Iron Dragon's Advancement Journey

Page 6

　Only a moment had passed in the real world, and the enhancement it had gained from the Dragon Treasury had not yet truly spread to its body. If its slumber were interrupted at this moment, all the training and the gold coins invested would have been wasted. This was the second limitation of the Dragon Treasury enhancement: the slumber that allowed the enhancement to truly manifest in the body must not be interrupted.

　Unfortunately, when Casalos exits the Dragon's Vault, he experiences once again the absolutely real feeling of death he felt in his spiritual form during the training dungeon. If he doesn't survive the dungeon, avoiding being awakened seems to be an insurmountable problem.

　It must thank Miss Tungsten Dragon again for carrying it, which was asleep, into the lava.

　The scorching lava effectively suppressed the extreme cold deep within its soul, and the abundant fire elemental power flowing through it became the pillar of the Iron Dragon's fire-type subspecies dragon magic, giving its will a reliance and making it even more resolute.

　Casalos, lying prone in the lava, groaned, struggled, and trembled in his sleep, gasping for breath weakly. His heart pounded like a madman's drum, but thankfully he wasn't awakened immediately. Instead, he entered a nightmare-like state.

　Its unusual reaction alerted Fiona Milon, who was guarding it.

　The latter immediately got up and came over, fulfilling his responsibility even though he didn't know what had happened.

　The tungsten dragon lay prone beside Casalos, its tail encircling its body. It spread one wing to cover its body, lowered its head and burrowed under the wing, extending its slender tongue to lick the iron dragon hatchling's entrenching tool face and flat head shield, casting a soothing spell.

　With the combined effects of a comfortable environment, abundant magic, soothing touch, and calming the mind, Casalos's groans gradually subsided, his trembling subsided, the opening and closing of his nostrils and the rise and fall of his chest returned to their proper rhythm, and his heart beat steadily and gently as he returned to a peaceful dream.

　A trace of energy, originating from the same source as dragon magic but carrying an indescribable, higher aura, flowed from the dark energy cluster within Casalos's body, permeating his blood vessels and spreading throughout his entire being. Casalos's body, soul, or some other essential aspect was subtly changing and improving, imperceptibly.

　Only the Iron Will feat, with less than one-tenth of its proficiency, showed a slight trace, making its slumber somewhat more peaceful...

　A few hours later, Casalos opened his scale-covered outer eyelids, his bright and clear indigo eyes glancing at Fiona Milon, who was lying beside him fiddling with something, and subconsciously nuzzled the outside of her neck with the top of his head.

　"You're awake? You slept for quite a while. Let's go, the ceremony is about to begin, let's go see the Supreme Dragon." Fiona Milon propped herself up on her forelimbs, then straightened her body, spread her wings, stretched her neck and tail, and stretched lazily before turning to call Casalos to get up.

　"I've never seen a Supreme Dragon in person before. You've only just hatched and you're already witnessing its majesty, and there are two of them at that. What a lucky fledgling dragon."

　She brought up the old trope of luck again, but Casalos was increasingly convinced that the tungsten dragon was planting its flag on it.

　"Do we really have to go see this consciousness? Or maybe we should try to stay away from it later..."

16. Interlude

　Casalos's risk-averse proposal was not accepted by Fiona Milon; she neither had the intention nor the right to accept it.

　The Athelons have a strict hierarchical system and order, which permeates all aspects of Athelon society.

　The handover ceremony of the Supreme Dragon is a grand event that occurs only once every twenty centuries, concerning the continuation and revival of the Atheros race. The positions of every eligible participant and spectator during the ceremony are determined well in advance. Even Casalos, who is due to give birth, has had her position arranged beforehand.

　Dragons from different subspecies, clans, and families have gathered and taken their seats around the valley where the handover ceremony is taking place.

　The sight of hundreds of giant dragons sitting in neat rows is quite rare. The scene is magnificent and spectacular, yet it also exudes an indescribable sense of desolation and decay.

　None of the dragons present are adults or older; they are all the new generation members born in the entire Athene dragon race of the world of Toril in the last hundred years—the number of hatchlings born in the White Dragon race of the Northlands every year is more than this!

　Led by Fionamiron, Casalos flapped its small wings and flew over the young dragon herd, arriving at a hillside area behind them. This was where the "little guys" of similar size to itself resided—the children's table.

　Its position is on a stalagmite protruding from the ground. Sitting on it, it has an excellent view, allowing the young dragons to clearly see the ceremony location without appearing out of place. The other young dragons are in similar positions.

　To prevent the mischievous and active young dragons from disrupting the atmosphere of the ceremony, older dragons who were slightly more sensible were arranged to separate the young dragons from each other.

　On either side of Casalos were a chromosaur, probably in its juvenile stage, and a cobaltosaur, both in their teens. They stood upright, their heads level with Casalos's.

　"Whose fledgling is this? Hehe, how many years has it been since your Iron Dragon Clan has had a new fledgling hatch? This is truly a cause for celebration."

　The speaking teenager, a cobalt dragon, had dazzling metallic blue scales, blood-red eyes, and a curved, sharp horn on his brow bone that exuded an evil aura. His words sounded like a blessing, but when combined with a sharp, metallic tone and a laugh reminiscent of Hong Kong comics, they sounded more like mockery.

　This evil fellow was completely unaware that the content of his taunt would have made no difference if it had been applied to any other member of the Atheros.

　This is mockery.

　"The ceremony is about to begin. Shut your mouth, Taliman, and stop barking like your kobold descendants, or I'll tear your mouth apart!"

　The female Chromium Dragon, whose body gleamed like stainless steel and whose figure was both slender and robust, interrupted the Cobalt Dragon's taunts. She glanced indifferently at Casalos before turning her head away.

　She wasn't standing up for Casalos; her reason for speaking out was simply because she disliked the Cobalt Dragon, or perhaps she was also hurt by the Cobalt Dragon's sarcasm.

　"Woof, you? Lothley, if the ceremony wasn't about to begin, I'd like to see if you, the rising star of the Vilayar clan, are worthy of your reputation. Don't be like your entire Chromium Dragon clan, all show and no substance."

　The cobalt dragon retorted defiantly, but the chrome dragon turned its head away and ignored it, remaining aloof just like its own nature.

　Having made a fool of himself, the cobalt dragon named Taliman had no choice but to retaliate against Casalos again, saying in its sinister, shrill voice, "You little iron dragon brat, I'm asking you a question, didn't you hear me?"

　Hmm, it seems that the various races of the Athelonian tribes are indeed not a monolithic entity.

　Caught in the middle, Casalos thought to itself, glancing at Fiona Milon, who stood not far away in her spot. The latter gave it a knowing look. Casalos immediately understood, ignoring Taliman and simply swaying its head from side to side, its eyes seemingly searching for something on the ground: "Huh, did I just hear a dog barking? Where's the dog? I can't see it."

　"Pfft." The aloof chrome dragon Loris couldn't help but chuckle. After all, she was still a young girl and couldn't pretend to be truly aloof.

　Taliman roared angrily, "You little brat, don't think you can spout nonsense just because you're Iron Dragon!"

　Casalos seemed to have discovered something, and looked up at Taliman in surprise: "Oh, so it was you who was calling. As expected of the ancestor of the kobolds, you really do look exactly the same!"

　It's a pity the kobolds inherited your barking; otherwise, they could at least have earned a name like "inferior dragon-man," instead of being treated like dogs!

　Any real conflict is strictly prohibited in the Holy Land, so who's afraid of verbal sparring?

　As for the future, Casaloz's mother is an extremely old Iron Dragon, almost reaching the Elder Dragon stage. Moreover, teenage Cobalt Dragons are usually about to leave the protection of their clans and establish their own status, while Casaloz has only just hatched. It's only natural that Casaloz's mother will protect it for a long time, and it has even less to fear when it comes to relying on its mother's protection—these are all "common sense" lessons that Fionamiron taught it in advance. The look in the Tungsten Dragon's eyes just meant, "Go ahead and argue, don't worry."

　"You... Awooo!" The cobalt dragon's scales turned purple, and a breath of dragon's breath seemed to have reached its throat, but it didn't dare to spit it out.

　The surrounding dragons were all staring at Taliman with ill intent. His earlier taunt had clearly angered them. Casaloz's taunts were well-received by the dragons, except for the other cobalt dragons.

　Unfortunately, other recent cobalt dragons are also quite far away.

　If Taliman dares to speak, the dragons wouldn't mind giving him a lesson he'd never forget, as long as they don't kill him.

　A team of young players guarding the field focused their attention on the area, preventing the farce from escalating further.

　"A bunch of troublesome brats, don't they know what time it is?" That's probably what they were thinking.

　Rumble…

　At that moment, a sound like thunder cutting through the air came, and a huge shadow enveloped the small hilly valley. A giant iron dragon, more than 50 meters long, descended from the sky. Its terrifying dragon might swept across the entire area, suppressing all the dragons present so that they could not raise their heads.

　The Supreme Dragon has arrived!

　Its power remains, but it also reveals its weakness: the current supreme dragon can no longer control its dragon might.

　This dragon's might, which was enough to disrupt the normal conduct of the ritual, did not last. The fourteen ancient dragons existing from the five major groups—Iron Dragon, Chromium Dragon, Cobalt Dragon, Tungsten Dragon, and Nickel Dragon—entered the arena and together erected a barrier, suppressing the uncontrollable dragon might of the Supreme Dragon.

　"The decline was unexpectedly rapid. Was it not natural aging, but an injury?"

　A soft whisper escaped, and Casalos turned his head in confusion to look at the source of the sound, but found nothing. Looking around at the expressions of the other dragons nearby, it seemed that no one else had heard the words except for him.

　"Huh, can you hear me talking to myself?"

　The voice rang out again, and a bald human holding a twisted wooden staff, wearing a gilded robe, and with eyes that shone with the light of purgatory, slowly revealed himself before Casalos. An unknown aura of holiness and terror mingled together, causing Casalos's scales to stand on end.

17. Traitor?

　Just like a cat puffing up its fur, when a dragon's scales bristle, it's often just an unconscious stress response caused by being startled.

　Who could possibly break through the defenses of the Sacred Land of the Athelon and silently infiltrate the ritual site without being detected by the Supreme Dragon and the other Primordial Dragons!

　Elminster? Samaster? Or some other archmage?

　Casalos didn't know, but this guy made no attempt to hide his hatred for the Atheron race; he was clearly up to no good!

　Casalos tried to bark to warn them, but couldn't make a sound. It tried to use other actions to warn them, but found that it couldn't move its body at all.

　No matter what method the visitor used, it had no power to resist and its consciousness remained clear, purely because the visitor deliberately allowed it to remain conscious.

　"I can't let you ruin my plans... I'm in a very good mood today, so I'll spare your life for now. Now, sit here quietly and watch with me as I bring about the final destruction of your Atheroscrymen!"

　The newcomer's tone gradually became louder and more frantic. It opened its arms wide and its chest out to face the sky, laughing loudly, but the dragon still did not notice anything amiss.

　In the center of the valley, the ancient iron dragon Tekovegaru, who had been elected as the next Supreme Dragon, had folded his wings and slowly walked to the old Supreme Dragon. Surrounded by the young dragons, he lowered his head and allowed the old Supreme Dragon to place his wing hooks on his head and cast a spell.

　Above the sky, adult and older anamorphic dragons soared in several nested ring formations, fusing their dragon magic with the sacred land's maze, awaiting the ever-present attack.

　On the distant horizon obscured by mountains, countless dark figures with enormous wings emerged, densely swarming towards the holy land.

　As they drew closer, the shadowy figures revealed their colors and differences: red wings were wide and large, blue wings were round and the body was robust, green wings were small and the limbs were long, black was thin and hunched, white had wide wings and a short and thick body... a legion of chromatic dragons, a legion composed entirely of chromatic dragons, a chromatic dragon alliance legion that had never appeared in the world of Toril before.

　Those dragons were filled with an unnatural aura. If one had enough knowledge of both the native world and the other world, one could tell from their appearance and aura that most of them were not the colored dragons from the Prime Material Realm!

　Some of them came from purgatory, some from the astral plane, and some from the outer realms.

　The old Supreme Dragon completed his spellcasting, revealing the core of a magic circle that covered the entire valley. Lines shimmering with different magical auras outlined the sacred land into a colorful illusion, like the dazzling aurora dividing the sky, leaving the young, unsophisticated dragons in awe.

　"Stop! Run!"

　Instinct compelled Casalos to shout, but it wasn't connected to the mental network, which was currently ineffective. No dragon could hear its inner cry, nor did any dragon detect its abnormality. The illusion created by the newcomer had completely shielded it; none of the dragons present could see through the illusion.

　The human holding the scepter withdrew his arms and strolled leisurely toward the location of the Supreme Dragon, as if taking a leisurely walk in the yard after a meal.

　In the sky, the spells, like fireworks, collided with the magic lock. Although they could not shake the fortress that the Athelonians had built over a long period of time, the tremors of the explosion and the elemental forces that were strangled together tore the sky and the mountains apart. It was as if the sound of shattering glass was playing a mournful melody, as if the magic net was crying.

　The clash between the magic lock and the dragon's spells is shattering the magical threads that weave the magic web, and the Dead Magic Zone could emerge at any moment.

　None of the chosen ones of the goddess of magic, who were responsible for monitoring and maintaining the normal operation of the magic network, appeared. It was unclear whether the holy land was too far away or whether they were unwilling to get involved in the affairs of the dragon civil war.

　The core of the mind network has disappeared into the dragon head of Tekovegaru. Soon, it will abandon its original name and become the new All-Knowing One, the Supreme Dragon Garugsingo. The mind network connecting the entire Athena dragon race will also be restarted.

　But the terrifyingly powerful figure had already reached within a hundred meters of the new Supreme Dragon. He raised his staff and roared, "What are you waiting for?"

　"Chassa!" The old supreme dragon widened its eyes, which had molten into spheres of indigo metal, and opened its mouth to spew out dragon breath.

　However, the new Supreme Dragon right in front of it was faster. With a slight push of its hind legs, it lunged forward and crashed into the chest of the old Supreme Dragon, biting into the old dragon's neck. Amidst the muffled clang of metal colliding and sparks flying, the sharp teeth, imbued with magical light, had already cut into the weakened old dragon's flesh and bones, completely severing its dragon breath.

　Is the new Supreme Dragon a traitor?

　The young dragons were stunned by this sudden situation, their minds going blank, and for a moment they all stood there dumbfounded... No, that's not right, it was the dragon might fully released by the two supreme dragons, one old and one new, that made the dragons freeze.

　"Chassa, you stray dog ​​abandoned by Tiamat!"

　The other thirteen different subspecies of ancient dragons were unaffected by the dragon's might. A female ancient iron dragon roared and charged toward the human holding the scepter. The human laughed madly, his body twisting and expanding, and in an instant he transformed into a huge ancient red dragon whose size was no less than that of the old supreme dragon.

　Unlike the lifeless dark red of other ancient red dragons, this dragon's body was covered with bright, ruby-like scales. The edges of its wings were as translucent as obsidian, and its eyes were not like lava, but rather black, hollow spheres from which an aura of purgatory surged, causing even Casaroz, who was inexplicably unaffected by the dragon's might, to shiver.

　Chassa the Great Dragon, the Scepter of Simba, the Chosen One of Tiamat, the Demigod Dragon!

　Casalos finally remembered the dragon's identity.

　"I didn't expect Tiamat to have already pulled you out of that maggot-filled cesspool of purgatory. Are you so eager to lick the Dragon Queen's filthy nails because you're afraid she'll abandon you again?"

　The female Primordial Iron Dragon was almost twice the size of Chassa, but she showed no fear. While using vicious language to poke at Chassa's sore spots, she rammed into the Primordial Infernal Red Dragon and fought with it. As the two huge dragon bodies leaped and rolled, they knocked away several young sub-iron dragons in the battle arena, waking them from the shock of the dragon's might.

　A deep blue ancient cobalt dragon and an ancient tungsten dragon also joined the battle, one at a distance and the other at close range, using spells and dragon breath to support the iron dragon and briefly suppress Chassa.

　With its neck bitten and its abdomen ripped open by the dragon claws, the old Supreme Dragon finally reacted. It charged, pinning the new Supreme Dragon beneath it. Using its overwhelming size advantage, it broke free from the dragon's jaws, its tail wrapping around the new Supreme Dragon's waist and hind legs. Its two front claws stepped on the new dragon's head, and its outstretched wings slashed down at the new dragon's neck. The muffled whooshing sound and the sonic boom of the wing hooks revealed the old dragon's fury.

18. Mourning

　Of the remaining ten ancient dragons, two tungsten dragons took to the sky to dispel the influence of the dragon's might for the younger dragons, and then, together with a still "young" female iron dragon, directed the dragons to retreat.

　"What about me? What's going on? Is no dragon taking care of me?" Casalos was still unable to move, but in the chaos, the ancient tungsten dragon flying in the air seemed unaware of its predicament.

　The chrome dragon Loris, which was originally next to it, glanced at where it was, but seemed not to see anything, and then lowered its head and followed the dragon herd away.

　"Cassaloz! Casaloz..." The tungsten dragon Fiona Milon anxiously called out and searched around.

　“I’m here, right in front of you, yes, walk straight towards me… don’t turn around!” Casalos tried to answer, but still couldn’t make a sound. He could only watch helplessly as the anxious tungsten dragon brushed past him several times.

　The illusion left by Chassa easily obscured the young tungsten dragon's senses; she didn't even realize that she wasn't walking in a straight line.

　Another male Iron Dragon immediately joined the battle between the new and old Supreme Dragons. While questioning what the new Supreme Dragon was doing, it helped the old dragon control the situation and blocked the Dragon Wing Great Slash to prevent the angry old dragon from killing the new Supreme Dragon in such an inexplicable way.

　The two ancient chromium dragons exchanged a glance before joining the fight against Chassa—the outcome of the battle between the old and new Supreme Dragons was already a foregone conclusion. Regardless of their allegiance, the hatred of chromatic dragons among the Atheros was unanimous; if Chassa could be spared, then the betrayal of the new Supreme Dragon might not seem like such a big deal.

　"Ow!"

　Suddenly a scream rang out. An ancient nickel dragon standing on the sidelines of the battlefield suddenly tilted its head back and sprayed a mouthful of acid onto the face of the female ancient iron dragon that was entangled with Chassa. In an instant, the advantage that the sub-iron dragons had just gained was completely reversed. How could any other sub-iron dragon, apart from the ancient iron dragon which was also a powerful dragon, possibly hold Chassa back in melee combat?

　Before the remaining few ancient overlords of the Iron Dragon could react, another ancient cobalt dragon launched an attack from within the dragon horde, its irresistible force field breath severely injuring the Iron Dragon entangled between the old and new supreme dragons from behind.

　Immediately afterwards, the ancient tungsten dragon, which had remained motionless, suddenly swelled to colossal size, pounced on the chrome dragon beside it, pinned it down, swept its tail to knock away the nickel dragon that had quickly reacted to provide support, and with a hind leg strike, ripped open the chrome dragon's chest with its claws, then poured in a mouthful of fiery dragon breath.

　Before it could even scream in agony, the ancient chrome dragon, which had been ambushed from behind, lost its life in the flames filled with the evil aura of purgatory.

　That wasn't an ancient tungsten dragon at all; it was clearly an ancient red dragon from the purgatory disguised as an inside agent.

　The fall of the first ancient dragon seemed to herald the downfall of the overlords of the anthracite dragons.

　Two blinding bolts of lightning struck from mid-air, knocking down the two tungsten dragons that had been helping the young dragon herd escape. A massive blue dragon emerged from the sky with a sinister grin. The nickel dragon that had helped Chassa smashed through several young iron dragons that had blocked its way and rushed to where the ancient tungsten dragon had fallen. It used its horn to butt one of them, its long horn piercing its chest and abdomen. Then, like a horse, it reared up and crushed the chest of the other ancient tungsten dragon that had landed on the ground with its forelegs.

　The Primordial Cobalt Dragon's breath, which had been attacking the Iron Dragon, turned towards the Old Supreme Dragon. The impact force knocked the unsuspecting Old Dragon down, and the newly turned Supreme Dragon seized the opportunity to get up and bite the Old Dragon's neck again, tearing at it.

　The red dragon, having backstabbed and killed the chrome dragon, shattered the ground and leaped out like a giant cat, blocking the iron dragon that wanted to come to the old dragon's aid.

　On the ground, a Gith Yankee dispelled the legendary psionic spell that warped reality to disguise the red dragon as a tungsten dragon.