Chapter 603 Dalka's Troubles
Dalka had been feeling a little uneasy the past few days.
As the dragonborn servant of the young Frost Dragon Aruntini, his most important duty was to properly look over his master's lands while his master slept. Over the past three hundred years, Dalka had done a good job. An exceptional job, even. His dragon lord had often praised him for his performance.
Yet today, this dutiful Second Grade dragonborn felt extremely troubled.
What troubled him was some big commotion that had happened in the Stonetalon Mountains several thousands of kilometers away from here. Wind Dragon Lord Cherkes had also disappeared mysteriously. A foreign magical machine army had now taken place within his lands.
The reason these enemies were called an army instead of a tribe was that they were not lifeforms. They were no more than magical golem machines being controlled by another group of people. However, one could tell from the way the machines fought that a powerful commander stood behind them. This commander was able to control every single individual machine as if it was their own body.
Dalka had heard plenty of rumors. Most of them described these magical machines as metallic lifeforms that were able to continuously grow in numbers by devouring the metal ore veins beneath Stonetalon Mountains. Of course, there were also some rumors that described the enemy as otherworldly intruders, with the metal golems as no more than their external forces.
Dalka's limited brain capacity had slowed after listening to too many of such similar rumors. He hesitated countless times, but could never muster the courage to run to Dragon Lord Aruntini's quarters and wake the dragon up.
Firstly, everything he had heard was only a rumor.
Waking the frost dragon lord simply because of such unverified rumors would not end well for him.
Secondly, Dalka had no actual proof that the metal monsters would invade the frost dragon's territory.
The dragons all took up their territories and didn't care about the affairs that happened in the lands of other dragons. Dragon Lord Aruntini wouldn't even bat an eyelash if the metal monsters completely ravaged Wind Dragon Cherkes' territory. In fact, Aruntini would smile and wait for the next dragon gathering to make fun of Cherkes.
As long as the metal monsters stayed within Stonetalon Mountains, Wind Dragon Cherkes would be the only one affected. What did that have to do with them? If Wind Dragon Cherkes had the ability to do so, he could summon his friends or go back to his family and call for help from his seniors.
If he couldn't even gather allies, then he deserved to be a lower dragon that was the first to lose his territories to a bunch of otherworldly invaders. When that happened, he would be the subject of mockery of all dragons at the dragon gatherings.
If Frost Dragon Aruntini could defeat the metal monsters and take back the lands that Cherkes lost, then all that land would belong to the frost dragon.
However, given the usual laziness and slow pace of the dragons, one would probably have to wait until Aruntini had enjoyed enough sleep and after Aruntini ate a good meal for anything to happen. It was only then that Aruntini would be in the mood and have the time to deal with these insignificant matters. Before that happened, any interruption to the frost dragon's sweet dreams would invite her fury and rage.
The fury of a Second Grade frost dragon lord was extremely fearsome.
At the very least, the several dozens of lifelike ice statues at the doors of Aruntini's bedroom were the best evidence of this. They were not the painstaking efforts of craftsmen, but living beings who had been sealed in ice after enraging the frost dragon.
Of course, included amongst them were Dalka's predecessor, his predecessor, and the predecessor of that predecessor.
Without exception, the one foolish act they had committed was to wake the dragon lord when they shouldn't have.
Second Grade Frost Dragon Aruntini's quarters were located upon a towering peak.
Pristine white snow had been cut and laid together to form a brilliant and shining palace. The cold and dry air of these heights flowed and swirled around the plaza in front of the palace, occasionally letting out sharp and scary whistles as they blew across the mountains.
White clouds floated at the waist of the mountain, preventing all mortals from looking upon the frost dragon's palace and sating their curiosity. There were only a few days in a year where the violent winds at this high altitude would tear apart the clouds. The bright sunlight would then shine upon the towering peak. The bright golden walls of the frost dragon's palace would temporarily appear before everyone's eyes, allowing them to marvel at its magnificence.
Most of the time, the frost dragon's palace was hidden within dense mist and ice crystals. It was constantly protected by as many as a hundred ice dragonborn. The other dragonborn warriors and scouts were sent to various areas of the frost dragon's lands to requisition food, collect taxes, or to recruit soldiers.
Plenty of resources were transported to this place every year. They became the private wealth of the dragon lord. The dragonborn, on the other hand, were the personal slaves and warriors of the dragon lords, as well as the defenders of their wealth.
The two tall dragonborn warriors standing before the gates of the palace held frost longswords in their hands. They had frostbows on their backs and stood straight with their muscular bodies and thick limbs. They opened their four pure white dragon eyes, two big and two small, and continually surveyed the surrounding forest of mountains. However, they never dared to set their eyes upon their dragonborn leader, Second Grade Dalka, who had been circling in front of the door for half the day.
It had been so long since Dalka arrived, yet he didn't dare take a single step into the ice palace. That was proof os his hesitation and anxiety. However, despite their sympathy for their leader, the two dragonborn warriors didn't dare step forward to offer any consolation or advice. They kept their eyes straight and looked ahead.
Their duty was to protect. No outsiders were to interrupt the sleep of their frost dragon lord. They had no obligation to wake her up. The only one upon the mountain that had the authority to enter the ice palace was Dragonborn Leader Dalka.
It was both an authority granted to him, as well as a tormenting experience!
At the very least, Dalka felt tormented right now.
Cold air currents breezed through the jagged peaks of the ice mountain, letting out bone-chilling and shrill whistling. For some reason, a strange smell was mixed in with this air current. It was a smell that shouldn't appear here.
Dalka, who had his lowered and was pacing about in front of the palace suddenly stopped moving. He lifted his nose and started sniffing about.
It was a floral smell. An odd floral scent.
Waves of weird dizziness and strange powerlessness accompanied the floral smell.
There was poison in the smell!
Dalka raised his head in surprise, only to find the entire front of the palace enveloped in a semi-translucent light barrier. He was trapped right in the middle.
A Silencing Barrier.
Dalka was a dragonborn leader, after all. He instantly recognized the true nature of this strange elementium barrier. It was a Silencing Barrier that could hide all the noise within. Everything within the light barrier could not be heard by the outside world, regardless of how much of a ruckus was created.
While Dalka realized their predicament, the two dragonborn warriors standing before the ice palace started to sway unsteadily upon their feet. Their powerful dragonborn Physique had allowed them to endure this unknown floral poison, but it had weakened them and made it hard for them to display any of their strength.
At the same time, a red silhouette that was as fast as lightning descended from the skies. The crimson longbow in their hands immediately fired several dozen crimson arrows that darted toward the various critical spots on Dalka's body. The towering and ferocious Dragonborn Zacha dispelled the invisibility cast upon him. He charged toward the stunned Dalka with rumbling steps, as if he was a chariot forged of steel.
The attack came from the skies and the ground. Moreover, the enemies were both Second Grade, just like he was. That caused the shocked Dalka to fail to react appropriately. He didn't even have time to draw the frost longsword at his waist. He immediately started brawling with the two attackers at melee range with his bare fists.
While the three individuals were fighting, an extermination squad formed of Poison Witch Endor, Bug Adept Billis, Wind Adept Deserra, and Medusa Dana struck at the two dragonborn warriors at the doors of the ice palace.
These two dragonborn warriors were undoubtedly elites among the army, for they had been selected to guard the quarters of the frost dragon lord herself. Sadly, with Endor's poison and the pincer attack of the two Second Grade adepts, they were now left alone. The Crimson adepts had also made all sorts of preparations for this attack. They were all equipped with Ice Amulets and rings of resistance.
These dragonborn might have powerful abilities and great combat instincts, but all these advantages and disadvantages piled up. They could only, very regrettably, fall at the hands of the Crimson adepts.
One of the dragonborn warriors had died from Endor's poison after being pierced multiple times by Billis' sting scorpion army. The other dragonborn warrior was shredded into countless pieces by Deserra after being petrified by Dana at close range.
The battle of the Second Grades had also concluded by the time this battle ended.
Second Grade Dragonborn Dalka died!
Mary was severely wounded, while Zacha was only slightly hurt.
However, these wounds were nothing for Zacha, especially with his powerful regeneration ability and the healing potions that he had consumed. On the other hand, Bloody Queen Mary had been the leading force in this battle. As such, she had also received the most grievous of wounds. However, when she crouched upon Dalka's bloody body and sucked the blood from the corpse, the horrifying wounds on her body healed at a rate visible to the naked eye.
It was only now that Greem appeared with Oliven.
One reason the two had not helped in the battle was that Mary and Zacha alone were enough to take down this Second Grade dragonborn. The main reason they hadn't done so, however, was because Greem's attacks always came with tremendous sound and light effects. The Silencing Barrier could only cut off noise, but not tremors and light.
That was why Greem could only delay his appearance so as not to alert the dragonborn in the camp at the foot of the mountain.
Oliven, on the other hand, was not a direct subordinate of Greem's; she was only a strategic ally, and having her participate in the battle cost too much. That was why this dragon-slaying blade would only be used in the most appropriate place.
The path to Second Grade Frost Dragon Aruntini's quarters had become unobstructed after killing these dragonborn!