El Dragón de Fuego

# LA HECATOMBE (The Cataclysm)

"La hecatombe final" by Fidel Prado Duque

This Spanish-language adventure serial continues "El dragón de fuego" (The Fire Dragon). Wang-Cheng, the cruel Mogol warlord and leader of a secret society, survives being thrown into a waterfall by hero Karus and escapes downstream. After recovering, he leads a caravan toward Lhasa, arriving during the Lamp Festival at the monastery.

Wang-Cheng discovers the young Dalai-Lama dead (allegedly poisoned) and the Panchen Lama wounded with a severed finger—the sacred ring stolen. Blaming foreign intruders rather than rival factions, Wang-Cheng mobilizes the monks to search the monastery. The Panchen Lama reveals the foreigners forced him to open a secret mountain passage before fleeing. Wang-Cheng demands the abbot guide him to the secret exit, swearing to pursue the "profaners" and recover the sacred ring. The narrative breaks as Karus and Regis await dawn.