"It's fine, Eiko. The ugly Kobold is gone," Lux said as he lightly patted the still-shivering baby Sli on his shoulder.
Eiko had been subjected to the skill, Dragon's Fear, that Cadmus had released to make Colette and his friends lose their strength and will to fight.
This was the first ti that Eiko t such a fearso monster, so she was unable to stop her natural instinct from taking hold of her body when the Dragon Fear hit her.
After a few more minutes of coaxing, the baby sli finally settled down as she hid inside Lux's robe, in order to feel safe and warm.
"Still, that was a close call, Big Brother," Colette said. If one listened carefully, they could trace the lingering fear in her words. "If you didn't have the dal with you, things might have gotten out of hand."
Helen, who was seated beside Colette, nodded her head in agreent.
"Big Brother, I didn't know that you were now an Honorary Knight of this Kingdom," Helen comnted. "You are the third person I know that has received an Honorary Knight title from his Majesty."
Matty eyed Lux with an envious look on his face, as he tried to pry answers out of him.
"How did you get that dal of honor?" Matty asked. "What kind of achievent did you do in order to get enough rit to receive an Honorary Knight title?"
Lux glanced at the Simp Dwarf, as he proudly raised his chin.
"Did you forget? I saved your bum in the Kobold's Nest," Lux replied. "The Dwarf King thought that what I did was aweso, so he bestowed this reward on . If you want to be like , you better git gud you hen-pecked Simp!"
"Simp!" Eiko poked out of Lux's robes as she joined her Papa in teasing Matty. The baby Sli even giggled and called Matty Simp one more ti before going back inside Lux's robes.
"Who are you calling a hen-pecked Simp?! I'm not a Simp!" Matty rebuked Lux's statent.
"Matty, be quiet," Colette said as she glared at the Dwarf. He instantly folded and imdiately shut his trap. "You might scare Eiko."
"Okay," Matty replied before glaring at Lux.
Lux chuckled and wanted to say "See?" But in the end, he chose to hold back and give Matty so face. Although the Simp Dwarf bickered with him whenever an opportunity arose, Lux finally understood that it was just Matty's way of interacting with him.
The Riders of Norria, who had co due to the appearance of the Draconic Kobold, could only shake their heads due to how silly the children's conversations were. In order to prevent the Kobolds from sneak attacking Lux once again, they decided to just escort him straight to their Stronghold and prevent any trouble from arising.
The group traveled for half a day, before arriving at the base of a mountain, where the Stronghold of Norria stood.
Lux was quite surprised because the Stronghold was just as big as the Wildgarde Stronghold where he had grown up since he was a baby.
"Welco to the Stronghold of Norria," the Captain of the Riders said with a smile. "We don't usually allow outsiders to enter our Domain, but you guys are an exception. Please, follow and do not wander around after we've arrived at our destination."
Lux and the Dwarves nodded their heads in understanding. Although they wanted to take a stroll inside the Stronghold, they held back this urge for the ti being until they got permission from Thoram, who was the Supre Commander of the Stronghold.
Without taking any detours, the Dwarf Captain took their guests to the Barracks where another Dwarf Captain was waiting for them.
Before Lux and the others left the village, they had asked the Dwarf Captain, Boreas, who was stationed in Leaf Village to send a ssage to the Stronghold to announce their arrival. Because of this, Thoram was able to make preparations beforehand and even sent the Dwarf Captain to escort them to their Domain.
Fortunately, he had done that or else Lux might have been captured by the Draconic Kobold and might have suffered a lot from their thirst for revenge.
"Let's head to the stables first," the Dwarf Captain nad Gustall said with a smile. "Lord Nevreal is there and is already waiting for your arrival."
Lux's eyes were suddenly filled with expectations because Nevreal had promised him several things before the two of them parted not too long ago.
Five minutes later, they arrived at the stables where several Dwarves were looking at a two-ter tall horse, whose body was completely black. Purplish flas blazed brightly near its feet and the edge of the mane and tail, which made it seem intimidating to those that were seeing it for the first ti.
"Beautiful."
This was the word that escaped Lux's lips as he stared at the majestic creature in front of him.
"Glad you like it," Nevreal said as he walked towards Lux with a smug expression on his face. "Took so ti to bring the Nightmare to this place. However, are you sure you will be able to ta this beast? Not that I doubt your words, but even the stablemaster in the Royal Capital couldn't make it obedient."
Lux scratched his head because he also didn't know if Diablo would be able to ta the beast or not. The only thing he knew was that his Nad Creature was a Skeletal Rider, and was well-versed in taming beasts that could serve as its mount.
"We'll find out soon enough," Lux said. "Co forth, Diablo!"
Lux's First Born appeared in front of him and gazed at the Nightmare Horse in the distance. As if sensing its gaze, the Nightmare also turned its head towards Diablo who was seizing him up.
The two monsters stared at each other for a full minute before Diablo leaped towards the enclosed area where the Nightmare was currently being held in.
The Nightmare neighed fiercely as it stomped its foot, while looking at the Skeleton in front of it. Clearly, it didn't like anyone intruding on its personal space.
"Kekeke," Diablo chuckled as it summoned its shield and sword.
The Dwarves who were standing behind the fence all cheered as they waited for a good show to start. All of them tried to ta the Nightmare, but the latter was too aggressive to be tad.
The Beast was currently a Rank 2 Monster, which spelled trouble for those that were weaker than it. It was fast, and had both short and long ranged attacks in its arsenal, making it a troubleso opponent for those who attempted to deal with it unprepared.
"5 gold coins that the Nightmare will smash that Skeleton to pieces," one of the Dwarves said as he started to bet with his friends.
"10 gold coins for the Nightmare!"
"5 gold coins for the Skeleton. Although I'm not confident in its chances, I like to bet on the underdogs."
The Dwarves beca rowdy as they started to pool gold coins for their bets. Colette and the others were itching to join them, but were stopped by Lux.
"Kids shouldn't gamble," Lux told them with a serious expression on his face. "It might turn into an addiction."
Because of this, the young Dwarves reluctantly nodded their heads and simply watched the two Monsters that were facing each other.
Eiko found this fight to be interesting too, so she perched on top of Lux's head to get a better view of the battle. As a battle junkie herself, Eiko wanted to learn as many strategies as she could about how to fight. This way, she would be able to beat the Unicorn, Astra, the next ti she visited her Mama in Barbatos Academy.
"Goodluck, Diablo," Lux muttered. "Make that Nightmare submit to your will."
Lux had full confidence that Diablo would be able to ta the proud monster whose body started to blaze fiercely.
Clearly, the Nightmare had deed Diablo as a strong opponent, so it didn't plan on holding back. Diablo, on the other hand, gazed at the Nightmare Horse in front of him. It had long wanted to use its ability to its fullest, but the lack of a mount made him unable to do so.
Now that an opportunity presented itself, he would not hesitate to use everything in his power to make the Nightmare yield and beco his new mount.
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