Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 27: Journey to the End of the World (27)

Dragon Raja 4

Orev, instead of joining the battle, was lying on the ice, trembling as he sketched the shape of the serpent.

“This is incredible! Unbelievable! This thing is a real hybrid! It shouldn’t exist on the evolutionary tree! It crosses several classes!” Orev’s voice trembled with a mix of fear and excitement.

“Why did I bring a nerd like you on this ship? We don’t need to study our food’s classification!” Sasha shouted, intending to kick Orev, but Orev tossed him a set of keys.

Sasha caught the keys and asked, “You brought that thing out here?”

“Always bring the highest-level weaponry wherever you go,” Orev replied. “If possible, leave me one alive.”

Sasha ran to the snowmobile’s cargo compartment and opened the door, revealing a machine covered in waterproof tarpaulin. Pulling back the tarp, he exposed a black, crouched exoskeleton with a heavy metal backpack. Sasha stepped into it, and the exoskeleton stood up, enclosing his entire body. The joints locked into place one by one, and an automatic injector at his waist gave him a shot of adrenaline. He took a few deep breaths, and his eyes lit up with eagerness.

The Warrior-21 military exoskeleton was a pride of Russian military engineering, combining both protection and combat capabilities, allowing soldiers to carry heavy weapons across hostile terrains. There were a few on board meant for traversing ice fields in emergencies, but now it was really being put to use in combat.

Sasha drew two PP-19 Bizon submachine guns, stepping out from behind the snowmobile with a roar, charging towards the serpent. His exoskeleton’s support structure on his back also carried two more submachine guns, synchronized with his hand-held ones via an optical targeting system, providing close-range support fire. The ammunition consumption was measured in kilograms, but the firepower was impressive. Encouraged by Sasha’s bravery, the crew also advanced steadily, forming a network of fire with him. Under heavy fire, the serpent’s body was riddled with blood, and it was on the brink of falling back into the sea when its broad abdomen suddenly convulsed violently, releasing a foul-smelling gas towards Sasha.

Sasha had no time to dodge, but he held his breath just in time. The Warrior system considered biochemical defense, but no natural animal actually used gas toxins against enemies, so Sasha hadn’t put on a gas mask. In the next moment, the gas column the serpent spewed ignited into flames. It angrily swung its head around like a natural gas well spewing fire, forcing the crew to dodge its flames. They could only watch as it crept closer to Sasha, using its short hind limbs. Sasha didn’t have time to remove the exoskeleton, which had now become his coffin.

Just as the serpent’s flames were about to engulf him, a figure emerged from the ice crack. The person grabbed a knife bag discarded on the ice, drew a long blade with blue and white hues, and pierced the serpent’s belly from behind, then quickly retreated. The serpent’s abdomen spouted foul-smelling fluid, which vaporized upon contact with the air and burst into flames. It became a living torch, thrashing in agony before tumbling off the ice cliff. But before it fell, the crew was horrified by its cry—a sound between a lizard’s screech and a baby’s wail, like a razor scraping across eardrums. Chu Zihang sat down wearily, then turned to pull the exhausted Sea Lion Paw up from the hanging ice ledge.

Sea Lion Paw spat out seawater and shouted in horror, “There are more down there! Lots more!”

Sasha rushed to the edge of the ice cliff and looked down. The blood-red seawater was churning as more of these serpents, arranged in neat rows, raised their heads toward them like wolves howling at the moon.

“Are these the legendary dragons?” Sasha asked hoarsely.

“They’re just evolutionary failures; they don’t deserve the name ‘dragon’,” Chu Zihang replied, struggling to his feet.

He hadn’t fallen into the deep sea, but something in the depths was indeed calling to him. The last thing he saw was the serpent lunging at him. He let go of the rope but was caught by Sea Lion Paw just in time. He had reached some vague conclusions, which were bad news for those on board. Their destination might not be a divine kingdom or temple, nor beautiful Valkyries and warm mead. Instead, there might only be a cold hatchery filled with organic material and genes.

How long has this hatchery existed? What lies hidden in its deepest recesses? Why does the Holy Palace Medical Society need it?

But for now, the most pressing issue was how to escape. The serpents were climbing up each other’s backs, dozens or maybe hundreds of them. They were strange marine creatures with the spine of a southern anaconda and the sleekness of a sea serpent. They fed voraciously to meet their energy needs, and the food they ate fermented in their stomachs, releasing flammable gas that liquefied and was stored in hard pouches in their abdomens. This was their evolved survival strategy. They had to keep evolving within their limited lifespan, or they would be eaten by other creatures, even their own kind. The seawater in this area was rich in blood because its creatures fought constantly. The victors devoured the defeated and absorbed their genetic fragments. These were the traits of dragon subspecies.

In fact, they were all dragon subspecies, including that tiny red tide algae. It was a biological explosion caused by the leakage of dragon genes polluting that area.

It was not entirely wrong to say that it was Valhalla. In the mythological place, the warriors fought each other endlessly to improve themselves. There, countless dragon subspecies fought day and night, and various gene fragments were constantly repeated… That was the great evolution, but what was the ultimate purpose of it?

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