Snowflakes drifted down, gradually wrapping the mountains in a heavy silver coat.
A few days later, two dragon silhouettes broke through the clouds, circled briefly in the biting airflow, and then landed where Galos was.
One black, one red.
Iron Dragon Sorog and Red Dragon Samantha.
"I have made all the preparations,"
the Iron Dragon said, his voice steady and deep. "We depart immediately for the Fubo Dragon Domain to receive the baptism of the Ancient Tide."
Samantha shook her head, shaking off the snow from between her spines, and then raised her chin.
"I'll go with Sorog, and then I'll ask those Metallic Dragons to their faces exactly how much a slot costs. We'll talk directly, no beating around the bush."
As she spoke, she bared her teeth, revealing sharp fangs, with hot steam escaping from between them.
"I am quite curious to see what kind of astronomical price those stingy fellows from the Dragon Domain can come up with."
Galos had just finished a round of training. Heat dissipated from his body, melting the surrounding snow into a ring of wet black rock.
He folded his wings, his muscles slowly relaxing beneath his scales, and gave a slight nod to his two blood relatives.
"In that case, I will inform Ovis in advance. The rest of the negotiations will be up to you."
He did not plan to go along.
Due to his sensitive identity, Galos did not intend to visit the Dragon Domain personally unless necessary, to avoid provoking certain old fogies or attracting unnecessary attention and testing.
As for the safety of Sorog and Samantha...
That was not something Galos needed to worry about.
They were both adult dragons, having even passed their slumber and approaching their prime. Both were powerful Level 20 beings, among the top below the Legendary rank.
They had their own judgment, combat experience, and survival methods; there was no need for Galos to fret over everything as if they were Young Dragons.
He knew Sorog's character all too well.
Cautious, meticulous, and never fighting an unprepared battle.
When he said "preparations are complete," it meant he had considered everything thoroughly.
Samantha appeared reckless on the surface, but she was actually coarse yet fine.
In her early years, she had also undergone White Dragon ecological education, knowing when to be arrogant and when to show restraint. At critical moments, she had never disappointed Galos.
Moreover, with Sorog accompanying her, it was enough to make up for her occasional oversights.
"Good, wait for our return..." Battle Intent flickered in Samantha's eyes as she said, "The Dragon Breath shall sweep across the entire Romanian Plain. Those lowly lifeforms should re-learn who the master of this land is."
The moment her voice fell, the Iron Dragon and Red Dragon flapped their wings simultaneously.
The two figures rose into the sky against the wind and snow, soon turning into two rapidly shrinking black dots on the horizon, disappearing into the leaden clouds.
Galos withdrew his gaze and continued to focus on his own training.
To strike iron, one must be strong oneself. To be the Firebearer and lead the kingdom forward, he himself had to be powerful enough.
Time passed amidst the whistling of the wind and snow.
On the other side, the two dragon silhouettes flew over the northern border of the Aura Kingdom and continued to soar.
Below were gradually leveling hills, and the snow-covered forests were like white fur on the earth, dotted with frozen rivers and lakes.
Further away, the smoke from human city-states rose straight up in the cold air. Farmlands and roads were buried in snow, a scene of tranquility.
They maintained an altitude of over a thousand meters.
This distance could avoid most ground threats without being overly exposed to the turbulent currents of the high altitude, which would affect flight stability.
"To avoid being noticed by unnecessary eyes, we cannot go too fast. Just maintain our current speed."
"It is estimated that in seven days, we will reach the coast and gradually approach the Fubo Dragon Domain."
Sorog's voice came through the mental link: "I have already planned the route along the way. We will avoid the airspace of other major cities and try to take the wilderness areas."
"I know, I know, don't keep reminding me."
Samantha responded somewhat impatiently, but still adjusted her wingspan to stay beside the Iron Dragon.
They continued flying according to the route planned by the Iron Dragon.
The journey was uneventful.
In the sky along the route, there was nothing unusual except for the occasional passing birds and flying beasts.
At noon on the third day, shortly after they left the border of the Romanian Plain and entered the airspace over a desert region known as the Scorching Sand Plains.
The environment gradually changed.
The sky was a piercing azure without a single cloud. Sunlight hit the gravel directly without obstruction, creating distorted heatwaves.
Below was an endless sea of yellow-brown sand, with strange rock pillars formed by wind erosion and deep gullies standing within it.
It was dry, hot, and deathly silent. Even drought-tolerant plants were few and far between. The wind kicked up dust, forming moving yellow curtains that slowly shifted across the surface.
Suddenly, the Iron Dragon, flying half a body length ahead, slowed down, and the frequency of his wingbeats changed.
In his vertical pupils, a faint, mysterious luster like scattered stars appeared, scanning the desert surface.
"Wait."
His transmission sounded in Samantha's mind, becoming serious.
To be safe, the Iron Dragon had brought the Legendary item 'Eye of True Sight' on this trip.
After Galos completed his evolution and gained similar traits, this item no longer had an effect on him and was borrowed by Sorog before departure.
Red Dragon Samantha's pupils contracted, and she immediately braked, her wings carving an arc in the air as she hovered behind and to the side of Sorog.
She didn't ask why, immediately entering a state of alert. The scales on her neck stood up slightly, and hot energy vaguely gathered in her throat.
The Iron Dragon said in a low voice, "Be careful, there's an ambush."
Just as he finished speaking, a sudden change occurred!
A seemingly ordinary sand dune below suddenly exploded.
Yellow sand erupted like a fountain into the sky, and a figure wrapped in a Domain burst out from the ground.
It was roughly a tall and burly humanoid creature, completely covered in the thick light of a Domain, making its face and attire unidentifiable. He held a massive double-edged battle-axe with dark red runes flowing on the blade, looking extremely dangerous.
A Legendary warrior, and the type specializing in sudden bursts.
From hiding to erupting, the entire process took less than half a second.
The power of the Domain distorted the surroundings, and the gravel suspended and rotated, forming a small-scale sandstorm.
The figure broke through the air, battle-axe held high with the momentum to split mountains and crack the earth. Ignoring the Red Dragon, he locked directly onto Iron Dragon Sorog.
However, the Iron Dragon's reaction was faster than the attacker had anticipated.
He did not try to make any large-scale dodging maneuvers.
Under the assault of a full-power Legendary warrior, a hasty dodge would only expose more openings to the opponent and put himself in a more disadvantageous position.
A Level 20 Dragon facing a Legendary lifeform could hold out for a while with its powerful physical body, but it was only holding out.
Directly clashing with a Legendary was not a wise move.
Sorog's expression was calm as he simply raised his right front claw, palm upward.
There, an emblem suddenly lit up.
At the same moment, above the deep canopy of the sky, beyond the atmosphere, where the naked eye could not reach.
Two brilliant beams of light appeared, like javelins cast by a deity, crashing down at a nearly vertical angle.
The speed was beyond the limits of visual capture.
One moment they were shining in the outer sky, the next they were right before the eyes.
They landed precisely in the air in front of Sorog, and then the light suddenly dissipated.
Two figures clad in silver armor were already standing in mid-air.
On the left was a Paladin Heroic Spirit holding a massive shield.
Although it was only a spiritual body condensed from light, it radiated a sense of indestructibility.
On the right was a ranger holding a sword.
His face was handsome, his armor lighter, and the surrounding air rippled with waves, giving off a calm yet sharp sense of danger.
Charles and Mien, these two Legendary Heroic Spirits, arrived via direct teleportation from the Sanctuary. Their speed was as fast as if they had rehearsed and prepared, without any delay.
In the next second, the battle-axe and the giant shield bombarded each other.
Clang!!!
The deafening sound of metal clashing turned into a physical soundwave, spreading in all directions.
Dense cracks instantly appeared on the surface of the Paladin Heroic Spirit's giant shield. The entire light-forged spiritual body shuddered violently, and countless light fragments sprayed from the armor as it was pushed backward by the massive impact.
But he still held on firmly.
Opposite him, the attacker's figure stalled slightly, his charge momentum forcibly interrupted.
In that gap of less than a tenth of a second, the other swordsman Heroic Spirit had already charged forward.
The longsword carved a dangerous arc of light, piercing through space and leaving behind dark traces, aimed straight at the attacker's neck.
An attack with spatial attributes, if it landed, would likely break the Domain directly. The attacker was forced to pull back his axe to parry.
Qiang!
A crisp clashing sound rang out. A trail of sparks flew from the axe's surface, leaving behind a deep crack.
The Iron Dragon calmly hovered in place, observing every detail of the battle.
Red Dragon Samantha had already circled to the attacker's flank, the Dragon Breath in her mouth ready to fire. Her eyes were locked on the target, glowing with an eager Battle Intent.
On the other side, the attacker had not expected this ambush to encounter a countermeasure.
The instantaneous arrival of two Legendary Heroic Spirits disrupted his rhythm. More importantly, it meant the target was well-prepared.
Perhaps the Red Emperor was also watching this place.
The opponent was prepared, and his own strike had failed.
The pros and cons flashed through the attacker's mind in an instant.
Continuing to fight offered slim chances of victory, and if it dragged on, the opponent might have more reinforcements.
Thus, the attacker suddenly swung his battle-axe horizontally in front of him, unleashing a circle of dark red shockwaves to temporarily push back the two spirits, while simultaneously stepping into the air, his body retreating like a cannonball.
He came suddenly and retreated even more decisively! Without any hesitation.
From the eruption to the withdrawal, the entire process took only a brief second or two.
The kicked-up dust had not yet fully settled.
The two Legendary Heroic Spirits did not pursue. Their task at this moment was to protect the safety of the Iron Dragon and Red Dragon, not to slay a powerful enemy.
Mien stood with his shield directly in front of Sorog, while Charles guarded the flank with his sword. The light of their spiritual bodies was stable as they vigilantly scanned the surroundings, confirming there were no other ambushes.
Samantha slowly withdrew the Dragon Breath energy from her throat and flicked her tail somewhat dissatisfiedly, kicking up a gust of hot wind.
Then, she turned to look at the Iron Dragon and asked in confusion, "Doesn't the Sanctuary mainly cover the Romanian Plain? We're already out of range, yet they teleported so fast?"
The Iron Dragon did not turn his head, still staring in the direction where the Legendary attacker had retreated.
He gave a simple explanation, his voice steady: "The Sanctuary covers the Romanian Plain because our Foundation is here, but it is actually located in a dimensional space, not fixed in a single place."
As the second-in-command of the Aura Kingdom, yet without having reached the Legendary threshold himself.
Sorog knew very well that he was bound to be a soft target or a Breakthrough point in the eyes of many hostile forces. Countless pairs of eyes were watching him from the shadows, most of them harboring ill intent.
Therefore, before this journey began, he had made thorough preparations.
The teleportation authority of the Sanctuary had always been open to him, and the two Legendary Heroic Spirits were on standby at all times. Once he activated the emblem, they could arrive at the fastest speed.
"Tsk, what a pity. That guy ran really fast."
Samantha wagged her thick tail and said with some regret, her eyes still burning with Battle Intent: "I also wanted to follow Galos's example and try to kill a Legendary above my rank. It seems there's no chance this time."
The Iron Dragon did not correct his sister's unrealistic fantasy.
He said, "The Domain wrapped the whole body, and the spiritual light was distorted and blurred, making it impossible to identify the specific race and characteristics. This is a professional assassin, or a Legendary powerhouse who doesn't want to reveal their identity."
"Moreover, we just left the border of the Romanian Plain and were attacked as soon as we entered this relatively remote desert..."
Sorog looked up, his pupils scanning the high, azure sky, his voice deep: "Perhaps, there are eyes watching us from the sky all along."
He withdrew his gaze and readjusted the angle of his wings, having no intention of stopping or returning because of this failed attack.
"Let's continue our journey. We will surely become Legendary."
Beside him, Samantha seemed to have thought of something and asked in confusion, "Wait, Sorog, since the Sanctuary can teleport, why didn't we just have the Sanctuary teleport the two of us directly to the vicinity of the Fubo Dragon Domain? That would be fast and safe. Why fly slowly like this and have to watch out for ambushes?"
The Iron Dragon glanced at her and sighed.
"Do you really think that teleporting Heroic Spirits, or even larger biological teleportation, doesn't consume energy?"
"Heroic Spirits don't have physical bodies, but even so, the teleportation of Legendary-grade Heroic Spirits burns the kingdom's treasures. In other words, it's burning our money."
"With the massive size and life intensity of the two of us, the energy consumed for teleportation would be astronomical."
"The kingdom's wealth is not infinite. We need to expand, we need to maintain an army, and every resource must be spent where it matters most."
"One who doesn't manage the household doesn't know the cost of living."
The Aura Kingdom's territory was vast and its resources were fairly abundant. It was also vigorously developing animal husbandry, agriculture, and mining.
However, the kingdom's consumption was equally terrifying.
The number of Dragons under their command was increasing, and each Dragon was a major resource consumer. The maintenance and improvement of Legendary powerhouses required precious Materials, and the appetites of the vast number of Ogres, Trolls, and Vicious Beasts were staggering.
Then there were those rapidly breeding and numerous Gnoll, Kobold, and Lizardfolk Dependents.
Even with birth control and reduced supplies, their numbers were still growing at a considerable rate, and the amount of food and supplies consumed daily was massive.
The war beast named Aura was gradually feeling hungry.
Conservative development could not last long; expansion had become an almost inevitable choice.
War was actually urgent. On one hand, it was to acquire more land and resources; on the other, war could consume the excess population that was difficult to manage finely, while also filtering out more elite warriors.
"Sorog, listening to you, I always feel like you're looking down on me, thinking I only know how to fight and don't understand management."
Red Dragon Samantha snorted unpleasantly, sparks flying.
The Iron Dragon glanced at Samantha again and shook his head: "No, you're mistaken. We're just good at different things. Each fulfills their own role."
Samantha huffed and didn't dwell on the topic further.
After the ambush incident, the two said no more, recalibrated their direction, and set off once again.