The royal guards instantly scattered in all directions, trying to enclose the explosion created from Baneth's body. The horses ran wild. Debris from the blast was also formed, creating a dense fog that obscured the view.
Logan, who was quite close to the center of the explosion, was also thrown into the air, spinning wildly, unable to maintain his falling position.
Sam jumped immediately and caught Logan's body, then landed on the ground quite a distance from the center of the explosion. He wandered all over to see where his wife and daughter were. And after seeing that they seem fine, he felt grateful.
As the fog cleared, from where Baneth was standing, a prominent figure, as tall as a 3-story building, a black dragon appeared. A dragon made of only black bones with glowing red eyes in the dark night. The energy enveloping the skeleton dragon's body blazed like fire.
On the dragon's forelegs, standing with an even face, was Baneth, The Princess of Beris.
The dragon that appeared was the true power of that talented and genius young girl. The strength that made her rise to tier 5 at the young age of 19.
"I'm proud of you, Son."
Sam put Logan down and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Wow, so cool. Is this the power of the Princess?"
"So scary…"
The admiration of everyone who witnessed the events of that night resounded from all over. Seeing the figure of a skeleton dragon with such a gigantic size was the first time for most of them.
The gigantic dragon figure then collapsed, and within a few moments, Baneth was back on her feet, alone.
There were no casualties from the explosion that had just happened. The guards moved fast enough to avoid it. Although the explosion marks were still visible on the road where Baneth stood, which was now destroyed and left with a big hole and several cracks.
Logan clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and stared at her with piercing eyes. He walked over to Baneth.
Logan was well aware of Baneth's strength, but he didn't expect her to go so far just to win a bet with someone on a tier far from her.
"You Failed!"
The armored guard standing near Baneth moved and blocked Logan's steps.
'What? I clearly hit her!'
Sam, who had followed Logan's footsteps, was now standing behind his son and holding his shoulder.
"Excellent performance, but you have failed the test."
Baneth, still with a straight face, conveyed her judgment on the test she had just given.
"Please give me, a rematch!"
Logan still couldn't accept the results. He hadn't fully mastered his skills yet, so it took him some time to make the most out of his potential. But his last attack was undeniably right on Baneth's neck.
"Don't waste my time."
Baneth turned around and gave the wave to all her followers to continue the journey.
Everyone immediately followed the Princess's orders. Back to tidying up the line when the carriage carrying Baneth also returned to move.
"No."
Logan was about to follow where Baneth went, but Sam grabbed Logan's shoulder with a bit of pressure.
"Son, enough."
He made all these bets for his father. He wanted to make sure he was okay. He wanted to make sure that the war didn't actually happen. How could Logan let all this happen?
Sam stood across from Logan, his hands on his son's shoulders.
"You should stay here!"
Logan emphasized what he was saying, this time to his father.
"Son, please listen to me. Please…"
Logan was still clenching his fists. He felt great anger. He could not swallow this defeat, not after Baneth exploited the power of her high tier.
"This is my job, my oath. I'll be okay. You stay here, okay? I need you to protect your sister and your Mom."
Logan was still adamant that this shouldn't have happened. There shouldn't be a war or anything in this small kingdom, not without the intervention of someone who has unlimited power.
Logan recalled the faces of the gods in that world. He'll make sure to teach a lesson to anyone who dares to change the story of this world at will. This shouldn't have happened!
Someone approached Logan from behind, hugged him, and rested her head on the young man's shoulder. A sob breathed into Logan's earlobe.
"Son…"
Sara hugged Logan tightly, trying to calm the anger taking over her son.
"Please promise me. You will stay and protect them, OK?"
Sam gave his last greetings, patted Logan's shoulder, and waved to Alice, who also stood beside Logan.
Alice hugged Logan from the front as the royal entourage and her father drifted away.
Logan was still standing with sharp and bloodshot eyes holding the anger in his heart. His breath was swift and heavy. He wanted to run after the group and challenge the Princess back or force the Father to thwart his journey. But Sara's and Alice's arms held him in place.
This time, the people standing in silence around the incident began to move again after the royal entourage was utterly invisible in the dark of night.
An old man walked over and tapped Logan on the shoulder.
"You were cool, kid."
A messy blonde-haired woman Logan recognized as Eliza, the gatekeeper of the city entrance also approached him. She tapped Logan on the shoulder.
"You, cool boy, come to me tonight to get your reward."
Eliza walked away after winking and licked her lips.
"Excellent performance, Logan!"
"You are so cool, Logan!"
"You can do it better next time!"
There were screams from several people around where Logan was standing. They purposely passed in front of Logan and gave a smile. Some also clenched their fists in the air, demonstrating the admirable movements of the young man.
Logan was still standing, unfazed in the slightest. He didn't deny the comfort that her mother and sister gave him with their sincere hugs. But Logan still couldn't hold back his annoyance.
"Mom..."
"Yes son, you're doing good, OK."
Logan had to let go of all this anger. The defeat he received tonight was because of his incompetence.
He should be stronger than this.
He's someone who built everything in this world.
He knows everything! No exception!
Logan was determined to become stronger right now. There wouldn't be an ounce of time that he would waste from today on.
"Let me go, please, Mom."
Sara let go of her arms. So did Alice. She put her trust in her son, whatever it was.
Logan dashed from where he was standing, dashing and disappearing from everyone's sight several times.
Eliza left the city gates open as Logan dashed off and soon disappeared into the night.
"I have to become stronger!"