Heaven's Gate Guild Headquarters in the Outer Reaches…
"What are you doing here, Halfling?"
"What are you doing here, Dragon King? Did your wife kick you out of the room or something?"
The King of all Dragons looked down on the Halfling, who was casually smoking his pipe while watching the projection in front of him.
Garret and Flamma, who were also watching Lux's battle, didn't dare to say a word since the one standing in front of them was a Supreme.
An entity that could split the sea and divide the land if he so wished for it.
"Did you break the condition I gave you back when I agreed to spare your life?" The Dragon King asked in an irritated tone. "I told you to guard the Kingdom of Zangrila and prevent the Abyssal Monsters from pouring into the Elysium in great numbers. Are you testing my patience? Or are you already tired of living?"
The Halfling blew some white circles before looking at the Dragon King with annoyance.
"Have you forgotten the conditions that you set?" Gaap replied. "According to our contract, I would be freed from my task if I take on a Disciple while guarding Zangrila."
"Yes," the Dragon King commented. "I remember that part of the contract. So, did someone randomly appear in Zangrila and asked you to be their Master?"
The Dragon King shifted his gaze to Garret as if asking the Human the question "Is it you?"
Naturally, Garret firmly shook his head, telling the Dragon King that he wasn't Gaap's disciple.
Seeing the Human denying his connection with Gaap, the Dragon King then glanced at the Half-Orc, whose body immediately froze due to the immense pressure that washed over him.
"Are you a kid?" Gaap snapped at the Dragon King. "These two are not my Disciples. I'm sure you already know who it is. Are you going to continue to act like the dumb Dragon that you are?"
Garret and Flamma wanted to beg Gaap to stop badmouthing the Dragon King. If the latter really got annoyed, the Halfling would not be the only one to be erased from existence.
The floating island that they were currently at would simply disintegrate, leaving nothing behind but dust.
The Dragon King snorted before turning around to look at the projection behind his back.
There, Lux could be seen ordering the soldiers of the Yelan Kingdom to reinforce the city walls with Earth Magic.
'It's him again,' the Dragon King frowned.
At first, he paid attention to the Half-Elf because Keoza had chosen him to receive his Dragon Token.
That was fine in itself, but recently, he felt that keeping the Half-Elf alive would endanger his beloved daughter, Valerie.
Because of this, he planned to invite Lux to go on a fishing trip, the kind where the Half-Elf might 'accidentally' get swallowed by an Empyrean Ranked Fish.
The only reason why he was forced to postpone this plan was due to his wife, Saphira, who told him to not make things difficult for the red-headed teenager who had done nothing wrong.
"Don't leave just yet," Gaap stated as he continued to puff smoke from his pipe. "Stay a while and watch. The people from Crystal Palace have made contact with Lux, and they are in the same Dungeon as him."
"What?!" The Dragon King's eyes widened in shock after hearing Gaap's words.
Although Karshvar Draconis and the Crystal Palace had signed a peace treaty lasting for a hundred years, the deadline of the contract would end in a month.
Both sides had done their best to rein in their subordinates, preventing a full-blown conflict from happening and creating a civil war among the Dragon Race.
Now that the expiration of the deal was about to come, the fragile peace that had been enforced for the past hundred years was starting to show cracks.
The Dragon King had already sent an envoy to the Crystal Palace with the proposal to extend the peace treaty, but the Steward, who was also Cethus' second Grandmother, didn't agree to it.
When asked why she didn't want to sign the peace treaty, the only reply she gave was that she no longer had the right to decide whether the peace treaty would be extended or not.
She added that only the Prince of the Crystal Palace could decide this important matter and refused to entertain any other envoys that the Dragon King had sent to persuade her.
Of course, the Dragon King knew that the Crystal Palace indeed had a Prince. However, he felt that the sly Steward was purposely avoiding any talks of continued peace because they were planning a coup d'etat.
"Are you sure about this?" the Dragon King asked. "I'm not here to play games with you, Halfling. Don't forget that you are only alive because of the grace given to you by the previous Dragon King."
Gaap shrugged as he emptied the pipe in his hand.
"The only reason why I'm telling you this is because my previous Master and you were good friends," Gaap replied. "If not for her, I wouldn't even bother looking at you."
The Dragon King quieted down after remembering Gaap's Master, whom he found to be quite unique even among Humans.
In the end, the Dragon King decided to summon a chair and sat down to watch the projection as well.
He didn't know why the Half-Elf kept on attracting troublesome people into his life, making him wonder if he really should take the red-headed teenager to go fishing and be done with it.
—------------
City of Peyton within the Yelan Kingdom…
All the teenagers were gearing up for the upcoming battle that they were about to face.
In the first time they encountered the Monster Army, all of them were massacred without even having the chance to retaliate.
None of the Rankers and High-Rankers who watched the battle outside the Gate of the Fallen blamed them for what happened.
They knew that it was impossible for Initiates to win against such a force and just blamed the expedition's failure on bad luck.
However, right now, they were actually feeling more hopeful that they wouldn't die so helplessly like the last time.
Now that Lux had assured them that he had a way to deal with the Dreadnaught Monster, General Fahad declared that he and his men would take care of the Argonaut-Ranked Monsters, leaving only the Deimos Monsters behind.
While it was still difficult to fight these Monsters, compared to fighting against Argonaut and Dreadnaught Ranked Beasts, it was a lot more manageable.
Even Prince Cyrus was showing a determination that was rarely seen, making Malcolm, who had known the arrogant prince for a long time, feel that something had changed in the Prince's attitude after Lux treated him like an excess baggage.
"They're finally leaving," Henrietta commented as he looked at the long procession of people that had just exited the South Gate of the city and were heading towards the Capital City of the Yelan Kingdom.
Lux nodded and watched the people go, who all had anxious expressions on their faces.
It reminded him of the time when he and his comrades escorted the people of Abingdon Town across the perilous Shaufell Plains where a great battle against Insect-Type Monsters was fought.
Although it was a good distance away, he spotted Leo, who was wearing a civilian clothing, tied up to a pole in one of the wagons.
Clearly, General Fahad intended to make his son leave this dangerous place, which Lux found to be a normal thing to do for a father who cared for the safety of his family members.
For a brief moment, Lux's and Leo's gazes intersected.
The two stared at each other for half a minute before the wagon started to move towards the exit of the city.
The Half-Elf had seen the unwillingness in Leo's eyes, which proved that he didn't want to leave his father behind, especially when the General was about to face a battle of such magnitude.
Lux could have freed Leo then and there, but he refrained himself from doing so.
Doing such a thing would disrespect General Fahad's decision, and the Half-Elf didn't want to meddle in the General's family matters.
Two hours later, the procession could no longer be seen from the City of Peyton.
All that was left were the soldiers of the Yelan Kingdom, as well as teenagers, who planned to stop the Monster's advance, permanently.
Lux, who was keeping in close contact with Zagan, whom he ordered to monitor the Monster Army, looked towards the East with a calm expression on his face.
The Monster Army had sped up in their advance and, according to his estimate, the Monsters would arrive at the city they were guarding tomorrow afternoon.
Although Lux was confident that he could face off against the biggest threat that was approaching the city, he couldn't help but have a nagging feeling at the back of his mind.
He didn't know if this feeling was coming from the enemy that they would be facing tomorrow, or due to something different.
'There's no use in thinking of things outside of my control,' Lux thought as he watched the sun set in the distance. 'What will come will come.'
The Half-Elf then stared towards the North, where the two Dreadnaught-Ranked World Bosses were located. freewebnove(l).com
His mission was not to only save the Yelan Kingdom, but the Ammarian Kingdom as well.
Because of this, Lux was certain that sooner or later, he would have to go North, bringing everyone with him in a battle that would make those that were watching him, including the Dragon King, feel as if their very blood was boiling inside their bodies.
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