We traveled through time together, but I'm the only dragon? The others are all beautiful girls?

In terms of similarity, his dark gray scales seem to be most similar to the gray dragon, which is the most skilled in close combat and has extremely high magic resistance among the rainbow dragons.

However, the tail of a gray dragon usually has sharp bone spikes or deadly hook-like structures, rather than the unique, sword-like shape of Akalion.

The scales of the gray dragon are mostly light gray or dark gray, and some individuals even have a significant metallic luster, but they are by no means the deep, unique texture of Akalion that is somewhere between cold metal and crystalline mineral.

Furthermore, Akalion's dragon head has two gray, menacing horns that look like they are made of crystals and minerals.

The gray dragon does not have such large horns; its horns are very small. The gray dragon is also known as the toothed dragon because it has two huge sharp teeth on its lower jaw.

This is also a feature that Akalion lacks.

Could it be... a dragon species unique to this world that has never been recorded? After all, this is real reality, not just cold data and settings.

I don't know exactly how long the flight lasted. It might have been several long hours, or it might have been just a few tens of minutes.

The sky above was always covered by thick, despairing clouds, stingily refusing to let in even a sliver of sunlight.

In this land where even shadows are nowhere to be found, the passage of time becomes blurred and ambiguous, and Ying is simply unable to make accurate judgments.

But the place Akalion spoke of was already right before their eyes.

Not far ahead of them, on the snow-covered plain, a strange silhouette in the snow-covered valley, so out of place with the monotonous and desolate surroundings, slowly emerged like a mirage.

Volume 1 Snowfield Dragon Lord: 9. Treasure in the Ruins

Almost the instant Akalion saw the silhouette, he realized that it was a crude creation that was by no means human.

In his incomplete yet still vast collection of knowledge about dragon god rituals, there is no mention of humans building such a magnificent architectural complex with towering spires reaching into the clouds, elegant and exquisite arch structures, and walls adorned with countless intricate and flowing mysterious patterns.

Even though most of these magnificent buildings have become dilapidated under the relentless erosion of countless years, bearing the cracks of time and the marks of wind and frost, one can still glimpse their breathtaking exquisiteness and magnificence from the surviving ruins.

Surprisingly, the thick snow left no trace in the area, as if an invisible force was silently protecting this last piece of pure land.

Without a doubt, this was the work of the elves. According to the dragon heritage of Akalion, which originated from their bloodline, only that ancient race, which loved nature, revered art, and whose life was almost eternal, would spare no expense in using so many delicate and exquisite pillars, arranged in layers like a deep forest, to support those beautiful domes that were as thin as cicada wings and seemed to be carried away by the wind at any moment.

Furthermore, every corner and every curve of its architecture is incredibly smooth and regular, full of harmonious rhythm and mathematically precise beauty.

In this vast ruin of the elven city, the most striking feature is that the ground—and the walls that are still relatively well-preserved—are all covered without exception with a thick layer of strange metal that shines with a unique radiance like the cool glow of the moon.

Beneath the eternally gloomy sky of this world, the vast expanse of silvery-white light lacked the holiness and radiance that the moon should possess. Instead, it exuded a bone-chilling desolation and deathly silence, as if it were the last frozen teardrop shed by the world before its end.

Akalion vouches for this with his dragon's mark—it's absolutely mithril, a magical metal that's extremely rare throughout the world!

Otherwise, where does his deepest impulse to pounce on them and seize them all come from?

Although his keen dragon senses did not detect any imminent direct threat, out of an almost instinctive caution and awe of the unknown hidden in this desolate ruin, Akalion chose to land in a relatively open, flat area with slightly shallow snow on the outskirts of the elven city walls.

His current physique, to use a less elegant word, is 'in the way'.

The doors and corridors designed for agile elves appeared as small as toys before him. His massive dragon form was simply unable to enter most of the buildings, and even in the few halls with relatively spacious entrances, the interior space was far too cramped for him to move freely.

Of course, Akalion could force his way in, but the only consequence of doing so would be that these already weathered and exquisite creations would be completely reduced to a pile of real wreckage under the intimate contact of his dragon scales and giant claws.

He came to explore the unknown, not to be a super-efficient demolition team.

“Ying…” Akalion turned his massive head, covered in dark gray scales, and looked at the blonde girl who had gracefully leaped off his back and was now gazing around. She showed no sign of feeling cold.

But he could sense a power emanating from Ying's body. Akalion looked closely and could also see a faint white light emanating from her, which must be her using her own power to resist the cold.

"Your power reserves... how long can you last if they're being depleted like this?" He looked at Ying with great concern. "If you can't keep going, come closer to me."

“Ahem! Don’t worry, Akalion.” Ying coughed lightly, feigning composure, and puffed out her chest, her tone relaxed and confident. “To withstand this level of cold, I only need to expend a tiny, negligible amount of power.”

Hearing Ying's confident assurances, Akalion decided not to press the matter further. Since he had been monitoring her vital signs, he used his giant sword-like tail to smash open the ancient city gate and swaggered into the elven ruins with her.

Besides safety considerations, there was another factor in choosing this location.

“Then I’ll leave the initial exploration of these buildings to you.” Since they were so close to valuable treasure, Akalion raised his dragon claw and pointed to three buildings to his left and seven smaller buildings a little further to his right. “Based on my senses, these places… seem to contain some valuable energy fluctuations. If I’m not mistaken, they should be magical equipment left behind by the elves, or well-preserved gems and precious metals.”

"Okay! Leave it to me!" Ying's eyes lit up immediately upon hearing this. She patted her chest with great enthusiasm and said with anticipation, "My favorite thing is searching for treasure chests in ancient ruins!"

“Please be careful, Ying.” Akalion’s thick, powerful dragon tail flicked behind him. “I can smell… the decaying stench unique to necromancy permeates this place. If you encounter danger you cannot handle, retreat to an open area immediately, and then do not hesitate to call my name. I will always be by your side.”

Ying nodded solemnly, then nimbly walked quickly toward the first house Akalion pointed out. It was a two-story stone building.

The doors were nowhere to be found. The interior was covered in dust, but under the white light emitted by the diamond-shaped decorations on Ying's clothes, she quickly discovered some scattered gold and silver ornaments adorned with various gemstones behind several collapsed counters, as well as some gold and silver coins and uncut gemstones of various colors. The quantity was quite considerable, and even Ying, who had traveled to many worlds, couldn't help but show a hearty smile.

Judging from the layout of the room and the items left behind, this place seems to have once been an ordinary elf jewelry shop.

The second house was in much better condition; the heavy wooden door still stood, and it opened slowly with just a gentle push.

The furnishings inside—tables, chairs, curtains, and even a few pieces of gold and silver jewelry scattered on the dressing table—all looked brand new, as if some strange force had prevented time from leaving its mark on this small space.

On a velvet-covered display stand in the second-floor bookstore, Ying discovered an elegant silver ring. On the ring face, six tiny gemstones of different colors, perfectly cut, and emitting a faint glow were inlaid with exquisite craftsmanship.

As a seasoned traveler, Ying wouldn't be like the reckless protagonists in those adventure stories, putting such a magical item of unknown origin on her hand without thinking. She would wait until Akalion had time to have him appraise it with his knowledge of the Dragon Legacy before making any decisions.

To Ying's delight, she not only found a large amount of gold and silver coins, but also some neatly folded elven garments in the dressing room of this noble residence. Considering that she should preserve her precious power for emergencies, she quickly selected several long coats, leather trousers, and stockings that looked relatively warm and easy to move in, and changed into them.

The original owner of this house seemed to be of similar build to her, except... the cut of the chest area seemed slightly tight, but it was still within a tolerable range and did not hinder movement.

The third room, judging from its spacious structure and interior furnishings, seemed to have once been a knight's training hall. Several empty weapon racks leaned crookedly against the wall, and a few rusted armor plates were scattered on the floor. The air was filled with dust and the faint smell of steel, but all the light, no matter which crack it came from, seemed to intentionally or unintentionally avoid the center of the room, making that area appear particularly deep and somber.

There, on an ancient-looking stone platform, lay a long, jet-black sword. Compared to other places, this place was exceptionally clean and tidy.

The moment the sword came into view, Ying felt as if her very soul had been captured by it.

This is not a metaphor, but her most genuine feeling at this moment.

That sword resembled the most mysterious celestial body in the universe—a 'black hole'.

It not only devoured the light, but also exuded a silent, deadly allure, firmly drawing her into its grasp. Her eyes could no longer see anything else; the entire world seemed to blur into a monotonous background, leaving only the sword as the sole reality.

The sword blade is long and straight, without any visible carvings, but its pure blackness is the most profound texture.

The sword guard is simple and practical, and the three gems inlaid on it—two red and one blue—do not actively emit any light, but they are like the eyes of some kind of creature, quietly gazing at her and scrutinizing her.

Uncontrollably, Ying walked forward, each step feeling like it was on the beat of her own heartbeat. The irresistible attraction made her ignore all danger and directly grasp the leather-wrapped hilt of the sword.

A cold and vast will, as boundless as the universe, instantly overwhelmed her consciousness, as if silently questioning her qualifications. The ground beneath her feet seemed to vanish, and the entire world transformed into an endless starry sky, with this sword as the sole center of that starry sky.

In an instant, the unparalleled weight of the entire world pressed down on her fingertips, rendering her unable to move!

It was as if Ying was once again placed within the seal of the guardian of heavenly justice, which instantly awakened her consciousness, but what was the use? She still could not resist this power.

Panic, unease, and fear surged up all at once, but then vanished just as quickly. Ying sensed Akalion's presence, and he cast his gaze directly at her.

The scrutinizing intent immediately shifted from a cold denial to a reluctant approval—like a maid unwillingly showing her panties when ordered by her master.

hum-

A faint, almost inaudible hum, seemingly emanating from the dimension of the soul, resounded. The weight pressing on her fingertips, as if capable of crushing everything, vanished abruptly. Ying finally grasped the mysterious black sword completely in her hand.

A strange sensation came from my palm.

She could clearly feel the counterweight inside the hilt making extremely precise active adjustments. Its center of gravity, length, and even the balance of the blade were adapting to her arm length, strength, and even the frequency of her breathing with lightning speed.

A few seconds later, the adjustment stopped. The weight of the sword became just right, as if it were not being held by her, but had become a completely new and incredibly powerful limb on her body.

What exactly is it?

Although its name and origin are still unknown, judging from the feeling that the sword just gave Ying, and her strong intuition, the sword's wonders are definitely more than that.

Just as Ying grasped the mysterious black sword in her hand, the powerful allure slowly subsided, transforming into a sense of satisfaction that resonated with her own will—

The azure gem in the center of the sword hilt suddenly flashed with a faint, almost imperceptible, cold light, like a silent warning.

In the next instant, behind her, several dark blue phantoms appeared silently and without warning, as if seeping out from the shadows of the wall!

Their shapes were distorted, like shadows maliciously pulled and deformed by the cold winds of the eternal night, emanating a terrifying chill that could freeze the soul.

Within those hollow eye sockets burned two pale, empty flames, devoid of any emotional fluctuations befitting an intelligent being.

"—!" Ying's pupils shrank sharply, a strong sense of crisis piercing her back like cold needles.

Almost reflexively, she gripped the black longsword in her hand and turned to rush out of the room.

Calling for help inside these cramped buildings is a hopeless situation for the dragon, who is far too large for the buildings to handle, unless Akalion intends to use a 'Russian rescue method' that indiscriminately wipes her and the ghost, along with the poor elven building, off the map.

In that critical moment, she instinctively channeled the faint yet pure power within her. Pure white energy surged from her palm like a rushing stream, instantly covering the jet-black sword and giving it a faint, holy glow. Then, guided by her battle instincts, she swung it forward with all her might!

A subtle, almost transparent, pure white sword-shaped wave, accompanied by a sharp whistling sound, suddenly swept over the leading ghosts.

However, that seemingly fierce attack only caused their illusory bodies to shake violently, flickering like candles in the wind, but it did not completely dispel them.

As the light faded, the ghosts continued to drift forward persistently.

The power... is still too little! Damn those upholders of justice!

Moreover, the number of ghosts was far more than the few she had initially seen! The moment she swung her sword, more eerie blue figures emerged from every corner of the room—from outside the broken window frames, from the shadows of the ceiling, and even from the cracks in the floor—surging forth with a suffocating sense of oppression, like a tide engulfing Ying.

Volume 1 Snowfield Dragon Lord: 10. The Activated Mage Tower

Ying dared not gamble with her life, wondering what terrible things would happen if she were caught by these chilling ghosts. She clearly saw that wherever these ghosts passed, whether on the ground or on the walls, a layer of ominous black frost would quickly condense.

Therefore, the moment she swung that sword, she used the recoil to quickly pull herself away, rushed out of the room without looking back, and came to the relatively empty street outside. With all her might, she let out a shout that pierced through the wind and snow!

"Akaleion!"

"Back off!"

Almost the instant her shout ended, a deafening dragon roar exploded overhead.

Akalion's massive figure, like a black mountain descending from the sky, with an unparalleled aura, 'leaped' directly to—no, appeared suddenly in front of Ying as if by teleportation.

He let out a low growl filled with anger, and his huge leather wings suddenly unfolded like the strongest copper wall and iron wall, completely protecting Ying's small figure under his wings.

Then, he raised his ferocious and majestic dragon head and took a deep breath—!

The word 'Radiant Breath' naturally came to Akalion's mind the next instant, and a torrent of light, pure to the extreme, as if it had condensed from the intangible into a tangible substance, suddenly spewed out from his bulging throat!

The light was intense and awe-inspiring, neither the scorching heat of ordinary fire nor the fury of heavenly thunder, but a manifestation of a more primal and pure positive energy, like the eternal sun suddenly tearing through the curtain of eternal night, instantly illuminating this desolate elven ruins!

Wherever this 'Radiant Breath' swept, those terrifying frost ghosts that had previously bared their fangs and exuded bone-chilling coldness didn't even have time to let out a symbolic wail. Like thin ice and snow exposed to the scorching summer sun, they were quickly melted and purified in that magnificent, domineering, yet somewhat sacred and majestic light, leaving not even a trace of their existence.

As the edge of the beam of light inevitably swept across the cluster of buildings composed of towering spires in the center of the ruins, the ancient walls covered with mithril patterns instantly became as bright as day under the sudden burst of light.

The countless elven runes engraved on it seemed to be touched by this pure and powerful energy, emitting a series of deep and distant hums, like an ancient bell being awakened from its slumber.

Several slender spires, already teetering on the brink of collapse due to the erosion of time, had their thick frost instantly vaporized by the intense heat under the direct impact of this positive energy, revealing an even more intricate and complex mithril openwork structure beneath. However, the spires also began to groan under the strain, and countless fine, spiderweb-like cracks quietly spread across the mithril surface under the direct sunlight.

However, just as those ancient and dilapidated elven buildings seemed poised to collapse completely under the unexpected surge of energy, a sudden change occurred—

The network of mithril patterns covering the ruins and the countless ancient runes engraved on the walls of the buildings that had survived the passage of time seemed to have been completely activated by the immense energy of 'Radiant Breath', suddenly bursting forth with a light that was gentler than the breath of a dragon, yet equally dazzling!

These lights emerging from the depths of the ruins were not intended for passive defense. Instead, they were like an invisible giant net woven from countless filaments of light, attracting, capturing, and even completely absorbing the energy that had not yet completely dissipated from Akalion's breath, as well as the negative energy fluctuations generated by the large-scale erasure of ghosts.

Above the ground, a massive, incredibly complex magic circle pattern covering the entire core ruins area was completely illuminated by this torrent of energy.

A massive amount of elemental energy converges here, merging into the mithril patterns and giving it a somewhat dazzling silver light. Like a living stream, it rapidly gathers along the mithril patterns at the mysterious runes.

Finally, like rivers flowing into the sea, they all surged toward the tallest spire in the center of the ruins, a spire that had remained almost perfectly intact despite the erosion of time—undoubtedly the true core of this place, an elven mage tower that had been silent for countless years.

Under the operation of this ancient magic circle, which has been fully activated, the aftershocks of Akalion's street-level 'Radiant Breath' were quickly dissipated and then transformed into the original accumulation of elemental energy absorbed by the magic circle.

When the runes fully lit up, the building structures that had almost collapsed miraculously stabilized again.

The previously spreading cracks stopped expanding, and a silvery light, like liquid moonlight, slowly writhed at the most severe wounds, carrying out visible repair.

The ruins are slowly being restored to their original state under the influence of the magic circle, like an ancient overlord awakening from an eternal slumber, beginning to breathe and function on its own, and exuding a breathtakingly powerful vitality.

Akalion's chest rose and fell slightly, his dragon wings spread wide, calming the surging energy within his body.

He could clearly feel that the breath attack from the street level had indeed consumed a lot of his energy reserves, but it was far from the limit that made him feel weak. Moreover, he felt that under the 'Radiant Breath', he had recovered a lot of the physical strength he had lost due to the long flight.

Akalion roughly estimated that, in its current state, it could still unleash about twenty-nine more 'Radiant Breath's breaths without any hindrance.

Moreover, he sensed that there were several other breathing techniques with different attributes and effects hidden within him. It seemed that his true dragon bloodline was not only mixed with gem dragon blood, but now was not the right time to try out new abilities.

Under this destructive breath of light, the only remnants of those frost ghosts were dozens of fist-sized, pitch-black, strange stones scattered on the ground, exuding a faint, ominous aura characteristic of necromancy.

Akalion was about to step forward and examine the strange black stones more closely to see if they were useful. If not, he would take the Glowing Quick Rune with him. The current harvest was already quite abundant. If he continued to be greedy, who knew what monsters might appear? What if the dragon's breath couldn't solve the problem? Wouldn't that be too early? He should wait until he had developed for a while before exploring this ruin.

In that fraction of a second, at the top of the central mage tower, which gathered all the energy, a huge crystal that was originally dull and looked like a pearl covered in dust suddenly burst out with a pale light that was even more dazzling than before!

The light condensed into a beam, soaring into the sky, like an indestructible sword, ready to pierce through the eternal gloom that shrouds the world!

Just as Akalion grabbed Ying and was about to spread his wings and escape, a vast, ancient, yet indescribable flow of information, carrying a hint of sorrow and anticipation, surged into Akalion's mind like a burst dam, through the invisible energy link.

This is not a malicious mental attack, nor is it a simple communication; rather, it is a weighty entrustment that transcends endless time.

[Guardian of 'Ansersheen,' last hope, inheritor of the ancient covenant... Welcome... The mage tower 'Myth Aethelan' acknowledges your status... Because of your power, seventy percent of the tower's functions have been fully restored from their slumber, and the energy circuits here have been partially activated... The 'Edivara Resurrection Spell' is now ready to be used; however, master, please proceed with extreme caution. Each resurrection will cause the resurrected to lose some crucial memories within the following one to two years; the master must remember this price.]

Our world, Eldra, is irreversibly marching towards a cold, desolate end... An unknown calamity, sweeping across the heavens and annihilating all living beings, is about to descend.