Chapter 154: DragonKin Soldier Report (3)

Leon stepped forward, interposing his body between the exhausted player and the heavily armed Dragonkin guards.

The tension in the courtyard was thick, the sentries gripping their polearms with nervous, white-knuckled intensity.

They had strict orders to treat any outsider as a potential apocalyptic threat after the recent incursion.

Elder Vaelen stood behind his men, leaning heavily on his carved wooden staff, his reptilian eyes darting toward Leon for guidance.

"Stand down, Elder," Leon commanded gently, his deep voice effortlessly carrying across the quiet cobblestones.

"This player is not a threat to the sanctuary. She is an old acquaintance from the eastern borders."

"She is completely safe. You and your men have absolutely nothing to worry about."

Elder Vaelen let out a long, shuddering breath, the rigid posture of his spine instantly relaxing.

He tapped his staff against the stone, signaling the guards to lower their heavy void-steel weapons.

"If the Vanguard vouches for her, then the Azure Scale welcomes her," Vaelen declared, bowing his head deeply.

"We leave the guest in your capable hands, Lord Leon."

Leon offered a faint nod of acknowledgment, effectively dismissing the localized militia.

He turned his attention back to Mira, who was still trembling slightly in the shadow of the towering permafrost walls.

Her silver hair was plastered to her cheeks with dried sweat, and her leather armor was shredded from countless near-death encounters.

She looked absolutely tiny standing next to the imposing, heavily armored Vanguard and his fiercely confident wife.

"Come," Leon said simply, gesturing toward the massive, thirty-foot beast resting in the center of the courtyard.

"Our estate is on the far side of the valley. Walking would only deplete what little stamina you have left."

Mira blinked, her exhausted silver eyes slowly tracking from Leon’s hand to the colossal creature waiting patiently on the stones.

Auris, the Glacial Sovereign, let out a low, vibrating rumble that shook the dust from the nearby rooftops.

Up until this exact second, Mira’s exhausted brain had stubbornly categorized the beast as some kind of elaborate, magical siege engine.

The idea that a player—even a Steadfast entity—had managed to tame a High-Dragon was simply too absurd for her to process.

"You... you want me to get on that?" Mira stammered, taking a hesitant step backward.

She could feel the ambient cold radiating from the dragon’s void-steel armor, an elemental chill that easily rivaled the Frost-Goliath she had just fought.

Her player interface was completely blanking out, unable to even parse the catastrophic level of the beast before her.

"He won’t bite," Snow chimed in, a bright, melodic laugh escaping her lips as she easily read the terrified player’s expression.

"Well, he bites a lot of things, actually. But he won’t bite you. Leon has him perfectly trained."

Snow walked effortlessly over to the dragon, patting the jagged, absolute-zero plating as if the beast were a domesticated hound.

Auris huffed a massive breath of freezing air, playfully nudging Snow’s shoulder with his colossal snout.

Mira swallowed hard, her dry throat clicking audibly in the quiet courtyard.

If the beautiful, silver-chained artisan trusted the monster, Mira decided she had no choice but to follow suit.

She dragged her aching boots across the cobblestones, approaching the massive flank of the Glacial Sovereign.

Leon was already in the saddle, his dark, gold-embroidered garb contrasting sharply with the pale cyan light of the dragon’s scales.

He extended a large, leather-gloved hand downward, offering her a silent assist.

Mira reached up, her trembling, blood-stained fingers wrapping tightly around his steady grip.

Leon didn’t just pull her; he effortlessly hoisted her entire body weight through the air with a single, frictionless motion.

She landed securely in the deep, padded saddle area, positioned safely between Leon’s broad back and Snow, who took the rear guard.

"Hold on tight," Snow advised, wrapping her arms casually around Mira’s waist to secure the exhausted player in place.

"The takeoff can be a little jarring if you aren’t used to atmospheric compression."

Before Mira could even ask what that meant, Leon issued a silent command through his soul-bond.

Auris roared, the sound deafening and metallic, vibrating straight through Mira’s bones.

The dragon’s massive wings ignited with blinding cyan aether-magic, and they launched violently into the morning sky.

The sheer kinetic force of the ascent pressed Mira heavily against Leon’s back.

She gasped, her eyes squeezing shut as the wind whipped violently around them, tearing at her torn leather tunic.

They ascended hundreds of feet in a matter of seconds, leaving the courtyard far below.

When the flight finally leveled out, Mira hesitantly forced her silver eyes open.

The view of the Azure Scale valley from above was absolutely breathtaking, a vibrant splash of green life nestled in a frozen world.

Glowing blue mana-rivers carved through the earth like illuminated veins, feeding the lush bamboo forests and the tiered agricultural terraces.

But what struck Mira the hardest was the sheer, effortless speed of their travel.

She looked down at the dense, treacherous crystalline forests bordering the valley—the exact same forests that had nearly killed her a dozen times over.

A journey that would have taken her an entire day of grueling, paranoid stealth was passing beneath them in mere moments.

This was the reality of the Vanguard.

He didn’t fight the world; he completely bypassed its limitations, soaring above the desperation that consumed everyone else.

Mira felt a profound, overwhelming wave of safety wash over her, a feeling she hadn’t experienced since she first spawned into Eternal Heaven.

Auris banked gracefully, the aether-magic humming a low, soothing frequency as they approached the far end of the sanctuary.

A massive, rushing blue waterfall cascaded down the mountain face, creating a localized mist that caught the morning light in brilliant rainbows.

Nestled perfectly beside the roaring water was a sprawling, meticulously crafted bamboo estate.

The dragon flared his wings, arresting his momentum perfectly before touching down on the damp, vibrant grass of the clearing.

The landing was so smooth Mira barely felt the impact, a testament to the absolute synergy between the beast and its master.

Leon dismounted first, his boots hitting the earth without a sound, before turning to help the two women down.

Mira slid off the dragon’s armored flank, her legs instantly turning to jelly the moment they touched solid ground.

She stumbled forward, completely drained, but Leon caught her effortlessly by the shoulder, stabilizing her posture.

"Thank you," she breathed, her cheeks flushing slightly at her own weakness.