Above The Sky
Chapter 391 - 391 362 The Ancient Dragons of Qiang Steel 23

391: Chapter 362: The Ancient Dragons of Qiang Steel (2/3) 391: Chapter 362: The Ancient Dragons of Qiang Steel (2/3) Because of Ian’s instructions, tonight’s food for the merchant caravan was quite good.

Besides the still fresh oily flatbreads and meat soup, the steward, in good spirits, also handed out a small piece of smoked cured meat to everyone.

This smoked cured meat was made with large chunks of deer meat, first smeared with a layer of fine sea salt, then covered with cheaper rock salt and left for half a month.

It was then placed in a cool and dry cave, and fermented with a type of wild fungus for two months.

During the fermentation, a type of incense exclusive to the natives was needed to be infused with the meat, allowing the fragrance to permeate every part of the meat with the fermenting bacteria, making it extremely tender and flavorfully delicious.

Because it was a traditional food used for the natives’ sacrificial rites, only shamans and chieftains could eat it, hence it was called ‘Shaman Smoked Meat,’ also known as ‘Southern Pine Smoked Meat.’

The chefs from Harrison Port improved the process, turning it into a local specialty.

This smoked cured meat had a very long shelf life, and it was very flavorful whether boiled in soup or sandwiched within dry food, making it particularly suitable for adventurers and merchant caravans to keep for long journeys.

Ian also quite liked the taste of this smoked cured meat; he even used it to enhance broth, always reminding him of the ham and bacon back home.

However, such magical fermenting bacteria and flavorful flowers do not exist on Earth, making it a unique delicacy of the Terra Continent.

With a hearty meal, everyone was greasy-faced, and the morale boost given by Ian with the heads he brought back completely dispelled the unease caused by the magical beast attacks.

Sleeping inside the carriage was actually quite uncomfortable, as it was filled with quite a few items, and even someone with a lean figure like Ian found it a bit cramped.

It was hard to imagine how big fellows like Green Tide and Scott managed to squeeze in.

But the upside was that Ian could sleep standing up.

Besides, he was also close to reaching the Second Energy Level, where the development of his brain surged, and a deep sleep for just a few minutes satisfied his daily needs.

The next morning, the steward’s nephew and third brother took the disheartened traitor, the heads, and documents and rode back to Harrison Port on fast horses.

Without a doubt, they would receive a generous reward.

Meanwhile, Ian and the others pressed on.

Clouds drifted away, rains came and went, and after the sun and moon had risen and set for five days, the caravan traversed several towns, including Sanhe City, the most important hub for the transfer of waterborne goods in South Ridge.

Sanhe City, located on a river beach at the confluence of the Ivoke, Jett, and Kilber rivers and close to the sea, had no way to expand further.

Because essentially, it was a large village built on the only solid ground in the middle of a swamp, where the residents of South Ridge constructed a “city on the marsh” with rocks, planks, and various canal bridges.

The caravan delivered a batch of goods here and then took on new merchandise.

Ian also met with the head of the White Chamber Commerce Guild in this place.

The person warmly entertained the young man and respectfully asked Ian to review the local guild’s operations.

Ian knew the other party wanted to leave a good impression on him, hoping that after he became an Elder, there might be an opportunity to get promoted back to the headquarters in Harrison Port, so he obliged and took a look around.

“It’s a pity you came a bit early, my lord.

During the mid-rainy season, the water in the Three Rivers area will rise high,” said the steward with a goatee, looking out at the dense array of merchant and fishing boats on Three Rivers, feeling somewhat sentimental.

“At that time, the most valuable goods from the entire South Ridge colony and autonomous regions will flow into Sanhe City, and the prices will be much lower compared to other times.”

Ian was indeed quite intrigued, “Oh?

I’ll have to see it for myself when I have the time.”

The Ivoke River flows from northeast to south, the Jett River from northwest to southeast, and the Kilber River cuts across Bison Mountain Range.

This water transport trade route is the true lifeline that energizes the trade of South Ridge, occasionally even producing Demonic Beast Materials of the Second Energy Level.

These are the most expensive harvests of the year for the Mountain People and the Natives, enough to exchange for a wealth of supplies that rapidly develop their tribes within the Empire.

“By the way, if you come across any of these alchemy materials, could you purchase a batch for me first?

Here is my alchemy emblem, you can use the public account from Harrison Port.”

With low price periods available, it was natural not to miss out on a bargain.

Ian listed a batch of goods, mostly materials related to alchemical potions and inscriptions, and the steward naturally agreed wholeheartedly.

The caravan stayed there for one day and set off the next afternoon.

After leaving Sanhe City, it wasn’t long before Ian and the caravan reached the final point of their journey together.

The entrance to Indigo Mountain Gorge of the Naling Mountain People.

After that lay the Norman Plains, crisscrossed with paths and brimming with life.

Indigo Mountain, also known as Qing Steel Mountain.

A peak that seems to have been plated with metal, radiating a strange, bluish sheen under the sunlight.

Four hundred years ago, it is said that an Ancient Dragon, the ‘Qing Steel Dragon,’ resided here.

Its formidable power contaminated the surrounding mountains, altering the physical properties of the rocks in the area.

The local Mountain People, regardless of their location in the range, revere this dragon as the ‘Mountain Dragon God.’ To better approach this powerful being, akin to a deity, they settled on the middle slopes of the mountain, building their houses and temples with rocks permeated by the dragon’s power.

They herded cows and sheep for the Dragon God and offered year-after-year sacrifices.

The Ancient Dragon seemed indifferent to the actions of these small beings.

Although it did not use the Mountain People for food or destroy their villages and towns, it never truly sheltered them.

The rocks that were contaminated by the Ancient Dragon’s power came to be known as ‘Qing Steel Stones.’ Their surface is almost metallic, while their interior becomes tough, making them a special construction material.

When used to construct checkpoints and fortresses, they are nearly indestructible.

Even the force of an alchemical cannon is as insignificant as a gentle breeze when faced with a fortress forged from Qing Steel Stone.

Back when the Nineteenth Legion of the Empire was ordered to clear the Indigo Mountain Gorge Entrance, they marched unimpeded until they faced a setback for the first time before the sturdy fortresses of the Mountain People.

Had it not been for the Empire’s Sub-dragon Knights gaining aerial advantage by crossing the gorge and cutting off the fortresses’ supply lines, the Nineteenth Legion might have had to pay a heavy price to force their way through.

Today, the Qing Steel Dragon is nowhere to be seen.

According to the legends of the Mountain People, the Dragon God awakened during an intense blizzard, its tremors dispelling the extraordinary freeze that covered even South Ridge in a blanket of white, bringing the sun back to the sky.

Thanks to this natural disaster, the Mountain People on the brink of extinction found a reprieve.

Afterward, it let out a roar that shook the mountains, ascended into the high heavens, and did not return.

Based on Scholar’s conjectures, the frigid disaster that had engulfed the Favette Mountain Range, South Ridge, and the entire Bison Mountain Range four hundred years ago correlated with the migration of another Ancient Dragon, the ‘Icefog Dragon,’ residing in the Karan Mountain Range.

However, this migration suddenly halted, likely due to the obstruction by the Qing Steel Dragon.

Scholars believe this was a rare territorial dispute between Ancient Dragons that resulted in injury to both parties, but the Mountain People firmly assert that the Dragon God chose to fight to protect them.

They believed they must continue to maintain the Dragon God’s nest and carry on the sacrificial rites, waiting for its return.