon Knights, while the latter created the God’s Descendant. One didn’t have to think hard to know that the core of the plan was certainly related to these races.

The monsters and gods had fought for thousands, even tens of thousands of years. They simply didn’t believe the gods would let them go. Their decline was perhaps a trick of the gods. And now, didn’t the awakening of a God’s Descendant mean that the gods had not given up on their idea of wiping them from the Sitatul Continent?

The moment the Magic Dragon saw Cynthia, all sorts of thoughts flashed through its mind. It hung its head in despair, its heart filled with sorrow at the thought that even after sleeping for so many years, it still couldn’t escape the fate of death.

Although the Magic Dragon’s head was already lowered to the ground, its body was so enormous that Cynthia still had to look up to see its eyes.

The golden arrow was embedded in the Magic Dragon’s body. It looked like a severe injury, but it wasn’t actually fatal. The Magic Dragon’s scales were too hard, and most of the Power of Light had been neutralized as the arrow pierced through.

The wound isn’t fatal, so why is this Magic Dragon exuding such an aura of deathly stillness? Cynthia raised a hand to her chin, studying the Magic Dragon carefully. Though her heart was full of curiosity, her face showed nothing. She toyed with the Light Crystal and used Light Fire to force the Magic Dragon to meet her gaze, saying with a smile, “Don’t be afraid. I’m not going to kill you. I just want to talk.”

The Magic Dragon looked at her in silence. The wound on its back was still bleeding blackish-red blood, making Cynthia’s words utterly unconvincing.

However, Cynthia didn’t need the Magic Dragon to be convinced. Seeing no reaction, she raised an eyebrow and asked, “Can you speak?”

The Magic Dragon was silent for a moment before a hoarse voice sounded in Cynthia’s ear. “God’s Descendant, were you sent by the Goddess of Light to exterminate us?”

God’s Descendant? Olivia, who had been sizing up the Magic Dragon, shifted her gaze to Cynthia. Could this be the name the Goddess of Light gave them when she created the God Race?

Cynthia’s hand, which was toying with the Light Crystal, paused. Olivia’s attention was on how the Magic Dragon addressed her, but Cynthia’s focus was on the latter half of its sentence. Sent by the Goddess of Light to exterminate them?

So the purpose for which the Goddess of Light created this body of hers was to deal with the monsters?

And back in Pegel, when she saw in the statue’s memory that the God of Thunder said the time had come, was he also referring to the time to deal with the monsters?

Cynthia had originally just wanted to get information from the Magic Dragon to see if their sudden appearance in the Slade Sea Region had anything to do with the Sethite wizards. But unexpectedly, this Magic Dragon knew things that were far more interesting than she had imagined. She lowered her eyes and pondered for a moment, then went along with the Magic Dragon’s words. “The Goddess of Light is benevolent. The order to exterminate you was given because she couldn’t bear for the races of the Sitatul Continent to suffer the monsters’ harassment after she left.”

They hid away sleeping every day, their strength weakening by the day. The word “harassment” was a distant concept for them monsters now. The Magic Dragon’s eyelids drooped, its dark green eyes devoid of spirit.

Cynthia observed the Magic Dragon’s reaction and suddenly changed the subject. “But the Goddess of Light surely didn’t know that you would become so weak after she left. The Goddess of Light has always had pity for the weak. If she knew, perhaps she would change her mind.”

The Goddess of Light’s pity for the weak would never extend to them monsters, but that wasn’t important. The Magic Dragon only knew that it heard in Cynthia’s words an intention to let it go. The Magic Dragon raised its eyes slightly. The God’s Descendant before it wore a faint smile, looking perfectly composed despite standing right next to its claw.

It shifted itself closer to Cynthia and said, belying its true feelings, “The Goddess of Light is the most benevolent god I have ever seen.” …So benevolent that half of its kin had died at her hands.

Seeing the Magic Dragon show weakness, Cynthia’s red lips curved slightly. She took a step forward, then raised her hand and tentatively placed it on the Magic Dragon’s head.

The Magic Dragon didn’t know what she was about to do and subconsciously tried to dodge, but Cynthia stopped it with a soft command.

“Don’t move. Relax.” The Magic Dragon’s head was also covered in small, hard scales that were cool to the touch. For a monster like the Magic Dragon, which had existed since the time of the gods, Cynthia didn’t know if the God Race’s innate ability would be effective on it. She calmed her mind and tried to sense something, but nothing appeared in her mind.

Cynthia frowned. She waited a little longer, and just as she was about to withdraw her hand, a few scattered memory fragments entered her mind.

For a Magic Dragon that had lived for who knows how many years, the number of memories stored in its mind was immeasurable. Searching through those memories for the information Cynthia wanted was practically a fool’s errand, which was why she hadn’t considered using this ability at first.

She was using it now because this Magic Dragon clearly knew some secrets about the gods. If she could get a glimpse of what those secrets were, many of her questions could be answered.

Although they were just scattered memory fragments, the subject was a Magic Dragon, so the amount of memory that flooded into Cynthia’s mind was still enormous. She took a few steps back and raised a hand to rub her brow.

Seeing Cynthia suddenly retreat, the Magic Dragon’s claws on the ground twitched unconsciously. The golden arrow in its back had almost completely dissipated, and the suppressed Power of Darkness had loosened slightly. Its dormant thoughts began to stir again, and just as it was trying to find an escape route, several vines suddenly shot out from the ground and bound it tightly.

The Magic Dragon: “…”

“Are you all right?” Olivia glanced coldly at the Magic Dragon, then walked to Cynthia’s side and asked.

Cynthia’s expression didn’t show any discomfort. It was likely just that too many memories had flooded her mind, and she needed a moment to sort through them.

“I’m fine.” Cynthia smiled at Olivia, signaling her not to worry.

After being bound by the vines, the Magic Dragon seemed to give up on the idea of escaping. Its eyes stared straight at Cynthia as it said in a hoarse voice, “Didn’t you just say you were going to let me go?”

…It had even said such insincere words.

“I just learned some very surprising news.” Cynthia looked up in the direction the Magic Dragon’s companions had left, her tone gentle. “You chose to come to the Slade Sea Region to slumber because the dark aura here is relatively dense.”

“If we don’t sleep in a place like this, the Power of Darkness in our bodies will dissipate faster.” The monsters had been weakening for too long, and because they spent most of their time in slumber, the more profound memories in its mind were mostly from after the gods had left. Excluding the dark and chaotic dreams, Cynthia easily found the reason why the Magic Dragons had suddenly gathered to find a new territory.

It had nothing to do with the Sethite wizards. They were simply drawn to the Slade Sea Region, where darkness was breeding.

Although it was unexpected, seeing the images of one Magic Dragon after another anxiously searching for territory flash through her mind, a thought suddenly stirred in Cynthia’s heart, and an idea slowly took shape.

The Magic Dragon didn’t know how Cynthia knew about its race’s internal affairs, nor did it understand what she meant by bringing it up. It could only stare at her without a word.

“I sympathize with your plight, but this place, the Slade Sea Region, I’m afraid I can’t give it to you.” Cynthia paused, then added with a smile, “But I can help you find a more suitable territory for your slumber to express my apologies.”

The Magic Dragon looked at her suspiciously, unable to fathom her intentions. But no matter what this God’s Descendant’s purpose was, it would agree, because it just wanted to escape its current predicament.

As for whether it would implicate its kin… monsters had never possessed such an ethereal concept as camaraderie. If a kinsman could die in its place, it would be even happier.