Chapter 53

It's over 5700 words! I don't have the ability to write more; writing 5000 words a day is basically what I can manage! Everyone, you decide. If you think it's good, please support Ryan! Your support is my greatest motivation.

"Damn it!" Roland Empire's griffin knight captain Richard cursed under his breath. Due to Melif's change of orders, the majority of Roland Empire's soldiers and noble private armies rushed over, all for the over one million prisoners of the Ceylon Empire, including the majority of the玄月骑士团 (Xuanyue Knights) and the griffin knights, who were at the forefront.

No one expected danger from the rear. After all, Roland Empire's total military strength had already exceeded three million, with nearly two million being regular troops and the rest being noble private armies. The remaining one million were a vast number of logistics personnel. These logistics personnel came to escort supplies, but on their return, they escorted a large number of prisoners. There were also a large number of slave traders gathered. In this massive army of three million, Melif's headquarters was ambushed.

It happened on a night three days ago. The soldiers responsible for the alert didn't even have time to react before over a hundred knights riding magical wolves charged into the camp. Then came endless slaughter, just slaughter. These knights were mostly at the level of great swordsmen, with some being swordmasters. The 500 knights of the Xuanyue Knights, over two thousand guards, and a small griffin knight squad were almost completely massacred by the over a hundred people. However, the commotion at Melif's camp quickly alerted the surrounding armies. By the time the main force arrived, Melif and his wife had already been taken hostage.

Everyone in the Roland Empire was stunned by the actions of these people. The emperor himself issued an urgent order to rescue Melif at all costs. However, these magical wolf knights were too fast, and after several maneuvers, they escaped the encirclement of the main force.

If it weren't for the griffin knights in the sky guiding the way, the Xuanyue Knights would have lost track of the magical wolf knights long ago. However, the higher they went, the colder it became, and the griffin knights faced even colder weather at high altitudes. Moreover, the griffin knights couldn't operate at night, so finding the tracks of the magical wolf knights every morning was a headache. Richard looked at the setting sun, cursed under his breath, remembered the location of the magical wolf knights, and then ordered the griffins to return to camp.

"Damn, I've only climbed 4000 meters out of 6000, and it's almost a whole day." Cook looked at the setting sun, feeling not warmth but the howling cold wind and the icy air.

Cook had underestimated the difficulty. A 4000-meter-high mountain, with detours and ice-covered rocks, was extremely difficult to climb. Cook had to be very careful, moving slowly and using both hands and feet. The good news was that Big Mouth had just reported that the dragon hadn't returned yet, but Cook was in a hurry. After all, staying in a place where you can't go up or down at night was pure torture.

"Damn it! I need to find a place to rest, it's freezing." Cook moved his head from side to side, then looked around. Not far away, there was a small indentation in the rock. Cook quickly climbed over.

"Will I fall off at night?" It was impossible to move at night. Cook checked and sadly found that the entrance to the indentation was a bit low. Cook wasn't sure if he would roll off in his sleep.

"Damn it! I shouldn't have come. What kind of mountain is this, so steep?" Cook cursed as he crawled into the indentation and lay on his back. Sometimes, a few-meter-high rock wall would make Cook detour for hours. The mountain wall was a layer of rock, and this part of the mountain was mostly like this. Unless there was a fault, it was impossible to climb up.

"Sigh, I need to think of a way. Otherwise, I'll really fall off at night. Thorn Spell, right! I'll plant a circle of trees here and secure them with ropes." Cook worried about where to sleep at night, carefully thinking about the items he had. He found that the Thorn Spell was the most suitable. However, Cook used not thorn seeds but the shrubs from the snowy fruit. Cook had brought dozens of these fruits, which wouldn't spoil. As for why Cook didn't bring roasted meat, it was because he was afraid the dragon would find him by the smell, a basic hunter's knowledge.

"Thorn Spell!"

"Thorn Spell!" Cook took out a fruit, ate the flesh in a few bites, and revealed a round seed inside. This wasn't the actual seed; inside the seed were about ten pea-sized seeds. Cook cracked open the seed and took out one of the seeds, then began to cast the spell. However, failure was certain. Casting a spell required capturing that feeling, and the success rate would increase. That feeling was the coordination of mental and magical power.

"Success, success, huh!" After the third incantation, Cook thought it hadn't worked, but the seed unexpectedly emitted a faint green light. Cook quickly threw the seed on the ground, and it grew to over 30 centimeters almost instantly. This wasn't the key; Cook was already used to the magic's wonders. What surprised Cook was that the sapling grew into the rock, with its roots penetrating deep into the solid rock.

"Let's try again! Thorn Spell!" Cook experimented again, this time throwing the seed on the rock wall. In an instant, the seed grew into a thumb-thick shrub, with its roots penetrating the rock.

"Hey!" Cook looked at the thumb-thick shrub and tried to pull it, but it didn't budge. The shrub in the cold region was extremely hard, almost as hard as metal.

"I have a plan, I have a plan. Damn it! I must get the dragon egg tonight. The more time wasted, the more dangerous it is." Seeing how secure the shrub was, a bold idea formed in Cook's mind.

"Big Mouth, quickly, while it's not dark yet, fly up and check the direction of the dragon egg cave." Cook quickly ordered Big Mouth, who was in his arms.

"Okay, but this is the last time." Big Mouth looked at the sky. For Big Mouth, a 2000-meter distance was just a few flaps of the wings, but it was already late, so Big Mouth said this.

"Alright, just the last time." Cook only wanted to find the closest position to the cave.

"Flap, flap, flap!" Big Mouth flew out of Cook's arms. Cook turned and looked into the cave, finding that the shrub he had grown with the Thorn Spell had already withered, its leaves falling off in the cold wind, and soon it became a withered sapling.

"Impossible!" Cook quickly tested the sapling's security again and found it as secure as a metal nail.

"Flap, flap, flap!" In just a few minutes, Big Mouth returned.

"Go a bit further, that crack over there, go straight up." Big Mouth told Cook.

Cook looked at the crack not far away. If it were daytime, to reach the crack, Cook would have to go down, detour, and then go up. Between the crack and Cook's position was a protruding rock, and it was very steep. Although it was only a few meters away, detouring was necessary.

"Hehe, watch me! Thorn Spell!" Cook used the Thorn Spell six times, and six saplings immediately grew on the steep rock. Cook tested them and found no problems.

Then Cook channeled his martial energy, grabbing one sapling with each hand. In less than thirty seconds, Cook crossed the protruding rock. Cook turned and saw that the saplings had withered, but the remaining branches were like metal nails, firmly in place.

"Dragon egg, I'm coming!" The crack was only about two meters wide, with a lot of ice, smooth and thick. Without the Thorn Spell, Cook would have had a hard time with the icy area. Before that, Cook had to do one thing: take the seeds out of the fruit.

Cook moved almost in a straight line forward, using the Thorn Spell to clear the way when he encountered protruding rocks or icy areas. Midway, Cook used earth elements to collide with wood elements, forcing a half-hour rest. For the last 2000 meters, Cook took about an hour and a half. In fact, Cook used only about forty Thorn Spells, covering about forty meters. But these forty meters, if detoured, might take a whole day. However, Cook, with his martial energy, strength, and agility, only needed a light push to pass some areas.

"Big Mouth, Big Mouth, which way?" Cook stood on the mountaintop, braving the biting cold wind, and asked Big Mouth in his arms.

"That way, go down there, and you'll reach the cave." Big Mouth nodded vigorously toward a certain direction.

Cook ran over, and indeed, there was a large platform at the bottom of the cliff. The platform had some large marks, which were quite shocking. Cook, feeling both nervous and excited, ran down the snowy side.

"Wow! What a huge cave!" Cook looked at the cave, which was about five to six stories high and about a hundred meters wide. However, the cave was indented and on the leeward side, so at the entrance, there was almost no wind.

Cook was only momentarily stunned. After all, his original soul had seen many sci-fi and fantasy scenes, even if they were virtual, he wouldn't be distracted.

"So many gold coins, diamond coins, purple gold coins, damn, these are magic crystals, magic cores, oh my god!" Cook ran inside and found that the cave was only a few dozen meters deep, leading to a nearly thousand-square-meter open space. However, the space was not dark but shone with colorful light. Cook exclaimed in surprise.

"Are those things useful?" Big Mouth looked at the pile of colorful gems, magic cores, and pecked Cook's chest.

"Useful, of course!" Cook exclaimed but didn't approach the items. The magical power fluctuations from these items almost blinded Cook's magic eye. If he took the dragon egg and these items with strong magical power, it would be like a thief with a tracking device.

Cook tried to shift his gaze to the other side, where there was a pile of withered branches. However, these branches emitted a strong life force, a bright green light. In the middle of the pile was a giant egg, nearly a meter high, purple in color.

"That's it!" Cook quickly took out his sleeping bag, made of large rabbit fur, which was very secure. Cook hugged the giant egg, kissed it several times, and then put it in the sleeping bag. Cook was unsure if the dragon egg would be affected by temperature changes.

Cook tied the sleeping bag to his body with a leather strap and prepared to leave. Cook, in his thirties, wanted to take the gems, but the dragon egg weighed dozens of pounds, and the magical power fluctuations could easily attract the dragon's attention. Cook knew that mages could place their mental energy on items, and although the duration was short, Cook couldn't be sure that the items didn't have the dragon's mental energy.

"Damn!" Cook reluctantly looked at the treasures as he walked away. Finally, he couldn't resist, turned back, and ran to the place with the giant egg, choosing the thickest and strongest branches.

"Huh!" While sorting the branches, Cook found a very thin branch. The other branches were dark brown, but this one, though not thick, was entirely green, only about ten centimeters long, with two bright green leaves. Cook lightly exclaimed and put the green branch in his leg strap, securing it tightly. Then he glanced at the treasure pile and quickly left.

"No, I must distract the dragon!" Just as Cook was about to leave, he stopped. He realized that if he just left, the dragon might notice. Cook looked at the items in the cave and the steep snowy mountain below the platform, which was steeper than the side he climbed up.

"Hehe!" Cook wrapped some items with strong magical power, such as magic cores, magic crystals, weapons, and branches, in snow, forming a large snowball.

"Thorn Spell! Thorn Spell! Thorn Spell!" Cook used several Thorn Spells, and the plant roots firmly held the snowball. Although the snowball shrank, it didn't affect Cook's plan. Then Cook took a dagger from the treasure pile, cut the branches, and rolled the snowball down the platform. Cook turned and picked up the cut branches. As for the dagger, Cook looked at it and put it away without hesitation. The dagger had no magical power, but when Cook was sorting the magic crystals and cores, he accidentally pulled it out of its sheath and cut a large sword with strong magical power in half. Cook quickly left, as this place was dangerous.

Going down the mountain was harder than going up. Cook soon discarded the cut branches, which were blown away by the wind.

Cook thought the dragon would return, but by the time he spent most of the night and returned to the cave entrance, dawn was breaking. Although Cook was very tired, he still ran into the cave. He didn't see the dragon, but he didn't dare to stay long, not knowing what the dragon could do.

"Sir, sir, quick, quick, put out the fire and go!" As soon as Cook entered the temporary shelter, he shouted and rudely rushed into the three women's room.

"Ah!!"

"Pervert!"

"Ah!!"

With three screams, Cook was forced to run out. Perhaps the women were afraid of the dark, so they had a shiny gem in their room, a lighting stone, a low-quality light magic crystal, and the door was a blanket. When Cook entered, he saw three women mostly naked, as they used large rabbit fur as blankets and were not cold. They only had one set of underwear, so they needed to change. Cook entered at the right time.

"Cook, you! You... everywhere..." Lori was the first to rush out, seeing Mike laughing on the side, she roared and started chanting a spell.

"Phew! Sir, sir, it's my fault, but if we don't leave now, we won't be able to. It's dangerous!" Cook quickly jumped forward, covering Lori's mouth and urgently explained.

"Ouch! Sir, sir, I got the dragon egg, we need to leave now!" Cook's foot was stabbed by Lori's staff, and he jumped in pain. Then Lori started hitting Cook with her staff. Cook quickly covered his head and shouted.

"Huh?" Several exclamations sounded.

"It's true, look!" Cook felt Lori stop hitting him, quickly put down the large rabbit fur sleeping bag, and opened it for everyone to see.

"Cluck... cluck... cluck... cluck!" The three women and Mike looked at the giant egg, their throats making strange sounds.

"Roar!!!" At that moment, a huge roar came from far away.

"Slap! Idiot, quick, go, go back underground, the dragon won't notice for a while! Quick!" Lori was startled by the roar, slapped Cook's head, and shouted.

"Go, quick, Mike, run! Mitchie, Connie, and Lady Lori, quick, ride on Big Gray, quick!" Cook quickly hugged the giant egg and ran deep into the cave. Mike, who was on guard, picked up a lighting stone and ran deep into the cave. The three women didn't have time to pack. Connie took the lighting stone, Mitchie hugged Big Gray, and Lori extinguished the fire. Then the three women hurriedly rode on Big Gray and rushed deep into the cave.

Larimane was a female thunder dragon, over 5000 years old. This was her first offspring, which she had been incubating for over a hundred years. In another decade, Larimane's baby would be born. Although it took a hundred years to incubate, Larimane had only slept a few times. Every decade or so, she had to come out to hunt, as her large body required a lot of food. In the past, she could fill her stomach in a few hours, but this time, it took her two days to eat five magical bears, six magical tigers, and a group of fifteen magical bulls. Finally, she was full. This time, after sleeping once more, her baby would hatch. Thinking about not having to suffer in the cold anymore, Larimane roared contentedly.

When dragons incubate their offspring, they are very cautious. Some dragons like to steal others' eggs, especially single dragons. If the egg is female, they take her as a wife; if male, they kill him. This is what different types of dragons do. However, Larimane didn't care now because she wouldn't come out again until her baby was born. If anyone tried to cause trouble, Larimane wouldn't mind showing them how terrifying a peak-level ninth-grade thunder dragon could be.

"Roar!!!" However, when Larimane landed on the platform, she sensed something was wrong. She rushed into the nest and let out a deafening roar.

"Damn it, damn it!" Larimane flew up and was about to use her mental energy to search on a large scale, but suddenly her sharp eyes saw a downward trail on the platform, which looked like a heavy object had slid down. With a flap of her wings, Larimane followed the trail.