36 The Metal Dragon

It was two days before the group's departure to the east. The two ladies had a cart ready with their supplies camouflaged as merchants, the adventurers were eager, but also wary. Rudelf chose to not tell his friends about the potential danger they were in, fearing the sudden loss of morale among them, which would further jeopardize them and the mission.

The group was waiting at the Inn, eating and drinking before the day of reckoning was upon them. Shia planned on sleeping with a few men later that day, and Rudelf was seen bringing a group of women to a brothel.

The only ordinary people in the group which were Lily and Gord just sat there and waited, Gord fell asleep at the table while Lily was cleaning her bow, she always swept her bow to distract herself.

"Sigh..."

Lily would often be attacked, not by her enemies but by her memories. Although she rebelled against her family under her own will, she still loved them as any daughter would. The memory of that fateful day, when everything changed forever continued to haunt her in her sleep, her nightmares, the disappointment in their eyes, and the horror in their expressions as she rebelled.

But she continued to assure herself; she did what she thought was right. She had her own life now, unbound by the shackles of nobility and forced marriages, responsibilities were of no concern to her for she had her friends with her always, and that was her only duty.

All she had to do now was wait. Two more days before their departure, two more days before they leave and finally reach the peak of their careers.

"30,000 denars... I'll show you..." Her thoughts were the same, the denars and the foreseeable rich future she and her friends would attain.

-

Queen Erin was humbly sitting on her throne, wearing her royal gown. The Great Warrior of Yuhin was standing right beside her as the maids served her some tea. Ten guards were standing in line, 1 meter between each other on both sides of the throne room. All the drapes were lifted, allowing the shining yellow light of the sun to penetrate the windows and shine its ethereal light inside the throne room.

They have only just finished handling the requests, problems and overall complaints of various merchant leaders, landlords and other appointed members of the council tasked on rebuilding the country.

The nobles were busy with their fiefs, claiming that they were rebuilding the kingdom's domains to help recover from the devastating famine and financial ruin that the country was facing. Though, Queen Erin heard otherwise.

The Grandmage Haselborn was working closely with the clergy with their investigation of the strange enemy which occupies the Eastern Fortress City. So far, they haven't come into any conclusive answer.

It was part of the reason why Ignis requested the adventurers to act as covert agents; they needed information obtained from the heart of the enemy territory. They needed to know their magic, power, numbers, and overall strength before they could launch a siege to retake the city using a combination of the army and mage groups.

But the work was almost done, the Queen was only awaiting the arrival of Theo, bringing them updates regarding the adventurers.

The Throneroom doors clanged and slowly opened. Two guards pushed the doors from the outside and walked in Theo. He was sporting his smile and good-looks, admittedly making the Queen slight blush as she stared at him.

"No!" the Queen thought to herself; she must not distract herself! there were many more things to handle and focus on and not the handsomeness of some random student.

Theo went and kneeled before the Queen and Ignis, his head almost touching his bent knee.

"You may stand," The queen ordered.

'Yes, your highness," Theo replied and stood up, his posture as solid as ever.

"Your majesty, and Great Warrior, I bring you the current status of the adventurers assigned for the mission on the Eastern Fortress City,"

"Continue,"

"Very well, ten people from both factions have been selected according to their skills and ranking. On the Lion's Alliance, two groups of 5 have been selected, the diamond rank Theodore's Pack and the emerald rank, Shining Sands. On the Vulture's hole, we have three groups, a group of 4, 2, and 4. Most notable of them are the Walking Calamities, followed by the Lord Squad and Fantastic Duo,"

"Sigh.. why were the idiots of the Walking Calamities chosen?" the queen had only gotten to know the Walking Calamities, but by their records alone, she was skeptical of their abilities as spies.

"I can assure you, your highness; the Walking Calamities will give us two benefits,"

"Oh?"

"First, I am sure you've seen their records and how almost all of their missions play out, we can use that ability of theirs to our advantage, they can deal the first major blow against our enemies on that city, Second, it would eliminate the group which was due for execution already"

"Execution?"

"Yes, Great Warrior, your childhood friend, and his group were already supposed to be executed by the rule of law in Yuhin, their status as adventurers and the fact that they've managed to gain some influence with the nobles prevented such justice to take place."

"..."

The Throneroom fell into an awkward silence.

"A suicide group, huh?"

A menacing smile appeared on Theo's face; this was the real Theo. His master had only seen this side of Theo a few times, to think he'd also show his true self to her majesty was a surprise.

"You've thought this far?" Ignis asked, his expression was worrisome.

"You could say that, Great Warrior, but as you said, 'a warrior who refuses to use his wits in times that it's needed is not a warrior, but a fool' and I am no fool. What I have thought out has the kingdom at the center of it all, I live to serve her majesty, the dynasty, just as you thought me. And for the family and throne, I shall serve till my death."

The queen was shocked at the amount of resolve Theo possessed, to think Ignis would raise such a cunning warrior under him. He may become the next warrior once Ignis retires.

"So, Theo, can you enlighten us further as to where you intend to take this?"

"I'm afraid I cannot, my mission is of utmost importance, and I cannot trust anyone other than myself for now. Not to fret, my plan will soon come to light and shine with all its glory."

The two understood what Theo was talking about; they had no choice but to put their trust on him. To show doubt in his loyalty and abilities would further jeopardize or may even turn him against the kingdom. They could not be foolish.

"Your highness!" Several guards burst through the door in a panic, Ignis and Theo both drew their swords in anticipation of an attack.

The soldiers bowed their heads, sweating profusely.

"There's an unknown creature flying over the capital!"

"Huh?" The three were confused and shocked. What creature could pass the Dragonite riders over the capital?

Just as they were about to ask, the palace rumbled, and an explosion echoed through the throneroom. Screams of people outside and a wailing Dragonite pierced their ears.

A large thud followed by a violent shaking of the ground terrified the soldiers. Ignis and Theo both went towards Erin, swords were drawn and enhancements used.

"Guards! escort us outside now!" Ignis shouted.

The guards quickly drew their swords, and even as the ground shook and many wailed, the group made their way to the balcony.

When they reached the balcony, Dragonites and their riders were falling from the sky, and a loud thunderous roar echoed through the landscape. Whatever the creature was, it eliminated the entire Dragonite defense group.

"What kind of demonic creature could do this?!" Ignis felt uneasy; even Theo had no clue what kind of creature capable of going against Dragonites at this rate and power.

"Watch out!" A soldier screamed.

A metallic creature, unlike anything they've ever seen before zoomed above them at lightning-fast speed, completely dwarfing the fastest of the Dragonites. Its loud and frightening roar struck fear into the hearts of the hundreds of thousands who heard it. The creature had a strange ship, but many called it a dragon.

The metal dragon proceeded to breathe an inconceivable weapon and burned half of the urban district, incinerating thousands in an instant.

"Where are the mages!? Get them! defend the capital!"

Just as Ignis was about to lead the Queen inside, the metal dragon roared once more, this time it was a deafening screech causing all of them to cover their ears and scream in pain. The pain in their ears lasted for over a minute; the roar finally died down.

The entirety of the group was on their knee,s the guards were shaking, and the two best warriors were uneasy and sweating. The queen was in tears, unable to open her eyes or feel her lower body.

Ignis and Theo slowly pushed the ground and stood, helping the Queen on her feet.

The three were on their feet, shaking and afraid. As they turned their gazes to the city, a demonic horror was looking at them.

The metallic dragon was hovering right in front of them. Its skin was black and looked like metal or something close to it; it had two short wings with a big cylinder on each, it was emitting little to no sound at all as it stared them down.

The three were horrified at the sight of the beast, what kind of creature was this? Was this their end? Will the dynasty finally perish?

The beast was huge; many were watching it staredown on the queen and her cohorts. Hundreds of thousands were outside, watching the situation unfold. Mages were scrambling from their posts and were about to launch their attacks only to be dissuaded. If they were to attack the creature, won't it attack the Queen?

The entire army was dumbfounded. Their methods presented too much of a risk, the Grandmage was absent from the capital; if he were here, he would have been able to teleport the queen to safety and kill the monster.

Back at the balcony, the three were frozen in place. An instinct kicked in, if they were to stay in place, maybe the creature won't be agitated? Or provoked? It was a gamble, but the only risk they had a chance to win.

-

The entire fiasco in the capital hs been going on for a solid ten minutes, and it seemed to be going nowhere, the mages haven't been cleared to engage nor were the Dragonite riders from other cities were to arrive soon.

The queen had to act fast; this was her chance to prove her worthiness as the queen of the kingdom! Prove herself! Determine she is the descendant of the great kings and queens of Yuhin!

"Let go of me," The queen asked Theo and Ignis who were at this time clutching at her arms.

"But your majesty!"

"This is an order,"

The two released their arms and the Queen slowly walked towards the edge of the balcony, Hundreds of thousands were watching the queen as if she was braving her first step in the limelight, the first step of her legacy in this wretched world.

She braved the fear struck deep within her heart and stood upright facing the demonic being, which was beheld upon them all.

With the breath of her mouth and the memory of her family, she spoke in a loud voice.

"I! am Queen Erin Yuhin, this is my kingdom, my people and our home! And we will not! Be defiled! By a creature! who dares to taint our lives, our kingdom, and our children!"

The crowds were all silent, not by fear anymore but by shock, their queen was strong in their eyes, braving even the most frightening situation so that she could be the queen that everyone could look up to. The crowd slowly clapped, the claps grew louder and from the claps evolved cheers, and until just a few minutes ago, the crowds were cheering on their monarch.

"Erin! Erin!"

Morale was high, the people have found their hero, the mages and the army prepared to mount their assault. Theo and Ignis readied themselves for they have finally understood what the Queen was trying to do.

With the edge of their swords and the shaking of their legs, they all shouted.

"Long live the queen!"

Just as they shouted, the queen was sent hurling inside. Her body crashing against the hard floor, the creature had shot her.