Iron Dragon's Advancement Journey

Page 181

　Casalos turned around, his indigo vertical pupils sweeping across the entire basin. First, he nodded slightly to Klaus, and the ancient red dragon returned a subtle nod. Then came Amuris and Elvia, both chromatic dragons responding in kind.

　Then, Casalos turned his attention to Hevilan. The young iron dragon gracefully lowered its head, its wings slightly bent, performing a standard silver dragon greeting: "Greetings, madam."

　Hevilan was somewhat taken aback by this sudden courtesy, but still returned the greeting gracefully: "Your Excellency Casalos."

　Finally, Tie Long turned his gaze to Lares on the high rock ledge.

　"I knew it! Palotanser knows the whole story behind the Dragon Madness Lock. As the successor, you can't possibly be completely ignorant."

　Lares fell silent once more. The Golden Dragon King's whiskers ceased swaying, and his entire body froze on the rock ledge like a statue. This silence was more awe-inspiring than any roar.

　"What?!" Haivilan stood up abruptly, her silver body trembling slightly with shock. "The King of Ice also knows about the Dragon's Mad Lock?!"

　Not only her, but the other ancient golden dragons were also shocked by Casalos's gossip. The deep, ocean-like magical energy of the Nexus was disrupted for a moment, Serancia's tail slammed heavily to the ground, and even Salomes, who had maintained his dignity, widened his dragon eyes.

　"Palotanser actually..." Tamaland's voice was full of disbelief.

　The entire basin erupted in chaos. The golden dragons whispered amongst themselves, the silver dragons stared at each other in bewilderment, and the bronze dragons chattered like the chaotic thunder of a typhoon.

　"The Ice King knew all along?"

　"Then why didn't he tell us?"

　"Could this secret be contained within the legacy of the King of Justice?"

　Casaloz's beak clicked, emitting a mocking chuckle. It slashed deep lines in the ground with its tail before surveying the astonished metal dragons.

　"Otherwise, why would it hate elves so much? You all get along so well with elves, haven't you ever felt that something's wrong with that?"

　The silver dragons exchanged bewildered glances. Many of them had integrated into the various elven kingdoms as elves or half-elves, fighting alongside the elves. The bronze dragons were also eager to serve the elven settlements, and the brass dragons, too, fell into deep thought; they, too, enjoyed communicating with the elves.

　Hevilan's expression was exceptionally complex. Even though she was a dragon, she maintained a good relationship with the elves of Comanso.

　If Casalos is telling the truth, then...

　"The history of the Athelonians records the complete events of the Dragon Frenzy Lock incident," Casalos continued calmly, recounting the facts that the dragons had overlooked. "The Gem Dragons only lost that history after Simon the Dragon King died at the hands of the Archmage, and the self-destructive Colored Dragons only forgot it after the White Dragonflight was sold to the Abyss."

　Klaus's scales twitched slightly in approval: "The White Dragon Legion was sold to the Abyss?"

　Elvia's reaction was direct and fierce. The pure white dragon abruptly stood up, crystalline ice crystals erupting from the gaps in her scales with a chilling current, freezing the surrounding rock and earth: "Who dares to betray the White Dragon?!"

　Casalos glanced at her: "That's another story, we'll talk about it another time."

　It turned its attention back to the metal dragons: "You precious metal dragons have always hidden within the barrier, never ceasing the transmission of historical knowledge. How could you not know this history that is crucial to all subspecies of dragons, and still live among the elves?"

　The young Iron Dragon raised its tail high, slashing left and right, cutting through the air: "The only explanation is that the Golden Dragon King is deliberately concealing this! You Golden Dragons don't want the reborn Metal Dragons to learn about those hatreds that shouldn't be forgotten!"

　Exclamations of surprise echoed throughout the basin.

　"This is impossible!" a young golden dragon roared angrily. "How could the King of Justice deceive us?"

　"Yes, it must be this iron dragon talking nonsense!" another brass dragon chimed in.

　But many more dragons chose silence, and they began to recall those details that had been overlooked—why did the Golden Dragon Court never mention ancient history? Why are there so few records about the Dragon Frenzy? Why is their relationship with the elves so "natural"?

　Lares finally broke the silence. The Golden Dragon King took a deep breath, and the ancient dragon language resounded once more:

　"The instigator has vanished into dust, and the brutal history of racial wars speaks for itself." His voice sounded weary. "You are the new supreme dragon, you should understand the consequences, what wrong have you done?"

　Casalos's beak parted, revealing sharp teeth. It shook its head, its silvery scales jingling.

　"Concealing history is your own choice. Whether it's right or wrong has nothing to do with us, the Iron Dragons," the Iron Dragon said, his disdain undisguised. "The problem is, doesn't your Golden Dragon Kingdom claim that every dragon is independent and free? So, you should be asking the other precious metal dragons if they're willing to accept this answer. You should let them know the true history and then ask for their choice, instead of making decisions on your own."

　The basin was boiling over again.

　"We have the right to know the truth!" a brass dragon shouted.

　"Why did you hide it from us?" The bronze dragons began to stir.

　With these two groups around, Casalos doesn't need to put in any extra effort to stir up emotions; they will do the work themselves.

　As expected, influenced by the words of the brass and copper dragons, the voices of the silver dragons, who were utterly disgusted by lies, carried a clear hint of pain: "All these years, we've been kept in the dark?"

　Klaus let out a low laugh, the ancient red dragon's tail wagging high with glee: "Look at this, is this the golden dragon wisdom you're so proud of? You don't even dare admit your own history, yet you keep touting justice and wisdom."

　Amuris also let out a mocking tremor: "At least we chromatic dragons never deceive ourselves."

　Chaturio finally found an opportunity to interject: "Wow, so even gold dragons can trick other dragons! I thought only bronze dragons liked to play pranks!"

　The other brass dragons joined in the commotion, turning the entire basin into a giant, enlarged version of a farmers' market.

　Lares unleashed another deafening dragon roar. The Golden Dragon King's might once again enveloped the entire valley, silencing all other discussions.

　"How can you know that the initial burial was not a collective decision made by all the dragons!"

　His rhetorical question reveals yet another long-buried truth.

　Bonya fell silent again.

　The truth was too heavy for any of the dragons to accept immediately. Concealing history was not the decision of any one Golden Dragon King, but a choice made collectively by all the metal dragons of that time.

　Tamarand's voice trembled: "You mean... our ancestors collectively decided to forget that history?"

　Hevilan straightened up weakly and closed her outer eyelids: "So...so this is why we can live in peace with the elves?"

　Casalos sneered, "Wasn't the decision made by our ancestors an arbitrary act against individual descendants? Furthermore, after the dragon frenzy that had lasted for tens of thousands of years was almost quelled, and you, the ones who knew the truth, were reborn, you still didn't completely break the shackles that controlled the dragon frenzy. What, do you think that just because all the winged elves who knew this secret are dead, such a thing will never happen again?"

　The young Iron Dragon's voice suddenly turned sharp: "Alright, let's put that aside for now. Anyway, compared to those distant histories that are closely related to yourselves, you precious metal dragons are more concerned with the civilization, culture, and customs of humanoid races... But when the Dragon Frenzy descends again, you are still concealing the information you know. Isn't that justified?"

　Lars fell silent again.

　The Golden Dragon King's gaze lingered on Casalos for a long time, his golden dragon eyes reflecting an unreadable emotion.

　The wind howled through the valley, ruffling the scales of the dragons and producing a soft, rustling sound. On the distant peaks, the snow gradually melted in the sunlight, exposing the blood-red rock layers of the Fangqian Mountains, as if dragon blood were flowing.

46. ​​What are you doing?

　"What brings you here? Do you come to rebuke us?"

　Lares ultimately didn't directly answer Casalos's question, but instead asked a more pressing and crucial question that the dragons should be concerned with. He slightly retracted his sail-like fins to make his posture less aggressive, but the whiskers on his short, stubby dragon face were still tied in a wary knot.

　Casalos's tail left shallow marks on the ground, its silvery-white metallic scales rising and falling slightly with its breath. The teenage Iron Dragon tilted its head, its indigo vertical pupils fixed on the King of Golden Dragons with amusement.

　"You, the descendants of the Heavy Iron Clan, have suffered many calamities, and your numbers are dwindling," Lares continued, his dragon beard swaying slightly with each word, "but you have your own ways of protecting yourselves from misfortune. Why are you involved in this matter?"

　"A way to avoid disaster?" Casalos's beak clicked, its silvery-white scales stood up slightly, making a clanging metallic sound, and then it let out a strange sound that was somewhere between mockery and sigh.

　This just makes it angry. Of course, the Atheros has ways to evade dragon rage—after the ancient chrome dragon Vicariturar submitted, Casaloz also filled in the gaps in knowledge lost due to the destruction of the Holy Land. For example, methods to deal with the Atheros's dragon rage.

　"Speaking of this makes me laugh... The way the Atherosx deals with Dragon Frenzy? Ha! No wonder it's a subspecies that's 'relative' to you precious metal dragons vying for the legitimacy of metal dragons; even their strategy for dealing with Dragon Frenzy is exactly the same." (The rest of the text appears to be gibberish and unrelated to the previous sentences.)

　It shook its head, its indigo vertical pupils sweeping over the metal dragons with their ears perked up: "Those are just sleeping soundly inside the 'defense barrier'!"

　Whispers filled the valley. Many of the young dragons wore expressions of confusion.

　Does Acerola have a similar approach?

　"They just replaced the barrier with a maze," Casalos continued, his sarcasm growing even stronger.

　"A maze lock?" Haivilan couldn't help but interject, her silver body leaning slightly forward. "How could an Atheros have a maze lock?"

　Casalos drew a circle in the air with his wingtips, as if gesturing to something unseen: "Good question. Why is it that the Atheros, who has little to do with the elves, can create a maze, while the gold and silver dragons, who have a 'deep friendship' with the elves, can only create a barrier..."

　It paused deliberately, letting the question fester in the air. Sure enough, many of the gold and silver dragons perked up their ears, clearly stung by the comparison that had wounded their pride and self-esteem.

　"Please, back then, gold and silver dragons and elves didn't have much of a relationship." Casalos's voice carried a wicked pleasure. "You all had to be polite to those gold and silver elves who hadn't yet changed their names to sun elves and moon elves, out of consideration for your status as Lawful Good. After all, it was the winged elves who caused the dragon-crazy lock, so as good dragons, if you wanted revenge, you could only seek it out on the winged elves, right?"

　Chaturio finally broke free from the Aetherian guards' grasp and jumped up excitedly: "Wow! So how did you Aetherian dragons get your hands on the Mystic Lock? Did you steal it? Rob it? Or...?"

　"It's simple." Casalos's beak parted, revealing sharp teeth. "Compared to that, the Aetherian dragon—one neutral, three evil, and one good—is much less polite to those elves."

　Iron Dragon's voice suddenly turned icy: "Although the Iron Dragons are weakened and have no chance against the entire elven race that has entered its golden age, they can still capture a few hundred high elven archmages and 'invite' them to build a maze."

　The basin instantly erupted into chaos.

　"Catch the Archmage of the Elf?" a young silver dragon exclaimed.

　"This is too much..." The other golden dragon hesitated, wanting to say something but stopping itself.

　Chaturio excitedly bounced around with the three anacondas that had been chasing him: "Wow! Anacondas are so fierce! I love them!"

　Desert Misfortune Emuris, who was familiar with the habits of elves, discovered a blind spot: "Aren't you afraid that those elves will tamper with things?"

　"What? Afraid the elves will tamper with the maze and leave a backdoor?" Casalos, hearing the skepticism, shook his head and continued, "Isn't that perfectly normal for elves? They would definitely leave a backdoor in the maze!"

　It paused, then pointed its tail cheerfully to the sky: "But is a back door that no elf knows about still a back door?"

　Amuris's astral construct hummed in approval: "A wise move."

　Hevilan's silver body leaned forward slightly: "So you..."

　"Don't misunderstand," Casalos interrupted her, "The Aetherian dragons didn't kill the elves who built the Maze after they'd served their purpose. Although most of our Aetherian race are of the evil alignment, our absolute leader, the Iron Dragons, is a neutral order that highly values ​​promises and the principles of trade."

　Its voice carried a hint of smug satisfaction: "The captured elven archmage successfully helped the Arcanine Dragons build the Enchanted Chains, so the Arcanine Dragons won't kill them; at most, they'll just imprison them forever around the Arcanine Dragon race."

　Klaus let out a low laugh: "Eternal imprisonment? What's the difference between that and death?"

　"The difference is huge." Casalos's indigo vertical pupils swept across the ancient red dragon. "The problem is, not all high elf mages are Silinshi; only Orwenia Estodar can be called Silinshi!"

　Mentioning this name brought complex expressions to the faces of the old dragons present who knew the inside story. That legendary sun elf, the reincarnation of the art of illusion, was a unique existence even in the history of the elves.

　The Nexus slightly raised its head from its seat, its thin body trembling gently from the fluctuations of magical energy: "You mean..."

　"Before Serenhi," Casalos continued, his voice cold to a cruel calm, "all high elf magic—not just the Enchanted Lock—was accomplished through the sacrifice of dozens, even hundreds, of high elf mages."

　"The essence of the High Elf magic - the Enchanted Lock - is a backdoor opened in the magic network by the Elf God Corellon Larithan," Casaloz called out the Elf God's name without any restraint, its tail slamming heavily to the ground. "How could mortals use it so casually without paying a price?"

　The valley fell into a deathly silence, a cruel truth to the kind-hearted metal dragon.

　"Those hundreds of high elf archmages, after 'helping' the Argentavis build the Labyrinth, were all taken back to Avanto by their chief god." Casaloz's voice returned to its usual calm, as if discussing the day's weather. "This is the secret history of the Argentavis' holy land—just as only the Golden Dragon King knows the Dragon Frenzy, only the ancient dragon overlords of each subspecies within the Argentavis race can know these secrets."

　Kara's scales trembled slightly; clearly, this was the first time she had heard of such things, and she could sense the pain hidden in her mate's words. Her accompanying Athena dragon guards stood frozen in shock; as survivors who had witnessed the destruction of the Athena dragon sanctuary, they understood the weight of that pain better than any other dragon.

　"I'm the first to learn of this hidden history as a teenage dragon," Casalos said with a hint of self-mockery. "Because Vicariturar has already acknowledged me as the new Supreme Dragon."

　"You want to know why I'm here, in front of so many dragons I don't even know, recounting this secret?" Casalos's voice suddenly turned bitter: "Because, the Iron Dragon Sanctuary has been destroyed by Chassa, by the Five-Colored Dragon Queen's representative in Faerûn, leading a cross-dimensional legion of colorful dragons. The Maze has become a thing of the past!"

　The destruction of the Athelonian Holy Land is the darkest chapter in the modern history of the entire dragon race. Even the gold dragons, who have always been at odds with the Athelonians, have fallen silent at this moment.

　Casalos shook his head violently, as if trying to banish these heavy memories from his mind: "Remembering history does nothing to help with the present situation."

　It suddenly straightened up, regaining its composure, its indigo vertical pupils sharpening: "You ask me what I'm doing here? It's actually quite simple..."

　Iron Dragon spread its wings, its voice suddenly rising like the beating of war drums: "I'm here to conscript men!"

　"How dare you?!" Lares's roar exploded instantly. The Golden Dragon King stood up abruptly, his massive figure once again covering half of the basin. The Golden Dragon King was clearly enraged by this blunt answer.

　"Lares, you've got one thing wrong." Casalos met the Golden Dragon King's glare without flinching, its slightly immature voice calm yet powerful. "I'm not here to ask for your opinion or to persuade you!"

　It took a step forward, its claws digging deep into the rock. Its not-so-large figure, compared to the many ancient dragons, intimidated the surrounding younger dragons: "Just like I questioned you earlier, what makes you think you can make decisions for other precious metal dragons?"

　Casalos raised his tail high again, the tip of which shattered the sound barrier, creating a deafening sonic boom: "Since you precious metal dragons went into seclusion, you have abandoned your original social structure. The Golden Dragon Court is no longer the court of the precious metal dragons of Faerûn, and the King of Justice is merely a nominal title."

　Its voice grew increasingly louder, each word like the thunderous crackling of sparks in the breath of an iron dragon: "You, Dragon King wearing a false crown, under what pretext do you interfere with and obstruct the other precious metal dragons from pursuing their own dragonhood as individual dragons?"

　The valley fell into a deathly silence. The accusation was too sharp, pointing directly to the core of the Golden Dragon Royal Court's actual power.

　Casalos whirled around, facing the dragons roaming the entire basin: "Did you even ask them about their own choices?!"

　It took a deep breath, its silvery-white chest swelling high, its back straightening, its silvery-white scales shimmering in the sunlight. When it spoke again, its voice carried a sacred solemnity:

　"I, the new Supreme Dragon of the Athelonians, in the midst of the arriving Dragon Frenzy, will lead all eligible warriors of the Athelonian race who are willing to follow me, and all allies who are willing to join me, to declare war on the Dragon Worship Cult!"

　The iron dragon raised its head and let out a deafening roar that pierced the clouds and echoed among the peaks of the Fangqian Mountains:

　"In the name of Garugsingo, I swear to Asgrath, to all the ancestors of the metal dragons, to Zoquian the High, to Landis the Balancer, to Tamara the Merciful Lady—"

　The metal dragons may have forgotten their true ancestors, but when Casaloz mentions Asgras, all the dragons involuntarily straighten their bodies, for he is the progenitor of all dragon bloodlines and the sole source of all dragons.

　"In the battles to come, I will lead by example, charging ahead into the fiercest fighting, facing the most formidable enemy!"

　Casaloz's voice was like a divine pronouncement, his dragon eyes burning with the flames of battle intent. His wings were fully spread, casting a shadow in the sunlight no less massive than that of the Golden Dragon King: "I will not rest until I have reduced Samass to ashes, destroyed the Life Box and the Dragon Frenzy Lock, and eliminated all future threats!"

　A final roar ripped through the sky: "To be a dragon is to fight, even unto death!"

　Like a boulder thrown into a calm lake, it stirred up a storm within the dragon herd. The basin fell silent once more, but this silence was different from before. A restless emotion permeated the air, like the brief stillness of a fuse burning against the wall of a powder keg, about to ignite something long suppressed within the dragons.

　When they were young, the first to break the silence was Haivilan.

　The leader of the Claws of Justice slowly rose from her seat. Her silver body made a soft metallic clang as she moved. She didn't speak, but simply walked with elegant and firm steps to the side behind Casalos, gracefully folding her wings.

　This silent action is more powerful than any words.

　Immediately afterward, the lieutenant Azak moved as well. The ancient silver dragon's steps were steady and powerful, each step demonstrating its resolve. Then came Sephiras, and the other silver dragons of the Claws of Justice.

　Not one was absent.