Chapter 78: Something's Amiss!
Felix walked along the main road for two days and, upon reaching a branch of the Maya Mountains, decided to cut through a mountain path. This way, if he traveled through the night, he would reach the first post station of the imperial capital by noon the next day. Once at the post station, the rest of the journey would be much easier. Felix could simply hire a carriage and sleep through the ride, arriving in the imperial capital the next morning.
Since this morning, Felix had felt an uneasy premonition, a sixth sense unique to Gamma Masters, indicating a forewarning of unknown dangers. In the magical world, there are two major prophetic arts: the "Minor Prophecy Book" and the "Major Prophecy Book," though they have been renamed.
Gamma Masters have a strong innate sixth sense because they are soul smugglers. In fact, any spellcaster dealing with the soul tends to have a decent sixth sense.
They often sense danger before it happens, but Felix's sensing ability is a bit stronger due to his vast mental strength.
This isn't the first time Felix has felt this sense of crisis, but this time it's a bit more intense, prompting him to be extra cautious.
Sensing and predicting danger is an instinct for living beings, like a deer sensing a cheetah's gaze and looking around in alarm. Humans, over their long evolutionary history, gradually lost this predictive instinct, but have reawakened it through the deepening of their powers.
...
This is a juncture of the Maya Mountains, and if there's one thing the Maya Mountains are known for, it's undoubtedly the dragonkin!
Dragons are notoriously lustful. Ever since the Maya Mountains became a gathering place for dragons, most of the mutated creatures here have been bred by dragons. Dragons are an odd race; they might mate with their own kind for a thousand years without conceiving, but mating with other creatures often results in a brood...
Three major types of dragons inhabit the Maya Mountains: Red Dragons, Green Dragons, and Bronze Dragons. Among these, the Bronze Dragons are the strongest, as they are the servants of the Saturn Giants and the "Keepers of Time."
The so-called "Keepers of Time" might seem powerful, but in reality, they're average. Simply put, Bronze Dragons possess a talent that allows them to create a "Spatial Domain." Within this domain, they can control the time differential between it and the outside world. However, they can't stop time, and their manipulation of time can't exceed a tenfold difference, or the entire "Spatial Domain" would collapse.
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With the popularity of knightly novels, Bronze Dragons have appeared more frequently in stories. Over time, poets have exaggerated their abilities, claiming they can control the flow of time, allowing people to return to the past or even travel to the future. If the Bronze Dragons hadn't been wiped out by the archangels, they would surely be delighted, as even the Saturn Giants born from chaos aren't as powerful as them!
Nowadays, the most commonly seen dragons in various realms are Red Dragons, Green Dragons, and Black Dragons, with other dragon breeds mostly extinct or vanished.
The Maya Mountains are home to a considerable number of dragonkin, as well as a significant amount of creatures with just a trace of dragon blood. Over the past few thousand years, pure-blooded dragons in the Maya Mountains have become increasingly rare, while occasionally a dragonkin or two would wander into the human world.
This branch road was sparsely populated, and Felix's instinctive sense of danger made him uneasy. He began to wonder if he was being targeted by a dragonkin that had strayed from the depths of the Maya Mountains.
Don't be fooled by third-rate knight novels: over 95% of dragons are man-eaters, and they enjoy it quite a bit!
There's a natural gap in perception among different creatures, just like the difference in how humans and half-beasts see things. The gap in perspective between humans and dragons is even more vast.
Unless it's a wise dragon species that frequently interacts with humans, their first thought upon seeing a human is, "Delicious food has come to me!"
Two types of man-eaters live in the Maya Mountains: dragonkin and a clan of Warhammer Ogres that migrated from the mainland's interior. If it were just Warhammer Ogres, Felix wouldn't feel such a strong sense of danger. The only possibility left is the Golden Dragonkin.
Felix progressed slowly, occasionally glancing at the sky while riding his horse.
If he's targeted by a flying dragonkin, he'd run into the dense forest of the Maya Mountains, where the massive trees severely hinder the hunting of large flying creatures. If he encounters a terrestrial dragonkin, there's no need to talk—just cast a series of levitation and lightening spells and run as fast as he can.
After cautiously traveling about four kilometers, Felix noticed no movement in the woods on either side of the road, and no sign of dragons in the sky, as if his previous sense of crisis was just an illusion.
Dragons don't hunt like wolves, which are weaker and tend to follow prey from a distance, waiting for a moment of weakness to launch a surprise attack. Dragons, born with great strength, often hunt their prey in a straightforward and powerful manner.
Felix never doubted his sixth sense, so he started to question his earlier speculation. Dragons don't have that much patience, so what could it be that gave him such a strong sense of crisis?
Ahead, Felix came upon a ravine flanked by dense woods. The road seemed to have been intentionally blasted apart, leaving only a narrow path about three meters wide. Instinctively, Felix stopped and dismounted, staring silently at the ravine.
Something was off!
But what exactly? Felix couldn't figure it out.
Just then, his horse let out an uneasy neigh, snapping Felix back to attention. He suddenly realized what was wrong with the ravine.
There were no sounds of insects or animals!
Not even a single chirp or rustle could be heard in the ravine!