Chapter - 87

The four of them started walking without saying another word and they moved away from the stone outpost.

They headed straight into the pitch-black woods and they did not wait for the cart or for Leo to follow them.

Leo watched them leave with turtle pace and he was fucking livid and his jaw was clenched tight.

"Are those bastards brain dead?" Leo shouted at the empty air and he kicked a stone in anger, "Or are they just looking for a way to commit suicide?"

He spat on the ground and he looked like he wanted to burn the whole forest down.

"Fine! Good riddance to them. More steak for me and I hope the wolves eat their fucking hearts out because it is less shit for me to deal with tomorrow."

He then turned towards Grendel.

"Grendel, you useless old sack of shit!" Leo roared and his voice echoed off the ruined walls, "Get up and pack the rest of the supplies this second."

"Tighten the leather straps on that black box and if that crate even wiggles once then I am going to throw you inside it and let that heartbeat thing eat you for breakfast."

Grendel threw his hat on the dirt and he looked like he was about to burst into tears.

"Why is it always me, boiy!" Grendel whined and his face was red with frustration.

"Grendel, go and scout the path!"

"Grendel, go clean the skeletons!"

"Now Grendel, go and touch the box of death!"

"I was just supposed to give you a ride, boiy. But this is some high-level bullshit"

"Speak one more word, old man and you are getting a sword through your gut," Leo said and he sat back down to rip into the last of his meat, "Now stop your bitching and get to work before I lose my mind and start hitting you."

Grendel shut his mouth and angrily started tugging on the heavy ropes but he looked like he hated every bit of his life.

He felt totally wronged and helpless but he knew Leo was in a killing mood and he did not want to find out what happened if he stopped working.

He just pulled the straps and cursed under his breath while Leo ate in peace.

~~~~~~

Already a few miles away, deep in the dense undergrowth of the Endless Forest, the Zarth envoy had stopped.

Korg was smashing a massive oak tree with his greatsword. Wood chips flew like shrapnel as he roared in a fit of impotent rage.

"COWARD!" Korg screamed, spinning on Baez, "Why did we run? He was one human! One! I could have ripped his head off! I could have worn his spine as a belt!"

"He insulted the Tribe! He mocked us!" Korg spat, pacing back and forth, "And you gave him the Token? You shamed us, Old Goat! You shamed the Red Claw!"

Elder Baez was leaning against a tree, wiping the last of the dried blood from his nose with the silk handkerchief Leo had given him. He looked old and tired, his hand shaking as he gripped his staff.

Vesper was sitting on a high branch above them, sharpening her daggers. She watched the Elder with narrowed eyes.

"What did you see, Baez?" Vesper finally spoke, "I felt the pressure. But there was no fluctuation in Mana… What happened?"

Baez shuddered. He closed his eyes, and for a moment, he saw the burning plains and the god in black armour again.

"I saw... the End," Baez whispered.

He opened his eyes and looked at Korg, "That boy... he is no ordinary human. He is a Dragon wearing a man's skin. He knew I was probing him. He didn't block me. He invited me in."

Baez's voice trembled, "He showed me a slaughter of thousands. He showed me power that could crack the world in half. He has killed armies, Korg. He has killed things that would make you wet your furs."

"He wasn't afraid of us," Baez whispered, the realization still chilling him, "He was bored."

"You lie!" Korg stopped smashing the tree. He lowered his sword, then he spoke with hesitation, "A Dragon?"

"Yes," Baez said, straightening up. The fear in his eyes slowly receded, replaced by a cold, political cunning, "But even Dragons bleed."

Baez looked back toward the direction of the outpost, where the faint glow of Leo's fire could still be seen through the trees.

"He is dangerous," Baez said, "Too dangerous to let live. If he delivers the Black Sky to the Capital... if Aethelgard gains an ally with that kind of power... the balance will shift. The Kingdom will become too strong."

Korg growled, "So we go back? We kill him now?"

"No," Baez shook his head, "We are too weak to handle him. And we can't let him become our enemy. We let others do the bleeding."

Baez reached into the deep folds of his robe. He pulled out a small, jagged crystal. It glowed with a deep, pulsing crimson light.

"The Temple Guardians," Vesper said from the branch, "They will protect the Black Sky."

"They are doing exactly what they were programmed to do," Baez revealed. "They are brainwashed puppets. They will not stop until they reach Auravale."

Baez held the red crystal up to the moonlight.

"But they don't care about him," Baez said, "They only protect the Black Sky. They will die protecting it."

He turned to Korg and tossed the crystal to him. Korg caught it with one hand.

"Send the signal," Baez commanded, his voice hard. "Crush it."

Korg looked at the crystal, "Who is this for?"

"You don't need to know?" Baez smirked, a cruel expression on his goat face, "It is just a signal to let them know that we have delivered the Black Sky. Now it is their chance to make the most of the opportunity."

"And in the process, if they kill that boy that's a bonus."

"What if they can't?" Vesper asked.

"Then we get rid of the thorn in our neck, that has been a nuisance for all these years."

"We might not win it all, but we aren't losing anything."

Korg grinned. He closed his massive fist around the crystal.

CRUNCH.

The crystal shattered into dust.

Instantly, a beam of silent, crimson light shot up from his hand. It pierced the canopy of the forest, shooting high into the night sky like a reversed star falling upward. It hung there, pulsing red against the black clouds, visible for miles in every direction.

It was a dinner bell for every monster, bandit, and soldier in the region.

"Let them come," Baez whispered, turning away and beginning the march south. "Let them kill the Dragon. Or die trying."

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