Thousand Fog Mountains, Red Dragon Clan
On Seventh Peak, the dragons worked together to maintain a steady production line of warring magic tools like the other eight peaks when the grand fog array obscuring the lower parts of their mountain suddenly parted.
Considering the Red Dragon Clan rarely had visitors, let alone repeated visitors, the nearby dragons were immediately alerted by the changes in the grand fog array, causing them to halt their work.
Meanwhile, Henrietta stood at the entrance of Seventh Peak with a dumbfounded Ember, who had adamantly followed her despite her suggesting otherwise.
It didn’t take long for Ember to feel her skin crawling with goosebumps when she sensed the gazes of several dozen dragons, beings she didn’t expect to meet in the innermost parts of the Thousand Fog Mountains.
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The powerful presence that each dragon possessed filled her heart with dread and a threatening sense of danger – so much so that she wanted to flee on the spot.
Unexpectedly, the heart of the Thousand Fog Mountains was home to such mighty, mythical beings!
While Ember was aghast by the discovery, Henrietta remained calm and collected; Ember’s reaction was no surprise to her. After all, she did not warn her about the dragons prior to their arrival.
“Relax, Ember. They won’t harm you as long as you don’t anger them,” Henrietta assured.
Ember eventually dropped her defensive stance and calmed down after she studied Henrietta’s relaxed look for some time.
At the same time, news of their arrival traveled fast. Before long, the seventh dragon lord, Kemun, emerged from his cave to receive them.
“Well, if it isn’t Lady Henrietta. I apologize for not giving you a proper reception on behalf of our dragon clan. We’ve been quite busy here, as you can see. That said, what brings you here?” Kemun greeted Henrietta with a casual, lackadaisical look.
Knowing Kemun was the most easygoing and free-spirited among the dragon lords, Henrietta didn’t mind his sloppy welcome. A smile appeared on her face as she prepared a reply.
However, Henrietta paused with a partial smile, having detected a sudden yet subtle surge of mana from a distant mountain peak.
The subtle mana surge possessed a trace of dragon aura, but it was unlike any dragon aura she had known.
At the very least, it didn’t seem to belong to any member of the Red Dragon Clan. At the same time, a sense of familiarity also came from it, as if it belonged to someone she knew.
Such a peculiar discovery naturally attracted her attention and curiosity.
“What is this strange dragon aura…?” Henrietta softly muttered in thought.
Meanwhile, the unexpected words caused Kemun’s expression to stiffen briefly before he glanced over his rear and wondered, ‘Strange dragon aura? What strange dragon aura? Could it be the foul dragon aura I just released?’
Nevertheless, it was only a split-second thought before Kemun glanced in the direction of Ninth Peak and understood.
“Ahem, that strange dragon aura should belong to… Lady Astoria,” Kemun awkwardly declared before he, too, paused with a pondering look, realizing the implication of his statement.
After all, Lady Astoria was a human and shouldn’t possess any dragon aura.
Even if Lady Astoria did somehow gain a wisp of dragon aura from absorbing the Supreme Leader’s potent blood to recover, the dragon aura should have belonged to their clan’s Fire Dragon God Bloodline.
However, that was not the case.
“Let us head over, Lady Henrietta, and…?”
“Ember. I am Ember Killian, Your Excellency.”
“Lady Ember, it is.”
After a short exchange and suggestion between Kemun, Ember, and Henrietta, they all headed over to Ninth Peak.
Although Henrietta was slightly surprised when Kemun brought up Astoria’s name with a trace of respect, she decided not to jump to any conclusion until she met the person and learned more about the overall situation.
Upon arriving outside the guest building, the group noticed they weren’t the only ones attracted to Astoria’s strange dragon aura. Several other dragon lords had also departed from their peaks to investigate.
“Lord Kemun.”
“Lord Astarot.”
The first and seventh dragon lord acknowledged each other’s arrival before welcoming the other dragon lords, who had come later.
Surprisingly, the ninth dragon lord was the last to arrive for investigation despite being the closest to the source of interest.
“Lord Narvim, you came as well.”
“That goes without saying, Lord Kemun.”
Narvim gave the seventh dragon lord a cool reply, causing the latter to glance away wryly with some embarrassment for stating the obvious.
If dragon lords didn’t investigate anomalies when they appeared within their areas of jurisdiction, they would be seen as irresponsible and criticized by others.
Nevertheless, everyone’s attention on Kemun and Narvim didn’t stick for long before returning to the guest building.
The strange dragon aura sensed from within attracted their curiosity, but none dared to pry further with their magic lest they disturb and interrupt something important to Astoria.
After all, they didn’t know or understand what was happening inside.
The guest building seemed tranquil and ordinary, as if nothing was going on at all. However, the increasing clarity of the strange dragon aura detected inside was undeniable proof of something happening.
“Please wait here patiently, Lady Henrietta,” Astarot made a sudden request, stopping Henrietta from entering the guest building.
Although Astarot’s tone was polite, there was a hint of warning and threat, enough to make Henrietta understand the dragon lord placed great importance on Astoria’s safety.
Henrieta’s eyes flickered with surprise.
It wasn’t her imagination that Astoria garnered greater respect from the Red Dragon Clan than her. Why that was the case, she had yet to learn.
Henrietta silently nodded and took a step back, rejoining the group of observers.
“What do you think is going on with Lady Astoria, Lord Astarot?” Narvim sought the first dragon lord’s opinion shortly after as they continued to observe the guest building patiently.
However, the latter shook his head.
“I don’t know. But I believe it shouldn’t be something bad. Rather, it should be something good,” Astarot guessed after some consideration.
“Right. This gradual intensifying dragon aura… seems to be a bloodline awakening. But how is that possible?”
Narvim was baffled, but he wasn’t the only one.
After all, Astoria, a human, was awakening a dragon bloodline. Furthermore, judging by the dragon aura, the dragon bloodline belonged to a different line of dragons.
At the very least, the dragon lords present were certain the dragon bloodline was unrelated to their Fire Dragon God Bloodline.
“Could it be a mutated bloodline resulting from the Supreme Leader’s mixed bloodline? No… That shouldn’t be possible,” Narvim frowned.
“Right,” Astarot nodded and said, “Lady Astoria would have to absorb a substantial amount of the Supreme Leader’s blood essence to inherit his bloodline. More importantly, there’s no distinctive trait of the fire dragon or wolf in her dragon aura.”
Suddenly, Astoria’s dragon aura surged exponentially, pouring out of the guest building like rushing water.
In that instant, multiple sets of eyes widened at the unexpected golden dragon aura that also carried a trace of nobleness.
“This… This is…!”