A gust of wind swept past Cale—the aftershock of the explosion. Once it died down, Cale reopened his eyes.
Devastation greeted him. The trees, boulders, and everything else in the vicinity had been utterly demolished, and corpses of wyverns and bears littered the battlefield as far as the eye could see. The dragon slayer was gone.
The tigers pushed themselves up off the ground. Meanwhile, a bubble with Choi Han at its center floated toward the wall.
Cale tilted his face up. The clouds had dispersed, leaving behind a clear sky. A ray of light shone down on them.
“Mr. Cale.”
Looking in Choi Han’s direction, Cale asked, “Did you leave a mark?”
The response came not from Choi Han but the invisible dragon. ‹I did.›
Cale walked off. His excessive use of his Ancient Power had left him staggering, but there was still something he needed to do. He put one foot in front of the other until he stood beside Deruth.
“Father.”
He helped the count to his feet, which prompted the soldiers to rise as well. They all turned their eyes to the heavens. Beneath that pure-blue sky without a single cloud, the silver shield that had protected the soldiers still shimmered in the air.
They were alive. That thought blazed through every soldier’s mind.
Weston’s citizens began unlatching their doors. When they saw no sign of the enemy, the citizens realized they had won—they’d blocked the Indomitable Alliance’s invasion of their territory.
“Father,” Cale repeated.
The count could see the fatigue on Cale’s face. He knew this was only the beginning.
Beeeeeeep.
Deruth’s second son, Bassen, sprinted toward them with a communication sphere cradled in his arms. “Enemy ships have been spotted at the first boundary of the northeastern ocean!”
The count’s expression hardened. Their victory here had been a one-off; the Indomitable Alliance was sailing south, cutting through the still-frozen shores. It was a two-pronged attack. The force approaching by ship was probably much larger than their wyvern knight brigade had been. Subconsciously, Deruth turned to Cale—and paused when he saw his son smiling.
Cale was listening to Raon’s voice in his head. ‹The traces of my magic moved to the northeastern sea.›
Raon had left his mark on the dragon slayer’s heart.
Cale glanced over at Choi Han. “Time to go hunting.”
On the open sea, there were no citizens or soldiers to protect. So what if the opponent was a so-called dragon catcher? That distinction wouldn’t matter when they beat him to death.
Nonchalantly shifting his gaze back to his father, Cale made an observation. “The shield didn’t break.”
Deruth’s concern eased from the creases of his face, his hand shaking as it clasped his son’s. In lieu of a response, he simply squeezed Cale’s hand.
Although Cale hadn’t meant for it to happen, the communication sphere in Bassen’s arms had carried his words to the entire kingdom.