“Please, be safe Ernest,” Brianna said as she held the young prince’s hand. “You better survive, or else I’ll marry Big Brother when I grow up.”
“I will definitely survive,” Prince Ernest replied firmly. “The one you will be marrying is me, Big Sister.”
“Okay. Just don’t die.”
“I won’t die.”
Brianna pulled the young Prince close and gave him a hug. Afterwards, she gave him a kiss on the cheek before running back inside the Great Chieftain’s residence.
She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she would definitely be unwilling to let go of his hand and delay his return to the Hellan Kingdom. As the current Great Chieftain of the Tribes, Brianna knew how important it was to have a leader to guide the people during difficult times.
Prince Ernest belonged to the Hellan Kingdom, and it was his duty as the member of the Royal Family to protect his Kingdom from those who wanted to conquer it.
The Young Prince watched his fiance run away with a sad expression on his face. However, he knew that he had to go no matter what.
“I’m ready,” Prince Ernest said as he faced Prince Alaric with determination.
Prince Alaric nodded and made a gesture for the Young Prince to climb the carriage. He had traveled as fast as he could to arrive at the Kyrintor Mountains, in order to escort the Third Prince back to the Capital City of Gladiolus.
Soon, the Lamassu flapped its wings and soared towards the sky, pulling the Flying Carriage behind it.
Prince Ernest looked outside of the window and watched as the Third Peak of Chivalry slowly disappeared from his sights. He didn’t know when he would be able to see Brianna again, or if he would get the chance to see her again.
“I won’t die,” Prince Ernest said softly. “I promise.”
Prince Alaric pretended that he didn’t hear the Young Prince’s words and closed his eyes to sleep. He hadn’t been able to sleep for the past few days due to constant worrying about whether he could convince the Prince to come with him.
Fortunately, Prince Ernest loved his Kingdom, and readily agreed to his request to return to the Hellan Capital. According to Conner, there were certain things that only members of the Royal Family could do.
Just like William, Prince Alaric didn’t like Conner because he was the one responsible for all of this mess. However, he had no choice but to cooperate with him for the time being in order to fight against the invaders that had occupied the Zelan Dynasty, and forced him to flee to distant lands.
Their journey back towards the City of Gladiolus would take at least four days. Prince Alaric hoped that in those four days, the Elves would still be far away from the walls of the city. That way, Prince Ernest could use the rights of the Royal Family, and disable the Teleportation Gates in the Hellan Kingdom.
This would give them a few more days to prepare their defenses, and evacuate the survivors who didn’t have the ability to participate in the war. Also, according to the Leader of Deus, Prince Ernest may also know how to activate the true defensive capabilities of Gladiolus.
—-
Eneru clicked his tongue as he stared down on the ground. He was currently hovering above the mountainous region where the Elven Army was moving in an orderly manner.
Ezkalor was also monitoring everything from the sky to ensure that no danger would befall the Elven Army.
Drauum, on the other hand, stood on the highest peak of the Mountain. It was constantly sending a powerful sweep, similar to a radar, to check if there was anything unusual above, or below the ground.
It was at this moment when it saw something move in the distance. It was two birds flying side by side. One was a red bird, the other, a blue bird.
Drauum frowned but didn’t pay them too much attention. They had already seen similar birds along the way, and the Three Guardians had unanimously agreed that none of them posed any threat to the Elven Army.
The Elves had wanted to shoot down these birds to ease their boredom, but a stern glare from Eneru made them stop in their tracks.
“This is not a time to play,” Eneru reminded them. “The sooner we get through these mountains, the sooner all of you can relax. Do not cause any unnecessary trouble until then.”
This reminder had saved those harmless looking birds who did nothing but fly around the mountain in pairs.
When night came, the Elves had pitched their tents in order to rest for the night. It would take them three days in order to traverse the mountain range, and there was nothing they could do about it.
Sitting on trees that sprouted from the cliffs of the mountainous region, the rainbow-colored birds set their eyes on the Elven Camp. They were waiting patiently for an opportunity to make their move.
The rainbow-colored birds knew that they only had one chance, and one chance only. Once they executed the plan, all the Elves, as well as the three Guardians would move to wipe them out.
The next day…
“This is the day you will always remember as the day you almost caught William Von Ainsworth.”
Eneru and Drauum rushed in the direction where they heard the arrogant voice of the Half-Elf, who they had wanted to torture for a long time, come from.
Ezkalor also wanted to follow, but the two explicitly told him that he was to guard the Elven Army while the two of them were away.
The moment the Two Guardians left their post, several rainbow-colored birds flew in the air and sneakily flew over the peak of the mountain.
When they arrived at their destinations, they embedded several exploding crystals in the crevices along the mountain range.
Once their duty was completed, they flew away as if they were just sightseeing in the mountains. The Elven Army was currently having their lunch and had stopped their advance. The Rainbow Birds decided to take this opportunity to play a trick on them to divert the attention of the Guardians who had been constantly guarding their surroundings.
The one that imitated William’s voice was the red bird, B1. It made sure to raise the volume of its voice as high as it could, and allowed the echo of the mountain to carry it towards the location of the Elves.
It hadn’t even been ten seconds since it shouted before Eneru arrived at the scene. The red bird was smart enough to prepare berries beforehand to be used as props for his act. Eneru scanned the surroundings while the red bird ate its berries.
Drauum appeared not long after and did the same. B1 didn’t dare to do anything suspicious and just enjoyed its lunch just like any ordinary bird.
“Did you find him?” Drauum asked.
“No,” Eneru replied. “That bastard has a way to instantly disappear even if he is trapped inside a magical barrier. The only way to capture him is if we take him by surprise.”
Drauum nodded because it agreed with Eneru’s statement. The Ancient Golem then glanced at the red bird that was busy eating the berries it had collected. Eneru also gave the bird a side-long glance before returning to the Elven Encampment.
As a Myriad Beast of the Lightning Element, he had the ability to see through disguises. The bird was a beast, and not a Half-Elf in disguise. Since he knew this, he didn’t give the red bird a second glance and left it alone.
Drauum, on the other hand, gave the bird a long and steady stare. Only when B1 was about to choke on its berries did the Ancient Golem merge with the ground and return to the peak of the mountain to continue its vigil.
—–
William sighed when the Ancient Golem had finally left B1 alone. The Rainbow Birds had successfully planted the exploding crystals in key locations along the mountain range. Although he wasn’t sure if his plan would work, there were no downsides to giving it a try.
—–
The second night, when the Elves had just settled down to rest…
An arrogant voice once again echoed in the mountain, only this time, it taunted the Guardians who were keeping watch over the Army.
“Eneru, how does it feel to lose your two whiskers? Don’t worry, I will not tell anyone how the Protector of the Kraetor Empire used your face to wipe the floor of the Royal Palace like a piece of rag. Man… if that were me, I’d probably die of embarrassment and shame if others were to know about it.”
Eneru roared as he turned into a lightning bolt to charge in the direction where the voice came from.
Drauum didn’t sit idly either and followed its comrade.
Ezkalor sneakily followed the two, leaving the Elven Army behind.
Half a minute after the three Guardians left, a loud explosion erupted at the peak of the mountain, sending rocks tumbling towards the Elven Encampment like a raging tide. All the Elves had woken up due to the explosion and scrambled to brace themselves for impact.
However, before the rocks could annihilate a portion of the Elven Army, a dome of Earth appeared to shield them from harm.
Drauum appeared at the scene with its arms crossed over its chest. It had only pretended to leave the encampment earlier, according to the plan that he and Eneru had spoken beforehand.
Both of them were not stupid, and they could easily tell that they were being lured away from the Elven Army on purpose.
Since that was the case, they had secretly discussed a plan about what to do if the same thing were to happen again.
After the Avalanche had been dealt with, Eneru returned to the scene carrying a red bird in his hands. He gave Drauum a nod, and the latter turned its head to gaze at the birds that were currently resting near the crevices of the mountain.
“Nice try,” Drauum said as it clenched its fist.
Immediately, Earth Spikes flew in the air and pierced the bodies of all the birds in the surroundings. The birds exploded after they had died, leaving nothing behind.
Eneru raised the red bird in his hand and stared at it in a teasing manner.
“Any last words?” Eneru asked
“F*ck off!” B1 replied as it summoned a green bottle from its inventory. As soon as the bottle appeared, it then immediately detonated itself at the same time.
A powerful explosion took place and an irritated Eneru roared in anger. Although the attack of that magnitude couldn’t cause him any serious injury, it still managed to give him first degree burns because the explosion happened at point-blank-range.
The acid that William had created through alchemy was strong enough to melt the bodies of Class D Creatures without any problem. Since Eneru was a Myriad Beast, it didn’t have much of an effect on him, but the Rainbow Bird’s detonation amplified the effect of the acid and made it strong enough to kill a Class B Beast.
“I will kill you!” Eneru wasn’t able to stop himself from roaring towards the sky in anger. “I swear on my true name that I will kill you, William Von Ainsworth!”
Eneru’s hateful roars summoned a thunderstorm in the sky. Soon, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled in the heavens.
He had repeatedly suffered under William’s hands and was on the verge of losing his rationality. Drauum and Ezkalor had no doubt in their minds that even if they chose to take the boy under their custody, the Qilin would do everything in his power to kill him.
‘Child, I don’t know if I should praise you, or mock you for your stupidity.’ Ezkalor sighed in his heart. ‘A Guardian Beast had made an irreversible oath against you. This is not something that can be solved through negotiations.’
The Elder Dragon didn’t know what to do. He originally wanted to take William into his custody when the war ended, so that he could reunite with his mother. However, now that Eneru had made an oath of death, this was no longer possible.
‘Maxwell, your son is such a handful.’ Ezkalor shook his head. ‘I guess, instead of the mother and son reuniting, it will be the father and son who will reunite. Such a shame, truly a shame.’
Drauum, who was looking at the Qilin from the side, had an indifferent look on its face. It didn’t care whether Eneru killed William or not. All that mattered to it was the success of this mission.
Still, whenever it remembered the boy’s face, it couldn’t help itself from remembering that imposing figure that had stood on the frontlines many years ago.
A figure that had a vast army at its disposal. Although Drauum wouldn’t admit it, it had been very wary of William’s father Maxwell.
The Ancient Golem hoped that it was just overthinking things. For some reason, William’s image inside its mind had overlapped with his father’s.
‘That couldn’t possibly happen, right?’ Drauum thought. The Ancient Golem didn’t want to imagine that such a thing could happen.
Why?
Because if it was true then all of them were making the biggest mistake of their lives.
A mistake that would haunt them for the rest of their lives.
