Messmer looked back and forth between his sulking younger sister and his smug father, his eyes widening.
He thought of the way Melina had spoken with him, dull and dazed, like a piece of wood.
Messmer could tell Mother must have done something to Melina, but from the look of things, the situation might now be beyond Mother's expectations.
Nolan stepped out of the Castellan's office with Ranni and Trina pressing in on either side of him, while Melina and Miquella followed behind like two little tails.
The people on both sides clung tightly to him, questioning him about "the beautiful girl who belongs to Nolan." He pretended not to hear and looked outside with effortless composure.
White-haired women could be seen throughout the castle, while the pot-women who had once gathered in the city had vanished.
A four-legged, four-winged dragon stood atop a rooftop, its gaze falling upon him. It gave a slight nod, as though saluting the Lord who looked its way.
After stepping out of the medieval-style building, Nolan saw white stone walls, squads of knights, and castle-like structures all around him. In the distance, atop the bell tower, the Ancient Dragon spread its wings.
Feeling the sunlight and the breeze, Nolan finally gained a brief moment of peace. At least the princess and Goddess on either side did not sound quite so noisy anymore.
"You wanted to know, didn't you? My answer..." Nolan said.
"What are you referring to?" Florissax asked.
She felt she had to ask clearly. After all, the thing they were going to hunt was that mad, rebellious dragon, a being that could be called a Lord.
This man had already toyed with her once. Who knew whether he had really thought things through this time?
If he had called her over just to ask what she wanted for lunch, she would have gotten excited for nothing.
A fierce gale suddenly swept across the sky, echoing around the balcony like a roaring beast. It whipped the knights' robes into sharp, fluttering snaps.
The knights froze. Messmer's expression instantly turned grave, clearly saying that if this Ancient Dragon dared make a move against his father, the war spear in his hand would pierce her through.
"Don't be nervous. Miss Ancient Dragon means no harm." Nolan waved at the son so eager to protect his father, then turned back to look at the Ancient Dragon as her body gradually shrank.
Florissax bowed slightly, showing proper courtesy and proving Nolan's words at the same time.
"Are all Ancient Dragons this forgetful? I'm talking about Bayle. Come on. Let's go kill it!" Nolan said with a solemn expression.
Only after he finished speaking did Florissax realize that what he meant was indeed the very thing she had dreamed of accomplishing.
No, that was not quite right.
In all the years she had guarded Jagged Peak Summit, she had never dreamed at all, because she knew she bore a great mission.
If she had fallen into lazy, indulgent sleep, would that not have been a betrayal of His Majesty the Dragonlord?
"We're leaving now..." Nolan took Florissax's hand.
"Huh? Right now?" Florissax froze for a moment and looked left and right, only to see the white-haired women and a few scattered Fire Knights in red robes and horned helmets.
"We still have time. You have only just taken control of this city, and what we face is an army of Flying Dragons. You could organize your forces first..."
"That's not necessary. Messmer has other things to do. We'll go straight to that fellow." Nolan gave a soft laugh. "Besides, who said we don't have an army?"
"Eh!?" Florissax was stunned by the question. She could not answer at all and could only stare at Nolan with wide eyes.
She had no idea what "other things" he meant, and she understood even less how Nolan planned to produce an army out of thin air.
All she could see in that Lord's eyes was that he was not joking.
"Let's go," Nolan said softly.
Florissax found that the hand holding hers was terribly strong. Even as an Ancient Dragon, she could not break free from a human's grasp.
"Shouldn't we think this over and make a longer plan?"
It was already too late. Red, rippling patterns appeared on the stone tiles beneath their feet, and crimson blood spread from the void, as though trying to wrap around the man.
But he lightly stamped his foot, and the winding blood, like a scarlet serpent, collapsed the instant it touched his armor.
Florissax thought that after being driven away, those living waves of blood did not seem pained or angry in the slightest.
Before Florissax could ask Nolan any more questions, Nolan dragged her and the others with him and sank into the blood.
The blood, bright red as flowers, completely ignored the distance between spaces and crossed a vast span through the void.
They emerged on a high mountain, and from within the peaks, Flying Dragons with gray-white Scale Armor came rushing out.
The deathly silent mountain suddenly became a battlefield. Flying Dragons poured from every cave.
They looked down on all things with their great wings, flaunted their might with sharp claws, and breathed flames without hesitation the moment they met the intruders.
Nolan skipped the greetings as well. He raised his hand, and Sunlight Spears shot out, piercing through many Flying Dragons the instant they appeared.
"What's wrong with these things?" Roars sounded one after another, and Nolan almost wondered whether these Flying Dragons could see the future.
It had been less than a day since he decided to come to Jagged Peak Summit. Only a handful of people knew, and even the landing point had been chosen at random.
Yet the Flying Dragons had still discovered them.
Even if they had an informant in Shadow Keep, their reaction should not have been this fast.
"Damn it... this is my fault... they remember my scent!" Florissax shouted. Her hands were stained with no small amount of Flying Dragon blood.
"Florissax? You filthy hag, you actually dare come here? His Majesty will tear you to pieces!"
A gray-white Flying Dragon nearly thirty meters long looked down at the ground and roared at Florissax.
"You really do have faith in your Majesty. Then why are you running?" Nolan said, casually raising a hand.
Seeing the light shining in Nolan's hand, the Flying Dragon's heart lurched.
Of course it would run. Anyone could shout threats, but several underlings had died the moment they showed themselves. How could it not run?
It was not stupid. With a head this big, it considered itself very clever.
Florissax was not someone ordinary Flying Dragons could deal with, not to mention the terrifying human beside her.
The Flying Dragons did not swagger because they themselves were so strong, but because of the Lord on the high mountain behind them.
"Where did Florissax find this monster?" the gray-white Flying Dragon reared up and roared in fury. "No. I have to report this to Lord Senessax and His Majesty."
Without the slightest hesitation, it turned around, its other pair of wings beating even faster, its eyes filled with a resolve to never look back even if beaten to death.
But the moment the Flying Dragon let out its roar, its life ended. The spear of light shot into its body with tremendous force, leaving a smoking hole in its gray-white Scale Armor.
The gray-white Flying Dragon was sent flying by the Sunlight Spear and pinned to the mountainside. It lowered its head and struggled to glance at the war spear that had entered from behind and burst through its chest, letting out only a powerless growl.
"Bayle... Your Majesty."
The Flying Dragon closed its eyes. Gravity dragged its body downward, letting the Lightning Spear cut it open. Its enormous body crashed down and never rose again.
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