Chapter 62 Sky Anomaly
It was time for the Bango Festival to begin, so Brian left the Ice Cliff and came to the current location of the Ice River Tribe.
A circular clearing over 200 meters in diameter had been cleared here, surrounded by Arctic Ice Spirits eagerly awaiting the start of the festival, their genderless faces full of joy and anticipation.
Roy stood in the center of the clearing, waving his arms and reciting some traditional festival blessings.
Upon seeing Brian's majestic dragon form, Roy's eyes filled with reverence, and like the other Arctic Ice Spirits, he bowed his head in awe, saying, "Thank you, Master, for attending our festival. Your presence graces the Ice River Tribe."
Brian nodded slightly, his gaze calm as he said, "Begin your celebrations according to your customs. Do not mind my presence."
As he looked around, Brian noticed a frosty Ice Crystal throne, seemingly fixed to the ground, standing not far away.
This was the viewing seat prepared for him by the Arctic Ice Spirits, which was made through their pseudo-magical ability to manipulate Ice Crystal. It was designed to fit a dragon's body.
Though not finely crafted, its rough and rugged appearance showed a natural, wild charm.
Brian landed on the Ice Crystal throne, watching the Arctic Ice Spirits with interest, curious to see what they would do next.
From what he knew, Arctic Ice Spirits had no difference of gender. Their bodies were entirely formed of ice crystals, almost identical in appearance without any reproductive organs.
Time passed slowly, and the faces of the Arctic Ice Spirits began to take on a solemn and serious expression.
Roy raised his arms, his voice resonant and broad. "Bango!"
The hundred Arctic Ice Spirits surrounding the clearing echoed in unison, their voices overlapping endlessly. "Bango! Bango! Bango..."
The word "Bango," imbued with special meaning, began to reverberate above the Ice Cliff territory, gradually spreading into the distance.
Meanwhile, as Brian watched the Arctic Ice Spirits, he used his dragon tail to play with two fluffy Dire Bear hatchlings, pushing them around.
These two hatchlings, having survived the initial critical period, had been brought from the Ogre Basin, nourished by White Hound's milk and a little meat. They could now eat meat, though not much.
With the blizzard over, the current weather posed no harm to the Dire Bear hatchlings.
Now they had opened their eyes and regarded Brian as their kin, showing great affection.
Except for Brian, the Dire Bear hatchlings were fierce toward his subordinates.
However, Brian treated them as pets, occasionally playing with them but mostly letting them live freely.
The Dire Bear hatchlings loved the game Brian played with them, trying to grab his tail. Although they were always flipped over, they would quickly get up and continue, full of energy and uninterested in the Arctic Ice Spirits.
Brian watched intently, curious about the next development in the Bango Festival.
Soon, all the Arctic Ice Spirits entered the circular clearing.
At the same time, the surrounding elemental energy began to stir, and a noticeable layer of Elemental Super magic appeared on all the Arctic Ice Spirits, with numerous mysterious runes faintly appearing in the circular area beneath their feet.
Amidst the solemn yet joyful Bango chants, Brian saw fine lines of light emerging from the Arctic Ice Spirits' bodies.
The positions and numbers of these lines varied among the Arctic Ice Spirits, but none had more than four lines, and most had only one.
These lines split their bodies in different proportions, some dividing them completely in half, others only separating arm-sized sections.
The larger the split and the more lines, the more excited and joyful the Arctic Ice Spirits appeared.
It seemed to be a good thing for them.
Seeing this, Brian paused, vaguely guessing their method of reproduction.
Sure enough, as the sound of Bango grew louder and more intense, the lines dividing their bodies became brighter, the milky white light nearly solid.
The sound of cracking filled the air.
The bodies of the Arctic Ice Spirits began to split along the milky white lines, but their faces showed no pain, only uncontrollable joy, the kind of joy that comes from witnessing the birth of new life.
The gathered elemental energy caught the attention of the Dire Bear hatchlings.
They paused their game with Brian's tail, blinking their round eyes and curiously watching the Arctic Ice Spirits' bodies slowly splitting.
Time passed, and the complete Arctic Ice Spirits were divided.
Next, the separated bodies began to change, with elemental energy gathering within them, growing clusters of Ice Crystal that quickly formed humanoid limbs, soon becoming new Arctic Ice Spirits, though much smaller, slowly opening their Ice Crystal eyes.
Beside them, the Arctic Ice Spirits who had split their bodies also grew clusters of Ice Crystal, almost simultaneously restoring their completeness.
However, this method of birthing new life had a cost. The Elemental Super magic on their bodies was noticeably weaker. The larger the split-off Arctic Ice Spirit, the weaker the remaining Elemental Super magic, and naturally their strength also declined.
Brian could tell from the fluctuations in their Elemental Super magic that this weakening wasn't permanent.
It wouldn't take long for them to recover.
Brian enunciated, "Using elemental power to self-divide and reproduce... For the Arctic Ice Spirits as solid elemental beings, this method of reproduction is the most efficient.
"Even as a failed research creation, they still have the instinct to continue their species."
Brian didn't see the scene he had imagined but wasn't disappointed.
Overall, he had broadened his horizons, witnessing more of life's miracles, gaining some insights, and acquiring a bit of knowledge.
Meanwhile, Roy, who had completed the reproduction process, was slightly weak but still immediately showed respect to Brian. Bringing his two newborn, somewhat bewildered Arctic Ice Spirits forward, he sincerely said, "Great Master, these newborns will all become your subordinates in the future, fighting for you."
The newborn Arctic Ice Spirits looked dazed, more like lifelike Ice Crystal sculptures than intelligent beings.
If not for the occasional flicker of super magic in their eyes, it would be hard to tell they were alive.
Arctic Ice Spirits lacked the ability to inherit knowledge, so the newborns needed to learn from their elders.
In the endless worlds of many planes, there were magical creatures that could inherit knowledge at birth, not just True Dragons, but all were exceptionally powerful beings. Arctic Ice Spirits were not among them.
Brian observed the dazed Arctic Ice Spirit newborns, sensing a faint dragon bloodline aura from them.
The identity of Dragonline Creatures had been passed down, saving Brian the trouble of converting them again.
The Arctic Ice Spirit newborns looked at Brian, their eyes showing a natural fear due to his intimidating presence, but also a sense of reverence due to the bloodline connection. They instinctively gazed at him in awe.
They understood nothing, and this mentality was purely instinctive.
The two Dire Bear hatchlings curiously crawled over, looking up at the Arctic Ice Spirit newborns.
The Arctic Ice Spirit newborns, noticing the Dire Bear hatchlings' gaze, curiously looked down at them.
After only a few seconds of eye contact, the Dire Bear hatchlings immediately put on fierce expressions, growling lowly as if warning the Arctic Ice Spirit newborns not to stare at them.
The Arctic Ice Spirit newborns were frightened, timidly looking away.
"How long will it take for these newborns to grow into Arctic Ice Spirits like you?" Brian asked.
Roy, still looking tired and weak but with a more apparent joy, replied, "It will only take..."
Before he could finish, Brian's expression suddenly changed, and he abruptly stood up, turning to look south.
This action startled the Arctic Ice Spirits at the Bango Festival, drawing many eyes.
Before they could ask about the anomaly, they were horrified to see that the southern sky over the northern ice field had turned a shade of crimson, like rolling, burning clouds.
The two usually fierce Dire Bear hatchlings, sensing something, buried their heads in the snow, trembling like ostriches.
