"To sum it up," Tiger spoke in a low voice, "losing all of their Heartscales is a massive blow to the Empire, but it’s also completely enraged them."
Tiger continued, "Since the explosion at the lab, the Empire has intensified the hunt for Rebecca and me. Even Martin has been pulled in for questioning a few times."
Leon frowned slightly. "Did they go after Martin?"
Martin had been the youngest of Leon's comrades, and he had joined the Empire's dragon-slaying army purely out of admiration for Leon. When Martin learned that the Empire and Viktor intended to frame Leon, he had immediately chosen to side with Leon without hesitation.
Unlike Rebecca, who was more of a lone wolf, Martin came from a family of royal ministers. He could have distanced himself from the chaos, lived a quiet life, and enjoyed the privileges of nobility. Though rising to power wasn’t a certainty, he could have lived out his days without much trouble.
Yet, Martin had chosen to act as Leon’s informant within the Empire, risking everything to gather intel.
If something happened to the kid, Leon would never forgive himself.
"With his father covering for him, the royal family didn’t dare to lay a hand on Martin. They just questioned him a few times," Tiger explained, easing some of the tension in Leon’s expression.
"You know how it is. Ever since the Empire put out bounties on all of us, their first step has been to investigate anyone connected to us. Since Martin was your teammate during your service in the dragon-slaying army, he was an obvious target. The only thing that held them back all this time was his family."
"But after losing the Heartscales, the Empire is so furious they’re willing to overlook a lot. Even so, Martin's a smart one; he hasn’t left behind any clues. The Empire couldn’t get anything out of him."
"Still... gathering intel from here on out will be more difficult."
Leon nodded. "It's fine, Master. What’s more important than information is staying alive. Tell Martin not to push himself too hard. He should do what he can, but not more."
"Got it, I’ll pass that along."
Tiger exhaled slowly, tapping his sheathed sword thoughtfully with his finger. "The Empire isn’t going to give up on this hybrid monster project. You can tell from their recent large-scale capture of dangerous creatures. I’ll keep an eye on it and make sure we stop them before they create the next monster."
Leon's eyes flickered, but he didn’t immediately agree with his master’s plan. "Master, it’s not just Martin who needs to be careful. You and Rebecca need to be extra cautious too. Like I said before, staying alive is more important than gathering intel. If something happens to you, how am I going to explain it to my master’s wife? She’ll curse me to death."
Read lat𝙚st chapters at fɾeewebnoveℓ.co๓ Only.
Tiger paused, raising his slightly graying eyebrows before laughing. "She’s ten thousand miles away from you, kid. Don’t worry, her curses won’t reach you."
"Then... when do I finally get to meet her?"
"Patience, boy." Tiger pulled out a simple camera, pointed it at Leon, and said, "Now smile."
*Click!*
Leon blinked. "What... is this?"
Tiger looked down at the preview on the camera and nodded with satisfaction. "Your master's wife told me not to bring just photos of the granddaughters this time but to bring one of you too. Tsk, kid, you’ve gotten skinny."
How could he not lose weight when he was living in the Silver Dragon Sanctuary with Rosvisser, engaging in shameless post-marital activities all the time?
Ahem.
But that was only part of the reason.
After witnessing the terrifying strength of Konstantin, the super-hybrid zombie dragon, Leon had been left shaken. If the Empire could create such a monstrous creature, who knew what other horrors they might concoct next?
Leon wasn’t often afraid of anything, so he wasn’t sure how to deal with this anxiety. It had affected his appetite, which explained his weight loss.
"Now, seriously, Master, you and Rebecca need to—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, safety first."
Tiger carefully put the camera away. "There’s one more thing. About those three people you asked me to look into."
Leon quickly recalled whom his master was referring to: Gini, Gitae, and Gime—the *Saber Trio*.
In the future, these three had been unstoppable on the battlefield, essentially becoming "Leon Cosmod 2.0." However, the power they wielded did not come from themselves, nor from human magic.
Regardless, if the Empire continued to cultivate them, it would create three incredibly troublesome enemies down the road. That was why Leon had asked his master to investigate them during the last exchange of information.
"Do you have any news about them?"
"Yeah. The Empire has been secretly running a project called ‘Saber,’ aimed at producing a new generation of dragon-slaying weapons."
Tiger paused for a moment, his lips tightening as if he were recalling unpleasant memories.
Leon gently probed, "Master?"
"Ah... it’s nothing."
Tiger took a deep breath before continuing. "The Empire is raising them the same way they raised me and later, you. But this time, they’ve learned their lesson."
Tiger’s gaze fell to the greatsword lying on the table.
"The sharper the blade, the stronger the sheath needs to be, so it doesn’t end up harming its wielder."
"The resources the Empire has invested in this Saber Trio far surpass what they poured into you, and they’ve also put in enough safety measures to make sure these sharp sabers don’t turn against them."
"In other words... in addition to facing monstrous hybrids like Konstantin, we may also have to deal with the Empire’s most loyal, vicious hunting dogs in the future."
Leon listened quietly, deep in thought.
Tiger had just mentioned the future, but Leon was the only one who had actually traveled to the future.
In the "World Without Leon" twenty years from now, the human Empire controlled the lifeblood of all wars, with their methods growing ever more unpredictable.
Externally, they crushed all opposition with the overwhelming power of the Saber Trio.
Internally, they solidified public support through their relentless string of victories.
So, instead of calling it "a world without Leon," it would be more accurate to call it "a world dominated by the Empire."
And clearly, such a future... was a disaster.
People lived in a false sense of comfort, paying taxes to corrupt rulers and even enjoying it, oblivious to the rot beneath the surface.
The Empire waged wars not for the sake of humanity, but for their own gain.
Leon had promised future Noa that he would rewrite that future, finding a path through the chaos of time.
He had given his word, and he would not break it.
"Whether it’s the super zombie or the Saber Trio, no matter what monsters the Empire creates, we have only one choice, Master."
The two locked eyes and, in unison, declared,
"A fight to the death."