103 My Daughter’s Friend’s Mom
With Roswiser’s speed, if she flew at full force, she could indeed reach the Sea Dragon Race before Taige’s healing magic wore off.
Along the way, Rebecca filled Leon in on the whole situation.
“About half a month ago, Martin’s father took him to a royal banquet, which was a prime opportunity to gather intel on the ruthless upper crust of the Empire. Martin didn’t want to miss out, so he secretly took the Shadow Stone to attend the banquet.”
“At the banquet, King Cant and Queen Elizabeth both made an appearance, and the main purpose of the event was to celebrate Scott’s promotion.”
“Due to Constantine’s uncontrollable rampage, the former commander of the Empire’s Dragon Slayer Army, Andi, was dismissed by King Cant, and Scott took over his position.”
“During the banquet, King Cant, Queen Elizabeth, and Scott were engaged in a quiet conversation.”
“Seizing the opportunity, Martin discreetly slipped the Shadow Stone into Scott’s personal attendant’s pocket. Once their conversation ended, Martin stealthily retrieved the Shadow Stone.”
While speaking, Rebecca also sent the Shadow Stone to Leon with a note.
Leon activated the Shadow Stone, listening intently to the dangerous recording that Martin managed to capture.
“The Sharp Blade plan is proceeding smoothly; even without Leon, we can easily manipulate the war like we did before, cooperating with the Dragon Kings.”
“The Queen is so wise.”
“This is all thanks to you, Scott; I’ve heard you personally assembled the Sharp Blade Trio. You’ve really done a great service for the Empire.”
“You flatter me, Your Majesty; I was just doing my duty.”
“Excellent, you have more awareness than Casmod, that guy never knew his place. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have ended up being hunted by our Empire.”
“……”
The gist of the conversation mirrored the insider information Leon had gathered from Constantine.
To siphon the manpower and finances of the Empire’s citizens, the Empire was manipulating the war in collusion with some of the Dragon Kings, resulting in decades of conflict and suffering between humans and dragons.
Leon clenched the Shadow Stone tightly in his hand.
This was what he needed—the critical evidence, the final piece to bring down that dog emperor Cant.
“Thank you, Rebecca; this is very important. It’s enough for us to expose the Empire’s ugly face.”
“You should thank Martin instead.”
Rebecca shook her head with a bitter smile. “That kid was shaking like a leaf after pulling this off. He said if it weren’t to clear your name, he wouldn’t dare do such a thing; getting caught would mean a d*ath sentence.”
That kid Martin… really went all out for Leon.
Leon lowered his gaze at the Shadow Stone in his hand, cherishing this friendship firmly in his heart.
“My old man and I actually planned to hand over the Shadow Stone to you at this meeting.”
Rebecca continued, “But who knew we got ambushed by the Sharp Blade Trio on the way? The old man was seriously injured, so I had to hide him in a cave and lead the pursuers away. I just had to hold out until you arrived, Captain.”
Not only Martin but Rebecca also bore the willingness to sacrifice.
Why were they so loyally following Leon?
The answer was simple: during their time in the Empire’s Dragon Slayer Army, Leon, as the team leader, had pulled them back from the brink of d*ath countless times.
It could be said that without Leon, they would all probably be playing mahjong in the underworld by now.
Once, they were Leon’s most loyal subordinates; today, they were still willing to brave fire and water for him.
The charm of a leader is powerful enough to penetrate the heart; he doesn’t need to rely on motivational speeches or heartfelt slogans to build his reputation.
He just needs to do what needs to be done and what everyone hopes for, and naturally, countless people will offer their loyalty.
Leon glanced at his mentor, who had fallen into a coma, with a complex and suppressed emotion in his eyes.
Usually that careless old troublemaker was now quietly lying there, his heart severely injured, barely clinging to life with healing magic.
Leon couldn’t convince himself not to feel guilty because his mentor had indeed done this for his sake.
He also didn’t know how he’d explain things to his mentor’s wife if anything were to happen.
Leon had always hated these melodramatic farewells; he never expected such a clichéd fate would befall him one day.
He tightly gripped his mentor’s wrinkled hand, hoping this little old man could safely weather this storm.
“By the way, Captain, what are we going to do at the Sea Dragon Race? Is there someone there who can save the old man’s life?”
“I-I don’t know…”
Rebecca: ?
“You don’t know and yet you’re just going?! And if we just go like this, wouldn’t your human identity be exposed?!”
Leon looked at his mentor, his expression serious. “If my mentor said we should go, then we’re going. As for my identity being exposed… I can’t worry about that right now.”
Rebecca nodded in understanding, then asked, “So, do you have acquaintances at the Sea Dragon Race?”
“Oh, you could say that. I actually have a friend there.”
“Who?”
“My daughter’s friend’s mom.”
“…… Come on, that’s stretching it. Can you even call that a friend? Is it three parts cooked or five parts cooked?”
Rebecca silently facepalmed and sighed, her gaze landing on Taige.
“So, why did the old man have to go to the Sea Dragon Race at this time…”
When the mentor had suggested going to the Sea Dragon Race, Leon found he wasn’t filled with doubt or shock.
In fact, it felt almost like “of course it would be like this.”
Because previously, through the magical tomes “Nine Gates of Hell” and “Soul Judgment” written by Claudia, Leon and Roswiser had a vague suspicion that his mentor might have some connection to the Sea Dragon Race.
And now, even in a life-threatening situation, his mentor wanted to go to the Sea Dragon Race; perhaps there really was someone or something there that could save his life.
Could it be Claudia…
Leon was uncertain.
All he could do was wait until he reached the Sea Dragon Race to find out.
After several hours of full-speed flight, they arrived at a small, isolated island amidst the vast sea.
The island wasn’t large, but it was enough to land on.
Roswiser transformed into her human form and pointed ahead.
“Just beyond here is the Atlantis sea area, which falls under the domain of the Sea Dragon Race. We can’t go any further.”
“Eh? Why not, sis? We’re so close; let’s just go in!” Rebecca asked.
Roswiser lowered her hand and looked down at the little girl, patiently explaining,
“We arrived here without prior communication with the Sea Dragon King, which is technically not allowed and could even be considered hostile behavior. If we push further, they won’t hesitate to attack us.”
This time, Roswiser was making an exception to save Taige.
She had previously told Leon that Dragon Kings shouldn’t move freely; it could lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
But now, with another’s life at stake, she didn’t have time to consider protocol.
Getting them here was already the best she could do.
If they went any further, they would probably be attacked by flying harpoons from the sea before they even met Claudia.
“So what do we do now? We—”
“Cough! Cough—”
Taige suddenly erupted into a violent coughing fit, bl**d oozing from his chest.
“Mentor!”
Leon dashed over and knelt beside Taige.
“Did we… Did we make it…?” Taige weakly asked.
“We’re already at the outskirts of the Sea Dragon Race, Mentor.”
“Is that so… Then I should… still have time to see her… right…”
Hearing this, Leon anxiously asked, “See her? Who? Mentor, tell me her name; I’ll go find her!”
Taige slowly closed his eyes, lacking the strength to remain conscious.
“Mentor? Mentor! Mentor!”
Rebecca hurried over to check. “The healing magic can only last for another hour; we must find someone who can save the old man within an hour.”
Leon bit his lip, briefly thinking before he stood up and walked over to Roswiser.
“We can’t continue flying forward, can we?”
“No, I’m sorry.”
“There’s no need for you to apologize; thank you, Roswiser, for bringing us here.”
Roswiser looked out toward the boundless sea, “What do you plan to do now? Without the Sea Dragon Race’s guidance, we wouldn’t even know where the Sea Dragon Holy Temple is.”
What to do now.
Honestly, Leon didn’t know.
He had rarely felt this lost; he came here solely because of his mentor’s “go to the Sea Dragon Race.”
But now that they were here, what should they do next?
Just helplessly stare at the vast ocean, listening to his mentor’s weakening breaths, quietly waiting for the most unwanted outcome to unfold?
No.
It could not be like this.
Leon sprinted to the water’s edge, putting all his strength into a loud shout toward the sea.
“Claudia! Claudia, can you hear me? Please, save my mentor!!”
It was a primitive method only a fool would think of.
Leon knew this, but he couldn’t resign himself to do nothing.
“Claudia!”
Their calls drowned in the endless sea, dissipating without a trace in the sea breeze.
Rebecca blinked her large eyes in confusion; though she didn’t know who this Claudia was, she…
“Claudia! Please save the old man! I’m begging you!”
“Claudia!”
“……”
The two fools stood by the shore, taking turns shouting.
They didn’t stop until their voices turned hoarse.
Finally, once Rebecca could no longer produce sound, they halted.
However, the sea remained calm, not even a ripple in sight.
A wave of despair quietly settled in Leon’s heart.
He gazed at the ocean, feeling a deep sense of helplessness wash over him.
Leon opened his mouth, his voice hoarse as he continued to shout,
“Claudia… Claudia—cough cough—”
Plop—
Leon helplessly knelt on the shore, bracing himself, his anxious heart burning like fire.
“Why is this happening… why is this happening…”
“Captain…”
He could defeat d*ath countless times, but d*ath only needed to win against him once.
In the depth of despair, a gust of wind swept over the sea, and in that wind, a familiar voice rang out.
“Yelling in front of someone else’s house, how very rude of you.”
Following the voice, a beautiful figure stood elegantly on a rock, hands clasped to her chest, the gentle breeze caressing her long hair—a reassuring sea blue.
