🐅 🐅 🐅
RYUHO continued descending the mountain with Angelina on his back. Due to the recent rain, most people would have difficulty finding their footing on the slushy ground. As a Flame Tiger, however, Ryuho didn’t struggle in the slightest.
“What the hell is wrong with them?!” Ryuho shouted. “I won’t let them make fun of you, Lina!”
Ryuho getting angry on her behalf put a smile on Angelina’s face. She hugged his large, warm back with all her might. Beneath his soft fur, she could feel his solid, reassuring muscles.
I’ll be okay with Ryuho protecting me, she thought, rubbing her tears of joy into his fluffiness. He’ll save me no matter what.
“Oh, I just had a great idea!” Ryuho shouted. “Why doesn’t Feilong become a Vinka? Then Kyril can be emperor!”
When Angelina pictured Feilong in Vinka robes, she couldn’t help but laugh. “Only girls can become Vinkas, Ryuho. And they have to be small ones, too.”
“Not my problem!”
Ryuho and Angelina descended the mountain at a steady clip. Even so, they had to stop upon reaching the river. Muddy water streamed down the mountain, blocking the road. The matriarch hadn’t been lying about the broken bridge. That said, the daoshi had probably destroyed it on purpose.
Ryuho would have difficulty leaping across the bridge with Angelina on his back. If he were by himself, he could have managed one way or another. However, on the off chance that he dropped her, the situation would grow even more dire. All the while, the armed daoshi pursued them from behind.
Fortunately, Angelina’s escort forces had already arrived on the other side of the river. Yuen stood at the head. He’d just been devising a means of erecting a new bridge across the river.
“Princess Angelina!” he called out upon seeing her.
“Yuen!” she called back.
Not too long ago, Yuen had received the letter sent via arrow, which had instructed him to return to the capital due to the broken bridge. After reading it, he’d grown suspicious of the Heavenly Sovereign Temple. Without delay, he’d used the empire’s fastest carrier pigeon to send a letter to Feilong. Additionally, his forces had surrounded the holy site, violating the prohibition of men to retrieve Angelina.
The daoshi leveled their arrows at the imperial forces, eyes burning with hatred. “This is Mt. Jinlong—a holy site forbidden to men!” one of them cried out. “Atone for your sins with your lives!”
“For your crime of imprisoning Princess Angelina, we shall now subjugate Mt. Jinlong!” Yuen shouted back. “But if you hand the princess over quietly, we will take our leave!”
“The Polaris Princess belongs with the Heavenly Sovereign Temple!”
Sparks flew between the two. A sudden squall blew across the crowds, and the sky darkened. When everyone looked upwards, they found Feilong riding upon the Golden Dragon. After receiving Yuen’s message, he flew to Mt. Jinlong with all haste.
While bellowing with laughter, the Golden Dragon shot a bolt of lightning at the ground, seemingly as an afterthought. The daoshi panicked. Even the battle-hardened soldiers stirred with discomfort.
“You daoshi are presumptuous indeed. I am the Golden Dragon, and I’ve come to retrieve Princess Angelina.”
In response to his thunderous voice, the daoshi trembled. Immediately, they bowed their heads and saluted with hands over their hearts.
“Angelina is the Polaris Princess!” the dragon boomed. “Those who would attempt to turn her into a priestess are fools!”
“But if the Polaris Princess became the Kalavinka, then—” the matriarch tried to argue.
“Silence, you imbecile!” the dragon interrupted her. “The Four Divinities and I have recognized her as the Polaris Princess! Would you lowly mortals dare defy us?!”
“Certainly not, but…! Sh-She could become a living goddess!”
When the matriarch refused to back down, an irritated Feilong drew the sword at his waist and raised it skywards. The scrap of cloth fastened to the handle fluttered in the wind. Angelina had given her father this protective charm one year ago.
At Feilong’s signal, the imperial soldiers leveled their bows at the daoshi. When Feilong lowered his sword, they would all release their arrows. The daoshi had bows as well, but they had only served as guards on Mt. Jinlong. If this turned into a battle, the female soldiers wouldn’t stand a chance against the imperial forces. Feilong would destroy the entire Heavenly Sovereign Temple to bring Angelina home. He would show mercy to no one—neither woman nor daoshi.
“Ryuho, protect Angelina!” Feilong roared.
“What do you think I’ve been doing this whole time?!” Ryuho shouted back.
He hid Angelina under his stomach and erected a wall of flames around them. Despite nocking their arrows, the daoshi still trembled before the Golden Dragon. Even so, if the imperial forces planned to trample this holy site, they couldn’t back down.
“That’s enough, Fodder!” Angelina cried.
Even so, Feilong began to lower his sword, his face impassive. At that moment, a high-pitched note reminiscent of a transverse flute resounded across the sky of Mt. Jinlong. Startled, Angelina poked her head out from under Ryuho’s belly. Likewise, Ryuho and the daoshi looked up at the sky. Since Feilong and the Golden Dragon were already airborne, they merely squinted.
An enormous bird soared across the heavens, a small girl riding on its back. It was as if a young goddess were riding upon a brilliantly burning sun.
“Nara…?” Angelina mumbled.
Her jaw dropped. The sound had been the Garuda’s cries. However, the divine avian had undergone a transformation. It was now large enough for a person to ride upon. While the Garuda circled the upper air, its high and clear voice rang out across the mountain. Echoing from the distant heavens, its sustained note seemed capable of reaching the stars. The anguish and doleful beauty of the Garuda’s song touched Angelina’s heart.
At the same time, the Kalavinka’s singing voice reverberated against the craggy surface of the mountain. By singing and dancing on an alpine mountain every day, she’d gained superhuman lung capacity, which imbued her song with even greater divinity. All the while, the Garuda harmonized with her.
As the very air sparkled, the warlike atmosphere subsided. The daoshi gaped at the Garuda. The imperial soldiers loosened their bowstrings. Before long, the divine avian descended towards the surface. After picking up Ryuho and Angelina in its talons, it placed them before Feilong on top of the Golden Dragon.
In a flash, Feilong sheathed his sword and scooped up his daughter. “Lina!” he cried, squeezing her in his arms.
“Fodder, I can’t breathe…” Angelina mumbled, her face squashed against his armor.
Without delay, Feilong readjusted his hold on Angelina so that he could cradle her. “I’m sorry for coming so late, Lina.”
“It’s okay. I’m just glad you came at all.”
Angelina wrapped her arms around her father’s neck. His silver hair—frozen and covered in frost—brushed her cheek. Feilong had remained in the capital while awaiting her return. After learning about the temple’s obstruction, he’d asked the Golden Dragon for assistance and flown to Mt. Jinlong. Usually, the journey would take ten days by carriage. Riding the Golden Dragon had been his only option to arrive here in one day.
Even so, the upper air was cold, and due to traveling at speeds beyond human understanding, even his eyelashes were frozen. Only Feilong could have endured such hardship.
Feilong and the Golden Dragon were hardly on good terms. Nonetheless, they’d worked together to save Angelina. When she realized this, tears of joy spilled from her eyes.