Draven's red eyes darkened, and this time, he didn't look like he was going to spare the shapeshifter. Despite this, Morpheus had a grin dripping with provocation hanging on his lips.
These two men had clashed for tens, no, hundreds of times, for the past century but not once had it been truly a fight to death--it was Morpheus seeking to end his life through Draven's hands, taunting but never really engaging in real combat with Draven.
But tonight, the Divine Eagle's hollow eyes burned with determination.
"I'm suddenly reminded, we have never truly fought to death, have we? In the past, hadn't there been a conflict on who should become Agartha's protector and I let you beat me so you became king. Thousands of years have passed and maybe you have forgotten that you are not more powerful than me, Draven."
Draven said nothing to that mockery as anger had clouded his mind. All he wanted was to kill the shapeshifter in front of him.
Wham! Crash! Bang!
Powerful explosions and sounds of destruction could be heard in the darkness of the night, with rocks being pulverized and trees being crushed to smithereens as the elements of Wind and Darkness continued to clash from the mountain down towards the forest at the bottom.
Birds and other forest animals on the forest at the foot of that mountain scurried away in fear, causing the other parts of the forest to turn into chaos.
As that part of the mountain range was nearest to the territory of the elves, it was them along with the forest spirits who were first to be alarmed. Even a human being would be able to sense the vibrations on the ground and the ear-splitting noise that reached tens of leagues in the air, what more the supernatural beings blessed with sharp senses.
The scouts and patrols of the nearby cities came to check on the situation, but once they were near enough to sense the aura of the two most powerful beings in the kingdom, they immediately retreated to report to the elders and High Elders of their respective clans.
After hearing the culprits were Draven and Morpheus, the high-ranking officials thought to no longer pay attention to it. It was nothing new for them, so they dismissed their subordinates and resumed their sleep.
But there was a certain clan elder from the Valley Elf Clan who was paying close attention to it, as that clan elder and his wife were aware what caused this current confrontation.
"Baruel, they are fighting because the King found out that the Commander is courting his mate, right?" Reese asked.
"Didn't I tell you that His Majesty would never tolerate sharing his female?" Baruel replied.
"But will the King risk Lady Ember becoming unhappy?"
"Well..."
"I thought as much. The King, being a Dragon, is more arrogant and possessive than other divine beasts, but in the end, isn't the happiness of his mate the most important? Lady Ember looked attached to the Commander. She was so comfortable with him---no, she was practically glowing. Otherwise, which female who has no intention to be mates would be so close to a male?"
"You forget. That applies to females of the beast race. Lady Ember is a human. Perhaps she doesn't understand our culture."
Reese could only shrug. "I hope these two come to the conclusion that having two strong males is better for a female. They should accept the course of nature. An exceptional human female deserves more than one mate. Oh, and don't humans have their cycles monthly? How good a news it would be if she bears the children of the two strongest males of our kingdom. Imagine if she has an offspring once every one or two years, then there won't be any threat to our kingdom ever."
Baruel didn't know whether to laugh or cry at his wife's words.
"You are thinking too much, Reese. This stuff, don't ever mention it outside. No beastman will think of their mate as a mere tool of producing an heir to their race, and if they hear you, they will be insulted. This is the private affairs of other people. Let them handle it. Better to not talk about it."
"I was just--"
"You should sleep. They will handle things on their own. We have countless mountains around Agartha for them to destroy."
Baruel closed his eyes and Reese could say no more as she too closed her eyes.
'But I really think Lady Ember and Commander are made for each other. They look perfectly happy together.'
At the same time, the pair of shapeshifters who were assigned on the skies above the Valley Elf Clan's City of Reif had just finished their shift and were turning over their work to the next batch of patrols. They were preparing to fly to Redcrest, the main city of the feathered races, when they felt the ruckus caused by the fight between Draven and Morpheus.
They could not help but gossip once more about their commander.
"Did you feel that? The vibrations in the air are already this scary when we're so far away."
"I wonder how many mountains need to be rebuilt after this fight."
"The last time, I heard the forest spirits were badly overworked for an entire night to make sure the damaged part of the forest returned to the way it was before."
"I think the Fairy Queen is going to file another complaint soon."
"Well, maybe not? I do not think it is wise to confront His Majesty when he is this angry. He must be incredibly pissed about our commander courting his mate."
"Of course, he must be pissed. Though having multiple mates is common for females, there has never been a case before that a divine beast shared a mate with another divine beast. You know how those with superior bloodlines are territorial and arrogant beasts. They are extremely possessive about their mates and try to keep them for themselves. Sharing...hah...that's almost impossible."
"That applies to our commander as well. But even though he is a divine beast, he still chose Lady Ember, meaning he is fine with sharing a mate. His Majesty should be more open-minded."
"Maybe it's the difference between the divinity in their blood? Commander Morpheus might be a Divine Eagle, but he's a gray one not a golden one, so he is more reasonable. On the other hand, Dragons must be more ferocious and more possessive--"
"You make it sound like those with purer bloodlines have less sanity."
"I didn't say that."
"Yeah, you just implied it."
The shapeshifter coughed in shame and changed the topic. "Oh well, I hope our commander won't give up and fight for what will bring him happiness."
"Do not worry. Though the King is a mighty Dragon, the strength of the most powerful warrior of the kingdom is no less than his. From my grandfather, I actually heard a rumor that our commander can match a dragon but he doesn't want his strength to be known because he doesn't want to be king..."
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