Ashen Dragon

"Hoo——"

A long horn sound echoed.
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Sunlight pierced through thin clouds, a cold wind howled, and the glacier covered in white frost and snow sparkled with a chilling light.

This place, known to the world as the "Icebound Forbidden Land," was the Vaar Glacier, the survival ground of the Frost Giants for millennia.

Within the crevices of the glacier, beds made of solid ice could be found, scattered with clothes made of animal skins, bone spears, and rough stone blades—marking the gathering place of the Everfrost Tribe.

The glacial crevice where the Frost Giants gathered almost never saw sunlight in winter. As crops couldn't grow, they could only corral the livestock they looted for food and hunt on the tundra and snowy mountains, hence mammoths and even a few land dragons were kept outside the ice cavern.

"Is that... the horn sound?"

"Soleim above, that's the Eternal Frost Horn!"

The Frost Giant, wearing a bull horn helmet, raised his double-bladed axe, feeling the resonance in his blood, and roared excitedly.

He was tall and strong, standing over eight meters high, with glacier-blue skin marked with scars. His whitish beard resembled a pool of frost and snow, and he wore strands of frost and ice pillars on his body.

He was the current chieftain of the Everfrost Tribe, Kasa Everfrost the Bonebreaker.

Kasa was the mightiest and strongest warrior in the tribe, in his prime at just over eighty years old, who had once barehandedly snapped the neck of an adult white dragon, earning him the title "Bone Breaker." All Frost Giant warriors held him in high esteem.

But Kasa had a trouble, which was not finding the tribe's relic—the Eternal Frost Horn.

The loss of the Eternal Frost Horn happened over six hundred years ago, when the shameful traitor known as "The Betrayer" stole the relic, used its power to reach the south, and eventually allied with the humans.

In natural conditions, the average lifespan of a Frost Giant was just over two hundred and thirty years.

Over the past six hundred years, nine chieftains had perished, and apart from continuous small-scale raids, the Everfrost Tribe had launched thirteen major invasions into the south, known as the "Frost Calamities," yet they never found the relic representing their ancestors' supreme glory.

Now, within the Everfrost Tribe, there were five hundred and thirty-two adult Frost Giants. These vigorous Frost Giants were consuming the great glacier quickly, and Kasa had originally planned to mobilize the entire tribe for an incursion in ten years. Unexpectedly, the Eternal Frost Horn had sounded.

"This matter is too significant."

"We should ask Elder Nur."

Kasa walked to the deepest part of the ice cavern, finding a special Frost Giant in the most deep and cold place.

Even the usually reckless Kasa restrained his excitement at this moment, tentatively asking:

"Elder Nur, is it time?"

"Yes..."

"We will reclaim the relic... and restore the honor of our ancestors."

The voice was hoarse and low but firm.

This Frost Giant, known as "Elder Nur," was hunched and aged, with light blue skin etched with strange runes. Upon closer inspection, one would find these runes were almost identical to those on the Eternal Frost Horn.

He was the shaman of the Everfrost Tribe—Nur Everfrost of the Wooden Staff. It was said he was three hundred and seventy-four years old, had seen the reigns of five chieftains, and personally participated in six invasions of the south. He was the most revered Frost Giant in the tribe and was said to communicate with the long-silent Frost Giant God, Soleim.

Nur, supporting himself with the wooden staff, wobbled as he stood up, eyes closed, one hand outstretched as if feeling the cold in the air.

"I can feel..."

"The power of the Eternal Frost Horn, guiding me..."

"That is the call of the ancestors, Great Kolba calling us."

Kasa was ecstatic, his hand holding the double-bladed axe trembling. The tribe's centuries-old wish was about to be fulfilled by him; he would become the most successful chieftain in a thousand years.

"Excellent, Elder Nur!"

"I will gather all the tribespeople and launch a war against the humans in the south, reclaiming our relic! This time, I will certainly wash away the disgrace and restore the honor of the ancestor Kolba!"

Nur softly agreed:

"Yes, the tribespeople have already waited too long..."

"But..."

The aged Frost Giant, who had seen much of life, closed his eyes again, as if seeing something shocking, his body trembling slightly.

"I also see... a scourge. A destined scourge."

"Scourge?"

Kasa was puzzled.

Nur furrowed his brows, pondered for a moment, and then slowly replied:

"Yes, a scourge. I don't know what this omen represents; it might be a group of humans, it might be a dragon, or something else entirely."

Kasa laughed heartily, casually shouldering his double-bladed axe, confidently said:

"Elder Nur, you're worrying too much."

"For us, no scourge could exist. Let's be real, we Frost Giants are called the 'Frost Calamity' by the southerners. Even dragons would have their necks snapped by my own hands."

There was a flash of confident gleam in his eyes.

"We bring disaster to others; no one dares to provoke us!"

"Hope so."

Nur remained noncommittal, only wobbling out with the help of a Frost Giant attendant.

"Kasa, since you've made up your mind, inform the tribe. The southern humans have enjoyed peace for too long. Another holy conquest is about to begin, and this is still your first time."

"Yes, Elder Nur."

Compared to the calmness of Nur, who had experienced several campaigns, Kasa was extremely excited, hardly able to contain his joy.

A successful large-scale raid by the Frost Giants could result in looted goods that lasted decades, a valuable opportunity for the Frost Giants growing on barren glaciers, and a symbol of the achievements of successive chieftains.

"Reclaim the Eternal Frost Horn!"

"Kill all the southern humans! Rob them all!"

Standing at the glacier's summit, Kasa raised his double-bladed axe with one arm and shouted loudly.

Hundreds of Frost Giants below raised their diverse weapons, unleashing excited roars and growls.

Of course, the Frost Giants yearned to restore their ancestors' honor, but they seemed more interested in killing and robbing the rich southerners than these intangible things.

Pillaging was inherent in the Frost Giants' nature. Unlike their benevolent cousins, the Cloud Giants and Storm Giants, to the Frost Giants born in ice and snow, strength was everything.

"I will lead the tribe to reclaim the Eternal Frost Horn and retrieve all we once had."

"Anything standing in our way will be crushed!"

Kasa Everfrost the Bonebreaker overlooked the boiling tribe below, tightened his grip on the double-bladed axe, and made a silent vow.