Chapter 86 Soaring Dragon
When the wave of lizards enveloped me, the other lizards turned their backs and blocked them for me.
It was truly a grateful situation.
But there was one thing that bothered me.
It was the appearance of those lizards.
“Gegegek!”
“Gek!”
The indistinguishable cries of these lizards.
Their huge eyes.
Legs that hinted at a cute figure.
No matter how I looked at it, they were gecko lizards.
These geckos seemed to have their own place in the group, because even though they were few in number, the other lizards started to step back.
“Gegegek!”
Then came a grand roar.
It was truly fitting to call them Wall Tigers.
In this world, lizards were not common creatures.
At least, not within these Hundred Thousand Great Mountains.
With dinosaurs rampaging daily and the insects we had to prey on being no small size either, it might be natural that lizards had no place here.
It was an environment where lizards found it hard to survive.
In fact, until I came here, I hadn’t seen a single lizard.
Geckos were likely even rarer.
Other lizards had their own advantages.
Some had hard scales, some had venomous tongues.
Others were fast.
But what did geckos have?
Having lived as a Green Gecko, I knew their struggles intimately.
Aside from basic skills like those from a previous life, they were a bleak species with only Tail Cutting and Wall Climbing. At best, they had that chirping sound.
It’s hard for geckos to survive here, so their numbers naturally dwindled.
So, there must be some connection between me and these geckos before me.
It felt like seeing a rare surname.
What was my relationship with these geckos?
Could my parents be among them?
Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be the case.
【Crested Gecko lv32】
【Crested Gecko lv22】
【Crested Gecko lv38】
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【Crested Gecko】
A lizard approximately 15-25 cm long, weighing about 60 grams.
It has crests on its head, hence the name Crest Gecko.
With tiny bristles on its feet and tail, it can easily stick to walls or ceilings.
__________________________
These geckos were Crested Geckos.
I was just an ordinary Green Gecko.
In other words, we were distinctly different species.
“Gegegek!”
“Gegegek!”
But what was this feeling?
This warmth.
It felt like the affection of a family.
These creatures seemed to have similar feelings towards me.
Although I was of gecko origin, my current form retained no gecko traits.
I had shrunk, but my species hadn’t changed.
You could say I was a miniature version of a Komodo-Lania.
Yet, these creatures rushed to help me when I was in danger.
They seemed to sense something indescribable.
“Gek….”
“Gek!”
Did they know something?
Even if they weren’t direct family, they might know the whereabouts of my family.
“Gegegek!”
Until that old man returned, I decided to get close to these lizards.
The more information, the better.
And feeling the warmth of family was something I hadn’t experienced in a long time.
*
Hunhwi set out at a brisk pace.
Walking on two feet with his hands clasped behind his back in a peculiar manner, no one would dare criticize his strange gait.
It was a step that had reached the pinnacle of the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step.
His speed was unmatched.
The old lizard’s mind was troubled.
It was because of the sudden appearance of a large lizard.
It wasn’t the strength of that lizard that troubled him.
Its power was something even Hunhwi couldn’t ignore, but this old lizard had long ceased to care about such strength.
So why was his mind troubled?
The answer was simple.
The ornament hanging around the young lizard’s neck.
Hunhwi knew better than anyone what it was.
It was the token of the Snake Queen.
Wearing it meant that lizard was the mate of the Snake Queen.
Hunhwi was astonished.
He could claim to know the Snake Queen better than anyone.
Even if she took in a consort, he never thought she would take a mate.
She was the noble Queen of Snakes.
The cold queen with a snake’s heart.
That was the Snake Queen, the Basilisk.
But what was this situation?
A lizard not even three months old had become the mate of the Snake Queen.
Hunhwi couldn’t tell if there was something wrong with the Snake Queen or with that lizard.
Of course, seeing the lizard’s appearance made some sense.
A face resembling a dragon and a sturdy physique.
What reptile could refuse such a lizard?
The problem was, the lizard was still a young creature that hadn’t even finished growing.
The Snake Queen had changed a lot.
The old lizard smiled faintly as his mind grew complicated.
At the same time, he reminisced about the distant past.
When the Snake Queen was not yet a queen.
When the Bird King did not have a human face.
And when he had not yet learned miniaturization.
Those were cherished memories he now called nostalgia.
But as he delved deeper into those memories, his smile gradually faded.
Because he knew those were memories of a past that could never return.
Hunhwi put more strength into his small feet.
The past had already passed, so he decided to focus on the present.
And in the present, he had to think about that lizard again.
Since it carried the Snake Queen’s token, he had to fulfill its request, but for some reason, his miniaturization hadn’t been undone.
Moreover, it was showing a more exceptional effect than any other lizard he had taught.
The effect was so great that it had shrunk to the size of a Wall Tiger.
He had to restore it to its original size.
Otherwise, the Snake Queen might invade.
Because it was the mate of the Snake Queen.
The mate of the Snake Queen.
The more Hunhwi mulled over that word, the more absurd it seemed.
At the same time, it made him greedy.
That lizard’s talent was so remarkable that it made the Snake Queen act so unusually.
Its external skills were at a decent level.
But the profound internal energy within its body was at a level even Hunhwi couldn’t gauge.
Since it hadn’t even finished growing, it literally held infinite potential.
With such a lizard suddenly appearing, he thought of taking it as a disciple.
Moreover, it had shown the Soaring Dragon’s Ascension Step first.
Even if he got beaten by the Snake Queen a few times, he had to take it as a disciple.
With that thought, he had a sparring match with it.
Even though Hunhwi had gone easy on it, the result was entirely unexpected.
It had successfully landed a valid hit on him using the Snake Queen’s token as leverage.
There was a reason why someone like Hunhwi fell for such a simple trick.
If it was the mate of the Snake Queen, it would know her terrifying nature better than anyone.
It would be normal not to dare use that token as a shield.
But that lizard was different.
It brandished the token without any hesitation.
It was a tactic Hunhwi couldn’t help but fall for.
“Kek….”
That impudent thing.
Hunhwi muttered as he picked up his pace.
Soon, he would obtain the herbs needed to restore that lizard to its original size.
Pa-ba-bat.
He was running hard when suddenly,
Kugu-gu….
Dark clouds suddenly gathered.
A foreboding aura was felt.
“Uoooo….”
A cry heard from afar.
Hunhwi’s face hardened.
He stopped in his tracks.
Moving would be meaningless.
No matter how fast he was, he couldn’t compare to something flying in the sky.
Kuuu….
A giant something obscured the sky.
“Long time no see, Hunhwi.”
The entity that covered the sky was the Bird King.
Hunhwi swallowed hard.
He had encountered the Bird King several times.
Even after becoming enemies, they had met frequently.
The Bird King and Hunhwi did not harm each other.
The Bird King did not actively try to attack him, and Hunhwi left before the Bird King arrived.
But now, the situation was different.
The Bird King spoke to him first.
Not in a clumsy manner but in a proper tone.
In the tone he remembered from back then.
“The stone ape with the dragon’s scale. It must have crossed into your territory.”
Hunhwi knew immediately that the stone ape referred to that impudent lizard.
“Seeing you out here, something must have happened.”
How did he know so well?
Hunhwi was taken aback.
The terror bird that the lizard had captured.
That was how it had been located.
As far as Hunhwi knew, the Bird King didn’t have such abilities.
Which meant he had become stronger than Hunhwi knew.
“You don’t need to answer. I already know.”
The Bird King flapped his enormous wings.
“Hand it over to me.”
The Bird King stared at Hunhwi with a pale face.
Hunhwi sighed.
It seemed it wouldn’t be easy to go home today.
He would need quite a bit of time to shake this one off.
“Don’t think you can just escape. Of course, I can’t enter your territory.”
Those with wings belonged to the Bird King.
Those without wings belonged to the Snake Queen.
And the small ones belonged to the Soaring Dragon.
Neither the Snake Queen nor the Bird King could freely enter Hunhwi’s territory.
It was an unchanging law.
“But if I kill you, your territory will lose its power.”
The Bird King sne
ered.
“Well, I don’t want to kill you either. Even though time has passed, it would feel wrong to kill the one who taught me.”
Hunhwi silently listened to him.
It was so different from usual.
Touching him meant he had the confidence to face the Snake Queen.
“But just because I can’t enter doesn’t mean my subordinates can’t.”
The old lizard stared straight at the Bird King.
While he had been out, the Bird King planned to send his subordinates to kill the small ones.
“You wouldn’t like that. The answer is simple. Just hand over that lizard.”
The Bird King flapped his wings slowly, as if issuing an ultimatum.
What was that lizard that it became the Snake Queen’s mate?
What was that lizard that the Bird King was so obsessed with it?
The old lizard quietly looked at the sky.
The Bird King’s subordinates were entering his territory, and the Bird King himself was blocking him.
It was a desperate situation, but there was a way out.
The lizard was in a shrunken state.
It would be easy to subdue it without much effort.
If he handed it over, not only he but all the small ones could be saved.
But Hunhwi had never lived his life that way.
When the Snake Queen was a hatchling.
When the Bird King was just a small bird.
He had taught them.
He had lived his entire life for the small ones.
“Krrrr….”
Crrrack.
And, the lizard that had entered his territory was also a small one.
Smaller and younger than anyone.
It was also the mate of the Snake Queen, whom he cherished like a daughter.
How could he hand over such a creature?
The old lizard’s eyes were full of determination.
“…Are you going to drink poison?”
Crack.
Hunhwi’s body began to grow larger.
The Bird King swallowed hard.
Hunhwi (昏輝).
Dark and bright.
A contradictory term.
But there was no better word to describe him.
Because he, who cared for the small ones, was larger than any other being.
“Kroarrr!”
The largest Soaring Dragon revealed itself.