Chapter 3: Ancient Dragon Blood
Shifting his gaze away from the map, Joshua shook his head.
Regardless, for now, the dragon calamity only threatened the Far South. Although it had stirred up memories of the past, the warrior was now a Northern lord situated on the other side of the world. This war, for the time being, had nothing to do with him.
For Joshua at the moment, the most important thing was to prepare for the Imperial Capital's victory celebration, which would begin in early April. This was not merely a simple banquet; from the prosecutor's overt and covert hints, it was clear that this gathering of all the Empire's nobles and powerful figures undoubtedly had a deeper significance.
However, before setting out, he needed to finish handling all the affairs within his territory.
Looking down from a high vantage point outside the city, the black-and-green mottled plains, the land where ice and snow had just begun to melt, and the nascent green grass stretched endlessly into the distance. On the nearby fields, farmers could be seen tending to their crops. At the edge of his vision, a fully equipped hunting party was galloping along the main road, racing toward the distant Black Forest.
"Prepare to depart."
Standing at the topmost level of the Lord's Manor, Joshua gazed into the distance for a moment. Then, he instructed Ying, who stood nearby, to activate the fixed teleportation array. With a surge of arcane power, a magic crystal placed at the energy source dimmed, and the warrior, along with Ying and Lin standing behind him, vanished into the azure glow of the teleportation array.
The destination of this teleportation was Black Forest Fortress, and Joshua's purpose was to investigate the mysterious region within the Great Aias Volcano.
Not long ago, Unit 3 had told him that the exploration team led by Paladin Loranda had discovered a mysterious area deep within the Great Aias Volcano. The mana concentration there was extremely dense, accompanied by severe elemental turbulence. Even ordinary warriors could not venture deep; merely at the periphery, there were signs of elemental erosion causing preliminary muscle melting.
With Loranda's strength, he could naturally investigate deeper, but his exploration experience was far from mature, making him unreliable for such a task. Moreover, he was prone to getting lost; once inside the volcano's dense network of lava tunnels, who knew if he could find his way out.
In fact, it wasn't just Unit 3 who was concerned about this; even the distant Moria and Countess Verdani had specifically inquired whether the news was true. Even the lords of the other two Northern territories, the Wilson Family and the Tepes Family, were exceptionally focused on it.
Because this was the Great Aias Volcano—the source of life for the entire Northern lands, and naturally, also the source of destruction.
The heat from the earth's molten lava, along with nutrient-rich volcanic ash, had nurtured the largest mountain range in the North, the Black Forest. This forest once covered all the areas now inhabited by humans, boasting a territory comparable to a small kingdom. Precisely because of this, the Northerners, who had cleared parts of the Black Forest and built their homes upon it, enjoyed the benefits of this fertile land and never truly worried about food.
But this was contingent on the Great Aias Volcano not erupting.
According to reports from the reconnaissance team, the mysterious region contained such a vast quantity and density of magical energy that, even if insufficient to trigger an eruption, it could still cause destruction comparable to that wrought four hundred years ago by the ancient dragon, the Blazing Black Dragon Elbaltien.
"Ah, Lord!"
The teleportation ended, and Joshua and the others felt a slight dizziness before habitually shaking their heads to regain clarity. The soldiers guarding the teleportation array, realizing that the one emerging was their own lord, immediately hurriedly saluted.
Having received word of Joshua's arrival, Zorgen, Kili, and Feng—the fortress defense trio—rushed to the teleportation array located in the central tower. As the warrior conversed with the three, he was pleasantly surprised to discover that Zorgen, having recovered from his previous severe injuries, seemed to have achieved a breakthrough and now showed signs of advancing to the Gold Rank. The other two had also been steadily increasing their strength.
"Not bad, you're advancing quite quickly," he praised without reservation.
In truth, this was only natural. Since the last Black Tide, Black Forest Fortress had been recuperating. Only recently, thanks to Joshua's continuous dispatch of new troops to replenish their ranks, had the fortress fully restored its peak strength. In reality, the fortress's combat power was now more than a notch above before, especially since a large number of soldiers had survived the battlefield between humans and magical beasts. Most of them had advanced at least once, with many becoming new Silver-rank warriors.
As for the Silver-rank knights, there was no need to mention them; these powerful individuals who survived would only reap greater gains.
Accompanied by the group, Joshua made a general inspection of the entire Black Forest Fortress. He examined the walls, towers, and supply warehouses. After confirming that everything was in order, he smiled and encouraged his soldiers. Then, he led Ying and Lin out of the fortress, heading directly into the Black Forest toward the volcano.
"The master is moving too fast..."
Following behind Joshua, Ying, who was almost jogging, glanced sideways at her brother, as if they could communicate through looks alone. "We haven't even eaten, and he's just leaving like this."
"There's nothing else to do. Did you expect the master to inspect everything? There isn't that much time. The master's goal isn't here at all."
Lin shrugged, squinting slightly. He understood Joshua's thinking: "Finish the side tasks quickly along the way, so the master can get to the main business sooner."
In fact, the distance from Black Forest Fortress to the Great Aias Volcano was not far. By evening, while Joshua's weapons were quietly chatting behind him, they had reached their destination.
Located in the core region of the mountain range, the active volcano, the Great Aias Volcano, was both magnificent and beautiful. The towering, powerful mountain body stood like a giant holding up the sky. Thick smoke billowed out, merging into the endless dark clouds above, while a visible red glow flickered at the summit.
On the hills surrounding the volcano, there was a simple camp enclosed by wooden walls. This was where Loranda's exploration team was stationed.
Joshua did not hesitate. He walked straight into the camp and, at the entrance, encountered the paladin and other members of the exploration team, who were preparing to set out for a survey.
Everyone was momentarily stunned when they saw Joshua. They seemed completely surprised that he had come. Loranda was no exception. Earlier, hearing footsteps from outside, he had assumed another exploration team had arrived. As the other team members saluted their lord, he cheerfully greeted, "Long time no see, my friend."
"Long time no see. How have you been faring in the exploration team?"
The warrior returned the greeting. Joshua could tell that, after months of grinding at the grassroots level, Loranda's temperament had improved further, and he seemed to have initially developed his own personal combat techniques. However, today was not for sparring. After exchanging pleasantries, Joshua began inquiring about the specifics of the mysterious region within the volcano.
"The situation is like this..."
Loranda held nothing back and recounted everything he had seen and heard in detail.
It turned out they had discovered the mysterious region by accident.
At the time, Loranda's exploration team was searching for surface mineral veins around the volcano. Such easily mined veins, even if they only yielded iron, were still a worthwhile venture, especially since most contained rare materials like mithril or flame crystal iron.
As the group passed through a forest and crossed a hill, a sharp-eyed archer noticed a layer of dark red rock on the ground at the foot of the distant volcano. It was scattered here and there but exuded an inexplicable sense of pressure.
The entire team, including Loranda, felt that this material was extraordinary. Knowing that something capable of pressuring a group of battle-hardened warriors was no ordinary find, they decided to collect some samples and assess the scale of the red rock deposit.
But upon reaching the foot of the mountain and following the trail of red rock on the surface, they quickly discovered a massive tunnel leading deep into the volcano.
No one could resist such curiosity. After Loranda cast a light spell, the exploration team dispatched a portion of its members to follow the tunnel downward. The tunnel was exceptionally dry, filled with the smell of sulfur, yet surprisingly free of toxic gases. The surrounding rock walls were very smooth. An experienced veteran explorer believed that this was not a naturally formed cave, and everyone agreed with this hypothesis.
After walking for an unknown distance, the exploration team arrived at a massive cavern inside the volcano. It was filled with lava, rich in elements, yet extremely chaotic.
The rest of the story, Joshua already knew. Due to the excessive elemental concentration, ordinary people could easily be burned or even killed by the energy radiation. Thus, the team hastily retreated and reported the matter to the main city.
"Red, rock-like substance?"
Murmuring to himself, Joshua was not focused on the peculiar mysterious region. Instead, he recalled the red bloodstone at the bottom of Nissier Snow Mountain's lake. He asked curiously, "Could I take a look at those samples?"
This was far too polite, even using the word "please." The archer standing nearby, flustered, immediately presented the sample hanging from his waist. Since their own lord had spoken so courteously, he would be ashamed if he were even a moment slow.
"This smell... very familiar! Just as I thought, this red rock..."
Joshua opened the common specimen bag, rubbed off a bit of powder with his fingers, and licked it. After closing his eyes to think for a moment, he confirmed that it was the taste of ancient dragon blood.
At this thought, he couldn't help but reveal an excited smile. "That red trail is likely the blood trail left by an injured ancient dragon! And that peculiar smooth cave is the passage it used to travel!" (To be continued.)