We Live in Dragon’s Peak

The northern part of the Kingdom of Yortenitos is a rugged mountainous region inhabited by a small number of terrestrial dragons. The deep forest stretches forever and is not easily accessible by human hands.

In the northern mountainous region, the only people who venture into the area are those who seek unseen treasures and the unknown, and those who live in villages dotted with forestry people.

What lies ahead in the northern mountains? No one knows.

Filrel and his dragon knights are investigating what happened in the northern mountainous region.

The first anomaly was confirmed right after the dragon knights led by Filrel and Grave-sama had moved westward to defeat the demon king.

''There was an unnatural fog in parts of the mountainous region. It didn't disappear for days, and word came from the neighbors that they had lost contact with the village that was engulfed by the fog.

The one who told me that was the dragon knight of the flying dragon knights belonging to the northern district army.

It seems that he had been investigating the unnatural fog with Phyrel and the others who had safely defeated the king of demons until just the other day.

I'm sure you'll be able to tell us more about the details.

''At first, we were investigating the extent of the fog and how dense it was.

The fog was already widespread when the investigative team led by Filrel began to examine it.

In the front, it started from the outer ring of the mountainous region, and in the back, it continued to the untouched backcountry where even the Flying Dragon Knights had never flown before. And the width could not reach from one end to the other even if the flying dragon knights flew for a day, and the height stretched higher than the clouds.

We can already determine that it was an abnormal situation at that point, but the dragon knight's story goes on further.

''That was an unusual concentration,''

One of the Earth Dragon Knights cautiously entered the fog. Then, after taking just one step, his vision turned completely white and he couldn't see anything.

If it was an ordinary dense fog, it could be so thick that he couldn't see the tip of his outstretched hand, but it was so thick that he couldn't see anything. Moreover, it is even more unusual if it was not deep in the fog, but right after you entered it.

"Moreover, this person claims that he lost his bearings right after his vision was covered by the fog.

It was a strange story.

The dragon knight who stepped into the fog to investigate must have mounted the earth dragon and entered the fog. Of course, he didn't walk sideways or backwards, but forward. And yet, when he entered the fog, he lost his direction?

You don't normally have to think of the foggy exit behind you to figure it out, do you?

The dragon knight wasn't the only one who lost his sense of direction and was confused. The ground dragon had also lost its direction. So, the startled ground dragon unexpectedly retreated backwards, which fortunately allowed him to get out of the fog.

According to that person's story and the ground dragon's interpreter, without it, he would definitely have been lost. ......

One step into the fog and not only the dragon knight, but even the earth dragon seemed to get lost. We looked at each other curiously when we heard about it.

''We'll just have to go there and find out for sure, right?

We hurriedly flew to the northern part of the Kingdom of Jortenitos with the flying dragon knight's guidance.

And I was astonished.

''This is .......''

An unusual phenomenon appeared out of the corner of our eye.

According to the dragon knight who told us the details of the incident, it was an unusually thick and widespread fog: ......

There was a roar and a thunderclap.

The area flickers with lightning without pause.

When we arrived in the northern mountains. The deep, rugged mountainous region was engulfed in a terrifyingly huge thunderstorm cloud, and the supermassive thunderstorm was not floating in the sky, but on the ground.

Moreover, the supermassive thundercloud was not just floating in the sky, it was bringing its tips down to the ground, blanketing the mountainous terrain in an eerie way.

''It's just like the cumulonimbus clouds we see in summer.

No, it's more than that. This isn't what you'd call a cloud anymore.

Lyra embraced the Mistral, as if frightened.

The mountains were covered from the surface of the ground, and an unusual supermassive thundercloud stretched high into the heavens, writhing eerily as if refusing any intruders.

''Well, this isn't a normal cloud, nor is it a dense fog like you've been hearing about, is it?''

As if to confirm, I look at the dragon knight. Then, the dragon knight also opened his eyes in astonishment and was staring at the supermassive thundercloud spreading beyond his gaze.

''Dragon Knight-san. Hey?　Mr. Dragon Knight?

...... is a yes!

After calling out a few times, the dragon knight finally responded.

''Just to be sure, this isn't the fog you were talking about, is it?

In order to investigate the situation, we flew around the supermassive thundercloud in the Levalier, but no matter how far we flew, there was no break in the thundercloud, and no place we could see what we would call "fog". But no matter how far we flew, there was no break in the thundercloud, and we couldn't find any place that could be called "fog" no matter where we looked.

As I thought, the northern mountainous region was not 'fog' but was engulfed by a 'thundercloud'.

Then it wouldn't mesh with Dragon Knight's story, would it?

Our doubts are answered by the dragon knight with a violent shake of his head.

It's not so much that he denies our doubts as it is that he can't believe the extraordinary situation that's happening in front of him right now.

No, no. Really, what we saw was a fog ......

The dragon knight says with a devilish intensity.

It doesn't seem to be an act or a lie.

So then, after Dragon Knight-san returned to report to King's Landing, did the fog turn into a thundercloud?

The dragon knight said that he returned just a short time before we arrived at the royal capital of the Kingdom of Yortenitos. From there, not a whole day passed until we heard what happened and rushed to the northern mountainous region.

Does that mean that the fog turned into a thundercloud in just a short amount of time?

As if to confirm our prediction, the other dragon knights who had stayed behind in the area to check on the situation rushed over to speak.

''After His Highness Filrel and the others disappeared and were flown to the royal capital to inform us, the thunderclap began to roar .......

Yes. The reason why the flying dragon knights returned to King's Landing to report an abnormal situation is because several flying dragon knights, including Filrel, have disappeared into the fog.

We, too, had heard the details by the time we arrived in the northern mountain region.

A strange dense fog that made even the ground dragons lose their sense of direction. That it wasn't just a fog, that much I could tell.

But that doesn't mean we could just leave it at that.

The fog had already been spreading for days without disappearing before Filrel and the others began to investigate, and they had already lost contact with the people of the swallowed village.

If the situation continued as it was, there was no telling what would happen next. Besides, this could become a problem not only for the people living in the north, but also for the entire Kingdom of Jortenitos.

That's why Phyrrell and the others decided to go into the fog to investigate.

But the results were just the opposite of what they expected.

They didn't return from the depths of the fog, and there was no change in the thick fog. That's why those who had been watching from outside rushed to the capital to report the situation.

''Let me ask you to confirm that His Highness Fileru and the others did not jump into the fog without a plan, right?

The pterosaur that Filerl rides is the legendary Yugra-sama, the dragon that challenged the king of the rotten dragon about three hundred years ago in a battle. What's more, three warriors of the dragon race are attached to Master Yugra as his caretakers.

In that situation, it's hard to believe that Filrel would have gone out of control and charged into the fog. I'm sure he had a well-thought-out plan and took all possible precautions to challenge it.

The dragon knight is answering my question.

Yes. I used dragon arts to connect the dragon and Earl who were waiting outside the fog. Connecting means that ....... The Earl says that they are connecting each other with a string of dragon qi.

The dragon knight, who still lacked knowledge about the 'dragon qi' and 'dragon power', a power unique to the dragon race, explained to us exactly what we heard, even though we couldn't understand it ourselves.

We listen to him and understand correctly.

So, you used dragon arts to create a cord of dragon qi to connect Yugra-sama with the waiting dragon race.

With this, even if he lost his sense of direction behind the fog, he could still follow the dragon qi cord to get out. Moreover, the cord made by Yugra-sama's dragon arts could be stretched out at will for a long time, and it wouldn't be cut by something trivial.

It's a pretty good strategy.

By the way, the 'Count' is a name for Hugula-sama who is the only one in the Kingdom of Yortenithos to hold the 'Countess' title.

It's not just a matter of time before you'll be able to get your hands on a new one.

But His Highness Filrel and the others have disappeared ......?

They should have carefully rushed into the fog in case they were to be prepared, but Filrel and Yugra-sama were blindsided by their whereabouts.

The Dragon Knight says.

''Just after the Earl, Your Highness, and the others rushed into the fog. The cord that was made by the dragon arts was broken and ......

The cord, which should not have been snapped in a moment or two, snapped easily. The fact that this was the case, we were also astonished.

''That means that Yugra-sama's dragon arts have been interfered with or broken, right?

This is not just a matter of time.

If this fog was not spontaneously generated, but was deliberately created by someone else, then that 'someone who generated the fog' surpassed the legendary pterodactyl, Master Yugra, the moment he entered the fog.

''This is .......''

I gulped and swallowed my spit as I stared at the thundering, eerie cumulonimbus cloud.

Everyone else, as if they had noticed something, was looking at the thunderclouds with meaningful eyes.

''From the beginning, I've been wondering, haven't I? Why did Algirdar suddenly bring up the story of the Cloud Dragon ......?

Like a shadow dragon manipulating the shadows at will.

The cloud dragon can also manipulate clouds at will.

What if it seemed like a dense fog, but in fact, it was a cloud that covered the heavens and earth.

The thick white cloud turned into a thundercloud in just a short amount of time. It was as if the entire cloud was being manipulated.

There was only one conclusion to be drawn from this.

''This is the work of an ancient species of dragon race, the Cloud Dragon!

Everyone nodded in agreement with my assurances and the dragon knights stared at the supermassive cumulonimbus cloud in astonishment.

''The Shadow Dragon Algirdar knew from the beginning. That a cloud dragon had been flying to this land. That's why he told us about the Cloud Dragon's existence under the guise of reward advice!

But the question remains.

How did Algirdar know that a cloud dragon had appeared in the northern mountains of the kingdom of Jortenitos?

Niemiah brought the ancient species of dragons and priestesses from the ancient city with him.

He said that the ancient city was located in the far east. Then it's highly likely that the ancient race of dragons that flew in from the east passed over the Kingdom of Jortenitos. But then it wasn't just Algirdar, even Ashel-san and Rayaarin-sama would have noticed the existence of the cloud dragons. And yet, Ashel-san and the others didn't bring up the topic of the Unryu at all.

'Nyan', Niamia squealed at my question.

'Raya-sama had decided on the flight path. When I told her about big brother Ernea, she said she wanted to see the places where the giants and ear chiefs were living, so she flew to the south. But Algirdar-sama was the only one who went this way and that on the way to the flying dragon's hunting grounds.

'You mean, when Algirdar was acting alone, he happened to find a cloud dragon?

That is extremely likely.

But why did Algirdar tell us about the cloud dragon?

The mere fact that the cloud dragon appeared does not mean much to suggest its existence to us.

Then, is there some other reason?

''Algirdar can be found at ....... Didn't you say that the Cloud Dragon that left the Dragon God Mountain Range has a secret treasure that can heal everything?　But we're not looking for such treasures now. And if so?

I don't see what Algirdar's intentions are.

What in the world is he planning to do? What does he want to do to us and the Unryu?

But we can only say for sure.

''No matter what Algirdar's intentions are, you can be sure that Filrel and the others have entered the Cloud Dragon's territory. And the Cloud Dragon has no mercy for those who have entered its territory.

Perhaps the Cloud Dragon mistook Filrel and the others for looters who had come to steal the hidden treasure.

So, it rapidly evoked thunderclouds and created a raging cloud.

''E, Ernea-sama!　His Royal Highness Filrel is at ...... His Royal Highness Filrel!

Lila clutched at me with a pale face.

'You're very worried about Phyrel,' she said.

But if we run into the cumulonimbus cloud without a plan, we're in danger too.

After all, they are an ancient race of dragons. They are not the kind of people that can be overcome by half-hearted efforts and schemes.

I hug Lila and try to reassure her as much as I can. As I do so, I plan my plan.

How in the world can I stay safe in this horrible cumulonimbus cloud? And how can I find and rescue Filrel and the others?

But I couldn't come up with a good idea.

In this situation, should I ask Niemiah to return to the ancient city and ask for Ashel-san or someone else to come and support us?

No, it's not. It's going to take too long. They may be safe for now. After all, Master Hugula will be with them. I'm sure we're able to respond to unforeseen events with a great deal of flexibility. But the longer time passes, the worse the situation gets. If that's the case, the worst is yet to come while Niemiah is on his way to the ancient city and back.

''We have to go, after all. But how?

And that's when the thought flooded my mouth.

Luiseine grabbed my sleeve with a strong grip. Then, with her strong eyes, she said, "Let's go, Ernea.

Let's go, Ernea," she said with strong eyes. I will show you the way.