"Ugh... damn it, this will be deducted from your pay!" The old man yelled at Lucas.
The young man just turned his face away. His father had forced him to work there, but he hadn't taken his fortune away.
He couldn't give a damn about that old man's miserable pay.
Under the old man's angry gaze, he just returned to his dragon, who was watching Qingyi with eyes full of suspicion and contempt.
"Like mount, like rider." Qingyi shook his head, focusing on the old
man.
"I am a traveler and wish to purchase a ticket to the capital, DragonPeak," Qingyi said, watching the old man's face change imdiately.
His grumpy expression faded, replaced by a big, bright smile.
"Oh... perfect, dear custor! Co with , co! We have a carriage about to leave! Hehehe."
The old man grabbed Qingyi's arm, leading him into his simple office. There, Qingyi paid, signed so docunts, and then waited.
He could even go alone.
With his speed and affinity for space and darkness, he would likely arrive in the capital unscathed. Getting through their defensive and detection formations shouldn't be too difficult either.
Still, he preferred to take the more traditional route, taking the ti to discover as much as he could about that land.
After all, even Aeryn had never been there.
All the elven beauty knew about those people ca from ancient books, books that always portrayed them as traitors to the elven
people and which were clearly full of political propaganda.
The sa was true for Sapphire, whose people also hated the Grand Duchy of Vaeldrinn.
'I just hope they're not all assholes like this guy... Qingyi flashed a bitter smile, feeling Lucas's burning gaze on his back.
What had he done to deserve the hatred of such a pathetic little creature?
Qingyi continued to ignore him until, finally, his companions arrived.
They were all n, identifiable as miners by their clothes and equipnt. Their faces were tired, and their eyes t Lucas's for a brief mont before dropping to the ground.
If it weren't for the extrely low price, no one there would choose that old man's escort. Not while Lucas was present.
They had even seen one of their companions devoured by that cursed beast before.
"All right, get in the carriage! Let's start the journey as soon as possible, I want you to get there before the rise of the RedDeath!" The old man said, slapping the coachman on the back.
Honestly, calling it a carriage was an exaggeration. It was little better than an ordinary freight wagon, with rags used for cover.
Without even giving Qingyi or the miners in the wagon a second glance, Lucas rose into the skies, flying away with his beast.
"What is the RedDeath?" Qingyi asked, sitting among the miners, who relaxed as soon as Lucas left.
"Oh... you're a foreigner, right?" One of the miners asked, observing Qingyi's unique features and strange clothes.
Black robes, decorated with strange golden flying serpents.
Qingyi was clearly a very wealthy nobleman. What the hell was he doing among them, the rabble of the rabble?
"Yes, I am from a distant land," Qingyi replied, receiving nods of understanding from the n.
"RedDeath is the Patriarch's dragon. He recently reached over eighty ters in height, and the Patriarch wishes to deliver Karlan's heart to him. They say that, in doing so, he may even attain the power of Khaedryss!"
The miner spoke, his eyes shining as he imagined such a beast.
They had been ruled by the draconic elves for tens of thousands of years, for countless mortal generations.
Therefore, the humans there already saw those people as their legitimate rulers and, above all, as gods who ruled the skies.
"Hm..." Qingyi scratched his chin.
Aeryn had spoken of a certain Karlan, one of the two dragons who helped lay the foundation for the existence of the draconic elves.
Karlan, the female, had been dead for a long ti, while the condition
of the male ancestor was not even known.
So said he had died a few thousand years ago; others said he had isolated himself after the death of his partner.
But that mattered little to the common people. Khaedryss had not appeared in public for many decades.
For the common people, the birth of another beast like her was a great blessing for the entire Grand Duchy of Vaeldrinn.
Shaking his head, Qingyi focused solely on the journey.
From what the miners had said, it would take at least a few weeks to
reach the capital, with the RedDeath's ascension taking place in a
month or two.
'Hmm... would it be too greedy to try to take that from them too?" Qingyi wondered.
The only way for the Red Death to consu Karlan's heart was through a long and complicated ritual, but the sa was not true for
Khaedryss.
She could just devour it freely and absorb its power.
Currently, she was already powerful enough to kill an immortal
emperor, and Qingyi was certain: just a little more, a few good corpses, and he would see Khaedryss at her peak of power again.
Without Qingyi realizing it, many hours had passed.
Now, they had entered a strange forest.
Each tree was identical and vast, rising over fifty ters high, with branches only at the top.
Their trunks were completely smooth, white, and perfect, planted so densely that Qingyi could barely see beyond a few dozen ters ahead without using his draconic eyes.
Qingyi was about to ask the miners about this forest, but suddenly fell
silent.
His senses scread in alert and his hand flowed to the hilt of the
Heaven-Defying Thunder Sword.
His eyes rose and he saw Lucas' dragon also beco agitated.
Sothing was chasing them.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the distance. Dozens, no... hundreds of
them.
Whatever was approaching was large. And from the murderous intent
Qingyi could sense, it was hungry.
"Oh, what are you doing, young man?" One of the miners asked.
He was only a mortal and couldn't sense the sa thing Qingyi or
Lucas could, so he couldn't help but be surprised when the handso young man suddenly stood up.
"Get ready to hide," Qingyi growled, the Heaven-Defying Thunder
Sword sliding out of its sheath.
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