Under the Red Dragon.

Chapter 306: Wake you up

Howling Cliffs, Dragon's Nest Mountains.

The continuous mountain ranges are like undulating folds, and the mountain body composed of several ridges and valleys is like the veins running through the body of a living being.

At the foot of this mountain range that stretches for thousands of miles, Ragnar Hagrid, King of the Frost Giants, stood at the junction of the broken road and the mountain, looking up.

The vein-like mountains stretching from west to east are like the shadow of the ancestral red dragon in the eyes of Ragnar, the king of the Frost Giants, huge and indestructible.

In the past, when this mountain range had not yet grown and was only more than a thousand meters high, the dragon's followers built a wide stone staircase road on the main ridge of the mountain where these dragons lived.

But with the explosive growth of the mountains, the more than 1,000-meter-long stone steps have been torn apart by the growing mountains, and only a few pieces are left hanging on the vague mountain road.

Although the distance of this stone staircase was lengthened in another way, it was just a small path at the foot of the mountain compared to the main peak of the entire tall mountain.

Many wild grasses and trees grow from the weathered and broken stone slabs, like an ancient relic road leading to some unknown deep treasure.

At this point, the King of the Frost Giants could no longer follow the remaining road of the past, because the mountain where the dragons lived no longer had a highway.

If mortals want to climb the mountains, they can only follow the mountain paths trampled out by the shepherds who graze cattle, sheep and other animals on the mountains.

Ragnar had heard the Mountain Songs sung by the Golden People on the warm mountain winds.
"Crossing the cold Dragon Mountains, heading for the deep ancient caves and ferocious rocks,"

"Set out quickly at dawn to find the forgotten treasure home,"

"The pine trees howl on the mountaintops, and the night wind mourns like a broken heartstring."

"The scarlet flames burned endlessly, and the giant trees spread across the forest like torches..."

The sound of bagpipes could be faintly heard in the wind, as well as the swinging bells of the head sheep and cow with bells hanging on them.

This feeling made Ragnar, the Frost Giant King, feel like an adventurer and traveler traveling around the world and experiencing different customs.

The songs of the frost giants on the frost plains of the north always have a sense of desolation and coldness, but the songs that sound in the Golden Empire always give the frost giant Ragnar a feeling of loneliness and grandeur.

"Huh, this feeling is actually pretty good!" Ragnar turned around and looked down at the dense and continuous forest at the foot of the mountain. Many white-boned undead occasionally appeared in it. The towering and huge city in the distance was hundreds of times larger than the stone city newly built by the frost giants on the grassland.

A battle axe that seemed to be carved out of a glacier that had existed for tens of millions of years hangs on the back of this frost giant. Its cold aura seems to be incompatible with the surrounding environment, yet it is embraced by the vastness of this world.

It was just like the feeling Ragnar had when he walked through the cities of the Golden Empire.

None of the Golden People would be surprised or puzzled by his arrival. Even though they knew that he was the king of the northern frost giant tribe, those Golden People did not have the slightest fear. Instead, they looked at the Frost Giant King with more curiosity.

Although Ragnar is many times stronger than an ordinary frost giant, he is not conspicuous in the cities of the Golden Empire, which are full of tall buildings and strong creatures.

Those topless towers, Ragnar couldn't even touch the first ring of the tower.

At first, Ragnar thought that his arrival would at least attract the attention of the Golden Empire. Even if he was not regarded as a dangerous existence, he would still be accompanied and monitored by those giant dragons.

But to his surprise, he was just like an ordinary frost giant. The pass from the Golden Empire was enough for him to travel to many cities. He had never even seen a dragon lord around him until now.

If it were any other country, Ragnar would not dare to take such a risk, but because of the existence of the Golden Empire, even the frost giants on the frost plains could not question the other side's credibility.

“Is this the magnanimity of the empire?”

The frost giant shook his head, turned around and continued to climb upwards.

Even though he knew the gap between the Frost Giants and the Golden Empire, and even though he knew the gap between himself and the red dragon, Ragnar, the Frost Giant King, still did not change his original intention. He still wanted to challenge the ancestral red dragon.

He had made his purpose and whereabouts clear, but did not attract too much attention. He was the only one on the mountain trail, walking alone.

The temperature suddenly drops sharply all the way up the vast mountain range in a certain area, as if a mountain range is divided into several different natural climate zones.

The foot of the mountain still has a tropical rainforest climate, which gradually turns to a subtropical and temperate climate as the terrain rises.

At first, Ragnar would meet many shepherds, either boys or young men, who were herding their herds of animals. When they saw the Frost Giant, they would greet him warmly and take out wine and milk to entertain this strong big man.

By the time Ragnar climbed the huge grassy slope about four thousand meters high, he could feel that the climate here was becoming noticeably colder, and there were fewer shepherds.

But the vegetation here is still lush, and many creatures such as yaks and snow leopards that are accustomed to living in the mountains are beginning to appear frequently.

There are also sparse blue sheep, argali with a pair of huge horns, and pikas living in the narrow crevices.

When you get higher, the number of these mortal creatures has obviously decreased, and they are replaced by extraordinary creatures.

bang, bang, bang

Heavy footsteps were heard, and several giants, carrying huge boulders and stone slabs, walked out from one side of the mountain pass and headed down the mountain.

Even when he saw the frost giant Ragnar, he did not show any curiosity or ask any questions.

Ragnar Hagrid was curious about the actions of these giants. He stepped forward, stood in front of these tall giants and asked, "Hey, what are you doing?"

Several indifferent giants ignored the Frost Giant who looked particularly powerful. Only a tall mountain giant, a distant relative of the hill giant, stopped and looked more enthusiastic than his companions.

"Hmm, outsider? Frost giant? Are you a pilgrim who came here from the far north of the grassland to admire the first peak of the mountains?"

The hill giant held the huge boulder on his shoulder with one hand and hummed effortlessly.

"That's what you mean, but I'm here to challenge the Dragon Emperor of the Empire, His Majesty Caron Gogmora!" Ragnar Hagrid answered loudly.

The Frost Giant felt that his answer might cause hostility from the other party, but that was his character.

But Ragnar's words made the mountain giant laugh.

"Hahaha, you are very brave, outsider. I hope you can succeed. After all, there are very few people as naive as you. Even among the giants, you are unique!"

The mountain giant laughed and said, "As for us, we are here to build a big shelter for the cattle at the foot of the mountain. The meat of these wild cattle living in the highlands is delicious and is the favorite of the dragon lords."

"And there are those kittens with beautiful fur. Lord Raven told us that they are His Majesty's beloved pets. We must take good care of them!"

"Go, outsider, walk up the hillside. The highest peak is your goal." The mountain giant did not stop and walked straight down the mountain.

Ragnar looked at the distant mountain that no longer emitted flames and continued his solo journey.

Going all the way up, we began to step into the alpine snow belt, walked through the alpine meadows and bushes, and welcomed the climate that the Frost Giants are most familiar with.

Apart from large areas of tundra mosses and lichens, there are only a few cold pines standing here, making it look like a high mountain desert.

However, this slightly desolate place is also where the most extraordinary creatures appear.

While passing by a pine forest, the frost giant Ragnar saw a young dragon coiled on a dead tree, looking at him quietly.

This young dragon has a similar skull to the other dragons, but some physical features are very different.

Because this young dragon has no wings and its overall body is slender, with only the chest and abdomen between the limbs slightly thicker, it looks like a python with the appearance of a giant dragon.

Its scales, which were the same color as the dead wood, made it impossible for the frost giant Ragnar to tell what kind of dragon it was, so he continued to move forward.

Along the way, Ragnar also encountered satyrs who looked like elves, but had goat-like legs, cloven hooves, and ram horns.

These goats are said to have originated from the Feywild, and somehow wandered to this plane. But it seems that these goats have settled down in the mountains where dragons live.

Ragnar was also enthusiastically held by these satyrs, who tried to share with him the glory of the Feywild, their former home.

However, Ragnar had his own goals. He just enjoyed a cup of cold mountain wine brewed by the Sheep People and then said goodbye to these strange creatures.

There are also faeries from the Feywild that haunt the mountains.

These fairies are a tiny race, not even as big as their friends the pixies and goblins, and look like fairies with insect wings.

And each fairy has a unique physical feature that makes them look different from other fairies, such as bird-like wings, glittering colorful skin, or a spirit horn like a small unicorn horn growing on the forehead.

Ragnar became curious and started talking to these creatures from the Feywild.

However, when he asked these little fairies why they came here, he was beaten up by them.

The frost giant Ragnar held his head and ran out of the tree house built by the fairies in panic.

A few little fairies were still standing behind them, with their hands on their hips, yelling angrily, "Go away, go away, go back up the mountain. When you see a nasty little Pixie, remember to tell her for us that she'd better never come down the mountain, or we'll catch her!"

Ragnar fled the area in a panic, no longer wanting to communicate with any living creatures, so he climbed all the way and finally reached the top of the tallest peak in this huge mountain range.

Rather than saying it is the peak of a mountain, it is more like a vast piece of land.

A clear dividing line appeared at Ragnar's feet. On one side was the snow belt where the mountain wind howled in the cold wind, and on the other side was the vast desert green belt hidden in the hazy fog.

The Frost Giant's expression began to grow serious.

As the eternal enemy and blood feud of the white dragon in the frost plains, Ragnar knows enough about some of the characteristics of the dragon.

A dragon's lair is not only a nest where the dragon sleeps, but also a link to all magical energies closely connected to the dragon.

Generally speaking, every adolescent dragon establishing a lair for the first time will instinctively try to build a lair in a place with magical resonance, whether it knows the truth or not.

At the center of this nest is where multiple regularly flowing lines of magical energy intersect.

Normally, ordinary dragons can create large-scale nesting effects only after they reach adulthood, just as the close connection between white dragons and the structure of the material plane takes a long time to develop.

An ordinary white dragon even needs to spend at least nearly a century in its own lair before the power of the dragon can be revealed to the world.

But in Ragnar's perception, all the magical elemental energy on this dome-shaped mountain top must flow through the central dragon's nest point on the dome-shaped mountain top.

The white clouds floating in the sky condensed into the face of a giant dragon in Ragnar's eyes, giving him the impression that the dragon was watching the arrival. But Ragnar knew that this was just one of the spreading effects of the ancestral red dragon, just like the reflection of a giant dragon that suddenly passed by the calm surface of the lake in front of him. After Ragnar carefully checked it, the image disappeared in an instant.

The lair effects of these areas will give the dragon extraordinary magical abilities, just as a golden dragon can enter the dreams of sleeping creatures near the lair while in the lair.

A green dragon cannot be tracked or predicted by divination while it is in the vicinity of its lair.

Moreover, each dragon can know the death of nearby creatures in its lair, and can trace back the last moments of the life of the dead creatures through their eyes.

This is why many dragon-slaying teams must have a master of hiding and a wanderer companion who draws on the power of shadows. These creatures living around the dragon's lair are not only obstacles but also alarms for the dragon.

Most importantly, if the dragon's name is spoken within a certain distance around the dragon's lair, even if it is just a whisper by a living being, the dragon will immediately detect it.

And for a considerable period of time afterwards, the words of everyone in a small area near the person who spoke the dragon's true name can be heard.

Then the Frost Giant King called out the name of the ancestral red dragon, "Caron Gogmora, I, Ragnar Hagrid, come to challenge you!"

It is extremely unwise to challenge a dragon near its lair, but Ragnar Hagrid is not worried about it, not only because of the promise made by the ancestral red dragon, but also because the frost giant believes the words of the ancestral red dragon.

It is also because of Ragnar’s opinion of the ancestral red dragon that the other party will not use additional power to suppress himself, because this ancestral red dragon is a real strong one.

Ragnar's voice fell and echoed far above the mountain top.

The supernatural fog that shrouded the entire mountaintop began to dissipate, revealing a clear and eye-catching path for the frost giants to enter.

Ragnar stepped into the mist and came to a new world.

The beasts and monsters that drink the lake water have been transformed into half-dragons under the long-term influence of the dragon field. This is why these creatures can drink the seemingly clear lake water.

The Frost Giants knew that if ordinary creatures drank the water, they would be infected and enchanted by the water that was contaminated with the power of the dragon, or they would suffer other mutations. Even Ragnar was unwilling to drink the lake water in this place.

But the frost giant's attention was attracted by the buildings that stood in the distance like a forest of palaces.

After the ancestral red dragon entrusted the fire dwarves to take care of its lair, the vast area on the top of the peak was kept in good order by these fire dwarves.

The fire dwarves used the high-energy gunpowder produced by the empire to blast the jagged rocks into pieces, creating flat platforms.

These platforms rise and fall in an orderly manner around the mouth of the magma lake that forms a terrain like a barrier lake. Wide stone stairs connect the platforms, and there are countless pavilions and towers carved from huge stones on the platforms.

The solid mountain formed by the power of the ancestral red dragon and the influence of the nest field at the original lava lake mouth was excavated and built by the fire dwarves and giants, and a quaint and majestic ancient Roman-style arched dome temple was built.

However, in order to facilitate the entry and exit of the ancestral red dragon, this huge ancient Roman-style temple was built particularly wide, and the pillars in front of the door were at least 100 meters high and 120 meters apart.

Ragnar walked along the wide road, with lush vegetation on both sides, all of which were precious magical plants.

He saw in the garden in the distance that a Pixie elf was commanding many elven creatures to transplant many plants there. These precious magical plants were all dug out from the dragon's nest of the ancestral red dragon.

There are also many lava giants like the original Goliath giants born in the mountains. They walk in the mountains, obey the orders of the fire dwarves, and build huge stone buildings.

Wildfires on the earth burned fiercely in these ancient Roman-style sacred fire platforms, just like the bonfires in the temple, never extinguished.

These lava giants have tiny cracks on their stone-like bodies, through which flows fiery red solidified magma.

It seems that these lava giants are natural creatures born in this area due to the influence of the ancestral red dragons.

As Ragnar walked along the avenue to the tall, protruding lava lake temple, he was greeted by a menacing Pixie elf.

"Hey, big guy, I heard your voice. Are you here to challenge Caron?" Pixie put his hands on his hips and warned loudly, "Don't damage my flowers and plants. I have worked hard to raise these precious plants. If you damage one, you will have to compensate me with the axe behind you!"

Ragnar smiled. He knew what this elf was called. The hateful creature that the fairies were talking about must be this Pik elf.

“I try my best, but it shouldn’t depend on me,” Ragnar smiled.

"That's good," Pik Elf smiled happily, but Riven suddenly frowned again and asked in confusion: "How did you know that Caron was here? Caron has only slept for two months. Everyone thought that Caron was still in the castle. Did a traitor tell you..."

The Frost Giant shook his head and said softly, "Legends don't rely on appearance and aura to find their targets. You won't understand even if I tell you, but I just know that Emperor Gogmora is here."

“Okay, okay,” Pixie Elf hugged his hands, flapped his colorful wings and turned around, “Come on, King of the Frost Giants, I have to take you up this road. Karon is grumpy, and I have to wake him up, otherwise he will be scary when he’s angry.”

"Thank you, kind elf, you are not as hateful as those fairies say," Ragnar said as he strode to keep up with the Pik elf.

"Humph, I just used the spell that Charon taught me to summon some laborers to work for me. I would also pay them, but after they came here, they were unwilling to work for me, and they were also unwilling to return to their hometown. How can you blame me?"

Pixie Elf Riven angrily scolded: "These lazy fairies are used to a comfortable life. They should be reformed!"

Ragnar shook his head and listened to the elves' endless complaints all the way to the highest point on the highest peak, which was like a temple hanging above the earth.

Two huge warrior statues guard the two sides of the temple, standing on stone platforms, holding shields and swords, wearing stone helmets, and look lifelike.

When they saw the Frost Giant King, the two huge thirty-meter-tall stone warriors suddenly lowered their heads and looked at Ragnar.

The Pik Elf Riven quickly stopped the two statues from activating, allowing the two giant stone warriors to calm down.

Ragnar stood in the tall temple and looked along with the figure of the Pik elf.

The floor of the temple is dark red, and the ground is soft and smooth like a stream of fire. In the center of the temple, several long swords are stuck upside down on the ground, as straight as ancient trees, and surrounded by mysterious runes.

Around these divine swords were scattered the bones of countless giant creatures. Even the corrosion from the magma and fire elements could not eliminate the mountains of bone jungles.

The walls on both sides of the temple are covered with various murals, including volcanic cliffs, abyss and hell.

Abundant fire elements and magma flowed from the cracks in the abyss hell on the mural into the floor of the temple, and were completely absorbed by the floor of the temple after a moment.

Ragnar could even see some active figures of fire spirits on the opposite side through the cracks in the temple wall, because the dense presence of fire elements here attracted the arrival of these fire spirits.

But the Pik elf flew to the several holy swords that were inserted upside down in the center of the temple and gently tapped the tips of the holy swords.

clang clang clang,
"Karon, wake up, it's time to get up," Raven shouted loudly while knocking.

After a brief silence, a loud noise was heard.

tom!
The ground of the entire temple was arched up by a tremendous force, and what was stuck upside down in the ground of the temple was not a sharp sword, but the horn of a giant dragon.

The solidified dark red ground broke open, and a huge dragon head slowly rose from the ground. Countless lava fragments and bones slid down from the dragon's head and body. A pair of cold dragon eyes as cold as the deep blue starry sky looked towards the Frost Giant King Ragnar Hagrid outside the temple.

There was no fierce momentum, nor any oppressive dragon power, but the body of the Frost Giant King, a powerful body that had been weathered by the wind and frost in the frost plains, felt a bone-chilling chill for the first time in decades.

It was as if a glacier that had been frozen for tens of millions of years had entered Ragnar Hagrid's blood vessels, turning Ragnar's blood and bones into stiff ice.

As the giant dragon raised its head, flames were born in the temple and began to spread outward from the dragon's body.

The outermost flame is a mixture of red and orange, then turns to yellow and transitions to white.

The pale flames were already somewhat irritating to the eyes of the Frost Giant King, but the cyan and blue flames behind the pale flames were enough to make Ragnar feel some danger simply by their temperature.

The purple flames inside and the flames surrounding the center edge of the dragon's skull are flames whose colors are invisible to the naked eyes of mortal creatures. In Ragnar's eyes, the color of these flames is constantly changing, but the temperature of these flames has already made him feel a fatal threat.

But the sensory perception of these flames is far inferior to that of the dragon's pupils.

Under the light of the giant dragon's pupils, Ragnar felt a sense of powerlessness that a lower-level creature feels when facing a higher-level creature, rather than the dragon's mighty suppression of ordinary creatures.

"Have you come this far?" Ragnar asked in a hoarse voice. This was a divine quality, far superior to the inherent characteristics of mortal creatures. Even a powerful bloodline like the Frost Giants was like an ant in front of these eyes.

"Hmm," the dragon's head shook slightly, and the terrifying pupil light quickly disappeared after a few rapid blinks, revealing its original red and crystal appearance.

"No, I am just simulating and exploring to find the path that suits me best,"

The giant dragon spoke, and the deep dragon voice actually brought Ragnar a sense of incredible warmth.

With a crash, a huge red dragon slowly crawled out from under the ground of the temple. A huge amount of magma flowed down on the dragon's scales, but before it fell to the ground, it had lost all its heat and energy and turned into a dark red soft structure.

Under the extraction of the ancestral red dragon, even this violent volcano lost its violent power. Now the energy deep in the core of the earth no longer has the ability to erupt because that energy has long been exhausted.

"Well, I remember, I once said that you are allowed to come and challenge me," Karon Gogmora raised his head, and all the flames were instantly restrained. The figure of Pik's elf Riven wrapped in flames was also caught in his claws.

"In that case, let me ask you, Ragnar Hagrid, what do you think is your most powerful strength?" Caron Gogmora gently held Riven and asked the King of Frost Giants.

"My most powerful strength," Ragnar frowned, thought for a while, and then answered: "Of course it is my body. The power brought by my wind- and frost-tempered frost giant blood and body is the most powerful!"

"Well, I have to wake you up!" The pupils of the Ancestral Red Dragon lit up, and he said slowly: "I can't waste your potential. I will defeat you in your most powerful strength."

Boom!

The huge dragon claw suddenly fell towards the Frost Giant King, like an ancient sacred mountain collapsing.

As the real dragon stretched out its claws, a spiritual lock that enveloped the heaven and earth, the universe and time and space, covered the Frost Giant's mind, making Ragnar think that the dragon claw seemed to cover the vision of the entire world.

"If I don't use my full strength, I will die here!"

A deadly threat made Ragnar roar loudly.

The Frost Giant King's huge arms pulled out the legendary battle axe on his back. The unparalleled strength made the Frost Giant's blood vessels burst. His bulging muscles were like a giant python. The stone slabs under his feet, which were harder than granite, were instantly crushed into pieces by the tremendous force.

The falling battle axe, like a giant god's axe that was about to split the sacred mountain, smashed into the red claw that supported the sky.

Boom! There was a deafening sound.

The figure of the Frost Giant King Ragnar suddenly flew backwards and almost disappeared.

(End of this chapter)