Alice in the Land of Steam

Chapter 1430 Will you see dragons in the underground world?

The crimson sky grew increasingly intense, like congealed blood hanging low, pressing down on everyone's hearts. The air thick with the stench of decay and curses, almost tangible, seeped into their nostrils, causing waves of physical discomfort. The light from the lantern in Ovira's hand seemed exceptionally weak here, as if suppressed by an invisible force, barely illuminating a few feet below.

In this suffocating red darkness, Ling suddenly stopped.

“Look there,” he whispered, his voice unusually clear in the deathly silence.

Following his gaze, everyone looked in the direction he pointed. At the edge of their vision, beneath the frozen sky, a colossal silhouette faintly emerged. Judging from its shape, it was an enormous skull, deathly white as if washed countless times by time, yet gleaming with an ominous sheen. It rose from the dark abyss and rusted mountains, gazing at the empty dome, its hollow eye sockets unfathomable, seemingly frozen with eternal resentment and rage. Most striking were the two spiraling horns on either side of its brow bone, possessing an aura that seemed capable of piercing the heavens and overturning the earth. Although the distance was too great to discern what kind of creature's skull it was, merely gazing at it from afar sent a chill down everyone's spine, a primal shiver of fear creeping up their spines.

"What...is that?" Selena's voice trembled, her gray wolf ears drooping limply on her head, as if she were terrified.

“Behemoth? Crystal Beast? Nightskar?” The knowledgeable countess mentioned several possibilities. These were all well-known, even fearsome, magical beasts in the underground world, and their size and appearance matched the enormous skull before them. However, it was precisely because there were so many possibilities that one dared not draw any conclusions easily.

"Why don't we go and see for ourselves?" Leticia said, she wasn't afraid of something that was already dead.

Elder Momogu never mentioned the existence of this unknown magical beast. Perhaps it appeared after the Mushroom Force tribe migrated, making the Forbidden Land its lair. As for how it died, no one knows. Perhaps it accidentally came into contact with the Holy Grail and was killed by the curse brought by the power of the evil god?

"That's certainly a possibility," Lin Ge thought, unaware of the complex expression that quietly surfaced in the eyes of the girl beside him as she gazed at the enormous skull.

Continuing onward, after traversing twisted mountain paths and dim crystal forests, they finally reached a relatively open area. However, the light here was not much brighter, as the shadow cast overhead by the giant wings obscured their view. What kind of creature possessed those wing bones? When fully extended, all that could be seen was a hollow shadow that surged across the mountains and the earth like a tide, making one wonder if it had enveloped the entire forbidden land beneath its wings; each bone was equivalent to a small mountain peak, flesh and tendons completely integrated into the skeleton itself, its pale color mixed with blood as if eroded by wind and rain, both chilling and deeply awe-inspiring in its unparalleled power of life.

Walking in this shadow, the group felt an invisible pressure, as if the weight of their bodies and souls was being gradually pulled away by the pair of undead-like bone wings. They were struggling to pass through the gaps in this pressure, attempting to climb into the unknown depths. Light had almost completely disappeared here, with only Ovira's lantern flickering and swaying, outlining the rugged and broken path beneath their feet.

"A winged crystal beast? A Netherfire Griffin? A Beg Serpent?" The Countess raised several more possibilities. There weren't many subterranean monsters that simultaneously possessed enormous size, two horns, and two wings. Once narrowed down to this range, only a handful of suspects remained. But without conclusive evidence, these speculations were meaningless.

Ovira pursed her lips. She knew that Neville had left out a possibility, or perhaps she had subconsciously ruled it out.

But sometimes, the least likely option is the truth.

As the group continued their journey, they found traces of the Mushroom Tribe's past life in this area, including abandoned houses, severely polluted mines and veins, mushroom fields that had grown wildly and even mutated due to neglect, and an altar so badly damaged that it was almost unrecognizable. This was probably the place where the Gray Mushroom People prayed to Nibelungen for blessings in the past. At that time, they did not know what kind of disaster the extraterrestrial star they regarded as a god would bring to the tribe and even the entire people.

Ovira lingered before the altar for a moment. Holding the elder's token, was she grieving for the unpredictable fate of the Gray Fungus, or was she reflecting on the impermanence of life? The girl didn't voice her feelings, and those around her naturally didn't press the matter. After a while, she turned to her companion and said, "Let's go, it's just ahead."

The group left the former site of the Gray Fungus tribe, cautiously making their way through the shadows beneath their wings. After traversing a long and rugged road, the terrain gradually rose, giving them the illusion of climbing mountains. When they finally emerged from the suffocating darkness, the sight before them caused even these travelers, accustomed to strange tales and wondrous sights, to involuntarily hold their breath, momentarily stunned, as if their very souls had been stolen.

Only then did the Countess realize that all her previous guesses were completely wrong. The mysterious skeleton was not any of the known subterranean monsters she had imagined, nor did it belong to the native inhabitants of this underground world. However, its fame on the surface was known to everyone. From the five seas and four oceans to the eastern and western continents, wherever civilization could be seen, there was its legend. It was as if it was no longer limited to a race or a kind of creature, but had become an iconic symbol. Warriors, heroes, adventurers, knights and kings... everything needed it to set off, or to become its stepping stone.

Some even believed they were the most perfect species created by the Creator, blessed with all the favor of life. Before learning of the existence of special beings like the Maiden Royal Family, the Countess actually agreed with this view. Only in the presence of this race was she willing to set aside her pride as a vampire. Because while vampires and werewolves were still vying for survival in the ancient wilderness, this species had already conquered all mountains and perilous terrains, standing high above, looking down upon the mortal world.

Its name is... Dragon.

A dead dragon, its bones slumbering in the deepest part of the forbidden land, unknown to anyone.

However, judging from his state after death, it's more like a seal rather than a slumber.

He was sealed here, unable to struggle, unable to leave, and unable to be resurrected.

Standing beneath the enormous skull they had seen from afar as they entered the forbidden land, the group looked up at it up close and felt a greater sense of the race's grandeur and magnificence. They were also deeply moved by the story of the hero Italos, who slew the evil dragon with the strength of a mortal. It required not only power but also boundless courage and unwavering will.

Seemingly fragmented yet actually intact skeletons lay prostrate beneath the blood-red dome, pale bony claws gripping the massive, blood-red mountain below, as if clinging to a snow-capped peak rising into the clouds. But closer inspection revealed that the mountain's soil was entirely composed of corpses: the decaying bones of unknown animals, fossilized twisted plants, corroded minerals, countless insect carcasses resembling an ocean, and blood-red soil utterly lifeless… all symbols of death. Had they chosen to end their own lives, unable to bear the eerie and malevolent atmosphere, or were they originally killed by this dragon? For a dragon as magnificent as him, even in death, should not be without its mortal companions; in life, he stood atop all life, and in death, he should naturally stand atop all death, only in this way could his authority be truly manifested. No one can guess what a dragon is thinking, especially since he is dead. But if he is a dragon, he must think this way, because all the stories, legends and bards’ chapters mention that he is an incredibly proud race.

In stark contrast to his proud nature was his struggling posture as he tried to take flight. His massive hind limbs were deeply embedded in the dark red mountains, carving deep furrows, while his forelimbs stretched forward with all their might, their claws digging into the cliff face, leaving horrific scratches. He desperately wanted to escape this place, to escape an unspeakable constraint, but he could not succeed. So he could only raise his massive head and let out a silent roar towards the dome, venting his anger. What was most shocking was his chest cavity. Inside the cage-like structure formed by massive ribs, there was not nothing, but rather a tightly wrapped and embedded wreck of an indescribable ship. The hull was a dark obsidian color, but its surface flowed with eerie green patterns that seemed to have the veins of life. The former gave off an eerie feeling, while the latter carved out a rare patch of tranquility in this strange atmosphere, a sight that was soothing to the naked eye.

Undoubtedly, these are two opposing forces, originating from ancient fairies and ancient evil gods. The former, though the fairy sword has been separated from the Holy Grail, still retains a portion of its fairy power; the latter, deeply rooted, is the very source of the Holy Grail's existence. Legends have faded a thousand years, and the world has changed beyond recognition, yet they still vie for power within this small area, vowing that this war will never end until the other is completely driven out.

"That is--"

Selena's mouth gaped open, her voice filled with astonishment, not excitement, for she could hardly believe that the legend she had been searching for would ultimately appear in this way: "Nibelungen!?"

"This is truly...unbelievable."

After the initial shock, the Countess gradually recovered and couldn't help but sigh, "The Nibelungen of Atorica legend was actually found inside a dragon's belly. However, it's not entirely inexplicable. For example, the dictator who created the Nibelungen attempted to challenge the stars but failed. When the Nibelungen fell to earth, it was swallowed by a dragon that happened to be passing by and coveted its power. As a result, the dragon couldn't resist the impact of its fall and was dragged down into the earth with it. Then, due to the curse of the Nibelungen, it was trapped in the same place and couldn't break free. Over time, it gradually became what it is today."

If that's the case, it's quite a coincidence. However, it's hard to come up with any other more reasonable possibility.

“However,” Ling said with some doubt, “why didn’t Elder Momogu mention the existence of this dragon in his historical account?”

Navel quickly came up with an explanation: "Perhaps it's because the Mushroom Force Tribe has always lived on the outskirts of the Forbidden Land and has never ventured into the core area, which is why they haven't seen the dragon?"

"But dragon skulls can be seen even on the outskirts of the forbidden land, and dragon wings are even more conspicuous. The Mushroom Force tribe has lived here for at least a hundred years. Could it be that they have been completely oblivious and indifferent to this place all these years?"

Neville smiled and said, "Given the timid and cautious nature of those Gray Fungus, I think it's not impossible."

"not like this."

Ovira, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke, interrupting their conversation. Her companions all turned to look at her, but her gaze remained fixed on the dragon skeleton, unmoved, as if completely ignoring its imposing presence in life and its fury in death—things that were unremarkable and unworthy of the living's astonishment or lamentation: "Elder Momogu didn't mention this dragon skeleton because his ancestors didn't record it; and his ancestors didn't record it because during the time when the Mushroom Force tribe still lived in the Forbidden Land, this dragon skeleton didn't yet exist."

"Doesn't exist yet?" Linger didn't ask why Ovira knew this secret that even Elder Momogu didn't know. He quickly accepted this statement and showed a thoughtful expression: "You mean, this dragon entered the forbidden land later and was trapped because of the Nibelungen curse? But how did it get to the bottom of the abyss?"

The Dark Cloud Abyss has no entrance or exit large enough to accommodate a dragon's size. The breach created when the Nibelungen fell might have been, but according to Elder Momogu, it was filled long ago by later-growing minerals and rock formations under the power of the Nibelungen. Based on their current location, the area directly above them, above the Forbidden Land—the dome the giant dragon's skull looked up at—is precisely where that breach is located, and also the core of the Dark Cloud Abyss.

“No.” Ovira shook her head gently: “It has been here from the beginning, but not in the form of a dragon skeleton.”

If it's not dragon remains, then what could it be...?

The young man's pupils contracted slightly as he suddenly realized a possibility.

Unbelievable, unbelievable.

But that is the only explanation.

“The Nibelungen is a warship formed from the condensation of three forces. The power of the Holy Grail comes from fairies and evil gods, but the ship itself is made of another substance that once existed on the land of Atorica but has now disappeared.” Ovira said softly: “Dragon blood crystals, that is... the blood of evil dragons.”

Give me some cats