Chapter 114

Crack— crack—

Luosen stepped on the accumulated snow, carrying a bundle, and once again set foot on the summit of Dragon Sleep Snow Mountain.

Find a sheltered low spot where wind and snow cannot reach, dig a small pit, sprinkle Clean Black Stone, light a warming bonfire, heat a pot of wine, then hang a leg of lamb to roast.

While roasting, he sprinkled various seasonings on the lamb leg, humming the Northern Weilan folk tune "That Night the Snowflakes Danced".

He looked extremely leisurely.

This time he came in his true form; naturally, his purpose was to visit a friend.

When the lamb leg sizzled with oil and its aroma drifted across the snow‑capped peak, a bird‑like, pleasant sound came from the side.

"How does the lord know I'm here?"

Luosen gave a slight smile: "Madam, I know everything about White Sturgeon Island."

On the island he ruled, every person and thing was under his control; moreover, nearly five months had passed, and he had already come to know every blade of grass and tree on the island inside out.

Not to mention the goddess's hiding place, he even roughly knew what she liked to eat.

He also knew that a powerful natural nun had already arrived on the island, secretly hiding in the forests, searching everywhere for the goddess's traces.

In fact, he had already begun developing an intelligence network beyond the island.

After all, his future goal is Weilan Giant Island, and to achieve great things, intelligence has always been the top priority.

A shadow flickered, and suddenly another person appeared beside Luosen, sitting by the fire and watching the roasting lamb leg.

Luosen remained focused on roasting the lamb leg, observing only with the corner of his eye.

The peripheral vision cannot see a person clearly, and of course he couldn't either.

But Laifu could collect data from that peripheral vision and reconstruct the true image.

Thus Luosen saw the true appearance of that mysterious lady.

She wore an exquisite black leather dress that clung to her full figure, her hair was a cascade of black waves as deep as night, and her eyes were dreamy, tranquil black pools.

Her skin was pure snow‑white like sheep‑fat jade, her features delicately beautiful as a painting, and her lips were crystal‑clear and translucent like crystal.

All these details combined to create an aura that was mysterious, profound, lively, and alluring.

Luosen stared, and many thoughts sprang to mind.

His first thought was: "Tsk— what a beauty exists in this world."

His second thought: "So this is the purest manifestation of the Iron‑Dragon bloodline, yet I feel a bit similar to it."

He himself had natural black curly hair and black eyes, and the Old Baron looked the same.

On the contrary, the Forest Spirits who receive the forest's blessing each year are green‑haired and gold‑eyed, while Luosen had always assumed the goddess looked similar.

She was very sensitive, quickly sensed Luosen's gaze, and said: "Since I've come out, I'm not afraid of being seen—just look."

Luosen nodded; the wine had just been warmed, it was the Frost‑Fire wine he had refined his brewing technique for.

He took out two crystal cups and poured the tea‑red liquor into each.

He handed one cup to her, took a sip himself, and naturally and openly gazed at the goddess.

"Lady Merqilina, your appearance exceeded my expectations; I once even thought we shared the same blood."

The goddess cupped the wine glass in both hands, sipped lightly, and upon hearing this actually nodded.

"Your body truly contains the Iron‑Dragon bloodline."

"Even most of the noble lords of Northern Weilan Prefecture possess it, because these nobles were originally largely from the Set Kingdom nobility."

"You should know that after Weilan was gravely wounded by the Three Sages, it switched to marriage alliances, thereby preserving much of the Iron‑Dragon blood."

Luosen nodded: "I indeed know that."

The goddess then said: "Your lineage possesses the richest Iron‑Dragon blood and the thinnest natural blood."

"I recently examined the bloodline chart carefully and found that your father twelve generations up should be my own brother."

Luosen's mouth twitched: "This is really a bit outrageous."

"It really is a bit."

The goddess pointed at the roasted lamb leg: "It feels about done."

Luosen had been managing the fire, smiling: "Don't rush, it still needs a bit more."

He meanwhile slightly lowered the flame: "Then, goddess ancestor, I would like to ask you for a favor."

The goddess frowned slightly: "You lords always have an agenda for everything you do. The price for eating this roasted lamb of yours is truly high."

Luosen gave a dry, hehe laugh: "I'm merely making a request; the ancestor can refuse if she wishes."

The goddess waved a hand: "We'll talk after you finish eating."

Luosen nodded, feeling the heat was about right, then took out a mithril small knife and a silver plate, and sliced the goddess a plate of tender, fresh roasted lamb.

She took it and ate with relish.

She took a bite of meat, sipped wine, and her big eyes narrowed with satisfaction.

"Speaking of which, you should be the most promising Iron‑Dragon descendant in a thousand years; whether our Iron‑Dragon line can rise again on the continent rests on you this time."

"So, I can't possibly not help you."

Luosen thought it was fine; seeing her eat meat and drink wine plainly, he guessed she would soon feel greasy, so he brought out the prepared pickles he had ready.

"Pickled with various seaweeds, the taste is quite good—try some?"

The goddess complied: "Hmm, the taste is indeed not bad."

After eating a while longer, she said: "Give me some of your blood."

Luosen complied, taking a small knife and pricking his fingertip.

The goddess took a mouthful of snow, bit a big chunk, rinsed away the odd taste in her mouth, then directly sucked Luosen's finger into her mouth.

After a few seconds, she spat out the finger, smacked her lips, and a hint of disappointment appeared in her black eyes.

"Mm— I thought the Iron‑Dragon blood would have refluxed in you, but it hasn't."

She tilted her head slightly to look at Luosen, and a hint of awe showed in her eyes.

"Your iron blood is thin, and your natural blood is even scarcer—you're practically an ordinary person."

"So, your current achievements come purely from your wisdom, which makes you all the more frightening."

Luosen smiled faintly, naturally not claiming it was thanks to Laifu's help. He said humbly, "I'm just skilled at cultivating magical power."

The goddess sighed: "Then you really are too skilled."

After a pause, she continued: "However, you've recently studied the Flawless Iron Dragon Body, right?"

Luosen wasn't surprised the goddess knew, for after imbuing this iron technique, a trace of iron power remains in the blood.

"Yes, I've mastered it proficiently."

"That's excellent; with your abundant magical power, this technique's might will become tremendously strong—even a primordial dragon might not match you."

After a pause, the goddess began enjoying the roasted lamb leg again; she greatly liked the taste of roasted meat.

After a few bites, she said: "Actually, I roughly know what you want to do—you wish to negotiate with La'erte Lisi, but you're unsure, right?"

"Exactly."

"I've prepared everything I can, but I think, given that you've been neighbors with the Siren Queen for many years, you might have some unique insight."

Seeing she was about to finish, Luosen quickly sliced her a fresh plate, and shaved off the most tender, best leg meat for her.

The goddess happily narrowed her eyes: "Then you've come to the right place."

In ancient times, the siren ancestress originally lived on land, even occupying half of Dragon Island—that is, present-day Weilan Giant Island—but unable to defeat our ancestors, she was driven down into the sea.

This news made Luosen's heart go 'thump': "So they're sworn enemies?"

"That's right, but it's been a very long time; La'erte Lisi doesn't really mind it, but she surely harbors resentment."

"So you need to pay attention to this."

Luosen immediately committed this point to memory.

"Count Robert's Flawless Dragon Body technique actually contains only half the content; the other half is the essence of the Iron Dragon."

After a pause, the goddess extended a hand, pure white and slender; with a slight stir of her magic, fine scales appeared on her palm at visible speed, and it swiftly turned into a steel-black dragon claw.

She placed the dragon claw on the bonfire, treating the flames as nothing, then extended her fingernail and lightly scraped the outer edge of the grill.

Only a soft 'swish' was heard, and the iron grill was shaved into a thin slice as easily as cutting tofu.

"Just as sirens can change their form, my Iron Dragon naturally can too!"

A hint of pride appeared on the goddess's face; as she spoke, a pair of jet-black dragon wings 'whoosh' out from her back, her whole body began to show steel-black dragon scales, she grew a bit taller, and her features turned ferocious.

In a moment, she went from just under 1.7 meters to about 1.8 meters tall, her whole body clad in steel-black dragon scale armor, bearing dragon wings—a draconic humanoid stance.

'Whoosh~'

With a flap of her wings, a strong current swept past, and her body actually hovered aloft.

"Our defensive and offensive capabilities far surpass those of the sirens, and even our flight ability is much stronger than theirs!"

"We fly faster than the sirens, and our bodies are far tougher than theirs."

"The only thing we lack is probably mastery over pure water power."

Having said that, she swiftly reverted to human form, continued sitting by the bonfire, and ate the roasted meat obediently and cutely, as if the ferocious form just moments ago had been merely a phantasm.

"Though the power is strong, it consumes a lot of magical energy; don't use it unless you're fighting to the death."

Luosen looked astonished: "The perfect blend of Transformation Technique and iron art is truly amazing, though there seems to be much room for improvement."

"You know what? Uh... well, you really do know."

The goddess sighed, somehow producing a scroll from somewhere and handing it to Luosen.

"Here, this is the transformation portion of the Flawless Iron Dragon Body; study it and improve upon it."

"With it, if a conflict arises at sea, you'll at least be able to flee."

"Thank you for your teachings, ancestor."

"Don't call me ancestor; it makes me sound old—I'm still young."

After finishing the second plate of roasted lamb, she said seriously: "If you merely want to be the island lord, natural divine blood will be your protection; but if you wish to advance further, natural divine blood will become your obstacle."

"Weilan Giant Island was seized from the Iron Dragon by the natural god."

"If you, this Iron Dragon descendant, take it back again, the holy maiden's conquest five hundred years ago will become a joke."

Luosen heard this and was startled, feeling that the cycle of history is quite wondrous.

But he soon thought of a potential danger.

"If I keep moving forward, will the natural god still act against me?"

The goddess let out a derisive laugh.

"She's acted against me many times before; even now the Emerald Battle Angel is still hunting me. Why wouldn't she?"

"Of course, the times have greatly changed; the ancestors' glory has gradually faded, and their descendants now have their own ideas."

"And the strongest natural god, namely Mother Nature, is only an eighth-circle mage, so you just need to watch out for their covert sabotage."

"But remember... uh... never mind, my shallow insight isn't worth teaching you; you surely have better ideas than I do."

After finishing the lamb, she wiped her hands with snow, stood up to leave, and said: "The Emerald Battle Angel is still relentlessly pursuing me; I need to change my hiding place."

Luosen shook his head: "It's just a magic puppet; I'll take care of it for you."

"That sister in single combat is indeed quite formidable."

"But if you set an ambush, deploy fifty torrent crossbow warriors, and unleash a barrage of rapid fire—not to mention the Emerald Battle Angel, even the Heavenly Father would have to kneel instantly."

"In the present age, high-level power can only be used for assassination; against a military's massed assault, it holds no significance."

A hint of sentiment flickered across the goddess's face; she certainly knew Luosen could easily kill that sister, but after careful consideration she shook her head: "Never mind, I'm safe here."

"You also don't need to provoke the natural god prematurely over my little matter."

"By the way, you can also study how to deal with La'erte Lisi through the azure blessing on the siren's body."

Luosen smiled faintly, "I've already done that, and have achieved quite a bit of results."

The goddess was startled: "Alas, I won't give you many more pointers; the more I point, the more ignorant I seem myself."

"Let's go~"

She waved and left, but after walking a few steps, she suddenly turned back.

"There's still so much delicious food; I'll take it all."

(End of Chapter)