Chapter 626: A Colleague
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Saint Sur IV was a planet that had not yet entered the interstellar age despite being in the center of space exploration. Hence, Hao Ren's group needed to keep a low profile of their visit there. Hao Ren parked his spacecraft in the orbit, and they teleported directly to the planet. The inspector stationed in the area had given him the coordinates, but when they arrived, Hao Ren found that they were not in a town—it was far from anything that looked like a residential district. It was a mountainous area, barren and primitive. It looked remote and uninhabitable.
It was bare with high, dangerous mountains and lofty hills surrounding it. They could not estimate how large the mountainous area was. There were rare plants between the gray and white rocks, while some trees, like pine and cypress, were gathered below the hillside. The degree of desolation in the whole area was surprising. Lily climbed up a big stone on top the mountain and looked into the distance. She then shouted, "There's no one! Landlord, have we come to the wrong place?"
"This is the exact address given to me by the inspector." Hao Ren was stunned too. This wilderness did not look like a suitable place to live. Could that inspector be a hermit?
But just as he was about to contact his colleague, Lily suddenly jumped down from the rock and exclaimed, "Hey, something big's coming! It's flying out from the back of the mountain!"
"What…" He was stunned when he saw a surprising group of creatures flying over the hills from afar.
A few giant dragons were flying over the mountain!
The giant creatures in the large group were more than 10 m long. They were covered in thick scales that were either dark or pale blue. It made them look like a group of heavy forts flying in the air. They had wings that were as huge as the ones possessed by the Western dragons, and they had a sort of primitive, savage deterrent force to them. As the dragons flew towards his side, Hao Ren saw plenty of terrified wild animals running out of the mountains below. This was probably the powerful, legendary force of dragons.
"There really are dragons in the world…" Hao Ren was surprised, but apart from feeling surprised, he did not have any other feelings. He just did not expect to see real "giant dragons", which only appeared in myths and legends to appear in this world. However, he had seen many strange creatures during his adventures in other worlds, and some of them were even more ferocious or powerful than dragons—the tough guy who studied human society by reading the People's Daily at home every day was one of them. So, Hao Ren did not feel much when he saw the dragons flying towards them, just a sense of surprise that "he finally saw something rare".
However, the rest of them were quite timid: Lily tucked her tail and hid behind Hao Ren, Nangong Wuyue coiled into a ball, and Rollie ran everywhere like crazy. But when she could not find a place to hide, she simply threw her face into Lily's tail, pretending that she was already well hidden. Only Nangong Sanba took out his crossbow and went on high alert. "Let's try not to clash with these guys... Legend has it that the dragons are very hard to deal with and unreasonable," he said.
Hao Ren looked at the four people he brought along, and suddenly realized a sad thing: He brought the three most useless ones in the family with him, and the only one who was brave enough to fight was just an amateur.
Nonetheless, he did not really care about it. The purpose of this trip was to visit the inspector there, and he did not plan to have any dealings with the native life of Saint Sur IV. He would just try to avoid them.
However, as he was thinking about avoiding them, the situation went the other way round—because, those fierce-looking dragons were actually flying straight at them. As those dragons exchanged short glances with each other, it was obvious that they were there for them.
"What?! They're targeting us." It gave Hao Ren a headache, but there was nothing he could do now. He had no idea why these dragons were coming for them, so he just stood there and waited. At the same time, he tried to calm Nangong Sanba down, "Don't be so nervous. Although the dragons have a strange temper, it's not like they can't communicate. And do you think the little firepower you have is sufficient to fight the dragons?"
Nangong Sanba kept his crossbow and said, "Oh, I was just trying to look tough."
While they were talking to each other, the dragons had appeared in front of them. The shadows they cast were so huge that it looked as if the sky was falling. With a gale that almost swept them away, the dragons descended on the rocks nearby. A dragon covered in pale green scales turned its head to Hao Ren. He looked at them from top to bottom and said, "...Strange clothes, unfamiliar faces, outsiders. Looks like these are the ones. Please come with us."
Hao Ren was clueless.
...
The wild, inaccessible mountain range was regarded as the top in the list of four forbidden lands in Saint Sur IV. Withered Skull Desert and Banefog Lake in the northern continent as well as Thunder Peak nearby could not even compare to "the Dragon's Lair". In the world of sword and magic, humans had successfully explored three of the four forbidden lands. Even though there were only a few survivors, at least someone managed to get in and out of those places, but not this place.
Mainly because the Dragon's Lair was the place where the world's most powerful overlord settled in. The kingdom of dragons was hidden in the barren, lofty mountains and high ranges.
Pyroxene Peak in the hinterland of the Dragon's Lair was a huge hidden fortress. This magnificent mountain had been completely transformed by the power of magic. The dragons spent thousands of years emptying and consolidating the entire mountain. They even put part of the mountain into a different dimension to make their kingdom more impregnable. A huge cavern, as well as countless magnificent, ancient palaces and castles, were now hidden beneath its heavy, rocky crust. Those rugged buildings were more sacred and grandeur than any city ever built by the human kingdoms in the world.
If someone flew over Pyroxene Peak, he would see that there was a huge funnel-shaped entrance at the top of the gleaming mountain. That was the only access to the Kingdom of Dragons.
But in that world, no one dared to "fly" there, except the dragons.
Galazur, the Queen of Dragons, was the ruler of the kingdom. She was the most powerful and wise dragon of all time and she was famous throughout the world for taking the lead in fair trade with the human kingdom. Before that, if the dragon clan wanted human jewels, they would just rob them. Galazur had ruled the dragon kingdom for 2,000 years, but everyone firmly believed that her rule was just beginning. For the next 2,000 years or more, she would be the most powerful monarch in the world.
Due to her identity, the ruler became the most mysterious existence in the world. In the ballads of human bards, Galazur was as dazzling as a star and she sat on a throne in the heart of Pyroxene Peak. Her every breath made the whole mountain rumble, her scales were studded with the oldest and most expensive jewels in the world. Galazur never slept and watched over her kingdom. Every mortal who entered the Dragon's Lair could not escape her eyes. Bards loved to make up tales of warriors killing dragons, but they dared not mention Galazur even once in such stories.
These legends were somewhat true. Galazur was indeed a splendid golden dragon, and her throne was located in the heart of Pyroxene Peak. On top of that, she did snore when she slept.
The dragon queen was waiting for her guests on her throne that day. She was the only one in the vast and magnificent palace. The mountain range was rich in pyroxene (not the same as the mineral on Earth, but a kind of magical mineral that glows), of which its purest raw core was consecrated to the dragon queen and inlaid in the hall before her. It made the place as bright as day.
A young, giant dragon flew into the hall and turned into a human in front of Galazur. He bowed and said, "My Lady, the people in your prophecy have appeared."
Galazur nodded and said, "Let them in." Her voice was as loud as thunder.
Several dragons flew into the hall, bringing Hao Ren and the others. These young dragons seemed unwilling, because "humans" were riding on their backs.
"All of you may leave the hall now," Galazur ordered majestically. "Choverey, you too."
The dragons had some questions, but no one dared to ask, so they left the hall looking puzzled.
Hao Ren raised his gaze at the golden dragon, which was more than 10 m high. He was full of surprise. "You didn't tell me you were a dragon before I came."
Galazur glanced at the closed stone door. Once she confirmed that no one would come in, she immediately slouched, stretched her body and trotted down from the throne. "It's so uncomfortable to maintain this posture all day... You also didn't tell me that you were a human before you came here."
Hao Ren was almost blown away by the "dragon's roar". "I thought inspectors were all human-like races... Can you tilt your head when you talk? The wind is too strong!"
The dragon queen tilted her head and looked at the people in front of her with her huge, dark yellow eyes. "Let's not talk about other things... Did you bring this dish called 'stewed pork trotter'? I've heard that your world has it. I haven't had a good meal in a long time!"
Everyone was stunned, except for Hao Ren.