Chapter 565: Frost Dragon
"Lord Reid..."
Just as Reid Watson was at his wit's end, a hearty voice sounded from outside the barracks. Reid Watson's lips curled into a faint smile, "Lord Anthus, please, come in..."
As soon as Reid Watson finished speaking, a burly man wrapped in a black robe stepped into the barracks. A cold, sinister aura radiated from the black-robed man.
"Lord Anthus, you arrived just in time..."
"Oh?"
"There's something I'd like to discuss with you—here's what happened..." Reid Watson smiled broadly, briefly recounting the recent events and expressing his desire to teach Matthew Merlin a lesson.
"Heh, so that's how it is..." The black-robed man known as Anthus let out a chilling laugh.
"Lord Anthus, do you have any good suggestions?" Reid Watson regarded Anthus with deep respect, his demeanor unusually deferential.
Strictly speaking, as a councilor of the Watson Family's ancestral assembly, Reid Watson rarely treated anyone as an equal within the family.
But this black-robed man called Anthus was definitely one of the few...
Only those in the ancestral grounds and the family patriarchs knew of Anthus's existence.
It was said Anthus stayed with the Watson Family out of loyalty to a promise made to one of their ancestors. Although that ancestor hadn't appeared for centuries, Anthus kept his word and remained with the family, making immense contributions over the past two hundred years.
Of course, Reid Watson's respect wasn't based on this alone—the main reason was Anthus's strength. At Seventh Rank Sword Saint level and possessing demon blood, Reid Watson couldn't be sure he could defeat Anthus in a fight...
The demon bloodline was undoubtedly Anthus's most unique trait. Reid Watson had vaguely heard that Anthus's grandfather was half-demon, half-human. Though Anthus inherited only a thin trace of this blood, he could still maintain a demon form for a short time.
Once, an enemy sent a peak Seventh Rank Sword Saint to assassinate a Watson patriarch, only to be stopped by Anthus in his demon form—completely unharmed.
This alone showed just how formidable Anthus's combat power was...
"Lord Reid, I think we could probe a bit..." Anthus let out a hoarse laugh. "Leave this to me. You remember my abilities, don't you? I can briefly transform into a demon, attack the Merlin Family camp, and maybe snatch Matthew Merlin in the chaos. The Merlin Family would just think a demon attacked them—they'd never suspect us, the Watson Family..."
This innate ability had always been his pride.
This time, following Patriarch Carl Watson to the Horn of Plenty, he naturally knew the Merlin Family camp's strength well: only a handful of Title Archmages, not even a single high-ranked one. Snatching Matthew Merlin would be a breeze.
To him, this was hardly a challenge at all...
Having always followed Patriarch Carl, he also heard from him about the negotiations at Inferno Fortress. That young man named Matthew Merlin repeatedly made outrageous demands, driving Carl nearly mad with anger...
"Then I'll leave it to you, Lord Anthus..." Reid Watson nodded with a smile. In fact, he had thought of this plan as soon as Anthus arrived, but proposing it himself would have been too abrupt. Fortunately, Anthus had always been loyal to the Watson Family and never shirked any responsibility.
Now, that damned Matthew Merlin is about to suffer, isn't he?
When in demon form, Anthus's strength was nearly at the peak of Seventh Rank Sword Saint. Capturing a Sixth Rank Archmage like Matthew Merlin would be effortless.
And there wouldn't be any clues left behind. Even if the Merlin Family's ancestral grounds suspected the Watson Family, they would have no evidence and could only swallow the loss.
It must be said, this was truly a perfect plan...
"Lord Reid, no need to be polite. I'll go bring Matthew Merlin back right now..." Anthus sneered, his body radiating a bone-chilling aura. With that, he turned into a streak of black light, swiftly leaving the Watson Family camp. Ten minutes later, he was already hovering above the Merlin Family camp.
Looking down at the neatly arranged barracks below, he quickly locked onto the special one in the center. In an instant, a strong scent of sulfur emanated from his body. His black robe was instantly torn apart, revealing hands with long, sharp nails. His appearance became extremely ferocious, with long fangs gleaming with a sinister light, exuding a bloodthirsty aura. With a low, guttural roar, he dove toward the central barracks.
At this moment, Anthus was a complete demon.
Roar...
But at that moment, a deafening dragon's roar suddenly erupted. Instantly, countless shards of frost condensed in the sky, and at the horizon, a silver-white figure flashed by, charging toward Anthus at incredible speed...
What!
Anthus, in demon form, was stunned. He immediately recognized it—a mature Frost Dragon, whose power seemed to surpass his own.
Next, a dragon claw slowly reached out...
Boom...
In an instant, Anthus didn't even have time to react before he was struck by a terrifying force. His body smashed uncontrollably into the ground, accompanied by an earth-shaking crash. A crater over ten meters deep appeared, and Anthus, who had been in demon form, reverted to human form, his skin oozing blood and looking utterly miserable...
Damn it, damn it all...
Seriously injured, Anthus cursed fiercely before struggling out of the crater, gasping for breath. He turned to look at the distant Merlin Family camp, his eyes filled with deep fear—the power of that Frost Dragon was simply terrifying...
Even now, he was still shaken...
Luckily, he had been in demon form just now. If he had been as he was now, that grab would have killed him instantly...
Thinking of this, Anthus wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. He no longer had the courage to stay and, pushing his battle energy to the limit, quickly fled back to the Watson Family camp.
Reid, Reid! Our intelligence was wrong. The Merlin Family is nowhere near as simple as we thought. There's a Frost Dragon hidden there—damn it, damn it all...
More than ten minutes later, Anthus rushed into Reid Watson's barracks in utter disarray.
Th-this... this...
At that moment, Reid Watson saw Anthus covered in blood and was clearly stunned. It took him more than ten seconds to react. Recalling Anthus's words, his face was full of disbelief: "How is this possible? For a dragon to injure you this badly, it must be at least level thirty-eight..."
As for the dragon Anthus mentioned, he simply didn't believe it. He knew a thing or two about the Merlin Family's ancestral grounds, but had never heard of them possessing such a terrifying dragon...
Besides, how could a noble dragon possibly stay with the Merlin Family?
You don't believe me?' Anthus's voice was somewhat frantic. He had risked his life to help Reid Watson, yet the other didn't believe him. Anthus couldn't help but feel a surge of anger: 'My wounds are proof enough—would I lie to you?
Alright... I believe you, Lord Anthus. Go get some rest...' Sensing Anthus's anger, Reid Watson wisely refrained from mentioning the dragon again, hurriedly smiled, and pulled out several precious alchemical potions from his pocket: 'These will help you recover from your injuries...
Hmph!
With a cold snort, Anthus took the alchemical potions from Reid Watson. His anger subsided somewhat; the fact that Reid could produce such rare potions showed he was sincere.
Whew...
Watching Anthus leave, Reid Watson let out a sigh of relief, his face full of doubt. What was the story behind that dragon?
Meanwhile, from Reina's account, Lin Yun already knew what had happened, but he had no time to bother with the Watson Family...
As for why he knew it was the Watson Family...
The reason was simple: just over an hour ago, he had the Dragonblood Orc take a break and taught Mark Watson a lesson. Then a guy with demon blood tried to disguise himself as a demon and attack the Merlin Family camp...
Anyone with half a brain could guess it—it must have been the Watson Family causing trouble...
Reina, do me a favor...' Lin Yun glanced at Reina beside him, pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket, and handed it to her: 'I need the alchemical materials listed on this paper. Take it to Cousin William in Specter Valley, and give it to him. He'll know what to do. Once you've gathered all the materials, bring them back—it should take four or five days...
Not long ago, Lin Yun realized that making parts for the alchemical golem required constructing an alchemical array, but he was out of the required ink. Now, in the Horn of Plenty, he was busy designing the parts and couldn't spare the time. To save time, he had to delegate the task of gathering alchemical materials to Reina and William Merlin...
Alright...' Reina nodded, her face cold as she uttered a single word, then turned and left with the paper.
Soon after Reina left, Lin Yun once again immersed himself in his work. He had basically finished designing the second part and completed the blueprint...
Only the last one remained...