The Abomination Tribe!

In the southwestern region of Dragonfall Gorge, a section of the main gorge cradled a lake. This lake stretched over two hundred meters wide and more than a thousand meters long, teeming with the rotting corpses of humans and magical beasts alike. The water, a deep green, bubbled occasionally, releasing a stench so foul that even king-level adventurers would succumb after a few breaths.

Amidst the countless rotting bodies, sentient creatures were soaking in the lake—abominations. These undead beings, composed of decaying flesh, resembled sentient mounds of rot. Unlike corpses, which retained some semblance of their original form, abominations were grotesque amalgamations of flesh, constantly devouring other creatures to strengthen themselves, making them appear even more monstrous.

This lake served as the abomination tribe's stronghold. Various sizes and forms of abominations resided here, ruling over the surrounding undead. Even intangible specters had to pay homage when entering this territory.

The Zombie Dragon King had intruded upon this domain, now only thirty kilometers from the abominations' lair. As it rampaged through, news spread swiftly.

---

A massive rotting raven descended from the sky, landing on a branch of a nearby dead tree. "My lord, intruders in your domain! Intruders!" it cawed in human speech, its voice shrill and incessant, awakening a multitude of abominations in the lake.

The green waters churned violently, bursting with enormous bubbles that intensified the foul stench, now thickening into a green mist akin to poisonous gas. The rotting raven inhaled deeply, for such miasma was sustenance to the undead.

As the bubbles popped, an enormous head slowly emerged from the lake. Resembling a humanoid skull, it bore countless twisted faces of humans and beasts, each expressing eternal agony. The head alone spanned over ten meters in diameter, hinting at the colossal size of the abomination it belonged to—the Abomination King, ruler of this domain.

In a voice mingling eerie calm with agonized howls, the Abomination King spoke, "More of those reckless bounty hunters?"

Dragonfall Gorge was an undead territory, with no settlements of intelligent races within a hundred kilometers. Typically, only desperate bounty hunters dared venture here, disturbing the undead's existence.

"No, my lord," screeched the raven. "A zombie dragon, a gigantic one! It's massacring undead thirty kilometers away, disregarding your sovereignty. If it were me, I wouldn't stand for such disrespect!"

The Abomination King was silent for a moment before replying, "Let it be. How many can a single dragon kill? It's after the Dragon Soul Grass. Once it's had its fill, it will leave."

"But my lord," the raven protested, "what if it doesn't leave?"

The Abomination King's voice grew darker, "Then we will slay it. Let this serve as a reminder to the other undead dragons that this is abomination territory!"

"Brilliant, my lord!" The raven cawed excitedly. "I fully support you!"

"Begone!" roared the Abomination King. Yet, just as the raven prepared to fly away, the king stopped it. "Go to the territory of the Skeletal Dragon King. Inform him that his underling has crossed our borders."

"Your majesty," the raven croaked, "I thought you stood proud, yet you bow to the Skeletal Dragon King..."

With a thunderous clap, the Abomination King crushed the raven, tossing its remains into the lake. Shortly after, another rotting raven emerged from the water, settling on the same branch. The Abomination King repeated his command.

"Understood, my lord!" This new raven, more compliant, flapped its wings and flew deeper into Dragonfall Gorge.

Such scenes had played out countless times. The Abomination King often vented his anger on the annoying ravens...

---

Unaware of these events, the Zombie Dragon King continued its slaughter. Haotian, meanwhile, rode the spectral dragon Charles to another area in search of more Dragon Soul Grass. Confident in the Zombie Dragon King's strength, Haotian had no concerns for its safety. With its power, not even three to five undead dragons of similar rank could take it down; in fact, it might even kill them in return. With its various enhancements, the Zombie Dragon King was nearly invincible at the holy tier, especially against other dragons.

By around three in the morning, the spectral dragon had found over seventy stalks of Dragon Soul Grass. Haotian disconnected his consciousness from Charles, returning to his body.

"Combined with the Dragon Soul Grass found by the Zombie Dragon King, we have enough to nurture the dragon spirit," he mused. "But we can wait. The more Dragon Soul Grass absorbed, the stronger the dragon spirit will be. If we nurture it now, it will be only at the early holy tier. It's better to gather more grass and elevate the dragon spirit to the peak of the holy tier, or even a demigod… A demigod-level dragon spirit will make anyone think twice before challenging my territory!"

Determined to collect more Dragon Soul Grass, Haotian planned to raid bounty hunters once Dragonfall Gorge was nearly depleted. With a demigod dragon spirit, he feared no retribution. Satisfied with his plan, he fell into a peaceful sleep, cuddling his soft, fragrant maid Sally.