Chapter 123: The Golden Lion Doesn’t Dream of a Gold-Draped Old Mountain Dragon.
The golden-haired lion ran through the forest.
Blocked by rocks and trees, no path?
Leap over it, or move the obstacles.
That’s what this burly man did.
At the end of the path ahead was an unclimbable mountain?
Could the mountain be at a ninety-degree angle?
Climb it with hook claws and a blade.
That’s what this agile man did.
It’s easier to climb up than down?
Just slide down; it’s convenient and fast.
That’s what this young man did.
Thus, the leader of the Ancient Dragon Investigation Team went straight ahead, found the marks left by the exploration team, and arrived at the location where the signal flare had been shot.
A road lined with heavy, withered, and broken trees invited him to proceed, glittering with gold as if enticing him.
Wouldn’t such incomprehensible scenes be enough to categorize them into the files related to ancient dragon species?
There were also huge footprints on the road, indicating a quadrupedal monster. The great distance between its front and back claws suggested its immense size.
The leader picked up a piece of still slightly warm gold for inspection and felt no legendary curse or temptation.
After putting away the gold, he began running along the road until he caught up with the exploration team waiting ahead.
“Leader! Over here!”
Three investigators waved at him.
“I’m here. Good. Report what you’ve seen nearby.”
The leader supported his knees with both hands, panting while looking around the environment.
The scenery all along the way was like this: withered trees fell, golden ores scattered on the ground, paving a path forward.
“First, there was an earthquake, we hid, then saw the ground melt, boiling and melting like being cooked.”
“A super-large monster crawled out, conservatively estimated to be over forty meters long, covered in gold, shining like a golden mountain.”
“Is this gold dropped during its movement?”
The leader picked up a piece of gold and squeezed it lightly; the golden ore deformed slightly with the motion.
“Yes, she looked beautiful, like wearing a golden skirt, heading towards that direction.”
Another investigator replied. During the waiting time, they had already organized their emotions and confirmed how to report.
“Ho, like a treasure-bearing dragon from legends, right? No more details?”
In his mind, the leader imagined an old mountain dragon draped in a golden skirt, which made him feel somewhat awkward.
“We only saw her side when she appeared, and then just her back after that.”
“Alright, I understand.”
The leader stroked his chin, still pondering the image of the old mountain dragon draped in a skirt crawling on four legs in his mind.
No matter how he adjusted the posture of the old mountain dragon in his mind, it still seemed incredibly strange.
Since he hadn’t witnessed it himself, his impression of ultra-large monsters from the original continent was heavily influenced by the old mountain dragon.
Upon hearing about new large monsters, he couldn’t help but fit them onto the template of the old mountain dragon.
Thinking blindly is not as effective as action, so he led the exploration team forward, helping them with some obstacles, slowing his own speed but increasing the overall pace.
With such clear and fresh traces, could they lose the trail of that gold-draped old mountain dragon?
“The commander mentioned these guide insects… they turned blue.”
The leader suddenly stopped, crouched down, and identified the gold beneath the guide insect.
Compared to the irregular gold, this one resembled a scale cast from molten gold.
Waving the guide insect, he carefully picked up the scale, about half the size of his arm, and observed its features.
His hand gently pinched the edge, but the scale didn’t deform like gold.
After putting away the scale, he continued forward. The sounds ahead urged them to quicken their steps.
The road’s end gradually opened up. This openness wasn’t natural but rather seemed to have been forcibly flattened.
“Truly terrifying destructive power—”
The leader’s words trailed off as his gaze lingered on the vast open area where a scarred Spiny Dragon licked gold from its wings.
???
Where’s the giant gold-draped old mountain dragon? Why is there a Spiny Dragon?
The Spiny Dragon shifted its gaze toward them, pausing its licking.
The leader’s drawn-out sound abruptly ended, plunging the area into a deathly silence.
Jie Jie quietly averted his gaze from the leader, emphasizing his pride as the Lord of the Tree Sea, ignoring them and continuing to lick the gold off his wings.
This gold hasn’t cooled much yet; it feels quite warm when licked.
On the investigation team’s side, once the Spiny Dragon turned its gaze away, the leader finally relaxed his sturdy arms that had been protecting his team members.
“So, what’s the situation here? Did the Spiny Dragon fight an unknown monster?”
They couldn’t ignore the numerous scars on the Spiny Dragon. Its tough shell was cracked all over, and its nose tip bore dark ominous bloodstains.
“Should we use stink bombs to drive it away?”
“No, it currently shows no hostility toward us. Let’s observe first.”
Monsters injured after battle often become more aggressive; stink bombs would hardly drive away a monster in an angry state.
For some reason, when he dissuaded the team member who wanted to throw a stink bomb, he felt like he’d narrowly escaped disaster.
Throwing a stink bomb now might really provoke it.
The group circled around the Spiny Dragon from a distance, observing and collecting evidence while vigilantly keeping an eye on the resting Lord of the Tree Sea, ready to prevent any sudden attacks.
“There aren’t such obvious traces anymore.”
This area is filled with scattered gold, but these pieces don’t extend outward to form a path.
And that Spiny Dragon over there…
According to the guild’s archaeological records from the Tree Sea region, ancient Spiny Dragons might have fought Steel Dragons, even driving them away.
If this Spiny Dragon managed to do it, where did the unknown monster go?
“You said she initially emerged from underground?”
“Uh-huh.”
The leader stroked his chin, stood up, and looked at the depression beside the Spiny Dragon. It seemed like the ground was mixed with gold.
Ruling out the idea of the Spiny Dragon burying something, the unknown monster probably escaped using a similar method to its entrance?
The size of the unknown monster and its impact, once officially confirmed, could be classified under the ancient dragon species.
“In any case, this Spiny Dragon has a record of repelling…the Golden Ancient Dragon.”
“With such a primitive natural environment, I begin to suspect whether it is an ancient Spiny Dragon.”
Further away, a small figure approached the Spiny Dragon.
The leader’s gaze sharpened, carefully reconsidering, then openly stepped forward, moving closer to the Spiny Dragon as well.
The investigators behind him hid according to his gestures.
Chapter 124: First Contact
Jie Jie, who was occasionally glancing at the investigation team with his peripheral vision, paused and turned his head to see the approach of the Ancient Dragon Person.
Having eyes on the sides was indeed advantageous, offering a roughly 300° field of vision, allowing his peripheral vision to take in everything around him.
At this moment, his peripheral vision also noticed the leader openly approaching.
He was sandwiched between the Ancient Dragon Person and the investigation team, like a table awaiting both parties to meet.
Or like a revered dragon waiting for both sides to sign a contract and make promises before him.
Wrong, he was merely a Spiny Dragon, unable to understand the language of the Ancient Dragon People or the investigation team.
Of course, the investigation team and the Ancient Dragon People should also not understand each other’s languages at this stage.
“…”
The rustling sound of leaves was captured by Jie Jie, this dense sound actually composed of many syllables spoken by the Ancient Dragon Person.
The Spiny Dragon didn’t understand, nor did Jie Jie.
The Spiny Dragon ignored it, and Jie Jie pretended not to recognize him.
On the other side, the leader stopped, waving hello to the Ancient Dragon Person wearing a hat and cloak, who appeared to be a humanoid creature.
Then he pointed to a distant place, clearly wanting the first contact to happen far from the Spiny Dragon.
“…”
The Ancient Dragon Person mumbled something, stepping on a large piece of gold, simply staring silently at the tall blond man without intending to move.
He was observing the hunter, studying his appearance, attire, and even trying to comprehend his actions and language.
The leader hesitated, feeling his anxiety and tension settle as various speculations floating in his mind calmed down.
He also entered a state of observation of the entity before him.
Such a stature, is it a beastman?
An Ailu Cat, Odd-Faced Tribe, Melalu?
None of the three known beastman races with gentle, irritable, or cunning personalities could bring such a tranquil sensation. The exposed fingers holding the staff were blackish, having four digits, rough like an elder’s.
Through the loosely woven veil covering his face, the leader pieced together familiar facial features from the hollows, along with the pointed ears.
If not a beastman, then it must be an elderly dragon person.
The Dragon People are older than humans, shrouded in more mysteries. Seeing native Dragon People in the New Continent merely added another thread to the mystery of the Dragon People.
Elderly Dragon People always deserve respect, especially those growing in this unknown land.
The leader scratched his cheek, straightened up, and lightly bowed, noticing the elderly Dragon Person imitating his gesture.
He placed his hand on his chest in a salute, and the Ancient Dragon Person mirrored the same action.
Meanwhile, Jie Jie remained between them, occasionally calmly observing them.
Next, the leader used several languages from the original continent to try conversing with the Ancient Dragon Person but received no response.
He could only confirm that the Ancient Dragon Person spoke a different language from the original continent, seemingly resembling the rustling of leaves formed by many syllables.
Compared to communication, the elderly Dragon Person seemed more inclined toward observing him.
This wasn’t particularly surprising; even on the original continent, some Dragon People didn’t form societies with humans and refused to communicate.
The Dragon People value ecological balance and live peacefully, never causing harm.
During the first contact, the leader also observed the reaction of the Spiny Dragon, even preparing to improve relations with the elderly Dragon Person by rescuing it.
But this Spiny Dragon was very calm, unlike the considerable distance he maintained with the Spiny Dragon, the elderly Dragon Person was not far from it.
Daring to get so close must mean the other party was less intimidating in size, possibly due to living locally for a long time and understanding local monsters well?
If they could help the investigation team, having locals assist might make their actions much smoother.
Thinking of this, the leader gestured in various ways, indicating an invitation for the Ancient Dragon Person to accompany them.
However, the Ancient Dragon Person seemed uninterested in further communication and instead began examining the surroundings.
Seeing this, the leader also started inspecting the massive pit next to the Spiny Dragon.
Gold seemed fused with the ground, with some digging marks visible.
Gently touching it, he could still feel residual warmth.
Using a skinning knife, he chipped off some ore and put it away, then looked up to find the Spiny Dragon watching him.
The hunter and the Spiny Dragon stared at each other. Jie Jie didn’t choose to shift his gaze guiltily.
As long as he wasn’t embarrassed, the other party would be the one feeling awkward, and a Spiny Dragon wouldn’t feel awkward, right?
Being stared at by a powerful monster, the leader felt his body stiffen, crouching slightly as he slowly retreated into the blind spot behind the Spiny Dragon’s head.
Jie Jie’s gaze followed his neck tilting, giving one last look before naturally turning aside.
The leader didn’t launch a signal flare but collected relevant traces with the investigators.
“Leader, are they natives of the New Continent?”
The investigator glanced at the Ancient Dragon Person observing them and lowered his head silently.
“Ho, they’re cousins of the Dragon People on the New Continent.”
“Really?”
“Not sure, I’m looking forward to the Dragon People’s judgment after contacting them. We should have brought an Ailu Cat.”
As the most understood beastman race by humans, Ailu Cats have gentle temperaments and cute appearances, excelling in various fields and integrating well into human society.
Additionally, Ailu Cats have excellent language learning abilities. If they could follow the elderly Dragon Person for a while, they might learn the other party’s culture and facilitate communication.
“Leader, look at this!”
While the leader was thinking, an investigator raised an item in his hand and shouted, only to find that besides his companions, both the Spiny Dragon and the elderly Dragon Person were staring at him, causing him to shrink back in fear.
Fortunately, the leader quickly came over, blocking the strangers’ gazes, carefully taking the purple crystal block handed to him.
“Dragon Slayer Stone.”
Dragon Slayer Stones are highly valuable materials, usually obtained when causing real damage to ancient dragons or monsters with dragon attribute energy, capable of suppressing their traits during battles with ancient dragons.
Its principle is unclear, but the guild speculates that external dragon attribute energy can interfere with organs causing disasters in ancient dragons.
Finding more Dragon Slayer Stones around, there was no more to gain here, and the day wasn’t late.
The leader took one last look at the elderly Dragon Person standing high and the sleeping Spiny Dragon before issuing the order to end the operation.
Returning along the same path, collecting more gold, they returned to their base.
Chapter 125
