Sword Of Dawn

Dragon.

This creature had not appeared in the mortal world for a long time—indeed, for most of the intelligent races on the Loren continent, dragons were creatures that existed somewhere between myth and reality. They knew the creatures existed, but very few could expect to see a real dragon in their lifetime.

Except for the long-lived elves in the south, who prided themselves on being witnesses to history. Over the long history of the Elven Empire, there had been one or two encounters with dragons.

That dragon, with deep blue scales and huge wings, was elegant yet powerful. As it flew through the sky, it released a deadly breath—columns of fire so hot they turned white. Within the flames was ancient dragon magic, and its power was far beyond ordinary fire. Wherever the fire passed, the ground ignited in blazing flames, and it continued to burn and spread even without any fuel. After just a few breaths, the entire Cecil Territory was engulfed in fire.

After doing all this, the dragon hovered for a moment, as though inspecting the work it had done. Finally, it flapped its wings and soared into the sky, disappearing into the increasingly bright clouds.

Highwen heard several deep breaths from those beside him. Even Hedi, who had been calm before, took a deep breath—only now did they all dare to relax. If the dragon had stayed for any longer, it was hard to say who would faint from the tension first.

"Dragon... Dragon..." Rebecca muttered to herself as she gripped her staff tightly, "Ancestors, I saw a dragon..."

Highwen cleared his throat. "Ahem, no need to tell me. I saw it too."

Rebecca snapped back to her senses, feeling a little awkward. She glanced at Highwen, then looked with complex emotions at the Cecil Territory.

After being ravaged by the magical tide and burned by the dragon's flames, this place was no longer viable.

As for the monsters... While they were troublesome for the poorly trained guards in the Cecil Territory, they were ultimately nothing more than lower-tier abominations. After being burned by the dragon's flames, almost all of them were reduced to ashes. Even the few survivors would soon self-destruct due to the changing environment.

"I thought dragons only appeared in legends," said the usually silent knight Byron, his three soldiers still struggling to stand up. Byron, normally strict, didn't reprimand them but instead frowned. "My lord, have you ever encountered a dragon?"

"No," Highwen shook his head. "Dragons are mysterious creatures. Even when the world was turned upside down 700 years ago, they never intervened in the mundane world."

Though he said this, Highwen wasn't particularly shocked by the dragons. He had seen dragons from other sources—during the times he hung in the sky, he had witnessed these creatures appear on the continent. But dragons were truly mysterious, and even after hanging in the sky for what seemed like millennia, Highwen had only encountered a few, and his memories of those encounters were disjointed and fragmented, so he couldn't form a clear picture of their traits and habits.

At that moment, a shadow suddenly swayed beside Highwen. He turned to look, only to see Amber standing behind him, her half-elf face showing clear signs of shock.

"I saw a dragon!" Amber shouted excitedly. "My mom will never believe it—I've seen a dragon! It was so big!"

"Alright, alright, everyone here saw it," Highwen shot a glare at the noisy and cowardly thief. "Where did you run off to just now?"

"I hid in the stone crevices nearby," Amber puffed out her chest. "I'm really good at escaping!"

Highwen sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Shadow affinity at least at the master level, and your combat ability is just barely above a goose... and you're proud of that?"

He then shook his head. "This place isn't safe. We should leave quickly."

He began walking down the hillside. Even though the dragon had left, who knew what other bizarre things might appear, so it was best to leave as soon as possible. Hedi, however, looked back at the family's estate one last time with a complicated expression.

"Ancestors... that dragon burned our territory."

"It burned our ruins," Highwen glanced at Hedi. When the dragon released its breath earlier, he had carefully observed it. The dragon seemed to focus its fiery breath on areas where the monsters were most concentrated. Although some of the breath had missed its intended targets, the dragon's tendency was clear. "Cecil Territory was already gone before that dragon came."

"But..."

"Are you planning to seek justice from a dragon?" Highwen shrugged. "Let's be practical. If we're going to do something, we should report the monsters and the dragon to the civilized world as soon as possible."

Hedi couldn't argue and simply nodded. "Yes."

Highwen understood Hedi's feelings. After all, the Cecil Territory was her homeland, where she was born and raised. Even though it had been destroyed, the emotional attachment was not easy to let go of. Even if she knew the dragon was merely setting fire to the ruins, and likely to burn the monsters, it was still a little hard to accept.

After all, it felt like desecrating the dead.

But while he understood, Highwen couldn't truly relate. After all, until he crawled out of his grave, he was not really the ancestor of the Cecil family.

With a mix of emotions, the group left the area, and in front of them stood a dense forest.

Hedi held her staff in one hand and drew several glowing runes in the air with the other. Then she looked up at the forest ahead.

"We have to pass through this forest to reach the main road. It's the only way to get to Tanzan Town."

Highwen looked at the glowing runes in Hedi's hand with a mix of curiosity and envy (though he tried hard to hide it). "Magic really is a convenient thing."

"Ancestors?" Hedi looked a little confused, then her expression turned nervous. "Did my magic skills upset you?"

Highwen was startled. "Huh? Why would I be upset?"

"The Cecil family has always relied on knights. Martial arts and horsemanship are the family's true traditions. People like me and Rebecca who follow the path of magic... a hundred years ago, we wouldn't even be able to hold a place in the family, let alone inherit the legacy," Hedi explained nervously. "But after what happened a century ago, the family's position dropped, and the number of descendants with extraordinary powers has dwindled. So, non-knightly paths have become more accepted... but it still goes against family tradition."

Highwen casually replied, "Who made that foolish rule?"

He always despised such backward family traditions, and his thoughts were very open.

To his surprise, as soon as he spoke, the atmosphere became awkward. Knight Byron immediately lowered his head as if tying his shoe—though he was wearing iron boots. Hedi froze, and Rebecca timidly pointed at Highwen after a few seconds.

Highwen blinked. "..."

He recalled that, years ago... there had indeed been such an incident.

The young and hot-headed hero Highwen Cecil, after a victorious campaign, had celebrated with Charles I, the founding king of Ansou Kingdom. The two good friends, drunk, began boasting about their accomplishments and discussing their plans for the future. They both envisioned a time when the descendants of those who had fled to the north would become the new noble families of the kingdom. So, to ensure their descendants wouldn't forget the old ways, they decided to set up some family rules.

Highwen Cecil, having drunk heavily, grabbed a pen and wrote a sentence on the table: "Knights are superior to mages."

When Charles I saw it, he was pleased, and he added his own line: "Highwen is right."

The former became the Cecil family's guiding principle, while the latter... the latter was rejected by the king's advisors.

Though the ministers and the king had no intention of making this part of the national policy, Highwen Cecil took the statement seriously and wrote it into the family rules.

Realizing the situation, Highwen looked at Hedi and Rebecca awkwardly.

He sighed. "I was drunk back then, just pretend this rule doesn't exist."

Hedi & Rebecca: "...?"

Just then, a rumbling sound came from Amber's stomach, breaking the awkward silence.

"Though I know it might be inappropriate to bring this up while you two are reminiscing about your good old days," Amber said, rubbing her stomach awkwardly. "But I'm a little hungry."

Amber's stomach growl seemed to trigger something. After her words, everyone else's stomachs also made rumbling noises.

Even Highwen was no exception.

It wasn't until this moment that Highwen realized that, ever since leaving the dark tomb, no one had eaten for a long time. And he himself had gone without food even longer—his last meal was when the monkeys on the Loren continent had not yet learned to walk upright.