Chapter Ten: The Blood of the Red Dragon, Source of the Mutation

Dragonfall Valley, a medium-sized mountain range very close to Flame Dragon City, only a few kilometers away, covers an area of about 30,000 square kilometers, roughly the same size as the dark forest where Vilyric first appeared in this world.

Legend has it that the powerful red dragon fell right in the center of this valley. At that time, thunder roared, and blood rained down from the sky, bringing countless mutations and nourishment to this place, while Flame Dragon City hadn’t even appeared yet.

Of course, this rumor has a bit of a ridiculous tone; it’s likely something a low-tier scholar made up in recent years. Thunder and blood rain, that was hundreds of years ago; it’s not recorded in history books, how could you know anything?

In any case, regardless of the actual circumstances back then, Vilyric and another Giant Dragon now find themselves at the outskirts of this legendary site, the red dragon’s fallen ground, preparing to investigate.

Actually, Vilyric isn’t even sure what exactly she wants to check—perhaps the cause of Dragon Blood Disease, the hidden secrets within Flame Dragon City, the reason for the giant dragon’s fall, or maybe something else.

But these should all be interconnected.

Moreover, it would surely be quite interesting.

Doing things as they come, driven by curiosity to explore unknown secrets, that’s the true charm of adventuring!

“Master, this should be the valley mentioned on that paper. There’s a human village below; should we go take a look?”

Saying this, Little Dragon Daughter licked her smooth, fair fingers, looking rather enticing… but Vilyric knew this wasn’t her pet trying to seduce her.

Dragons, at least in this world, have the habit of licking their claws before going into battle, so Xiao Guang’s action was merely an instinctive reaction to sensing a battle down below.

“Is a fight happening?”

Vilyric discreetly moved her gaze away from the blonde girl’s wet fingertips to avoid letting her thoughts drift in strange directions.

Little Dragon Daughter, whose head was full of brawling ideas, didn’t sense the subtle unease in her master’s actions and nodded confidently.

“Mm, there’s a similar smell, but it’s quite far away, and it’s not very intense, so the stench of blood hasn’t reached us yet.”

“I see… then let’s ignore them and head directly into the valley.”

Vilyric isn’t the type to rush to rescue anyone just because she sees someone hurt. While she’s not too keen on fighting, she’s certainly not a saint.

It’s pointless; since it’s not very intense, it’s probably just some magical beasts causing a minor stir and clashing with the adventurers and village guards nearby.

Such trivial matters are better left for humans to handle; there’s no need to waste time.

“Yes, Master.”

With the Giant Dragon having even less regard for human lives, she had no objections, and the two flew over the village, heading directly into the mountains.

Although called Dragonfall Valley, it’s not just a single “valley.” Beyond the deepest and most central region where the giant dragon fell, there are vast ranges of mountains, which are home to countless magical beasts.

Speaking of magical beasts, the distinction between magical beasts and magical creatures isn’t based on size or strength; the fundamental difference lies in whether they possess basic intelligence.

Those who merely hunt, reproduce, and eat purely by instinct, unable to engage in basic communication, are all deemed magical beasts.

Those that use tools, exist within certain social groups, possess intelligence, and can communicate with others, typically fall under the category of magical creatures.

Of course, the classification of magical creatures is rather vague and mostly just a one-sided label by humans.

This world has countless non-human intelligent beings, even outnumbering humans—instances like Beastmen, Winged People, Spirits, Little Folk, plant spirits, advanced magical beasts that have evolved intelligence, and even some undead and blood-related beings frequently summoned from alternate planes.

By the standards of the United Kingdom, these all count as magical creatures, but surely when going out, one wouldn’t casually say, “I can tell you’re not human at first glance!” right?

As for the magical creatures living in Dragonfall Valley, or the mountain range, they are mainly Goblins and Trolls—species with low intelligence, decent overall strength, but a strong breeding ability that is difficult to eliminate completely.

Truly capable and intelligent magical creatures would never endure life in such an exclusionary place as the United Kingdom; they would have long sought out new homes.

Vilyric didn’t dive straight into the valley but landed in the less-traveled middle area.

Like in an RPG game, many important treasure chests aren’t always found in the boss room. If one recklessly charges in, key information could easily be missed, preventing the true ending from being achieved.

Gathering intelligence works on the same principle.

“By the way, Xiao Guang, temporarily turn off your pressure; otherwise, any clues will just vanish.”

To avoid facing the embarrassing situation they had when back in the dark forest, where they walked all day without spotting a single bird, Vilyric made sure to give the heads-up this time.

Once prepared, the master and her pet slowly began moving deeper into the mountain range.

During this process, Vilyric did indeed see the Goblins and Trolls from this world.

Just as depicted in most anime, Goblins are small creatures, only the height of a ten-year-old human child, wearing simple leather pants and sporting pointed ears.

Trolls, on the other hand, vary between two to three meters tall, covered in dense fur, sporting sharp fangs, and having solid muscles.

They typically only use simple weapons like wooden sticks or sharp stone knives, or they throw rocks to attack. Goblins usually range in strength from level 5 to level 10, while Trolls hover around levels 20 to 30 depending on their strength.

The former usually band together in groups of at least ten, while the latter appears alone, thus while there is a considerable strength gap, should an adventurer face them, it really shouldn’t be too different.

For the Priestess, dealing with the less numerous Trolls is much more convenient…

After taking down several waves, Vilyric also discovered their only common trait—both their skin and fur were all red, like blood, and like flames, without exception.

Based on knowledge gained from the Princess, the normal Goblins and Trolls don’t have this skin color; the fact they have turned this way is undoubtedly due to the taint of the dragon’s blood in this area.

What’s more, nearly all the magical beasts in Dragonfall Valley, aside from some birds, exhibit this bizarre crimson color on their bodies; even the tree trunks gradually seeped with a more intense blood-like hue than outside.

The deeper they ventured into the valley, the more pronounced these signs became, with even powerful magical beasts showing partially dragon-like traits, managing to reach level three, and some even level four.

Upon seeing Vilyric and her companion, most of them immediately launched attacks, extremely aggressive, seemingly in a frenzied state.

Level four; this strength is comparable to human-level ground and sky-type strong beings. Although they hadn’t encountered any nearly legendary level five magical beasts, was the biological strength in this place a bit too high?

Indeed, the dragon’s blood has caused mutations, making them aggressive, yet also stronger.

Magical beasts, plants—almost all living things have been transformed by the blood of the red dragon, but… what about humans?

Why is it that only humans haven’t changed?

Wait, some birds also haven’t been affected; it’s likely due to their wide-ranging activities and migration from outside, so humans should be in the same situation.

Flame Dragon City was gradually established after the fall of the red dragon, so…

Wait! There’s no way all the residents of Flame Dragon City are just those who migrated from outside. What about the initial batch of people, or rather, their descendants?

Suddenly, the Priestess felt a jolt in her heart, the three big characters “Dragon Blood Disease” appeared out of nowhere in her mind, like a clap of thunder, dispersing the mist covering her thoughts, and many things suddenly connected.

Is it… like this?

If this is truly the case, then this would be a huge matter in the United Kingdom; no wonder City Lord Nastaia was so tight-lipped—now it all makes sense.

Then, as long as they enter the place where the dragon’s remains are, the most crucial evidence… should be right there!

   

---