Chapter 858: Do You Dare Touch It?
But it was only when they got within a few hundred meters that they could see it—the green plume of smoke had been invisible from afar.
Ahead lay a massive crater, over a thousand meters wide and at least a hundred meters deep. The ground around it was riddled with enormous cracks, worn by the passage of time.
That green plume was rising straight out of the crater. As everyone approached the edge and looked inside, they were stunned by what they saw. Even Reina was pale as a sheet, her legs trembling uncontrollably.
Leon’s pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out in shock.
“How could there possibly be a Primordial Venom Dragon here?”
Inside the crater lay a colossal dragon, its body covered in dark green scales, at least two or three hundred meters long. The beast lay motionless, eyes tightly shut. Unlike modern dragons, which have only powerful hind legs, this one had four massive limbs, each claw sporting five talons—two more than today’s dragons.
Those dull scales were etched with intricate, arcane patterns, forming what looked like a terrifying alchemical array by their very nature.
Two enormous fangs, each several meters long, jutted out from its mouth, exposed past its lips. Its head was a small, sharp triangle—half the size of a modern dragon’s.
A bead of cold sweat broke out on Leon’s forehead. Anything else he might mistake, but the infamous Primordial Venom Dragon—there was no way he’d get that wrong.
The Primordial Venom Dragon was a dominant force during the Elder Age. Back then, even gods and demons would think twice before provoking one. Their existence spanned eras—some say they predated the gods and demons themselves.
Though called dragons, they surpassed all others—even the Chromatic Dragons were mere newcomers compared to them.
Every Primordial Venom Dragon was born a creature of the highest tier. Even the weakest among them could tear apart other dragons of the same rank.
Legend has it that in the distant Elder Age, the mightiest Primordial Venom Dragon once fought the gods and demons—and in the end, they retreated, surrendering vast territories.
To all living things, Primordial Venom Dragons were calamity incarnate. Wherever one appeared, life withered—entire regions became barren, every creature dying off, sometimes just because the dragon changed where it slept. Within a hundred kilometers, nothing survived.
That’s why they were also known as Plague Dragons. Their bodies radiated deadly toxins, and even the natural poison they exuded could corrupt vast swathes of land, killing anything below the highest tier.
During the legendary battle between the greatest Primordial Venom Dragon and the gods and demons, its ability to pollute the land reached its peak. After the fight, a thousand kilometers around became a dead zone—the gods and demons had no choice but to withdraw.
Even among dragons, all other species—including the Chromatic Dragons—regarded the Primordial Venom Dragons as enemies. Some records suggest their extinction was orchestrated by other dragons.
Leon remembered reading about the Primordial Venom Dragon in the desolate library years ago, marveling at how such a creature should never exist. Wherever it appeared, the land was ruined, and even reclaiming territory was pointless—everything inside would be dead, the earth poisoned for countless years. Even the gods and demons could only accept defeat.
So Leon was intimately familiar with the Primordial Venom Dragon—even its portraits matched this one exactly.
There was one difference, though—the corpse of the Primordial Venom Dragon before them didn’t seem to be one of the truly powerful ones.
If this had been one of the strongest of its kind, just its corpse lying here would be enough to turn half of the Furyflame Plane into a dead zone. Poisonfog Valley wouldn’t be the only place poisoned.
After observing for a moment, Leon realized why only Poisonfog Valley was tainted. This Primordial Venom Dragon’s power had waned to its limit before death, so its corpse could only pollute this valley.
But Leon grew increasingly perplexed. How could a Primordial Venom Dragon’s corpse appear here? Poisonfog Valley had existed for countless years, but surely not since the age of gods and demons—and the Primordial Venom Dragons were extinct by then.
Looking at the dragon, he understood the source of the valley’s poison, but new mysteries arose.
A flood of thoughts flashed through Leon’s mind, but he noticed Reina’s face had grown even paler.
Reina, step back for now.
Leon instructed Reina to move farther away. Though the Primordial Venom Dragon had been dead for ages, its corpse hadn’t decayed and continued to emit toxins. Others might not feel its oppressive aura, but as a fellow dragon, Reina felt it acutely.
A corpse of a Primordial Venom Dragon from an era even older than the Chromatic Dragons—Reina, as a Frost Dragon who hadn’t reached the highest tier, was no match.
The suppression came from soul and bloodline—even in death, it remained.
Reina let out a sigh of relief, nodded, and began retracing her steps. Meanwhile, Leon immediately started circling the crater.
The others watched in confusion. Hughban scratched his head.
Has Lord Merlin gone mad? He doesn’t want the dragon’s corpse, but he’s just walking around…
Andefa chuckled.
Hughban, let me tell you—if you want anything from that dragon, just take it. Merlin would never make you give it up. See those claws? Sharp, huge, heavy—perfect for you.
Hughban shot Andefa a look like he was staring at an idiot.
Do you think I’m stupid? If Lord Merlin hasn’t touched it, do you dare?
All three of Andefa’s faces froze, mouth agape, completely at a loss for words.
Leon, meanwhile, was darting around the crater like a squirrel frantically gathering food for winter.
The ground around the crater was riddled with massive cracks, as if the Primordial Venom Dragon had crashed down from the sky, smashing out the pit on impact.
Some cracks were just over a meter wide, others as much as seven or eight meters. Leon quickly inspected them all.
Soon, at the bottom of one crack, he found a jet-black plant, jagged like sawgrass. It had only three leaves, the longest barely as long as a pinky finger.
It didn’t look like any kind of medicinal herb, but Leon’s face lit up with joy.
As if unearthing a priceless treasure, he carefully used two magical hands to move the soil around the plant, then dug it up with the earth intact and placed it in a clay jar.
After finding the first plant, Leon sped up, using a magical array to track its aura and soon found seven more identical plants.
Having searched the entire crater again, Leon finally returned to its edge, gazing at the corpse of the Primordial Venom Dragon.
Just then, Reina—who’d left earlier—returned, her face cold. Beside her stood Droy and his group.
Leon wasn’t surprised to see Droy. The old man was the smartest of the Caucasus battle mages, and in Auckland, he’d be considered one of the wisest.
It had taken him quite a while to catch up, which was a bit of a blow to his reputation for wisdom.
Droy’s expression turned strange as he approached, especially when he saw the corpse of the Primordial Venom Dragon—he couldn’t help but show a trace of shock.
Just as I thought! Something felt off earlier. Based on the information we have, Leon Merlin never does anything pointless—and now, it’s clear!
He’d seemed distracted since we entered, barely interested in the loot and never joining in the fights. Eventually, he split off from us.
He must have discovered something none of us noticed. Who would’ve thought there was a Primordial Venom Dragon’s corpse here? That’s the real reason Poisonfog Valley is the way it is.
We’d never explored this direction in Poisonfog Valley before—it was barren and worthless, and the poison was thin. As Caucasus battle mages, our time is precious.
Who’d waste time here? Turns out, this was the heart of Poisonfog Valley all along.
Seeing the dragon’s corpse, Droy immediately understood why no one had found this place before, and realized that without Leon’s antidote, they’d never have made it here.
A corpse from the Elder Age—no one would let such a thing go.
Droy sidled up to Leon and shamelessly asked,
“Lord Merlin, should we start collecting now?”
Leon didn’t reply, barely glancing at the Primordial Venom Dragon, as if he didn’t care.
At that moment, a fully armored, helmeted member of the Caucasus battle mage team quietly retreated, sneaking around the edge of the crater and creeping toward the Primordial Venom Dragon.
The group was standing in a blind spot, and the dragon’s poison mist formed a green plume, dozens of meters thick, blocking their view. Without magic, there was no disturbance—no one noticed someone sneaking down.
The figure reached the bottom, gazing at the enormous Primordial Venom Dragon, then lifted his mask—it was Kempis, who should have been sent back for punishment.
Kempis wore a cold smile, his eyes full of greed.