Goddess Kaleidoscope

Seeing Kumirad's ambiguous smile, Lud wiped his forehead guiltily. It was indeed the first time he had realized that those seemingly unreliable flying lizards were actually the "Dimensional Guard."

"Where is this dragon queen now?"

"On the highest snow-capped mountain of the polar ice plains, she is a frost dragon with extremely pure blood. Moreover, because she is revered by all the dragons, she also possesses considerable divinity, with strength equivalent to a mid-level god of the sixth rank, comparable to the Earth Mother Goddess."

"That's amazing?"

"And that's not all. She's the leader of the dragons in this world, capable of summoning the Wanderers—those ancient dragons powerful enough to freely travel between worlds. Any one of those old monsters is stronger than Karius, and they shamelessly love ganging up on each other!"

Lude knew that the lifespan of an ordinary dragon was generally around two thousand years, but Kumirad told him that occasionally a very few exceptionally powerful individuals would emerge among the dragon race. They were able to break through the limits of their race, evolve into super dragons that were almost immortal, and gain the special ability to travel through space.

Some of these super dragons travel to the prime material worlds to develop branch races, while others gather to form patrol teams that traverse the rifts between planes, engaging in passionate battles with various noble beings from the warp. These super dragons are thus known as "the Wanderers".

It's worth mentioning that each prime plane world generally has only one super dragon. When a second one appears in the race, the old leader will voluntarily step down and leave this world to join the wanderers.

Kumirard told Lud that Queen Isabella of the Dragon Clan had been the leader of this world for countless years, but in fact, she had long since given up on the role.

Unfortunately, the local dragon clan was really unhelpful. Over the years, they had only produced one promising successor, but this guy turned out to be a "simp." Because he was in love with a certain goddess, he ignored Isabella's advice and first went to become a messenger of the gods. Then he got involved in the war of the gods and tragically died in the final battle.

After listening to Kumirad's description, Lud subconsciously turned around and glanced at Ah-Dai beside him.

"she?"

"Yes, it was her (who killed him)."

"...Absolutely amazing!"

Having learned about this history, Lude planned to visit the Dragon Queen in the snowy mountains again in a while. He'd heard from Kumirad that she had been in a state of decline for over three hundred years, and even if Lude took the initiative to visit her, she might not be willing to see him.

Before that, he should go to the Land of Fire a few more times and use the same old clumsy method to record all the words of the mysterious being.

So for the next month, Rude took Ahdai to the Land of Fire every few days, while also continuing his original job and playing a vital role in the kingdom's reforms.

Meanwhile, across the continent, triggered by the war between kingdoms and empires, small and medium-sized countries that had previously lived in fear of the empire's power began to realize, sooner or later, that an unprecedented change was about to occur.

People initially viewed the empire with despair because the size difference was simply too great. Its population was approaching 100 million, and it was superior in all aspects, including resources, technology, and even its system. Meanwhile, many vassal states had only a few hundred thousand people, so poor that they couldn't afford to support a regular army of a thousand men.

Therefore, these small countries that were powerless to resist had no choice but to compromise, some simply lived a life of mediocrity and waiting to die, while those with backbone... could only be crushed into dust.

The kingdom's victory has given these smaller nations hope. Some, unable to endure the empire's cruel oppression, have sent secret envoys to curry favor with the Durand royal family. Some even have the foresight to send people across thousands of miles to study at Brewster College in Rudd.

Who would willingly kneel down and act like a dog when they can stand upright as human beings?

Luther naturally welcomed these students with open arms.

Lude personally met with several groups of people and was pleasantly surprised to find that these promising talents were generally of high quality, possessing both talent and determination, and many of them were scions of prominent families who had a certain influence in their own countries.

They came to Ludd with the ideal of saving their country, and Ludd certainly did not disappoint them!

That's about it.

In the temple's study, looking at the small half-page of paper written in pinyin that had just been completed, Lu De thought to himself that it was really not easy. It had taken him almost a month to finally record the words that Ah Dai had heard in his dream in the correct order.

Now all I'm waiting for is the right opportunity to visit the Dragon Queen who's supposedly languishing on the snowy mountain, and see if she can understand me.

Out of curiosity, Lude took some time to ask the dragons who worked at SF Express about it. It turned out that most of these young people, who were around four or five hundred years old on average, had never seen their queen in person and could only hear about old stories from some of the older ones.

Legend has it that Queen Isabella of the Dragon Clan was actually over 50,000 years old, but no one knows the exact number.

When she was born, most of the native intelligent races in this world were still uncivilized, with the most advanced only reaching the level of tribal civilization. Therefore, the queen was both a guardian and a witness to the development of civilization in this world.

In her youth, Isabella actively visited emerging ethnic groups, enjoying conversations with them and occasionally offering guidance, leaving behind an image of an enlightener in the cultural history of these peoples.

However, as time went by, her enthusiasm, like a stone thrown into a rushing river, gradually lost its edge. The queen's curiosity waned, and she became increasingly lazy. She no longer traveled around, and the dragon clan she commanded caused her immense headaches.

Generally speaking, the dragon clans scattered across various worlds have a chance of giving birth to a new super dragon every ten thousand years or so. However, this particular branch is unusually unlucky. Despite having many newborns, they just can't seem to produce any "orange" dragons. This makes Isabella so angry that she often looks in the mirror, wondering why she, a white-blue frost dragon, has such a dark face.

Isabella endured this hardship for a full 50,000 years before finally receiving a guaranteed big win.

As a result, that silly boy died before he even matured, because he got involved in a war between the local gods.

The unfortunate demise of this poor child left Isabella, who had always hoped to leave this world and become a wanderer, feeling hopeless about her dragon life, and she became withdrawn. Since the end of the God War, Isabella has not appeared in any of the three Dragon Clan Conferences held; they have all been presided over by several elders.

It's important to know that the Dragon Clan Assembly, held once every hundred years, is not only a large-scale matchmaking event, but also a chance for newly adult young dragons to meet the Queen and see if there are any promising talents among them.

The fact that the Queen no longer attends even the general assembly speaks volumes.

Incidentally, the ancient covenant followed by the dragons only requires them to fight against the demons of the warp and prevent the prime material from being taken over by these monsters. However, if the prime material itself is destroyed, the dragons are not responsible, as they have ways to escape on their own.

In order to meet the reclusive Dragon Queen as soon as possible, Lud plans to follow Kumirard's advice and prepare a "gift" in advance, and then ask a Dragon Elder to act as an introducer to take him to the Queen's palace for an audience.

Finding an introducer is actually easy. All eight current elders on duty have close ties with Kumirad; some have received favors from her, while others have someone she can hold accountable. Therefore, with her protection, Lud can even randomly pick an unlucky person to guide him.

The gift that really requires some thought is the first present.

In Kumirad's words, the old dragon is tens of thousands of years old this year. Her long life has given her a wealth of experience far exceeding that of any other living being in the world. Therefore, if you really want to please her, instead of giving her priceless treasures, you should try to get her some rare items that she has never seen before.

Lu De thought to himself, "This is easy. I have quite a few rare items that don't exist in the world."

So after making some preparations at his hometown, Lude picked out some "little gadgets" he had tinkered with in his spare time from his own storeroom, and then called Kanna to go out together.

As a member of the dragon race, Kanna was naturally able to sense the sacred mountain where the Queen resided. Carrying Lud, she flew at three times the speed of sound, quickly crossing towering mountains and arriving at a snow-covered ice plain. As soon as Kanna entered the snowy area, her previously swift flight speed suddenly decreased. This unexpected stop almost threw Lud off, leaving the two of them bewildered in mid-air.

"What's going on here!?"

"Huh?"

After a while, Lude realized that there was some kind of barrier in the snowfield, which was very similar to the fire seed in the earth's core. It would suppress divine power, which was why Kanna suddenly slowed down in mid-air.

What frustrated Lud even more was that he had asked so many people before, whether it was Kumirad or the group of young dragons, they could talk about those unfounded rumors in great detail, but no one reminded him that there was a barrier over the snowfield.

"Thinking about it carefully, it seems like I wasn't asking anyone at all!"

Without dwelling on this for too long, Lud told Connor to continue flying towards the Holy Mountain.

Before meeting the Queen, they needed to find a Frost Dragon Elder named "Loth," who was currently on duty at the Holy Land. Before Lud left, Kumirad gave him a letter, instructing him to deliver it to Loth after meeting him; the old dragon naturally knew what to do.

Lud and Connor didn't even need to search. Not long after they entered the snowfield, they saw a huge frost dragon with a cool beard flying towards them, its appearance exactly matching Elder Lot's.

"Halt! This is the sacred land of the Dragon Clan. You...you are also a dragon?"

Because of Kanna's unusual appearance and her aura full of divine power, Lot didn't recognize her as a dragon at first glance. It wasn't until he got closer that he was able to tell. He also discovered that although Kanna was much larger than many adult dragons, she still had the demeanor of a child.

So, without bothering to inquire about the visitor's identity, Lotte, filled with doubt, asked Lud, who was riding on the dragon's back.

How old is this child?

"Uh... eight years old (by age reckoning)."

"This kid is eight years old?!"

Upon hearing the number Lude reported, Lott looked incredulous. He had seen what an eight-year-old dragon looked like before, how could it possibly be this big?

Impossible! Absolutely impossible!

However, Lud didn't intend to waste words with the old dragon in front of him on such an unimportant matter. He directly took out the letter that Kumirad had given him and showed it to the other party the seal and emblem.

Lotte, who had just been agonizing over the fact that a baby dragon couldn't possibly be that big, froze in mid-air upon seeing the emblem. It was as if an earthquake was unfolding in the dragon's enormous eyes.

"Let me make this clear from the start: I'm only responsible for taking you to the main gate. If the Queen refuses to see you, that's none of my business. Also, when you get back, tell that woman that once or twice is acceptable, but not a third time. I am, after all, an elder of the Dragon Clan, and I have my dignity too!"

On the way to Queen Isabella's palace, Elder Lot kept muttering to himself, and from his reaction, it was not hard to tell that he was probably caught red-handed by Kumirard.

Following behind Lotte, Conna carried Lud for quite a while before finally landing in front of a majestic snow-capped mountain.

Lude was wondering what the Dragon Queen's palace looked like when Lotte raised her paw and pointed at the snow-capped mountain in front of her.

"This is Her Majesty the Queen's bedroom."

"Here? Is it inside the mountain?"

"No, this mountain is it."

"Is this the bedroom?"

"This is the Queen."

"???"

Lotte's words left Lud completely bewildered. He looked up at the snow-capped mountain and studied it carefully for a while before finally understanding what the other person meant after seeing the general outline of the mountain.

This isn't some snow mountain, it's a gigantic dragon!

"This is way too big!!"

Even though Lud was mentally prepared, he was still so shocked that his jaw almost dropped when a giant beast the size of a mountain appeared in front of him.

At the same time, he confirmed once again that Kumirad and that group of working dragons back home were all scoundrels! Not one of them had told him how big the Queen really was, just waiting to give him a shock when he arrived!

"Damn it, I'm docking your year-end bonuses when we get back!"

Seeing Lud's surprised expression, Lot knew it was his first time here, so he explained that frost dragons like cold places, and the colder it is, the more comfortable they are. In fact, anywhere on the entire ice plains that is covered with snow can be considered the Queen's palace.

Counting the days, Her Majesty the Queen has been lying here motionless for over three hundred years since she began to lay idle. The wind and snow cover her massive body, and one has to look closely to make out the general shape of a giant dragon.

"I've brought you to the place, but whether Her Majesty the Queen is willing to get up and pay attention to you is beyond my control. You two continue your conversation, I'll be going now."

After speaking, Lotte flew away before Lud could reply.

"Damn, isn't this guy afraid I'll do something to their queen?"

Watching Lotte walk away, Lud muttered a complaint under his breath, then turned back to look at the dragon queen lying there.

Judging from its appearance alone, this ridiculously large dragon is nearly a thousand meters tall just lying there. According to the body proportions of a typical dragon, if this old lady were to stretch out completely, it would probably be tens of thousands of meters long from head to tail.

Such a large creature is already very unscientific in its very existence, but it is also very magical!

Standing before the colossal dragon, Lud first tried calling its name, but it didn't respond. He then used several non-aggressive divine spells on the dragon, but still couldn't rouse it. Kanna, unable to bear watching any longer, ran over and slapped it hard with her claws, then turned and ran away like a mischievous child ringing the neighbor's doorbell. But Isabella remained unmoved, which left Lud perplexed.

"Seriously, old lady, wake up!"

Seeing the dragon queen who looked like she was fast asleep, Lude plopped down on the snow, and Kanna transformed into a kitten-sized dragon and snuggled into Lude's arms, begging to be petted.

Just then, Lud suddenly remembered something that might be useful, so he took out his notebook and wrote a note, telling Kanna to fly back quickly to get a prop from someone.

With Lud's note in hand, Kanna flew back to her hometown, while Lud stayed behind on the snowfield, waiting patiently.

At this moment, Elder Loth returned and saw that Lud was still there, so he landed in front of him and said.

"Human, have you not given up yet?"

"I'm here because I have important business with your queen, not just for a casual visit."

"What's up?"