novelraw Chapter 503: Departure, Attack, Turmoil
Chapter 503: Departure, Attack, Turmoil
Snowflakes fluttered down, gradually wrapping the mountain ranges in thick silver attire.
Several days later, two dragon shadows pierced through the cloud layer, circled briefly in the frigid air currents, and then descended to Garoth's location.
One black, one red.
The iron dragon Sorog and the red dragon Samantha.
"I am fully prepared."
The iron dragon said, his voice steady and low. "We depart immediately, to the Vophal Dragon Domain to receive the baptism of the Eternal Tide."
Samantha shook her head, dislodging the snowflakes caught between the spikes, then lifted her chin.
"I'm going with Sorog. Then I'll ask those Metal Dragons face to face exactly how much a slot costs. We'll talk directly, no need for roundabout nonsense."
As she spoke, she bared her teeth, revealing sharp fangs, hot air escaping from between them.
"I'm quite curious to see what astronomical price those stingy fellows from the dragon domains can possibly demand."Garoth had just finished a round of training. Heat radiated from his body, melting the surrounding snow to reveal a circle of damp, dark rock surface.
He folded his wings, his muscles gradually calming beneath his scales, and gave a slight nod to his two kin.
"In that case, I'll inform Ovis in advance. The rest of the negotiation is up to you."
He did not plan to go along.
Due to his sensitive status, unless absolutely necessary, Garoth did not intend to personally visit a dragon domain, to avoid provoking certain old-timers or attracting unnecessary attention and probing.
As for the safety of Sorog and Samantha.
That was not something Garoth needed to consider.
They were both adult dragons, having even passed their slumber and nearing their prime. Both were powerful Level 20 existences, top-tier figures below the legendary level.
They had their own judgment, combat experience, and means of self-preservation. Garoth did not need to worry about every little thing as if they were hatchlings.
He knew Sorog's personality all too well.
Cautious, meticulous, never fighting a battle unprepared.
If he said "fully prepared," it meant he had already considered things very thoroughly.
Samantha appeared reckless on the surface, but in reality, she was rough with hidden finesse.
She had also received the White Dragons' ecological niche education in her early years, understanding when to be arrogant and when to hold back. At critical moments, she had never let Garoth down.
Moreover, having Sorog as a companion was enough to compensate for her occasional oversights.
"Good. Wait for our return..." A combative light danced in Samantha's eyes as she said, "The breath of dragons will sweep across the entire Romanian Plains. Those lowly lives should reacquaint themselves with who is the true master of this land."
The moment her words fell, the iron dragon and the red dragon simultaneously beat their wings.
Two figures shot skyward against the wind and snow, quickly shrinking into two rapidly diminishing black dots on the horizon, disappearing into the lead-gray cloud layer.
Garoth withdrew his gaze, refocusing on his own training.
To forge iron, one must be hard oneself. To be the torchbearer, to lead the kingdom forward, he himself must be sufficiently powerful.
Time flowed past amidst the howling of the wind and snow.
Elsewhere, the two dragon shadows flew over the northern border of the Aola Kingdom, continuing to soar and glide.
Below, the gradually flattening hills, snow-covered forests resembling white fur on the earth, dotted with frozen rivers and lakes.
Further away, smoke from human city-states rose straight up in the cold air. Farmlands and roads were buried under snow, a scene of utter tranquility.
They maintained an altitude of over a thousand meters.
This distance allowed them to avoid most ground-based threats without overly exposing themselves to the turbulent high-altitude jet streams that could affect flight stability.
"To avoid attracting unnecessary attention, we cannot fly too fast. Maintaining our current speed is sufficient."
"We should reach the coast in approximately seven days, gradually approaching the Vophal Dragon Domain."
Sorog's voice came through the mental link. "I have planned our route along the way. We will avoid the airspace of other major cities, sticking to wilderness areas as much as possible."
"Got it, got it. Don't keep reminding me."
Samantha responded somewhat impatiently, but still adjusted her wing span to stay beside the iron dragon.
Following the route planned by the iron dragon, they continued their flight.
The journey was uneventful.
Apart from the occasional birds and flying beasts passing overhead along the route, nothing unusual occurred.
At noon on the third day, shortly after leaving the boundary of the Romanian Plains, they entered the airspace above a desert region known as the Scorching Sand Wastes.
The environment gradually changed.
The sky was a piercing azure blue, without a single cloud. Sunlight shone directly and unobstructed onto the gravel, causing twisting heat waves to rise.
Below stretched an endless sea of yellow-brown sand, interspersed with wind-eroded rock pillars of bizarre shapes and deep gullies.
It was dry, scorching, and deathly silent. Even drought-resistant plants were scarce. The wind whipped up sand and dust, forming moving yellow curtains that slowly drifted across the earth's surface.
Suddenly, the iron dragon flying half a body length ahead slowed his speed, the frequency of his wing beats changing.
Within his vertical pupils, faint, star-like, fine, and mysterious glints appeared as he scanned the desert surface.
"Wait."
His telepathic message rang in Samantha's mind, turning serious.
Just in case, the iron dragon had brought the legendary item 'Eye of Truth' on this journey.
After Garoth completed his evolution and gained similar traits himself, this item had become ineffective for him. Sorog had borrowed it before departure.
The red dragon Samantha's pupils contracted. She immediately braked, her wings carving an arc in the air as she hovered to the side and slightly behind Sorog.
She didn't ask for a reason, directly entering a state of alert. The scales on her neck slightly raised, and faintly hot energy gathered in her throat.
The iron dragon said solemnly, "Be careful. There's an ambush."
As soon as the words left him, a sudden change occurred!
A seemingly ordinary sand dune below suddenly exploded.
Yellow sand shot skyward like a geyser. A figure, enveloped in a Domain, burst from the earth.
It was roughly a tall, burly humanoid creature, its entire body covered in the thick glow of a Domain, making its features and attire indistinct. It held a massive double-bladed battle-axe in its hands. Dark red runes flowed along the axe blades, looking extremely dangerous.
A legendary warrior, and one skilled in ambush and explosive assaults.
From concealment to explosive attack, the entire process took less than half a second.
The power of the Domain distorted the surroundings. Sand grains floated and spun, forming a small-scale sandstorm.
The figure shot through the air, battle-axe raised high, carrying the momentum to split mountains and crack the earth. It ignored the red dragon, directly locking onto the iron dragon Sorog.
However, the iron dragon's reaction was faster than the attacker anticipated.
He did not attempt any large-scale evasive maneuvers.
Against the ambush of a legendary warrior unleashing their full power, a hasty dodge would only expose more openings to the opponent and put oneself in a more disadvantageous posture.
A Level 20 dragon facing a legendary lifeform could hold on for a while relying on their formidable physique, but that was merely holding on.
Clashing head-on with a legendary being was not a wise move.
Sorog's expression remained calm. He simply raised his right foreclaw, palm upward.
There, a mark suddenly lit up.
At the same instant, high above in the deep sky, beyond the atmosphere, at a height difficult for the naked eye to perceive.
Two brilliant beams of light suddenly appeared, like javelins thrown by deities, plummeting down at an almost vertical angle.
Their speed exceeded the limits of visual capture.
One moment they were shining in the heavens, the next they were almost upon them.
They landed precisely in the air in front of Sorog, then abruptly dispersed their light.
Two figures clad in silver armor already stood firm in mid-air.
On the left was a paladin Heroic Spirit holding a giant shield.
Although merely a spirit formed of light, it exuded an indestructible feeling.
On the right was a ranger holding a sword.
His features were handsome, his armor lighter. The air around him rippled faintly. His entire being gave off a feeling of calm yet sharp danger.
Shire and Mien. These two legendary Heroic Spirits had arrived via direct transmission from the Sanctuary, so fast it seemed rehearsed and prepared, without the slightest delay.
The next second, the battle-axe and the giant shield collided violently.
CLANG!!!
An ear-splitting metallic crash transformed into a tangible sound wave that spread in all directions.
Countless cracks instantly appeared on the surface of the paladin Heroic Spirit's giant shield. Its entire light-forged spirit body trembled violently. Countless light fragments splattered from its armor as it was pushed backward by the tremendous impact force.
But it still held firm.
On the other side, the attacker's figure faltered slightly, its charging momentum forcibly interrupted.
In this gap of less than a tenth of a second, the other swordsman Heroic Spirit had already fiercely advanced.
The long sword traced a dangerous arc of light, piercing space and leaving a black trail, stabbing directly at the attacker's neck.
A space-attribute attack. If it landed, it would most likely directly pierce the Domain. The attacker was forced to swing the axe back to block.
CLANG!
A crisp collision sound rang out. A trail of sparks flew from the axe blade, leaving a deep crack upon it.
The iron dragon calmly hovered in place, observing every detail of the battle.
The red dragon Samantha had already circled to the attacker's flank. Dragon breath gathered in her mouth, ready to be unleashed. Her eyes were locked onto the target, a gleam of eager anticipation shining within them.
On the other side, the attacker hadn't anticipated this countermeasure during the ambush.
The instantaneous arrival of two legendary Heroic Spirits disrupted his rhythm. More importantly, it meant the target was prepared.
Perhaps the Red Emperor himself was watching this place.
The other side came prepared. His own side's first strike had failed.
The attacker instantly weighed the pros and cons in his mind.
Continuing to fight would yield slim chances of victory. Moreover, if things dragged on, the other side might have more reinforcements.
Therefore, the attacker suddenly swept his battle-axe horizontally in front of him, unleashing a circle of dark red shockwave to temporarily push back the two Heroic Spirits. Simultaneously, he stepped on empty air with his feet, and his figure shot backward like a cannonball.
He came suddenly, and retreated even more decisively! Without the slightest hesitation.
From the explosive attack to the withdrawal, the entire process lasted only a brief one or two seconds.
The sand and dust stirred up hadn't even fully settled yet.
The two legendary Heroic Spirits did not pursue. Their current task was to protect the iron dragon and the red dragon, not to slay a powerful enemy.
Mien stood shield-first directly in front of Sorog, while Shire guarded the flank with his sword. The light of their spirit bodies was stable as they vigilantly scanned the surroundings, confirming no other ambushes.
Samantha slowly retracted the dragon breath energy in her throat, flicking her tail with some dissatisfaction, stirring up a gust of hot wind.
Then, she turned her head towards the iron dragon, puzzled. "Isn't the Sanctuary's main coverage the Romanian Plains? We've already left that range. How could the transmission be so fast?"
The iron dragon did not turn his head, still staring intently in the direction the legendary attacker had retreated.
He offered a simple explanation, his voice steady. "The Sanctuary covers the Romanian Plains because our foundation is there. But it is actually located in a dimensional space, not fixed in one particular place."
As the second-in-command of the Aola Kingdom, yet his own strength had not yet broken through the legendary threshold.
Sorog was well aware that he was undoubtedly a soft target or a point of vulnerability in the eyes of many hostile forces. Countless eyes watched him from the shadows, most harboring malice.
Therefore, before this journey began, he had made thorough preparations.
The Sanctuary's transmission permissions were always open to him. The two legendary Heroic Spirits were on standby, ready to descend at maximum speed the moment he activated the mark.
"Tsk, what a pity. That guy ran really fast."
Samantha shook her thick tail, saying with some regret, the fighting spirit in her eyes not yet extinguished. "I wanted to emulate Garoth, try to kill a legendary being while out-leveled. Looks like I won't get the chance this time."
The iron dragon did not correct his sister's unrealistic fantasy.
He said, "The Domain enveloped his entire body, distorting and blurring the spiritual light. Impossible to identify his specific race or identity features. This was a professional assassin, or a legendary powerhouse who didn't want to expose his identity."
"Moreover, we were ambushed shortly after leaving the Romanian Plains boundary, entering this relatively remote desert..."
The iron dragon raised his head, his pupils scanning the high, deep blue sky, his voice low. "Perhaps, eyes have been watching us from the sky all along."
He withdrew his gaze, readjusting the angle of his wings. He had no intention of stopping or turning back because of this attempted ambush.
"Let's continue our journey. We will become legendary."
Beside him, Samantha seemed to think of something, asking somewhat perplexedly, "Wait, Sorog. Since the Sanctuary can transmit, why don't we just have the Sanctuary transmit both of us near the Vophal Dragon Domain? That would be fast and safe. Why bother flying slowly like this, having to guard against ambushes?"
The iron dragon glanced at her and sighed.
"Do you really think Heroic Spirit transmission, or larger-scale biological transmission, doesn't consume energy?"
"Heroic Spirits have no physical bodies, but even so, transmitting legendary-level Heroic Spirits burns through the kingdom's treasures. In other words, it's burning our money."
"With our massive body sizes and life force intensity, the energy consumption for transmission would be astronomical."
"The kingdom's wealth is not infinite. We need to expand, we need to maintain the army. Every resource must be spent where it matters most."
Those who don't manage a household don't know the cost of rice and firewood.
The Aola Kingdom's territory is vast, its resources relatively abundant. It is also vigorously developing animal husbandry, agriculture, and mining.
However, the kingdom's consumption is equally terrifying.
The number of dragons under its banner is increasing. Each dragon is a major resource consumer. Maintaining and enhancing legendary powerhouses requires precious materials. The vast numbers of ogres, ogre elites, and ferocious beasts and magical beasts among its subjects have astonishing appetites.
Then there are those rapidly reproducing, vast numbers of gnoll, kobold, and lizardfolk followers.
Even with controlled reproduction scales and reduced supplies, their numbers are still growing at a considerable rate. The daily consumption of food and supplies is massive.
The war beast named Aola is gradually feeling hungry.
Conservative development cannot last long. Expansion has almost become an inevitable choice.
War is actually already urgent. On one hand, it's to acquire more land and resources. On the other hand, it can also consume the surplus population that's difficult to manage precisely through war, while simultaneously screening for more elite warriors.
"Sorog, listening to you, I always feel like you're looking down on me, thinking I only know how to fight and don't understand management."
The red dragon Samantha snorted displeasedly, sparks flying.
The iron dragon glanced at Samantha again and shook his head. "No, you're mistaken. We're just good at different things. Each has their own duty."
Samantha snorted, not pursuing the topic further.
After the ambush incident, the two spoke no more. They recalibrated their direction and set off once again.