Chapter 294: The Ice Dragon Hunt
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 294: The Ice Dragon Hunt
I am not originally from this world.
I was just a pitiful human who died an unjust death for no reason while browsing the internet.
When I opened my eyes again, I was in a pure white egg, and after breaking out of it, I lived the life of a lizard.
I suppose you could call it reincarnation.
For someone like me, parents don't exist.
But that doesn't mean I don't have biological parents.
After all, I was born from an egg, and the shells of what I presumed to be my siblings were scattered all around.
There must have been an individual who laid me.
I knew this fact, but I never actively searched for them.
To me, who was just struggling to survive, parents I had never even met weren't that important.
I won't deny that I grew curious about them after gaining power and what could be called a faction of my own.
But that curiosity was never very strong.
Even if I found them, I planned to simply protect my lizard family, much like I protected the centipedes and poisonous insects, and leave it at that.
I had no intention of playing the part of a son now, and besides, that’s not how reptiles are.
Still, if the chance ever arose, I wanted to meet them at least once.
And I wanted to ask.
Who on earth am I?
Of all the countless humans, why was it me?
And why was I reborn in the body of a lizard?
Of course, they would have no way of knowing.
It's a phenomenon that can't be explained by science, and there's no way a pair of lizards, little more than insignificant creatures, would know the answer.
Still, couldn't I at least ask?
Even if it didn't help at all, wouldn't it lift the burden from deep within my heart?
That's what I thought.
But now, I can no longer ask.
Because my parents are dead.
What the wyvern told me was just a fragment of a story, and there's no proof that the geckos who died then were my parents.
But I knew, instinctively.
That those were the lizards who gave birth to me.
Let's think back to what I looked like when I first came to this world.
Green scales and a long tail were my main features, but there were others.
The color of my eyes, for instance.
At first, they were red.
Then, they became teal.
Finally, blue.
My eyes are blue now, but in the past, they were definitely red.
And everyone who knew the previous Gomodo said he had red eyes that glowed.
Could this be a coincidence?
The lizards who gave birth to me and I must be related to Gomodo.
For example, our blood might be mixed.
The True Dragon had at least nine children, and there were likely many more who weren't counted among the Nine Sons of the Dragon.
Would Gomodo, a spirit beast on par with him, not have a single child?
Seeing how he acts, it's clear he's just as much of a womanizer as the True Dragon.
Of course he would have children.
But I have never seen anyone claim to be a descendant of Gomodo, nor have I even heard stories of them.
The reason for that is obvious.
In the end, Gomodo vanished and the True Dragon was victorious, so they must have erased everything related to Gomodo.
Gomodo's descendants were likely all killed or forced to live in hiding.
Fortunately, it seems they didn't go extinct and secretly continued their line, but they must have lost their ancestor's power.
Just as with the Ice Dragon and the Thunder Bird, if even the slightest trace of Gomodo had been visible, they would have been killed.
So, naturally, their power had to weaken.
As the generations passed, they eventually devolved from dragons into mere lizards.
And that line eventually led to my current body.
Unlike my other ancestors, my body grows stronger over time, making it the perfect vessel for the previous Gomodo, which is why he kept trying to take it over.
The Heart Demon said nothing.
It wasn't being sarcastic, nor was it asleep.
It simply remained silent.
"...Lord Divine Beast, are you okay?" the Red Dragon asked worriedly, seeing the look on my face.
"Gekgek."
I spoke as I normally would and nodded as usual.
I have no intention of playing the part of a son or treating them as parents now.
There's no way I'd be emotionally shaken over a pair of lizards I've never even met.
I've heard enough about the past.
Now is the time to think about the future and look at the present.
I need to put these pointless feelings aside and think about how to deal with the Ice Dragon.
The Red Dragon read my intentions and changed her question.
"...So, do you know where the Ice Dragon is now and what she's doing?"
The Red Dragon must be more distraught than I am, yet I feel sorry for acting so unlike a Divine Beast.
I didn't show it much, but to the Red Dragon who knows my usual self, my recent behavior must have seemed strange.
"Tsk, this just soured my mood. So, what's the Ice Dragon's objective right now?"
"The Ice Dragon... is preparing to invade the 100,000 Great Mountains."
"Right, that much is obvious."
The Red Dragon's tone implied she wanted more.
Fortunately, the wyvern we captured seemed to have a good amount of information.
He served as a messenger, and the fact that he was trying to dally with a carriage in this situation suggests he holds a certain rank.
To us, a low-tier dragon is nothing, but in the grand scheme of all spirit beasts, he probably isn't that low-ranked.
To be safe, the best course of action would be to extract the information and turn this guy into an inner core, but he seems to have his uses.
If I trick him by saying it's Gu-poison and feed him a little of my own venom, I'll have one obedient wyvern, right?
If nothing else, his ability to fly is quite good.
I could use him as a means of transport for my followers in an emergency.
As if sensing my thoughts, the wyvern's body trembled slightly.
"Her task is to establish a base and create an environment conducive to attacking the 100,000 Great Mountains."
"An environment?"
"Places like the 100,000 Great Mountains are where all sorts of powers gather, so the spirit beasts and humans there naturally grow stronger. Of course, our powers grow stronger too, but there's a difference compared to those who reside here."
This was news to me, having been born and raised in the 100,000 Great Mountains.
Then again, seeing as how there are multiple special places like the Dragon Gate, there must be something special about the 100,000 Great Mountains themselves.
Maybe the reason I grew so much in two years is that I sucked up all the spiritual energy of the mountains.
"That's why we are creating an environment advantageous to the spirit beasts from Kunlun. Even if we can't make it completely advantageous, just weakening the power of the 100,000 Great Mountains is expected to be effective."
The wyvern spoke, cautiously watching my reaction.
He was spilling everything quite readily now.
Thinking he's been fed Gu-poison, he has no choice but to be obedient.
After that, I extracted a few more pieces of information.
I wanted to learn more about the Thunder Bird, but unfortunately, as a spirit beast under the Ice Dragon's command, the wyvern didn't know much.
Still, I was able to find out that the Thunder Bird is somewhere else for now, so I'll have to make the most of that.
"A-Are you really going to attack the Ice Dragon? I-If you two die, the Gu-poison... G-Gahhh! That's not it... I mean, the Ice Dragon is just really strong, you see!"
The wyvern worried needlessly.
You don't need to think about such things. Just focus on how to act as a slave of the Gaegaek Cult.
Because today, the Ice Dragon will die at my and the Red Dragon's hands.
As we walked in the direction the wyvern had indicated, we saw a place filled with a chilling aura.
She hadn't fully established her domain yet, but the inherent energy was on a different level.
If the Ice Dragon put her mind to it, this entire area would be covered in ice in an instant.
I can't let that happen.
What the Red Dragon and I had to do was obvious.
We had to destroy this environment itself with all our might.
"Ready, Lord Divine Beast?"
I gave a slight nod at the Red Dragon's words.
She had already transformed into her dragon form.
This was to make maximum use of her abilities, which boasted the greatest firepower in the Gaegaek Cult.
Swoooosh.
I took a deep breath.
My chest swelled, and the Red Dragon's massive chest swelled as well.
The unique skill of the Dragon race: the Breath.
A ridiculously overpowered skill that, with a simple exhalation, could unleash destructive power incomparable to ordinary techniques.
One could fire Breaths in succession, but with enough time like this, it was also possible to raise its power to the absolute limit.
A Breath was, quite literally, a dragon's breath.
Of course, I can't use a Breath, but I can use something similar.
Krrrrrrumble!
A beam containing the power of thunder flew towards the target.
KRA-BOOOOM!
As the heat of the thunder melted the cold on the ground, an enormous amount of plant life shot up all at once.
Creeeak!
In an instant, the landscape turned into a forest.
But I wasn't satisfied.
Our objective was destruction.
Fwhoooosh!
A torrent of hot dragon flame shot from the Red Dragon's mouth.
Water overcomes Fire, so the Red Dragon's flames would be at a disadvantage in this environment.
Water, by its nature, extinguishes fire.
However, Wood also feeds Fire.
FWOOOOOSH!
The plants I had laid down beforehand naturally became kindling, making the Red Dragon's flames burn even more fiercely.
Vwoom!
The fox marble trembled slightly.
The massive inferno consuming the plants was a spectacle in itself, but I had no intention of stopping there.
KWAGAGAGAK!
A violent storm began to blow.
The storm, manifested from the energy of Wood, further amplified the flames that were burning through the plants.
FWOOOOOOOOOSH!
It melted the land of cold in an instant.
Even for an Ice Dragon, recreating the environment she just lost would require a significant amount of internal energy.
This alone accomplished our initial objective to some extent, so it would be fine to retreat now.
A guerrilla strategy of gradually chipping away at her would be more efficient.
But neither I nor the Red Dragon had any intention of backing down.
To the Red Dragon, the Ice Dragon was a sworn enemy, and for me, the Divine Beast of the Gaegaek Cult, she was an opponent I couldn't just let go.
Crack, crackle.
At that moment, the earth began to freeze over again.
I knew instinctively.
The master of this domain had appeared.
SHAAAAAA!
An immense amount of cold energy erupted, neutralizing my and the Red Dragon's joint attack.
Thanks to that, the surroundings were completely shrouded in a white fog, and I had no choice but to stop my attack to prepare for the next move.
Tap.
A single figure, like a doll, could be seen walking slowly through the fog.
A woman with a cold impression stepped forward.
Hair that could be called light gray or perhaps a pale blue.
Golden eyes that I could tell with certainty were a dragon's.
And attire that was foreign, not from the Central Plains.
Even without my Dragon Eye, I would have known that this woman was the Ice Dragon.
【Ice Dragon LV???】
She slowly surveyed the area with her cold eyes, then spoke in a voice that sounded as if she couldn't understand.
"Why have you done such a thing?"
She looked at us with a somewhat sad expression, her brow slightly furrowed as if her heart was in pain.
"Why did we do this?"
The Red Dragon said, her voice dripping with disbelief.
"How could spirit beasts of your stature commit such a cruel act?"
"...A cruel act?"
Ha, the Red Dragon scoffed.
"You bitch, you've done far worse, and you call this a cruel act? How dare you run that mouth of yours?"
At those words, the Ice Dragon's eyes widened.
"Could it be... you are..."
The Ice Dragon muttered in disbelief.
"That's right, you recognize me? You bastard that I wouldn't be satisfied with even if I chewed you to pieces."
The Red Dragon's killing intent and hostility were palpable.
The Ice Dragon's gaze was fixed on her.
It was as if only the two of them existed in this space; she paid no attention to me at all.
"Ah, ahh..."
After staring silently at the Red Dragon for a long time, tears welled up in the Ice Dragon's eyes.
It was a situation I couldn't comprehend.
Why in the world was she crying at the sight of the Red Dragon?
"I am sorry... I made a mistake..."
The Red Dragon's face was a mask of confusion.
I couldn't understand this situation either.
Was this a last-minute reveal that she was a good person all along?
Was that what she was trying to say?
"A mistake? You call that a mistake? Freezing my little sister and even my own heart was a mistake?"
The Red Dragon's flames flickered.
As if she could hold back no longer, she looked ready to clash at any moment.
"I should have killed you back then. Letting you go was the mistake."
Of course.
"Is this bitch insane?"
I didn't think she was sane.
Look at those eyes.
Don't they belong to someone who is missing something?
"But I am glad. Now that you have come to me, I can finally set things right."
The tear that flowed down the Ice Dragon's cheek fell to the ground and became a single snowflake.
There were no more tears in her eyes.
KWAGAGAGAGAK!
A blizzard descended in an instant.
This wasn't her domain, yet she had the power to alter the weather itself.
She was showing off the authority that truly befitted the name "dragon."
"Child of the Fire Dragon. I shall save you from this purgatory of a world."
The Ice Dragon began to transform from her human form back into a dragon.
Her skeleton twisted and her size grew larger and larger.
Right, I've got a rough idea of what kind of creature she is.
She must have gone mad from living for far too long.
I could tell just by the fact that she was paying me no mind even in a situation like this.
Should I be grateful for that?
KRRRRRRRRRRUMBLE!
Thunderbolts of immense size rained down in succession.
KRA-BOOOOOOOOM!
Normally, you're not supposed to attack someone while they're transforming, but you're an exception.
The Ice Dragon hunt begins.
...with a surprise attack.