The black dragon's condition began to visibly improve the moment the white fuzz started turning black.
He had already lifted his neck, looking at Zhu Yao and Li Ban with bright eyes.
"Lord Priests, sob, thank you for saving me."
"What—what are you? You know about Priests too?"
Li Ban had thought the creature was the kind of Western dragon he was familiar with.
But this was the world of the Great Wizard; perhaps it went by a different name here.
"I am a giant dragon. But I'm only a hatchling."
Zhu Yao crouched down as well. "So you're a newborn, not even a year old. How did you make it through the mist?"
She was a little excited.
And with a successful case like the giant dragon right in front of them, wasn't this a much more hopeful option than venturing into the Sea of Monsters or Heaven Beyond Heaven?
"I didn't come from the other side of the mist. My mother was trapped inside it." Despite his massive body, the giant dragon spoke with the voice of a three- or four-year-old child. When he mentioned his mother, his tone noticeably dropped. "I was still an egg inside my mother's belly then. Mother carried me, flying and flying. In truth, she was already dead. Only her wings were still moving..."
Was it because he was inside his mother's belly that he hadn't been invaded by the white fuzz, and then the eggshell protected him for a time after that?
Li Ban recalled the white fuzz he had seen on the black dragon's body.
It invaded quickly, but it hadn't penetrated deeply into the dragon.
And the black dragon had spent far more time flying through the mist.
Did that mean there was actually much less white fuzz inside the mist itself?
Otherwise, even with the dual protection of his mother and the eggshell, the black dragon might not have survived long enough to fly out of the mist.
Zhu Yao felt somewhat disappointed. She crouched in front of the black dragon, resting her hands on her knees as she stared blankly.
Ed didn't understand why Zhu Yao was upset. He was completely captivated by the black dragon, the first he had ever seen.
After Li Ban and Zhu Yao resolved the hidden danger on the black dragon, he carried his axe and crept up to the dragon like a thief. He glanced left and right, then raised a hand to touch the scales on the dragon's side.
"Whoa..."
Slippery.
Tail had been keeping an eye on Ed's little movements all along. Seeing such a childish exclamation on his mature face, she couldn't hold back. Turning into a blur, she darted to the other side of the black dragon.
"Swish, swish."
Li Ban stood up. His mouth twitched as he watched Tail and Ed's antics.
Why did it feel like he was watching two children pet a dog?
He glanced back at Ming Kai, who was still quietly following behind. Just as he was about to feel grateful that there was at least one mature person in the group, he realized Ming Kai wasn't merely being silent.
He seemed to be staring blankly into space, his eyes entirely unfocused.
Li Ban turned back to the black dragon with a deadpan expression. "What exactly is in the mist? People have entered it before, but they vanished forever without getting very far. Even the iron chains and ropes tied to them were cleanly severed."
The black dragon raised his head, his large black eyes full of confusion.
"I don't know. The moment I hatched, I just kept flying in the direction my mother's head was facing. Just as I was about to fly out of the mist, I suddenly felt terrible, like something was trying to eat me. Something grabbed my legs and tail, and I couldn't shake it off. I saw you from a distance, so I called out for help."
"If you were just born, how do you know about Priests?"
"I spent three years inside my mother's belly, absorbing nutrients and knowledge from her."
Li Ban nodded. He had also heard that some spiritual beasts could inherit knowledge directly through their bloodline.
How convenient.
"Do you have a name?"
"Mother called me Dila."
He walked behind the black dragon. Passing Ed, he noticed the man seemed tempted to pry off a scale with his axe, so Li Ban reached out and pushed the weapon aside.
"Dila, can you still fly in this condition?"
The black dragon had recovered a bit of stamina after the treatment.
He had lost his hind legs and massive tail. It was only thanks to the unique properties of the Recycling Station that he hadn't been too severely affected.
Dila spread his massive front wings and slightly smaller hind wings.
His huge body made him oblivious to Ed and Tail on either side of him.
Ed was knocked into a backward somersault, while Tail jumped back the instant his wings opened, dodging the accidental strike.
The black dragon flapped his wings a few times. His body swayed unsteadily, but he managed to take flight.
However, it was clearly difficult for him to maintain his balance. As he flew, he started to roll mid-air.
Li Ban hurriedly flew into the sky to help steady the black dragon, and the two of them slowly descended.
Without his hind legs, the black dragon couldn't stand firmly either, requiring Li Ban to support him.
"I can fly, but taking off and landing aren't very smooth, and I might lose my balance mid-flight."
"I—I'll practice hard," Dila said pitifully.
Although he had just been born, the knowledge he inherited from his mother told him that in this world, only by being a useful giant dragon could he earn a Priest's protection.
"Or, I could try a Restoration Spell."
Zhu Yao knew Li Ban was in a hurry to reach Wanghai Cliff.
And with the black dragon, flying high in the sky would allow them to bypass many dangerous areas.
By avoiding battles with monsters along the way, they could also save a considerable amount of spiritual rhinoceros.
"Alright." Li Ban stepped aside.
Zhu Yao stepped forward and walked behind the black dragon.
She gently touched the exposed bone and muscle at the dragon's rear. "It's just that I'm not entirely sure what you originally looked like. Dila, close your eyes first and try to picture your original appearance in your mind as clearly as possible."
Dila obediently closed his eyes and imagined his original form.
Fortunately, he was a giant dragon who thoroughly understood his own physical traits even before hatching. Otherwise, he might not have been able to recall what he was supposed to look like.
Li Ban watched from the side, knowing that Zhu Yao was using a Mind Spell.
After a moment, Zhu Yao opened her eyes and said softly, "It's going to itch a little."
Li Ban stepped forward and held Dila down. Then, he watched as flesh and skin began to grow on Dila's body.
First, bone extended from the severed cross-section, followed by clinging muscle and blood vessels, and finally skin and scales.
Because of Dila's massive size, the process consumed seven or eight times the amount of spiritual rhinoceros required to restore a human limb before Zhu Yao finally finished.
She even had to swap out a White Seed midway through.
But when Zhu Yao stood up and Li Ban saw Dila's newly formed limbs, he let out a soft sound of admiration.
"Excellent."
The other three were also staring in utter disbelief.
In the camps, they were used to simply replacing any body part that broke. No one had ever fully restored a limb for them before.
Of course, that was also because a typical Priest wouldn't waste spiritual rhinoceros on their subordinates.
Ed ran over to Zhu Yao. "Ed! Wants!"
Ed pointed at Dila's massive black dragon hind legs, his eyes full of envy.
Zhu Yao kept a serious expression and rejected him without hesitation. "No."
Tail, meanwhile, slowly backed away.
A giant dragon with a complete lower body and tail suddenly didn't look quite as cute in her eyes.
She continued to retreat, her expression reverting to its usual slightly proud and aloof state.
Li Ban patted Dila. "Give it a try. How does the new body feel?"
Dila spread his wings, flapping them to maintain his balance while standing up on his new hind legs.
"I can... I can use them." The childish voice sounded incredibly excited. "It's just a... a little strange."
As the black dragon Dila slowly walked forward, Li Ban noticed his gait was slightly splay-footed.
Zhu Yao pursed her lips, then spoke up. "I could only see the exterior of Dila's body. For the internal bone and muscle structure... I used a rabbit as a slight reference."
Dila: "..."
The giant dragon tilted his head.
"It's fine." Li Ban waved his hand. "As long as you can move and fly normally, that's enough."
This was the flying mount he had spent a massive amount of spiritual rhinoceros to save, and Dila clearly understood this as well.
"I-I will practice hard and fly as soon as possible."
Li Ban took another look at the distant mist and the vague white fuzz drifting in the air.
"Let's get out of here first."
Shu Yu opened her eyes and realized she could finally move. She lowered her head slightly, taking in the sight of a slender, frail female body.
She closed her eyes again.
Although this new body was dressed in a tank top and pants, to someone who had always relied on a powerful half-beast form, it felt no different from being completely naked.
To her, it was an utter humiliation.
However, Shu Yu still lacked the resolve to seek death, so she simply kept her eyes shut.
"You're awake? How is the new body?" A gentle voice echoed by her ear.
Shu Yu opened her eyes again and turned her head toward the source of the voice.
"Why did you spare only my life? I've already told you everything I can. As for the secrets you truly want to know, there's no way I would have access to them."
Although she was a special envoy sent by Red Fruit Camp, the very fact that she had been assigned to infiltrate other camps guaranteed she wouldn't know Red Fruit Camp's deepest secrets.
"True. Your value has been completely tapped out, and they originally intended to give you a quick death."
Shu Yu narrowed her eyes, finally recognizing the owner of this gentle voice as Guo Kao from Underwoods Camp.
The deputy who had been responsible for hosting them.
"So, you're the one who spared my life. What do you want?"
"Nothing in particular." Guo Kao smiled, his voice surprisingly pleasant. "Just that I'm a good person. I can't bear to see someone struggling to survive die in despair."
Shu Yu's eyes narrowed further. She felt there was seriously something wrong with Guo Kao's head.
The Recycling Station was full of people struggling to survive. How many could Guo Kao possibly save?
She didn't believe his excuse for a second.
But right now, she was entirely at his mercy, so he could spout whatever nonsense he pleased.
"What do you need me to do?" Shu Yu repeated her question, her tone dull.
Guo Kao stood up. "Once your body can move properly, we're returning to Black Beast Camp."
Shu Yu's eyes instantly widened, and she snapped her head toward Guo Kao. "You're from Black Beast Camp? Have Underwoods, Cliff, and Blue Sea Camps long since sworn allegiance to Black Beast Camp?"
Past the White Strait, the number of monsters increased drastically. The location of every camp became much more concealed, and the relative distances between them grew vastly farther.
Red Fruit Camp's current enemy was Bell Tower Camp, while Black Beast Camp was even further away from them and the White Strait.
She never imagined that these people had already colluded with a camp on the other side of the White Strait.
"To think you started preparing to swallow Red Fruit Camp so early. I can only say our defeat wasn't unjust."
With five camps joining forces against them, there was no doubt that Red Fruit Camp would ultimately be carved up and devoured completely.
Guo Kao smiled. "Guarding the Red Fruit Forest, you people are actually no different from those who sit around waiting to die."
They were flying!
Li Ban stood between Dila's neck and back, savoring the feeling of soaring through the clouds without having to expend spiritual rhinoceros.
"It feels different from flying on my own. Not quite as free."
Moreover, having already gained the ability to fly under his own power, riding a dragon lacked that overwhelming sense of shock.
"Still, being able to ride a dragon does bring a certain sense of pride."
Whether in the Western world or the Eastern world, dragons were universally recognized as powerful creatures. Taming such a spiritual beast would give anyone a sense of deep satisfaction.
Acting as the test pilot for this first dragon ride, Li Ban simultaneously experienced a new way of flying while keeping a close eye on Dila's control over his new body.
After completing two laps high in the sky, he patted Dila's neck, signaling him to land.
Dila adjusted his wings and began searching for the right angle to descend.
However, during the final landing run, he wasn't accustomed to the strength feedback of his new legs. Losing his footing, he planted his chin straight into the dirt, plowing a deep trench through the muddy ground.
Li Ban had already hopped off the dragon's back the moment Dila lost his balance.
"Not a major issue." Watching Dila shake his head and clamber back to his feet, Li Ban nodded to the group waiting behind him.
"Oh!" Taking the signal, Ed immediately sprinted toward the freshly upright Dila, eager to be the second person to ride the dragon.
However, this second flight would be their official journey.
Poor Dila, a black dragon not even a day old, had no choice but to carry a heavy load.
He had five people sitting on his back in total.
Li Ban sat at the very front to guard against any potential danger.
Zhu Yao took up the rear to ensure no one fell off mid-flight.
But even with two Priests keeping watch, sitting on the back of a giant dragon hundreds of meters in the sky was still a terrifying experience for people who had never flown before.
The terror completely eclipsed the awe of soaring through the sky for the first time.
Especially since they had neither seats nor seatbelts.
The moment Tail opened her mouth, the wind rushed in. She had to use one hand to shield her face as she shouted to Li Ban, "Can we build a windproof carriage?!"
Having already grown accustomed to flying, Li Ban and Zhu Yao naturally felt no discomfort, but they really did need to consider the feelings of the three ordinary humans.
Especially since the size of their party might increase in the future.
Even with Dila's massive size, only a small portion of his upper body was suitable for passengers.
The rest of his body was constantly shifting or swaying, making it a miserable place to sit.
Li Ban glanced down at Dila's short little front arms.
"A dragon's arms really don't have much use during flight. We could have him hold a carriage. But compared to carrying people on his back, it would significantly increase the burden."
Poor Dila wasn't even a day old.
Sitting diagonally behind Li Ban, Ming Kai leaned forward slightly. "I—I can make a harness to strap us to the dragon's back."
Ming Kai wasn't someone who liked to speak loudly, but with the wind tearing at his mouth, he was forced to shout at the top of his lungs just to ensure Li Ban could hear him.
Li Ban nodded.
Forcing Dila to carry a carriage on top of everything else was truly pushing it. Perhaps they could just slap some motorcycle helmets on Ming Kai and the others.
He remembered seeing similar items in the Building Graveyard.