From what Okeanos had said, Asher realized that if he was able to slay the dragon, ships would finally be able to sail freely from Clan El to the distant shore he had discovered while hunting with Sapphira!
With such a direct passage, transporting people and goods between both the domains would become effortless—a strategic advantage that could reshape the region’s power dynamics.
After his talk with Okeanos, Asher spent the rest of the day lost in thought about it before he was once again invited to the estate for dinner.
The great door, towering 3 meters high and 2 meters wide, swung open with a deep creak, revealing a white-haired man standing in the entryway. He was dressed in a black tunic with a deep V opening, tucked neatly into black leather pants, reflecting the candlelight.
His 6 ‘9 ft frame was well aligned with broad shoulders connected to powerful looking arms that tapered to a lean waist and powerful muscular legs that pressed against the fabric of his pants.
His iconic snow-white hair cascaded down to his shoulder blades, a few loose strands hanging over his forehead.
Step. Step. Another step.
All eyes were drawn to his visage, their minds unconsciously echoing the sound of his footsteps.
Tall. Handsome. Graceful.
These three words described Asher’s being as he strode toward the table, pulled back his chair and took his seat.
“Apologies for being late.”
His deep, sonorous voice thundered through the hall, sending a ripple of silence across the table. The girls hesitated, their poised expressions briefly faltering.
Speaking of the girls, seated at the head of the table was Jonah El, the lord of El—a clan with over 500,000 people, including several vassal beastmen clans.
He sat on the other end of the table, directly facing Asher.
To his right sat Lira El, his wife, and to his left sat Mattew El, the guardian of Okeanos’ sanctuary.
Seated beside Lira was a young woman, likely in her mid-twenties, with a head full of silver-gray hair and bright golden eyes. The small scar on her right cheek and her well-built physique were all Asher needed to know that she was a warrior, hardened by battles and likely trained as a knight.
Her name: Abigail El.
She bore an uncanny resemblance to the warriors of House Ashbourne.
Seated opposite her, after Matthew, was another young woman, about 30 years old. Though she had the build of a warrior, her soft musculature suggested that she was just a woman with a beautiful body but had not endured the turmoils of battle to harden those soft muscles.
Yet, in terms of beauty, she was better-looking than her younger sister.
“It’s a pleasure to have you dine with us. No need to be so formal,” Lira said, her tone warm—compensating for her husband’s silence.
Jonah merely cleared his throat when Matthew shot him a glare.
“Bring the food,” he commanded, his voice firm but polite.
Immediately, maids trooped in, carrying an array of exquisite dishes. As the table was filled with food, Jonah unfolded a pristine white napkin onto his lap before clearing his throat again.
“Let’s eat.” He said with a smile.
The sound of their knives slicing through meat and the occasional but light hitting on the plates filled the hall.
“Ahem…” Suddenly, Lira looked at Asher as she set her utensils down.
“The Ashbourne household resides beyond the mountain range, doesn’t it?”
Asher placed his knife and fork beside his plate. “Indeed.”
“How is life over there?”
“Well… a struggle, I’d say,” he admitted. “Especially for a noble in a house that has fallen from grace—lying on a bed, year after year, wondering what the outside world has become. A stroke of luck changed my fate, and so it shouldn’t be a struggle anymore.”
Abigail blinked. “I hear there are empires and kingdoms over there.”
“It is true.”
Jonah cleared his throat. “You promised Okeanos that you will slay the red dragon. I, for one, believe that you were simply letting your mouth spit words just to curry favour from an ancient mythical beast.”
Lira shot Jonah a sharp look and discreetly kicked his foot under the table, but the man ignored his wife.
Asher’s expression remained unreadable. “Your distaste toward me isn’t required, Lord Jonah. Okeanos wants to test my ice against the dragon’s fire. We both know that dragons can lay waste to entire armies. This is rather an opportunity for both of us to work together, and not divide.”
Jonah chuckled darkly.
“Father,” Alicia, Jonah’s eldest daughter, finally spoke—her voice laced with disapproval for her father’s words. “You are outrightly trying to make an enemy out of a man who made an entire piece of land spanning for kilometers float?”
She sounded displeased at her father’s short-sightedness.
She had been observing Asher for some time, ever since he fought as the liberator of humans under the name of Achilles, until he united the humans and the beastmen alike.
She had a clue about his personality and it made her curious.
Why did he remain so passive?
It made her curious.
With what she knew about him, if Asher had truly set his heart on claiming El, there would be no stopping him. They would face devastating losses, some that would take a century to recover from.
Why would her father risk everything? Just because he was forced to his knees in public?!
Alicia’s anger, though subtle, was palpable.
Jonah took a deep breath. “That dragon has already wiped out two villages. I sent a thousand diamond-ranked knights, but only a few returned. The others… were burned to dust.”
“I’ll kill it.”
Jonah looked at him carefully. “How?”
“The same way I killed the wyvern… with my sword.” Asher’s simple response made Jonah sigh.
“Surely you understand why I find it hard to send my troops with you?”
Asher nodded. “I do. You fear they will die, like the first.”
Jonah nodded.
“Then don’t bother. I will deal with the dragon myself—but then its carcass will belong to Ashbourne Dukedom.”
Alicia’s eyes widened. ‘He’s a duke!’
The shock naturally applied to the rest of them. They finally began to restructure their thoughts to understand the size of Asher’s domain.
Only then did they realize how severely they had underestimated him.
After a brief silence, Alicia found herself blurting out, “If you don’t mind me asking, how old are you?”
“Alicia!” Lia hissed. “Forgive her impulsiveness.” She turned to Asher, her tone apologetic.
“There’s no need.” Asher shook his head and then turned to Alicia. “I’m 24…”
He smiled at Alicia and then turned to Abigail, who had been staring at him weirdly from the start.
“And,” he added, “I am engaged.”
The young woman batted her eyelashes in surprise, clearly caught off guard.
‘Why is he staring at me like that?’ she clenched her jaw, suddenly feeling exposed, as if she needed to defend herself.