After the promotion, Ke Xiu Si leaped down the shadowy cliff, hoping to harvest some spoils from the Green-Footed Dragon Snake.
But when he reached the bottom of the cliff, he looked around.
He suddenly realized that things were far from simple.
Because on the ground, there were not only the corpse of the Green-Footed Dragon Snake but also more scattered, massive, ancient skeletons.
Each of these skeletons was over ten meters long, and from their ferocious snake-like skulls and long, narrow spines, it was evident that these skeletons were all Green-Footed Dragon Snakes.
And there were hundreds of them!
The massive skeletal remains almost completely covered the entire cliff bottom, forming a rather spectacular path of white bones, making the Green-Footed Dragon Snake corpse appear insignificant among them.
Hundreds of Green-Footed Dragon Snakes.
What kind of concept was this?
Just one Green-Footed Dragon Snake required the Red Dragon to use all his means to barely win.
And if ten Green-Footed Dragon Snakes swarmed him, the violent lightning would be enough to electrocute the Red Dragon into charcoal.
What about hundreds of Green-Footed Dragon Snakes?
Without exaggeration, this was enough to easily destroy a human kingdom.
"The oldest of these skeletons are probably thousands of years old, almost turning to dust."
"What exactly is this place?"
Ke Xiu Si felt his scalp tingle and couldn't help but exhale a puff of sulfur-smelling hot air.
At this moment, he was no longer focused on the dead Green-Footed Dragon Snake; he only wanted to explore the secret of this terrifying path.
"Creak."
His claws stepped on the ancient skeletons, emitting crisp sounds.
The Red Dragon tiptoed along this path of bones, walking step by step into the depths of the dark, pervasive road.
Both sides of the path were towering cliff walls, almost vertical.
He walked for a long time.
At the end of the path was a massive stone door.
On either side were thick stone pillars, inscribed with text.
The stone door was not overly decorated; it merely had simple, ancient patterns carved into it, not very exquisite, but giving a sense of power and primal wildness from the wilderness, and one could barely make out the pattern as an eye in a storm.
"Storm Giant?"
Ke Xiu Si couldn't help but murmur to himself.
The ancient Giant Empire's influence had also stretched far and wide, and Storm Giant were the highest-ranking among the giants.
These Storm Giant were rare; they lived in corners of the world far from mortals, reminiscing about past glories, and were thoughtful, reclusive prophets.
He carefully observed the text on the stone pillars on both sides.
"Ancient Giant Language."
The Red Dragon did not recognize these ancient languages; they had probably died out with the demise of the Giant Empire.
However, a translucent blue panel quietly unfolded.
【The wisdom of a warlock allows you to trace back to even more ancient things.】
【The text before you awakens the deepest memories in your bloodline.】
【Memories of the generations-long, protracted war between dragons and giants, it has been deeply etched into your bloodline, flowing through every one of your veins.】
Ke Xiu Si fell into a trance, becoming hazy.
He saw a terrifying number of armies composed of dragons, their dense wings enough to blot out the sky.
The giants stood ready, their massive bodies occupying the horizon.
The two wrestled together, shaking heaven and earth.
Engaging in the most primal collision.
Storm Giant hurled thunder of infinite power, Cloud Giant created rolling clouds, Stone Giant lifted hills of boulders.
【You have gained valuable ancient knowledge.】
【Gained skill proficiency: Ancient dragon language +4, Ancient Giant Language +2.】
When the Red Dragon regained consciousness, his mind was already filled with much inherited knowledge.
Ke Xiu Si gazed at the text on the stone pillars and read it softly:
"I seek the great ruins, recovering the lost heritage from the empire's fall.
In the end, I only found that the gods had abandoned us.
I have witnessed the rise and fall of royalty and the victories and defeats of wars, and I am weary of the endless conflict between good and evil.
So I descended from the high heavens, sinking into the abyss of the earth, and my former weapons shall guard my gate.
Mortal, who has come from afar, please remain humble.
Do not disturb my slumber.
Otherwise, the enraged Storm Giant will bring more complete destruction.
This is my final prophecy as a prophet.
—Lándétǎ, the Storm Giant elder, rests here."
After reading this text, or rather, epitaph.
Ke Xiu Si's breathing became somewhat rapid; he exhaled deeply, again puffing out a cloud of sulfur-smelling white smoke.
"This is a Storm Giant's tomb, and those Green-Footed Dragon Snakes are just guarding it for him."
"Truly... extravagant."
"Which means, within this tomb, there might be incredibly precious treasures."
The Red Dragon's greed, stemming from the depths of his bloodline, from Tiamat, urged him repeatedly to open this stone door.
"But the epitaph prophesies that he will bring more complete destruction."
"It's better to be careful..."
Ke Xiu Si was ultimately not a pure Red Dragon with only muscle in his brain, like those in adventure stories; reason still prevailed.
But this did not mean he gave up exploring this tomb; rather, it meant he planned to "bide his time" until his body fully recovered and all preparations were complete before considering further exploration.
So, the Red Dragon temporarily settled down here.
That's right, he settled down.
Ke Xiu Si first returned to the place where he fought the Green-Footed Dragon Snake, preparing to eat its badly damaged body.
The Green-Footed Dragon Snake had great strength, so its muscles were exceptionally chewy, with a slight tingling sensation of electricity, which was due to its nature as a magical monster, containing special energy within its body.
"Like the spicy hotpot I ate in my previous life."
Ke Xiu Si said, chewing heartily.
This was the highest praise the Red Dragon had given to food in this world so far.
A dragon could easily digest half its body weight in meat every day; he could convert food into elemental energy and store it for later use.
Much of the stored energy was used for breath weapons and for the multiple rapid growth spurts experienced throughout his life.
The Red Dragon thus alternated between eating Green-Footed Dragon Snake meat, studying the text on the stone pillars, and napping soundly on the pile of bones.
Several days passed.
A Cave Gulper was curled up in a crack in the cave ceiling.
This monster, like a giant worm, was dark greenish-black, blending into the background.
They waited quietly in the grotto.
Whenever prey approached, the Cave Gulper would stand up and extend its four hooked tentacles, revealing the hungry, flapping beak in the center.
However, just as it waited silently like a dead thing for prey to arrive, a gaping maw suddenly appeared, tearing it whole from the grotto.
Its soft, elastic body struggled for a moment before being shoved into the mouth by powerful, sturdy claws.
"Tastes like chicken, crispy."
Ke Xiu Si commented while chewing the rather tough meat.
This monster, which was like death itself to ordinary adventurers, was just a nice little snack for the Red Dragon.
Now, the Red Dragon's scales were bright and smooth, all his wounds had healed, his energy was abundant, and all his spells had fully recovered.
"It's time to see that so-called 'destruction'."
Ke Xiu Si continued chewing the Cave Gulper, thinking to himself.
In his memories from his previous life, someone had once obtained legendary-grade equipment from a cave somewhere in the North, and this was probably the rumored location.
And after he killed the Green-Footed Dragon Snake, he felt as if he had triggered a mechanism; some kind of power seemed to be brewing, likely to completely destroy this place, and by then, he would completely lose this precious opportunity.
And for himself, who was still in his growth stage and surrounded by powerful enemies, such a significant improvement was absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
"Take a gamble, turn a bicycle into a motorcycle."
Ke Xiu Si felt his body full of energy and magical power, gritting his teeth as he thought this.