Chapter 60: Intentions
While it was already unprecedented for someone without an ounce of draconic blood to reveal such a secret, it did not mean they had the talent to fully uncover it.
The question within the dance got stronger and stronger, and it was impossible to ignore anymore within her dream-like trance. It simply consumed her whole reality, yet Yela could not bring herself to match the conviction needed, to break the mental and spiritual barrier blocking the seventy-seventh step. Her will was brought to the test, and in the end it faltered and fell when challenged by the intent hidden within the dance.
As Yela zoned out silently, the argument between Balon and his sisters continued to go on at full blast.
“This is serious! We should meticulously design a plan of action for both our coming allies, and our looming enemies!” Renna yelled.
“I’ll just take the ones I like.” The beefy youth said nonchalantly.
“You!”
“What? What’s the problem?”
“What if you are deceived then!? What if the ones you chose betray you!?”
“Heh. So what if they do?”
“What!?”
“If it’s ten, then I’ll defeat ten. If it’s a hundred, then I’ll beat down a hundred.”
“What if it’s ten thousand then? Do you think you’ll be strong enough to handle ten thousand people at your stage of strength?”
“My scouts have investigated through the surrounding paths and regions, at least that number and more rapidly approaching us.”
“And? So what?”
“So what!? What do you mean so what!?”
“How many of them are Adept? Or Strengthened?”
“Even if they were at the same stage of strength, I have the royal pure blood of the dragon! Same stage of strength? So what? How many of them will truly be able to match me?”
“Heh. And in the very first place many of them are those who want to be taken under our wing.”
“Yet the few enemies that do come will send their strongest!”
“Their most talented of their youth who may be Masters or those who have reached the level of Inhuman within body strengthening. And who knows! Maybe our enemies could have sent a Storm Caller or a Sea Sorcerer!”
“A sea sorcerer? On land?”
“We must design a meticulous plan! Using the advantage of our veils and our hidden gifts from our families, we could get out of this predicament not only unharmed, but with various benefits including, the core that we are all searching for.”
“What about you two? What are your plans during this time?”
“I'll just play with some of those lovestruck fools to do my bidding.” Aela replied.
“I’ll probably do the same.” Kaerys responded.
“Ugh!” Renna groaned
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“I do not have any trinkets. My family gave me none.”
The three sisters looked at Balon in pity yet without surprise on their faces.
“Besides, if anyone asked the surrounding people they could probably deduce that I am one of the four children holding dragon blood.”
“They’re just ants. We can silence them.” Aela said.
“All of them?”
“Just the ones who have seen you.”
“That’s at least tens of thousands.”
“As long as we spread a certain gas through these caves, a wisp of fire would burn most of them to death.”
“...”
Maybe it was because Balon had been observing the lives of those ants for weeks or maybe because his newly recruited student was one of those ants, but Balon looked at her as if she had a screw loose. Even if they were just ants, somewhere within his semblance of a moral compass was still a beating human heart.
“We have another problem,” said Kaerys.
“What?” The three replied.
“Did you forget? Our father has many more children. We are only somewhat allies because of the time spent near uncle.”
“You know his name is forbidden…” Renna said.
“Ever the prude aren’t you sister?” Kaerys quipped back.
“Our brothers and sisters will compete for that core. If it really was at the level of prime, then it could send at least three of them into the stage of True Dragon, if not more.” Balon said.
A sharp light flashed across Aela’s eyes and in the next moment she put forth a question.
“If we do attain the core and it can only send three of us into that stage, which one of us will have to back down?”
“...”
“...”
“Well…I said at least it could turn three individuals into True Dragon. It could be more powerful than that.” Renna replied.
“I thought you were all about careful planning, sister? Or do you just want to use us?” Aela responded.
“Nonsense! I want what is right for all of us and our kingdom.”
“If you say so.”
The four bickered on and above the deep underground, the blazing sun slowly set. A horizon of burning reds, yellows and orange slowly turned into a deep black night.
…
North of the towering peaks and dense underground caves of Redrock Slave City, was a convoy of numerous large carriages heading south towards that same location. Inside one of the bigger carriages, was Gayle and a few of her close crew.
Gayle closed her eyes, relaxing with her head leaning towards the wooden wall. The owl eyed girl seemed carefree and totally without worries. Her crew however, had a mixture of totally different expressions.
Conrad sat near Gayle with a bitter expression on his face. The stranger not only plundered his tent, but now his family-gifted carriage too. Clenching his fists he vowed he would somehow take them both back. Well, when he got stronger…
‘Ye– Yeah, when I get stronger…’
The other three individuals consisted of two males and a female. The girl named Kina was currently fidgeting with her hands while shoving the boy next to her. Dan, the individual next to the boy in the middle, also had an anxious expression while lightly kicking the boy’s foot. Pane, who was being pushed forward by both sides, had a relatively more relaxed body posture. Showing off his steady and reliable character, his expression was calm, albeit it held a tinge of helplessness.
“Hey, so Gayle…”
“Hmm?”
The girl slowly opened her eyes and looked at the three. The aura and mood that she gave away to them was completely different compared to when she was with Zan. Her eyes were confident and assured, as a leader’s eyes should be, and behind that calm, relaxed look in her eyes hid a keen mind and powerful abilities to carry out whatever decisive plan she formulated.
Although Conrad could be said to be the strongest in terms of direct combat force, Zan knew if the two were to fight with all their abilities, Gayle could easily play with him until he died of exhaustion. Either of exhaustion, or some sort of ingenious master plan that would have had him tripping on his own legs and delivering himself to death’s door.
Zan had never seen Gayle’s abilities but the danger that she gave off compared to Conrad was ten times more dire. The mini eldritch monster could easily break, if not explode Conrad’s neck within the single moment it took to close the distance with him. Yet, once he saw Gayle he instantly evaluated that it would take a while to even catch the girl.
There was a weird elusive quality to her presence that rendered his senses and even his intuition, blurry when he looked at her. Whatever the girl was hiding was something that even her allies did not know. Zan was sure of it. They looked at her with admiration when they should have been looking at her the same way they looked at him, with eyes full of trepid fear.
The sea of flames that Zan saw in her eyes only proved him even more correct. While he was genuinely amazed at such a majestic phenomenon, his astonishment didn’t only result from the beauty of those eyes, but the sheer astronomical power that they emanated. If the girl was only ten times more dangerous than that arrogant fool, then it was nothing that he had to take seriously.
‘But those eyes…’
The sclera of her eyes was a blazing sea of fire, her irises were like the sun contained, and her pupils seemed to become black holes of primeval darkness. Instantly the danger he felt skyrocketed from ten, to a hundred. And in that moment he could no longer dismiss the girl as a leader of a band of weaklings. She may not reach the power of the three-eyed wolf, or the black metal beast, but she was not far off. Gayle was no weakling, she was genuinely and utterly strong.
Was she using those idiots to hide her power? Zan thought about it…but the carefree youth did not think about it too deeply. Just knowing that she could be a threat was enough and secretly he kept his guard. In the same way that he wanted to know more about the world, the youth also wanted to know more about someone who could potentially become his enemy down the line. And so in true fashion, he asked her more about the world, and about herself.
Yet down the line his feelings changed…and it seems even he himself was unaware of the way he treated Gayle differently…
“Gayle?”
“Huh?”
The girl zoned out for a moment, thinking about their last discussion.
“Is he going to be traveling with us?”
“Yes. He said he would…part ways with us once we reach the slave city.”
A blank look appeared on her face that lasted not even a quarter of a second but luckily no one in her squad was as perceptive as her. Instantly, the image of a composed and poised leader came back as if it never left.
The fidgety girl opposite of her finally gathered enough courage to speak, and what she said once again slightly shook Gayle up.
“Hey…why is he heading towards the slave city?”