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Chapter 92: The Mark of the Dragon Clan

“Unlike previous years, there are a tremendous number of young dragons this time. It’s as if they’ve plotted this out, attacking military camps, lord estates, and even the Adventurers’ Guild accurately, paralyzing the local defenses. More than half of the key border areas have fallen.”

“This…” Roy couldn’t quite believe it at first.

“Not to mention how many young dragons it would take to breach the border defenses held by knights— from what he knows, young dragons are just slightly smarter beasts with brute strength and can’t even use dragon breath. How could they pull off such a clearly orchestrated large-scale assault?!”

A large-scale assault?

“This sort of commotion has only occurred once in the kingdom’s history!”

Roy sucked in a breath, feeling his spirits plummet: “Father, it can’t be that…”

“Yeah, just young dragons can’t cause such chaos. There must be pureblood dragons pulling the strings behind the scenes.” Karl’s voice was icy and sharp.

“Aren’t pureblood dragons extinct?” Roy was filled with doubt.

Karl’s expression showed just how exasperated he was: “We thought so too, over a decade ago.”

“Ancient records say that the Sky Sovereigns are seven ancient dragons. Apart from the fire dragon, only one or two are confirmed dead.”

Roy began to understand.

With two dead in history and another blood-red fire dragon dead over a decade ago, even if we round it up, there are at least four ancient dragons whose fates are unknown. The recent turmoil is likely connected to one of those ancient dragons!

Just thinking about it made Roy’s scalp tingle.

Just one blood-red fire dragon had caused a disaster for the Lionheart Kingdom. What if more than one ancient dragon appears this time? Can the kingdom really withstand it?

Seeing Roy’s increasingly grim expression, Karl relaxed his tone a bit: “You don’t need to worry too much.”

“It might not even be an ancient dragon; ordinary pureblood dragons can also summon young dragons. We just have to prepare for the worst possible scenario.”

“Currently, the young dragons from all over the country are gathering in the Raymond territory. We’ll have to go see for ourselves to know the details.”

With the older generation to lean on as the sky falls, hearing Karl’s calm and soothing voice helped Roy gradually cool down.

Thinking carefully, it seems like there was a mention of a young dragon crisis in the Lionheart Kingdom in ‘Angel’s Waltz.’ According to the game’s description, the kingdom’s army quelled the chaos in the end, adding another achievement to Lionheart King Rob.

Since the characters in the game are still alive, it indicates that the crisis didn’t pose a threat to them, so Roy really shouldn’t worry too much.

“Father, what about our territory?” Roy confirmed.

“Thanks to Anya, although the army suffered significant losses, the critical border areas were held.” As Karl said this, a hint of pride showed on his face, then he added with a smile towards Roy, “Alice is safe too.”

“Not only that, but she also made quite a splash on the battlefield. Make sure to praise her when you return.”

Hearing that Alice was safe, Roy felt completely relieved.

It appeared this event was just a part of the background story, a storm that wouldn’t amount to much.

But with all this commotion, the founding ceremony would definitely have to be canceled.

And the dance promised would probably have to wait for another time.

Thinking about Charlotte’s fiery, expectant smile when they parted yesterday, Roy suddenly felt a pang of gloom.

“By the way, come with me to the palace.”

Karl’s call snapped Roy back to reality.

He saw this iron-blooded Marquis with an extremely serious expression, as if he had finally made some kind of decision.

“It’s time to give you something.”

Roy hurriedly set off with Karl in a carriage.

All the while, the originally lively and cheerful atmosphere on the streets had vanished, as if a layer of uneasy storm clouds loomed over the capital city, leaving every person’s expression anxious and gloomy.

The common folk didn’t know the specifics of the event, but the roaring griffins from last night couldn’t be hidden.

Generally, you only see griffins soaring around when urgent war reports come in.

Yet as they drove through the streets, the people’s atmosphere brightened again, cheering for the blood-red sword and shield on the carriage.

“It’s Ainbrad!”

“Do you know? It’s said that the one who tamed the Golden-Winged Griffin yesterday is none other than the eldest son of the Ainbrad family!”

“Truly, like father, like son. No wonder they bear the name ‘Iron-Blooded!'”

The masses might not recognize other nobles, but the legend of the Lionheart King and the eleven knights slaying dragons was well-known.

As the Ainbrad family was a focal point second only to the royal family in that battle, they were naturally more beloved by the people.

But the more the people cheered and venerated, the less Roy knew how to face them.

On the contrary, Karl, his expression brightening from earlier gloom, wore a gentle smile as he waved to the people through the carriage window.

Roy didn’t understand what feelings Karl had for the crowd.

But suddenly, he began to understand the phrase, “Extraordinary Beings must bear the responsibility that transcends ordinary people.”

Upon arriving at the Red Sunset Fort, Roy didn’t follow the usual procedure to go to the main hall of the palace; instead, he went directly with Karl to the meeting room.

This was also a tradition in the Lionheart Kingdom: military matters were never discussed in the lavish main hall of the palace, ensuring that the king never grows vain and arrogant in front of his soldiers, always remembering his duty as a leader.

The Lionheart King is first and foremost a commander, then a king.

By the time Roy entered the room, the meeting was just wrapping up.

The nobles present turned their heads, looking at Roy, the unexpected young face who shouldn’t have been there, with puzzled eyes.

“It seems His Majesty has some personal matters to discuss, so let’s not disturb him,” Roy thought he had arrived at the wrong moment. Yet old Raymond, as if prepared, immediately spoke up, breaking the gaze of everyone else, leading them out of the meeting room.

Thus, the meeting room was left with just Rob, Karl, and Roy.

Karl didn’t even exchange pleasantries with Rob. He merely shared a glance with him before looking directly at Roy, getting straight to the point.

“Young dragons from all over the country are currently flying to the Raymond territory. There must be a head dragon gathering there.”

“The urgent priority is to hunt down that head dragon before they finish gathering. Once the head dragon is dead, the bloodline power of the young dragons will be greatly weakened and will pose no threat.”

Roy listened quietly, saying nothing.

He really had nothing to say; whether it was fighting or dragon hunting, they were the experts. Even though he knew the future from the original story, he was still just a kid and didn’t want to make things messy.

With Karl’s roundabout way of speaking, the really important thing must have been coming later.

Sure enough, as Karl spoke on, he took on a more meaningful tone: “Your Uncle Rob and I will be leading the army into battle, and I’m afraid we won’t be able to see each other for some time.”

Roy frowned upon hearing this.

Why did that sound like a bad omen?!

If he didn’t know the plot of the original work, Roy might have genuinely thought Karl was heading for doom.

“In this battle, no one can predict the specifics. We don’t know when I’ll be back. To prepare for any eventuality, I want to give you a defensive item. So…” Karl hesitated, seemingly conflicted with his words.

“Oh come on, having gotten this far, why hesitate?!” Rob suddenly smacked the table, getting agitated.

“But…”

“There’s no but!”

Rob cut in, summarizing for Roy: “Your mother left behind a treasure for your protection, saying you should only receive it when you’re confirmed to be worthy of my bloodline!”

“Karl is worried he might not return from the battlefield, so he wants to give it to you in advance. It’s that simple!”

“Exactly. I think it’s time.” Karl said, pulling out a small wooden box, which had an antique yet elegant design.

The box resembled those used for storing magic potions, common among the kingdom’s nobility for keeping treasured items.

But what truly shocked Roy was the mark on it.

Emblazoned on the box was the image of a dragon soaring through the clouds.

That was the mark of the dragon clan.