Free Web NovelChapter 88: Chapter Eighty-Eight: Kray and Ember
The loud, deep sound of the horns echoed hard against the walls of the valley, signaling the official start of the massive march.
Outside the wooden fence of the Orycto village, the ground literally shook under the feet of millions of silver-armored soldiers.
The massive city of tents had been completely packed away, leaving nothing behind but flattened grass and the giant, smoking ashes of the previous night’s bonfires.
The long caravan stretched out across the narrow mountain passes for miles, looking like a giant silver snake twisting through the green landscape. In the very middle of the army, surrounded by the most elite vanguard warriors, was the royal carriage line.
Heavy iron-reinforced wheels crunched against the rough dirt road, and the massive silver flags of the Beast City fluttered proudly in the morning wind.
On the wooden porch of the expanded cottage, the small group from the dragon tribe who were being left behind stood in a straight, serious line. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Since Long Zhan only had five total dragon companions with him on this journey, the arrangement had to be very precise.
Davy, the trusted leader of the dragon group, stood alongside Juro and Long Zhan. They were preparing to head out with the main army.
Standing opposite them on the porch were Kray and the remaining unnamed dragon warrior. Kray stepped forward, his expression a mix of fierce determination and a strange, hidden softness.
It turned out that during their time in the valley, Kray had grown incredibly fond of Ember. He had completely fallen for the local tiger female and had already officially marked her as his mate.
Because of this deep bond, Kray had happily volunteered to stay behind in the rural village, eager to protect the pregnant female carrying his future bloodline.
Davy looked at Kray and the other staying dragon warrior, nodding his head with deep respect. He then turned and bowed deeply toward Long Zhan, his face full of seriousness.
"Your Majesty," Davy said, his voice deep and clear as the leader of the force. "Kray and our brother here will guard this valley with their lives. With Kray having marked Ember, his dragon instincts are fully awake. No rogue beast or outside danger will touch the tiger female Ember or any of the local ground-beast inhabitants while we are gone. They will turn this place into an unbreakable wall."
Long Zhan nodded his massive head, his rugged face looking completely serious. He crossed his thick arms over his broad chest, his violet eyes flashing with a stern warning as he looked at Kray. "See that you do. Kray, now that you have a marked female, your responsibility is doubled. If I come back and find a single scratch on this tribe or on Ember, I will personally pull your scales off. Keep your eyes sharp and do not let your guard down for a single second."
"Yes, Your Majesty! We will protect the nest until death!" Kray and the warrior shouted together, dropping to one knee before quickly leaping down into the village courtyard to take up their permanent defensive positions near Ember and the local females.
Up on the porch, Lin Wan stood quietly, wrapped tightly in her thick, white beast fur mantle to block the cool morning air.
Her flawless face was completely calm and unreadable, her sharp eyes scanning the long lines of marching soldiers below. Her tactical brain was already mapping out the defense routes of the journey.
Even though she was staying inside the secret space most of the time to continue her postpartum rest, she always kept a close eye on the outside world through her special senses to make sure no hidden dangers were lurking in the mountain shadows.
But inside, Lin Wan’s mind was experiencing a rare wave of deep guilt. Watching Kray jump down to protect Ember made her chest feel slightly heavy. She realized just how much she had overlooked her friends recently.
She had been so caught up in her own intense problems, surviving the system, dealing with the terrifying lightning tribulation, delivering the triplets, and constantly managing two overbearing beast kings, that she had completely missed what was happening with the people closest to her.
She hadn’t even noticed that Kray and Ember were growing so close, let alone that he had marked her.
For an elite special agent who pridefully noticed every detail, she felt bad for being so blind to her friends’ happiness.
Qin Mo stepped up right beside her, his long silk robes brushing against her fur coat. His long, elegant silver hair was neatly tied back, and a very satisfied, smooth smile was plastered across his handsome face.
He looked incredibly refreshed, his silver eyes glowing with a warm, triumphant light after finally settling his deep spiritual bond with his female in the secret flower cave the night before.
He slowly reached his hand out from his wide sleeve, his long fingers gently catching Lin Wan’s hand beneath her fur mantle.
He squeezed her fingers gently, his body language radiating absolute happiness and pride.
"The road is long, Wanwan," Qin Mo said softly, his deep voice carrying a very warm, intimate purr. "But you do not need to worry about a single thing. My vanguard is the strongest in the entire realm. No one can breach this defense line. If you feel tired or cold from the mountain wind, just tell me, and I will have the carriage stopped immediately so you can rest comfortably back inside the space."
Lin Wan pulled herself out of her thoughts, turning her head slightly to look at his smug face. "I am not fragile, Qin Mo. My senses are fully functional. I can monitor the entire valley and the march from here."
Before Qin Mo could say another sweet word, a loud, heavy stomping sound echoed from the other side of the porch.
Long Zhan marched over, his heavy boots rattling the wooden floorboards.
He looked between the two of them, his thick eyebrows knitting together in a deep, suspicious frown.
He sniffed the air suddenly, his large nostrils flaring as he caught a very faint, lingering scent of glowing purple star-flowers and the unmistakable, deep aura of the snake’s scent clinging to Lin Wan.
Long Zhan’s rugged face instantly turned completely red with raw, sudden anger. His violet eyes widened as he realized exactly what had happened while he was down at the lower camps managing the marching rows.
"You... you slippery, underhanded worm!" Long Zhan roared, his large fists clenching so hard his knuckles turned white. He stepped right into Qin Mo’s space, his towering chest puffing out as he glared down at the silver snake king with absolute fury. "You sneaked her out! While I was down there breaking my back organizing the vanguard’s path, you took advantage of my absence and sneaked her out of the tribe to settle your bond!"
Qin Mo didn’t flinch at all. In fact, his victorious smirk grew even wider, his lips curving into a sharp, mocking line that made his silver fangs peek out just a little bit.
He slowly let go of Lin Wan’s hand and elegantly smoothed down the front of his robes, looking completely pleased with himself.
"Oh? Are you shouting about something, lizard?" Qin Mo asked smoothly, his voice dripping with lazy, arrogant amusement. "A true king knows how to manage his time wisely. While you were busy moving logs and yelling at soldiers like a mindless brute, I was simply taking proper care of our female’s spiritual core. The bond is settled perfectly now, and her energy is completely stable. You should thank me for doing the heavy lifting."
"Thank you?!" Long Zhan ground his teeth together so hard a loud clicking sound echoed through the porch. His body began to shake with pure rage, his aura sparking wildly around his shoulders. "I am going to tear your skin into shreds! You broke the house rules! You cheated!"
"I simply moved faster than you," Qin Mo replied with a cold, elegant chuckle, his silver eyes flashing with pure mockery as he watched the dragon completely lose his mind.
"A slow dragon gets left behind in the dirt. Remember that for the next forty days." freēwēbnovel.com
Lin Wan let out a long, heavy sigh, her hand coming up to pinch the bridge of her nose as she listened to them yell. They hadn’t even left the village gates yet, and the two supreme kings of the realm were already bickering like children over a playground dispute.
"Shut up. Both of you," Lin Wan ordered, her voice dropping into that chilling tone that instantly made both males freeze.
She glared at them, her sharp eyes cutting through their anger like ice. "The caravan is waiting, and the elders are watching from their carriages below. If you two want to stand here and fight like wild phantom beasts, I will leave you both behind and take the space to the Beast City by myself."
Long Zhan instantly swallowed his roar, his large mouth snapping shut. H
e looked at Lin Wan with a deeply aggrieved, pouting expression, his massive shoulders slumping slightly as he tried to look harmless. "Wanwan... he cheated. It’s not fair."
"We are moving," Lin Wan said flatly, ignoring his complaint completely. She turned around, her white fur mantle swishing against her boots as she walked toward the spatial rift that was waiting in the dark interior of the cottage.
With a single flick of her mind, she slipped through the distortion, heading back into the warm, quiet master bedroom of the space to look after her triplets.
Qin Mo looked at the empty doorway, his face full of soft, doting affection, before he turned back to look at Long Zhan. His smug expression returned instantly.
He gave the angry dragon one last, highly mocking pat on the shoulder before stepping down the porch steps toward the royal carriage line.
Long Zhan stood on the porch, his face still completely purple with rage as he stared at the snake’s retreating back. He spat into the dirt, his large fists trembling. "Just wait, you sneaky worm," Long Zhan muttered under his breath, his eyes flashing with a dangerous promise.
"The moment we reach the Beast City, I am going to build a fortress so thick you won’t even be able to get a whiff of Wanwan’s hair."
With a heavy stomp, the dragon king leaped down from the porch, mounting his giant phantom beast ride at the front of the line.
He raised his heavy sword beside Davy and Juro, letting out a massive, booming shout that echoed through the entire mountain pass: "Vanguard! Move out!"
The massive army roared back in response, their spears striking their shields with a loud, deafening crash.
The carriages creaked forward, the wheels turning heavily against the dirt as the great empire officially left the rural valley behind, marching with absolute power toward the grand, waiting gates of the Beast City.
