The conspiracy of the Scoia'tael is unknown to anyone, or is kept "unknown" to anyone.
Lann stayed in the Ferenz clan for a long time, asking his subordinates to complete commissions and accumulate experience. However, the experience he needed to level up now could not be gathered in a short time by relying on side quests and demon hunting missions.
When the experience bar was about three-quarters full, he knew it was time to go up the mountain. Because according to Saskia, the red dragon Keltulis was also seriously injured. After so many days, either he had recovered and was about to escape, or he was seriously injured and was about to die. In any case, it was time for Lann to go and meet him.
When it comes to professional matters, Lane decided to follow the advice of professionals.
Lann did not bring anyone other than the Frost Giant and Sakia with him this time. If the dragon really recovered from its injuries, a flying monster that could spit fire and kill people in a wide range would be much more deadly to ordinary people than an Frost Giant. Lann did not want his soldiers to suffer casualties in such an unnecessary incident.
At this time, Lann and Sakia stood on the shoulders of the ice giant, one on each side, and it felt like they were standing on a moving fortress. Not only did the rugged mountain road feel like flat ground, but for the first time in history, Lann did not encounter any foraging or frenzied monsters on the road, and the journey was so quiet that it was relaxing.
Soon, the snow that was everywhere in the Mahakam Mountains gradually disappeared, and the hard rocks underneath the mountain road ahead began to be revealed; then the surrounding temperature gradually rose, and it began to turn from late winter to early spring.
The hills north of the Hag's Lair are the lair of the red dragon Kelturis, which is an extinct volcano. Before the red dragons built their lair here, this was a natural furnace used by the Ferenz clan to forge iron.
As the temperature around them rose, they were getting closer to the red dragon's lair. At the same time, there were many more burnt and half-burnt monster corpses around them. These were the monsters that Chief Vavrzynek had mentioned that they had lured to attack the red dragon. Obviously, even though the red dragon had lost most of its strength due to the drug, its ability to spit fire was still retained.
As the heavy footsteps of the ice giant spread through the mountains, the red dragon deep in the mountains also noticed the movements of the outsiders.
“Ahhh!!”
The sound was like the roar of an ancient bell, echoing among the valleys. If it were an ordinary monster, it would surely be frightened by the presence of the top predator and turn around and run away.
But the Ice Giant would not indulge this big winged lizard. After glancing at Lann for not stopping his intention, the Ice Giant seemed to be inspired and began to inhale air like a huge bellows.
Lann's body suddenly flashed with bright emerald light, and with a flash of golden light, he appeared twenty steps away from the ice giant. The next second -
"I! God!!"
It was as if someone had set up a sonic cannon in the mountains. Invisible wind and waves spread out in all directions along with the roar of the ice giant. Even the dust and broken rocks in the mountains were swept together, as if they could not bear the deafening sound and fled into the distance.
Although Lann ran to the side and covered his ears, Saskia was still on the ice giant's shoulder. She picked her ears as if nothing had happened, then took a breath, and roared in response to the ice giant's roar.
“Ahhh——”
The griffin emblem on his chest trembled slightly. Saskia still maintained her human form, and obviously used magic to simulate the roar of her original body, but the majesty of the dragon contained in that voice did not diminish at all. After the roars of the two dragons and the giant in the mountains sounded one after another, the surroundings became strangely quiet, and even the wind stopped making noise.
Amid the rustling sounds, Lann's keen witcher senses saw several black dots rising and falling in the distance. The monsters with wings or without wings, running on the ground or burrowing underground all became panicked at this moment and hurriedly moved away from the mountains.
After the sound waves and wind waves caused by the duet disappeared, Lan returned to the shoulder of the ice giant with a flash of golden light and looked at Sakia.
Xiao Longnv seemed to be thinking about something. After noticing Lan's gaze, she said hesitantly, "Kertulis is indeed still injured, and his voice sounds very weak. But there are some other emotions in it... I can't judge, maybe I can only be sure after seeing him."
The one who knows dragons best is indeed the dragon.
It is estimated that the red dragon Keltulis was unable to distinguish the approaching person from the footsteps that it was an ice giant, so he roared to threaten. Now not only has his physical condition been exposed, but it has also made it easier for Lann and others to accurately locate the location of the nest.
After that, it didn't make any more sounds. Lann and the others followed the clues and found a crater that was emitting hot waves. The ice giant frowned slightly at the environment, but did not show any obvious discomfort. After all, although they live in the snowy mountains, the ice giants are also flesh and blood bodies that conform to biological structures. In some extremely cold times, they will even hide in the natural hot springs in the mountains to spend the winter. They are not the kind of elemental physique that will be like a natural enemy when encountering heat and fire.
…
At this moment, bursts of suppressed roars were heard from the cave, and even without Saskia's translation, Lann could taste the pain from them.
Saskia's face suddenly changed. When the ice giant rumbled forward, she suddenly jumped off the giant's shoulder and blocked Lann's way. After hesitating for a while, she said:
"Lane, can you wait here for a while? I'll go in and negotiate with Kerturis first."
Lann frowned slightly.
Just at this moment, the suppressed roar deep in the cave suddenly rose up and became more painful.
Lan seemed to understand something and nodded towards Sakia.
A burst of golden light enveloped the human-shaped body of the dragon girl, and the ten-meter-long golden-green dragon body reappeared in the underground tunnel as the light extended.
"Aohou——" Saskia let out a tentative roar towards the depths of the cave, and soon an even more angry response came from inside. But Saskia was not discouraged, and after repeatedly responding with a friendly, undisguised voice several times, the voice inside finally softened.
Then the green dragon was seen stretching out its wings. Since it couldn't spread its wings inside the cave, Saskia used the wind to propel it to run quickly, rumbling deeper into the ground with a greater momentum than the ice giant. It was obvious that it was extremely anxious.
Then, the red dragon no longer suppressed its painful roar, and the spacious cave quickly echoed and spread with rumbling vibrations. Lan En couldn't even bear the sound and felt the pain in his eardrums, so he had to find a pair of earplugs from the inventory and put them on.
"My God?" After seeing Lann's strange movements, the ice giant made a curious sound.
Lann ignored the restless big man. After the roar echoing in the cave gradually subsided and disappeared, he signaled the ice giant to move forward.
The cave soon came to an end, and a platform suddenly appeared in front of us. Different from the usual "nest", it was more like a "residence" of a giant creature. Although there were no furniture or carvings inside, it could be felt that the entire cave had an architectural and decorative style that was very different from human and elf civilizations, but harmonious and self-consistent.
Dragons are the ancient rulers of the continent. They are intelligent creatures and a non-human race. They are different from ordinary monsters.
And not surprisingly, Lann also saw a large amount of gold, silver and jewelry inside. Some of these were found by Kertulis himself, while others were "contributed" to him.
Saskia had now returned to her human form and stood beside Kerturis, looking at the red dragon with worry. The clothes she wore when she came here had long been shattered when she transformed into a dragon, so she just randomly found a set of armor that should be a collection and put it on.
The red dragon huddled in the corner, panting. It no longer had any hostility towards Saskia. It looked miserable at the moment. The injuries it had received from the ice giant had not recovered much. From its exposed head, it could be seen that the broken scales and bone spurs had not grown back, and some of them were still stuck in its flesh.
After sensing the movements of Lann and the ice giant, it raised its head weakly and said intermittently:
"Human... look at it. Look at Mahakam, look at those dwarves, look at what you and your giants have done to me..."
…
Although the dragon's body is huge, it is not the most eye-catching thing in the cave.
But they were dragon eggs, four dragon eggs.
The red dragon used all its strength to curl up into a ring, with the four dragon eggs wrapped in the middle of its body. Four strange gems the color of volcanic lava were placed under each dragon egg to hold them up, emitting a faint red light that set off the color of the dragon eggs.
A dull, ominous color.
These eggs were about the height of an average dwarf, but the eggshells were full of pits and uneven thickness. In some places, you could even see the organic fiber membrane inside the eggshell, and the dragon hatchlings jumping inside the membrane.
These dragon eggs were separated from their mothers before they were formed. This is what Keltulis said "Mahakan, dwarves, Lann, and giants do."
The huge amount of abortion potion mixed into the tribute by the Ferenz clan, the large number of monsters lured up the mountain by the dwarves to induce the pregnant dragons to exercise violently, and the most deadly beating by the ice giants, this series of actions eventually caused the red dragon Keltulis to have a miscarriage and give birth to these four underdeveloped eggs.
Just as the red dragon was talking to Lann, the jumping larva in one of the dragon eggs suddenly stopped moving, and the color of the fiber membrane exposed outside it dimmed.
The red dragon couldn't help but let out a mournful cry, causing the entire cave to tremble slightly.
Faced with this touching scene, Lann remained calm.
"Don't complain to me, red dragon. The only people who will sympathize with your current situation are your own kind or other monsters who disregard human life." Lann shook his head. "I fought with you to save my companions from your claws and flames. The dwarves used tactics against you to avenge the countless compatriots who died at your hands and to release the anger that you have oppressed and oppressed for centuries."
"Your fate is not worthy of sympathy, it can even be said to be justified."
Saskia glanced at Lan, wanting to say something but stopping herself. However, as she was well educated, she knew that what Lan said was right.
"You brought my compatriot, this little green dragon whose brain isn't very useful... but is still kind." Keltulis glanced at Saskia. Although he scoffed at the little dragon girl's ideas, it was obvious that Saskia had helped it when it was in pain and won its favor.
"Then why have you come here, human? To laugh at me like a victor? To take over my treasures, or to take my life at the behest of those little men?"
Lan chuckled and shook his head: "Stop provoking me with words. Dwarves can't 'order' me. And since I brought Saskia here and allowed her to help you, you should know that I am not here to take your life."
"Unless... you really don't know how to appreciate it."
As Lann finished speaking, the ice giant behind him also cooperated by hammering his chest. Immediately, a huge amount of magic fluctuations spread over his body, and the oak bracelet extended in his palm, and within two breaths, it turned into a long, knotted stick emitting a metallic luster.
The red dragon's pupils shrank when he saw this. This stick hitting his head would definitely be more devastating than the ice giant's fist.
It looked at its four dragon eggs with sorrow. Just as they were talking, the young dragon in another egg stopped beating. Although it had not completely lost its breath of life, it was obviously unable to hatch visibly.
No, or rather, these four eggs were definitely not the type that could be hatched just by looking at their appearance. It was just that the red dragon still protected them with its strong maternal instinct.
In many literary works, dragons are portrayed as "barbaric", which includes their indifference to the lives of their offspring. This is not true. As mentioned before, dragons once had a civilization that ruled the continent. The more advanced the civilization, the higher the level of ethics and morality. Caring for offspring is the top priority of these ethics and morals.
"You don't want to kill me, so you want to be a lobbyist for those dwarves? You want me to leave Mahakam?" The red dragon's scaly face showed a very human and sarcastic smile, "But look at my child, what do you think is there for us to talk about?"
"Human, son of the ancient bloodline. If you and your giants don't kill me now, then wait for my children... no matter what the result is, I will turn Mahakam into a sea of fire." Keltulis stared at Lann, "Dragons never break their promises."
Lan nodded seriously: "I understand."
"But your guess is wrong. I am not here for the dwarves today, but to discuss the terms of your surrender to me on behalf of myself and the country behind me."
"Surrender? Terms?" The red dragon's vertical pupils almost shrank into a slit.
"That's right." Lann nodded. "You attacked my soldiers. As their sworn master, I have the obligation to protect them and kill you. And now you obviously have no power to resist and have become my prisoner. According to our human laws, you need to sign a ransom agreement and pay a ransom in exchange for your life."
Lane's words were like lighting a powder keg.
"Captives? No power? In exchange for life?" With every word the red dragon uttered, his momentum exploded. "Human, do you know who you are talking to? You have stolen the merits of the continent and have become arrogant beyond your power! You should know what a dragon is!"
The wind pressure of the heat wave came head-on. If the red dragon had not taken into account the eggs that were almost dead, it would have dragged its severely injured body up to fight Lan to the death.
But Lann was not in a hurry and did not react to the danger. It was not only because of his trust in the ice giant and Saskia, but also because of his confidence in the conditions he would give next.
"Of course, the terms are mutual. The ransom you have to pay includes a clause that you 'serve Cintra for the rest of your life.'"
"Among my obligations to you, I have one obligation: to save your children."