For all the Tarnished exploring the Siofra River basin, this was destined to be an extraordinary day.
For on this day, they witnessed an ancient dragon soar over the great bridge near them, roaring as it flew toward the distant horizon.
Against the backdrop of the night sky, its noble form, swift as the wind, was more stunning than any painting.
The sight of this impossibly beautiful and powerful creature left everyone mesmerized.
They paid no mind to the howling gales that dried their eyes, unwilling to tear their gazes away for even a moment.
The warriors' hearts beat in time with Senessax's wingbeats, their blood surging with an unprecedented thrill.
Witnessing the majestic form of this immense being, they felt an unparalleled sense of their own smallness and powerlessness.
Senessax's speed was too great; she soon vanished from the warriors' sight as if she were a dream.
The warriors watched as Senessax's dreamlike figure disappeared, melting into the depths of the night sky.
An ancient dragon—what a beautiful, what a powerful form of life.That race at the apex of all living things—merely witnessing its form was enough to be remembered for a lifetime.
Regardless of race, regardless of persuasion, their very existence was enthralling.
But if that was all, it would not have been enough to make this an unforgettable day.
After all, they had only witnessed the passage of an ancient dragon.
At most, it would become the greatest topic for these Tarnished to boast about to others for the rest of their lives.
A knight of the Dragonblood Knight order was currently chatting idly with his companion.
After vanquishing the strange creature in the pool, the Dragonblood Knights had temporarily set up camp nearby.
They had already found the lift, but had received no further orders from above, only instructions to make camp here.
Today, they were not required to go on patrol, so they had nothing to do and could rest.
The topic of their conversation was the ancient dragon that had just flown overhead.
A Dragonblood Knight sitting cross-legged on a stone asked his comrade beside him:
"That was an ancient dragon just now, right?"
His comrade was sitting on the ground nearby, applying sword oil to his weapon.
"Should be. I heard ancient dragons have four wings and four legs, completely different from wyverns."
"Is that so... Speaking of which, I don't think we've even seen a living wyvern before."
"Now that you mention it, that's true. The only times we've seen them, they were already on a plate."
With that, he held his sword up before his eyes, looking with some distress at the nicks on the blade.
During their battle with the strange dragon-like creature from the pool, the blade had been chipped in many places.
Just then, the Dragonblood Knight on the stone spoke up again:
"Hey, do you think... ancient dragons are edible?"
The Dragonblood Knight on the ground with the sword turned his head in disbelief to look at his comrade.
"Huh?! How could you even think of something like that?!"
"That's a bit too bold, don't you think?!"
The other knight scratched his head.
"I was just curious, you know."
"Look, you can perform the Dragon Communion ritual with wyverns."
"Ancient dragons are the ancestors of wyverns, so it should be possible, right?"
The knight on the ground pondered for a moment.
"Maybe not? I seem to have heard that ancient dragons are covered in rock."
"Really?"
"How should I know? I just said I heard it somewhere."
"Oh."
The conversation ended, and the Dragonblood Knight on the stone continued to gaze at the night sky, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, the one on the ground was wondering how long he would have to wait in line for the legion's blacksmith to repair his weapon.
They had only brought one blacksmith with them this time, and logistical support was tight.
After a while, the knight on the stone suddenly spoke up again:
"Hey!"
The knight on the ground was a bit impatient, having just realized it would probably be a long wait for him.
"What is it now?"
The Dragonblood Knight pointed to the sky.
"Look up there, isn't that an ancient dragon?"
He looked up, and indeed it was.
"Is it... flying towards us?"
The two exchanged a look and then ran for their lives back toward the camp.
This day was destined to be an unforgettable one for the Dragonblood Knights.
Because on this day, an ancient dragon descended before them.
And on this day, the faith of the ancient dragons began to spread among the Dragonblood Legion of Stormveil.
——
Senessax landed in front of the Dragonblood Knights' encampment.
Her arrival caused a wave of panic among the order.
All the Dragonblood Knights had already assembled at the front of the camp, ready for battle.
Hakan also emerged from his tent, staring at the behemoth before him with some confusion.
An ancient dragon? Why would it appear here?
Although this ancient dragon didn't seem to have any intention of attacking them, its presence made everyone tense up.
It wasn't until Hakan saw Bai Shi leap down from the massive ancient dragon that all his worries vanished.
He removed his helmet and held it in his hand, striding forward to meet Bai Shi.
"Bai Shi!"
As Bai Shi landed, Senessax transformed into her human form and took the egg from his hands.
Senessax looked at the warriors before her, who had consumed the flesh and blood of wyverns, with some surprise.
She hadn't expected Bai Shi to have such an army under his command, one that enhanced its strength with dragon blood.
As expected of a power born from the culture of ancient dragons, it was truly gratifying to see.
Bai Shi himself walked up to Hakan, looking at his old friend whom he hadn't seen in a while.
"Long time no see, Hakan."
"How did the mission I sent you on to eliminate the strange creature here go?"
Hakan smiled and nodded, saying:
"It's been dealt with successfully."
"Although the creature was indeed quite powerful, we managed to kill it by surrounding it."
"Other than a dozen men who were injured by lightning, we suffered almost no losses."
Bai Shi was quite satisfied with this outcome.
The Dragonkin Soldiers were flawed from their creation, and there hadn't been enough time for subsequent improvements, so they weren't overwhelmingly powerful.
Their strength was roughly on par with ordinary wyverns or heroes, far inferior to ancient dragons.
The Dragonblood Knights had been strengthened by wyvern flesh and blood. Although their average skill level had not yet reached that of elite knights like the Storm Knights, they were still much stronger than regular knights.
An order of such knights would have no problem dealing with a Dragonkin Soldier on the same level as a wyvern.
For an army raised so quickly, their performance was satisfactory.
Bai Shi looked Hakan up and down.
With his own power, it was easy for him to gauge Hakan's current strength.
After being enhanced by dragon blood, Hakan's strength had indeed increased significantly.
Coupled with his consistent training, his power was much greater than before.
In the past, Hakan's skills were considered decent among the Kaidan Sellswords, capable of besting Godrick's knights.
Now, he had reached the cusp of becoming a hero, which was very impressive.
If Hakan were to face the Night's Cavalry that had once grievously wounded him in a one-on-one duel now, he would likely have a 40-60 chance of winning.
After all, many of the Night's Cavalry were only just at the hero level.
Bai Shi glanced at the surrounding Dragonblood Knights. Their strength was more or less the same, all at the level of a knight.
The knights leading the squads had reached the level of elite knights, similar to the Storm Knights.
Upon recognizing Bai Shi's identity, these knights all put away their weapons and knelt on one knee to welcome him.
Bai Shi nodded to them, gesturing for them all to rise.
Hakan turned back and shouted to the knights:
"Alright, everyone back to your posts!"
After dismissing the knights, Hakan looked at Bai Shi.
"This is no place to talk. Let's go to my tent first."
"I'll have some men put up new tents for you later."
Bai Shi nodded. He had much to discuss with Hakan, and they couldn't just stand there.
Hakan led Bai Shi and Senessax through the camp toward the central tent.
Once inside the tent, the three sat down.
Hakan began to report on the matter of the Dragonkin Soldier:
"That strange creature looked a lot like a dragon."
"But there was something odd about it. Its torso seemed to have been hollowed out, much like the Trolls."
"Because of the strangeness of its body, I didn't let the men try to consume its flesh and blood."
"After all, its blood was silver, and it really... well, it didn't look edible."
Bai Shi laughed.
"Of course. It's a good thing you didn't eat it."
"That thing is a biological weapon created by the Eternal City, Nokron, called a Dragonkin Soldier."
"It's a defective product created by fusing Mimic Tears—the origin of the Albinaurics in the Lands Between—with ancient dragons, Trolls, and various other life forms."
Hakan was stunned by the string of creatures Bai Shi mentioned, surprised by the creature's fantastical origins.
But speaking of ancient dragons, Hakan glanced at Senessax.
The woman beside Bai Shi appeared to be an ancient dragon.
Seeing Hakan's glance toward Senessax, Bai Shi realized he hadn't made an introduction.
"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce you. This is Senessax."
"In the future, she will serve as a priestess, spreading the faith of the ancient dragons in Stormveil."
Bai Shi then said to Senessax:
"This is Hakan, one of my few friends."
"He serves as the commander of the Dragonblood Knight order."
The two nodded to each other, a simple acknowledgment.
Hakan was curious and asked Bai Shi:
"Bai Shi, have you already been to Nokron?"
Although the Dragonblood Knights' mission this time was to eliminate the Dragonkin Soldier and not to explore, they were aware that the exploration efforts had not been going smoothly.
Bai Shi nodded.
"You might not know much about what's happening in the outside world."
"A while ago, I participated in the Radahn Festival and defeated General 'Starscourge' Radahn."
"The sealed stars of the Lands Between began to move again, and a meteor fell, opening the path to Nokron."
"I've already explored Nokron once and obtained what I was looking for."
"As for the other Tarnished in this area, in a while, I will have them move to Nokron to explore."
Hakan understood instantly. So it was a meteor.
No wonder the underground had experienced such a strong earthquake some time ago.
Bai Shi looked at Hakan.
"Right, there's another thing I need to tell you."
"I asked you to find the lift in this area before. Have you found it?"
Hakan nodded. "We found it a while ago, but we've been waiting for orders and haven't used it."
Since the lift had been found, there were no more problems.
"Good."
"In the next couple of days, I'll go to the Town of Sellia and bring out the mounts for the Dragonblood Knights."
"We'll rendezvous above the lift. I'll make further arrangements then."
"In addition, the task of relocating the sorcerers of Sellia and escorting them will be entrusted to you as well."
Hakan's eyes lit up.
"Oh, mounts?"
"That's fantastic!"
Although there was a storm plain outside Stormveil, there were actually very few horses.
Under Godrick's rule, Stormveil was mostly preoccupied with providing him with materials for grafting, so horses were quite rare.
As for horses suitable as warhorses, the number was even smaller.
Currently, the Dragonblood Knight order had almost no warhorses; only a few in the command echelon did.
If they had mounts, not to mention their combat effectiveness, the legion's mobility would immediately increase dramatically.
Bai Shi then briefed Hakan on the situation in the Town of Sellia, telling him to be sure to protect the sorcerers.
The sorcerers of Sellia were very skilled.
Whether they were incorporated into the army as battlemages or established schools in Stormveil, they were extremely important.
They could compensate for Stormveil's weakness in magical power.
Hakan noted down these matters one by one, ensuring he missed nothing.
After Bai Shi had finished, Hakan looked at him and made a request.
"Bai Shi, after I escort them back to Stormveil, I would like to leave for a while."
"There are some things I still need to settle."
Bai Shi was a little surprised, then recalled something Hakan had once mentioned to him.
He and his Kaidan clansmen had once been hired by a noble to raid various tombs and caves.
In one cave, all his clansmen had died, leaving him the sole survivor.
"You want to go back to that cave to avenge your comrades?"
Hakan hesitated slightly.
"Not exactly for revenge... after all, we were the ones raiding the tomb in the first place."
"But no matter what, I want to retrieve the bones of my clansmen."
Bai Shi nodded in agreement. It was reasonable and the right thing to do.
"Alright, then. Take a few knights from the Dragonblood Legion with you."
"There are many dangers in the caves; you might run into trouble."
But Hakan shook his head, smiling as he declined.
"There's no need. This is my own affair."
"Besides, while you were away, I've improved quite a bit."
Since Hakan had made up his mind, Bai Shi said no more.
Hakan's current strength was indeed not something to be overly concerned about.
He managed to escape before, so with his current power, it would be even less of a problem.
Having concluded their business, Bai Shi left with Senessax.
The two new tents Hakan had ordered were ready, providing lodging for Bai Shi and Senessax.
Bai Shi sat alone in his tent, looking at the egg on the ground, pondering how to hatch it.
Before long, Senessax slipped into Bai Shi's tent.
Bai Shi looked at Senessax, who had suddenly entered, with some confusion.
It's not even night yet, is she planning a night raid already?
Then again, it seemed to always be night here in the underground.
"What is it?"
Senessax looked at Bai Shi with great interest.
"Master, are you interested in the ritual of Dragon Communion?"
"All of these knights under your command are stained with the aura of wyvern flesh and blood."
Bai Shi found this strange.
When Senessax mentioned Dragon Communion just now, Bai Shi thought she was here to demand an explanation for the wyverns.
But looking at Senessax's mood, it didn't seem to be the case.
Although he didn't know the exact origin, wyverns were descendants of the ancient dragons.
Why did Senessax seem to have no objection to wyverns being subjected to Dragon Communion?
No, rather, she seemed a bit excited?
"Hmm... I myself have no need for or interest in Dragon Communion."
"But for some reason, I can indeed use the power of Dragon Communion incantations."
"As for the Dragonblood Knights under my command, as their name suggests, they all grew stronger by consuming wyvern flesh and blood."
"Is something the matter?"
"You seem very excited?"
Senessax nodded, a little agitated.
"Yes, because seeing the ritual of Dragon Communion flourish, I can't help but feel excited as well."
Bai Shi's interest was piqued by the information revealed in Senessax's words.
It seemed there was a hidden story behind the Dragon Communion ritual?
"What? In the eyes of the ancient dragons, performing the Dragon Communion ritual is something to be celebrated?"
"As far as I know, wyverns are supposed to be the descendants of ancient dragons."
Senessax did not deny this.
"Yes, wyverns are a race born from the ancient dragons."
"As for the Dragon Communion ritual, it was a ceremony developed entirely by us ancient dragons."
Senessax began to recount the ancient teachings of the Dragon Communion ritual:
"Walk the path of the knight, and the dragon blood in your shell will gradually awaken."
"After using the convenient Dragon Communion to carve open your heart, your true desires will become clear."
"The dragon is the true form of the maddened heart."
"Those who pursue the flesh of wyverns and madness will obtain the scales, claws, and wings they desire. Embrace dragonification, and you can seize a power unattainable by knights."
"Even if you manage to break free from this savage path for a time, the dragon blood will follow you like a shadow, accompanying you until the end."
"That is why knights crave the power of wyverns..."
Bai Shi was astounded. He had never heard anything like this before.
In his memory, there was no mention anywhere of Dragon Communion having any connection to the ancient dragons.
Does everyone in the Lands Between enjoy playing with ethics like this?
Seeing Bai Shi's confusion, Senessax explained:
"There are indeed some hidden details. It is normal that you are unaware."
"This is a past that has long been forgotten by the vastness of history."
This matter was actually the greatest dark secret of the ancient dragons, but it wasn't something that absolutely couldn't be told.
It was just that so much time had passed that it had been almost completely forgotten by everyone.
Since Bai Shi wanted to know, Senessax began to explain:
"In a distant age, it was the age of us ancient dragons."
"As a multitude of life forms flourished, different races gradually emerged."
"Under the influence of the Crucible of Life, life continuously diverged in its own directions, and then merged."
"Not only that, but even among the ancient dragons, a special existence was born."
"The very first wyvern that was born was the most peculiar, vastly different even from the wyverns that came after."
"He had a heavy body completely unlike the ancient dragons, with two feet and two wings, an astonishingly large head, and a thick neck."
"His frenzied horns twisted downward, forming a thick helmet on his head. Bones pierced through his body, turning into armor, and his physical strength was immense."
"He was unlike any ancient dragon before him."
"At that time, we even thought it was a kind of disease."
"But the difference in appearance was not the greatest distinction between him and us ancient dragons."
"What truly made us realize he was a different life form was this: he did not have the rock scales of the ancient dragons."
"He was not an eternal being."
"This was the greatest difference between him and us, and a defect inherited by all wyvern descendants."
Senessax paused for a moment before continuing:
"However, even without eternity, the lifespan of wyverns was also extremely long."
"Afterward, another wyvern was born."
"They came together, and thus the race of wyverns was born in the Lands Between."
"The king, known for his gentleness, Placidusax, accepted this different existence."
"And he bestowed upon them the name 'wyvern,' allowing them to live in the Lands Between as descendants of the ancient dragons."
"That first wyvern was given the name Bayle, and he ruled over his people as the king of wyverns."
"The other, Bayle's mate, was named Greyoll."
"After that, the wyverns multiplied and grew, becoming an extremely large race in the Lands Between."
In the age of the Crucible, life diverged, and the ancient dragons were no exception.
Originally, there was no problem with any of this.
Next, Senessax began to tell Bai Shi of the incredible betrayal from that distant past.
"During that time, I was not in Farum Azula, so I do not know what truly happened then."
"In short, everything that followed is what I learned from other ancient dragons."
"At a certain point, our king, Placidusax, and his consort, the Dragon God, both disappeared from the Lands Between."
"When the king reappeared, the Dragon God was no longer by his side."
"It seemed the Dragon God had left the Lands Between..."
"As for the king, he had suffered grievous injuries, and had even lost one of his heads."
"The Elden Ring of us ancient dragons was also shattered at that time."
Senessax's tone was heavy; this was the major turning point when the ancient dragons began their decline.
"After that, the mad dragon Bayle dared to launch a rebellion against the king!"
"He led countless wyverns to attack Farum Azula."
"Fortunately, even with the ancient dragons scattered across the Lands Between, Farum Azula had sufficient defensive forces."
"Furthermore, the combat power of an ordinary wyvern and an ancient dragon are worlds apart."
"Except for a very few ancient wyvern individuals, the rest were not a problem."
"That betrayal did not succeed, but it did not fail either..."
"Bayle heavily wounded our king, Placidusax. Although he was ultimately defeated and crippled himself, the king's injuries were too severe for him to lead us any longer."
"That traitor who gravely wounded our king, the mad dragon who was ultimately defeated!"
"He is our despicable foe. From then on