Beneath the Red Dragon

Chapter 303: Chapter 111: Dragon Summoning_2

The men also struck the bell staffs they held against the ground, harmonizing with the peculiar rhythm. Their deep and sonorous voices began to resonate, their singing echoing, carried away by the morning breeze to distant lands.

”Once upon a time,”

”There was no time, no sight of the earth, all things were in chaos, memories were shrouded in dust;”

”Past events drifted like smoke, fleeting, mountains and seas changed, never to return;”

Although the two leading priests used the Dragon Language, which the villagers could not understand, under the influence of this strange atmosphere, it seemed the villagers could also fully use Dragon Language to follow the two priests in prayer and chant.

The gradually rising prayers resonated with the chorus, the sound heavy, seeming to penetrate the barriers of space under a mysterious power, drifting to a designated distance.

The chanting after prayer further amplified this feature, like devout believers in a holy church, directing songs to the divine spirit listening to their worship.

”Time rushes like a stream,”

”No one can escape from it,”

”The maiden waits for her husband, like waiting for the moment of death;”

”She is all dressed in pure white, as if in a white shroud,”

”She is destined to die, the wedding bells echo praises,”

”Take her away, take her away,”

”Fly to us, descend upon us,”

”Forever offer to you, young maiden.”

This is the song of the priest and also the Dragon Summoning chant.

Not what the two priests said, asking for the Giant Dragon’s blessing, honoring their own Lord, like a hymn similar to the Giant Dragon’s song.

This was in the distant era, the time when Giant Dragons ruled the skies, earth, and seas, various races regarded by Giant Dragons as slaves and food performed the Dragon worship, offering songs of purity and beautiful maidens, favored by the Giant Dragons.

Even now, many Evil Dragons still retain the custom of considering pure and beautiful maidens as food, a legacy passed down from ancient times.

This ritual is now long lost among Giant Dragons, and even the other races once ruled by dragons regard it as an unmentionable taboo, buried and destroyed over long ages.

But the will invoked by the ritual of Dragon Blood is still deeply etched in the lineage of every Giant Dragon; this is truly a song that can summon dragons.

The call from the ritual will awaken the ancestral memories of dragon lore within the Dragon Group, causing their Evil Dragon Blood to revive, seeking fulfillment.

This is the instinctual memory imprinted in the giant dragon bloodline, unstoppable, unavoidable, and this is the purpose of the Dragon Worship Sect.

Furthermore, not only in this village of the River Lands, but aside from the well-guarded cities under direct territorial control, in villages where humans predominantly reside, a similar scene unfolds concurrently.

And a few of the Dragon’s Beloved, because they were towards the dragon worship, also proactively used their knowledge of Dragon Language to loudly accord, calling for the arrival of dragons.

For a time, across the territory, the overlapping, ethereal Dragon Summoning song that only dragons can perceive was everywhere.

...

Today is year-end, the last day, also the day of annual cessation set by Karon.

The atmosphere within the territory is distinctly different; many shops and taverns welcome more guests, even at dawn. During the Giant Dragon’s designated holiday, the city bustles as if it’s noontime or evening.

Even atop the peaks, Karon clearly feels the shift in atmosphere.

For the first time, Karon doesn’t indulge in sleeping in, climbing out from his magma lair, and flying to the King’s Castle, which belongs to all dragons yet uniquely his.

He discovers lively and joyous maidens hanging lanterns and streamers purchased from the market below on the castle’s doors and windows, dressing the previously majestic, grand, solemn castle festively.

Karon does not blame these maidens for their spontaneity; he likes this feeling. He doesn’t enter the castle directly, lest the maidens need to spare someone to serve him.

He paces behind the castle, waiting for the arrival of other dragons from the Dragon Group.

At today’s festive celebration, all Dragon Lords will appear, celebrating with the people. It is partly a requirement of ruling the territory and partly because dragons rather enjoy the lively atmosphere, especially the Young Dragons.

”Papa, papa, what good day is today, is there anything tasty,” calls the Greedy Snake Grinek, its body drooping from over four meters high on the World Tree Branch, its round-eyed gaze blinking at Karon.

”Papa, papa, today’s so lively,” chimes the good child, the Kind and Restrained Snake Haninek. Though this chubby snake is also gluttonous, it’s more obedient than Grinek.

”Papa, these Magic Powers aren’t as delicious as Heart Energy. Look, I’ve grown very slowly recently!” shakes the World Tree, which has grown taller and thicker, with branches lushly green like a nodding youngster.

Strolling to the castle’s back garden, Karon hears the calls of the three annoying youngsters and quickly flies back to the front of the castle, avoiding getting entangled with these little ones.

The sun has risen, but it’s still early for the Giant Dragons. Karon gazes from the mountain top at the gradually bustling city below; although the city built by White Dragon Gomot is not yet complete, it’s beginning to show the charm of a grand city.

And many foreign merchants, even those from the distant Southern Continent, have visionary eyes, investing early in this newly built city, acquiring many shops and residences.