**Chapter 251: 27. Raphael’s Call (Part Two)**
Just as Fisher was about to leave the Southern Ocean and enter the Eastern Ocean, the Southern Continent in the center of the Southern Ocean was anything but calm; on the contrary, the atmosphere there was overly lively.
Ever since the humans from the Western Continent entered the Southern Continent, they began to crazily seize the vast resources of the Southern Continent.
However, a continent of such size has its own vast array of issues that the Western Continent has yet to resolve. Most of those who came were private traders, and relying on such a small number of people and their abilities, it was absolutely impossible to completely occupy the Southern Continent. Otherwise, those humans wouldn’t have to go to such great lengths to build cities in the wilderness to surround themselves.
But looking at the overall trend, the human lackeys continued to expand outward, driven by greed.
The previous expulsion of the Dragon Race from the South Branch Tribe in the Southern Continent seemed a monumental achievement in their eyes, but no one expected it to be the first shovel digging their own graves.
The eastern coast of the Southern Continent was always surrounded by a complex, primitive forest encompassing too wide an area. The magical creatures and subhuman communities residing there became quite intricate. It was precisely these natural geographical advantages that blocked the claws of human expansion, allowing the Dragon Race-led East Branch Tribe within to live quite comfortably.
However, what no one expected was that before humans came to find them, their own kin would arrive first, and these kin were even deadlier than humans.
Because their leader was a Dragon Race with crimson scales.
“Boom!”
“How long until Master Raphael arrives?!”
In the dense jungle, Fashir, clad in white dragon scales, hid behind a massive tree, gripping a spear in her hand. The scales on her body were stained with black marks from the battle they just faced.
The ground of the forest was trembling continuously, and each time the fierce gunfire rang out, it sent a powerful shockwave, propelling many charging South Branch Dragon Races into the air.
The stamina of the Dragon Race was strong. Although both sides had far fewer personnel than the humans, their war appeared quite spectacular; the two tribal factions clashed like a renovation in the forest.
“I don’t know! Ral said there are ambushes from the East Branch to the south, so she went to deal with it first. We need to hold on a bit more!”
On Keshil’s white hair, a thick, glowing dragon horn stood out. Last month, both Keshil and Fashir came of age, growing dragon horns signifying their potential.
“Those damn bastards, actually doing business with humans and buying so many firearms!”
The East Branch Dragon Race, taking advantage of the fact that humans could not yet enter the primitive forest, proactively engaged with the other side, using forest resources and subhumans to trade for numerous weapons and crafts.
The West Branch Tribe had already fallen under the claws of the red dragon, with its chieftain killed by Raphael. The entire clan merged into the South Branch. Originally, she planned to head north to attack the North Branch, but upon hearing that East Branch was asking for human assistance after learning about Raphael, she changed her course directly towards them.
At this moment, just as Fashir was about to peek out, the nearby tree suddenly exploded with a bullet hole, wood splinters brushing against her skin, causing a few drops of scalding blood to fall. Gritting her teeth, she took out the cloth engraved with Dragon Race magic that Raphael had given her, wrapping it around her spear, then aiming at the East Branch Dragon Race that was continuously firing in the distance.
“Keshil! Follow me!”
The twin sisters, Keshil and Fashir, instinctively understood each other. Upon seeing the magical spear in Fashir’s hand, Keshil whipped her tail and leaped out from behind the trees, wielding two curved blades to deflect the bullets like a whirlwind. Amidst the cacophony, Fashir’s gaze narrowed as she hurled the spear towards the gathered East Branch Tribe.
“Boom!”
A great torrent of flames erupted in mid-air like a giant serpent, opening its ruthless jaws to consume all the surrounding trees and living beings.
“Got it! Let’s move forward!”
“Fashir! Keshil!”
Just as Fashir showed a delighted expression after landing, a shout suddenly came from the bushes behind them.
They turned their heads simultaneously to see a somewhat taller blue-scaled Dragon Race who had appeared from the bushes. The Dragon Race wore a single-tube telescope with cracked mirrors and carried a jagged short dagger at her waist. Excitedly, she waved her hands toward Fashir and Keshil, standing on her tiptoes.
That Dragon Race, who had grown half a head taller than before, was none other than Ral.
“What’s going on? How did you return from Master Raphael? Did something happen?”
“Nothing! Master Raphael has already arrived at the East Branch Tribe’s gates. She wants you to delay the attack!”
“Huh?!”
Fashir and Keshil exchanged glances. They had brought the main force of the entire South Branch to attack the front, while Raphael had already reached the enemy’s doorstep, making them seem like a cover-up squad.
“Rumble!!”
In the distance, a thundering sound roared, startling everyone present. Fashir looked over in disbelief, only to see the towering trees falling one after another, a volley of steam rushing up to the sky, reminiscent of a train rampaging through the jungle.
Fashir and Keshil both revealed expressions of fear, sighing together, saying,
“Master Raphael seems to be angry again.”
Farther away, on the southeastern side of the East Branch Tribe, several Dragon Race members were slammed together by a tremendous force, wildly retreating and knocking down large trees. When they stopped, their bodies seemed to have been smashed together, indistinguishable from one another.
“Monster.”
The other East Branch Dragon members, witnessing this scene, retreated in fear. An indescribable terror spread within their ranks like a virus.
Before them, a large amount of steam continuously rose, obscuring their vision like a curtain. Within that steam, a pair of emerald eyes suddenly lit up, shimmering with an extremely dangerous light.
“You East Branch Tribe scum, do you know what you’re doing?”
That seemingly calm yet powerful female voice echoed, and the figure within the steam gradually became clear. First, they noticed the pair of crimson horns radiating like the sun, and then the dragon scales, standing erect, continuously exuding scalding steam from the red Dragon Race.
That was the leader of the South Branch Tribe—no, the queen, Raphael.
Gazing at the fearful East Branch Dragon Race, Raphael pointed to a nearby wooden cage containing numerous subhumans who had lived in the eastern primitive forest for generations, many of whom were still underage.
All of them were the “cargo” that the East Branch Tribe was about to hand over to the humans.
Raphael took a deep breath. Her body resembled a never-ending steam engine, making those present feel as if they were being watched by a mountain-like monster; her troops kept a distance for fear of being harmed by her terrifying combat abilities.
“Every Dragon Race tribe swore under Feima Baharon’s watch to protect other weaker beings, and you shall too! Yet now, you disgusting beasts have betrayed the vows you once made! You deserve to die!”
“Enough!”
Just as Raphael was about to engage the East Branch Dragon Race, a fierce gust of wind suddenly swept through, and a massive figure appeared in front of Raphael, crossing its arms in front of her.
This tall Dragon Race had green scales, towering above Raphael, with muscles as hard and thick as iron, continuously releasing masses of steam.
“Chebur!”
“Father!”
At that moment, upon the figure’s appearance, everyone from the East Branch Tribe excitedly cheered; there was no other reason, as this tall Dragon Race was the chief of the East Branch Tribe, Chebur, the strongest Dragon Race in the entire tribe.
Taking a deep breath, Chebur looked down at the younger Raphael from his height advantage and said,
“Hah, can’t you see the situation? We Dragon Races are barely scraping by. For the future of our Dragon Races, what does it matter if we sacrifice these lowly creatures? They’ve always been parasites feeding off us Dragon Races.”
“Raphael, your people can’t hold out much longer. Once I capture you and kill you, your South Branch Tribe will completely disappear from history. Out of respect for our kinship, retreat. I won’t hold today against you.”
Just as the tall Chebur was about to say something else, Raphael’s emerald eyes slightly raised, fiercely locking onto the tall Dragon Race before her.
A sense of icy danger surged in Chebur’s heart. Just as he realized something was off and was about to react, Raphael’s fist, accompanied by a fierce wind-breaking sound, came crashing towards his face.
The speed of that punch was too fast. Before he could even process a thought to react, Chebur’s face had already made intimate contact with Raphael’s fist.
“Boom!”
“Crack!”
A tremendous force accompanied by scalding steam coursed through his bones. In a fleeting moment, with blood and bone shattering cries, in the eyes of all East Branch Tribe members, the strongest Dragon Race chief’s head spun a full three times on his spine before it finally stopped.
“Father…”
All were stunned by Raphael’s sudden violent action. Some Dragon Races had yet to comprehend what had happened, and their chief’s neck twisted into a perfect knot like a pretzel.
“Thud.”
As Chebur’s massive body fell, all East Branch Tribe Dragon Races terrifiedly knelt on the ground, their legs trembling. Even Chebur’s biological son couldn’t help but fall to the ground in fear.
That red Dragon Race—no, that was absolutely not a Dragon Race! That was merely a monster dressed in Dragon Race skin!
Raphael exhaled, disdainfully pushing aside the already lifeless Chebur, letting his massive body collapse to the ground.
“Noise.”
The overwhelming combat ability acted like a tangible psychological pressure, easily shattering the heart’s defenses of the East Branch Tribe prince, causing him to drop to his knees, pleading for mercy before Raphael.
“I’m sorry. But this was all my father’s fault. I’ve tried numerous times to dissuade him to no avail. I… this has nothing to do with me. Please, spare me.”
Raphael glanced at him, her steam gradually receding.
At this point, the battle situation was decided.
The main building of the East Branch Tribe remained unaffected by the conflict with the two tribes; their main structure was still intact. Raphael didn’t slaughter the Dragon Races that hadn’t participated in the war; at this moment, they all hid in their homes, fearfully watching the red Dragon Race sitting on a strange carriage.
In the center of the East Branch Tribe, the corpses of Chebur and his son were striking, extinguishing the remaining will of the Dragon Race to resist.
Numerous South Branch Tribe Dragon Races marched in unison behind Raphael into the East Branch Tribe. A few East Branch Dragon Races led the way, guiding Raphael to a certain direction within the tribe.
“It’s just over here. The… no, the things Chebur previously exchanged with the humans are in his house, along with the other slaves he’s imprisoned. They are over there.”
“You truly…”
Fashir and Keshil shot disgusted glances at those East Branch Dragon Races leading the way. However, Raphael sighed and exchanged glances with Ral. Ral promptly understood and led a squad in another direction while she took most people to the slave detention area.
Interestingly enough, although the Dragon Race and subhumans deeply resented the humans for plundering their kin and homes, now those in the East Branch Tribe were engaging in the same activities.
Raphael arrived at the cages at the outskirts of the East Branch Tribe, inspecting the situation inside when she suddenly spotted some familiar figures.
At the far end of the cage, a massive spider figure was languidly slumped against the bars. Beside her was a crystalline chain, made of glowing stone, which worked effectively against certain ephemeral species. Passing Dragon Races often used it to catch ghost monsters, a kind of completely transparent, cloaked magical creatures whose flesh glowed at night and could be used to engrave totems.
But at the same time, this could also capture the equally ephemeral Brain Demon Race.
Yes, the figures appearing before Raphael’s eyes were the subhumans previously encountered—Spider Race Xiya and Brain Demon Race Ke Lili. Besides them, there should be the Armored Race girl, Famasi, considering that they had previously ambushed her and Fisher’s carriage along the way. As compensation, they had helped them set up the coming-of-age ceremony in the wild.
The nearly lifeless Brain Demon Ke Lili suddenly noticed something and weakly raised her eyes to look at the crimson Dragon Race outside the cage. Then she smiled in surprise, greeting her,
“Ah, I didn’t expect to see you here… Ah, I almost forgot your name. It’s… Raphael?”
“How did you end up here?”
Raphael broke open the cage holding the slaves and walked to Ke Lili’s side, shattering the chains wrapped around her body.
After the chain was broken, it seemed Ke Lili could finally breathe easily again. She glanced sarcastically at the resting, head-down Xiya nearby and then said with a smile,
“Heh, it’s embarrassing. Originally, after we said goodbye to you, the three of us planned to go into hiding and never come out again. But perhaps because we encountered you, we decided to do something before humans completely invaded this continent. That’s why we came to the East Branch Tribe. But this group of Dragon Races just wants to sell us to humans. These bastards.”
“Famasi has already been taken somewhere else. I thought Xiya and I would meet the same fate as well. What about you? That human named Fisher—he isn’t here?”
Hearing Ke Lili’s words, Raphael opened her mouth, a thought flickering in her mind. Her scales slightly lowered, and she muttered dazedly,
“He’s not here. He went back.”
Ke Lili looked at her, no longer speaking.
With the help of Fashir and Keshil, the nearly lifeless slaves were brought out to be treated. When Ke Lili and Xiya were also taken away, Raphael gradually came back to her senses.
She turned to look outside the cage. Ral had already stood outside at some point, holding a small stamped object with a worried expression.
“Master Raphael, are you okay?”
“I’m fine. Did you find the seal of the East Branch Tribe?”
“Ah, yes, I found it in that guy’s room. It seems every tribe has this thing. But what can you do with it once you collect them? Can you summon the dragon Feima Baharon?”
Looking at Ral’s naive expression, Raphael took the East Branch seal from her hand, gently stroked her head, and smiled,
“Unfortunately, no, if the dragon god Feima Baharon existed, we wouldn’t have fallen into our current predicament.”
Ral instinctively exhibited a comfortable expression after being patted on the head, but this expression only lasted for a second before she angrily pulled Raphael’s hand down and exclaimed,
“I’m not a child anymore! I’m a reconnaissance soldier going to battle with you! You and Mom can’t pat my head anymore!”
Raphael laughed disdainfully at this, easily dissolving her defense, and continued to pat her head, leaving Ral feeling tearful as she ran away.
Watching her figure gradually run off, Raphael tucked the seal into her bosom and then left the cage, heading towards the location where the East Branch Tribe stored items acquired from humans.
“Master Raphael, look!”
In the small warehouse, there were many items exchanged from humans, including artillery and firearms. Even though she had already seen human magic earlier, she was surprised to find so many artillery pieces left untouched.
The reason was simple; humans were very clever. They sold many pieces of artillery to the Dragon Race while only supplying a relatively small amount of ammunition. Thus, the East Branch Dragon Race could only watch those weapons be unusable, which was why so many firearms remained that had not been brought to the battlefield.
Under Raphael’s guidance, these Dragon Races from the South Branch had already developed a different perception of these human weapons. They had been shot by firearms before and naturally understood the danger of such weapons. Therefore, without waiting for Raphael’s order, they began packing the remaining weapons into boxes, ready to take them along with other East Branch Dragon Races upon Raphael’s signal.
Indeed, what Raphael was doing now was relocating all these Dragon Races from other tribes to one place. This would allow easier arrangements for subsequent matters while the other races could spread like stars across the Southern Continent, but the Dragon Race must march in unison. Only under the leadership of such a Dragon Race could subhumans have a future.
Watching the boxes of supplies being moved away, Raphael walked alone in the East Branch Tribe’s warehouse, observing the many items exchanged from humans, among which were several engraved with magic.
Seeing these items, Raphael suddenly recalled previously seeing Fisher using the same type of item. He seemed to be a wizard capable of engraving magic.
During this time, Raphael had gathered more intelligence about the humans from the Western Continent, including their nations, societal structures, and so on. She certainly knew that wizards who could use magic were highly regarded there.
But Raphael had great confidence in herself, firmly believing that one day she would catch up to that person’s steps, allowing him to stop by her side and never part again.
For that goal, Raphael still had a long way to go.
As she moved forward, upon seeing a peculiar object placed atop a box, Raphael paused in her tracks.
She seemed to recognize it; it was an item humans referred to as a “telephone.” By pressing the corresponding number for a location, one could send their voice to a distant place.
With this thought in mind, she slowly walked to the front of the telephone. Next to it lay a notebook for recording numbers, seemingly a complimentary gift with the telephone.
Knowing Nali language, she easily read the words above. Her finger brushed over the numbers in the telephone directory, eventually stopping at the word “Nali.”
“Nali, Saint Nali—001.”
Raphael’s finger pressed the telephone number, then inputted the digits before taking the receiver off the hook and placing it to her ear.
Her heartbeat quickened as she even began to think about how to converse with the human on the other end of the line, asking them to help find a human named “Fisher Benavides.”
But after a long wait, there was no sound from the telephone.
Raphael glanced at the telephone in her hand, feeling somewhat disappointed, unable to understand why it could not connect.
As a Dragon Race, she, of course, did not know that humans’ telephones could not connect across the sea, nor did she know that 001 was merely the beginning of an area code, requiring a specific number to follow. Even less did she know that the telephones humans sold to the East Branch Tribe were counterfeit products and utterly broken.
Naturally, it could not respond to this red Dragon Race girl’s simple wish to hear the voice of that human man, Fisher.
(End of Chapter)
