Kaelan’s breath caught in his throat, his mind racing to find a way out of this situation.
‘I don’t understand. I thought the system said this is a simulation? Like a replay of events? Then how come he’s so perceptive?’ Kaelan’s thoughts raced in confusion; he wanted
answers.
‘Dragonforge, what is this? I thought you said this was just a replay of past events, that I’d be experiencing the war from the eyes of the general?’
He called out in his thoughts, but there was no response, causing him to tense up slightly as he prepared for the battle. ‘I should have known something like this would happen, similar to when it called the wastelands training grounds…’
‘Could it be possible this simulation is actually reality?’
‘Perhaps an alternate world?’
Suddenly, something dawned on him.
‘Wait… If this is actually reality, then there is a chance I could really die?’
‘But from what I understood, Dragonforge only wanted to teach me a lesson.’
His mind raced back to the first quest the system gave him and its death penalty. He started to consider that perhaps this ‘simulated death’ could still be real death. The system still hasn’t been completely honest with him on many things, so he had his suspicions.
But he was sure it wouldn’t outright try to kill him; he wouldn’t be much of an Overlord if he were dead.
‘If there is a chance this quest could really be the end of me, then I can’t let myself die at the end.’
‘I’m sure I’ll be able to find a way back if I survive.’
‘Whatever the case may be, I can’t agree with what Alexei said; things could get complicated.’ “Is that really a topic one brings up in the heat of battle, Alexei?” Kaelan asked, his deep voice seeming to vibrate the air around him as he spoke.
“Are you trying to suggest that I’ve been somehow possessed? Taken over?”
“Oh, please, I was going easy because I wanted to reason with you. Guess it was far too uncharacteristic of me to offer an opponent mercy.”
He momentarily removed his hand from the reins of the dragon as he motioned with his hand for Alexei to come forward. “Come now, let’s make this quick. I’ll be sure to make those scales of yours a nice scabbard for my sword one this is all over.”
As he spoke, his eyes narrowed as they crackled with purple lightning, a silent threat.
Kaelan’s words struck a nerve deep within Alexei. His face frowned in rage, and his dragon roared in response, the sound echoing across the skies.
With a sharp pull on the reins, Alexei urged his dragon forward, the beast’s powerful wings flapping furiously as it closed the distance between them.
“You talk too much, Kaelan!”
Alexei shouted. “You’re just delaying your inevitable end!” His dragon’s massive claws extended, ready to tear into Kaelan’s.
But Kaelan was unfazed. As Alexei’s dragon surged toward him, he leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he focused. Without warning, he yanked hard on his dragon’s reins, sending the beast into a sudden, steep dive.
The dragon plummeted toward the ground at breakneck speed, the wind howling in Kaelan’s ears as he clung to the saddle.
“What are you doing, Kaelan?” Alexei yelled, frustration seeping into his voice as he watched him rapidly descend.
“What’s your plan? All that talk, and now you’re charging straight for the ground again, where the dead rot beneath our feet?”
Kaelan glanced back over his shoulder, a cold look in his eyes.
“Just how I like it.”
“The perfect place to drop off another nameless nobody, destined to be forgotten in the sands of time.”
Alexei’s eyes flared with fury. He gritted his teeth, his jaw clenched so tight it seemed like it might crack.
“Kaelan!” he roared, his voice booming across the sky as he urged his dragon to dive after him, closing the gap with terrifying speed.
As the ground rushed up to meet them, Kaelan’s expression remained calm. His dragon pulled up just before impact, its massive claws skimming the ground as it soared low over the battlefield, weaving through the chaos below. Then, in one swift motion, Kaelan leaped from the saddle.
He landed in a crouch, the bloodstained earth crunching beneath his boots. Rising smoothly to his feet, he turned just in time to see Alexei’s dragon land with a massive crash, the ground shaking from the impact. Without pausing, Alexei leaped from his mount, his sword crackling with lightning as he brought it down in a vicious arc.
Kaelan’s dragon roared as it tried to put up a fight, but Alexei’s blade was already slicing through the air.
In one clean, powerful swing, the blade cleaved the lesser dragon in two, its body splitting apart as the electric energy surged through it. The beast collapsed, its lifeless halves crashing to the ground on either side of Kaelan, who stood unfazed.
Alexei glared at Kaelan, his sword still crackling with residual energy.
“There goes your mount, dead. That’s what happens to those who rely on you,” he said, eyes blazing with disdain and a touch of something else. He clenched his left fist tightly, as if to
mask something.
Kaelan looked down at the corpse of his dragon; his eyes didn’t show any emotion. Slowly, he lifted his gaze to meet Alexei’s.
Kaelan’s hand tightened around the hilt of his sword. “You’ve sealed your fate, Alexei,” he said, his voice cold and measured. “There’s no turning back now.” ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com
Kaelan’s eyes flashed with a dangerous light.
“You talk too much,” he replied, his grip firm on his sword as he assumed a battle-ready stance, feet planted firmly on the ground.
His sword crackled with the same purple lightning that had sparked in his eyes moments before. “Let’s see if your blade can keep up with your tongue.”
In that instant, they both closed the gap between them, their swords swung, about to clash.