Evil dragon has a warm heart

Chapter 65 - 65 65 The Skywell

?Chapter 65: Chapter 65: The Skywell Chapter 65: Chapter 65: The Skywell Volcanoes, snowfields.

These are the opposing ice and fire ecosystems on the Dragon Sleep Continent.

The entire continent is enveloped by the power of the Snow Demon, causing the land to be buried under thick ice and snow, turning into endless snowfields as far as the eye can see.

But the birth of the Great Dragon tore through the seal of the snowfields.

Volcanoes rise from the ground, spewing hot magma that resembles the Great Dragon’s roar. The power of the Dragonflame rolls out with the magma, and the heat starts to radiate from the volcano as the center, creating a warm oasis around it.

The Shadowflame Duchy was thus established alongside the birth of the Shadowflame Dragon, nearly four hundred years ago to this day.

The power of the Shadowflame Dragon continued to grow, and the territory of the nation expanded as well.

Still, the principal territory revolves around the volcanoes, but further away, as more Bipedal Flying Dragons are born, the ice surrounding the volcanoes begins to melt, forming warm places similar to Glowing Valley.

At the edge of these warm places is the transition zone between ice and fire—the caverns.

“This is the ice cap, Sir,” Katie said, holding a torch to act as a guide for Russell, “The ice cap above our heads has sealed for countless years, do you see this fracture line? Inside the line, the ice cap is impenetrable, but outside it could melt at any time.”

“Is it because of the warm season?” Russell asked as he walked.

“Yes, when the warm season arrives, the temperature goes up, and the ice caps outside the fracture line melt and break, with the risk of killing someone if not careful. When the ice period comes, the temperature drops, and here the ice caps form again, providing insulation from the cold air and ensuring the temperature of the caverns.”

Under the illumination of the torch, the ice cap glistens, as if it were eternal crystal.

Even more so,
within the ice cap, one could see the remains of dead animals and plants, eternally sealed within the ice.

“Ms. Katie, are you saying these ice caps have never melted?” Charles asked, pointing at the ice caps inside the fracture line.

“Yes, at least in my memory, they have never melted. No matter how hot the warm season gets, it can only melt the ice caps outside the fracture line.”

“Hmm, in that case…” Charles turned to Russell and said, “It does match a legend that the Snow Demon invaded from another world. Before the invasion of the Snow Demon, the Dragon Sleep Continent had four seasons and was teeming with life.”

As he spoke, he gestured toward the remnants frozen within the ice cap, explaining, “These remains are probably those that got frozen after the Snow Demon invasion… Tsk tsk, thousands of years have passed, and they still seem so lifelike!”

“Perhaps it’s not the case,” Catherine interjected.

“Why do you say that?” Charles asked.

“Maybe there was a Great Dragon kingdom here before as well, and it simply perished later, to be resealed by the ice,” Catherine said. “After all, it has been over five thousand years since the birth of Great Dragons, and too many stories could have transpired.”

“You have a point, but I reserve my opinion,” Charles said with a smile. “No ruins of ancient nations have been found on this land, therefore it is evident that our Shadowflame Duchy was established on a brand-new snowfield. We are the sole story of this land.”

As for this, Russell was noncommittal.

He was simply observing the ecosystem of the caverns, where the Glowing River flowed in below the ice caps, it was then referred to as the Xiangshui River.

The sound of the water’s flow became especially crisp and loud in response to the ice caps.

Gradually, he started to see some clues. The so-called Echo Water River Cavern was not a true underground ecosystem, and the Xiangshui River was not any kind of underground river—it was a normal river that once flowed over the surface of the land.

Since the land above was now covered by the snowfields,
the ice caps could not melt and the land could not be revealed, depriving the environment of the nourishment of sunlight, thus the entire area was called a cavern.

The Cavern Free People lived in the holes eroded by some force within the ice caps.

Even without torches, there is a faint glow in the cavern, which seeps through the thick ice cap above.

“Where does the Echo Water River ultimately flow?” Russell asked.

“Into the ice, it should continue flowing within the ice, but it’s too cold and dark there; no one has ever explored that far,” Katie replied. “In fact, a bit further and the Echo Water River will freeze over. Water flows beneath the ice, rendering that place unsuitable for life.”

The space where the Cavern Free People can survive is the stretch of Echo Water River that has not frozen and the ice caves where there is still unfrozen water.

Katie said, “We call the places with water that have not frozen cold springs, as opposed to hot springs… I’ve never seen what a hot spring looks like, though.”

The caverns extended inward along the Echo Water River, but the space became narrower.

Dense moss and tiny mushrooms grew all around, and many Freemen clad in beast skin clothing were picking these moss and mushrooms—food for the Cavern Free People.

“Moray, Monet, come here, swear allegiance to Sir!” Catherine called out loudly upon sighting the Cavern Free People.

Two similarly looking Cavern Free People stumbled over, then, under Catherine’s direction, knelt down and kissed the tip of Russell’s boot.

“Have the Freemen over there received the message? Lone Wolf Lisbon is dead, and Echo Water River Cavern will be incorporated into Wuyao Snake Manor. Everyone must swear allegiance to Lord Russell… Has anyone from your side run away?”

“No one has run away,” Moray said warily, looking at Russell and his party, fearing he would be slain with a sword, even though he had already pledged allegiance.

“Then go and call them over to swear allegiance to Sir!”

“Sir, no, my lord… Why would my lord care about lowly people like us?” Moray boldly asked.

Russell looked at Moray and Monet, pale as addicts, and said indifferently, “I need labor, and I need the complete Echo Water River Cavern, to defend Glowing Valley against the Snow Ghosts. So, this is your opportunity.”

Charles chimed in, “Cherish it, lad, the lord isn’t always this kindhearted!”

Monet, next to Moray, suddenly muttered quietly, “If we become the lord’s serfs, can the lord help us get wives?”

“What nonsense you’re thinking!” Charles scoffed.

Russell, however, did not joke about it and said with a slight smile, “Becoming my vassals means you are free to love. As long as you can find a girl who shares your feelings, and her parents don’t object, as your lord, I’m even willing to preside over your wedding.”

Encouraging procreation was a policy Russell had already planned.

A flush of warmth spread across Monet’s numb face, and a gleam of hope shone in his eyes, “Really, my lord?”

“Could the words of Sir be false!” Charles scolded.

Once Monet received an affirmative answer, he immediately grabbed his brother Moray, “Let’s go and call everyone to swear allegiance to the lord!”

As they walked, Freemen like Moray and Monet gradually came running to pledge allegiance to Russell.

They soon reached the largest skylight in Echo Water River Cavern—the skylight where the ice cap is thinnest, and during the warm season, it breaks open a large hole, allowing sunlight to pour in, making it the brightest place in the cavern.

With sunlight and cold springs, the skylight is the most suitable place in the cavern for growing moss and mushrooms.

“Wolf Head Skylight, Sir, the caterpillar fungus and the Bloodfang Fungi fields of the mushroom insects are right here, Lisbon’s lair,” Katie explained.

No need for torches to light the path.

Russell could already see the full view of Wolf Head Skylight; in the center, a vast field of moss with numerous pits dug around it, filled with countless rotting wood within which the Bloodfang Fungi bearing spots of blood-red, grew.

On the thickest piece of rotten wood grew a Bloodfang Fungi the size of a washbasin—the caterpillar fungus of the mushroom insects.