Chapter 25 Chapter 21 Ice Grave

At the bottom of the Great Ice River, hidden in the small valleys where the mountains wind through fissures and rocks, is what the savages call the Meltlands.Hot springs poured into a small pool, and the warm water fought relentlessly against the pack ice and the bitter cold.Those who lead a tribal life are helpless inland because of the early snow. They and the reindeer herds cannot find their way to the sea, so they often go to the melting ice to escape the cold.Because even in the coldest months of winter, you can find unfrozen water here.The warm steam from the pool made the temperature bearable, if not comfortable.

But warmth and drinking water are only part of the value of melting ice.Beneath the surface of the misty misty waters lay precious stones, gold and silver, as rich as any king's treasure in the world.Every savage has heard the legend of the white dragon, but most think it is just a fantasy tale told by a boastful white-headed old man to amuse his children.Because the dragon hid in its lair and hadn't shown itself for many, many years. Yet Wulfgar knew the real situation.His father, Beornega, had stumbled upon the entrance of that secret cave when he was a child.When Beornega heard the legend about the white dragon, he knew right away the value of his discovery, and spent years collecting all the information he could find about dragons, especially white dragons. Yes, more specifically focus on Ingrocastimichilian.

Beornega died in inter-clan fighting before he had a chance to plunder the treasure, but he lived in a land where death could come at any time, so he foresaw the possibility of such a tragedy and sent The knowledge is instilled in the son.The secret did not die with his death.    Wulfgar threw Aegis-fang, killed a deer, and carried the deer the last stretch of the way to the melting ice.He had been here twice before, but when he came here again at this moment, he still held his breath because of the strange beauty here as usual.The space above the pool is filled with steam, and floating ice blocks float across the smoky water like ghost ships drifting here and there.The huge rocks that surround it are colorful, with various shades of red and orange, covered with a thin layer of ice, so that the reflected sunlight presents a brilliant and dazzling light, and appears with the ice of the glacier shrouded in smoke. The dull gray of the .It was a quiet place, where walls of ice and rocks muffled the cry of pain from the wind, and there was nothing to distract one's concentration.

After his father's death, Wulfgar had sworn to come here to fulfill his father's last wish, to dedicate it to him.He came to the edge of the pool respectfully, and even though other things oppressed him, he stopped to think.Every tribe on the tundra once had warriors who came to the melting ice with hopes like him.None returned alive. The young savage decided to change all that.He clenched his proud jaw and began to peel off the hide.The first obstacle he had to overcome was the pool itself.The water under the pool's surface is warm and comfortable, but anyone who comes out of the pool will freeze to death within minutes.

After Wulfgar peeled off the deerskin, he scraped off the layer of fat inside.He melted the oil over a low fire until it reached a paint-like consistency, and then applied it to every inch of his skin.Taking a deep breath to steady himself, then focusing his thoughts on what was in front of him, he picked up the Fang of Aegis and jumped into the melting ice pool. The water seemed fairly calm in the incapacitating mist, but Wulfgar felt a powerful eddy of warm water as soon as he stepped away from the edge.He used a rock protruding like a signpost to approach the center of the pool.Once there, he took his last breath, trusting his father's instructions, and let go, letting the whirlpool sweep him down.He sank for a while, then was suddenly drawn toward the north end of the pool by the most dominant current.Even beneath the thick fog, the water was a blur, forcing Wulfgar to believe blindly that he would be out of the water before the air in his lungs ran out.

He was within a few feet of the ice wall at the edge of the pool before he realized his danger.He braced himself to keep from hitting him, but the water swerved suddenly, sending him deeper.When he entered the space hidden under the ice, the original gloom suddenly turned into darkness. The size of the space was just big enough for him to slide in alone, and the constant flow of water did not give him other choices at all. His lungs hunger for air.He bit his lower lip to keep the air out of his mouth, the last few strands of his precious oxygen. He then plunged into a wider tunnel, his head out of the water.He sucked hungrily for air, yet he was helplessly pushed forward by the water.

Through a crisis. The sliding road began to wind and twist, and the sound of the waterfall could be clearly heard ahead.Wulfgar tried to slow himself down, but he couldn't find anything to hold onto or hold on to, for the bottom and walls of the water were smooth ice that had been washed by the current for centuries.The barbarian hurled the Aegis-fang furiously, intending to hammer the hammer into the ice, but it flew away.Then he came to a wide and deep cave, and saw the waterfall before him. Wulfgar saw a few feet past the top of the waterfall several huge icicles hanging from the bowl-shaped ceiling.He saw his only chance.As he neared the edge of his fall, he leapt outward, wrapping his arms around the icicle.He slid down quickly, and the icicles became thinner as he slid, but he saw that the icicles grew thicker near the floor, as if an icicle grew from the bottom to meet the top.

Safe for the time being, he looked around the strange cave in awe.Waterfalls captured his imagination.Steam rises from the fissures, adding to the surreal flavor of the scene.The water poured wildly from the top of the cliff, most of it through a small crevice at the bottom of the waterfall almost thirty feet below.Small droplets of water passed through the crevices, but solidified when separated from the main flow, and bounced in every direction as they hit the cave's icy floor.Those small ice crystals were not completely hardened at this time, and they quickly stuck to the place where they landed, so that the entire bottom of the waterfall was covered with strangely shaped piles of broken ice.

Aegis-fang fell from the top of the cliff, passed easily through the small crack, and hammered into the pile of crushed ice, sending ice crystals flying in all directions.Although Wulfgar's hand was numb from the icicle, he rushed quickly to the hammer, already frozen to the ground, and plucked it from the ice's grip. Beneath the uppermost layers of glassy ice broken by the hammer, the barbarian noticed a dark shape.He examined it more closely, then stepped back from the bleak sight.It was obviously an ancestor who fell from a high waterfall and died on the ice on which he fell, and his body was still intact.How many others did Wulfgar suspect had met the same fate?

He didn't have time to think about it any longer.Much of his concern was distracted because the ceiling of the cave was only a few feet thick in many places, and sunlight filtered in through parts that were entirely ice.Even the slightest bit of light would be bounced a thousand times by the mirror-smooth floor and walls after entering, and the entire cave was actually shrouded in such brilliant light. Wulfgar felt the bitter cold, but the grease protected him effectively.He can pass the cold test of this adventure. But he could feel that the dragon was not far ahead. There are several winding tunnels leading from this main cavern, which were cut by the currents many years ago when the water level was high.However, only one of them was large enough to accommodate the passage of the dragon.Wulfgar was trying to figure out some other way, so he might find a less obvious way into the lair.But dazzled by the twisted blinding light and countless icicles hanging from the ceiling like predator's teeth, he knew that if he got lost or wasted too much time, night would come and take his light away. And made the temperature so low that even his very strong stamina could not stand it.

So he slammed the Fang of Aegis to the floor, shook off the ice clinging to it, and started walking straight into what he believed to be the tunnel leading to Ingrocasttimichilian's lair.    The dragon slept peacefully in the largest of these ice caves, beside his treasure, and he believed that no one should disturb him after so many years of solitude.Ingrocastimichilian (commonly known as Ice Death) made the mistake of his kind who lived in similar ice caves.The water flow that provided the access has disappeared over the years, leaving the dragon as if trapped in a crystal crypt. Icedeath enjoyed his years hunting deer as well as humans.In the short time that this monster has been active, it has acquired a rather respectable reputation through destruction and terror.But dragons, especially white dragons, are actually seldom active in cold environments, and they can survive without eating meat for centuries.Their selfish love for treasures allows them to endure for a long time, and the treasures of Icedeath are not too many compared with those red dragons and blue dragons in richer places, but they are among the dragons who settle in the tundra the most. If the dragon really wanted to be free, it might be able to break through the cave's ice roof.But Icedeath thought the risk was too great, so it began to sleep, counting the gold coins and jewels it owned in its pleasant dreams. Yet the sleeping monster was not fully aware of how careless he had become.In this nap where he hadn't been awakened, Bingdean hadn't moved for decades.A layer of ice had covered the dragon's elongated form, gradually thickening, until at last there was only a hollow in front of the huge nostrils, where the regular breath of its snoring kept the frost inaccessible. Carefully looking for the source of the snoring, Wulfgar stepped in front of the monster. He saw the radiance of Icedeath, enhanced by the crystalline ice.Wulfgar watched the dragon with humble awe.Piles of gemstones and gold lay here and there on the cavern floor, covered with a similar layer of ice, but Wulfgar couldn't take his eyes away.He had never seen anything so magnificent, so powerful. Believing the behemoth to be helplessly immobilized in the ice, he let go of the hammer. "Hello, Ingrocastimichilian," he called out, respectfully using the dragon's full name. The pale blue eyeballs suddenly opened, and passionate flames instantly appeared in the eyes through the ice layer.Wulfgar stopped short at the sharp stare. After the initial shock, he regained his confidence. "Fear not, strong worm," he said boldly. "I'm a warrior with a sense of honor, and I wouldn't kill you under such unfair circumstances," he said sarcastically. "I'll be satisfied as long as I take your treasure!" But the savage made a fatal mistake. A more experienced fighter, or even a knight with a strong sense of honor, would not consider this a violation of the laws of chivalry, consider his good fortune a blessing, and strike out at a dragon in its sleep.Few adventurers, or even whole groups of adventurers, have ever awakened a sleeping dragon and returned alive to boast. Even Ice Death itself, awaking from the initial shock of its plight, considered itself helpless in the face of the savages.Its huge muscles had atrophied from prolonged immobility, unable to support the weight and tightness of the ice prison.But when Wulfgar mentioned the treasures, a burst of power swept the dragon's sleep away. Bingdean regained his strength in anger, and the burst of strength surpassed what the barbarians could imagine. The strong muscles of the dragon contracted and made a crackling sound, causing huge ice cubes to fly around.The entire pothole shook violently, and Wulfgar fell backwards, standing on the slick floor.He rolled aside just in time to dodge the icicles that fell like spear points. Wulfgar regained his footing quickly, but when he came back, he found himself facing the horned white dragon's head at eye level.The dragon's huge wings buckled outward, shaking off the last bits of ice covering them, blue eyes staring at Wulfgar. The savage was desperately looking for a way of escape.He thought about throwing Aegis' Fang, but he knew that one blow alone wouldn't be enough to kill the monster.Then, inevitably, the dragon's deadly breath will come. Ice Death thought about the enemy for a moment.If it exhales, it will be satisfied that the other party becomes a frozen flesh column.But it is a dragon after all, a terrifying monster, and it believes (and perhaps should believe) that no single human can defeat it.But the tall man, and the magic hammer the dragon could feel the power of, bothered it.Care has kept Icedeath alive for many centuries.It will not rely on the past to directly fight this person. Cold air began to condense in its lungs. Wulfgar heard it inhale, and reflexively ducked aside.There was no way he could completely escape the gust of wind and the indescribable cold that followed.But his agility and the deer fat on his body saved him.He fell behind a large block of ice, his legs were actually frostbitten, and his lungs were starting to ache.It took him a moment to recover, but he saw the white dragon's head slowly lift into the air, the ice falling off it. There was no way the barbarian could survive the dragon's next breath. Suddenly, a dark spherical barrier covered the entire dragon's head, and then one after another black arrows whizzed past the barbarian, disappeared into the darkness, and made the sound of hitting the target. "Now, boy!" Drizzt yelled from the entrance to the ice room.The trained savage instinctively listened to his teacher.His face was contorted in pain, but he walked around the ice and approached the violently thrashing monster. The ice-dead giant rocked back and forth, trying to shake off the spell cast by the dark elf.When another arrow hit the target, resentment filled the beast.The dragon's only desire at this moment is to kill.Even though it couldn't see now, its senses were still very keen; it easily figured out the direction of the dark elf, and then let out another cold breath. But Drizzt was well aware of dragon habits.He had perfectly calculated the distance between himself and the dragon, and the deadly frost was fading away before him. The barbarian charged at the nearly maddened dragon, hammering Aegis-fang onto the white scales with all his strength.The dragon flinched in excruciating pain.The scales helped it withstand the blow, but the dragon had never felt such strength in a human, and was unwilling to let its skin take a second blow.It turned its head and exhaled a third breath of ice towards the naked barbarian. But another arrow hit the target again, passing through the scales. Wulfgar saw a lot of dragon's blood sprinkled on the ground around him, and saw the dark ward tilt suddenly to one side.The dragon growled in anger.Aegis-fang strikes again, again and again.One of the scales was split and peeled off, and the sight of the exposed flesh rekindled Wulfgar's hope of victory. However, Bingdean has experienced hundreds of battles, and this battle still has to be fought.The dragon knew how vulnerable he was before the mighty hammer, and his focus was on vengeance.Its long tail curled over its back, then swung across the barbarian as he started another blow, hitting him hard.Instead of enjoying the satisfaction of punching through the dragon's flesh, Wulfgar found himself slammed onto a pile of frozen gold coins twenty feet away. He felt dizzy, wet eyes enhanced the starry eyes caused by the reflected light, and his consciousness was temporarily lost.But he still saw Drizzt pull out his scimitar and bravely charge towards Ice Death.He saw the dragon position himself, ready to exhale again. He saw huge icicles of clear crystal hanging above the dragon. Drizzt stepped forward.He had no means of dealing with this intractable adversary; he hoped to find some weakness in the dragon before he killed himself.He thought Wulfgar was out of the fray with the sweep of his mighty tail, perhaps dead, and was surprised when he saw something move sideways. Icedeath also sensed the barbarian's movement, and it swung its tail to suppress any further threats to its flanks. But Wulfgar was already on the move.Using the last of his strength, he jumped up from the pile of gold coins and threw Aegis-fang into the air. The dragon's tail hit the mark, and Wulfgar wondered if his desperate attack would work.Before he was plunged into darkness, he thought he saw a bright spot in the ceiling. Drizzt had witnessed their victory.As if fascinated, he watched the huge icicles fall quietly. Bingdean couldn't see the imminent danger because his head was entangled by the dark barrier, and thought that the war hammer had suddenly flown away, so he began to flap his wings.It lifted its clawed front feet just as the ice spear passed through the dragon's back, and the icicle sent it crashing back to the ground. With the dark ward still attached to its head, Drizzt could not see the dead dragon's expression. But he heard the fatal sound of the dragon's whip-like neck being rolled up and snapped by the sudden opposite force.