Dragon Raja 4; Chapter 32: Journey to the End of the World (32)

Dragon Raja 4

Moments later, Chu Zihang regained his senses. Sasha, Seadog Paw, and Orev were gathered around him, surrounded by the corpses of the serpents.

Chu Zihang tapped his forehead, finding his last memories somewhat hazy. He had clearly triggered the third-degree Blood Rage, a state his body should not have been able to withstand. Yet, at this moment, he hadn’t collapsed, nor had he fallen into the abyss of becoming a Death Servitor. On the contrary, he felt quite healthy, with no signs of trouble. The wounds from the battle were healing rapidly. He wasn’t even sure if he had been the one to destroy the horde of serpents, or how he had done it.

This was the second time he had returned from the brink of the third-degree Blood Rage—so it could no longer be called luck. Pressing his hand against his chest, he recalled that at the moment he swung his blade, it seemed like cheers and praise once again echoed from beneath the ice. Jörmungandr! Jörmungandr!

“You’re awake, magician?” Sasha said, relieved. “I almost thought I’d be hauling a corpse back for a sea burial.”

Chu Zihang’s last memory also included the sight of Sasha and Seadog Paw rushing toward him. Sasha had roared while shooting, then charged at the serpent horde with a blade after running out of bullets. Even with the Warrior System amplifying his strength several times over, this was a display of reckless bravery. Meanwhile, Seadog Paw was flinging explosives left and right, tearing up the icefield, and eventually, Orev had caught up, driving a snow vehicle.

“You risked your lives to save a monster like me?” Chu Zihang asked.

Sasha pulled him up. “Monsters who watch whales with me are hard to find.”

Seadog Paw used his claw knife to scrape off a few scales from the serpent’s corpse. “If it weren’t for Mr. Chu, I’d already be at the bottom of the sea, so my life doesn’t matter.”

Orev, embarrassed by Chu Zihang’s gaze, waved his hand awkwardly. “No need to thank me. I was forced. My captain came, so I had to come too.”

Suddenly, the glacier trembled as if an earthquake had struck. What had been a solid shell of ice now began to rise and fall like waves. The seawater beneath them pulsed rhythmically, causing the icefield and icebergs to twist and deform. From afar, the icefield appeared as soft as satin. Seadog Paw, seemingly experienced in such matters, immediately took off running. The other three were no slower. Sasha shed the Warrior System, as its battery was nearly drained, and carrying it would only be a burden. They had to rely on the snow vehicle, which was revved up and ready.

The snow vehicle sped across the shifting icefield, with the ground cracking and breaking behind them. Crimson seawater surged skyward. Moments ago, this had been a frozen world, but now it had turned into a red ocean. The serpents’ corpses slid into the sea along the tilted ice. In the water, countless marine creatures frantically swam, trying to escape the massive vortex rising from the ocean’s depths. Even the narwhals, skilled at diving, couldn’t resist the terrifying pull, and innumerable creatures, along with the glaciers, were dragged into the abyss.

Chu Zihang and the others drove about a kilometer before reaching stable ice. They climbed to a high point on an iceberg, looking back with lingering fear at the area they had just fled. What remained was only a stretch of calm, red water.

What Reginleif had mentioned was gradually being confirmed. They would indeed see a door—one so massive it had no end in any direction. It was so smooth it reflected their images, which, in fact, was just the surface of the sea.

Large chunks of ice that had been sucked down by the vortex slowly floated back up. The glaciers hadn’t suffered significant damage, and within a few days, the area would refreeze into solid ice. No one knew how often such events occurred. Perhaps this one was triggered by Chu Zihang killing a large number of the serpent-like creatures, which had already begun to take the form of dragons. They were the apex predators of this sea and the highest-grade food.

Chu Zihang understood what had just happened: the vortex was the “well” on the ocean floor feeding. The Divine Kingdom was hidden beneath the sea, and the intricate fractal patterns he had observed were part of a biological process, much like how plants unfold their flowers or bees construct their hexagonal hives. What he had seen was not the real ocean floor, but the embryonic form of a massive creature slumbering beneath. The true ocean floor lay thousands of meters deeper.

This creature was the master of the hatchery and the source of dragon genes. It nurtured the creatures seeking evolution, yet also consumed them as food.

Chu Zihang couldn’t fathom what would happen when that massive being finally surfaced. The sea would split apart, tides would destroy all glaciers within dozens of nautical miles, and the enormous Fenrir would be nothing more than a pet in its presence.

The college’s records mentioned only one dragon of such magnitude—it had fallen on a mountain, with its wings hanging down to the base.

“I think I know the truth now,” Chu Zihang said softly. “Sasha, can the bomb you installed on the nuclear reactor still be activated?”

“That would turn the Arctic Ocean into a sea of radiation,” Sasha replied. “The Earth’s self-cleaning cycle would take centuries. We might not even escape. Is it really necessary to use the final measure? “Chu Zihang patted his shoulder without saying a word. He glanced at his watch—it had been 24 hours since they lost contact with the college. He now stood at a crossroads in human history. If EVA’s reinforcements didn’t arrive soon, he would have to decide the future of the world on his own.

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