Chapter 27: Demon God Pillar
No wonder the Azure Orb reacted—it was this thing.
Meanwhile, Brandon began his explanation: "Aside from the abyssal derivatives and high-concentration Mad Dragon Virus you gifted us, Joshua, we also specially purchased several bound berserk dragon beasts from the Far South."
Holding a cylindrical crystal pillar, he displayed the black crystal sealed within it to the warrior and the others. The blonde swordsman looked exceptionally proud: "Among these dragon beasts, some also possess chaotic parasites similar to the abyssal derivatives. These parasites emit strange waves and toxic gases that drive ordinary magical beasts mad, spreading the Mad Dragon Plague like a pathogen. Through experiments, we discovered that these parasites can fuse with each other. Each fusion amplifies the waves and toxins they release, growing exponentially. To investigate the cause, we..."
"And then, you gathered all the derivatives and parasites together, and finally extracted this thing from the fused monster's body?"
Joshua interrupted, his gaze fixed on the black crystal. His expression was extremely serious: "But do you know what this thing is actually used for?"
"Of course."
Brandon frowned slightly. He had been about to explain this very point but was cut off by the warrior. However, it was a minor matter, so the swordsman organized his thoughts and continued: "Our experiments on the southern border revealed that, as long as this crystal isn't isolated and sealed by the crystal pillar, when exposed to air, the aura and waves it emits can attract all berserk dragon beasts within dozens of kilometers. These dragon beasts will involuntarily gather toward it. Along the way, even if attacked, they won't resist—it's the perfect lure!"
At this point, Brandon looked extremely excited. He fully understood what this meant—with this item, the empire's borders would almost never face a siege of mad dragons. As long as this crystal was exposed, a massive horde of dragon beasts would converge toward it, and during that time, the imperial army could attack freely without fear of counterattack.
This was a strategic treasure. One could even say that with it, they held the initiative against the dragon beasts.
"You're right."
Joshua agreed with this opinion.
However, he raised another question: "But Brandon, what's the cost?"
"Do you know why mad dragons naturally gather around this crystal? In simpler terms, do you know why this chaos—this crystal—attracts mad dragons?"
"...No."
The blonde swordsman was stumped. He hesitated for a moment, then tried to explain: "But we're researching it... This process can't be completed in one step. After this celebration, I'll take several grand mages from the association back to the southern border, even to the Far South Kingdom, to experiment with this crystal's effects and study its principles."
"By then, it'll be too late, my friend."
Joshua shook his head. As expected, Brandon and his team hadn't realized the true function of this Chaos Heart. In reality, attracting mad dragons and luring them toward it were merely minor side effects.
This object, condensed from countless chaotic forces and nearly a divine power crystal, had its greatest use in evolution.
Joshua vaguely remembered that in his past life, when the abyss invaded and countless monsters rampaged across the world, the sheer density of monsters made it nearly impossible for any faction to completely eradicate the seemingly endless abyssal creatures. Some always survived. Those lucky survivors grew by devouring the corpses of their fallen kin, absorbing their residual power.
Thus, after several major battles, human forces uneasily discovered that while the number of abyssal monsters had decreased, their quality had skyrocketed. The minor imps that even Black Iron-rank militia could easily kill had all evolved into frenzied imps within days. The sudden surge in pressure forced the previously dominant human forces to huddle in fortress cities, retreating to their strongholds.
This situation was clearly abnormal. Major factions quickly dispatched Gold-rank or higher elite squads to investigate the cause. The result was the discovery of an unprecedented monster in the abyssal creatures' stronghold. It emitted a strange wave that attracted other monsters to it, gradually strengthening their power. Because of this monster, the abyssal forces regained the ability to counterattack.
Deeply uneasy about this ability, a legendary sword saint from the Western Mountain, the holder of the Holy Sword 'Mistletoe of the Silver Holly,' Lamort Ternan, personally intervened. He wiped out a monster cluster, killed one such creature, and extracted its core.
According to Ternan's description, the monster's exterior resembled a conical giant pillar formed from countless piled corpses. It used bones as armor and rotting flesh as filler to protect the crystal-like core structure inside. Rows of constantly writhing giant eyes stretched vertically from the top to the bottom of the pillar, as terrifying as a demon god. Scholars of the time named it the Demon God Pillar, and the core within it was the Chaos Heart.
The Chaos Heart that Brandon and his team had accidentally obtained was much smaller than a true Chaos Heart. The one Ternan had acquired was the size of a human head, while this one was only the size of a thumb. But even so, it was still a Chaos Heart. If the blonde swordsman and his group actually took this thing to areas dense with berserk dragon beasts and stayed for a while, they might end up helping the enemy undergo a collective evolution.
Imagining that scenario, the warrior couldn't help but shake his head. Ultimately, this was a change he had brought about. In his past life, the Dragon Calamity had never encountered such a situation. The appearance of this Chaos Heart was partly his responsibility, Joshua's.
As someone who had experienced all this, Joshua felt it was necessary to teach them some life lessons.
"Brandon, I think I need to tell you this."
Without hesitation, the warrior spoke directly to the somewhat puzzled Brandon: "Whether you believe it or not, I know the true function of the item in your hand. What you just described is only a fraction of its ability, barely a derivative effect. Its real use is..."
Joshua succinctly explained the Chaos Heart's ability to Brandon. He didn't reveal the source of this information, simply stating plainly the consequences if the swordsman and his team actually took this thing to the southern border or the Far South. Their previous experiment had no ill effects due to luck, but the next time might not be so fortunate.
"I'm not forcing you to believe..."
"No, I believe you."
Joshua was about to end with this sentence, but was interrupted by the voice from across from him.
After listening to the warrior, the blonde swordsman, who had been silently listening, decisively agreed.
Slowly nodding, he seemed thoughtful. Then, Brandon spoke again: "Is this knowledge passed down by the Sage... As expected, Joshua, you've already obtained part of the inheritance from the Azure Orb, haven't you?"
Hearing this, Joshua was momentarily stunned. He had expected some doubt, since what he said had no source and was extremely brief. The warrior had planned to wait until after the celebration to go with Brandon and catch a mad dragon to experiment, proving his words weren't false. But who knew the other party seemed to have no hesitation at all, directly believing what he said.
And it seemed a wonderful misunderstanding had arisen.
Brandon raised his head, his gaze distant. His hands rested on the Order Twin Blades at his waist, his thoughts seeming to drift back to the past: "A few months ago, when I was experimenting in this lab with other grand mages, the Order Twin Blades suddenly resonated inexplicably. At the time, I was puzzled as to why, but the vibration of the twin blades seemed to tell me that there must be someone, someone else holding a Sage's inheritance, who had obtained a deeper level of inheritance before me."
After saying this, the blonde swordsman lowered his head, meeting Joshua's eyes directly. A slight smile curled at the corner of his mouth, as if excited to confirm his guess: "There are many Sage's inheritance items, but I feel only you could achieve this... Back in Moldova, when we fought the Ultimate Wild God, you knew the true name of the Order Twin Blades before I did. If you hadn't received the Sage's inheritance, this couldn't be explained."
This logic was perfect—even Joshua couldn't refute it, because he had indeed obtained the Sage's inheritance. Just today, the warrior had personally witnessed the remnants of the Sage's power in the Azure Orb and seen the childhood phantom of that ancient powerhouse.
On the other side, Brandon had already put away the Chaos Heart. He returned the black crystal sealed in the crystal pillar to the cabinet and locked it. The swordsman said somewhat regretfully: "I thought I'd found an easy way to deal with dragon beasts, but as expected, things aren't that simple... Thanks to the Sage's inheritance reminding you to warn me, otherwise, if the dragon beast horde really underwent a collective evolution because of this, I would truly be a historical sinner."
"No need to be so tense."
Joshua shrugged and comforted him. As the Chaos Heart returned to the sealed cabinet, the Azure Orb on his chest stopped vibrating, having lost its target: "After all, the chaos crystal in your hand isn't that big. It's unlikely to cause a whole group of dragon beasts to evolve so easily. I'm just telling you about this possibility."
He didn't plan to explain that he hadn't actually received much of the Sage's knowledge inheritance. Having this layer of reasoning wasn't bad.
"It's best to avoid even a single possibility. Remember, the southern border faces the Central Black Forest. Their pressure is already immense." Shaking his head, Brandon smiled and said: "You might have found the method to inherit the Azure Orb, but I still can't communicate with the Order Twin Blades. What a pity."
Despite his words, the blonde swordsman's expression didn't look truly regretful.
But Joshua vaguely felt a spark of inspiration. He narrowed his eyes, looking at Brandon's waist. After thinking for a moment, the warrior said: "Brandon, can I take a look at your blades?"