Dragon Queen and Dragon Slayer

So rather than fighting this group of people here, it would be better to quickly find a safe place and make long-term plans.

Although Leon also really wanted to test the strength of these three people, the current situation didn't allow him to act willfully.

Leon scrutinized the trio, and finally, his gaze landed on the one-armed Blade Three.

Breaking through from Blade Three's direction should be the best option.

Having quickly finalized the breakout plan, Leon activated the Nine Hells Gate, while at the same time gathering Chidori in his hand, then charged straight toward Blade Three.

"BLADE THREE, WATCH OUT! THIS GUY IS RIDICULOUSLY FAST—"

But before Blade One could finish speaking, Leon had already launched a surprise attack in front of the one-armed Blade Three.

Blade Three was momentarily stunned. While surprised by Leon's speed, he immediately reacted and prepared to intercept.

He gathered his Primordial Energy, intending to strike at Leon.

But Leon didn't confront him head-on. Instead, he seized the gap in his defense and slipped through the right side, where Blade Three had the greatest vulnerability.

By the time he turned around, ready to launch a second strike at Leon, that guy had already disappeared without a trace.

The entire process lasted only a moment, and Leon, a living, breathing person, had vanished right before their eyes.

The Blade Trio members stared into the dark forest ahead, a chill slowly rising up their spines.

After a short while, Blade One finally spoke, saying in a low voice, "We retreat."

———

After shaking off the Blade Trio, Leon quickly found Rossweise's location.

Having picked up Leon, the three of them flew toward the mountain stream cave.

"Rebecca, did they discover your and Master's whereabouts?", Leon asked.

"Mm, from what they said, they probably figured out mine and Old Man's activity patterns during Elanti's term. Now that Elanti was dismissed because of the incident with Constantine losing control, Scott took over his position and immediately began pursuing me and Old Man."

Leon blinked, "What about Master? Where did he go?"

Upon hearing this, Rebecca's gaze turned somber.

"Old Man... was seriously injured. I settled him in the cave, thinking to draw away the Blade Trio and buy time until you arrived."

Leon nodded, patting Rebecca on the shoulder, "Thank you, Rebecca."

After hearing that Tiger was gravely injured, Rossweise accelerated again, heading straight for the mountain stream cave.

———

Half an hour later, the group arrived at the cave behind the waterfall.

"Old Man! Old Man, Captain and the others are here."

Rebecca rushed in at once.

Leon and Rossweise followed closely behind.

"Cough! Cough—"

From the darkness of the cave came the sound of the old man coughing.

Leon's heart sank with a jolt, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace.

But when he walked in, he was stunned.

Tiger was lying on a rough pile of weeds, blood gushing from his chest, soaking through his clothes, dyeing the straw beneath him red.

"Master! Master, you...", Leon hurried over to check Tiger's condition.

"During the escape, Old Man used all his strength to chop off one of Blade Three's arms, buying us a chance to flee. But his own heart also suffered a severe injury because of that."

Rebecca's tone was low, "I used healing magic to temporarily stabilize Old Man's condition, but it won't last long, at most, six hours left. Captain... an injury like this—"

Leon had seen many comrades sacrifice themselves in battle. He knew what Rebecca was trying to say.

Injuries like this could only be prolonged slightly with healing magic.

Once the magic's effect wore off, the person would completely lose their life.

Crack! Crack!

Leon clenched his fists so tightly that they cracked. He gritted his teeth, and despair and helplessness soaked into his very bones.

Master raised him from childhood, trained him to become the empire's strongest dragon slayer. It's no exaggeration to say, without Master, there would be no Leon today.

When he learned that Leon was smeared by the empire, he also gave everything to clear his disciple's name.

What Tiger had done for Leon far exceeded any obligation of a foster father.

But now he's ended up like this...

For a moment, Leon's heart was full of guilt.

"Kid... kid...", Tiger spoke weakly.

"Master! I'm here, Master."

"Sea... sea...", At the brink of death, the old man's vision grew increasingly blurry, and even speaking took great effort.

"Sea what? Master, I'm listening."

"Sea Dragon Clan..."

Leon's eyes widened sharply, his pupils trembling violently.

"Go... to the Sea Dragon Clan, kid, take me to the Sea Dragon Clan!"

———

At Rossweise's full flying speed, it was indeed possible to reach the Sea Dragon Clan before the healing magic on Tiger wore off.

On the way, Rebecca also explained the full story to Leon.

"Half a month ago, one day, Martin's father took him to a royal banquet. It was a great opportunity to gather evidence of the empire's high-ranking officials abusing their power. Martin didn't want to miss it, so he secretly brought a shadow recording stone to the banquet."

"At the banquet, King Kant and Queen Elizabeth were both present. The main purpose of the banquet was to celebrate Scott's promotion."

"Because of Constantine's loss of control and rampage, the former commander of the empire's dragon-slaying army, Elanti, was dismissed by King Kant. Scott then took his place."

"Midway through the banquet, King Kant, Queen Elizabeth, and Scott were quietly discussing something."

"Seeing the opportunity, Martin secretly slipped the shadow stone into the pocket of Scott's personal attendant. When their conversation ended, he silently retrieved the stone again."

As she spoke, Rebecca handed Martin's shadow stone to Leon.

Leon activated the stone, quietly listening to the conversation Martin risked his life to record.

["The Sharp Blade Plan is going very smoothly. Even without Leon, we can, as before, cooperate with the dragon kings to easily control this war."]

["The Queen is wise."]

["This is all thanks to you, Scott. I heard you personally organized the Blade Trio. You've done the empire a great favor."]

["You flatter me, Your Majesty. I only did what I was supposed to do."]

["Very good. With that kind of mindset, you're a hundred times better than Casmodeous. That guy never knew his place. Otherwise, he wouldn't have ended up being hunted by our empire."]

"..."

Summing up the content of the conversation, it was almost identical to the inside information Leon had learned from Constantine.

To extract labor and resources from the people of the empire, the empire and some of the dragon kings jointly orchestrated this war, leading to decades of intense conflict between humans and dragons, causing countless deaths and suffering.

Leon tightly gripped the shadow stone in his hand.

This was what he wanted, the most critical piece of evidence, the final puzzle to overthrow that dog Emperor Kant.

"Thank you, Rebecca. This thing is important. It's enough to expose the empire's ugly face."

"Thank Martin."

Rebecca shook her head with a bitter smile, "After he did this, that kid's legs were shaking so much he couldn't even stand. He said if it wasn't to clear your name, to help you flip your situation, he wouldn't have dared do it. If he got caught, it would be off with his head."

That kid Martin... really risked everything for Leon.

Leon lowered his eyes, looking at the shadow stone in his hand. This sentiment, he firmly remembered in his heart.

"Old Man and I originally planned to give you the stone during this meeting."

Rebecca continued, "But who knew we'd get ambushed by the Blade Trio on the road? Old Man was seriously injured. I had to hide him in the cave for the time being and draw away the pursuers. As long as I held out until you arrived, it would be fine."

Not just Martin, Rebecca, too, had the resolve to sacrifice herself.

Why were they so loyal to Leon?

The reason was simple. During their time in the empire's dragon-slaying army, Leon, as captain, had pulled them back from the brink of death countless times.

You could say that without Leon, they'd probably already be playing mahjong in the underworld by now.

Back then, they were Leon's most loyal subordinates;

Now, they were still willing to brave fire and water for him.

A leader's charisma is powerful. If it touches people's hearts, he doesn't need emotional speeches or motivational lines to perfect his "persona."

He only needs to do what he should, what others hope he will, and naturally, countless people will offer him their loyalty.

Leon looked at his unconscious master, his eyes filled with complicated, repressed emotion.

The usually laid-back old rascal was now quietly lying there, his heart grievously injured, kept alive only by healing magic.

Leon couldn't convince himself not to feel guilty, because Master truly became like this while trying to help him.

He didn't even know, if something really happened to Master, how he'd explain it to Mistress.

Leon had always hated those tear-jerking scenes of life and death separation. He just never expected such a cliché fate to fall upon himself one day.

He tightly grasped his master's wrinkled hand, only hoping this little old man could survive this ordeal.

"By the way, Captain, why are we going to the Sea Dragon Clan? Is there someone there who can save Old Man?"

"I-I don't know..."

Rebecca: ?

"You don't know and just went anyway? And if we go straight like this, won't your human identity be exposed?"

Leon looked at his master with a serious expression, "Master said to go, so I'll go. As for exposing my identity... I can't worry about that now."

Rebecca nodded in understanding, then asked again, "So, do you know anyone in the Sea Dragon Clan?"

"Eh, now that you mention it, I do know someone in the Sea Dragon Clan."

"Who?"

"My daughter's best friend's mom."

"...That's so far removed. Ccan that even be called an acquaintance? Acquainted to what degree, medium rare?"

Rebecca silently covered her face, sighed, and her gaze fell on Tiger again.

"So... why exactly does Old Man want to go to the Sea Dragon Clan at a time like this..."

When Master just said he wanted to go to the Sea Dragon Clan, honestly, Leon didn't feel very surprised or confused.

He even had a kind of "so it is like that" feeling.

Because previously, through the two magic books Nine Hells Gate and Soul Judgment, both written by Claudia, Leon and Rossweise had faintly guessed that Master might have some sort of connection to the Sea Dragon Clan.

And Master insisting on going there even in a life-threatening moment. Perhaps there really was someone or something there that could save his life.

'Could it be Claudia...'

Leon wasn't sure.

Everything would only be known once they reached the Sea Dragon Clan.

———

After several hours of full-speed flying, the group arrived at a solitary island amidst the vast ocean.

The island wasn't large, but it was big enough to land on.

Rossweise returned to her human form, then raised her hand and pointed toward the front of the island.

[T/N: I have midsems this week so there will be 1 Chapter/Day instead of 2 till next Monday, after that we will be back to 2 Chapters/Day. Hope you all understand, have a great day~]

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