Chapter 275: Chapter 169: Preparations Before Opening the Mountain
After the dragon’s roar, the once-raucous banquet fell much quieter than usual.
At this moment, everyone had but a single thought.
’Are they opening the mountain?’
A stir went through the crowd. All eyes turned toward the distant Cuoe Mountain Range. The view was one of endless, rolling mountains and ravines, a landscape of precarious, solitary peaks and layers of overlapping ridges.
It was winter. The base of the mountains was a withered autumn-yellow, while the slopes held the faint, stagnant green of eucalyptus trees, their growth halted by the cold. Higher still, the snow-white peaks were streaked with red and black. The red was the morning sun, the black came from swarms of Little Flying Dragons—a species of Dragon Descendant unique to Wales—and the white was the snow itself, condensed by the frigid air.
The dragon’s cry had come from the very spot where the swarms of Little Flying Dragons had been startled into flight.
Directly before the canyon stood rows of towering bluestone pillars. Lined up together, the polished and carved columns looked from a distance like Lances piercing the sky.
That was the Barrier erected in the Dracul Mountain Range, the place where the Dragon Hunting Ceremony would begin.
"The Dragon Calamity must be approaching. I wonder if the Beowulf Family is right to open the mountain today," someone sighed softly.
"Opening the mountain" meant unsealing the Alchemy Barrier at the canyon entrance to the Dracul Mountain Range—a barrier the Beowulf Family had commissioned, one that had required the combined efforts of nine Alchemy Masters to create.
Giant Dragons have inhabited the Dracul Mountain Range for millennia. Thanks to the inherently lustful nature of dragons and their cyclical breeding patterns, the mountains are now overrun with their Dragon Descendant offspring.
And where there are Dragons, Poachers are naturally drawn in large numbers.
In the Middle Ages, the Dracul Mountain Range was territory co-ruled by the Dragon Family and the Beowulf Clan. To protect their private property, a Barrier to prevent Poachers from entering the mountains was essential.
As times have changed, the Barrier still serves to keep Poachers out, but the motivation is different.
Before, it was to protect private property.
Now, it is to comply with the "sustainable development principles" of the Red Dragon Ordinance.
Beyond stopping Poachers, the Barrier also serves to prevent the Dragon Descendants of the Dracul Mountain Range from descending and harassing the local populace.
The Dragon is a creature of both supreme reason and supreme frenzy. Most of its descendants, lacking its pure Dragon Race bloodline, inherit the frenzied instinct without the reason required to suppress it. This is especially true for seventh or eighth-generation Dragon Descendants.
This is particularly true for Dragon Descendants of the sixth generation or lower, who shed their scales annually. This shedding period coincides with the mating season for some, a time when these Low Tier Dragon Descendants become irritable and violent. When they gather, they can form small-scale Dragon Tides.
Each year, the Beowulf Family opens the mountain on a small scale during this period. A month beforehand, they set up Defense Techniques in the surrounding villages and towns and deploy additional personnel.
Just before a Dragon Tide is expected to erupt, they allow various Dragon Slayer Clans to conduct limited Dragon Hunting on the mountain’s periphery to thin the herds. All risks and rewards are their own.
During these hunts, the Dragon Slayer Clans are strictly confined to the outer regions to avoid disturbing the High Tier Dragon Descendants or the Dragon Race deeper within the mountains.
For those who violate the rules... being torn apart by a Dragon would be a mercy. If they were to provoke a member of the High Tier Dragon Race and trigger an even larger Dragon Tide, the Beowulf Family would seal the Barrier without hesitation, leaving the Dragon Slayer Clans outside to bear the brunt of its fury.
Afterward, the Beowulf Family’s own Dragon Slaying team would enter to clean up the aftermath.
Fourth, fifth, and sixth-generation Dragon Descendants have a higher proportion of Dragon Race blood and are thus more restrained. They shed their scales and enter their mating season roughly once every five years. Correspondingly, the resulting Dragon Tides are larger and far riskier to manage.
When dealing with these, the Beowulf Clan must begin preparations and personnel deployments three to four months before opening the mountain. In addition to the Dragon Slayer Clans under their command, they also have deep ties with the Demon Hunter Association and several Old Blood Clans.
Some Silver Faction Demon Hunters use the opportunity to enter the mountains, hone their skills, and fully absorb their Magic Potions.
Beast Hunters on the verge of reaching the Entry Tier, or looking to Promote, hope to harvest suitable parts from the Dragon Descendants for their Beastification.
Additionally, the Beowulf Clan must hire professional Alchemists to oversee the opening of the mountain and manage the Arrays, preparing them to deal with higher
After all, this type of mountain-sealing Alchemy Array is ancient. A small-scale opening is fine, but during a large-scale opening, there is a real fear of conflicting Alchemy Techniques.
In Baron’s words, it would be like a mountain of shit code that had been running just fine suddenly crashing.
Of course, the eruption of a Dragon Tide is highly unpredictable. Sometimes, a High Tier Dragon Descendant or even a member of the Dragon Race might roar on a whim, and a Dragon Tide will simply erupt.
A sudden outbreak that catches everyone by surprise, leaving little time to prepare, is classified as a Dragon Calamity—especially one with a high proportion of High Tier Dragon Descendants, including Third Generation Species and their subspecies.
Take this Dragon Hunting Ceremony, for instance.
According to the Beowulf Family’s calculations, the Dragon Spear ceremony wasn’t supposed to start for at least another three years. The High Tier Dragon Race shed their scales once every twenty-five years, and the cycle should have lined up perfectly.
But unexpectedly, the Dragon Slayer squad the Beowulf Family sent out for its monthly patrol was completely wiped out. After a cautious investigation, two hired Silver Dragon Guides made a startling discovery. Deep within the Dracul Mountain Range, besides the few Third Generation Species known to inhabit the area, analysis of the remaining tracks and aura revealed something else.
It was highly probable that a pure-blooded subspecies, a creature ranked above the Third Generation Species and worthy of the name "Dragon Race," had appeared. The arrival of this unknown Dragon Race member made a large-scale Dragon Calamity in the near future a distinct possibility.
This news sent ripples of unrest through the Beowulf Family, affecting both their internal affairs and external relations.
A typical Dragon Tide requires months of preparation after being predicted. The slightest misstep could see it engulf the surrounding villages, towns, or even cities.
A Dragon Tide involving High Tier Dragon Descendants, such as Third or Fourth Generation Species, requires more than half a year of advance planning—to say nothing of one where a subspecies of the Dragon Race itself is present.
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