Even as a child, Drake had always thought his father was too mysterious. He often disappeared for long periods of ti and returned with no one knowing his whereabouts or what he was up to.
The only person that spent ti with them was their mother, who passed away—according to their father—when they were kids. Since then, the Frost Monarch hadn't taken another wife.
"Father..." Drake clenched his fist as several mories flashed through his head. "What exactly are you hiding? Could it be you have a deeper connection with the Scourge?"
The Frost Prince suddenly felt the urge to return to Frostpire and question his father, but he had to suppress the urge—their mission here wasn't complete yet.
"So what do we do now?"
Drake heard a voice behind him. Even without turning around, he could tell the voice belonged to Nyxirith, who had acted like an assistant leader all this ti.
Drake didn't respond for several minutes. He didn't know the way forward either with the ergence of this new information.
Soti later, he sighed. "We et up with the Scavengers and the Remnant Eye. At least they seed much more friendly compared to the Broken Claw, which we have to deal with too."
"That Garren will be a tough nut to crack, for sure," Elise said, but a fire burned in her eyes when she recalled the humiliation she had suffered at that man's hands.
He had effortlessly torn through their attacks as if they ant nothing.
"Even though he's powerful, I'm sure it will be difficult for him to face all seven heirs at once," Valkor smirked, purple flas dancing in his eyes.
"The map also showed us their location," Drake said softly. "When we deal with our current problem, we will pay them a visit."
A sharp flash of anger passed through Drake's face as he envisioned Garren running his hands across his sister's body, and the anger in his heart soared to new heights.
Later that day, Drake, along with Valkor, Celestis, and Nyxirith, headed out to the city, and Raiziel was temporarily made the leader.
Valkor led the group through a series of alleys and ruined buildings before they arrived at the hideout of the Scavengers.
"You ca earlier than I expected." Ashren flashed a smile when he saw the three Dragonkin.
"I assu your leader agrees to the deal. By the way, who is the leader?" he added, sweeping his gaze across them.
"I am the leader." Drake stepped forward confidently.
"This child… an Ice Dragon, I see," Ashren nodded his head. "Not bad."
"My na is Ashren," he said, extending his hand for a handshake.
"Drake." Drake returned the shake. "Drake Frostpire."
As their hands made contact, a brief gleam of shock flashed across Ashren's face, but it was so brief that the other party didn't even notice.
Several seconds passed, and the two remained like that for so ti before Ashren awkwardly retrieved his hand.
"I'll go straight to the point," he said quickly, trying to salvage the mont. "I'm sure your friends told you everything already. If you want to fulfill your goal, then your best bet is definitely us."
"About that," Drake said. "I was wondering—could it be possible for your faction to join forces with the Remnant Eye? A few of my teammates ran into them, and from the encounter, I think they aren't that bad."
"The Remnant Eye, huh?" Ashren whispered, a thoughtful expression crossing his features.
"Although the Remnant Eye claims to be a faction, in truth, they're just neutral. Their primary goal is to preserve history, and I suppose you know historians only play with books—they are not the brightest when it cos to fighting."
"So you're saying the Remnant Eye is the weakest?"
Ashren chuckled. "I wouldn't call them weak, but compared to other factions, their strength isn't the best. The only reason they even survived this long was because of Voron."
He shrugged at the end and added, "But I must say, they could be very useful. They're very smart and know more about the kingdom than anyone else. Since this is what you want, I'll hold talks with Voron about it."
"Thank you." Drake made a low bow.
"No need to thank ," Ashren said. "After all, this is not free. In return for helping you with your investigation, I want you to convince your Monarchs to fix the ss they caused. I don't really care if the Alpha dies. All I want is for our kingdom to return to its forr glory."
Ashren's words echoed through the chamber.
Drake didn't respond imdiately. He looked down at the cracked stone floor, deep in thought. Fixing the ss left behind by the Eight Monarchs? That was easier said than done.
Even convincing a single Monarch to admit fault would be like dragging a mountain uphill.
But he understood Ashren's position. The Ninth Realm had been abandoned—ruined—and for centuries, no one had even questioned why. It was ti soone did.
"I'll do what I can," Drake finally said, standing straight. "But it won't be easy. The Eight Monarchs won't admit fault willingly. Especially not my father."
"My old man won't accept fault either," Valkor said as well.
"But if they find out you helped us, it might change their minds," Nyxirith quickly said. "What I'm worried about is how they'll fix the ss when a majority of your kind has already lost their minds."
"Right. I thought about that too." Drake nodded his head.
To this, Ashren only smiled. "It's easier than you think."
"Easy? What do you an?"
"Well, we just have to curb the source of the infection."
"What do you an by that?" Drake narrowed his eyes.
"The Scourge Alpha is the source of the infection, and it also has the antidote that can cure the kingdom of corruption."
"How do we get this antidote?"
"It's only the Scourge Alpha that knows about it… and maybe Voron might know sothing as well."
"That's still not easy, as you said."
"Perhaps, perhaps not," Ashren smirked. "We'll never know until we try."
---
anwhile, sowhere else in the corrupted kingdom…
"Leader, we have found their hideout," reported a frail-looking scout to a large, muscular man with a bare chest and dark scales running along his body.
"Good." Garren smiled cruelly. "Let's go claim my new wives."
Reviews
All reviews (0)