Global Game: Developing a Knight Clan-Chapter 140 - 133: Dragon God’s Manifestation, the Collapsing Bishops
"A dragon! That is no Sub-dragon Bloodline!"
"A Pure-blooded Giant Dragon! It’s a Pure-blooded Giant Dragon!"
The moment Bishop Aemon laid eyes on the Giant Dragon as it rose in the distance, he was struck dumb, his mind screaming in a stupor.
’Other than a Pure-blooded Giant Dragon, no such behemoth could possibly exist on the Oakland Continent!’
’Not even a Saint Tier!’
And just how large was Lince’s draconic body now?
Measured from tip to tail, he had reached a length of 368 meters.
That’s right.
Before the bishops arrived, Lince had already claimed another thirty percent for his Growth Level.
His Tier Seven Growth Level had now reached 65%.
Lince did a quick calculation.
As a Super Giant Level dragon, every ten percent of Growth Level he gained during this Tier Seven stage added more than twenty meters to his size.
This growth wouldn’t slow down; instead, it would accelerate, eventually reaching an absurd rate.
Until Lince could truly claim the bloodline of an Ancient Giant Dragon, his growth would neither slow nor lessen. It would only continue to skyrocket with every increase in his Tier.
A 368-meter-long Giant Dragon.
Even just lying on the ground, he was like a small hill.
For the bishops facing Lince, it was like an ordinary person staring up at a hundred-meter-tall skyscraper.
The feeling of insignificance was overwhelming.
Even though Lince was doing his utmost to restrain his Dragon Might, his Bloodline as a Divine Tier Dragon exerted a form of suppression on a fundamental level.
It was the instinctive terror that lesser life forms felt toward an Ancient Life, a primal fear carved into their very Genes.
This feeling of dread and terror was all-encompassing.
Even though Lince was currently only Tier Seven, forget Tier Eight—even a Tier Nine being would find it impossible to muster the slightest courage to fight the moment they looked at him.
Perhaps even a Saint Tier would feel their skin crawl at the sight of him now. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
Lince didn’t know this yet, but with the passage of time, he was sure to find out.
At this moment, the six bishops, including Aemon, had completely lost the ability to think.
Staring blankly, they walked like wooden puppets until they stood beneath the Giant Dragon.
Gazing up at the Giant Dragon, they were just like marionettes.
Only when the Giant Dragon lowered his sacred head, looking down on them with a scrutinizing gaze, did Aemon and the others seem to jolt awake as if from a dream.
A violent shudder ran through them, and three of the bishops’ legs began to tremble uncontrollably.
Instinctive terror gripped them. The six bishops kept trying to hypnotize themselves—’Don’t be afraid, don’t be afraid, I mustn’t lose my composure’—but to no avail.
But the reflexive, biological instinct hardwired into their Genes made their bodies refuse to obey.
They might have been able to control themselves from a distance, but they were now less than twenty meters away—it was simply too close.
If Lince wanted to do something, he could crush all of them—including the Tier Eight Aemon—in a single claw.
"Your Maj... You are Your Majesty?"
As if waking from a dream, Bishop Aemon could no longer remain calm, his voice stuttering as he spoke.
The other bishops, however, were so paralyzed by instinctive fear that they were rendered speechless, as if they had forgotten how to talk, and could only stare dumbly at the Giant Dragon.
At that moment, the Giant Dragon’s body was once again covered in its familiar Rock Steel Scales.
"It seems my recent efforts have paid off quite well."
"And you followers of the Truth have just indirectly confirmed it."
Lince didn’t answer directly, instead speaking with a teasing laugh in his voice.
Perhaps because Lince’s emotion shifted from detached indifference to amusement, the six bishops suddenly felt as if they had broken the surface for air just as they were about to drown.
The pressure vanished instantly.
Two of the bishops, drenched in sweat and pale as sheets, even collapsed right onto a pile of Magic Crystals.
Aemon was in no mood to pay attention to his fellow bishops’ breach of etiquette.
He took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Then, looking up at the Giant Dragon again with a bitter smile, he sighed, his voice laced with complex, indecipherable emotions.
"Ah... Your Majesty... You’ve really kept us suffering in the dark for so long."
"You must possess a true Dragon Race Bloodline, don’t you? Or... are you a vessel for one of the great Dragon Gods?"
"Space? Exploration?"
Aemon took another deep breath and, mustering his courage, decided to throw caution to the wind.
"We have been truly foolish. With so much information, we should have guessed it long ago, however absurd it seemed."
"A vessel of the Dragon Species, with a Divine Title related to Space... Your Majesty, if my memory serves and the Church’s secret texts are not mistaken, you must be that revered Dragon God, Your Majesty, correct?"
Aemon’s thoughts were a tangled mess as he made numerous connections.
But he couldn’t yet sort out all the relationships, nor did he know how to face this being who was far more venerated than any of the Deities of the various races.
After all, to the Dragon Race, be it the Human Race, Demon Beasts, or even Elves, they were all one and the same.
The Dragon Race were the true ancient Overlords of the Oakland Continent. This was beyond question.
Therefore, when facing the Dragon Race, never mind ordinary mortals—even Deities wouldn’t dare to casually provoke a common young dragon.
So, in the face of the current situation, Aemon was left with little more than shock and a feeling of utter resignation.
The situation with the Truth Church, even the God of Truth’s actual relationship with this being—none of it mattered anymore!
When facing the Dragon Race—and a Dragon God, no less—concepts like right and wrong, or plots and schemes, became meaningless.
Even if Lince had been using them all along, they had no grounds to complain.
’Perhaps being used like this could even be considered a good thing?’
Aemon’s mind was a chaotic mess, and he felt somewhat lost.
The return of the Dragon Race? The other races might not wish to see it, but in an age where the Deities have vanished, perhaps the Descent of the dragons wouldn’t be entirely a bad thing.
Besides, the Dragon Race held a truly unique status on the Oakland Continent.
So, if a Dragon God were to make Their Descent, perhaps many among the mortal races would be able to accept it.
At the very least, wouldn’t many of those old monsters at the Saint Tier want a chance to extend their lives?
And besides, could working for a Dragon God truly be considered a betrayal of one’s faith and Lord?
After all, the Dragon Race remained aloof and never participated in the continent’s disputes. Moreover, the Dragon Race Code forbade the Giant Dragons beneath them from running rampant in the Oakland World.
Therefore, the Dragon Race’s presence on the Oakland Continent was more akin to that of observers and judges of the world. Weren’t there even stories of them being Guardians?
The records concerning the Dragon Race were simply too ancient.
Many details had been lost to time. The Human Race knew little, being a short-lived species after all.
But long-lived species like the Demon Beasts and Elves, or even some of the Sea Race and Sea Beasts, certainly knew more.
Thus, Aemon’s only goal right now was to figure out the truth about the Majesty before him.
From there, he might even be able to infer the true state of the Deities, including the God of Truth.
"For a mortal, you seem to have figured out quite a lot in a short amount of time."
Lince looked down at Bishop Aemon, feeling a hint of appreciation.
"However, whether or not I am who you think I am is unimportant. What is important is, aren’t you curious about my true relationship with your Lord?"
Lince wasn’t trying to intimidate them with his power; he was simply using the conversation to probe these humans for their views on the Dragon Race.
After all, these bishops were part of a divine institution within a Kingdom; they would know more than most.
Secrets that Lince previously couldn’t ask about or probe for were now well within his reach.
At Lince’s words, the other five bishops, including Oleg, all looked utterly lost.
They had yet to sort out the various connections, their minds still in chaos.
The fact that Aemon could force himself to remain calm and analyze the situation was certainly admirable.
Aemon fell silent for a moment.
He met the Giant Dragon’s condescending gaze, his thoughts slowly settling as a solemn expression appeared on his face.
"Your Majesty, the greatness of the Dragon Race Code is such that some records of it remain, even in this day and age."
"Therefore, I believe that a being as noble as Your Majesty would certainly not harm our Lord."
"But rather than worrying about the relationship between Your Majesty and our Lord, I am more concerned about our Lord’s true condition. Thinking back on what Your Majesty told us, something terrible must have happened to Him. It cannot be dismissed as a simple ’inconvenience.’"
"So, if I may be so bold, please forgive my impertinence and tell us our Lord’s true condition. Aemon and all the faithful of the Truth Church would be eternally grateful to Your Majesty."
Aemon slowly composed himself. He interpreted this audience with Lince as a kind of showdown, and believed the situation was likely not as bad as it could be.
Therefore, he slowly grew bold enough to ask.
According to ancient records, aside from cases involving evil dragons or grave offenses against the Dragon Race, normal dragons—and even Dragon Gods—would almost never casually harm the living beings of the Oakland Continent. They were more likely to imprison ’wrongdoers’ on Dragon Island until they died of old age.
Of course, times had changed, and Aemon couldn’t say what the Dragon Race was like now.
After all, the Dragon Race’s sudden disappearance and their seemingly sudden return were shrouded in too many mysteries.
Furthermore, there was the matter of the Otherworld. Too many questions were piling up in Aemon’s mind.
But these were clearly not questions Aemon was in a position to ask.
Aemon could only pray that the Dragon God before him would answer his question about the God of Truth.
Of course, if They chose not to speak, there was nothing Aemon could do.
’The Dragon Race Code is that famous?’
’What exactly is in it?’
At this moment, Lince finally realized the importance of the Dragon Race Code.
It must have stipulated far more than just the conduct of the Dragon Race; it must have also laid out how they were to interact with the continent.
Thinking of this, Lince felt he really needed to ask the Earth Dragon and the Red Dragon about it.
It would have been awkward to ask before, but now was the perfect opportunity.
After all, they already saw him as the next successor to the Dragon God; it would be perfectly normal for him not to know these things.
Thus, after deciding to ask about the Dragon Race Code later, Lince formulated a plan for the bishops before him.
’Since the Dragon Race Code is so famous it quells any thought of resistance...’
’Then it’s time to lay my cards on the table.’
After a moment of thought, Lince began his speech about the final fate of the Deities.
The Star Road. The fall of the Deities. Sacrificing themselves to protect their world.
Lince only had to tell them what he knew. As for the rest, he would let them fill in the blanks themselves.
If they asked about something he didn’t know, he could just say, "You lack the qualifications and the power to know." That would suffice.
’As for whether they believe me or not?’
’Heh, that’s not my problem.’
Besides, this would perfectly explain why the Deities hadn’t made a Descent in three thousand years.
Furthermore, he had no reason to deceive them. A smart person would naturally recognize the truth.
As one could imagine, the news of the God of Truth’s fall was a devastating blow to these bishops.
"SOB SOB SOB! Our Lord!"
"So that’s how it is! Finally... finally, the truth has come to light!"
"It confirms what some have suspected... but for this to be the result, for this to be the result... SOB..."
Including Aemon, the mental states of all six bishops completely collapsed.
They were utterly broken. Four of the bishops even began to wail loudly.
The sound of weeping filled the hall. Their grief was genuine; these pious believers valued their Deity and their faith more than their own lives.
It would have been a miracle if they hadn’t broken down.
For a time, under the helpless gaze of the Giant Dragon, the six old men just cried their hearts out, filling the entire main hall with their sobs.
