He was the leader of the Lionheart Society, the son of the Tiger couple, the father of the his children. And also the husband of that Silver Dragon Queen.
The more identities, the more responsibilities, the more things that had to be considered.
So now, Leon couldn't help feeling restless.
Martin could only silently pray this matter would be resolved quickly. After all, under prolonged tension and anxiety, even the captain wouldn't be able to endure forever, right?
"Nacho, where's our next search location?"
Nacho took out the map and marked a spot on it.
"The tribes along the way all pointed out that the dragon most likely appeared in a certain forest in the south. Dangerous beasts often appear there. I suspect it may be connected to whatever Shadow is plotting."
Nacho's speculation wasn't without reason.
Before, in order to complete the fusion ritual, the Empire had also captured a large number of dangerous beasts, and in the end, with the Heart-Protecting Dragon Scales, stitched them into all sorts of abominations.
Old Con was the ultimate patchwork.
So Nacho guessed that Shadow coming to such a place was probably for those dangerous beasts.
Leon also agreed with Nacho's thinking.
"How much longer until we reach that forest?"
Nacho estimated, then said, "About a week."
"Mm... is there any more detailed information about this forest?"
Nacho nodded, "Nightmare Moon Forest has quite a number of dangerous beasts, but most are A-rank or B-rank. The surrounding tribes often use it for trials or coming-of-age ceremonies. Also—"
"Wait!"
Leon suddenly raised his hand to stop him, "What did you just call that forest? Nightmare Moon Forest?"
"Yes. What about it?"
Leon's expression suddenly grew solemn.
After thinking for a moment, he took an envelope from the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out a letter.
It was a letter Rossweise had sent him a month ago.
The letter said she had successfully conceived a baby, and also mentioned Noah's promotion exam at the academy.
And the location of his eldest daughter's exam... was Nightmare Moon Forest.
Counting the time, about four or five days from now, Noah's exam would begin. Leon was very familiar with his daughter's academy schedule.
He pressed his lips together, put the letter away, then stood and said in a deep voice, "We need to hurry. Nacho, notify everyone: rest for three more hours, then we set out. Target, Nightmare Moon Forest."
Hearing the captain's urgent tone, Rebecca and the others naturally realized something.
They all got up. Nacho didn't ask more and went straight to notify the rest of the Lionheart Society.
"Did something happen, Captain?", the crazy girl asked, her face serious.
Leon turned his gaze south. The night there was pitch black, bottomless, sending a chill through the heart.
"Rebecca, Martin."
He clenched his fists. Noah's smiling face slowly surfaced before his eyes.
"We're racing against time now."
———
Rushing through the night greatly shortened their arrival time to Nightmare Moon Forest.
Leon was extremely quiet along the way.
This time not only Martin, but even Rebecca and Nacho noticed.
And Leon explained on the road why he was in such a hurry. His daughter might encounter that Warhammer Dragon King during the exam.
It wasn't that Leon didn't trust Saint Heath Academy's safety measures, but... the opponent was Adam. A mercenary, sinister and ruthless, with no bottom line.
More than thirty years ago, he was the one who injured Constantine's newborn daughter, leaving that poor little thing sealed in crystal for so many years.
And precisely because of this, Leon, the doting father, was so anxious and uneasy.
He would never allow Constantine and Hefi's tragedy to happen to himself and Noah.
Never... never.
"Captain! Something up ahead!"
Following the shout, Leon and the others ran forward.
They found the corpse of a large dangerous beast.
"Steelrock Mammoth. A defensive powerhouse, S-rank dangerous beast, not common."
Nacho said in a low voice, "But the way it died is just too..."
He couldn't find the right word to describe the mammoth's corpse.
Its chest had been blasted open, exposing torn heart, lungs, and snapped ribs.
Its entire side looked like it had suffered a violent collision, completely caved in.
Its head bore claw marks. Judging by their size, whatever killed it had an even larger body.
"Dragon," Martin said, "Only a dragon could leave claw marks like that."
As the team's former support mage, analyzing battlefields was one of Martin's jobs.
"But I don't know what kind of dragon could smash apart the whole side of a Steelrock Mammoth."
Leon had seen the mammoth's defenses before.
Back when Constantine first revived, part of his body was from a Steelrock Mammoth. Its defenses were so strong that even Leon, Rossweise, and Isa together couldn't break through.
They had to rely on the Primordial Energy to deal true damage.
"And simple punches or body rams couldn't cause damage on such a huge scale, right?"
Rebecca thought for a moment, then added, "Unless... the other side used some kind of weapon. But what kind of weapon could—"
"Hammer."
Leon said, "Warhammer..."
It was him.
That mercenary.
He was here.
"Rebecca, help me prepare paper and ink. Martin, bring the messenger dragon."
"Yes, Captain."
There wasn't just one messenger dragon, of course they had brought them along for this mission.
Once everything was ready, Rebecca asked, "You're going to notify sis-in-law?"
Leon shook his head.
Rossweise was pregnant. Of course she couldn't be told to come to such a place.
And the Sea Dragon Clan was too far away. In just a few days, not even a messenger dragon could fly there.
So now, the only one who could come unconditionally to help him, and who had an irreconcilable grudge with the Warhammer Dragon King...
'Is that guy.'
———
"Students, this is the site for your promotion exam, Nightmare Moon Forest."
"Three years of junior dragon division study has already given you the ability to hunt dangerous beasts."
"This exam will test your learning achievements in all aspects."
"The content involves not just hunting and combat, but also teamwork, resource allocation, and more."
"Now, I officially announce the rules:"
"In Nightmare Moon Forest, there are dangerous beasts of ranks C, B, and A. The higher the difficulty, the fewer in number."
"The exam uses a point system. Successfully defeating a C-rank dangerous beast earns 10 points."
"B-rank, 30 points."
"A-rank, 50 points."
"Within three hours, earning 100 points means passing."
"Before setting out, the academy has already issued each of you a measuring crystal. After defeating a beast, inject its remaining energy core into the crystal, and that counts as successful scoring."
"Does anyone have questions about the exam rules?"
Silence for a moment. A student raised a hand.
"Teacher!"
"Speak."
"I heard from seniors that the junior dragon division exams weren't like this."
"Mm, yeah, I remember too. It used to be sparring with people in black armor, and you were graded on your performance during the spar."
"Oh~ now that you mention it, I remember too, there really was black armor. So is this our first reformed exam?"
"Too good, guys! We graduate and they renovate the academy, and now they reform the exam too. Our generation is just too lucky!"
"..."
The children chattered.
Noah stood at the side, quietly listening.
"Black armor..."
"You don't know, Helena?"
Helena lowered her gaze to her friend, "Know what?"
"Black Armor is a codename. That guy was insanely strong. During the human-dragon war, he belonged to the human side and caused no small amount of trouble for the dragons. So the academy, to raise young dragons' awareness, specifically set him as the opponent in the promotion exam."
"Oh~ so that's it."
Helena's Sea Dragon Clan lived in peace, untouched much by the human-dragon war, so her not knowing about "Black Armor" was only natural.
It's just...
Noah actually wished the exam hadn't changed.
Even if the "Black Armor" in the exam was just played by academy teachers, Noah still wanted to see for herself what this figure, who once made dragons nearly tremble in fear, really looked like.
"Then who do you think is stronger, Uncle Leon or Black Armor?", Helena asked with a smile.
She knew her little bestie always worshiped her dad most. And Helena had also heard from her mom about Uncle Leon's brilliant exploits, so she was curious: Between this legendary Black Armor and Uncle Leon, who was stronger?
Noah answered without hesitation, "Of course my dad's stronger."
Helena squinted and laughed, rubbing Noah's little head. She didn't press the question further.
The kids' chatter ended.
And the teacher leading them spoke again, "The junior dragon division exam did indeed use Black Armor sparring in the past."
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