Under the Red Dragon

The Dragon's Nest Mountains, Howling Cliff.

The continuous mountain range undulates like folds, containing several ridges and valleys, forming a mountain body that resembles the longitudinal and transverse meridians within a living being.

At the foot of this mountain range stretching for thousands of miles, Ragna Hegg, the King of the Frost Giants, stood at the fractured road, separated from the mountain, looking up.

Extending from west to east, the mountains, like meridians, appeared in the eyes of Ragna, the King of the Frost Giants, like the shadow of the ancestral red dragon in his heart, immense and immovable.

In the past, when this mountain range had not yet grown and was only over a thousand meters high, the dragon's kin built wide stone-stepped roads on the main veins of these dragon-inhabited peaks.

However, with the explosive growth of the mountain range, the stone-stepped road of over a thousand meters had been stretched and fractured by the growing mountain, sparsely hanging on the faint mountain road.

Although it lengthened the distance of this stone-stepped road in another way, it was only a small path at the foot of the mountain for the entire tall main peak.

Many weeds and trees grew from the weathered and fractured stone slabs, like an ancient road of ruins, leading to some unknown, deep treasure.

Reaching this point, the Frost Giant King could no longer follow the remaining road upwards, because the dragon-inhabited peaks no longer had grand roads built on them.

If mortals wished to climb the mountains, they could only follow the mountain paths trodden by the herdsmen who grazed cattle and sheep on the mountains.

Ragna had already heard the 'Song of the High Mountains' sung by the golden people on the high mountains from the warm wind blowing from the mountain.

“Across the cold Dragon's Nest Mountains, to the deep ancient cave of monsters,”

“Quickly set off at the break of dawn, to find the forgotten treasure home,”

“Pine waves roar on the mountain peaks, the night wind wails like a broken heartstring,”

“Crimson flames burn endlessly, giant trees like torches spread in the forest…”

The sound of bagpipes could also be faintly heard in the wind, as well as the swaying bells of the lead sheep and cattle.

This feeling made Ragna, the Frost Giant King, unable to help but feel like an adventurer and traveler traveling around the world, experiencing different customs.

The songs of the Frost Giants on the northern frost plains always had a desolate and cold taste, but the songs sung in the Golden Empire always gave the Frost Giant Ragna a feeling of lofty grandeur.

"Huh, this feeling is actually very good!" Ragna turned around and looked down at the dense and continuous forest at the foot of the mountain, where many skeletal undead occasionally appeared, and the towering and enormous city in the distance was hundreds of times larger than the stone city newly built by the Frost Giants on the grassland.

A battle axe, as if carved from thousands of years of glaciers, hung on the back of this Frost Giant, its cold aura seemingly out of place with the surrounding environment, yet encompassed by the vastness of this world.

Just like the feeling Ragna had when walking through the various cities of the Golden Empire.

None of the golden people were surprised or puzzled by his arrival, and even knowing that he was the king of the northern Frost Giant tribe, the golden people showed no fear, and looked at this Frost Giant King with more curiosity.

Ragna's physique, many times stronger than ordinary Frost Giants, was not conspicuous in the cities of the Golden Empire, where there were tall buildings and strong creatures everywhere.

Ragna couldn't even touch the first ring of those topless towers.

At first, Ragna thought that his arrival would at least attract the attention of the Golden Empire, and even if they didn't regard him as a dangerous existence, there would be no shortage of dragon escorts and surveillance.

But to his surprise, he, like ordinary Frost Giants, only needed to hold the Golden Empire's pass to travel through many cities, and even to this day, he had not seen a single dragon lord appear by his side.

If it were any other country, Ragna would not dare to take such a risk, but the existence of the Golden Empire was something that even the Frost Giants in the frost plains could not question.

"Is this the magnanimity of the empire?"

The Frost Giant shook his head and turned to continue climbing.

Even knowing the gap between the Frost Giants and the Golden Empire, even knowing the gap between himself and that red dragon, Ragna, the King of the Frost Giants, still did not change his original intention, he still wanted to challenge that ancestral red dragon.

He had already made his purpose and whereabouts clear, but had not attracted much attention, and only he was on the climbing road, walking alone.

The huge mountain stretched upwards, and the temperature suddenly dropped sharply in a certain section, as if the mountain range was divided into several different natural climate zones.

At the foot of the mountain, it was still a tropical rainforest climate, gradually turning to subtropical and temperate climates as the terrain rose.

At first, Ragna would encounter many shepherds, either teenagers or young people, grazing herds of beasts, and would enthusiastically greet the Frost Giant, taking out wine and milk to entertain this strong giant.

By the time Ragna climbed to the vast upper ridge grassland at about 4,000 meters, he could already feel that the climate here had begun to be significantly cold, and there were far fewer shepherds.

But the vegetation here was still dense, and many creatures accustomed to living in high mountains, such as yaks and snow leopards, began to appear frequently.

There were also sparse rock sheep, argali sheep with huge horns, and pikas living in the crevices.

When he climbed higher, these mortal creatures obviously decreased, and were replaced by those extraordinary creatures.

Bang, bang, bang

Heavy footsteps sounded, and several giant races, carrying huge boulders and long stones, walked out from one side of the mountain pass and walked down the mountain.

Even if they saw the Frost Giant Ragna, they did not show any curiosity or inquiry.

Ragna Hegg was intrigued by the actions of these giants, and he stepped forward and stood in front of these tall giants and asked, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Several indifferent giants ignored this seemingly particularly powerful Frost Giant, only a tall hill giant's distant relative variant—mountain giant stopped, looking more enthusiastic than his companions.

"Hmm, outsider? Frost Giant? Are you a pilgrim from the far north of the grassland who has come here to admire the first peak of the mountains?"

The mountain giant held the huge round stone on his shoulder with one hand, and hummed effortlessly.

"That's the idea, but I'm here to challenge the empire's Dragon Emperor, His Majesty Caron Gogmorah!" Ragna Hegg replied loudly.

The Frost Giant thought that his answer might arouse the other party's hostility, but this was his personality.

However, Ragna's words made the mountain giant laugh.

"Hahaha, you are very brave, outsider, I hope you succeed, after all, there are very few people as naive as you, even among giants, you are one of a kind!"

The mountain giant laughed, "As for us, we are building a big shelter for the cattle down the mountain. These wild cattle living in the highlands have delicious meat and are the dragon lords' favorites."

"And those little cats with beautiful fur, Lord Rivens told us that they are His Majesty's beloved pets, and we have to take good care of them!"

"Go, outsider, walk up the hillside, that highest peak is your goal." The mountain giant did not stop and walked straight down the mountain.

Ragna looked at the mountain peak in the distance that no longer emitted flames, and continued his solitary journey.

All the way up, he began to enter the alpine snow belt, passed through alpine meadows and shrubs, and welcomed the climate most familiar to the Frost Giants.

Here, in addition to large areas of tundra mosses and lichens, only a few cold pines stood, looking like an alpine desert belt.

However, in this slightly desolate place, it was precisely where the most extraordinary creatures appeared.

When passing through a cold pine forest, the Frost Giant Ragna saw a wyrm dragon coiled on a dead tree, quietly watching him.

This wyrm dragon was similar to other dragon heads, but some of its features were very different.

Because this wyrm dragon had no wings, and its body was generally slender, only the chest and abdomen between the limbs were slightly thicker, looking like a snake with the appearance of a dragon.

Its scales, the same color as the dead wood, also made it impossible for the Frost Giant Ragna to distinguish what kind of dragon it was, so he continued to move forward.

Along the way, Ragna also encountered goat-legged, cloven-hoofed, and ram-horned half-goat people who resembled elves.

These half-goat people are said to have originated in the Feywild and do not know why they wandered to this plane world. But these half-goat people seemed to have settled in the dragon-inhabited mountains.

Ragna was also enthusiastically stopped by these half-goat people, who tried to share the glory of the Feywild, their former home, with Ragna.

However, Ragna had his own goals, and only slightly enjoyed a cup of alpine cold wine brewed by the half-goat people before bidding farewell to these strange creatures.

There were also fairies from the Feywild who also appeared in the mountains.

These fairies are a tiny race, not even as big as their friends the pixie sprites and goblins, looking like elves with insect wings.

And each fairy has a unique physical characteristic that makes them look different from other fairies, such as bird-like wings, or shimmering, colorful skin, or a spiritual horn on their foreheads like a small unicorn horn.

Ragna began to be curious and talked to these creatures from the Feywild.

But when he asked these little fairies why they came here, he was beaten up by these little fairies.

The Frost Giant Ragna held his head in panic and ran out of the treehouse forest built by the fairies.

Several little fairies were still standing behind with their hands on their hips, loudly scolding, "Get out, get out, go up the mountain, and when you see a hateful pixie sprite, remember to tell her for us that she had better never come down the mountain, or we will catch her!"

Ragna fled this area in embarrassment, never wanting to communicate with any creatures he encountered again, so he climbed all the way and finally set foot on the top of the highest peak in this vast mountain range.

Rather than saying that this was the top of a mountain peak, it was more like a vast land.

A clear dividing line was born at Ragna's feet, with the snow belt with howling cold winds on one side and the vast desert green belt hidden in the hazy mist on the other.

The Frost Giant's face began to become serious.

As the age-old enemy and blood feud of the white dragons on the frost plains, Ragna knew enough about some of the characteristics of dragons.

A dragon's lair is not only the nest where dragons sleep and rest, but also the nexus of all magical energy that is closely connected to the dragon.

Generally speaking, whether they know the truth or not, every juvenile dragon that establishes a lair for the first time will instinctively try to establish a lair in a place with magical resonance.

At the center of this lair is where multiple regularly flowing lines of magical energy intersect.

Under normal circumstances, ordinary dragons can only cause a large-scale lair effect after they reach adulthood, just like the close connection between white dragons and the structure of the material plane takes a long time to develop.

Ordinary white dragons even need to spend at least nearly a century in their lairs before the dragon's power manifests in the world.

But in Ragna's perception, all the magical elemental energy on this domed mountain top had to flow through the central dragon lair point on the domed mountain top.

The white clouds floating in the sky condensed into the face of a huge dragon in Ragna's eyes, giving him the impression that the dragon was monitoring the arrivals.

But Ragna knew that this was just one of the ancestral red dragon's diffusion effects, just like the dragon's reflection that suddenly flashed across the calm surface of the lake in front of him, and after Ragna carefully checked, this image disappeared in an instant.

The lair effects in these areas would give the dragon extraordinary magical abilities, just like gold dragons can enter the sleeping dreams of creatures near the lair within the lair.

Green dragons cannot be tracked or predicted by divination spells around their lairs.

And every dragon can know the death of nearby creatures in the lair, and can trace back to the last moments of their lives through the eyes of the dead creatures.

This is also why many dragon slaying teams must have a master of stealth and wandering companions who use the power of shadows. These creatures living around the dragon's lair are not only obstacles, but also the dragon's alarm.

Most importantly, if the dragon's name is spoken within a certain distance around the dragon's lair, even if it is only a creature's whisper, it will be immediately noticed by the dragon.

And for a considerable period of time thereafter, they will be able to hear the words of everyone in a small area near the person who spoke the dragon's true name.

So the Frost Giant King shouted the name of the ancestral red dragon, "Caron Gogmorah, I, Ragna Hegg, have come to challenge you!"

Challenging a dragon near its lair is an extremely unwise thing, but Ragna Hegg would not worry about it, not only because of the ancestral red dragon's former promise, which made the Frost Giant believe the ancestral red dragon's words.

It was also because of Ragna's view of the ancestral red dragon, that the other party would not use extra power to subdue him, because this ancestral red dragon was a true powerhouse.

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Ragna's voice fell and spread far across the top of the mountain.

The supernatural mist that enveloped the entire top of the mountain began to dissipate, revealing a clear and conspicuous road, allowing the Frost Giant to enter it.

Ragna stepped into the mist and came to a new world.

The wild beasts and monsters drinking water by the lake have been transformed into half-dragons under the long-term influence of the dragon's field, and these creatures can therefore drink this seemingly clear lake water.

The Frost Giants knew that ordinary creatures who drank this water would be infected and charmed by the dragon's power, or suffer other mutations. Even Ragnar was unwilling to drink from the lake here.

But the Frost Giant's gaze was drawn to the structures in the distance, which stood like a forest of palaces.

After the Progenitor Red Dragon entrusted the management of his lair to the Fire Dwarves, the vast area of the summit was meticulously organized by them.

The Fire Dwarves used high-energy explosives produced by the empire to shatter the jagged rocks into powder, creating flat platforms.

These platforms were arranged in an orderly fashion around the lava lake, which formed a dam-like terrain, connected by wide stone steps. The platforms were adorned with countless pavilions and towers carved from giant stones.

The solid mountain body, originally formed by the Progenitor Red Dragon's power and the lair's field of influence around the lava lake, was excavated and constructed by giants under the direction of the Fire Dwarves, creating a simple and grand temple in the style of ancient Rome with an arched dome.

However, to facilitate the Progenitor Red Dragon's entry and exit, this massive ancient Roman-style temple was built exceptionally wide, with the columns in front of the door at least a hundred meters high and spaced one hundred and twenty meters apart.

Ragnar walked along the wide road, the lush vegetation on both sides a vibrant green, consisting entirely of precious magical plants.

He saw in the distance a garden where a Pixie was directing many elven creatures to transplant various plants, all precious magical plants excavated from the Progenitor Red Dragon's lair.

Many Lava Giants, like the original Goliath Giants born on high mountains, walked among the mountains, obeying the commands of the Fire Dwarves and constructing massive stone buildings.

Wildfires blazed on the earth in the sacred fire platforms of these ancient Roman-style buildings, like bonfires in a temple, never extinguished.

The stone-like bodies of these Lava Giants revealed small cracks, with solidified, fiery red magma flowing within.

It seemed these Lava Giants were natural creatures born in this region due to the influence of the Progenitor Red Dragon.

As Ragnar walked along the avenue to the tall, protruding lava lake temple, he was greeted by an aggressive Pixie.

"Hey, big guy, I heard you coming. You're here to challenge Kalon, right?" The Pixie, with its hands on its hips, warned loudly, bluffing: "Don't damage my flowers and plants. These precious plants were hard for me to grow. If you break even one, you'll have to give me that axe on your back as compensation!"

Ragnar smiled. He knew what this elf was called. This must be the terrible fellow the fairies were talking about.

"I'll try, but it probably doesn't depend on me," Ragnar said with a smile.

"That's good," the Pixie said, beaming. But then, Raven frowned again, asking suspiciously: "How did you know Kalon was here? Kalon has only been asleep for two months. Everyone thought Kalon was still in the castle. Did a traitor tell you...?"

The Frost Giant shook his head and said softly: "Legends don't rely on appearance and aura to find their targets. You wouldn't understand even if I told you, but I just know Emperor Gogmora is here."

"Okay, okay," the Pixie said, hugging its arms, its iridescent wings fluttering as it turned around. "Follow me, King of the Frost Giants. I have to lead you up this road. Kalon is grumpy when he wakes up, and I have to wake him up, or he'll be terrifying when he gets angry."

"Thank you, kind elf. You're not as terrible as those fairies say," Ragnar said, striding to keep up with the Pixie.

"Hmph, I just used the spells Kalon taught me to summon some labor to work for me. I even give them rewards, but after they come here, they don't want to work for me and don't want to return home themselves. How can you blame me?"

Pixie Raven scolded: "These lazy fairies are used to a comfortable life. They should be reformed!"

Ragnar shook his head, listening to the Pixie's incessant complaints all the way to the highest point of the peak, in front of the temple suspended above the earth.

Two giant warrior statues guarded the sides of the temple, standing on stone platforms, holding shields and swords, wearing stone helmets, lifelike.

When they saw the Frost Giant King, the two giant thirty-meter-tall stone warrior statues abruptly lowered their heads and looked at Ragnar.

Pixie Raven quickly stopped the activation of the two statues, calming the two giant stone warriors.

Ragnar stood in front of the tall temple, looking in the direction of the Pixie.

The ground of the temple was dark red, with a smooth, flat surface like flowing fire. In the center of the temple floor were several long swords stuck upside down, straight like ancient trees, surrounded by mysterious runes.

Around these divine swords were scattered the bones of countless huge creatures. Even the corrosion from lava and fire elements had not eliminated the piles of bone forests.

The walls on both sides of the temple were covered with various murals, depicting volcanic cliffs and abyssal hells.

Streams of rich fire elements and magma flowed from the abyssal hell cracks in the murals onto the temple floor, and were completely absorbed by the temple floor moments later.

Ragnar could even see some lively figures of fire spirits from the cracks in the temple walls, attracted by the dense fire elements here.

But the Pixie flew to the divine swords stuck upside down in the center of the temple, gently tapping the tips of the swords.

Clang, clang, clang.

"Kalon, wake up quickly. It's time to get up," Raven shouted loudly while tapping.

After a brief silence, a huge voice sounded.

Thump!

The ground of the entire temple was arched up by a tremendous force. What was stuck upside down in the temple ground was not a sharp divine sword, but the horn of a dragon.

The solidified dark red ground broke open, and a huge dragon head slowly rose from underground. Countless lava fragments and bones slid from the dragon's head and body. A pair of cold dragon eyes, like the deep blue starry sky, looked at the Frost Giant King Ragnar Haeg outside the temple.

There was no fierce aura, no oppressive dragon might, but the Frost Giant King's body, the powerful body tempered by frost in the Frostfell, felt a bone-chilling cold for the first time in decades.

It was as if a glacier frozen for millions of years had been stuffed into Ragnar Haeg's blood vessels, turning Ragnar's blood and bones into rigid ice.

As the dragon raised its head, flames were born in the temple, spreading outward from the dragon's body.

The outermost flames were a mix of red and orange, then transitioned to yellow, then to white flames.

The pale flames already caused some irritation to the Frost Giant King's eyes, but the cyan and blue flames after the pale flames could make Ragnar feel some danger simply by their temperature.

The purple flames in the interior and the flames around the edge of the dragon's head were colors invisible to the naked eye of mortal beings. In Ragnar's eyes, they constantly changed colors, but the temperature of these flames already made him feel a fatal threat.

But the sensation of these flames was far less than the dragon's pupils.

Under the dragon's pupils, Ragnar felt a sense of powerlessness when a low-level creature faced a high-level creature, not the dragon's dragon might suppression of ordinary creatures.

"Have you reached this point?" Ragnar said hoarsely. This was a godlike trait, far superior to the inherent characteristics of mortal creatures. Even the Frost Giant's powerful bloodline was like an ant in front of these pupils.

"Hmm," the dragon's head shook slightly. After several rapid blinks, the terrifying pupils quickly dissipated, revealing their original crimson, crystal-clear appearance.

"Not so. I'm just simulating and exploring, looking for the path that suits me best," the dragon said, the deep dragon language surprisingly bringing Ragnar a trace of warmth.

Whoosh, the huge Red Dragon slowly crawled out from under the temple floor. Massive amounts of magma flowed down the dragon's scales, but before it fell to the ground, it had lost all its heat and energy, turning into a dark red, soft structure.

Under the Progenitor Red Dragon's extraction, even this violent volcano had lost its violent power. Now, the energy deep in the earth's core no longer had the ability to erupt, because that energy had long been exhausted.

"Hmm, I remember now. I once said that I would allow you to come and challenge me," Kalon Gogmora raised his head. All the flames were instantly retracted, and Pixie Raven, whose figure was wrapped in flames, was also caught in his claws.

"In that case, let me ask you, Ragnar Haeg, what do you think is your most powerful strength?" Kalon Gogmora gently held Raven and asked the Frost Giant King.

"My most powerful strength," Ragnar frowned, thought for a long time, and then replied: "Of course, it's my body. The power brought by my Frost Giant blood and body, tempered by frost, is the most powerful!"

"Hmm, I have to wake you up!" The Progenitor Red Dragon's pupils lit up. He said slowly: "I can't waste your potential. I'll defeat you in your most powerful strength."

Rumble!

The huge dragon claw suddenly fell towards the Frost Giant King, like an ancient divine mountain collapsing.

Between the True Dragon's probing claws, a mental lock that enveloped the heavens and earth, the universe and time, covered the Frost Giant's mind, making Ragnar think that the dragon claw seemed to cover the entire world's vision.

"If I don't use my full strength, I'll die here!"

A fatal threat made Ragnar roar loudly.

The Frost Giant King's huge arm pulled out the legendary battle axe on his back. Unmatched power made the Frost Giant's blood vessels burst open. The raised muscles were like giant pythons coiled around his body. The stone slabs under his feet, harder than granite, were instantly crushed into powder by the tremendous force.

The falling battle axe, like the giant axe of a giant god about to split a divine mountain, slammed into the red, sky-supporting claw.

Bang! In the deafening roar.

The Frost Giant King Ragnar's figure suddenly flew out, almost without a trace.