novelhk Page 13
Page 13
The Chultan Peninsula is located in the tropics, and apart from a small number of species in the high-altitude vertical climate zones, the animals living here are all tropical.
What are the characteristics of tropical birds?
It has an elegant and mysterious appearance, bright and beautiful feathers, melodious singing voices, and a playful and endearing personality... but there's nothing about high-speed flight or long-distance migration. It's just a bunch of lazy bums and idiots with a glamorous exterior!
Before they had flown more than a few hundred meters, the startled flock of cuckoos returned to the woods, perching on the branches and chirping as if they were collectively accusing the baboon that had just gone mad.
Even so, this was already the farthest flock of startled birds to fly.
Birds with enormous beaks and lyrebirds with long tail feathers didn't fly more than a few dozen meters from where they were startled. The colorful parrots, after flying only a few meters, landed on branches, hopping and craning their necks to watch curiously as the "baboon" went on its rampage.
Casalos had no choice but to return to the jungle with the flock of cuckoos, find another opportunity to transform into a snake, climb down the tree, crawl into the rat hole, swallow the original inhabitant whole, transform back into its likeness, sneak out of the hole, and continue moving south.
This time, it dared not maintain the same shape and flee straight in the same direction.
It constantly changes between several small but agile rodent forms, and its movement direction tries to follow the patterns of these small animals foraging and avoiding predators. Occasionally, it will catch up with a flock of birds that are moving in the right direction and then transform into the same bird to join them. Occasionally, it will transform into a small raptor or something similar from the dinosaur species unique to Zultan to run quickly for a while. If it is unlucky enough to encounter a predator that is hunting in its current form, it will have to "frantically run away" for a while.
From time to time, a green dragon in its teenage or adolescence would fly across the sky. These were undoubtedly the Evar siblings, driven out by the green dragon couple to find the culprit. Unfortunately, they had no ability to detect the form-changing effect and did not realize that the little mouse on the ground, foraging for food or being chased by some predator, was their target.
As the sun set, Casalos was twenty kilometers away from the scene of the incident. The mountain range where the Athelon Sanctuary was located had become a gray wall stretching to the north. Only then did it find a slightly larger cave, where it killed the original inhabitants and rested briefly. It couldn't help but marvel at how its instinctively rejected form-changing ability was indeed a divine skill, at least when it came to escaping.
As for other situations... dragons that transform into weaker forms, especially silver dragons that love to transform into humanoid species, have a history of being caught off guard and losing their lives. Casalos's subconscious dislike for this spell-like ability may well be influenced by these events known from a god-like perspective.
If we're running for our lives now, we still have a choice.
Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Casalos might gradually change his subjective perception of it as a result; who can say for sure?
After scurrying around the mouse hole for a while without triggering any metal-sensing reaction, and without finding a natural elemental magic convergence zone like the place where he hatched, Casalos, having been on the run for most of the day, lay down in his fairly clean "bedroom" with some disappointment. Staring at the messy nuts, dried seeds, and other food reserves left by the original inhabitants in the warehouse next door, he drifted off to sleep.
In its dream, it seemed to return to its eggshell, hearing the Dragon Mother's gentle whispers, then seeing the tungsten dragon's graceful figure surrounded by mountains of iron ore, and feeling the warm fire-elemental dragon magic on her tongue...
Then, the sound of hurried footsteps and sharp screech shattered its dream.
Casalos, who was nearly enraged by the dragon, barely managed to suppress his emotions and quietly peeked out from the tree roots at the cave entrance. He saw about a dozen snake-men wearing simple armor and holding crude weapons, searching around in the dark.
The slightly better-dressed snakes were clearly the leaders of the snake-men, and their words indicated that they were the servants of the Green Dragon couple!
25. Dragon Underworld
"Hiss... Master Shakales has already reported to the treacherous and despicable Lord Lantlo that the valiant dragon cub that killed Master Evar is an Iron Dragon, born with the ability to transform. Stretch out your tongues and carefully examine every moving thing you encounter. Don't miss anything that smells of rust!"
If we can't find it... hiss, then none of us will go back. My treacherous and ruthless lord, Lylothar, will surely skin us alive and use my bones to make decorations for his dragon's lair, understand?
The snake-man leader was using the snake-man language to constantly urge and admonish his team members.
Casaloz knew that it wasn't insulting the green dragons Lantro and Lelothar, nor was it truly praising its own bravery. In the culture of the green dragons, words like cunning, despicable, and ruthless were actually compliments; conversely, words like bravery, justice, and honesty, which represented positive connotations in the cultures of most intelligent races, were insults to them.
In order to serve the green dragon, these snake people naturally had to learn to accept and adapt to the green dragon's culture in order to survive.
Watching the snake-man caravan disappear into the distance, Casalos's little eyes flickered twice. He retreated back into the cave and followed the path dug by the original inhabitants to a deeper area less disturbed by surface disturbances. Ignoring the damp and unpleasant environment, he pounded the ground with his little paws and lay down to sleep again, but he couldn't fall asleep no matter what.
Running away and hiding are not in line with the nature of most dragons. At least young dragons find it difficult to suppress their nature. Only those old dragons who have suffered enough but survived can completely suppress their innate impulses and develop the habit of planning before acting.
So even the red dragons, known for their recklessness, become as slippery as eels as they grow old—there's no way around it, dragons that haven't learned to be cunning don't live long.
Despite its seemingly innocent and fragile fledgling stage, it had actually died once in the Dragon Treasury, making its combat experience unparalleled among fledglings. Confident it could tear this group of snake-men apart in three minutes, the dragon's impulse and recklessness flowing within it remained ever-present, ready to spring into action.
also
Chapter 26
Fortunately, it has the memories and life experiences of an extra twenty years from its previous life, and it still maintains its rationality, knowing that it cannot and should not do this.
It didn't know where the green dragon couple were now.
As servants of the Green Dragon Couple, these snake-men are more or less at the level of dragon servants and have a weak one-way mental connection with the Green Dragon Couple. The Green Dragon Couple will know if any of them dies. If one of the Green Dragon Couple happens to be nearby, it may be blocked before it can kill a few snake-men.
The snake-men were not the foolish young green dragon sold off by his brother. They were the actual operators controlling the territory and plundering wealth for the green dragon couple, possessing rich combat experience. Even if they couldn't pose any real threat to Casalos due to their absolute strength, they likely possessed the spell to mark targets for the green dragon couple.
If Casalos is accidentally marked, even if the green dragon couple are far away and cannot arrive in time, Casalos will completely lose any chance of escape, and it cannot take that risk.
But the dragon's pride made it unwilling to be trapped underground by a group of lowly legless ants, unable to do anything.
I felt so stifled, how could I possibly continue sleeping?
Thanks to the increased proficiency in Iron Will, Casalos's will has become much stronger, even though he hasn't truly mastered the feat yet, preventing him from immediately entering Dragon Fury.
Lying on the ground, the more it thought about it, the more frustrated and angry it became, pushing its emotions closer and closer to the dragon's rage threshold. It had no choice but to get up and find something to do to divert its attention from the snake-man team.
Let's continue digging deeper underground to see if we can find any ore, or perhaps we should meditate for a bit.
Yes, meditation. After hatching, baby dragons often meditate for long periods of time.
However, this meditation is not the same as that meditation. Although the word is exactly the same when translated into common language, the meditation in dragon language is actually different from the meditation that mages use to restore magic power and remember spells. It is more like a kind of habitual training that has been passed down from ancient times, allowing dragons to better strengthen their will to resist the dragon's wrath. It is closer to the meditative practice of monks.
Unfortunately, it seems to have had little effect. After passing through the fledgling stage, most dragons will subjectively abandon this instinctive habit.
The gaze of the Kingkiller Star, and the Dragon Frenzy, shattered everything the dragons had built in Faerûn.
A mage's meditation is afraid of being disturbed, but a dragon's meditation might be more effective when the mind is unsettled? Thinking this, Casalos summoned his instincts and tried to enter a meditative state.
At first, the effect was not good. The snakemen came and went in waves, and the sound of their long tails snaking across the ground and propelling them forward was transmitted through the soft soil to the deepest part of the rat's burrow, still attracting Casalos's ears.
It had to chirp and mutter curses as it dug down another two or three meters, using the surviving rats in its unfortunate food storage to create a soundproofing layer before finally getting into a semblance of normalcy and calming its restless heart a little.
Swoosh, swoosh...
As a result, the meditative state was immediately broken by other noises.
With red eyes, Casalos held onto his last line of defense and did not revert to his dragon form. Gritting his teeth, he dug towards the direction from which the commotion came, only to bump into a mole with a thud.
To shield itself from the snake-men's movements, it dug too deep, reaching the level where other subterranean animals lived. Unfortunately, it was near a mole digging a path while expanding its territory. Whether it was a dragon that had turned into a mouse and was trying to meditate that was disturbed by the digging mole, or whether it was more unfortunate for the digging mole to dig up a dragon that had turned into a mouse, was not within Casalos's consideration.
Enraged, Casalos tore the mole apart in the form of a mouse, which actually vented his emotions and stabilized his mindset. When he tried to meditate again, it was much easier for him to enter a meditative state.
Its consciousness gradually calmed down. The threat of the green dragon, the movements of the snake people, and all the chaotic thoughts were drawn out of its mind, disappearing like smoke in the wind. The dragon could no longer perceive the passage of time, and it didn't know how much time had passed. It felt like an hour, or a month.
The image of the fallen ancient dragon overlord of the Atheros, the shadows of his parents falling from the sky, and the screams of the Atheros in the dust were awakened in Casaloz's memory, replaying before his "eyes" as if he were witnessing the scene again. However, it could no longer shake his thoughts, making him feel as if he were watching a false image that had nothing to do with him. Only hatred remained deeply engraved in his heart.
Then there were those few warm memories, like sweet spring water, like amber, seeping into Casalos's dragon soul torn apart by hatred, filling the gaps, enveloping it like a gemstone, yet not obscuring the marks etched by that hatred.
The dragon's memory is like a pattern engraved within an immortal gem, every detail of which remains unchanged.
26. Memory
A single successful meditation could not possibly make Casalos's mind as clear as a mirror and its soul as pure as crystal. Everything that just happened was merely an illusion it had experienced while in a meditative state. It might have hinted at something, but it was far from enough to produce any real effect.
Deep meditation is just the beginning of reversing the mindset that has gradually deviated from the dragon's normal state.
The Nine-Headed Dragon God granted dragons god-like "video" memories, allowing them to clearly recall every detail of their experiences. Witnessing the complete defeat of the Athelon and the fall of his loved ones, Casalos suffered a severe psychological shock, causing him to ignore a large amount of the memory information in his conscious mind.
Casalos's first successful meditation allowed him to re-examine his memories, recalling details he had previously overlooked, which subtly altered his mindset.
It clearly recalled all the sounds it heard after being shrouded in smoke and dust in the holy land. In a highly calm state of mind during meditation, it used these sounds to gradually reconstruct the final outcome of the events at that time: not all the ancient dragon overlords of the Atheros had died tragically, and the Atheros race had not been completely wiped out.
Before the old supreme dragon fell completely, he gave an order to his entire clan to flee.
Because of his poor condition, extremely weak voice, and the chaotic scene, Casalos, whose emotions were too intense at the time, ignored it. But the other Atheros, especially the adult Atheros and the ancient dragon overlords who had not yet fallen, would never ignore this order, much less disobey it at that moment.
It was after this order was issued that Casalos heard a change in the battlefield situation: the sounds of battle began to become scattered and sparse, gradually shifting into the distance.
At that time, including the traitor Nickel Dragon, the disguised Red Dragon, and the new and old Supreme Dragons, among all 15 Primal Dragon Overlords of the Atheros, Casaloz could confirm that he heard the sound of death from only 8 of them.
Of the remaining 6, aside from 2 traitors and 1 disguised creature that is definitely alive, it can also be confirmed that 1 ancient chrome dragon has successfully escaped the battlefield.
After the Lock of the Maze shattered and the Supreme Dragon received the order to retreat, the Primordial Chromium Dragon smashed through the Nickel Dragon traitor blocking its way, rushed to an area not far from Casalos, and led a group of young Iron Dragons to use a teleportation spell to escape.
The battle had completely ceased by the time the lava overwhelmed and submerged the immobilized Casalos, leaving only the sounds of the chromatic dragons plundering the treasure vaults within the temporary lairs of the various Iron Dragon races in the sacred land.
It neither saw nor heard the death of the last Ancient Iron Dragon and the Ancient Cobalt Dragon, which likely escaped the Holy Land with some of the younger Iron Dragons.
Iron Dragon will definitely take away any young members of his race that he can.
Evil dragons don't have any altruistic thoughts, but they understand very well the importance of young members of their kind for the continuation of the race. As a steadfast order dragon, the Atheros will not play too many tricks in such a life-saving moment, as long as there is no deviation.
The Chrome Dragon and Cobalt Dragon will likely choose a location with a high density of their own species to initiate teleportation, but...
Chapter 27
They will not deliberately exclude other sub-dragon species within the teleportation range.
In addition, of the adult and older Atheros that fell from the sky, 23 woke up in mid-air and launched a counterattack, while 15 rushed to the ground to rescue their fallen and disabled companions. After the old supreme dragon issued the retreat order, the reprimands of the Color Dragon Legion indicated that at least one-fifth of them successfully escaped, taking several young dragons with them as well.
The Atheros are not truly extinct; Casaloz is not a surviving species, and it is still organized.
After this battle, the Atheros will surely hide even more thoroughly.
Given the generally good social relationship between Atheros and Gem Dragons, it's not impossible that the surviving Atheros had already contacted the Gem Dragons and fled into the Inner Realm.
The chances of Casalos finding them are extremely slim.
But this is ultimately a hope, enough to prevent it from sinking into hatred—the Nine-Headed Dragon God Aio gave the true dragons the ability to remember, which is to tell the dragons that they should not forget hatred, but they should not live only for hatred. Their lives are for the meaning that all living things possess.
Dragons are magical creatures that are half flesh and half element. Magic and flesh are intertwined, combined, promoted and reacted to each other, which creates the most magnificent creature in the mortal world.
However, dragons are also more susceptible to the influence of magic, one of the most common manifestations of which is their psychological state: they are more likely to deviate from the norm than flesh-and-blood creatures or purely elemental beings.
The dragon's greed, arrogance, conceit, and all its other vices, along with its inescapable rage, are perhaps its most widespread manifestations. But beyond that, dragons are also prone to various mental illnesses stemming from their obsessions.
Casalos, in its short lifespan, has experienced several ups and downs, and its will and spirit are already on the verge of collapse.
Without this meditation, it wouldn't have been long before it, already deeply mired in hatred and wandering, fell into some unique mental illness that plagued the true dragon.
Leaving aside things like bulimia and bulimia, the sword of Damocles hanging over its head from the green dragon couple could easily force it to become an anonymous dragon in order to escape. It would willingly abandon its true name, erase all traces of its existence, hide out of all sight, and live as if it were dead.
Now, through meditation, Casalos has found a glimmer of hope in his memories, and has temporarily escaped the risk of developing a mental illness...
After an unknown amount of time, Casalos, still in his rat form, awoke leisurely, feeling much more refreshed.
Turning its head to the side and quietly sensing, it could still hear the snake-man's movements nearby, but it was no longer anxious or annoyed. It simply cursed softly, changed its form to that of a mole, which was more suitable for digging, and began to dig in the direction of the water flow in its memory.
The jungle was teeming with the green dragon couple's servants; walking on the ground was impossible, and flying was unlikely either. It dared not resume its dragon form and burrowing; at the speed of a small animal digging a hole, escaping the green dragon couple's territory was impossible.
Using waterways to drift downstream is the only method it can think of at the moment.
In fact, waterways have always been the best way to escape. The water network of the Hazul Mountains eventually merges into two large rivers, flowing into the Gulf of Gasland. Hiding in the water and drifting downstream, one can easily be dragged into the vast ocean of the seven seas of Riel and completely get rid of the threat of the Green Dragon couple.
Casalos didn't not want to choose before, but rather it couldn't, because it couldn't swim or breathe underwater... Changing forms didn't grant it any physiological or magical powers based on the target form. Simply put, if it couldn't fly, changing its form to become a bird would only allow it to walk on land, and if it couldn't swim, becoming a fish would only cause it to sink.
27. Blocked
If you can't swim, how do you navigate the waterways? Do you turn into a turtle or a crocodile and crawl underwater, occasionally having to lift your head to breathe?
That's not even as fast as running on land. It's slow and arouses suspicion... What aquatic turtle or crocodile can't swim?
Now, Casalos has no choice but to resort to this bizarre method.
It was the rainy season, and the waterways of the tropical rainforest were incredibly dense and extensive. Casalos, now a mole, hadn't been digging for long when it encountered a muddy area soaked by a stream. Instead of digging straight out, it cleared some space, then transformed into a jungle crocodile species it had seen before, before digging upwards through the damp mud to let the stream water in, and then slowly crawling out.
The stream was shallow, barely covering the alligator's belly, so Casalos had no way to hide underwater.
Fortunately, the water carried away its unique "smell" that was distinctly characteristic of iron dragons, which was like a faint, sweet, fishy smell in the olfactory receptors, similar to iron ions. Each true dragon emits its own unique scent, a phenomenon formed by the dragon's magic naturally dissipating into the environment. Not all animals can "smell" it, and it is difficult to eliminate, at least not by changing its form.
Of course, in the humid and hot jungle, this faint scent was not a noticeable trace; the snake people had walked past Casaloz's rat hole without smelling it.
Better safe than sorry; the water flow has at least solved Casalos's worries.
Casalos slowly slithered downstream in a lazy, alligator-like manner. No one noticed anything unusual as he passed three patrolling teams of snake people. Casalos gradually relaxed and walked smoothly for five kilometers before entering a wider tributary.
Just when it thought it could hide underwater and escape completely, unsurprisingly, an accident happened.
A predator blocked its path.
To avoid this situation as much as possible, Casalos actually made a fairly comprehensive consideration when changing its form, choosing a crocodile, which is probably at the top of the food chain of jungle wildlife, and maintaining a medium size of more than three meters long.
Its choice was undoubtedly correct. Along the way, other wild animals in the stream avoided it like the plague. Indeed, no stubborn creature would bother to provoke a three-meter-long alligator. This was one of the key factors that enabled it to travel such a long distance successfully.
The problem is, the jungles of this world are not only home to wild animals.
Blocking Casalos's path was a ferocious large feline that had taken the trespassing alligator as prey—after all, alligators are fish, right? A normal big cat wouldn't be intimidated by a 3-meter-long alligator.
But this is a ferocious feline predator that is over five meters long excluding its tail, and whose entire body is covered with features of an unknown prehistoric animal...
The big cat leaped from the shore to above Casalos, its two outstretched paws unleashing scimitar-like claws that gleamed with sharp light, pressing down on its neck, which had just submerged beneath the water.
With a sigh of helplessness, Casaroz suddenly reverted to his Iron Dragon form and leaped out of the water, dodging the bewildered giant cat's attack. He spread his wings and flapped them in mid-air, falling a short distance towards the water's surface before finally gaining enough lift to fly away at high speed, skimming the water's surface.
From the jungle not far behind, a green dragon's roar rang out, and a huge figure leaped out of the jungle, chasing after them amidst a storm and mud.
With a wingspan of about twenty meters and emerald green scales, it is probably in its prime, female, and is a Lelotar.
Fortunately, Casalos finally met the main culprit, quickly assessed the threat, and breathed a slight sigh of relief—green dragons are not good at flying. In addition to their flying speed, a dragon's flying ability will decrease significantly as its size increases. Generally speaking, a mature green dragon can't fly as well as a hatchling iron dragon...
The prerequisite is that you have not acquired any flight feats or have any spell bonuses!