Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 312 - 307 Bern

Chapter 312: Chapter 307 Bern

Snow Flow Canyon is located in a rather remote area.

For adventurers who can only travel on foot, just reaching there requires a significant amount of energy. Considering that there are surely plenty of monsters along the way, they would need at least two short rests, followed by one long rest.

Even so, no matter that Isily isn’t a local dragon but rather a young silver dragon just starting out, unfamiliar with the area... her extraordinary flying abilities combined with the high-altitude perspective they grant her provide a tremendous advantage. Ultimately, it took her less than an hour to reach Snow Flow Canyon.

Isily slowly descended upon the snow-covered mountaintop. Once Leon leaped off her back, she swiftly transformed into a silver-haired girl. As a silver dragon, she undoubtedly preferred her human form.

"So this is Snow Flow Canyon?" Leon glanced around, seeing nothing but a vast expanse of white.

"I’ve never been to Snow Flow Canyon either, but based on everyone’s descriptions, this should be the place."

Isily walked nonchalantly to the edge of the cliff, peered down at the ground below, and said, "Look at the snow on the ground that resembles waves... Snow Flow Canyon got its name from snow that appears to flow like water. It’s essentially drift snow, wind-blown snow, and blizzards."

Leon wasn’t particularly knowledgeable about geography. The fact that geography is considered a humanities subject was already baffling to him, so he simply nodded cluelessly.

"Weren’t we told there would be frost worms in Snow Flow Canyon?" Leon looked around repeatedly, scanning his surroundings multiple times but finding no trace of frost worms. "I don’t see anything around here."

"Most of the time, frost worms stay in frozen underground layers, gathering energy while waiting for prey to pass overhead," Isily explained, her knowledge stemming from information inherited through her lineage as a silver dragon—details other dragons lacked.

"And then?" Leon asked.

"When frost worms sense vibrations from the ground, they will suddenly leap out from beneath the dirt, ice, and snow," Isily replied, staring at Leon.

"So should we create some sort of disturbance to lure it out?" Leon suggested. "Would throwing stones work?"

"Definitely not." Isily replied matter-of-factly, "Frost worms can judge what kind of creatures are passing overhead based on the frequency and magnitude of the vibrations. If it’s not their prey, they won’t come out... Why are you looking at me? I’m not going to serve as bait for you."

Leon crossed his arms and threatened, "You still want to meet the Metal Knight, don’t you?"

"You’re awful... That’s a frost worm we’re talking about! Even a young silver dragon might struggle against it, and I’m just a juvenile one." Isily wasn’t foolhardy enough to be reckless. "Meeting the Metal Knight is nice and all, but I value my life more."

Leon didn’t respond directly but instead began calculating in his mind. His mana had been depleted significantly in the battle against the Kraken. Under current circumstances, could he manage to defeat a frost worm without reverting to his dragon form? Honestly, it would be challenging. His human form was somewhat lackluster, but determining whether exposing his identity in front of Isily was worth more than defeating the frost worm weighed heavily.

Just as Leon had yet to reach a decision, Isily raised her hands and placed them over her forehead, saying, "Did you notice something?"

"Notice what?" Leon snapped back to reality.

"There’s not a single animal around here. It’s unnaturally quiet," Isily remarked. "Whether it’s elk, mammoths, winter wolves, saber-toothed tigers, or bears—even kobolds are nowhere to be seen."

Leon didn’t think much of it and dismissed it casually, saying, "Is that an issue?"

"Judging by the frozen tunnels here, we can determine this area used to be a hunting ground for frost worms... The fact that it used to be a hunting ground doesn’t necessarily mean it still is now," Isily noted.

She continued, "Purple worms are essentially pure, insatiable forces of gluttonous consumption. Their close relatives, frost worms, are much the same. Frost worms can quickly deplete the prey in one hunting ground before migrating elsewhere."

"So you’re saying the lack of prey traces here might mean the frost worm has already left?" Leon asked.

"I won’t make any guarantees," Isily replied slyly.

"Where do you think it could have gone?" Leon was unwilling to miss out on hunting a frost worm.

"Where prey is abundant," Isily said. "Don’t ask me where prey is plentiful, because I don’t know either."

Leon could transform into an Ancient Jade Dragon. Ancient Jade Dragons were capable of burrowing, a skill frost worms excelled at too. It was a shame he missed the chance to take down a frost worm and obtain scarce alchemy materials. However, with the Kraken’s treasure stolen just hours ago and various rare alchemy materials looted from the Storm Predecessor, the day’s gains were already substantial.

It wasn’t perfect, but it was pretty satisfactory overall. Leon didn’t dwell on it too much. He sighed and said, "Oh well, gone is gone. Guess it got lucky and kept its life."

Isily smirked. Noticing Leon’s sidelong glance at her, she quickly coughed and asked, "Are we heading to Bern now?"

Leon pondered for a moment. He desperately needed rest to recover mana. Unlike in a game where gameplay mechanics allowed for full recovery of magic positions during a long rest, his current massive mana reserves might not be fully replenished overnight. Still, it would mostly suffice.

"Let’s rest tonight and head out in the morning," Leon decided.

Tents, bedding, pots, pans—Leon pulled everything out from his Sleeve of the Universe space, leaving Isily utterly baffled.

The crackling sounds of firewood echoed amid the silence of the snowfield. Sitting around the campfire, sipping hot soup while admiring the snowy landscape, Leon finally appreciated the charm of camping.

"I’ve noticed you seem very accustomed to being in human form," Isily commented while sitting cross-legged beside Leon, holding the bowl of soup he had served her. She was as comfortable in human form as she was with human food.

Dried, hard bread required soaking in hot soup to soften before eating. Leon glanced at the silver-haired girl and said, "Continue."

"You’re definitely a dragon who enjoys living in human form," Isily teased, blinking mischievously.

"I’ve said it before," Leon paused and added, "Knowing too much isn’t good for you. Ignorance is bliss."

Thinking of the Kraken’s peculiar appearance, he chuckled, "To me, the world’s greatest mercy is the inability of humans to link their thoughts together coherently. We dwell on islands of tranquility within a vast and boundless sea of ignorance, but that doesn’t mean we should blindly set sail..."

"I believe you’ve encountered the Kraken. Only those who bear its influence end up talking such cryptic nonsense," Isily wrinkled her nose before growing slightly bored and idly kicking a stone. "By the way, winter’s iron tastes sweet."

"Are you a child?" Leon retorted.

No frost worms appeared, neither snowy owl bears nor giant owls, not even a single snow mink. The night was unusually peaceful, besides the occasional sound of the wind howling.

After breakfast, Leon promptly called on Isily to transform into her silver dragon form and carry him toward Bern.

Snow Flow Canyon was near Iron Port, but there was still some distance between Iron Port and Bern. For Leon and Isily, however, it wasn’t much trouble.

"Is that Bern?"

Leon initially thought Bern, like Iron Port, would be built atop the Frozen Soil Wilderness. He was surprised to find it was a garden city seamlessly integrated with natural scenery, lush and green everywhere.

Bern was a human city, and Isily, as a silver dragon, wasn’t exactly suited to flying straight into the center of town in dragon form. She dropped Leon off outside the city and asked, "What’s your business in Bern?"

"My mentor. I wonder what he’ll think of me now,"

Leon smiled faintly.