Iron Dragon's Advancement Journey

Page 201

75. The End of the War

　Fifth second.

　Qislindo's lower body had completely crystallized. Transparent silver crystals replaced the original ethereal dragon shadow, refracting dazzling light in the sunlight. The surface of the crystals continued to peel away, turning into tiny elemental particles that drifted into the air.

　Sixth second.

　Crystallization spread to the chest cavity. The demigod lich's soulfire pulsed wildly within the crystals, attempting to break free from this eerie constraint. But the crystallization process was irreversible, and its once-proud advantage of being intangible became utterly meaningless. More and more jets of dragon breath began to penetrate the dissipating body, carving deep, molten trenches into the ice field below.

　“No! This is impossible!” Qislindo’s voice broke into fragments. “I am eternal! He promised…”

　Who is He? Tiamat?

　Seventh second.

　Only the dragon lich's head remained, still struggling. Soulfire pulsed wildly, spewing from its empty eye sockets in a final, desperate attempt to fight back. It spewed forth a torrent of vile curses, using every swear word it had learned over millennia. But all was in vain. Crystallization spread like a plague, slowly devouring its last form.

　"I won't let you go. I'll come back, find you, find everything related to you..."

　Eighth second.

　Qislindo was completely transformed into silver crystal. The final curse abruptly ceased. The enormous dragon-shaped crystal hovered in the air for a fleeting moment before utterly disintegrating under Casalos's relentless bombardment of dragon breath. The crystal shattered into countless tiny fragments, which then decomposed into pure elements, ultimately dissipating into the world.

　The demigod dragon lich Qislindo was utterly annihilated.

　But Casalozian dragon breath did not stop.

　The slender, beige-colored jets continued to gush forth, striking the ice plains directly after losing their target. The hard permafrost melted the moment it came into contact with the dragon's breath, then crumbled and vanished. Ravines stretched across the land, as if a giant had casually drawn lines across the earth with his fingers.

　This wasn't to ensure the target's complete demise; Casalos knew perfectly well that Qislindo was finished, or at least that projection-like body was gone. Demigod liches that transferred their essence to the Outer Material Plane were near-eternal beings. Without finding their true nature, even divine intervention couldn't completely destroy them. But the absence of a phylactery wasn't without its flaws. Demigod liches weren't true demigods; if their "projection" in the Material Plane was destroyed without a backup, the time required to return would be far more than ten days or half a month—Cassaros was absolutely certain that Qislindo hadn't left any backups in the Material Plane.

　The breath attack that was still in effect was purely a recovery animation. The preparation for such a terrifyingly powerful breath attack was complex, and its cessation also required time to buffer. The boiling dragon magic within its body needed time to subside, the chaotic power accumulated in its chest and throat needed to be fully released, the reversal of the effects needed to be reversed and returned to normal, and the pure astral matter and elements guided into its body by psionic energy also needed to be gradually expelled from the body.

　The dragon's breath lasted for another three seconds before finally stopping.

　Casalos was breathing heavily, his wounds bleeding profusely. The damage from withstanding the legendary spell was considerable; large patches of dragon scales had fallen off, revealing raw, bloody wounds beneath. His four-elemental armor was shattered, with only scattered elemental fragments clinging to his body.

　It shook its head and struggled to land on the ground. The dragon magic flowing in its veins had almost completely died down, making even maintaining flight difficult.

　The dust finally settled.

　The scene on the ice field was shocking. The ice explosion in Chislindo created a huge crater thousands of meters in diameter and over a hundred meters deep. Around the crater, countless huge ice ridges radiated outwards like flower petals, each hundreds of meters high, gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

　The dragon's breath from Casalos added new marks to these ruins. A network of molten trenches crisscrossed the landscape, each only a few meters wide, yet stretching nearly ten kilometers in length. Even more bizarrely, silver crystalline bands, over ten meters wide, extended from the edges of these trenches. These crystals continued to release pure elements, shimmering with a dreamlike luster under the now clear sky.

　The metal dragons set down the paladins on their backs to allow them to rest, then slowly approached. They maintained a cautious distance, both out of respect for Casalos and fear of the terrifying dragon breath.

　Besides the brass dragon and the copper dragon.

　"Wow!" Salomes rushed over first, completely ignoring Casalos's wounds and obvious exhaustion. "What kind of dragon breath is that? It looks so powerful! Can you teach me? I want to learn too! And also, why did it turn into crystal? Can you eat crystal?"

　“Shut up, Salomes!” another brass dragon squeezed in. “How can it answer all your questions? Let me ask—what’s with that dragon breath? Are there any prerequisites? You seem to have fused with elemental and psionic energy? Is that the power of an elemental master?”

　"Make way, make way!" Chaturio descended from the sky, nearly hitting several brass dragons. "Let the professionals handle this! Casalos, that move you just made was so cool! Can you do it again? I want to get a closer look, and I'd love to touch those crystals!"

　"What are you touching!" Another bronze dragon leaped over. "What if it's poisonous? But speaking of which, those crystals are really beautiful. Could I have one? I want to take it back as a collectible!"

　More and more brass and copper dragons gathered around, chattering incessantly with questions. They completely disregarded the boundaries between dragons and Casalos's obvious reluctance to answer.

　"How was the color of that ray adjusted?"

　"Why is it beige? Can you change it to another color?"

　What is the principle behind crystallization?

　"Have you secretly learned some forbidden magic?"

　"Can you turn me into crystal too? And if I do, can I turn back?"

　Casalos's eyelids twitched, and he really wanted to spit fire at these idiots. Didn't they have any sense of the atmosphere? He was almost exhausted, and these guys were still babbling on and on.

　"Shut up, all of you!" Casalos finally snapped, slamming his tail on the ground and sending up a spray of snow. "Want to know the answer? Wait until you survive this war!"

　This battle was almost entirely a physical confrontation on the magical level, and it still had the stamina to take down a few goofballs.

　"Ugh, stingy," Chaturio muttered, but still wisely took a few steps back.

　At that moment, Tamarand slowly flew over. The Primordial Golden Dragon hovered a hundred meters away, maintaining a proper, polite distance.

　"What kind of breath is that?!" Its voice was filled with astonishment.

　As an ancient golden dragon that had withstood the test of time, Tamarand had witnessed countless powerful abilities. But the dragon breath Casaloz had just displayed was completely beyond its comprehension. That power to crystallize and then annihilate existence itself was unheard of even in the history of dragons.

　But the proud golden dragon has its own principles. There are insurmountable boundaries between dragons, especially when it comes to the secrets of their core abilities. It will never overstep these boundaries unless Casaloz tells it to.

　So Tamarand simply hovered there quietly, waiting for Casalos's response. If the Iron Dragon was unwilling to speak, it wouldn't press the matter.

　Hevilan and the members of the Claws of Justice landed on a nearby high ground. The silver dragons communicated silently with their bodies, clearly shocked by the battle they had just witnessed. But compared to the power of their dragon breath, the lord of the Claws of Justice was more concerned with the actual results of the battle.

　"Count the casualties," she ordered.

　The members of the Claws of Justice immediately sprang into action. The silver dragons dispersed to various parts of the battlefield to begin assessing their losses. Soon, a detailed battle damage report was presented to Hevilan.

　"Report complete." The silver dragon in charge of statistics said in a heavy voice, "76 white dragons and 12 dragon liches were killed. 4 white dragons and 10 dragon liches escaped."

　"Our losses?"

　Silver Dragon took a deep breath: "Six gold dragons are injured, three silver dragons are injured, twelve bronze dragons are injured, seven brass dragons are injured, and fifteen copper dragons are injured."

　It paused for a moment, then its voice grew even heavier:

　"Destroyed... 2 copper dragons, 1 brass dragon, and 3 bronze dragons."

　"What about the one that was shot down?"

　"One gold dragon, six bronze dragons, four copper dragons, and three brass dragons. Azak has organized and is leading the search and rescue operation."

　Hevilan's scales trembled slightly. Even with a resounding victory, the cost was still heavy. In particular, the casualties among the Bronze Dragons far exceeded those of other dragon species.

　"Why are there so many casualties among the Bronze Dragons?" she pressed.

　“They…they are always at the forefront.” The silver dragon’s voice choked as he reported, “Whenever a dragon is in danger, the bronze dragons rush to cover it without hesitation. ‘War Dancer’ Qulindreta withstood three spells before being shot down in order to save a young gold dragon.”

　Silence enveloped the highlands.

　"What about the brass dragons and the copper dragons?" Hevilan continued to ask. "Their casualties... seem somewhat unusual."

　"That's because they don't fly according to tactics at all!" Moonwing couldn't help but interject. "I personally saw at least five bronze dragons doing fancy rolls in battle, only to be caught out by the dragon lich. And those brass dragons, even while retreating, still turned back to spew fire in provocation, they were practically asking for death!"

　“But they were also very brave,” the other silver dragon added. “Although they were mischievous, they didn’t back down when it mattered. That bronze dragon that died was trying to buy time for its companions…”

　"What about the casualties of the paladins?" Hevilan interrupted the discussion.

　“38 Bahamut paladins were killed.”

　This number silenced all the dragons.

　Thirty-eight lives, thirty-eight souls who willingly sacrificed themselves. They shielded the dragon from a deadly spell with their own flesh and blood, exchanging their deaths for the dragon's survival.

　The dragons that fell in battle no longer carried the figures of paladins. For the paladins had already fulfilled their mission with their lives.

　“Salomes,” Hevilan suddenly called out.

　The brass dragon, which had been circling Casalos, immediately froze. It slowly turned its head, its usually chattering mouth tightly shut.

　“Brandon died for you,” Havilland said calmly. “Do you remember him?”

　Salomes's body trembled slightly. Brandon, the young paladin who always sat quietly on its back. The human who never complained about its talkativeness. The hero who, in the most critical moment, leaped forward without hesitation, shielding it from the finger of death with his own body.

　“I…I remember.” Salomez’s voice was unusually low. “He said he came from a small village. His sister…his sister is still waiting for him to come home…”

　Before it could finish speaking, the usually talkative brass dragon suddenly fell silent. It lowered its head, and tears rolled down its cheeks, creating small craters on the ice.

　Chaturio quieted down too. The mischievous bronze dragon remembered the paladins on its back. They had never complained when it performed those dangerous acrobatic stunts, only gripping the handrails tighter. When it was targeted by the dragon lich, they hadn't hesitated to release the safety harness… [The rest of the text appears to be a jumbled collection of characters and phrases, possibly from different sources. A direct translation isn't meaningful.]

　"Enough." Hevilan slowly turned to Casalos, who was still panting. "I have something to ask you."

　The silver dragon's massive body trembled slightly, its scales rubbing together with a soft sound. She walked up to Casalos, her silver vertical pupils burning with rage.

　"You knew those paladins would do this?" Her voice was calm, eerily so. "From the very beginning, you were just using them as human shields?!"

　This accusation caused all the dragons to turn their attention to Casalos.

　Even the brass and bronze dragons, who had been frolicking just moments before, fell silent. They might be carefree in ordinary times, but when it came to matters of life and death, they were not foolish.

　Casalos raised its head, its indigo vertical pupils meeting Hevilan's gaze without flinching. It was covered in wounds, dragon blood still seeping from its wounds, but its expression remained exceptionally resolute.

　"You are questioning their pursuit of justice and their beliefs as paladins!"

　Its voice was hoarse from the dragon's breath, yet it was full of power:

　“I never asked them to do anything. In fact, I don’t know them at all… They are paladins of Damara, not from Deepwater. They are the elite trained by Gaelos Dragonstalker, willing to dedicate their lives and everything to the cause of justice—”

　Casalos paused, then slammed his tail heavily on the ground, sending splatter of ice and snow hitting the faces of the brass dragons watching.

　"The Holy Dragonborn of Bahamut!"

　Silence once again enveloped the battlefield.

　During their time in Damara, the dragons engaged in deep conversations with the dragonborn paladins, learning of their pursuits and beliefs; otherwise, why would they have allowed them to ride on their backs? The name "Dragonborn" of Bahamut signifies that they already possess dragon blood flowing through their veins under the exchange of dragon gods. Bahamut's blessing allowed them to complete their transformation, making them beings of the same origin as the metal dragons present.

　In a sense, they are also dragons.

　“They chose their own path,” Casalos continued, “just as you chose to participate in this war. No one forced them; they chose to sacrifice themselves.”

　"So you feel at ease saying that?" Haiweilan's voice was still somewhat angry.

　"Feeling at ease?" Casalos shook his head. "I'm not like you, Hevilan... War is war, dragons will die! If we're going to cower because we're afraid of sacrifice, then we might as well break up now and go home to wait to be driven mad by the dragon madness!"

　It looked around, its gaze sweeping over each dragon:

　“There’s no point in talking about this now. If you, and all of you, truly feel guilty towards them, then remember their sacrifices and everything they did for you.”

　Salomes nodded, sobbing. This was perhaps the first time in its dragon life that it had taken death so seriously.

　“Brandon…I will remember him,” the brass dragon said, his voice choked with emotion. “I will go to his village and tell his sister…tell her that her brother was a hero.”

　“Me too.” Chaturio was unusually serious for once. “The three paladins on my back, they all have names, they all have families… I will remember each and every one of them.”

　More dragons joined in the remembrance. Even the proudest golden dragon bowed its noble head to mourn the lives lost.

　Casalos waited a moment, then looked up:

　"The war has only just begun. Qislindo is merely the gatekeeper; Samaster has a much larger and more powerful army. Soon, we will be facing him head-on."

　Its voice became serious:

　"We will face even fiercer battles and suffer even heavier casualties. Not only paladins, but many more dragons will fall. Are you ready to follow me at all costs to utterly destroy Samaster's dragon-worshipping army and create a future for all the dragons of Faerûn?"

　A cold wind swept across the battlefield, stirring up the ice and snow on the ground. The whispers of the departed seemed to linger in the wind.

　"We will never let their sacrifices go to waste, nor will we betray our original intention in this battle!"

　It was Azak who spoke first. This ancient silver dragon, usually so prone to causing trouble, was unusually serious at this moment. A paladin on its back had shielded it from a fatal blow, and the young dragonborn hadn't even had time to utter his last words.

　"For justice!" Haivilan also stopped questioning, "For all the lives sacrificed for this!"

　"So that no more dragons will go mad because of their dragon madness!" Tamarand's voice boomed like thunder.

　"To destroy those skeletons!" This was Salomes, who, even in its grief, did not forget to express its disgust for the dragon lich.

　“In order to…in order to prevent more paladins from dying!” Chaturio added.

　More and more voices joined in. Gold dragons, silver dragons, bronze dragons, brass dragons, copper dragons—all the surviving dragons expressed their determination.

　“Then next stop, the Norfralon Mountains!” Casalos raised his head.

　"Wait!" a brass dragon suddenly cried out, "Didn't we just fly over from over there? Why do we need to go back?"

　“Yeah, yeah!” another bronze dragon chimed in, “Flying back and forth is tiring! Can’t we just fly in a straight line?”

　Casalos rolled his eyes. These idiots had instantly ruined the solemn atmosphere.

　"We're going to turn back?" Tamarand grasped the key point, frowning as her golden tentacles trembled slightly. "Where is the Dragon Frenzy Lock? That's where..."

　It didn't finish its sentence, but all the dragons understood what it meant: the Norfra Dragon Mountains, the territory of the former King of Justice, the "King of Ice," Palotanthal.

　“The Ice King Palotanther has fallen into slumber,” Casaloz explained. “Before your gathering, it had already accepted the advice of the Nexus and Lares and retreated to its lair to avoid the Dragon Frenzy… I told you back in the Lead Mountains that the Ice King Palotanther knows everything about the Dragon Frenzy!”

76.Rescue

　"What are you all standing there for? Save the dragon!"

　Shaving Tooth's loud shout startled everyone from their awe of the dragon battle in the sky—Elminster and the others had come to contact Chief Druid Sosar precisely because of this. However, the old sage, as usual, veered off-topic again.

　A dragon that is shot down does not necessarily die.