Vol. 4 Ch. 62

The pursuit of Shadow Lord and Adam continued. As Leon’s group traveled southward, they gathered more information along the way.

That evening, Leon, Rebecca, Martin, and Nacho sat around the campfire, organizing and reviewing the intelligence they had collected.

---

“We encountered several relatively friendly races along the way,” Leon began. “Their accounts are consistent: a massive dragon was sighted passing through the area not long ago.”

He continued, “The dragon was described as colossal, with scales that blotted out the sky, deep gray in color, and possessing piercing crimson eyes. However, its left eye appeared injured and remained closed.”

Nacho nodded and picked up where Leon left off. “This area saw little conflict during the Dragon Wars due to its complex racial diversity. Few wanted to ignite a war here. At most, there were minor skirmishes.”

“In other words, the likelihood of anyone seeing a dragon here is already slim. Yet, these different races all claimed to have seen the same dragon around the same time.”

Rebecca tilted her head. “Leon, didn’t your wife ever mention what Adam, the Warhammer Dragon King, looked like?”

Leon shook his head. “Adam is ancient, with a rank high enough to make appearances only once every few millennia. My wife is barely two centuries old—it’s not surprising she’s never seen him.”

Rebecca raised an eyebrow, her expression playful. “Barely two hundred years old… Very young… Leon, you’ve been married to a dragon so long that your understanding of age has completely drifted from us mere mortals.”

“What do you mean by *you mere mortals*? I’m still human! Right?” Leon shot back, pretending to be indignant.

Rebecca scooted a step closer to Martin with a grin. “Well, you’ve got dragon scales implanted in your body, so it’s hard to say if you’re still human anymore, Captain—ouch!”

Leon flicked her forehead without mercy. “Focus.”

Returning to the matter at hand, Leon said, “Based on the information we’ve gathered, it’s safe to assume that the dragon sighted heading south was Adam. Combine this with the intel we got from those dragon scale implant users, and it’s clear that Shadow Lord and Adam are operating in this area.”

“So, the question is: what are they doing here?” Rebecca asked.

Leon’s gaze hardened, reflecting the firelight in his dark eyes. “That’s exactly what we need to find out—and eliminate them once and for all.”

“Or,” Leon added grimly, “we can skip straight to eliminating them if necessary.”

Martin, who had been silently observing, glanced at Leon. While not one to speak much, his sharp instincts told him something was off. The Captain seemed more anxious than usual.

---

For Martin, this journey to the south brought back memories of their days serving under the Dragon Corps. Traveling by day, resting at night, and subsisting on whatever wild game they could hunt—it felt familiar.

But there was a key difference. Back then, Leon had been calm and composed, never rushing into a battle unprepared. Now, the pursuit of Shadow Lord and Adam seemed to make him impatient, even restless.

Martin understood why. Leon’s growing responsibilities—as the Lionheart Society leader, the son of the Tygers, the father of his children, and the husband of the Silver Dragon Queen—meant he had more to lose. His need to protect his family and loved ones weighed heavily on him.

Martin silently prayed for this mission to end quickly. Prolonged stress, even for someone like Leon, could take its toll.

---

“Nacho, where’s our next search location?” Leon asked.

Nacho unrolled a map and marked a spot. “The locals told us the dragon was last seen heading toward a southern forest known for its abundance of dangerous creatures. It’s possible Shadow Lord’s plans involve those creatures.”

Nacho’s theory wasn’t baseless. Along the way, they had passed through orc settlements where experiments were conducted on captured beasts, merging them with plant-based elements to create stitched abominations.

Leon nodded in agreement. “How far are we from that forest?”

“About a week’s journey,” Nacho replied.

“Do we have any detailed information about this forest?” Leon pressed.

Nacho nodded again. “The Demonic Moon Forest is home to numerous dangerous creatures, most of them ranked A or B. Local races often use the forest for trials or coming-of-age ceremonies. Also—”

“Wait!” Leon interrupted, his expression darkening. “What did you just call the forest?”

“Demonic Moon Forest,” Nacho repeated. “Why?”

Leon’s face grew serious. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a letter—one Rosvisser had sent a month ago.

In it, she mentioned her pregnancy and detailed their eldest daughter Noa’s upcoming academy examination. The exam location? The Demonic Moon Forest.

Leon quickly calculated the timing in his head. “Four or five days from now, Noa’s trial will begin.”

He clenched his jaw and stood abruptly. “We need to move faster. Nacho, inform everyone to rest for three hours and prepare to depart. Our next destination is the Demonic Moon Forest.”

Rebecca and the others immediately understood the urgency. Nacho left to notify the Lionheart Society, while Rebecca turned to Leon, her usually playful demeanor replaced with seriousness.

“Captain, what’s going on?”

Leon stared into the endless black of the southern horizon, his fists clenched tightly. Noa’s smiling face flashed in his mind. “Rebecca, Martin,” he said, his voice steady but firm. “We’re racing against time.”

---

The group pushed through the night, drastically shortening the journey to the Demonic Moon Forest. Leon remained silent throughout, his tension palpable.

Eventually, Leon explained his urgency. He suspected that Noa’s academy trial might coincide with Adam’s movements. While he trusted the academy’s safety measures, the opponent in question was Adam—a mercenary known for his cunning, cruelty, and utter lack of morals.

Decades earlier, Adam had severely injured Konstantin and his newborn daughter, leaving the child sealed in crystal for years. That tragedy had left a permanent mark on Leon. He would not let history repeat itself—not with Noa.

---

“Captain! Something up ahead!” a scout shouted.

Leon and the others rushed to the scene and found the corpse of a massive creature—a Steel-Rock Elephant-Chicken, an S-rank danger beast known for its nearly impenetrable defenses.

“This thing’s tough as hell,” Nacho murmured, inspecting the body. “But its injuries…”

The creature’s chest had been blown open, exposing its mangled heart and lungs. Its ribcage was shattered, and its entire torso looked like it had been crushed by a tremendous force. Claw marks marred its head, and from the size of the wounds, the attacker was clearly much larger than the beast.

“A dragon,” Martin said. “Only a dragon could leave claw marks like these.”

Leon frowned. “What kind of dragon could collapse its entire side like this?”

Rebecca added, “Unless…”

“...A hammer,” Leon said grimly. “A warhammer.”

It was Adam. He was here.

---

“Rebecca, prepare paper and ink. Martin, bring me the message dragon.”

“Yes, Captain,” they replied in unison.

Once everything was ready, Rebecca asked, “Are you notifying your wife?”

Leon shook his head. Rosvisser was pregnant—there was no way he would involve her in such danger. The Sea Dragon Clan was also too far to provide timely assistance.

That left only one option: the one person who shared a personal vendetta against Adam.

Leon began writing.