Supreme BeastTamer: I Can Copy and Upgrade Skills 10x! - Chapter 627

Chapter 627: Retreat
Nox stood in front of everyone, eyes fixed on the spot where the Alpha and Zara had been just a few seconds ago.

Beside him, Drake was still on his knees, fist clenched so tight that one could see blood slowly pooling underneath him.

He understood this feeling far too well—the feeling of losing your loved one.

Nox let out a small sigh. He couldn’t sense the presence of Zara, nor could he sense the Alpha. It was as if the two had escaped from the realm entirely.

[Ding! Your pet Zara Frostpire has been infected]

“I suspected something like this would happen,” he sighed again for the second time as he placed his arm on Drake’s shoulder.

“I promise, I’ll go to the ends of the world to find her and finally destroy the Alpha,” Nox spoke. “But if we want to accomplish that, I need you to be strong… we need to keep moving.”

Drake remained silent for a while. Only the crackling of his bones resounded from time to time, and more blood flowed from his arms to the ground, spreading across the room.

Nox didn’t do anything to stop him… sometimes it was best to let all the emotions out.

After what felt like five minutes, Drake slowly got up, his eyes burning with a new gleam.

“Yes, we will do it. And when we meet again, I’ll not hesitate to strike her down—be it my mother or not,” he declared with conviction so strong that the others felt a chill run down their spines.

Nox nodded in acknowledgment.

A mother and son becoming mortal enemies was something he didn’t wish upon anyone, but in this situation, it was inevitable.

The Alpha was irredeemable. She had lost her life the moment she went as far as turning her own daughter into one of the mindless puppets.

“Someone like that deserves only death,” Nox muttered under his breath.

Shortly after, the group slowly left the Scourge temples. They spent a couple of days searching around the city, but they didn’t find Zara or the Alpha.

Because the Alpha team had dealt with all the Scourge dragons, there were no more beasts in sight. The only things they found were hundreds of monster cores and two elemental crystals—Flame and Light—which were all submitted to Nox.

In the end, the scout team had no choice but to return to the Dragon Realm.

After flying relentlessly for days, they finally drew closer to Frostpire.

A frown appeared on Nox’s face as he ordered the fleet of dragons to come to an abrupt halt because of how heavy and corrupted the air was.

Something was definitely wrong… why did Frostpire’s atmosphere feel even more corrupted than the atmosphere back in the Corrupted Realm?

“Master, if you’ll allow me, I’ll check out the situation,” Drake offered.

“No, that won’t be necessary.” Nox shook his head and instead waved his arm, and a blue portal appeared. From the portal, Blazy emerged.

The Emberhawk’s elemental body cracked with orange flames as it eagerly awaited Nox’s command.

Go and check out the situation, he commanded telepathically. Without wasting another second, the Emberhawk shot into the sky, cutting through the corruption in the air.

Nox activated Astral Control, and soon, he found himself in the sky.

“So this is how being a bird feels, huh,” he mumbled to himself, feeling the wind rush past his beak.

The feeling was strange. Nox couldn’t describe it accurately, but he felt free.

Meanwhile, on the other side, his real body remained motionless, which scared the rest of his pets a little, but after realizing he was still alive, they visibly eased.

As he drew closer to the capital city, Blazy felt pressure. It became increasingly difficult to proceed.

In the end, he had no choice but to increase his speed. Like a comet, the flaming Emberhawk blazed through the sky and finally saw the towering ice city.

However, unlike the previous majestic city, the Frost City had turned obsidian black. The castles, the walls, the buildings—nothing was spared.

Nox’s hunch had been right. Something huge had indeed occurred in the Dragon Realm while they were away. His slit-like eyes narrowed, and further below, he saw a sea of black creatures.

Everywhere he looked, all he saw was black.

But this wasn’t just any black.

They were all corrupted dragons—and with a rough estimate, Nox could easily tell there were over a million.

Thanks to Blazy’s improved eyesight and the high vantage point, he was able to zoom in further to the balcony of Frostpire Castle where the Frost Monarch usually stood.

Then he saw it—he saw the Alpha standing there with a wide, prideful smile on her face. Beside her was Zara… or at least, what remained of her.

Behind the Alpha was something even more shocking: the seven Monarchs, said to be the most powerful existences in this realm. And on the right side was Zhun’Var.

The leader of the Supreme Elder, along with the rest of his members. Zhun’Var stood proudly, and unlike the others, he seemed to possess intelligence like the elite commanders.

“So he’s the traitor hub,” Nox mumbled, a sharp light flashing across his eyes. He didn’t need anyone to tell him what had transpired while they were gone.

There was only one explanation.

Zhun’Var had spearheaded the attack against the eight kingdoms which led to the death of his pet—the Frost Elder—while the Alpha was in a cocoon in the Corrupted Realm.

He had done all the work, and all she did was simply come to claim the throne.

“Well played,” Nox thought inwardly, imagining how intricate and meticulous the Alpha and her pawns had been in achieving their revenge.

“But…” His eyes flashed as he scanned everywhere, but he couldn’t find Draco, the Frost Monarch.

“Where is he? Did she manage to infect him as well?”

Nox stared at the sea of black corrupted dragons for a couple of seconds before flying away.

Nox was powerful, yes, but he also knew when to step back.

Even with all his Ultimate skills, he wasn’t powerful enough to take on millions of corrupted dragons led by several Legendary-tier existences, one of which was on the brink of entering the Ascended Rank.

Yes, he had an army of dragons and a powerful spirit army as well—but the Scourge Alpha had more of that.

If a fight broke out now, the possibility of losing his life along with the lives of his pets was very high—something Nox didn’t want to risk at this point in his life.

In the end, all he could do was return to the others.

When he returned to his body, everyone turned to him with expectant eyes, wanting to know what had happened.

Nox’s expression was blank, but the slight twitch in his brow betrayed the weight on his mind.

After a while, he said in a heavy tone, “Everyone is gone. The Alpha has corrupted everyone, including the Monarch.”

Whispers stirred through the crowd and the dragons clenched their fists collectively.

“I saw her. I saw Zara beside her… or whatever remains of her,” Nox suddenly said attracting everyone’s attention.

He paused, letting the pain of those words settle in before continuing. “Dracos… is gone. I don’t know if he’s alive, corrupted, or something else. But right now, we cannot win.”

“We’ll retreat, regroup, grow stronger. Not just stronger—unmatched. We’ll break the heavens if we must. When we return… there will be no mercy.”

He turned around, the wind fluttering. His appearance—after so much fighting—had returned to how it once was.

Now what stood before the dragons was the handsome youth with black hair streaked with strands of red and eyes that seemed like bottomless black pits.

“Prepare yourselves. We leave.”

The others didn’t argue. They knew it was the only way. Nox was right. The only way for them to stand a chance was to grow stronger and increase their numbers.

With a wave of his hand, Nox summoned the Taming Space, and by instinct, one after the other, the dragons stepped inside.

When the last one entered, Nox activated his new skill from the evolution: [Exchange!]

[Exchange (New): Swap positions, status effects, or debuffs between yourself and one of your tamed beasts. Use cases: teleport swap, curse redirection, buff steal or gift. Cooldown: 72 hours. MP Cost: None.]

When he activated the skill, Nox’s body flickered, and he disappeared from sight—unaware of the golden-eyed, giant spectral dragon that was staring at him from hundreds of meters away with melancholy in its eyes as it dispersed into fragments.

“It seems fate doesn’t want us to meet yet. Maybe in the distant future, our paths will cross once more… till then, farewell, Monarch.”

After Nox disappeared, just a few seconds later, a giant muscular mushroom creature appeared where he had stood.

“Or… where is this?” The creature looked around with confusion.

***

AN: Refer back to Chapter 413: Can You Make Me Stronger?

End of the Second Volume: Dragon Realm.

Next Volume: Vermilion Kingdom’s Last Stand.

Thanks to all those who support Supreme BeastTamer with their valuable Golden Tickets! I really appreciate it.