Chapter 467: A Bit Dark

Chapter 467: A Bit Dark

Zheng Yichen’s proposal was something Deya thought about for a while before nodding in agreement. No matter what, a confrontation with this ‘Derivative Witch’ that Zheng Yichen mentioned was unavoidable. ‘Derivative Witch’ was a new term Zheng Yichen had come up with, but it didn’t hinder Deya’s understanding of it. It simply referred to a special existence that came into being by accepting a Witch’s Power.

There might be some other factors involved, but those could be understood after encountering her. Afterwards, the relevant information could be recorded and filed within the Sanctuary Church. Then, if similar entities were encountered in the future, there would be relevant experience to draw upon. The Sanctuary Church had records of every single process of dealing with Witches, not a single one missing. Even the records of the very first battle against a Witch could still be looked up within the Sanctuary Church now.

“w(·Д·)w Aaaah, spare me! I really can’t take it anymore!!” The Red Dragon Augusta let out a miserable shriek that sounded like a pig being slaughtered. He wriggled on the ground like a worm, utterly unable to break free from the restraints binding him. Even the sound of what could be described as the ‘panting’ of the two Mother Dragons by his ears couldn’t ease Augusta’s currently awful state of mind!

While he would usually very much want to listen to such sounds—like the Black Dragon’s voice, which was like that of a strong-willed older sister among humans, and the Green Dragon’s, which was like a soft, gentle girl’s… Yes, among the three young dragons active on the Continent, besides the Black Dragon being female , the Green Dragon was too. The three of them each had very distinct characteristics.

Augusta was a homebody, the Green Dragon was soft, and the Black Dragon was strong and domineering… The male-to-female ratio was as high as 1:2. But unfortunately, Augusta had no relationship with either of them, especially the Black Dragon. Augusta would definitely keep far away from her. Who made it so that he was often bullied back in the Dragon Realm? Back then, he was still young… and she would block his door every day to beat him up.

His own parents didn’t intervene. The Dragon Clan was very united outwardly, but internally, they didn’t pay much attention to such childish squabbles, even somewhat supporting them. Otherwise, if he was doted on by a Mother Dragon every day, what if he grew up useless?

Getting beaten up a bit more and being more mischievous would be better for his growth in the future than having experienced nothing at all. As for the Green Dragon, she was a true little princess… Augusta remembered that she seemed to have been spoiled rotten, which was why she was tossed to the Continent for some experience. Unlike himself, who had run away from home in a very individualistic manner!

In short, the ‘panting’ sounds coming from the two Mother Dragons by his ears brought Augusta no joy whatsoever. Even though compared to the Green Dragon’s soft, sweet cries, the Black Dragon’s screams of agony gave Augusta more of a sense of schadenfreude. Thinking about his own childhood experiences and comparing them to now, he just wanted to say to the Mother Black Dragon: Think about what you did back then!!

Hmm, that’s what he thought before he passed out last time. Now, he had completely lost such thoughts! What was the point of thinking about that? It was better to quickly think of something more practical, like how to get out of this situation faster, how to make himself pass out and avoid the continuous whipping. That damned Human woman hadn’t stopped for a moment since she had three dragons, taking turns. It was simply awful, greatly prolonging the period before Augusta could pass out again.

What was more important was that her mind was becoming clearer and clearer, harder and harder to fool. Besides, when he was being beaten, he also had to endure the Black Dragon’s furious glares and cold stares, as well as the Green Dragon’s soft, indignant looks. In short, he was hated by these two Mother Dragons. The Black Dragon was the Dragon Clan’s tough girl; he couldn’t afford to provoke her. As for the Green Dragon, Augusta actually had some thoughts.

It’s just that the two dragons lived too far apart, and he was too lazy to go find her. Hmm, with her soft personality, going over and biting the back of her neck would probably be fine… But he might be beaten to death after returning to the Dragon Realm!

“You fool, stop screaming! The more you scream, the more excited she gets!” The Black Dragon roared at the Red Dragon Augusta, whose screams were unbearably shrill. During this time, from Augusta’s disgraceful performance, she and the Green Dragon had learned why they had been captured. It was all because this spineless dragon couldn’t bear the pain of the beatings and had simply sold them out!

“You screamed too!!” Augusta, mid-scream, retorted defiantly. One of the reasons he could persist was also the bickering…

“Hmph, if you had been a bit tougher, we wouldn’t be in this mess… Woooaaaah!!” The Black Dragon, who had snorted coldly, got whipped and couldn’t help but let out a shriek as well. Hearing it, the Green Dragon shivered all over, wriggling and trying to use the Black Dragon’s body to hide herself, to avoid that woman’s gaze. Unfortunately, such behavior was destined to be futile. That woman unceremoniously rewarded the Green Dragon with a whip.

Then her gaze fell back on Augusta, who had caught his breath. Seeing this, Augusta let out a grief-stricken and angry roar: “Why! Why are you staring at me so intently?!”

His roar was not without reason. In the past two days, he had been whipped the most times. Even after the Green Dragon and Black Dragon were captured, the Red Dragon remained a key focus.

“Woo… you’re so noisy with your screaming.” The Green Dragon, having recovered a bit from the weakness after the whipping, said softly. Augusta twitched at the corner of his mouth. Just as he was about to say something, the Derivative Witch’s whip came down. He let out another rambling scream. He absolutely did not want to admit that it was precisely because he was so naggy and talkative that he became the key focus.

Didn’t that prove that he was only good with his mouth and weak in everything else?

What a joke! Under the gaze of his childhood trauma and the soft girl, admitting that would be too shameful for a dragon…

“┗|｀O′|┛ Roar~ ah! I won’t nag anymore, can you please stop hitting me? I really can’t take it anymore…” Augusta’s voice grew weaker and weaker. Finally, his wide-open dragon eyes lost their spark, and his aura gradually faded. The Red Dragon and Green Dragon were stunned, a bit of fear creeping into their hearts. Huh? Had this Red Dragon been beaten to death? That was truly terrifying!

The Derivative Witch stared at Augusta for a moment, then raised the grey whip in her hand and gave his dragon face another lash. Augusta, who had already ‘kicked the bucket,’ let out another vigorous, pig-slaughtering scream. This time the pain far exceeded the previous whippings.

“Pah! Where’s your dignity! As a dragon, you actually resorted to playing dead!” The Green Dragon looked utterly baffled. The Black Dragon spat in Augusta’s direction. Trying to avoid a beating by playing dead? This Red Dragon really could come up with ideas!

“To hell with dignity! If it means not getting beaten, what’s wrong with playing dead? Why did it fail? I did it so perfectly!!” Augusta cried out unwillingly, enduring the pain as his mind raced. At this moment, if there were another dragon present, even if he was the key focus, wouldn’t he suffer fewer blows? If that’s the case! Don’t blame this dragon for being ruthless!

A gleam flashed in the Red Dragon Augusta’s eyes: “Wait! Don’t hit me!! I have something to say!!”

The grey whip that was about to fall stopped unscientifically in mid-air, less than half a meter from Augusta’s dragon face, which was twisted with pain and screaming into a rich display of exaggerated expressions. Augusta, cold sweat breaking out, looked weakly at this purely magically condensed grey whip: “Could you move it away first? It scares me to look at it…”

Whack—!

“Roar!!!”

“Speak.” The Derivative Witch stared at Augusta impatiently.

“I actually have a way to find the last remaining dragon! Don’t hit, don’t hit! I really can!! Just let me go out and contact him, I can find a way to lure him out. Then you can make your move…” Under the gazes of the Black Dragon and Green Dragon, Augusta’s voice grew weaker and weaker… Finally, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, and he fell silent.

“Just like that.” The Derivative Witch nodded.

“Oh… This dragon doesn’t want to do that anymore.” Augusta moved his head, wearing an expression that said ‘just keep whipping me.’ The title ‘traitor to the Dragon Clan’ was far too heavy. What was more important was that his actions would affect his parents! The longevity of the Dragon Clan made their expression of familial bonds unlike that of Humans, but that didn’t mean they didn’t value kinship!

Whack whack whack—

“Aaaah! Don’t hit, don’t hit, let me think again!!”

Whack whack—

“Listen! Stop, stop! I… I’ll try first…”

Augusta cried out in despair, feeling like he had brought this upon himself!

“…I think we can head back first.” Zheng Yichen said to Deya. The Saintess of the Sanctuary Church showed a bit of agreement with Zheng Yichen’s words. Looking at him maintaining that dead-fish face… dead-fish eye expression, she could understand. The two of them had been listening here for about half an hour.

Half an hour ago, she had been surprised that Zheng Yichen could find this place so quickly. Indeed, when a Witch dealt with a Witch, it was more efficient. He had pinpointed this Derivative Witch’s activity location so accurately. But half an hour later, Deya had gained a new understanding of that Red Dragon’s lower limit. Those half-hour-long, non-repetitive pleas for mercy… That was simply too shameless. The two Mother Dragons hadn’t yielded yet, but Augusta had already done so first.

Well, maybe it was because the other two dragons knew too little.

“Anyway, he’s screaming so miserably. He’ll probably be fine screaming for another half hour. During that time, we can go back and call some people. What do you think?”

“I think… that’s fine.” Deya nodded. Compared to the Red Dragon… well, she still felt Zheng Yichen’s status was higher. After all, she had had more contact with Zheng Yichen before. As for this Red Dragon, even if she had some favorable impression, it had pretty much worn off over this half hour. As for anything else, Deya didn’t want to comment further. A Witch’s methods of torment were obviously not something ordinary beings could endure, even a dragon. Hadn’t she heard how terribly the two Mother Dragons were screaming too?

“Ahem! I meant calling people is fine.” Realizing her words might have been inappropriate, Deya cleared her throat and quickly added, “Using the Magic Weapon Summoning Book to call people should be okay, right?”

“We can retreat five hundred meters first before doing that.” Zheng Yichen said. Deya nodded. The two quickly retreated. As for Augusta’s screams, they couldn’t be heard from a distance. There was a Magic Barrier set up by that Derivative Witch here. Beyond a certain range, sound couldn’t propagate.

Right now, it was just the two of them here, mainly because of their strength. More people would make them easier to detect. Now that the reconnaissance was done, the next step was the official action. And there was also this opportunity: when Augusta was brought out by the Derivative Witch, they could act immediately, rescuing the two Mother Dragons at the fastest speed. As for Augusta, who would be taken hostage, let him fend for himself for the time being.

Anyway, with two dragons as eyewitnesses, even if there were issues, when the Dragon Clan came to investigate later, having them tell the truth would be enough. After all, the Red Dragon was already done for. Even if the Dragon Clan wanted to vent, they wouldn’t direct it at Zheng Yichen. As for an investigation? If he’s already done for, what’s there to investigate? Shouldn’t they prioritize avoiding such situations and solving the legacy problems of the Undying Witch, instead of blindly investigating, right?

In short, the discussed plan was like this. Even Deya, after some consideration, agreed to it, which made some others in the Church feel strange. So when did the Saintess start acting so… considerate of the overall situation?

Instead of considering how to rescue all the dragons in the best way possible, she was thinking about how to get the Dragon Clan involved as well… The wise ones in the team realized this issue but didn’t speak up about it. First, this proposal was suggested by Zheng Yichen… Hmm, just as the rumors said, his sense of belonging to the Dragon Clan wasn’t strong.

Now, encountering such a situation, it immediately showed. Ahem, this couldn’t be stated openly either, to avoid displeasing Zheng Yichen. After all, he was a dragon too. What would saying such things mean? Provocation or sowing discord? The plan was settled. Next was the real action.

The Derivative Witch cared about dragons but didn’t want to kill them immediately, so Augusta and the others wouldn’t die there for a while. What they had to do was lie in wait, ready to act when the Derivative Witch left that place. Zheng Yichen and Deya could temporarily move closer, acting as the assault team.

The place where the three dragons were imprisoned continued to emit shameless pleas for mercy. Zheng Yichen picked at his ear and took out two earplugs, not for himself: “Want some?”

“No, thank you.” Deya shook her head, declining Zheng Yichen’s offer. Although Augusta’s voice was indeed shrill, listening to it allowed her to judge his current state. Now it was basically completely confirmed: the Derivative Witch’s main goal was torture. Even if they waited a day, the Red Dragon wouldn’t die from it. However, judging from the information revealed in Augusta’s screams, they didn’t need to wait until tonight. They were about to come out soon!

“Listen, if you just loosen the restrictions on my Mana a little, I can contact him. At that time… no, no, no, don’t hit! I definitely don’t have any other intentions!!” Augusta’s back took another whip, and he screamed again. He looked speechlessly at her empty eyes, not knowing if this seemingly idiotic, cruel woman was truly stupid or just pretending. His earlier words indeed had an ulterior motive, and as a result, he got whipped!