The guards screamed, their armor getting so cold it’s stuck to their skin. Each drop of sweat froze as they fell like hail. Under the stars, the massive creature towered over the garden, his claws digging into the ground.
“A dragon!” One of the guards cried, lifting his crossbow.
CREEK! The white dragon shifted his massive head, glaring at the guard pointing at him. In the blink of an eye, the guard fell on his knees, shaking as his limbs froze in place.
“I would have already killed you all if I wanted,” The dragon growled, shifting its head around, “Call your lord, king, and leader!” He roared, shattering half the windows of the castle.
Thud! The king rushed to the balcony, glaring down with a worried face. “What do you want?” he screamed internally, ^Bastard, he didn’t waste any time.^
“I believe your son already informed you. I came for Isdis.” The dragon replied, his body twisting and shifting as he turned into a vaguely humanoid shape. He looked closer at lizard folks, but with white scales and a dragon head, wings, and a massive tail.
Thud! Thud! Thud! The guards rushed to surround the dragon, pointing their spears at their necks. “Bastard! You shall not get the princess,” The guard that greeted Isdis first when she came with Arad growled.
The dragon stared at the guard, “You aren’t courageous. Foolish is what I call this,” He was right. Their mundane weapons can’t pierce a dragon’s scales.
CLANG! The head guard pointed his spear at the dragon’s face, “Even in death, we won’t let you get close to her.”
The white dragon, EirwanKari, smiled, “I’m not backing away. But, you’re free to throw your life away.”
***
^Those eyes!^ the head guard thought, ^That smug smile, this bastard is planning on something. I’ve served for twenty years and will never miss it, the expression of someone bringing harm,^
He clenched his hand on his spear. ^As long I’m alive, he won’t set foot in the castle.^ .𝙘𝙤𝙢
“You aren’t welcome here! Scram to where you came from!” The head guard growled, veins popping on his head.
“You fool guard!” Alfred shouted from the balcony, “He’s the king of the northern nation! Apologize at once,”
“All guards, back away!” King Baltos shouted, waving his hand, “EirwanKari is my honored guest for tonight. Don’t start a fight with him.” He said, trying to protect their lives.
The guards slowly backed away. Only their captain stood his ground, ignoring orders.
“You still stand in my way and disobey your king?” EirwanKari smiled, opening his arms.
“My oath is to protect the fourth princess and the royal family.” glared forward, “Step on my corpse,”
“As you wish,” EirwanKari Smiled, stepping forward.
GRAAAAAA! The head guard shouted, thrusting his spear at EirwanKari’s neck.
CLANG! With a swift move, the dragon deflected the strike with a hand tap.
CREEK! The head guard didn’t slow down. Instead got faster, throwing thrusts like there is no tomorrow. And to him, there wasn’t.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG! The dragon deflected the tens of thrusts thrown at him with ease, never breaking his smile. With each attack fended, he approached the head guard.
Spears have an effective range. With the dragon getting too close, the head guard can’t stab him.
CRACK! EirwanKari swung his palm, striking the spear’s shaft, and shattering it. SWOSH! BAM! With a swifter move, he punched the head guard in the ear and then in the liver, sending him flying.
^Am I dead?^ He wondered, his vision slowly fading. His heart slowed almost to a halt, but then his blood started boiling. ^NO! Fight to last breath.^
CLAP! As the head guard’s body spun in the air, his arm moved, catching the tip of his shattered spear. His eyes glow with a golden light as he growls, [Action Surge] [Adrenaline rush]
In the blink of an eye, sixteen thrusts rushed toward EirwanKari.
The last struggle of a dying man pushed beyond his limit. He had never managed over twelve attacks before, but only death awaited now.
“Hehe!” EirwanKari giggled with a raging smile, rushing forward without caring to block any of the attacks. They simply bounced off his scales.
EirwanKari thrust his fist forward, piercing the head of the guard’s stomach and ripping a chunk of his spine out. But he wasn’t done yet. The dragon swung his second fist at the man’s head, trying to finish the already finished job.
CLANG! EirwanKari’s eyes opened wide as both his arms were caught. He could see a hand grasping the fist he sent at the man’s face and one clenching on the one that pierced him.
“How about you stop?” A voice came, and EirwanKari glared to the side, about to lash out. “GUH!” He stopped, those two blue eyes glaring down at him.
Gojo looked at EirwanKari and the head guards with a smile, “This fight is over. How about you go rest?”
“Who are you to order me around?” EirwanKari shouted, but deep inside he knew this man was a problem. The fact he stopped his attack with ease was terrifying.
“You better listen,” Kin was already standing there, a golden broom in her hand.
CRACK! CRACK! Gin cracked her knuckles, “Sister, can I start punching?” She asked with a passive face.
“My back hurts,” An old lady wearing tattered clothes appeared out of nowhere, walking forward with a bent back and approaching them, extending her hand to EirwanKari, “Have any coins to spare for a hungry old lady?”
Gojo pulled a gold coin from his purse and gave it to the old lady. “Here you go.” He smiled.
“Thanks my son,” She smiled, extending her hand to EirwanKari once again. “Please?”
EirwanKari pulled his hand from the head guard’s torso and snorted, “Here you go,” He pulled a gold coin and gave it to the old lady.
“You’re generous, my boy, thank you.” She turned, walking away.
EirwanKari stared at the old woman. He can tell by her smell.
^A brass wyrm and those two maids are gold and silver. Since when did the metallic bastards infiltrate this place? Did someone rat us out?^ He growled inside, staring at Gojo, ^Who is this bastard? I can’t smell any dragon from him. What is he? A powerful adventurer or a hero?^
“Who are you?” EirwanKari asked, glaring at Gojo.
“Gojo, her husband’s brother. So you could say she’s my sister-in-law.” Gojo smiled, pointing at Isdis on the balcony, “You aren’t deciding anything till he arrives,”
“Hemph!” EirwanKari turned and started walking toward the castle as the healers rushed to the dying head guard. “Fine by me,”
Kin approached Gojo, “You can’t kill him?”
“I’m not stealing my brother’s prey.” He replied, “I will keep it at a stand-by.” Gojo won’t allow EirwanKari to harm or approach Isdis until Arad returns to finish him.
Kin sighed, “Fine, we don’t want trouble as well. Killing him might send us into a full war with the barbarians of the north,”
“Well, that’s a problem,” Gojo smiled.
***
Several minutes later, dinner time came. The king sat on the long royal table, EirwanKari facing him on the other side.
Kin and Gin stood beside the king, the princes on the left side of the table, and the queens and princesses on the right side.
The first prince, Alfred Lior Ruris sat with his arms crossed, glaring back at the maid beside him, “I told you I don’t want Ironlake’s wine. Bring me something else. Closed bottle!” He growled.
The maid bowed with a scared face, “At once,” and rushed away.
“Brother, be respectful,” The second prince, Charlie Lior Ruris, “You look like a fucking imbecile.” He started with a passive face.
The fourth princess, Isdis Lior Ruris laughed in the back, “I know, right?” Her giggles filled the room.
“You two! We’re at the dinner table with a guest.” A woman with a large chest and a wrinkled face glared at them, The first queen(The third in reality, after Kin and Gin) Emma Frostwell. She’s Isdis and Charlie’s mother.
“Dysfunctional as usual,” The third prince, Thomas Lior Ruris. He fixed his glasses, staring at his father, “Won’t you say anything?”
“Does anyone listen to me around here?” Baltos sighed, Kin and Gin tapping his back.
“My dear,” The second queen(Fourth in reality after Kin, Gin, and Emma) Looked at him with a gentle smile, Her red hair dangling in braids behind her and almost reaching the ground. “They listen to you more than you think,”
“Mommy’s right!” A little girl, almost fourteen years old shouted. She’s the fifth princess, Lucy Lior Ruris. She lifted her fist, waving it with great energy, and then pointed at the white-haired man sitting beside her, “Right?”
“How the hell should I know?” Gojo sighed, and Lucy pinched his cheek, pulling on his hair, “Say yes! Say yes! Say yes!” She cried.
Gojo Orion. Currently working as Princess Lucy’s sword trainer. The kind didn’t know he was Arad’s brother until EirwanKari came. His true mission was infiltrating the castle and mapping it for the heist, and being with the easily manipulated Lucy helped out. With a few words, she would nag the guards into letting her and Gojo into the restricted sections.
^Damn you, Vars. You told me dealing with this little shit was going to be easy.^ Gojo growled internally. Lucy was smarter than they anticipated.
When the royal family made a request for a sword master to train the first princess. Vars enrolled Gojo without even asking him. He said with his strength and dashing look, he would have no problem getting the princess’s approval.
EirwanKari stared around the table, confused. Was this the royal family of the biggest human kingdom? “Ahem, I only came here on a peaceful visit. I hope I didn’t trouble you too much,” He tried to start a conversation and lifted his wine glass. He smiled, “For the the prosperity of our kingdoms,”
Everyone looked at each other and lifted their glasses, except Lucy who didn’t have any drinks.
“Cheer!” Everyone drank, but as soon as Gojo got the wine glass close to his mouth, Lucy smacked it out of his hand. “I told you no drinks on the job,”
EirwanKari And Alfred glared at her, surprised, “Why did you do that?” they couldn’t believe she had done that. As long as Alfred remembers, Lucy never acted that rash before. Why only this time out of all?
Gojo stared at the spilled wine on the table as one of the maids rushed to clean it, his eyes quickly shifted toward Lucy who was so close to him that she almost hugged his arm.
“Get your filthy drinks away from him!” She growled with an angry face.
^Lucy is a wild magic sorceress, violent magic always surrounds her body in one-meter radios. It’s harmless most of the time, but only she knows what the wild magic is doing.^ Gojo though, ^Is there something in the wine that only she could see?^