The chicken corpses were six hours old by the time that the Dragon Slayer stood at the center. Surveying the carnage, his eyes squinted up while he had to suppress his smile.

Prince Marcellus wore the same uniform as the rest of his knights. Only a medallion on his breast indicated his authority over the rest—the badge of a knight commander. Aside from that, he wanted nothing to indicate a higher status, his true status. There was nothing to gain if the common folk knew that he was the prince. His true identity would only create a commotion.

Where there were dragons, the Dragon Slayer was close to follow. However, Umbra Caligo and Favilla were already proclaimed dead. The heads of two drakans were currently rotting outside the coliseum, a few days older than the chicken corpses which surrounded him.

While that decision had artificially limited the size of his operation, the small hunting party had lulled their prey into a false sense of security. The dragons were getting sloppy. Specifically, Umbra Caligo had let himself get carried away last night, based on the size of the claw marks in the chickens' wounds and lack of singed feathers.

"How many chickens did you have before this incident?" the prince inquired of the owner.

"Eleven, sir."

"How many did you lose?"

"All of them!"

Prince Marcellus rephrased his question. "How many of the bodies are missing?"

"Four, sir. And that one looks over half eaten over there!" The peasant man pointed out a bird with its breast consumed.

Every hen's body had been cracked open like an egg. Their innards spilled across the grass which was once their range. Clouds of flies plumed over the rank lumps of flesh which could not be salvaged in time by the peasant family. The stench was mild compared to the battlefields wrought under the Dragon Slayer's command.

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He hid his high spirits in favor of a stoic demeanor when addressing the quaking peasantry. "We will investigate this matter thoroughly. Whatever manner of beast was the culprit, it shall be slain."

Prince Marcellus paid the man the worth of his chickens—and some for the information. "This should cover your losses. Thank you for your cooperation in our hunt. Keep quiet about this incident as we have it all under control."

The peasant man accepted the small purse of coins. At first, he did not seem too enthusiastic about the payment until he peeked inside. The glint of golden pieces caught his eyes—not bronze or silver. "Thank you, sir!"

Prince Marcellus rode away with his small company of knights on horseback.

The dragons were traveling eastward, trying to escape to the monster-infested land where few plants could grow in the clay-riddled earth. The Kingdom of Syene lay no claim to that cumbersome land. If his targets made it that far, the forces of nature would finish the job for him. So long as their claws tread in my country, I will hunt them down.

At this point, his aim to kill the dragons extended beyond basic need; this hunt had become personal. The Dragon Slayer wanted the satisfaction of releasing his full power on them, killing them in an instant with every scale smashed and bone shattered. He could do that to a flock of adult dragons, just as he could have brought down the coliseum if he had unleashed that sort of power on Umbra Caligo and Favilla.

In the interest of protecting his own citizens and giving them more than a five second show, he had gone too easy on the juvenile dragons. Time did nothing to assuage the loss. Each passing day infuriated him more and more as the dragons were left alive. If only I hadn't tried to make a show of it, I could have killed them already!

Even in his frustration, he could not help but chuckle to himself. A goat had gone missing four days ago. Based on the weight of that meal compared to the four and a half chickens and how far the dragons seemed to travel each day, Prince Marcellus now knew the best locations to stake his men. The knights were circled around him as they received their orders.

"If you see the black dragon in town at night, do not confront him. Follow his tracks to the pink one. She is injured, smaller, easier to take. I doubt Umbra Caligo will want to leave his little friend behind…."