Chapter 10

Dragon.

This creature had not appeared in the world of mortals for a very long time—indeed, for the vast majority of intelligent races on the continent of Loren, dragons were beings that existed somewhere between myth and reality. They knew for certain that these powerful creatures existed, but almost no one had ever seen a real dragon in their lifetime.

Except for the elves in the south, who were particularly long-lived and superstitious. With their long lifespans, the elves were well-qualified to call themselves witnesses to history. In the long history of the Elven Empire, there were a few recorded instances of interactions with dragons.

The creature, with its deep blue scales and massive wings, flew through the sky, unleashing a deadly breath. The pillar of fire, which was so hot it glowed white, contained ancient dragon language magic. Its power was far from that of ordinary flames. Wherever the fire column swept, the earth burst into flames, and it continued to burn and spread even without fuel. After just a few breaths, the entire territory of Cezar was engulfed in a sea of fire.

After doing all this, the dragon circled the area for a moment, as if checking the effectiveness of its work, before finally flapping its wings and flying into the sky, disappearing into the gradually brightening clouds.

Gauwen heard several deep breaths from those around him, including Hetti. Everyone only dared to take a deep breath now—if the dragon had stayed a bit longer, who knows who would have fainted first from holding their breath.

"Dragon... Dragon..." Rebecca clutched her staff, muttering to herself, "Ancestors, I saw a dragon..."

Gauwen cleared his throat, "Cough, cough, I saw it too, no need to say it."

Rebecca snapped back to reality, looking at Gauwen with a bit of embarrassment, then turned her gaze to the Cezar territory, which was now in ruins.

After being ravaged by the magic tide and then burned by dragon fire, this place was completely uninhabitable.

As for those monsters—while they were quite troublesome for the poorly equipped guards of Cezar, they were ultimately just the lowest-level aberrations. In the dragon's fire, they were almost all incinerated. Even those that survived would soon disintegrate due to the drastic changes in their environment.

"I thought dragons only appeared in legends," the usually taciturn Knight Byron couldn't help but speak up. The three soldiers beside him were still trembling and couldn't stand up. The usually strict knight didn't scold them but only frowned. "Sir, have you ever dealt with a dragon?"

"No," Gauwen shook his head, "Dragons are very mysterious creatures. Even during the upheaval of half of Loren seven hundred years ago, they did not intervene in the mortal world."

Although he said this, Gauwen was not overly surprised by the giant creatures, as he had seen dragons through other means—during his time hanging in the sky, he had seen these creatures appear on the continent more than once. However, dragons were indeed mysterious, and even after hanging in the sky for countless years, the number of dragons he had seen was quite limited. The scenes were also fragmented, so he couldn't deduce many characteristics or habits of dragons.

At this moment, the shadow beside Gauwen flickered, and he turned to see Amber standing behind him, her half-elf face still showing signs of shock.

"I saw a dragon!" Amber exclaimed, "My mom won't believe it— I saw a dragon! It was so big!"

"Alright, alright, everyone here saw it," Gauwen glared at the timid and noisy thief, "Where were you just now?"

"Hidden in a crack in the nearby rocks," Amber puffed out her chest, "I'm a master at escaping!"

Gauwen sighed, covering his forehead, "Your shadow affinity is at least master level, but your combat skills are barely better than a goose, and you're proud of it?"

Then he shook his head, "We shouldn't stay here long. Let's leave quickly."

He started walking down the hill. Although the dragon had left, who knew what other strange things might appear. Hetti, however, looked at her family's territory with a complex expression, "Ancestors... the dragon burned our territory."

"He burned our ruins, and strictly speaking, he burned the monsters," Gauwen looked at Hetti. When the dragon released its breath, he had observed it carefully, and it was mostly aimed at the densest areas of the monsters. Although it missed a few times, the tendency was clear. "Cezar was already gone before the dragon came."

"But..."

"Do you want to seek justice from a dragon?" Gauwen shrugged, "Let's be practical. If we want to do something, we should quickly return to civilization and report everything about the monsters and the dragon."

Hetti couldn't argue and nodded, "Yes."

Gauwen understood Hetti's feelings—Cezar was her hometown, where she was born and raised. Even though her hometown was destroyed, it wasn't easy to get over the emotional impact. Even if she knew the dragon was just burning ruins and possibly to eliminate the monsters, she still felt a bit uncomfortable.

After all, it felt like being whipped in the face.

But understanding is one thing, and Gauwen found it hard to empathize—after all, he wasn't the patriarch of the Cezar family until he crawled out of the coffin...

With various mixed emotions, the group left the area. In front of them was a dense forest.

Hetti held her staff in one hand and drew several flickering runes in the air with the other, then looked towards the forest, "We need to cross this forest to get back to the main road, which leads to Tansan Town."

Gauwen looked at the runes in Hetti's hand with curiosity and envy (though he tried to hide it), "Magic is really convenient..."

"Ancestors?" Hetti was confused, then looked a bit frightened, "Do my skills displease you?"

Gauwen was taken aback, "What? Why would they displease me?"

"The Cezar family has always relied on the strength of knights. Martial arts and horsemanship are the family's tradition. If it were a hundred years ago, someone like me or Rebecca, who chose the path of a mage, would have no chance of inheritance and might even struggle to find a place in the family," Hetti explained nervously, "But... after the incident a hundred years ago, the family's status declined, and the number of people with extraordinary abilities dwindled. So, paths other than the knight's way were finally recognized... but it still goes against the family's rules."

Gauwen casually remarked, "Who set this stupid rule?"

For such a typical rigid family rule, he, with his open-minded thinking, had always detested it.

But his words created a subtle atmosphere. Knight Byron immediately lowered his head to pretend to tie his shoelaces (despite wearing iron boots), Hetti was stunned, and Rebecca timidly pointed at Gauwen after a few seconds.

Gauwen: "..."

Recalling his memory, he remembered... there was such an incident.

The young and ambitious hero Gauwen Cezar, after a triumphant return, drank celebratory wine with the founding monarch of the Ansu Kingdom, Charles I. The two good friends, after a few drinks, discussed the great achievements to come. The people who had once led their clans to flee to the north were now all pioneers and founders. It was foreseeable that in the near future, a wave of first-generation nobles would emerge, and as long as they lived and reproduced, these nobles would give rise to ancient and prestigious families with long traditions...

So, the two drunk founding monarchs thought about it and decided to establish some norms and family rules to prevent their descendants from forgetting the spirit of their ancestors. As the pioneer among pioneers and the founder among founders, Gauwen Cezar and Charles I should set an example.

Thus, seven hundred years ago, Gauwen Cezar, after downing a large glass of strong liquor, glanced at the knight's sword at his waist, and wrote on the table with a flourish,

"Knights are better than mages."

Charles I, seeing this, felt very pleased and also wrote,

"Gauwen is right."

The former became the family's ancestral rule, while the latter was strongly advised against by Charles I's attendants and counselors.

The wise ministers and the sobered king would not include such drunken ramblings in the national policy, but Gauwen Cezar earnestly included his thoughts in the family rules.

Coming out of his memory, Gauwen looked at Hetti and Rebecca with embarrassment.

He sighed, "I was drunk back then. Just ignore that rule..."

Hetti & Rebecca: "..."

At this moment, a growl from Amber's stomach finally broke the awkwardness.

"Although I know it's a bit inappropriate to say this when you're enjoying family time," the half-elf girl rubbed her stomach, "I'm a bit hungry."

Amber's hunger seemed to be a signal, and soon, the sound of rumbling stomachs came from everyone present, including Gauwen.

Only then did Gauwen realize that since leaving the dark tomb, everyone had gone a long time without eating. And he had gone even longer—his last meal was when the monkeys on the continent of Loren were still far from walking upright.