Thousand-Faced Dragon

Chapter 369 The Land of Spring

Is this the land of nature?

The moment you step into the verdant garden, the gale, avalanche, torrential rain, and geothermal activity all vanish.

Those natural disasters, which occurred just a few kilometers away, seemed like nothing more than an illusion.

Behind an invisible boundary line, the icy wind turned into a gentle spring breeze.

What comes into view is grassland, stream, and a peaceful forest. Druids dressed in grass and animal skins are busy among them, seemingly constantly casting spells to reinforce something.

"I'm sorry, the earth's veins suddenly experienced a violent tremor. To avoid being thrown directly into the 'outside world,' we're currently working on this, so I'll be the only one to receive you."

Rean could also sense the fluctuations of the elemental tides, indicating that this area would not be safe forever.

Facing the guests, Kolluna bowed her head and welcomed them with a smile.

The arrival of reinforcements brought hope, especially since the enraged sapphire dragon seemed to have suffered a loss at the hands of these reinforcements.

Rean and his group, however, had to look up at the giants who were over ten meters tall, while the beastmen who were only about two meters tall looked like figurines or toys.

This was the first time Rean had seen Korluna in real life. That mountain-sized giant was actually quite unsettling for him.

This has nothing to do with personal judgment or attitude; it's simply the instinct when life is on the edge of a cliff and you're with a lion. Even if you know she won't attack you, the survival instinct of a creature warns you that you must keep your distance.

“It’s okay. We had a more proactive host before, but he probably wouldn’t have liked us.”

Rean responded with a smile, saying that after suffering a loss, the sapphire dragon probably now considered his group as a target that had to be hunted down.

It actually appeared several times along the way, but when faced with adventurers who had learned to adapt to the local environment, it realized it couldn't gain the upper hand and wisely chose to leave.

"He's probably waiting for our decision."

War games aren't won by simply charging straight in. Even in strategy games, there are opponent turns. Whether Rean and his party directly attack the dragon, help the druids retreat, or simply leave after a supply trade, all of these will affect the actions of the sapphire dragon.

"Please take a rest, everyone. We've prepared dinner and hot water."

The giant chieftain was quite friendly, and the arrival of these reinforcements gave them hope.

They had had enough of that dragon. The semi-elemental gem dragon was elusive and easily turned this canyon into its home ground, as the inhabitants of the earth element. The losses from each ambush, guerrilla warfare, and sneak attack were not significant, but the mental pressure and morale-shaking were unbearable.

Rean wasn't in a hurry. He was fine, but the others were really tired after all that.

The mages, who used to have it so easy, are now expending a huge amount of mana, the priests have run out of healing spells, and even the rogues and rangers who are sneaking around need to clean the mud out of their boots and cloaks.

Only Miss Emma, ​​who had stopped acting, seemed unaffected, still dressed scantily and looking around as if she were just on vacation. But Rean instinctively sensed that her "color" was fading.

"Thank you in advance. Everyone, please disperse and rest. We can discuss anything else tomorrow."

Rean's words elicited a small cheer from the team; they had probably had enough of this overly demanding journey.

Those who needed to rest did so, while those who needed to pack their gear started looking for local blacksmiths. Rean even saw a few unlucky guys lie down on the spot and fall fast asleep. Rean originally thought that a rich young lady like Suliman would be very unsuitable for the journey.

After all, she had chosen a horse-drawn carriage for her previous trips, and a snake's tail was indeed not suitable for long-distance travel.

But the result was that she was in pretty good spirits and has now gone directly to Emma, ​​seemingly intending to learn more.

Rean shook his head, hoping Emma would keep her mouth shut; some things really shouldn't be known by too many people.
"May I show you around the local area?" "Thank you."

While others were able to take leave, Rean, the leader, was in a sense only just beginning his job.

Kolluna was quite friendly, or rather, by the standards of a giant, she was overly friendly to "small people".

Rean was somewhat surprised and even puzzled. The arrogance that giants, half-giants, high elves, and dragons inherently possessed towards "mortals" was absent in this giant.

She seemed to be used to bending down and speaking in a low, gentle voice (by the standards of her tribe's whispers).

"Our race is rather special. Forest Giants are probably the giants who are closest to nature. Moreover, our department has survived to this day thanks to the Druid Order."

The lives of the giants living in the prime plane are not easy. They actually face the same biggest problem as the dragons—food.

Many people may not understand why dragons never live in groups. This is a tradition of their race for many years, and it is also a very real natural factor. An adult dragon can easily devour all the "cattle and sheep" in its territory. If an area is not fertile enough, it may not even be able to support a dragon family.

This is a natural limitation that dragons have faced since ancient times, and it is also the main reason why dragon slayers, outside of a very limited number of environments (Dragon Island, Dragon Plane), will not encounter more than double-digit numbers of dragons clustered together. Even if some additional factors make up for this shortcoming and provide them with enough food in the short term, their long-standing living habits and experiences will resist too many dragons gathering together.

Just as humans can live independently and instinctively in groups, dragons naturally dislike their own kind, especially those that enter their territory.

In a sense, the Sapphire Dragon's hostility towards adventurers may also be partly due to Rean, the "Red Dragon".

"As you can see, our tribe wouldn't normally exist. The conflicts between giant subspecies are similar to those between humans and dragons. Forest giants and hill giants can't even be considered the same species. We are actually war orphans, from the giant war in the Kingdom of Star about 130 years ago."

Most of the remaining members of the giant race were destined to leave the "barren" Prime Plane, but some attempted to return. Previously, a giant lord launched a planar war, which he apparently failed to win, but a portion of his legion remained on the Prime Plane.

As an orphanage left behind in the Prime Material Plane by the War of the Giants, Korluna and her kind should have been extinct, but they were raised by the Druids, received the corresponding education, and were completely integrated into the Order.

"No wonder you all acted so rudely. Sorry, that was a bit impolite."

Looking at the beautiful, almost human-like forest giant, Rean seemed to have misspoke, but he was still probing.

"No, no, no, actually I've met some giants who work in other places. They can't accept our 'weakness,' and we feel like they're a bunch of beasts."

The giant sighed, but on Rean's side, it was as if a sudden gust of wind had swept through, forcing him to exert all his strength to stand firm.

Led by Kolluna, Rean visited the Spring Woodland. Druids generally do not actively change the climate and environment, but the environment here was so bad that even druids could not survive without modification, so they used a sacred object to transform it into a Spring Woodland.

Stepping inside, Rean felt the warm spring breeze, the warm sunshine, and the soft grass. He was even tired enough to want to take a nap.

Through Kolluna's introduction, Rean met several local high druids and some of her giants. Not all of them were druids; there were also several warriors.

Another forest giant warrior, with his well-developed muscles that resembled a city wall, left a deep impression on Rean.

It's clear that if that sapphire dragon attacks this camp directly, it won't be able to leave.

A sapphire dragon that appears to have just come of age has limited psychic abilities and magic power. He probably wouldn't be able to defeat this tribe of giants, let alone those great druids.

"What do you think of my previous proposal? I have a place where a World Tree sapling perished, and I need the druids' help to develop it."

If they can truly recruit this druidic order, then Rean and his group will have made their trip worthwhile.

(End of this chapter)