novelraw Chapter 419: Crossing the Continent, Everbright Dragon Domain 1
Chapter 419: Crossing the Continent, Everbright Dragon Domain 1
The blonde woman was Nasha in her human form.
Seeing the red iron dragon descend, Nasha raised her arm and waved vigorously at him.
“Hey! Garoth, it’s time!”
“We should set off for the Dragon Domain and show what we’ve got, you’re ready, right?”
Her voice cut through the wind and snow, reaching Garoth’s ears.
At the same time, the red iron dragon folded his vast wings and landed in front of Nasha and Deborah.
He lowered his head, looked at Nasha, and asked, “Has the Dragon Domain tournament reached its final stage?”
Nasha nodded decisively, her golden ponytail swaying. “Almost. The fierce elimination rounds are over.”
“Now they’ve narrowed it down to the five most likely candidates to win.”
“We’ll set off right away. By the time we reach the Tranquil Sea, the final challenger who will face you should have emerged.”The final championship contest would be held in the Tranquil Sea, the location of the Everbright Dragon Domain.
As the special challenger, Garoth didn’t need to participate in those tedious preliminary eliminations, but he still had to show up in person for the final.
“The Tranquil Sea is far from here, spanning continent and ocean. No time to waste, let’s depart now.”
Nasha continued.
Garoth had no objection.
When he learned the Dragon Domain tournament had begun, he had already made arrangements for daily affairs in Dragon Valley and the overall administration of the Ser Wilderness; later he would only need to notify the iron dragon Sorog.
Having already made up his mind, there was nothing to hesitate about.
The red iron dragon was always decisive in action; when he decided, he moved immediately.
“Then let’s go.”
As soon as he spoke, he first spread his wings, planted his powerful hind legs, stirred up a gust of wind, and shot into the sky.
Behind him, Nasha and Deborah instantly reverted to their full dragon forms and followed, soaring upward.
“Wait for me! Don’t leave me behind!”
The faerie dragon Vira cried out, suddenly darting out from somewhere to fling herself at the brass-silver dragon, clinging tightly to the tip scales of Deborah’s long tail to anchor herself.
Their destination, the Tranquil Sea, lay within the vast ocean currents south of the Atlantis Continent.
The Tranquil Sea and the Atlantis Continent, along with several other large landmasses, were separated by considerable distances.
Garoth and the others flew straight south, soon crossing the Estonian Great River that curved like an elegant jade ribbon, entering the skies over the Ser Wilderness.
As time ticked by, the peculiar party—three enormous dragons and one tiny faerie dragon clinging to a tail—crossed the wilderness boundary and officially entered the airspace above the southern nations.
Once they left the bleak, wild vistas of the Ser Wilderness, the landscapes below gradually became refined and orderly.
What had been endless primeval forests, sheer and seldom-trodden mountains, or boundless plains where beasts ran wild, slowly gave way to large expanses of neatly planned farmland resembling a green checkerboard, crisscrossing irrigation canals reflecting the sky, and the scattered quiet villages and bustling small towns.
Rings of smoke curled lazily from village chimneys, and countless mortals, like busy worker ants, toiled in the fields.
Now and then, a farmer or traveler would look up and spot the massive dragon silhouettes streaking across the sky. Most would panic, prostrate themselves on the ground, or hurriedly dash into the nearest shelter.
Only after the dragons disappeared over the horizon did they cautiously resume their activities.
Soon they flew over multiple kingdoms of varying sizes and even more duchies.
Along some kingdom borders stood tall magical warning towers and silent alchemical colossi like mountain sentinels.
The detection crystals set atop those towers flashed with the scanning light as the dragons passed.
But perhaps because the party included metallic dragons such as a gold dragon and a brass-silver dragon, these defensive systems did not switch to attack mode; they merely logged the travelers’ passage.
Still, the group tried to avoid crossing directly over major capital cities, opting for relatively remote routes.
Regarding flight speed:
For dragons like Garoth, cruising beyond the speed of sound was effortless—especially for the red iron dragon; exceeding ten times the speed of sound would not pose much difficulty.
Yet they chose not to flaunt such power, instead maintaining a steady subsonic pace.
“The major kingdoms enforce strict control over the skies above their capitals.”
“With our status as metallic dragons, a rash entry might not trigger immediate attacks, but it would prompt unwanted questioning and diplomatic headaches. Also, if we fly supersonic at high altitude, the sonic boom and energy signatures could be detected by the orbital ‘Star-Eye’ monitoring systems, which would bring even bigger trouble.”
“Many nations explicitly forbid supersonic flight in their airspace regulations.”
“Apart from that, some places ban large-scale teleportation spells, forbid transformations, or block communication with outer planes—there are a lot of rules.”
Nasha and Deborah explained as they flew.
The metallic dragon heritage preserved detailed records about these worldwide regulations.
By contrast, the traditions of the Five-colored Dragons or Iron Hybrid Dragons contained far fewer notes on the rules of civilized nations.
The “Star-Eye” they mentioned was the general name various intelligent races used for those magical monitoring satellites.
After flying for a while longer, their route passed by several forest kingdoms founded by elves.
These domains differed greatly in style from the human kingdoms.
Ancient treetops connected like a canopy, blotting out the sky. Among the lush woods, delicate treehouses perched on stout branches could be seen, and soft rune-gleaming magical barriers shimmered faintly.
The elves reacted far more calmly to the dragons’ passage than humans did.
Some high-level, perceptive elves stood in clearings or on treehouse balconies, watching the striking golden dragon silhouette in the sky with scrutiny and curiosity, but they never interfered or blocked their way.
As they continued south, the climate slowly grew warm and humid.
The frozen soil, harsh winds, and driving snows common at the borderlands had vanished, replaced by rolling verdant hills, rushing rivers, and boundless fertile plains.
The elemental atmosphere grew more active and diverse, brimming with life.
Of course, they still crossed dangerous regions from time to time.
Some areas were vast marshes said to harbor nine-headed beasts and poisonous miasma; others were mountain ranges occupied by powerful magical beasts.
Such places were rarely visited by people and smelled of primordial danger—the edges of the civilized world.
They were similar to the Ser Wilderness, yet even more primitive.
However, these potential threats were not enough for Garoth’s party to detour around deliberately.
Their powerful dragon might intimidated most sentient creatures, and even instinct-driven magical beasts would think twice before provoking them.
What did force them to alter course were the territories directly controlled by the Halden Empire.
Measured from the geographic center of the Atlantis Continent, nearly three quarters of the land belonged to the Halden Empire. The remaining quarter was held by the former Lothrian Federation states, some neutral free cities, and independent nations scattered across peripheral regions.
With the Halden Empire’s strength, if it wished, it could have unified the entire continent.
The Nausil Empire possessed comparable power.
Yet the rulers of these two great empires seemed more inclined to maintain a pluralistic, balance-of-power world and were unwilling to start a war lightly. Besides, compared to conventional continental resources, they now focused more on abyssal development and the exploration of distant stars.
Garoth had wanted to witness the empires’ might firsthand, but reason eventually tempered that impulse.
Caution was necessary until his strength could safely satisfy his curiosity.
Finally, the party reached the southernmost coastline of the Atlantis Continent.
“Look over there,” Nasha lowered altitude slightly and pointed downward with a talon as she introduced, “that’s the Thousand-Sails City of the Latona Kingdom, the largest trading port in the southern Atlantis Continent, bustling with activity.”
“In this kingdom, our metallic dragons are culturally viewed as omens of fortune and auspiciousness. The people generally hold dragons in high regard, so many metallic dragons enjoy taking human form and staying here to sample life. The Latona Kingdom has always maintained friendly relations with our Vophal Dragon Domain, and the two sides enjoy stable, mutually beneficial trade.”
“Historically, one of their kings even specially invited the Silver Dragon King to personally crown him at his coronation.”
Garoth lowered his gaze, piercing the thin cloud layer to look down.
Along the winding coastline the port’s berths were packed with ships of every kind, a forest of masts stretching endlessly. Countless vessels moved in and out of the harbor with the orderliness of busy ants.
At the fringe of the port, many magical warships resembling iron behemoths were moored.
The scale and prosperity of the entire harbor far exceeded any settlement Garoth had seen in the wilderness, brimming with loud, shocking energy and vigorous life.
“The Ser Wilderness is only a corner of this world. The true spectacle lies beyond,” the red iron dragon thought inwardly.
This journey across the Atlantis Continent broadened Garoth’s horizons and stirred grander plans within him.
However, many of those ideas had to remain buried for now.
Only after he grew stronger could they take root and become reality.
“Nasha, Nasha!”
The faerie dragon poked her head out from behind Deborah’s tail and asked with a grin, “Is there any kingdom that also regards the Five-colored Dragons or Iron Hybrid Dragons as auspicious, and worships them?”
Gold dragon Nasha instinctively glanced at the red iron dragon beside her.
She said, “Well... as far as I know, not yet.”
Upon hearing that, Garoth cracked a grin and said, “No rush. That will happen soon.”
After passing the busy coastline, the group flew onward south and entered the boundless blue expanse of the ocean.
The salty, moist sea breeze hit them in the face.
It was completely different from the dry or crisp air over land; it carried the ocean’s distinct scent.
Below their wings, the waves never ceased, glittering under the bright sun.
Occasionally a huge sea beast left a massive shadow as it swam in the depths, or some merchant fleets sailed like tiny leaves across the vast surface.
Not long after leaving the coastline, while passing a seemingly uninhabited remote islet,
Nasha halted there.
At the same time, a golden dragon silhouette rose and intercepted their flight path ahead.
He shone as if forged from gold, with a pair of elaborate, branching horns like a crown. Draped around his neck and shoulders was a flowing golden sash that shimmered faintly.
At first glance he exuded sanctity, majesty, and overwhelming power.
It was the gold dragon Alberto.
He had been waiting here for quite some time.
Strangely, when Garoth saw Alberto this time, an inexplicable kinship stirred in his heart, as though he had met a blood-related kin. It erased the previously annoying vibe Garoth had felt from this gold dragon.
Alberto beat his wings and approached proactively.
“Haha! You finally arrived, Garoth!”
“I can’t wait to see your spectacular performance on the stage.”
Saying that, he took off the golden sash from around his neck and handed it to the red iron dragon.
“This is something the old man especially prepared for you, a weird legendary item he managed to get his hands on.”
“It has only one effect: it makes nearby creatures subconsciously ignore the wearer’s true species and accept them as their own kind, fostering a sense of kinship.”
“The name... I recall it’s called the Sash of All Beings Recognizing My Gold.”
“To be honest, the name’s taste is terrible; it’s pretty cringe.”
So that was the cause. Garoth suddenly understood where that inexplicable sense of closeness had come from.
He reached his claw out and took the seemingly lightweight golden sash. “Wearing it? Seems unnecessary.”
Alberto shook his head slightly and explained, “The old man said you’re Vophal Dragon Domain’s specially invited contestant, the ultimate ‘mystery giant dragon’.”
“Your true appearance should be revealed at the most crucial moment.”
“That way you’ll deliver the greatest surprise to the other dragons.”
Garoth: “......”
Thinking of Ovis’s penchant for grand gestures, the arrangement sounded odd at first, but on reflection it made sense and fit his style.
He then fitted the legendary item around his thick neck and part of his torso.
The golden sash seemed alive, automatically encircling and conforming, drifting gently over his black-and-red fierce scales as a soft, non-dazzling light rippled across its surface.
Far from diminishing his imposing ferocity, the item framed him with an aura of sanctity and splendor atop his raw power.
For a moment,
even the inner glow of gold dragon Nasha, brass-silver dragon Deborah, the faerie dragon Vira, and even Alberto himself were drawn to Garoth’s new image, unable to look away—until Garoth’s low voice snapped them back.
“All right, let’s continue on our way.”
Garoth said calmly.
Then their party resumed the journey toward the final destination.
Crossing the vast ocean proved relatively monotonous and dull.
Around them the world was a sheet of blue; it felt endless.
Only the ever-shifting clouds above, occasional storm systems they had to pass through, and the migratory seabird flocks or flying fish that leapt from the waves offered bits of variety.
After a while, Garoth and his companions arrived at their destination:
the Everbright Dragon Domain,
the foremost of the five metallic dragon domains, the metallic dragon territory ruled and inhabited by the twenty-four-winged Gold Dragon King.