Chapter 21: The Dragon's Feeding Ground
The battle with the Blue Monarch Butterflies finally came to an end.
Captain Han immediately raised his hand.
"Rest."
Nobody argued.
The trainees were mentally exhausted as much as physically.
Illusions demanded a different kind of strength.
Several young warriors quietly rubbed their temples.
Others sat upon fallen logs, drinking water and eating dried monster meat.
Even Tianyu leaned comfortably against Bingya's thick white fur.
Yun Che removed his helmet with a sigh.
Cold mountain air washed across his sweat-covered face.
He hadn't realized how tense his jaw had become until now.
One of the cavalry members tossed him a leather water flask.
"Drink."
"You'll need it."
Yun Che caught it with a smile.
"Thank you."
The camp remained temporary.
No fires.
No loud voices.
Only rune lanterns hung from nearby branches.
The softly glowing runes illuminated the clearing with pale blue light while consuming only a trickle of Ki from small energy stones.
Without them...
The surrounding forest would already have disappeared into complete darkness.
Three hours had passed since leaving Mistforge.
It was now nearly seven in the evening.
Night belonged to the mountains.
And the mountains...
Belonged to monsters.
The atmosphere around the trainees had noticeably relaxed.
Several younger warriors gathered around Yun Che.
One looked curiously at the dragon-headed helmet resting beside him.
"You really made that yourself?"
"Mostly."
Another picked up one of the severed butterfly wings.
"I've never seen wires used like that."
Yun Che smiled.
"I've had years to practice."
Nearby...
Another group surrounded Tianyu.
Unlike Yun Che...
The questions directed at him had very little to do with equipment.
"Young Master."
"How do you make your kicks so fast?"
"How did you synchronize with Bingya like that?"
Tianyu answered patiently.
For once...
Without teasing anyone.
Yun Che quietly watched from the side.
He had to admit it.
Despite his annoying personality...
People naturally gravitated toward Tianyu.
He spoke confidently.
Clearly.
Without arrogance.
He really would make a good City Lord someday.
Captain Han eventually stood.
"Enough."
The conversations ended immediately.
"Move."
The Frost Wolves silently resumed their march.
The deeper they traveled...
The stranger the mountain became.
Birdsong vanished entirely.
Even insects seemed unwilling to exist there.
Only the crunch of snow beneath enormous paws disturbed the silence.
Yun Che slowly noticed something else.
There were...
No tracks.
Not wolf tracks.
Not fox tracks.
Not rabbit trails.
Nothing.
An entire section of forest...
Completely abandoned.
His fingers instinctively tightened around the reins.
Even the animals are avoiding this place.
The first corpse appeared several minutes later.
A Frost Bear.
Or...
What remained of one.
Half the body had simply disappeared.
Massive bite marks crushed ribs thicker than tree trunks.
The remaining flesh had frozen solid.
Dark blood stained the snow beneath it.
No one spoke.
They simply continued riding.
Then...
Another carcass.
This time...
A giant snow leopard.
Its spine had been snapped.
One foreleg lay nearly twenty meters away.
Yun Che noticed something unsettling.
Neither corpse had been eaten properly.
Only...
Sampled.
Like something had killed for pleasure rather than hunger.
The destruction became increasingly obvious.
Ancient trees...
Hundreds of years old...
Lay uprooted as though someone had casually pulled them from the earth.
Huge claw marks carved through stone cliffs.
Entire sections of frozen ground had exploded upward.
Gigantic gouges stretched across the mountain.
Each easily longer than Captain Han's Frost Wolf.
Yun Che silently compared them to the illustration in the bestiary.
Just one tail swing...
The thought remained unfinished.
He didn't want to imagine standing in front of it.
Then...
A roar.
It erupted across the mountains.
Not loud.
Overwhelming.
The very air trembled.
Every Frost Wolf immediately stopped.
Several younger mounts whimpered softly.
Yun Che felt the vibration inside his chest.
The sound wasn't merely heard.
It was felt.
Another roar followed.
Closer.
Much closer.
Then...
BOOM!
The ground shook violently.
Snow cascaded from nearby branches.
Birds exploded upward from distant trees.
A heartbeat later...
A violent pressure wave slammed through the forest.
Branches snapped.
Loose snow burst from the ground.
Several trainees nearly fell from their mounts.
Only the cavalry's experience kept the formation intact.
Captain Han never moved.
"Steady."
His calm voice somehow reached everyone despite the chaos.
Another explosion.
Then another.
Each impact resembled two mountains colliding.
The forest itself seemed to scream.
Ice shattered somewhere ahead.
Trees toppled.
Something impossibly heavy crashed through stone.
Yun Che suddenly understood.
The bestiary...
Had not exaggerated.
Captain Han slowly raised one fist.
"No one advances without orders."
Every trainee instinctively nodded.
The cavalry moved cautiously now.
Every Frost Wolf stepped silently.
No unnecessary sound.
No unnecessary movement.
Even breathing felt strangely loud.
The trees finally opened.
A vast clearing stretched before them.
For several long seconds...
Nobody spoke.
The battlefield looked...
Wrong.
The earth itself had ceased resembling earth.
Frozen craters scarred the landscape.
Gigantic icicles erupted from the ground at unnatural angles.
Entire cliffs had collapsed.
Hundreds of shattered ice shards glittered beneath the moonlight.
Broken trees lay scattered like discarded twigs.
At the center...
Something moved.
At first...
Yun Che thought it was a hill.
Then...
The hill breathed.
A gigantic reptilian head slowly lifted.
Cold blue scales reflected the moonlight.
Steam escaped between rows of enormous teeth.
Its thick tail lazily swept behind it.
Each movement crushed stone beneath its weight.
The Frost Komodo Dragon.
Far larger than the illustration.
Far more terrifying.
Its body stretched nearly ten meters from snout to tail.
Its muscles rippled beneath overlapping scales.
Ancient scars crossed its neck.
One yellow eye slowly rotated.
Watching.
Calculating.
Hungry.
It wasn't alone.
Beneath one massive claw...
A towering humanoid creature lay dying.
An Ice Yeti.
Over four meters tall.
Its thick white fur had already become crimson.
Nearby rested a gigantic battle axe carved entirely from enchanted ice.
The weapon alone dwarfed Yun Che.
The dragon ignored it.
Instead...
It lowered its head.
Its jaws closed around the Yeti's shoulder.
CRUNCH.
The sound echoed sickeningly across the clearing.
Bone.
Armor.
Flesh.
Everything shattered together.
Blood steamed against the snow.
The Yeti released one final desperate roar.
The dragon answered...
By biting harder.
Silence followed.
Only chewing remained.
One slow bite after another.
Completely unconcerned that dozens of humans now watched from the forest.
Yun Che's mouth had gone dry.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed loudly.
Even the wind seemed unwilling to disturb the horrifying feast.
Captain Han finally spoke.
His voice barely louder than a whisper.
"Remember this feeling."
"The mountain..."
"...does not care that you're human."
"The moment you underestimate it..."
He kept his eyes fixed upon the dragon.
"...you become the next meal."
-------------------------------------------
No one spoke.
Every pair of eyes remained fixed upon the Frost Komodo Dragon.
Even the trainees who had been laughing only an hour earlier now stood perfectly still.
The dragon continued eating.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
As though it had all the time in the world.
Its enormous jaws crushed the Ice Yeti's ribs with another sickening crack.
Blood steamed upon the frozen earth.
Yun Che swallowed unconsciously.
This...
This isn't something we can beat.
Several trainees seemed to reach the same conclusion.
One whispered,
"Captain..."
"...there's no way Young Master and Yun Che can defeat that."
Another nodded stiffly.
"It isn't even close."
"I can barely stand."
The beast hadn't attacked.
It hadn't even looked directly at them.
Yet the pressure radiating from it felt like a mountain pressing upon their shoulders.
Its killing intent was nothing like Tianyu's.
Nothing like Master Liang's.
Those belonged to humans.
This...
Was primal.
Cold.
Ancient.
A predator that had survived countless battles and no longer questioned whether it would win.
It simply expected victory.
The dragon finally tore another mouthful from the Yeti's corpse.
It still ignored the humans.
Not because it hadn't noticed them.
Because...
It simply didn't care.
Its golden eyes lazily drifted across the gathered cavalry before returning to its meal.
The message was unmistakable.
You'll be next.
After dinner.
Yun Che felt a chill travel down his spine.
Arrogance.
Absolute arrogance.
Not the arrogance of ignorance.
The arrogance of overwhelming strength.
It believed itself invincible.
And perhaps...
Against ordinary hunters...
It was.
Captain Han calmly surveyed the clearing.
His orders came without haste.
"Third Squad."
"North."
"Fifth Squad."
"East."
"Fourth Squad."
"Take the ridge."
The Frost Wolf Cavalry immediately scattered.
No one questioned the command.
Within moments, experienced warriors had disappeared into the surrounding forest.
Yun Che frowned.
"They're surrounding it?"
Captain Han nodded.
"It won't flee."
He looked toward the distant tree line.
"But something else may arrive."
The young trainees exchanged puzzled glances.
Captain Han continued.
"This beast is not the strongest predator in these mountains."
"It only believes it is."
He pointed toward the shattered battlefield.
"Such destruction..."
"...is a challenge."
"The scent of blood."
"The roars."
"The released Ki."
"They all announce one thing."
"A territory is being contested."
"If we delay too long..."
"Another powerful beast may come."
Yun Che suddenly understood.
This battle wasn't taking place in an empty arena.
It was taking place inside a living ecosystem.
The dragon wasn't merely their prey.
It was also bait.
Captain Han finally turned.
His sharp gaze settled upon Yun Che first.
"You."
Yun Che straightened instinctively.
"Support from long range."
"The killing intent alone will reduce your reactions in close combat."
"Do not fight your own fear and the dragon at the same time."
Yun Che nodded immediately.
He had already learned that lesson.
The Snow Tiger...
Had taught it painfully.
The Captain shifted toward Tianyu.
"You."
"Remain mobile."
"Coordinate with Bingya."
"Never stay still."
The young heir simply smiled.
"As always."
Captain Han ignored the remark.
His eyes moved between both boys.
"Neither of you are to receive a direct hit."
He let those words settle.
"Not one."
"The moment that tail lands..."
"...your battle ends."
"The moment those claws connect..."
"...your battle ends."
"This is not a duel."
"This is survival."
Yun Che felt his heartbeat quicken.
Captain Han wasn't exaggerating.
Their opponent stood an entire realm above them.
One mistake...
Would be fatal.
The Captain drew several lines in the snow with the tip of his naginata.
"The Frost Komodo possesses several advantages."
He pointed toward the first mark.
"Poisonous claws."
"A scratch is enough."
Another mark.
"Acid."
"It spits concentrated venom capable of melting armor."
Another.
"Frost Breath."
"Avoid it."
"It freezes flesh and Ki alike."
Then another.
"Ice Spikes."
"It creates them from both the ground..."
"...and the sky."
Several trainees instinctively looked upward.
Captain Han nodded.
"Correct."
"There is no safe direction."
He erased the final line with one sweep.
"Its scales possess exceptional resistance."
"Especially against Ki."
"The outside is stronger than the inside."
"If an opportunity appears..."
"Take it."
"But don't create one recklessly."
He looked directly at Yun Che.
"Observe."
"Think."
"If it has old injuries..."
"Exploit them."
"If it exposes something..."
"Remember it."
"A warrior wins with his eyes before his weapon."
Yun Che quietly committed every word to memory.
A deep rumble echoed across the clearing.
The dragon had finally finished eating.
Its tongue slowly swept across bloodstained teeth.
Then...
It stood.
The sheer movement seemed to shake the ground.
Its massive head slowly turned.
This time...
It looked directly at them.
Golden eyes.
Vertical pupils.
Cold intelligence.
The killing intent that burst outward became almost tangible.
Several trainees instinctively stepped backward.
Even their Frost Wolves lowered themselves slightly.
The dragon's nostrils flared.
It had decided.
Dinner...
Had come to it.
Captain Han's voice cut through the pressure.
"Positions."
Tianyu inhaled once.
His cheerful smile disappeared.
Only the young wolf remained.
He climbed fully onto Bingya's back.
The Frost Wolf released a low growl.
Rider and beast lowered themselves together.
Ready to spring.
Yun Che quietly walked toward a rocky outcrop overlooking the battlefield.
He reached behind his saddle.
Then carefully lifted the long rifle he had forged with his own hands.
Its black metal reflected the moonlight.
The runes engraved upon its frame shimmered faintly as Ki flowed through them.
He opened the bolt.
Inserted the first rune-inscribed round.
Then slowly closed it.
Click.
The sound seemed unnaturally loud.
Below...
The Frost Komodo Dragon released a deafening roar that shook snow from the trees.
Across the clearing...
Tianyu lowered his body over Bingya's neck.
Yun Che rested the rifle against his shoulder.
His breathing slowed.
His heartbeat steadied.
His finger settled beside the trigger.
For the first time...
His inventions...
His training...
And his courage...
Would all be tested against a creature that truly belonged to the mountains.