# Chapter 28: Walking Through Flames
After receiving news of the dragon-beast attack on the village, Moria and Nostradamus both temporarily set aside their work and prepared to visit the warrior who was in the main city of Moldavia.
As a result, in the hall of the Lord's Mansion, they saw Joshua, fully equipped and ready to go out, seemingly about to head out the door, though they had no idea what he intended to do.
"Joshua, what are you doing?"
The first to arrive was Moria. He was staying at an inn not far from the city center in the main city, and had just been drawing up architectural blueprints for a rune factory. Upon learning that a village had been attacked by dragon-beasts, with many casualties, he immediately came to check on Joshua.
Originally, the old dwarf thought he would see a furious warrior, or one who was sullen and angry, but he never expected that Joshua would be completely calm, simply wearing his full battle gear and carrying various tools, looking as if he was about to go out and do something big.
He was no novice. As a dwarf warrior who had lived for over a hundred years, Moria could naturally tell that this was the most formal and serious light battle attire a warrior on the Mycroft Continent could wear, aside from armor and weapons.
Meanwhile, Ying and Lin stood behind Joshua, whispering to each other. The silver-haired girl also asked her underground companion the same question in confusion: "What is master going to do?"
Lin glanced helplessly at the calm-faced warrior and said softly, "Sister, don't be fooled by how calm and rational master looks right now. He's actually furious... Ever since he was in the study earlier, he's been saying he wants to go to the Extreme North Icefield to slay dragons. I can't stop him at all..."
No matter how quietly the two Divine Mechanisms spoke, they couldn't escape the ears of a Gold-rank warrior. Moria wasn't far away, so he naturally heard the conversation between the young man and woman. Startled, the metal rings on his beard trembled incessantly. The old dwarf immediately stepped forward and said to Joshua in surprise, "My friend, you're not joking, are you? I know you're angry that your territory was attacked, but how could you think of going to slay dragons?"
His voice was filled with confusion. Just then, Nostradamus also arrived at the hall, catching the tail end of the conversation and hearing the exchange between Ying and Lin. The white-haired elder immediately spoke up to advise, "Yes, Joshua. Although this time dragon-beasts attacked the village, it has nothing to do with the white dragons on the Extreme North Icefield."
"Moreover, the White Dragon Peak on the Extreme North Icefield has at least a dozen adult dragons, with at least one dragon leader dwelling there. Although there are no Ultimate-rank old dragons, if you act so impulsively and recklessly, something will definitely go wrong."
Joshua, who had been standing at the door ready to leave, looked helplessly at so many people blocking his way to advise him. He couldn't help but sigh and calmly explained, "Master Moria, Master Nostradamus, I haven't gone mad, nor am I being impulsive. I've considered everything before preparing to set out."
If you'd considered everything, you shouldn't be going out at all!
Although they didn't say this out loud, the expressions of the old dwarf and the old mage clearly conveyed this meaning.
Nostradamus was silent for a moment, then frowned and said hesitantly, "Joshua, as far as I know, although this dragon-beast attack was widespread, covering the four northern territories, similar incidents have occurred in history. For example, during the winter over two hundred years ago, the northern lands experienced five consecutive Black Tide attacks, and that time also saw dragon-beasts flying past fortresses to raid villages... Why are you so fixated on the white dragons on the icefield, insisting on causing trouble for them?"
The old dwarf nodded in agreement; this was also a question that troubled him.
Joshua touched the huge spike hanging at his waist. This spike was as long as a human arm, with countless runes inscribed at its tip, shimmering with strange colors. The long blood groove showed obvious traces of poison. These spikes were specially used for bleeding large creatures, and in a sense, they were equipment specifically designed for dragon-slaying.
He turned to look at the old mage, thought for a moment about his wording, then shook his head and said, "Master Nostradamus, perhaps Moria and the others don't know the cause of this matter, but you should."
He paused, then said heavily, "Abyssal Derivatives."
Before the old mage could respond, Joshua raised his head, his crimson eyes looking at the ceiling, and continued, "Last Black Tide, I extracted an Abyssal Derivative from the body of a mammoth beast. That thing had clearly been modified by Chaos, and one of my subordinates confirmed to me that this Chaos creation contained an unmistakable aura of the northern white dragons. Combined with the rumors currently circulating in the Far South about the Five-Colored Dragon Clan colluding with Chaos, the matter is already very clear."
The warrior lowered his head, staring directly into the silent old mage's eyes, and sneered, "Why would dragon-beasts casually attack humans? Their intelligence is far higher than that of beasts driven only by instinct. How could humans, creatures that bring endless trouble when eaten, be tastier than natural meat like mammoths and herbivorous dragons? If you tell me there's no hidden hand behind this dragon-beast attack, I cannot believe it."
"How do you know... The Imperial Royal Mage Association is still researching this, and this information is top secret..."
After hearing Joshua's words, the old mage subconsciously asked a question, but Nostradamus quickly recalled Joshua's profession.
Chaos Warden—the profession most sensitive to Chaos aura in this world. With the Azure Orb on him, it all made sense.
But the old mage still had some doubts... Joshua was a lord of the northern lands of the Northern Empire, separated from the Far South Kingdom at the southernmost tip of the continent by an entire continent. Even the information he himself knew about the Five-Colored Dragon Clan in the Far South was the result of years of intelligence work by imperial secret agents. How could a count know these things?
How did he know all this?
But even with great doubts in his heart, he still had to try to persuade Joshua: "But my friend, Joshua, what you said is indeed very possible. However, possibilities can only be guesses, not evidence."
Saying this, the old mage couldn't help stroking his beard, somewhat worriedly: "White dragons are different from ordinary races. The Five-Colored Dragons are a whole. They have civilization and wisdom, writing and heritage. On Dragon Island, there are even dragon cities. They live in territories all over the world, the result of negotiations between the Dragon King of Dragon Island and various nations. If you rashly go to attack them, you'll damage the relationship between the two sides. The Empire has just defeated the orcs of the Northwest Plains and urgently needs to recuperate. It doesn't have the energy to confront Dragon Island head-on..."
"To hell with the relationship."
Rudely interrupting Nostradamus's persuasion, Joshua expressed disdain: "The Dragon Calamity is about to appear. At that time, you'll want to kill the Five-Colored Dragons even more than I do."
At this point, the warrior was no longer in a hurry to leave. He said solemnly, "Listen, you're just bound by past relationships and have scruples. But in reality, this is part of those dragons' plan. These dragons from other worlds have been plotting for decades or even centuries, with detailed plans. Once this plan unfolds, human nations will suffer heavy losses... The fall of the Orc God made the Five-Colored Dragon God feel a sense of crisis. They chose to advance their plan ahead of schedule. The current dragon-beast attacks are just accidental incidents caused by this premature execution."
He spoke with conviction, as if stating facts. Nostradamus and Moria exchanged glances, unsure whether to believe him.
Joshua was indeed not the type to lie, but making these two believe his words was still somewhat difficult.
"However, I didn't intend to ask you to help me. You see, the most feared thing for such detailed plans is accidents."
Joshua waved his hand, signaling Ying and Lin to follow him, then prepared to walk around the two. The warrior said matter-of-factly, "My existence is the biggest accident."
"I'm different from others. I don't care about any human-dragon contracts or the relationship between Dragon Island and the Empire. I only know that dragon-beasts killed my people, and those white dragons are the masterminds behind it. Dragons kill people, I kill dragons—what's wrong with that?"
This was as natural as the laws of heaven and earth.
"Although I overlooked some things before, it's not too late. No matter how detailed their plans are, it has nothing to do with me. As for evidence, I just need to kill all these dragons and find the evidence from their lairs. Then you'll naturally believe my words and assist me."
By this point, Joshua had already walked beside the silent old mage. He looked directly into the white-haired mage's eyes and said seriously, "Listen to me, Nostradamus. Go back to the Imperial Capital now and tell the Imperial Emperor, His Majesty, that if he starts mobilizing experts to hunt down those Five-Colored Dragons now, the losses the Empire will suffer in the Dragon Calamity will be much smaller."
After speaking, he led Ying and Lin and walked directly toward the door.
"Do you need help, Joshua?"
Moria was silent for a moment, then asked before the warrior opened the door to leave. The old dwarf's eyes were full of sincerity: "You brought me back from another world, and I can accompany you to the icefield to slay dragons. Don't worry about anything."
"As long as you say the word, I'll bring the strongest warriors of the Rune Dwarf clan to support you."
Hearing this, Joshua's back paused for a moment. Then the door opened, and before his figure disappeared, a reply tinged with laughter came: "No need, Master Moria. What you need to do now is to quickly return to the dwarf settlement and reinforce the underground defenses."
"Dragon-beasts aren't just the flying kind."
After Joshua left, Nostradamus and Moria looked at each other. The old mage sighed softly: "I really am getting old... Too many scruples."
After saying this, he shook his head, and his figure was enveloped by layers of azure-blue ripples. The old dwarf quickly stepped forward and grabbed the mage's hand: "Friend, give me a ride. Send me back to Black Steel Town first!"
"Then hold tight."
As soon as the words fell, after a ripple of space-time, the two disappeared from the Lord's Mansion.
At this moment, Joshua was in the stable.
He arrived at the stable and saw Black, still coiled up like a dragon, sleeping in place. He then decisively kicked it in the belly. The dragon-blood warhorse, who had been sleeping groggily, felt someone kicking its belly and immediately opened its eyes in fury. But in an instant, it saw its master's face. After an awkward snort, the horse immediately behaved itself and stood up obediently.
"After sleeping for so long, it's indeed time for some exercise."
Joshua touched Black's skin, which had already formed a layer of hard carapace with some protruding spines. Feeling the almost burning heat in his hands, he laughed, then put on specially made stirrups and saddle before mounting.
Ying and Lin also mounted their own warhorses on either side. Without any hesitation, the master and servants decisively spurred their horses and galloped out of the city.
Running across the black frozen soil of the northern lands, Black let out an excited neigh. Having slept for such a long time, now being able to gallop freely through the vast world naturally filled it with joy. In such an excited mood, the power of the bloodline within Black's body began to pulse slowly, providing it with ample stamina.
The power of the bloodline grew stronger and stronger. Beneath this warhorse's hooves, countless fire elements began to gather. Gradually, as the galloping accelerated, a deep red flame began to burn under Black's hooves.