by Daman
Showing no signs of being offended by Calron’s behavior, Laris continued on.
“You know, both Weir and I grew up together. Back then, he was just a wimpy kid who liked to run away from all of his problems. Haha, he would kill me if he found out that I told that to anyone!”
The blue-skinned woman laughed, as she laid completely on her back and gazed up at the sky.
Slightly curious as to what the beast was talking about, and why she was even bothering to tell him this, Calron subtly leaned his head forwards.
“He is not really that bad of a beast, Calron. His childhood was simply troubling to say the least, and he has always had problems with letting people get close to him. He never wanted to exploit you or that strange power you have… he simply wanted to ask you for your help in defending the city. However, he just didn’t know how to approach you, and hence the predicament that we are in at the moment. Our goal from the very start had been to protect this city, and that is the root of all our actions. Haha, does that technique of yours prove that I’m telling the truth?”
Laris let out a small smile, as she tilted her head back and glanced at Calron’s astonished face.
While she had been talking, Calron had decided to discreetly use the newly learned technique to glean Laris’s true thoughts as she was speaking. However, even without a lightning element, she was still able to detect his probing.
“No need to be surprised, it’s just something that all Saint stage cultivators have. The power of the soul. Even if you had used that technique against a peak Vajra stage expert, you would have succeeded, but unless you enter the Saint stage and disguise your mental probing with your soul power, it will not work against someone like me.”
A Saint stage expert!?
A shock of alarm went off in Calron’s brain. This whole time, he did not even know that this easy-going female beast was that powerful.
“I do not know how to convince you with my words, but know this. If you ever want to leave the city or go your own way, I will not stop you and neither will Weir. You probably do not know this, but our city is actually one of the weakest within the Desolate Mountains. Our city’s armed forces are pathetic, and if not for the superior strength of the Nobles under Weir, then we would have long been invaded by another city. We do not even have any money to hire a Gold-rank mercenary… I am not telling this to you to get some sympathy. These are our current circumstances and this is the burden that Weir has on his shoulders.”
Laris quietly talked, while staring at the patterns of the clouds above.
“Do you truly mean that?”
Calron finally spoke after a long time.
“Letting you out of the city? Yes, I mean it.”
Laris solemnly stated.
“So, who are these ranked mercenaries?”
Calron curiously inquired, as he crawled towards Laris’s form on the ground.
Elated that the bird was finally opening up to her, Laris quickly sat up straight and began talking about the special forces of mercenaries that existed within the mountains.
………………………
Laris, it’s Xardoth… he’s here!
Suddenly, a powerful mental command burst into her mind, as the sound of Weir’s voice resonated within her conscious.
Abruptly stopping the current discussion she was having with Calron about the famous mercenary who had once challenged the Beast Emperor himself, Laris frantically got up and rapidly began to re-adorn her armor.
“What happened?”
Calron worriedly asked her, detecting the nearby Tarnila also swiftly rushing towards them with a worried expression on her face.
“Our city is finally at war.”
Laris replied in a heavy voice while holding Calron’s gaze.
……………………..
“How many of them are there?”
Weir muttered with rage, as he looked down at the distant multitudes of beasts marching towards their city.
Standing on top of the palace balcony, the two friends observed the chaos about to unfold within their home.
“Roughly around a hundred thousand…”
Jarken calmly replied, but traces of uncertainty could be seen in his eyes.
“Has he gone mad? He would dare risk so many lives for a battle against me?”
Weir rasped, as thoughts of how he was going to defend the city surged within his mind.
“There seems to be something deeper in play here. Xardoth is rash, but he is not foolish. I will go summon the Nobles.”
Jarken stated while turning to face the draconic figure next to him.
“No need, I will summon them all now.”
Weir seethed with fury, as the silver scales on his body began to enlarge and distort.
The true form of the Dragon King was about to appear once again.
Chapter 49 – A New Brother
“Human, we have a major crisis on our hands.”
Tarnila seriously stated, as she walked towards Calron with Rebran in tow behind her. Avi appeared to be taking a nap off in the distance under the shade of a tree.
“I know, Laris told me just before she left.”
Calron replied while gazing in the direction that the blue-skinned woman had just departed.
He was still not sure how he felt about her and what she said about the Dragon King, but he knew one thing for sure: she did not tell a single lie the whole time she was with him.
“No, the problem is not the war – it’s him!”
The raccoon sighed, turning her head to glance at a nervous Rebran.
“Huh? What does he have to do with the war?”
Calron asked with a confused expression.
“Tell him.”
Tarnila urged the young lion by nudging his shoulder.
“Um, the one who is waging the war on this city is probably my father…”
The lion whispered, hanging his head down. Rebran anxiously looked up at Calron to see his reaction.
However, contrary to what he was expecting, the golden bird remained static and emotionless.
Hahaha, it doesn’t get any better than this! So, kid, what do you plan on doing now?
Ezkael roared with laughter, amused that his student had found yet another problem that latched onto him.
Dammit! I knew I should have taken him more seriously when he said that he was the son of a king. I thought he was just a random beast separated from his guardians… besides, what the hell am I supposed to do in this situation?
Calron inwardly thought.
Well, the choice is up to you. I cannot tell you each time what the best course of action is. Whatever you decide, I will support you.
The Voice said with a slight smile.
He was proud of how much Calron had grown from the dark and moody child that he was a few years ago, and to the man he was becoming right in front of his eyes. Although his student might complain about the baby beasts, it was their very presence that had slowly brought out a compassionate side to Calron.
With Avi, the boy now had someone to care for and he knew that he was not alone in this world any more. His student needed to learn to let others into his life and not shut them off, and that’s why Ezkael wanted Calron to make this choice on his own.
Sigh, you already know what my answer is, don’t you?
Calron stated as he briefly closed his eyes.
Haha, well, you are my student!
Ezkael replied, and Calron was sure that his Teacher was currently grinning.
“Alright, I’ll make sure he reaches safely back to his father, and hopefully that will put an end to this stupid war.”
Calron spoke out, abruptly opening his eyes and glancing at Tarnila.
“How did you know I was going to ask you that?”
The raccoon asked with both her eyebrows raised in surprise.
“If you were going to do it yourself, then you would not have come to me. Also, take care of Avi until I return.”
Calron responded to Tarnila with a slight smile.
“Get on my back, Rebran, and let’s go stop this war before it blows out of proportion.”
Calron commanded the young lion as he slowly brought his body closer to the ground.
“Eh? Y-you are not mad that my father is here to capture your city?”
Rebran stuttered, but began to quickly climb onto the bird’s back.
*whoosh-whoosh*
Calron started to vigorously flap his powerful wings, and turned his head back to answer the young beast.
“You got one thing wrong, Rebran… this is not my city.”
*SCREEEEEE*
With a thundering screech, a massive golden bird spread into the sky.
…………………..
“This human surprises me with each passing day.”
The raccoon whispered to herself, gazing at the disappearing figure of the large bird.
She did not show it on her face, but Tarnila had been shocked at the rapid pace at which Calron had adapted to the lightning techniques that she taught. Usually, any cultivator would feel a draining amount of resistance from their lightning element when they commanded it to follow their wishes, but for Calron, the lightning simply obeyed.
“It’s at times like these that being an Elder is more useless than being a common soldier… I wonder how the others are doing…”
The raccoon muttered quietly while picking up the sleeping wolf pup and vanishing from her spot under sparks of lightning.
………………………
“Tell me when you see them.”
Calron yelled back to Rebran, as he flew over the city.
The whole place was in chaos with beasts wildly running around and gathering all their close ones and loading their belongings onto a caravan. Simple citizens had no way of protecting themselves against combat-trained beasts, and the only option that they had was to run to a safe distance until their own army prevailed over the enemy.
“I d-don’t see them!”
Rebran shouted back as his head darted back and forth at the scenery below.
His mind was in shambles, seeing the panic and fright written over all of these beasts’ faces. The children kept crying as they held onto their mother’s legs, asking why they had to move and why everyone was so afraid.
The cause of this entire situation was one person.
His father.
*Thump-Thump*
“No… please not now…”
Rebran groaned with pain, as he tightly clutched his chest.
It was acting up again.
I must find father… I need to stop this!
The young beast’s thoughts raced on, desperately trying to push back the pain.
“Hey kid, what is happening? Are you alright?”
Calron inquired, sensing that something was strange with Rebran.
“Yes, I’m alri-“
Suddenly, Rebran’s eyes rolled back and he started to lose his conscious.
“Oh fuck!”
Calron cursed, as he summoned his lightning essence and sent it all towards his wings.
BOOOOOOOM!
With the sound of an explosion, Calron’s figure rapidly vanished from above the city and towards an isolated alley.
While mid-air, Calron quickly transformed back into his human form and gripped Rebran’s body as it was falling down.
Gently placing the beast on the ground, Calron checked his heart-rate and breathing.
“Not good… it’s worse than last time. Is his disease something more than crippled meridians?”
Calron pondered, as he tried shaking Rebran to rouse him awake.
Hearing the distant sounds of chaos, Calron felt helpless as he stared down at the immature youth in front of him.
His emotions were in turmoil. On one hand, there was a possibility that this entire war could be stopped with Rebran’s interference, and on the other, if Calron decided to go along with what his heart was telling him, then there might be unpredicted consequences to his actions in future.
No matter what, I believe in you, kid.
Ezkael’s soft voice breezed from the side of Calron’s mind, soothing his thoughts.
“I hope my feelings are right about this one, Teacher…”
Calron breathed out, and in the next instant, his eyes turned to a dark crimson red.
Bringing his right palm to his teeth, Calron bit on it until traces of blood started to flow.
“From this day on forth, you will walk the same bloody path as me. This is our legacy, Rebran, the legacy of blood…”
Slowly, Calron placed his wounded palm over young lion’s forehead.
Chapter 50 – The Two Forces
“Elder, what is wrong with him?”
Whispers of someone talking could be heard in the silent room.
“It looks to be a rare case of crippled meridians. I’m sorry, Xardoth, but your son will never be able to cultivate or awaken to an element for the rest of his life.”
A low and ancient voice stated in a severe tone.
“Is there truly no cure for him?”
Xardoth asked, as he tried to control the trembling of his voice.
“There might be a few pills in the human continent that could possibly cure him, but even then, we can be never sure. Besides, the human alchemists will never sell their wares to beasts like us…”
The Elder sighed, and left the room, leaving the father and the sleeping son alone in their company.
“I will never let anyone hurt you, Ran…”
Xardoth muttered, gripping the soft and furry paw of his only child.
……………….
“Are you telling the truth, Ran? Show mommy quickly!”
Denela hurried over to her son, swiftly transforming back to her humanoid form and grasping Rebran’s little shoulders.
The eight year old lion’s eyes lit up with happiness, and he slowly raised his paw and summoned a bright ball of light.
Looking at the ball of essence floating above her son’s palm, Denela started weeping with tears of joy on her face and hugged Rebran’s tiny form against her.
It was clear from the essence that her son had awakened to one of the rarest elements in the entire continent: the element of light.
However, before the elated mother could revel in the feeling of hope, her son abruptly cried out in agony and collapsed onto the ground. The ball of light dissipated in an instant while Rebran’s body twitched uncontrollably on the floor.
“XARDOTH!”
Denela shouted in panic, as she quickly dropped to the ground and checked her son’s pulse.
…………………..
“This does not make any sense! If his meridians are crippled, how did he awaken to an element!?”
The Griffin King furiously yelled.
“Hush, Xar, he is starting to wake up…”
A woman’s soft voice sounded out from next to Rebran’s ear.
“Mo…ther…”
Rebran wheezed, his eyelids fluttering to open.
“Ran! How are you, sweetie? Does it still hurt?”
Denela asked while lightly stroking her son’s cheek.
“What is… happ…ening to me?”
The little lion breathed out, gazing into his mother’s eyes and seeing the traces of worry there.
“Everything is fine, Ran. Don’t worry… mother will not let anything happen to you.”
Denela whispered with a smile, but even the little lion with his hazy vision could see the tears streaming down her face.
…………………..
*Shua* *Shua*
The sound of powerful waves crashing against each other reverberated within Rebran’s ears.
It sounded like the waves in the ocean.
“Open your eyes, Rebran, and see what is in front of you.”
A familiar voice sounded out from behind the lion.
Slowly opening his eyes to a crimson world filled with blood, Rebr
an gawked at the sheer pressure that the waves emitted.
“That is the source energy of our legacy, and it is also where you will draw your strength from.”
Calron’s voice breezed in the vicinity of the source pool.
Glancing around, the young lion could not detect any traces of him, so he guessed that Calron had some kind of mental connection with this place.
“It’s beginning, get ready…”
The voice stated, as it gradually grew quieter towards the end.
Huh? What is beginning?
Rebran pondered while continuing to gaze at the crashing crimson waves.