Chapter 125: The Red Dragon Pact
There are many incomprehensible dangerous creatures in the Astral Realm.
However, there are only two kinds that Soren detests greatly. One is the legendary Divine b*stard, the descendants of fallen deities, dangerous beings filled with desire for destruction and chaos. The other is the Gisz, a humanoid race living in the Astral Realm, who are aggressive and quite warlike, and in relatively large numbers. The chance of encountering a Divine b*stard is low, as most of these divine monsters are sealed away due to their perilous nature.
So undoubtedly, it is the Gisz that Soren hates the most!
Gisz are humanoid beings residing in the Astral Realm, naturally possessing powerful psychic spells. They were once slaves of Spirit Sucking Monsters, the same monsters famed in bardic tales as the Eye Demons that consume the brains of intelligent beings. Hence, they cannot coexist with Spirit Sucking Monsters, and basically, when they come face to face, one has to d*e. Grey Dwarfs share similar traits; they also despise Spirit Sucking Monsters, and many of them have twisted minds due to the enslavement by the monsters, ultimately gaining immense psychic power.
In this sense, it seems both races are alike!
The slaves of Spirit Sucking Monsters began to master psychic powers; it’s unclear if it’s due to the side effects of mental subjugation. [Domestication, Enslavement, Massacre. —Spirit Sucking Monster.]
This race has two branches, the Gisz and the Gisz Serelle, who hate each other as much as they loathe Spirit Sucking Monsters, often resorting to battle during encounters. However, the Gisz Serelle are rare; they live in certain unknowable planes. In contrast, the Gisz are frequently encountered and are difficult beings to interact with. Their highest leader is a queen, and they essentially have no faith, thus lacking any priests. They believe that worshiping deities means betraying their queen.
Gisz are primarily warriors, wielding the iconic silver swords. One of their features is the ability to cut invisible silver threads. The soul projection during planar travel is connected to a soul and body by an invisible silver thread, and if that thread is severed, the soul will be forced to return, causing some damage. However, the damage is not as severe as dying directly in the Astral Realm.
This race is quite interesting.
Soren has always thought they are somewhat akin to the Protoss in StarCraft, but their governing style makes him feel somewhat like the Zerg Queen.
The Gisz are a militarily structured aristocracy!
They drift through the Astral Realm, plundering and colonizing, residing in astral warships or fortresses. These immense flying structures are somewhat like gigantic military fortresses from the interstellar era. The Gisz are infamous for raiding any creatures they can plunder in the Astral Realm, and they also enjoy capturing slaves. They attempt to capture any non-soul projection enemies as slaves.
Because the Gisz have psychic powers like Spirit Sucking Monsters, they can employ a psychic ability similar to [Mind Control]! (Will Check!)
“Prepare for battle!”
A voice echoed directly in everyone’s minds, followed by a series of spell lights appearing, almost consecutively manifesting dozens of spell glows. Ultimately, Soren was also enveloped by seven or eight protective spells. In the Astral Realm, any spellcaster can instantly cast spells of up to the sixth tier, making wizards exceedingly powerful here. However, instant casting spells under the sixth tier also means their combat endurance drastically decreases, and they may quickly run out of spell slots.
—“Bull’s Strength!” (Strength +4)
—“Cat’s Grace!” (Dexterity +4)
—“Fox’s Cunning!” (Intelligence +4)
—“Bear’s Endurance!” (Constitution +4)
—“Protection from Evil!”
—“Protection from Petrification!”
—“Luck!”
—“Haste!”
—“Ten-foot Invisibility!”
Over a dozen high-level Northern Witches cast spells simultaneously, a spectacle like no other!
Surrounding Soren were the ruling elite of the Northern Region. They represented the pinnacle of combat power in the North and exemplified the ruling force that transcends the mundane world. The dazzling spells made one dizzy; the instant casting of spells below the sixth tier enveloped them in various energy shields, while Soren also benefitted from numerous spell enhancements. One should not underestimate these Northern Witches. They may seem delicate and weak, but in close combat, they can wield their staffs with fierce vigor!
Gloria’s expression was unusually grave.
She took out a special staff adorned with many gems, and with her other hand, she retrieved a large stack of spell scrolls, keeping them within reach. It was not only her; the other Northern Witches were doing the same. They held staffs containing more than ten spells each, preparing a large number of recorded spell scrolls. If a battle were to erupt next, it would be time for them to throw spells liberally.
In comparison.
Soren appeared like a country bumpkin!
Although he also had the ability to rapidly cast spells, the number of spells he knew was indeed limited, and spell scrolls often cost hundreds or thousands of gold pieces. If he couldn’t copy spell scrolls himself, throwing them would be akin to ‘casting a fortune.’
Just a single throw of a scroll would cost hundreds of Gind.
Assuming twenty Gind weigh about a pound, throwing a spell scroll would mean tossing out five kilograms of gold!
“Take these!”
Gloria placed three spell scrolls into Soren’s palm and said sternly, “You really shouldn’t have come in with me. This is the Astral Realm, and it’s tough for a Wanderer to make much of an impact here. You must be cautious, and if anything seems off, use these spell scrolls.”
Spellcasters always throw money to deal with problems!
In just this round, the ten or so Northern Witches burned spell scrolls worth tens of thousands of Gind.
Then they saw the half-plane’s space tremble, and a massive military fortress appeared in their view, passing through the silver currents and materializing at the half-plane’s edge, breaking through the independent rules of the plane with its bizarre psychic brilliance and squeezing in like a bubble bursting. The half-plane had its independent planar laws, forming an iris-like atmosphere, but unfortunately, these laws were too weak to stop the Gisz’s war fortress.
Figures leaped down!
They jumped directly from a height of hundreds of meters and then used psychic spells midair to slow their descent, landing agilely on the ground of the half-plane.
The Gisz!
This race possesses both magical prowess and martial skills, with exceptional combat techniques and powerful psychic abilities.
In appearance, these Gisz show obvious humanoid traits, yet they appear very fragile, standing approximately 1.8 meters tall and weighing about 170 pounds. They have rough yellow skin, their hair styled into small braids, and their pupils are dull and lifeless, with pointed ears and serrated bones along their backs. These Gisz are well-equipped, all donning high-quality armor and wielding silver blades. They have excellent forging skills, able to create many unique weapons and equipment.
The enemies’ movement speed upon landing is extraordinary!
Almost every Gisz warrior possesses extraordinary strength and agility, their explosive capabilities far surpassing those of humans.
“Gisz [Astral Being] (Third Tier).”
“Challenge Level 12, Personal Level 15, possessing psychic spells.”
“Highest Attribute 24, Lowest Attribute 12, Total Attribute Value 95-105.”
“Specialty: Psychic Spells, Mind Control, Astral Race.”
“Challenge Difficulty: A+.”
This is the challenge difficulty of an adult Gisz individual.
However, they often live in groups, so if facing a horde of Gisz, the challenge level rises sharply, potentially even exceeding S+!
And Soren felt uneasy upon seeing them.
So many Gisz must indicate that a queen leader exists, along with another very dangerous creature.
—A Red Dragon!
Gisz have a racial trait.
They can possess abilities similar to the [Dragon Pact]; this special ability is called [Red Dragon Pact]!
“Red Dragon Pact: There is a special racial agreement between the Gisz and Red Dragons that allows them to temporarily have Red Dragons serve them as steeds, as long as they offer appropriate rewards. When negotiating with a Red Dragon, Gisz gain a +4 racial bonus on negotiation checks. In a large group, Gisz can achieve temporary alliance agreements with Red Dragons, determined by the Gisz’s city lord and queen!”
A piercing whistle echoed.
It seemed that what Soren feared had finally come to pass!
Above the Gisz’s war fortress, the silhouette of an adult Red Dragon appeared, its cold, evil eyes gazing down at the witches below, then, it let out a dragon’s roar, immediately diving down from above the fortress. When it was about three hundred meters from the ground, it flapped its dragon wings and shot skyward. The Red Dragon circled in the sky of the half-plane but did not rush to attack the witches below; instead, it deliberately maintained a distance, seemingly intending to let the Gisz below deplete their spells first.
A wave of Dragon Pressure spread out!
As the mightiest of the five-colored dragons, the adult Red Dragon’s size, strength, and spellcasting ability far exceed those of the White Dragon Soren faced.
It has the combat power to take on more than three adult White Dragons!
………………(To be continued ~^~)
