Excavation

Da Lang, the one who occasionally looked up at the ceiling and contemplated life, was the cleverest and most calculating,

well-behaved and obedient on the surface, but full of little schemes, often egging the other two on.

Er Lang had a temper as explosive as a firecracker and was so straightforward he bordered on dim-witted, so Da Lang always used him as a pawn, making him the one to stick his neck out.

As for the last one, Kevin (San Lang), who was still chewing on the sword hilt, well...

All that could be said was that he was adorably dopey and gentle, and somehow, every bit of blame in the team magically ended up falling on his head.

Redd helplessly patted Kevin's head and gently pushed him away before climbing down from King Ghidorah's relatively flat back.

He stretched his somewhat stiff neck and turned his gaze toward the other two sleeping figures in the Dragonpit-the Black Dragon Ehm and the Red Dragon Aegon.

Both were curled up, breathing evenly and looking rather languid.

Redd walked over to them without disturbing their rest, opened the system panel, and examined it carefully.

[Black Dragon Ehm (+)]

[Age: 191 years (191-220)]

[Body length: 130 meters]

[Wingspan: 370 meters]

[Status: Good]

[Red Dragon Aegon (+)]

[Age: 211 years (211-220)]

[Body length: 150 meters]

[Wingspan: 430 meters]

[Status: Aged]

After reading it, Redd waved a hand lightly and dismissed the system panel.

Looking back, last night's operation had indeed been too risky, especially without knowing the truth about the black mist and those bizarre creatures.

Fortunately, it had not resulted in any major losses.

Although both dragons had suffered some injuries, and the Red Dragon Aegon even appeared somewhat more aged in his status field because of the curse and his age,

overall, their condition had not worsened. On the contrary, hunting down so many creatures had earned Redd quite a few evolution points.

It was just...

The risk really had been enormous.

It seemed he would have to be more cautious when exploring the unknown in the future.

Standing in the Dragonpit, Redd watched the sleeping dragons and the gradually brightening morning light outside the window, but two lingering questions haunted his mind.

The first concerned that damned curse.

He had always suspected it was the work of some deity, but that black mist was far too strange.

During the day, it was as harmless as air, yet at night, it became bizarre and deadly,

commanding those lumps-of-flesh creatures and sandworms to attack as though it had a consciousness of its own.

That feeling...

During the day, he had searched almost every corner of this Fire Peak,

and apart from the much greater concentration of sulfur and heat here than elsewhere, he had found nothing unusual.

Yet the fact that the black mist and mutated creatures had clearly not dared approach Fire Peak last night struck his heart like a heavy hammer. There was definitely a secret here!

Besides, under last night's extreme circumstances, it would have been hard not to notice.

An idea gradually took shape in Redd's mind: he needed to search this Fire Peak again, more carefully, without overlooking a single detail.

And he would start with the Fire Peak where he was staying.

With that thought, Redd patted King Ghidorah (Kevin had just finished chewing the sword hilt and gave a satisfied yawn), signaling for him to follow.

With a young dragon for company, at least he would not feel too lonely or anxious while exploring on his own.

Although this volcanic fortress complex had long since collapsed into ruins over the years,

every time Redd saw its still-discernible massive outline and sturdy foundations, he could not help marveling:

What grand visions and boldness the ancestors of House Targaryen must have possessed to transform an active volcano into such a magnificent fortress complex to live in.

Even with nothing but ruined walls remaining, the sheer scale of their undertaking still inspired awe.

And now, what he needed to do was find traces of the secret that had saved his life last night amid these ruins.

This time, Redd was no longer content with surface observations. He decided to conduct a thorough sweep.

With King Ghidorah (mainly Kevin, who seemed especially enthusiastic about digging), he began systematically excavating the collapsed fortress ruins.

Although King Ghidorah had only been born a little over half a year ago, the vast quantities of metal and meat Redd had fed him had already brought him to the juvenile stage, with a sturdy physique and astonishing strength.

His claws dug through earth and stone as though slicing tofu,

and Redd even had him carry chunks of rubble weighing dozens or even over a hundred pounds. He handled it effortlessly, making trip after trip, more efficiently than any construction machinery.

Meanwhile, Redd used a specially made short-handled hatchet to carefully clear the gaps between the rubble, searching every corner that might have been overlooked.

They toiled for more than half the day, sweat soaking his clothes,

before finally unearthing several chests half-buried in dirt and rubble near the base of a completely destroyed tower.

Opening them, he found gold dragons inside. Their quality was not exceptional, but there were plenty of them, and Redd put them straight into the system space.

There were also several Dragon Eggs of different sizes and colors.

Redd immediately inspected them with the system and discovered that, although several were damaged, faint signs of life remained inside.

Without hesitation, he tossed them into the pet space, thinking he could try hatching them if he had the chance later.

As for the Dragon Eggs that had completely petrified and lost all signs of life,

Redd also put them into the storage space-Dragon Eggs were rare, and even if they could not hatch,

they would still be worth quite a bit as decorations or objects of study later.

Aside from those, most of what they excavated was rusty scrap iron and broken weapons.

Most naturally ended up in King Ghidorah's stomach, satisfying his endless appetite.

Only a few weapons that were still barely usable were carefully cleaned by Redd and placed in the system space as reserves.

In the days that followed, Redd's life became a cycle of digging and hunting.

Apart from the necessary hunting to replenish food for himself and the dragons, he spent almost all his time with King Ghidorah,

excavating the ancient fortress ruins on Fire Peak one after another.

Like a tireless worker ant, he hoped to find clues to Fire Peak's mysterious protective power and the secrets of the black mist among these slumbering piles of stone.

Over the following days, Redd and his young dragon companion-primarily King Ghidorah,

that was, Da Lang, Er Lang, and Kevin-covered practically every inch of ground within the fortress ruins on this Fire Peak and all the surrounding Fire Peaks.

Their excavations reached beneath the foundations. They searched every corner and even pried open seemingly impregnable stone doors.

The rewards were indeed astonishingly abundant.

All sorts of everyday necessities that were still barely usable, mountains of gold coins and treasure, and heaps upon heaps of weapons, some covered in rust and others still sharp...