Chapter 134: The Dragonling Who Calls for Its Parents

Just as Zhou Tian believed victory was within reach, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

Zhou Tian had always assumed that after the previous incident, the Underdark—a faction that had once targeted him—would have suffered such significant losses that they would no longer have the energy to cause him trouble. However, he had failed to realize that it wasn't that they hadn't come for him, but rather that he had simply not noticed them.

Through some unknown method, the Underdark seemingly learned that the destruction of their branch was likely due to intelligence Zhou Tian had provided to the Church. While they dared not make any major moves for fear of the Church’s scrutiny, they had never relaxed their surveillance of the capital. Because they acted with extreme caution, it was impossible for Zhou Tian to detect their subtle movements while he was off guard.

Normally, the spies sent by the Underdark to the capital would not act rashly to avoid revealing their identities. But the appearance of the three dragons provided them with a perfect opportunity. Whether Zhou Tian was truly the culprit behind their losses might not even be clear to the people in the Underdark. However, because Zhou Tian was a bishop of the Church of Light, they would be absolutely delighted to see him dead, regardless of his actual involvement.

Under normal circumstances, Zhou Tian would not have given those spies a chance to strike. But things were different now; he and his strongest subordinates had their energy entirely focused on the three dragons, which gave the assassins their opening.

As Zhou Tian stared fixedly at the dragons, contemplating how to capture them in one fell swoop, several officials who usually appeared unremarkable quietly edged toward him.

It was not that no one noticed the officials’ movements; rather, the situation outside had captured the attention of most people in the city. Moreover, many others began moving forward to get a better view of the battle's outcome once the situation seemed to stabilize. In such a chaotic environment, the behavior of those few officials naturally failed to attract any attention.

With no defenses raised, as the spies successfully approached his side, Zhou Tian remained fully focused on manipulating the Immortal-Binding Rope, completely unaware that enemies were right beside him.

"Snap!" Because it was so unexpected, Zhou Tian never imagined such a thing would happen. When the Underdark spies drew their weapons and attacked, neither Zhou Tian nor those around him expected it. Consequently, the enemy's attacks landed squarely on Zhou Tian.

However...

The defensive power of the Cloud-Silk Immortal Armor might not be the strongest among Zhou Tian’s system items, but it was not something just anyone could easily break. From the moment he purchased it, despite encountering many attacks, he had never once been truly injured. Because of this, Zhou Tian had even begun allocating his attribute points elsewhere.

The Underdark spies, naturally unaware of the armor’s existence, attacked him directly. Yet, before their weapons could reach him, they were blocked by the Cloud-Silk Immortal Armor. With a loud "clang," Zhou Tian remained unscathed, while the attackers were sent flying back by the recoil.

"Seize them!" Zhou Tian didn't need to give an order. Upon discovering that there were assassins among them—and that they had targeted the pillar of the capital at such a critical moment—everyone present was filled with rage, whether out of loyalty to Zhou Tian or simply a desire not to die at the hands of the dragons.

The spies, who were only able to attack Zhou Tian because he had been caught off guard, were now easily subdued when faced with attacks from all sides. Just like the assassins Zhou Tian had captured before, they chose to commit suicide without the slightest hesitation the moment they were caught.

Zhou Tian was not surprised by their reaction, but their appearance caused him significant trouble. The attack had been too sudden. Although he wasn't injured, their interruption caused him to lose focus for a split second.

Normally, a momentary lapse in concentration wouldn't matter. But at that moment, he was using the Immortal-Binding Rope to restrain a dragon whelp. Even a brief distraction gave the creature a chance to escape. Dragons possessed immense natural strength, and even a whelp was incredibly difficult to manage. If not for the fact that Zhou Tian’s level had increased significantly and he had practiced dragon-kin techniques and obtained a bloodline—greatly increasing his internal demonic power—he would never have succeeded in subduing the creature in the first place.

Even so, the dragon's resistance had kept Zhou Tian pinned in place, his entire focus poured into the artifact. When he lost his focus, the binding power of the rope weakened. The dragon, which had been struggling to break free, seized the moment, exerted its strength, and shattered the restraint. The rope transformed into a thin cord and flew back into Zhou Tian's hand.

Without hesitation, the dragon flew toward its companions.

"Not good! Afra, pull back!" Even though the battle was critical, Zhou Tian did not want them taking risks. While Afra and Anna could work together to handle one dragon safely, facing a dragon whelp alone was a risk he was unwilling to take. However, they chose not to retreat, fearing that all their previous efforts would be in vain.

Unfortunately, they were no longer at their peak. Although they still held the title of Saint-level, they had long since fallen from that realm. They could subdue a whelp when fighting two-on-one, but after being worn down, they lacked the strength to face a fresh whelp. In a single clash, the dragon knocked Afra away. Seeing this, Anna gritted her teeth, abandoned her own opponent, and rushed to Afra's side, using a Cloud-Riding Talisman to fly back toward the capital.

After rescuing her companion, the two whelps exchanged glances and made a new move. Dragon-kin were naturally gifted, yet they usually required adulthood to reach the Saint realm. The fact that these two possessed such power while still young, and that the elder had risked himself to save them, suggested they were not merely geniuses but likely of noble or royal lineage.

Those with backgrounds usually had a few hidden cards. To ensure their safety, their powerful elders would have provided them with protective measures. Seeing the dragon elder struggling within the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Formation and having suffered a loss at Zhou Tian's hands, the two whelps decided to play their trump card.

One of the whelps opened its mouth, and a golden dragon scale floated out. With a swipe of its claw, the whelp crushed the scale. At that moment, the battle underwent its most significant shift.

"Who dares to harm my child!" Following a massive roar, a dragon head—larger than that of the elder—emerged from the void. After glaring at Zhou Tian with murderous intent, it opened its mouth and spat a breath of dragon fire toward the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Formation.

*A God-level dragon.* This was the only thought in Zhou Tian's mind. He had confidence in dealing with a semi-god, but against a true deity of this world, he felt no such assurance. The sight of that dragon head filled him with an involuntary sense of dread.

It was too strong. That was his only sensation. He could sense the strength of the dragon elder and knew that with all his methods, he had a chance to win. But he could not fathom the depth of the power possessed by the owner of this dragon head; it was terrifying and incomprehensible. Without knowing the gap in their strength, he had no confidence to fight.

Furthermore, he was unprepared. If that dragon head were to unleash its breath upon the capital, the city would likely become history.

Fortunately, it seemed the dragon head could not remain for long. After spitting that one breath, the head roared in frustration and was pulled back into the void.

Though the worst-case scenario was avoided, the situation had changed drastically. The dragon breath was far more powerful than the elder's; it caused the very space it traversed to become unstable. When it collided with the statues of the Twelve Capital Heavenly Gods Formation, the statues—which the whelps had been unable to destroy—melted like paper into a pile of liquid.

One statue, two statues, three... The power displayed by that dragon head left Zhou Tian in despair. Eight of the twelve statues were destroyed instantly, and the remaining four were severely damaged.

The silver lining was that while the formation was broken, the dragon elder had been heavily wounded by the statues during the previous struggle. Had the God-level dragon appeared a little later, Zhou Tian would have surely succeeded in capturing the elder.

As it stood, the God-level dragon had been forced back, and the elder was severely injured. Although Zhou Tian had lost his advantage, the dragons were in no position to counterattack. Terrified by Zhou Tian's endless array of techniques and realizing they had nearly died, the three dragons chose to retreat, casting hateful glares at the city as they left.

Zhou Tian did not pursue. It was not that he lacked the ability, but he no longer dared to. The appearance of the God-level dragon had left him with many concerns. Having heard the dragon's words—"Who dares to harm my child!"—he knew that killing the whelps would invite the wrath of a god-level entity, something he could not handle. It was better to let them go than to deal with the consequences of capturing them.

Moreover, the incident with the assassins still weighed on his mind. The Underdark was a hidden threat, and he could not risk leaving the capital or getting injured until he understood their intentions. Thus, he watched the dragons depart, choosing to remain in the safety of the city.