Chapter 947 — Talonde

Amber stood there dumbly, feeling the touch on her head and looking at Gao Yang, who had suddenly broken into a smile like a gratified old father. Her first thought was whether prolonged high-altitude flight might have some adverse effect on the mental state of the elderly, but at least she didn't voice this rather disrespectful notion. Instead, she accepted the praise with composure—though she couldn't figure out what had happened, Miss Amber had never been one to turn down a windfall that came her way for free.

Virodai, off to the side, had been quietly watching all of this the whole time. What she was pondering was clearly far deeper than Amber's concerns, and she had vaguely sensed that during the earlier passage through the storm, some "anomalous phenomenon" might have occurred that only Gao Yang could perceive. But she did not step forward to press him; instead, she sent a flicker of inquiry through her eyes.

Gao Yang merely shook his head slightly.

Virodai withdrew her gaze in understanding, settled back into her resting spot, and closed her eyes once more.

The dragon flew on northward. As guide and mode of transportation, Metzen had ironically become the "person" on the scene least aware of the situation, and she seemed to have little interest in what had happened on her own back. She could already feel the biting cold wind of her homeland; she could already sense Talonde's presence in the changes of the nearby magnetic field and magical environment. Lured by the warm dragon nest and the mission stipend, Miss Blue Dragon let out a pleased low growl and picked up her pace a little more.

Night had fallen, and starlight was scattered across that boundless ice ocean. In the dry, cloudless Arctic region, the sky full of stars was clearly more brilliant than over the continental areas.

Gao Yang could distinctly feel that the speed and manner of this nightfall differed from the continental regions—they had not clearly seen from which direction the sun set, nor had they seen the full transformation of the sunset glow. This night did not rise from the horizon; rather, it was as if... riding on the dragon's back, they had actively flown into a stretch of night.

The polar night of the Arctic region—this phenomenon had been mentioned in Mojin's travelogue, as well as in various scholarly writings.

Beneath this night, Gao Yang seemed suddenly to regain a certain "sense of reality." He let out a slight breath and gazed at the distant sea—under the night sky, a hazy brightness had already surfaced on the sea in that direction, as though a great many man-made lights were illuminating the ocean in the polar night. And deep within that hazy brightness, the outline of land could already be vaguely made out, along with a faintly raised arc like some kind of shield device.

"We're almost there!" Metzen's slightly excited voice came from ahead at that moment. "That's Talonde!"

"I'm going to descend continuously now—get ready!"

Then, accompanied by the dragon lady's thunderous low roar, Gao Yang felt a slight tremor beneath his feet and the scene in his vision tilted accordingly. Metzen began adjusting her flight posture, descending steadily under the night sky and achieving a perfect balance of speed through short dives—in this rapid flight, the outline of Talonde grew ever clearer.

Amber was the first to give in to her curiosity and darted to the front. She stood just ahead of Metzen's shoulder blades, craned her neck toward the patch of land emerging on the distant sea, and let out an exaggerated, drawn-out cry of wonder: "Whoa—I see it! I see it! A continent! Thalond, that's Thalond!"

"The lights are brighter and denser than those of the Cecil Empire... they even surpass the imperial capital of the Gondor days," Verodai could not help rising to her feet as well. Gazing into the distance, she said to Gaoyang with a sigh, "Do you see that dome-like thing? That... looks like an enormous shield—covering the entire continent?!"

"...The dragons' technological prowess clearly surpasses that of any nation on the Loren Continent," Gaoche said in a low voice. What he saw did not exceed his previous judgment of the dragons. "It stands to reason—they have endured in this world for so many years, after all. The several breaks in civilization on the Loren Continent never touched the dragons, so naturally they would be more advanced than us..."

"Thalond will certainly open your eyes!" Metzen said happily, an unmistakable pride in her tone—on this journey home, the dragon lady seemed at last to have shed the elegant, composed persona she wore as a senior agent of the Mithril Vault. She was talking much more, and her character had grown lively and spirited. "I'll show you where I live, and our cities and temples... Of course, we must first hear what the gods have arranged. But rest assured, it won't be anything too troublesome—you are all guests of Thalond, after all..."

Gaolan responded with a few words, but his attention was already entirely fixed on that distant continent, and he paid little heed to what Metzen was saying.

He opened his eyes wide and looked upon that ancient land bathed in starlight and countless artificial lamps, and a sense of anticipation and excitement at the prospect of visiting an unknown place inevitably spread through his heart. He looked at the faintly glowing dome that was in all likelihood some supremely advanced shield; at the city lights upon that land and the streaks of color sweeping low through the air; at the clear, brilliant starlight of the polar region mirrored on the sea near Thalond; at the white glaciers in the ocean and the rolling waves glimmering faintly in the night. And he saw something like a mass of flesh resembling enormous tentacles suddenly surface above Thalond, sweeping across the entire dragon nation as if licking it; he saw countless pairs of eyes faintly emerge above the sea, watching the whole continent with cold, indifferent gaze...

A vast, twisted thing, wrung and fused together from countless tentacles, limbs, eyes, and all manner of other chaotic matter, appeared in Gaoyang's field of vision. Like some缝合 monster beyond the limits of human comprehension, it draped itself over the sky above Thalond. It wore a "cloak" forged of starlight and flowing fire; from its flesh protruded sword-wielding arms, the limbs of gigantic beasts, chaotic flames, and flickering crystals. It shrouded the entire stretch of sea ahead like a curtain, and countless fine, chain-like structures extended from its surface, connecting to the land of Thalond. Among them, one chain also crept out from the darkness and reached toward Metzen.

Metzen, all unknowing, wore that chain as she flew onward, joy of homecoming in her heart.

Gaoyang drew in a sharp breath.

He blinked again, and the indescribable vision had already vanished.

Clear, bright starlight shone over Thalond. Beneath the quiet night there was only a prosperous, ancient nation; amid the brilliant lamps lay the homeland where the Age of Dragons lived on.

"We're here!" Metzen said happily. "I'm going to slow down one last time!"