Yserazor nodded slightly and pulled a small silver crystal from his storage space. “No problem. If there’s danger, just crush this, and the magic inside will send her back to my cave.”
The crystal fell from the air and landed gently at Lian’s collarbone, where it transformed into a fine silver chain woven from spatial power, wrapping softly around her slender neck.
After giving the transfer crystal to Lian, Yserazor turned to Starlight and the others, whispering with a slight apology, “Unfortunately, these transfer crystals are quite complex to craft. I don’t have any extra stock on hand to equip the rest of you.”
Starlight waved his hand, a faint smile touching the corner of his mouth. “There’s no need. We aren’t like Lian, who is so...”
The words died in his throat as his gaze swept over Lian, who was puffing out her cheeks and glaring at him. He quickly corrected himself, “I mean, the rest of us have sufficient self-preservation capabilities.”
“Right, running away isn’t the style of ‘Starry Moon Shadow.’ You can rest easy, Yserazor!” Po Kong also patted his chest, speaking with confidence.
Yserazor slowly brought his massive dragon head close to the group, his golden vertical pupils reflecting each of their figures. His deep voice boomed in their ears like muffled thunder: “Then without further ado, get on my back. As a precaution, we’ll have to travel by flight.”
The group exchanged a knowing look. Po Kong grabbed Little Gold’s wrist and was the first to leap up, landing steadily on the dragon’s back. Xia Duo and Moen stepped into the air, carried upward by a gentle breeze. Finally, Starlight picked up Lian and landed on the flattest part of the dragon’s neck with a spatial movement.
“Sit tight!” Yserazor spread his wings, which were large enough to blot out the sun, his dark green scales shimmering brilliantly in the sunlight.
With a deafening dragon roar, the massive body soared into the sky, the resulting air currents pressing the surrounding trees down low.
“Target: Dragon Nest!” Yserazor’s voice echoed in the wind. “Let’s go see exactly who dares to stir up trouble on dragon territory!”
...
Amidst the howling wind, Yserazor’s deep voice reached everyone’s ears clearly through spatial power as he told them about the Dragon Nest.
The Dragon Nest was located at the very center of Dragon Valley; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it the heart of the entire Dragon Race.
For it bore the most core and vital responsibility of the race—procreation.
Since the area where the dragons currently lived was in the northern part of the continent and consisted of mountainous terrain, it remained at low temperatures basically year-round.
While such temperatures were nothing to adult dragons, it was a different story for the newly hatched younglings and the dragon eggs currently incubating.
They all required a suitable temperature to thrive, and the Dragon Nest was a basin established upon geothermal heat.
Under the modifications of ancient dragons, the heat from underground magma was diverted to the surface by a massive magic formation and locked within the basin through special means.
This modified area became the cradle upon which the descendants of the Dragon Race relied for survival.
The defense system of the Dragon Nest was also quite unique. Generally speaking, any adult dragon would be moved out of the area immediately upon finishing their juvenile period. Unless they received a special appointment, they were forbidden from approaching it again for the rest of their lives.
Starlight keenly noticed that as Yserazor spoke of this, the dragon scales on his back instinctively bristled. This clearly touched upon the most core secrets of the Dragon Race.
“The ones truly guarding the Dragon Nest,” Yserazor growled, “are several Dragon Kings and the dragon elites they personally select. Only we fully understand the significance of this place to the survival of the Dragon Race, so we never allow the slightest negligence in its defense.”
“Each Dragon King leads their most trusted guards to protect it on a fixed rotation. During their watch, they never leave the Dragon Nest by even a single step; they even handle their hunting within the barrier’s range.”
“So that means... that Ikana we encountered just now...” Starlight’s voice trailed off as he realized a terrifying possibility.
“Exactly. Right now is the rotation of the Frost-Glow Dragon King, Cantia. As one of her most capable deputies, Ikana should have been guarding the dragon egg hatching area without leaving for a moment...” Yserazor practically squeezed the words out through his teeth.
Xia Duo suddenly turned to look at Little Gold beside her. Her keen intuition allowed her to piece the clues together instantly. “In that case, is it possible that this Frost-Glow Dragon King is the one with the problem? Was she also the one who stole Little Gold from the Dragon Nest?!”
“It’s not just that,” Yserazor sighed and continued. “Aidanach’s situation is even more special. His dragon egg should have been kept in a much more secure location, somewhere even the rotating Dragon King wouldn’t easily come into contact with.”
Little Gold, who had been silent all along, suddenly looked up, a strange light flickering in his golden vertical pupils.
This usually lively and active little guy now displayed a level of composure that didn’t match his age. “Regardless, the person who took me out of the Dragon Nest wasn’t just after me, right?”
He pointed a finger at the shimmering golden scale hanging on his chest. “They’re also after this, aren’t they?”
Yserazor’s pupils contracted slightly; he clearly hadn’t expected Little Gold to bring that up.
However, regarding his question, Yserazor neither answered directly nor denied it, instead turning the conversation elsewhere.
“With my flight speed, it won’t be long before we reach the airspace above the Dragon Nest. The reason I’m not using space magic to transfer us directly is that although Frost-Glow isn’t as good as I am at space magic, she is an expert in mana detection and elemental magic.”
“If she really is a problem, she might discover us the moment we use space magic and launch an attack. It’s even more likely that she’s already set traps on my teleportation anchors.”
Seeing that Yserazor had no intention of answering his question, Little Gold slapped the dragon scales beneath him with his palm in dissatisfaction. “Hey! You haven’t answered my question yet!”
His childish voice carried a rare trace of anger, and even the Dragon Ancestor’s Legacy Scale on his chest began to glow faintly in response to his fluctuating emotions.
But just as he was about to vent his frustration, Yserazor suddenly dove, his massive body piercing through the thick clouds like a sharp arrow.
The moment the clouds parted, dazzling sunlight suddenly spilled down, and the sight ahead made everyone catch their breath.
A massive bowl-shaped basin, looking like a masterpiece of the gods, was nestled among the continuous snow-capped mountains.
Ancient Dragon Tongue runes were densely engraved along the edges of the basin, and at its very center, misty heat was still rising.
“See that? That’s our destination!”
“Sit tight, I’m preparing to descend! Any further and we’ll trigger the Dragon Nest’s detection barrier!” Yserazor lowered his voice to remind everyone while his dragon wings began to slowly tuck in.
But just as he was about to dive, Xia Duo suddenly let out a sharp cry of alarm: “Wait! Look to the west! What is that?!”
Everyone looked in the direction she pointed. There, among the foothills on the other side of Dragon Valley, countless dazzling lines of light were fiercely intertwining.
The lights were sometimes a blinding silver-white and sometimes a deep, profound blue, tracing brilliant trajectories through the snow-capped canyons. It was clearly a high-intensity magic battle taking place in the distance.
Starlight squinted at the flickering lines. He estimated that the location was still dozens of kilometers away from their current position.
At such a vast distance, and with the mountain ridges blocking the view, an ordinary person wouldn’t have noticed the commotion at all.
It was only thanks to Xia Duo’s exceptional eyesight that it was spotted; even Yserazor hadn’t noticed the situation immediately.
“Those are mana fluctuations unique to the Dragon Race!” Yserazor looked toward the west, an ill omen rising in his heart.
At that thought, Yserazor abruptly checked his dive. His massive dragon body traced a graceful arc in the sky as he turned and sped toward the area of flashing lights to the west.
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