Arcane Emperor

The horror of black smoke pierced straight into the sky.

Matthew stood in place, watching as the distant walls began to collapse and the gradually approaching irritant smell, his heart sinking slightly:

"The people of Sweet Water Town are done for!"

"Even if they weren't directly killed by the breath, the spreading corrosive gas will burn through their lungs..."

"This is the harsh reality of life, where you never know whether a surprise or an accident will come first!"

Without thinking about the black dragon, flaunting its power in the distance, Matthew closed his eyes to fortify his mental state, then turned his head and shouted at the stunned people in a deep voice:

"Move quickly, let's take a detour, the poison gas will be here soon."

"Leave everything behind, and we'll come back after the gas has dissipated..."

"Besides, tear off a few pieces of cloth to make scarves, wet them with water, and cover your nose and mouth, quickly run to the nearest hill..."

The stunned people had not yet reacted when Butler Ralph had already slapped Elder John on the head, and he began to yell loudly:

"Did you all hear that? Hurry up and do as my Lord says, it can save your lives!"

While shouting, Ralph pulled out the dagger from his waistband and rapidly stabbed it into a cloth bag, pulling out more than a dozen linen garments.

Angela, who had hurried over, drew her longsword and split them open in two or three strokes, before stuffing them all into a bucket of water.

Under the threat of death, the people who were frantically flocking were repelled by Angela's longsword, held high, while Ralph, with a stern face, reprimanded:

"Line up! There's still time. Anyone who dares to shove will get their legs broken on the spot!"

Whether it was the authority and fairness of Ralph that had always been in place or the effectiveness of Angela's glaring longsword at work, after the initial chaos, everyone obediently lined up and ran to the distant hill following Ralph's instructions.

Ralph tied the remaining wet cloths around the horses that had collapsed on the ground, unable to stand, and sighed.

"What an undeserved disaster!"

After closing the door and casually locking it, Matthew stepped down from the carriage and, pulled by Angela, ran swiftly towards the distance.

Feeling his body, which was somewhat weak, Matthew's heart filled with a touch of helplessness, and he secretly resolved:

"Having such a weak body won't do, I must prioritize my physical enhancement and transformation!"

Everyone made it to the small hill, all wheezing heavily in disarray, turning their heads to look back.

The thin mist, carried by the wind, withered away the lush greenery wherever it passed.

The position where the caravan was located also became enveloped in the grey-white mist, and the horses left behind soon let out painful whinnies.

Ralph's face was filled with sorrow; these were the Lord's property, and it was his duty to protect them.

If the horses died, and the already catastrophe-stricken Sweet Water Town, where they should have resupplied, was hit, then moving these goods would have to rely on manpower, disrupting the carefully planned itinerary.

Overnighting in the wild during the Blood Moon was a very dangerous affair!

Matthew was not yet aware of everyone's concerns, as he was feeling extremely scared at the moment.

"Lucky we were delayed for two hours. If we had already entered Sweet Water Town by now, I suppose we'd be dead before achieving our goal..."

"That's the fate of 'Misfortune 5', the 100% death rate is not unjustified!"

"But the danger of death has been avoided, and the reward of 'Fortune 4' hasn't been claimed yet, has it?"

Subconsciously rubbing his brow, Matthew mocked himself, and Ralph, thinking his Lord was worried about this, quickly spoke to comfort him:

"My Lord need not worry; the appearance of a creature like the black dragon, and its attack on the town, will surely attract the attention of our arcane monitoring arrays..."

That was also the reason why the black dragon fled!

With the strength of the Nesserite Empire now, the grand arcanists with an average level over 25 would surely be very willing to capture this black dragon that started the trouble first.

Whether catching it for blood breeding or using it for spell experiments, both were very satisfying solutions.

Just at that moment, a bright azure light flashed across the sky, and Matthew immediately recognized the origin of the disturbance.

"The fluctuation of teleportation!"

As the fluctuations of the Teleportation Array subsided, a red figure crashed down stiffly.

The pale face, the chest corroded by acid into a blurry, fleshly hole.

No need to look, he's definitely dead!

But Matthew, with his keen observation, spotted the bald head and the iconic red robes of the corpse.

"It's really those crazy Red Robed Mages, what were they doing provoking a Black Dragon? Now not only have they sent themselves to death but they've also dragged a whole town into it!"

The worldly Matthew recognized his origin at a glance and knew well that these mages from the Ser Kingdom were purely madmen and lunatics.

Just as Matthew was wondering what exactly the Red Robed Mage had done to provoke the Black Dragon,

A pitch-black, oval object smashed in front of Matthew, making a "creak creak" noise.

It was a huge, pitch-black iron egg, with traces of dark green corrosion patterns faintly visible on it, while wisps of scorched, black smoke rose from it.

Clearly, it had been severely damaged by the Black Dragon's breath attack.

Matthew blinked blankly, looking at the severely damaged Dragon Egg before him, and suddenly saw the pitch-black shell cracking open.

A slightly flat, dark-colored little head peeked out, followed by two chubby paws, and then its whole body.

It was only then that Matthew could see the little guy's full appearance.

A flat and broad little head with three blunt-pointed horns growing on it, the skin on its back was uniformly dark, densely covered with shiny black Scales, with its belly and limbs slightly yellowish.

Only the frail wings revealed spots of dull yellowish-black and holes, clearly showing the location of the wounds.

Matthew had a sense of déjà vu, as if he was looking at a magical version of a black-backed dog, nothing like the young dragons he had seen before.

Having struggled out of the eggshell with difficulty, this little fellow seemed extremely weak, lying on the ground unable to stand up.

The rotund body trembled, the life force within was fading away.

This little guy had clearly been badly hurt in the previous attack, and without immediate treatment, was likely to perish without ever having seen this beautiful world.

At that moment, a ludicrous and unbelievable thought rose in Matthew's mind:

"Could it be that this severely injured young dragon signifies Fortune 4?"

"Hiss, if that's the case, I wronged Fortune; please forgive my shortsightedness..."

Before he had time to savor the truth, Matthew quickly exchanged a glance with Ralph, who was excited and his eyes were shining, responding in an incredulous tone and voice:

"My Lord, this is truly a sign from heaven! Quickly use the Pact of Life, not only to save this young dragon but also to repair your soul's damage!"

Matthew looked at Butler Ralph with surprise and could hear intense concern and genuine selflessness in his tone; he also silently praised the other's quick wit:

"You really know what to do, Butler!"

Without hesitation, Matthew took out the only item left by his mother, the legendary Pact of Life, said to be made from the leaves of the World Tree.

The Pact of Life could let any two creatures form a life pact, sharing life and lifespan, as well as compensating for each other's defects, even repairing fatal injuries.

Matthew had considered using the Pact of Life to form a contract with a transcendent creature.

But creatures with too little strength had no effect, and the powerful ones with a chance to become legends were out of the Searle family's reach.

Hence, the Pact of Life had been kept up until now.

Now, it came into play. Even if Matthew were reborn, he would have never imagined that this beginning could be so astonishing.

He squatted down and gently stroked the trembling black young dragon, faintly sensing its desire to live:

"Sign a contract with me! If you don't speak, then I'll take that as your agreement!"

The crystal-clear, jade-like Pact of Life seemed to sense the thoughts of Matthew and the young dragon, turning into specks of light that merged into their bodies.

Matthew could distinctly feel an indescribably gentle strength flowing through his entire body, his originally weak physique visibly strengthening.

To his amazement, a curious and immature greeting suddenly came into his mind:

"Yah yah? Are you daddy?"