Chapter 689 — Tarronde
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
Dragon wings swept across the sky, and the pale golden radiance of dusk seemed to be split apart by those enormous pinions, dissolving into countless glimmering lights that plated the broad, majestic blue scales. Turbulence of magical power condensed along the edges of the wings into ribbon-like traces of faint light, tracing a magnificent arc between the clouds and the clear sky. Riding the ripples of magic, the sovereign of the sky crossed the boundary of the continent, crossed the endless sea, crossed that never-ceasing storm barrier, and flew swiftly toward the far northern realm amid the splendid afterglow of the giant sun at the horizon.
Cold wind howled; the piercing chill of the far north announced that the destination was near. The blue dragon lowered her altitude somewhat, and in those pale golden, enormous vertical pupils were reflected the many icebergs drifting on the Arctic ice sea and the various permanent alloy structures protruding above the surface. Some small, harmless creatures leaped and played upon those icebergs and platforms; when the dragon's shadow swept across the sky, some of them immediately dove into the sea to hide, while others simply stared up at the sky in a daze, as though they knew not what fear was.
The endless floes receded rapidly from view, and the surroundings grew colder and colder—but then, all at once, the number of floes diminished greatly, and the temperature around her rose anomalously. The blue dragon slowed her flight slightly, and at the farthest edge of her vision, a splendid and magnificent continent floated upon the empty, calm sea between the glaciers.
It was a land much smaller than the Loren Continent, yet it still possessed towering mountains and steep ridges, forests and rivers. Along the edges of the continent stood countless elegant towers with a metallic sheen, arcs of electricity leaping between them, light flowing and turning.
Above it all, a colossal shield—vast enough to leave humans gaping, far more spectacular than the Great Wall—extended from above the towers and enshrouded the entire continent. In the aerial portion of this great shield, one could see numerous silvery-white installations floating high in the sky, hovering at specific positions, maintaining the shield's integrity in some manner. Countless shadows flitting through the air passed between those installations, looking busy yet orderly.
The blue dragon let out a pleased, low rumble and flew toward one region of the great shield. When she drew within a certain distance, the shield automatically opened a gap, and a long guiding beam extended from the opening, pointing the way home through the dim skylight. A great metal ring flew out from the shield, followed the guiding beam to the blue dragon, and flew alongside her.
A stream of light flickered across the surface of the metal ring, and an artificial intelligence's voice emerged from it: "Identity verification... external personnel, Observer, Mithril Vault Tier-One Agent... Mehampenia. Identity confirmed. Welcome home, kin."
The blue dragon was evidently in excellent spirits. She greeted the central artificial intelligence behind the ring: "Hi, Omega! Any big news in Tarronde lately?"