Chapter 70: The Truth of Everything
“Well, since you’ve already known I’m human….”
Leon looked at his little daughter. “So, Little Light, why were you insisting I turn into a dragon just now? Can I even do that?”
Aurora smiled silently, her expression pretty much saying, “You’re on your own with that one!”
General Leon blinked for a moment, then suddenly came to a realization.
“Ah, you little mischief-maker…”
Just a few moments ago, when he first met his future little Light, her icy tone had made him think that twenty years had changed her from her childhood self.
After all, this was the little daughter who had once gone two whole months without talking just to catch more of her mom and dad’s playful arguments.
But to his surprise—
Old habits d*e hard!
The little troublemaker was still the same little troublemaker.
She had only become prettier, more mature, and draped in a white lab coat, it seemed.
“Mom found joy in watching you get into trouble, Dad. I just inherited that from her,” Aurora explained, ever so logically.
“So… when can you take me to meet your mother and Moon?”
“Right now. But I thought you’d have tons of questions, like what the heck is happening now…” Noia chimed in.
Leon’s eyes darted as he replied, “Questions can wait till we’re on the road. Besides… no matter how dire the situation is, I can handle it. I just want to meet your sister and mom as soon as possible!”
“Hiss—”
Aurora inhaled sharply, “If anyone else said that, I’d think they were full of it, but coming from you, Dad… I genuinely believe you can pull it off.”
This perfectly matched her impression when she first reunited with Leon a few hours ago:
Dad’s back! The strongest man has returned! All our problems will be solved now!
Noia also smiled knowingly. The old rascal was just as she remembered: confident, with a dash of dignity.
“Alright, then let’s go!”
Noia stood up and marched toward the cave’s exit. “Little Light, you must be tired from flying all the way here, right?”
“Yeah, pretty exhausted,” Aurora replied, rubbing her shoulders. “I just learned how to transform into a dragon and I flew this far, plus I was carrying a 170-pound old fool on my back.”
“Do you really need to be so exact with the numbers…?”
“That’s the precision of a scientist when it comes to numbers, Dad.”
Leon chuckled.
Chatting with his little daughter always gave him a feeling as if he were bickering with Roswiser.
It made him even more excited about meeting Roswiser after twenty years—provided that Mother Dragon didn’t just punch him right in the gut upon arrival.
He could handle the strength of his two daughters, but Roswiser’s punch? That could turn General Leon’s innards into scrambled eggs!
Lost in thought, the trio reached the cave’s exit.
Noia spread her dragon wings and transformed into her colossal dragon form.
Her sheen was entirely silver, since she was a silver dragon, after all.
But the half of Leon’s bloodline meant just a sprinkle of black scales here and there.
Not the jarring kind, though; it was a smooth gradient.
Apart from that, she was just much smaller than Roswiser, with no other differences to mention.
Leon and Aurora hopped on Noia’s back as she flapped her wings and soared from the cave.
As they exited the gorge, Leon looked back, remembering that Little Light had told him a few hours earlier that Noia was waiting right here for him.
“Wait…”
Leon furrowed his brow and asked, “Noia, you were waiting for me all this time, weren’t you?”
“Yep.”
“Then… Little Light was waiting for me at the Silver Dragon Temple?”
“Exactly, Dad.” Little Light nodded. “Because those were the only two places you might have come back to, we couldn’t be sure which, so we just split up to wait.”
Leon pondered his daughter’s words.
She only mentioned that she and her sister awaited him in two different spots but conveniently omitted, “And we waited for twenty years!”
Aurora still loved being the carefree little mischief-maker, yet her heart was just as intricate.
Leon scratched his forehead and asked, “But what if I never returned…?”
“Then—”
“Then we just keep waiting,” Noia finished for her sister.
Leon gazed at the enormous dragon beneath him.
His daughters seemed grown up yet still the same.
They had become strong, mature, and responsible, yet they were still stubborn like children.
Waiting for someone who may or may not return was one of the most torturous experiences in the world.
With a heavy sigh, Leon buried his face in his hands.
Aurora looked at her dad quietly, not saying much.
The silver dragon flew into the dragon race’s territory under the cover of night.
There, everything would be revealed.
…
After flying for eight or nine hours, Noia finally slowed down.
Below them lay a dense forest, without a single trace of any dragon tribe.
Noia gradually descended, landing in the woods.
Transforming back into her human form, she turned to the two of them, “Let’s go.”
Leon nodded and followed her, along with Aurora.
They had ventured far away from the Silver Dragon territory, and from the environment around them, it appeared there were no signs of war.
Leon didn’t know whether they had left the Silver Dragon Temple willingly or if they had escaped here from some pursuer.
But either way, he would soon see Roswiser and Moon, and he would finally uncover the truth behind it all.
Following Noia deeper into the forest, they took a winding, narrow path that was a maze of twists and turns; without a guide, it would have been easy to get lost here.
After walking for about twenty more minutes, the trio arrived at a giant rock.
The path ended here.
Noia slowly raised her hand and gently pressed it against the rock.
In the next moment, the rock began to flicker erratically before vanishing entirely.
Illusion magic.
And of the high-level kind! Leon hadn’t even realized it earlier; he expected a secret lever on the stone or something.
Behind the illusion rock was a tunnel.
Both daughters stepped in, and Leon followed closely behind.
Once all three were inside the tunnel, the giant rock reappeared.
Their footsteps echoed in the dark tunnel as Noia bent down, picked up a torch from the corner, and ignited it with Dragon Flame.
The fire illuminated the path beneath them.
Leon was somewhat surprised.
Noia’s elemental affinity matched his own—Lightning.
Although everyone eventually learned another element’s magic, mastering it well took a lot more time.
But Noia’s precise control over the Fire Element was far beyond what someone her age should be capable of.
Guess the “Queen of the Wild” hasn’t changed a bit over all these years.
“Let’s keep going.”
Noia’s voice brought Leon back to reality.
“Alright.”
The trio traversed through the tunnel, which opened up to several spiraling steps leading down underground.
Descending the stairs, they arrived at a well-constructed underground chamber.
Noia set the torch beside a wooden door and then raised her hand to push it open.
Upon hearing the door creak, an exuberant voice identical to Noia’s chimed from inside, “Sister, Little Light, you’re finally back!”
“What spoils did you bring this time?”
“Mom’s still the same; I’ve just been keepin’ her company and chatting.”
“Sis, I want to eat grilled steak. Are you going to make me some… Dad, DAD?!”
