A giant shadow flashed through the dark night's sky, dragging a trail of burning orange flames behind it. In the midst of the orange flames, wisps of black flames danced, giving the fire a strange, but dangerous edge.
The giant shadow was none other than Mica, the Dragon of Prophecy! The excited young Dragon had grown to A rank in the time that the war between the Elves had been going on. Although it had only recently just broken through, its strength was something to be feared. After all, Dragons did not earn their noble title by sitting back on their laurels. They earned it by being excellent fighters and warlords!
On Mica's back, a young lady with long, wavy red hair rode, her eyes narrowed on the much smaller target that flickered back and forth in the air some distance ahead of them. In her hands, she held a bow made of mana and a terrible black-orange flame formed an arrow that she nocked as she waited for the right moment to let go.
In the months passed, Elena had matured beautifully. She no longer had that na?ve and vulnerable aura around her. Her eyes were steady and her body was honed for battle. The two ears that popped out of the top of her head of hair twitched as they took note of the wind direction.
'Now!'
Whoosh!
A black-orange streak of light flashed, striking at the small target that flew in the dark. The small target twisted and turned but the flaming arrow moved like it was alive, chasing down the target. The arrow soon struck down the magical target, causing it to burst into a blaze of flames!
'Nice shot!' Mica's excited voice rang out in Elena's mind. Over time, the two of them had deepened their bond and telepathic communication was a small matter to them now. It was as easy as breathing between the two of them.
"Great job, Elena." A figure called out as he appeared some distance from Elena and her battle partner. Rodius' eyes were sharp in the darkness of the night and they radiated the pride he felt in his daughter.
His strength had also risen from B rank to A rank after the war with the Demons. He was proud of his daughter's exceptional talent, as it had not even been two years, and she had already risen to B rank. It was an impossible feat that could not normally be achieved without relying heavily on special treasures and resources, which would no doubt come with their own set of downsides.
"Thanks, dad." Elena smiled brightly, pushing her hair to the side.
After that, the three of them returned to the ground. They were not close to Fort White. Everywhere around Fort White was much more developed compared to a few months ago. Doing any kind of uncontrolled training there could put the lives of people at risk. Because of that, they had moved much further away, and were close to the shore that once hosted the battlefront between the Demons and the forces of the Central Continent.
Whoosh!
Mica's wings stirred up huge gusts of wind as he came closer to the ground, causing a cloud of sand and dust to rise up.
"Hmm?" Everyone took notice of the dark figure standing on the beach. The dust did little to impair their vision.
"Is that...?" Rodius began with surprise, but his daughter was already a step ahead.
"Leon!" Elena's ears perked up and she jumped down from Mica's back, landing smoothly before jogging over to the waiting Obsidian Skeleton Monarch. She stopped a few steps from him and paused, unsure of how to approach. Her boldness had only been momentary.
"Is that how you greet me now?" Leon's tone was laced with amusement as he transformed into a human form, revealing a wide smile. He opened his arms for a hug, which snapped Elena out of her daze. She hugged him and allowed her heart to calm down.
"We heard you disappeared a few months ago. I just wasn't sure if it was actually you or not." Elena said as she pulled back.
"Ahem." At that time, Rodius cleared his throat, drawing Leon's gaze to him. When Leon's glowing purple eyes landed on Rodius, the latter felt a huge threat that caused the tiny hairs along his arms to stand. But the feeling vanished a moment later. In his eyes, Leon was unfathomable! Even though he had risen to A rank, he held no fantasies of ever being able to stand up to Leon. In fact, he doubted that he could even withstand a single serious blow from Leon!
"Rodius, good to see you too." Leon smiled. Of course, he did not miss Rodius' presence, but Elena had stolen the limelight.
"Hello, Leon." A golden light flashed and Mica's giant dragon body shrunk considerably. In the aftermath of the flash of light, a two meter tall human with golden blond hair and brown skin was left standing. His eyes flashed with golden light before settling on a dimmer golden color.
"Ah, Mica. You've grown well." Leon smiled.
"Thank you. I owe it all to the excellent environment provided by your territory." Mica nodded his head calmly. Compared to a few months ago, he was much more mature, as was fitting of a powerful A rank Dragon like himself.
"Let's return to Fort White. A little banquet is being held soon. I'm sure you all must be hungry." Leon smiled and they all agreed.
After that, Leon teleported all of them to the courtyard of his mansion. There, a large number of tables and chairs with platters of delicious looking food had been arranged. Many white haired people moved around, setting things up.
Commandeering them was none other than the A rank Rakon, the White Millipede Royal who was the strongest of his kind after their mother, Nedra.
"Welcome back, Master." Rakon turned to Leon and said with a bow.
This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶