Dragon Raja 3; Chapter 333: Crimson Soil (6)

Dragon Raja 3

“No one knows, but it seems the myth is further confirmed,” Chisei replied.

“The family has been funding geological institutions for nearly a century, hoping to find clues about dragon relics through geological exploration, but there had never been any breakthroughs. Now, suddenly, we’ve made such a massive discovery, directly locating the god’s embryo. It seems too coincidental,” Shio remarked.

“Masamune-sama can explain this,” Chisei said, looking to Tachibana, who sat to his right.

Tachibana placed his bandaged hand on the table. It was obvious that the hand beneath the bandages had lost all its fingers. The cutting of fingers was a traditional form of apology in the family, but it was extremely rare for all five fingers to be cut off at once. No one knew what kind of grave mistake this signified. It was well known that Tachibana had lost five fingers after a private conversation with Chisei. He had been quickly sent to the hospital for treatment, which suggested that the former head of the family had made a serious error, for which the new head showed no mercy. This event made it clear that Chisei had seized full control of the family. No one had expected the young man, who had only recently been promoted from Director of the Execution Bureau, to display such a formidable side, even harshly punishing the man who had personally cultivated him.

Truly a ruler, appearing human but with near-pure dragon blood flowing in his veins. The dragon’s brutality was fully displayed in him. Any doubts people had about him were now dispelled, and even the family heads stood in fear before him.

“I merely adjusted the drilling depth. Previously, we believed the dragon relics were located in strata only tens of meters deep, but based on the latest research, Japan’s four islands were submerged several times in the past 10,000 years, and the seawater brought with it large amounts of sediment. Based on this, we estimated that the ancient relics would be located much deeper. So, we increased the drilling depth from 100 meters to 300 meters, which finally led to this great breakthrough,” Tachibana explained calmly, as if everything had been under his control.

“How long has this deep drilling project been underway?” Shio asked.

“Ten years. Over the past ten years, we have found various pieces of evidence, such as underground rivers rich in copper and tin, and underground rivers with mysterious diversions. We even found bone fragments in one of the rivers, and after analysis, it was confirmed to be the remains of Hybrids. All this evidence points to one thing—an ancient, magnificent civilization buried in the strata of Japan. From present-day Tokyo to Shimane Prefecture, the remnants of this civilization are scattered, and it was built by our ancestors. They constructed cities with bricks made from a mixture of stone powder and metal, adorned them with bronze artifacts, and used a special iron-rich metal to build giant towers. Now, those ruins lie deep within the strata, washed by underground rivers, and the water flows along the streets of that once-great city. Based on all this information, we have drawn a map—a map of the ancient civilization of the Age of Gods.” Tachibana signaled to Crow.

Crow spread out a long scroll on the table, a map drawn in fine pencil strokes, depicting an ancient kingdom stretching along the Akaishi Mountains, like a black dragon lying across the mountains.

“This is the ancient kingdom we have theorized. Last night, we finally received conclusive information—not only are the relics of the Age of Gods buried in that stratum, but the god’s incubation site is located there as well,” Tachibana said, pointing at the map. “The Akioni River flows from Yamanashi Prefecture to Tokyo, an area where the relics of the Age of Gods are densely concentrated. The Well of Bones is likely connected to the Akioni River, and the god returns from Takamagahara, passing through the underground river to reach the Well of Bones for the final stage of incubation. Ghost tooth vipers originally only existed in the deep sea, and they may have resided on the god’s scales, returning with it.”

“How far is the Akioni River from Tokyo?” Fūma Kōtarō asked.

“Less than forty kilometers,” Chisei replied. “If the god awakens there, its first target will be Tokyo.”

“We have no way to defend against it, and we wouldn’t even have time to mobilize the air force to intercept it,” Ryoma Genichirō said.

The expressions of the family heads were grim.

“This isn’t entirely bad news. In fact, it’s good news,” Fūma Kōtarō broke the silence. “We’ve found the god before it has awakened, and in doing so, we’ve also discovered the lost civilization of the Age of Gods. If we excavate one of the relics from that civilization, the technology we could obtain would be unimaginable—lost alchemy, dragon engineering, architecture, and perhaps even the key to unlocking Nibelungen. With these technologies, we would undoubtedly become the rulers of the world!”

“Yes, and that’s precisely why we cannot share these technologies with the Secret Party. If the wrong people gained access to such groundbreaking technology, the result would be a disaster,” Tachibana said. “I only hope these technologies will help our family return to its peak of glory.”

“Ruling the world is secondary; the most urgent task is to kill the god,” Chisei said. “We don’t know the god’s current state or when it will awaken. We must make use of every second! Does the Iwanami Institute have any plans for exploring the Akioni River?”

Shio thought for a few minutes. “No. The Akioni River is 300 meters underground beneath Thunder Valley, and its length may rival that of the Tama River. Even drilling a 15-centimeter diameter hole to reach the underground river would take several days. Even if you gave me a year, I wouldn’t be able to fully explore that river. Worse still, the Akioni River is filled with countless dangers. According to the water sample analysis report, the water contains blood, as well as large amounts of nitrogen- and phosphorus-based compounds, which are likely excretions from a massive number of organisms. This indicates an extremely dense ecosystem within the underground river, one we cannot even begin to imagine.”

“An ecosystem composed of dragons and dragon subspecies?” Chisei asked.

“Yes,” Shio nodded. “I can imagine the swarm of ghost tooth vipers trailing the god’s embryo. In a place devoid of sunlight, dragon subspecies would rapidly reproduce, all becoming food for the god. The ghost tooth vipers are completely suppressed by their fear of the ancient dragon; they’re only fit to scavenge the scraps left by the god.”

“A dragon-based ecosystem composed of large dragons and dragon subspecies—where does the nourishment come from?” Sakurai Nanami asked. “It must take a lot of nutrients to sustain such an ecosystem, right?”

“Magma,” Shio said slowly. “Do you remember the dragon-based ecosystem that the Diriašte discovered in the Japan Trench? Billions of krill and pulmonate snails feed on the phosphorus and nitrogen in the magma, small carnivores feed on the krill and snails, and large predators feed on the small carnivores. And the ultimate predator born from that ecosystem, ruling over all, is the god.”

“No wonder the god’s awakening is always accompanied by rising seawater and volcanic eruptions—it needs seawater to soak the land and magma to provide nutrients!” Ryoma Genichirō suddenly realized.

“Exactly. If we explore that incubation site, we won’t just be facing the not-yet-fully-hatched god, but also its followers.”

“The climate changes and tectonic shifts all suggest that the god’s incubation is nearing its final stages. Our time is limited, but within that limited time, we are powerless,” Chisei frowned.