"... so, we are going to catch earth dragons?"
"They said that their meat is tastier than your average dragon."
"... Yubin… we can't."
"Melody, even I know that we have earth dragons in our home, but they are biologically different! Basically, the earth dragon here is a type of gigantic lizard without any wings. These lizards are omnivore, so we can cultivate them in our home."
"Okay, okay. I see the point," Melody said as she nodded. "So, what did you find out?"
"They live in deserts, and there are only few people manning the location there. No one has ever encountered someone when they hunted earth dragons for their run of the mill quests."
"There's war right now, so we can't leave yet," Yao Yun said. "We have to wait and see after we got news from Her Majesty. Didn't she participated in the war, Sir Elodiaren?"
"Yes, she have a high chance of participating."
"Whichever side our Lord decided to eliminate, they are as good as dead now," Chu Yubin mumbled.
"... aha ha ha…. I can't refute that," Melody said as she downed the contents of her cup. Her alcoholic drink had a fruity taste, and she was quite taken with it.
They were currently in a high end restaurant near the noble's district as they exchanged information about this place's must delicacies. However, as they knew, they still couldn't go to any desert location in the country because of the war to acquire earth dragons. It was very easy to enter, but they were forbidden to leave now that the war was at its peak. There was also news about a white haired woman ravaging the tides of war with her body and sword alone. They still didn't know which side was losing, so they remained vigilant.
Suddenly, as soon as they finished their food and was ready to leave, there was a loud ringing noise from every direction. The people immediately stood up and escorted the women out. It was strange. They were even surrounded by men with caution.
"Melody, hey," Chu Yubin voiced out.
"... I know. This is strange. Why would these men escort out the women they hate to safety?"
"... this is a coup d'état. Everyone, get ready for battle," Elodiaren ordered as he unsheathed his prized sword. "We are now in an area for battle."
They immediately encased Melody to protect her. When the men surrounding them stopped abruptly, Elodiaren's group also paused and proceeded with caution.
"What? So, it's a girl all along?"
"I see now. Someone must be hiding her to protect her from those hoodlums."
"But isn't it too suspicious about the spell wearing off right now?"
"You can't lie about their intentions. They immediately shielded the girl from us, so she's a woman. They called her Melody too, you know."
"Hey, we won't harm you, so you can evacuate now," one of them said as the other men dispersed. He continued, "I'm Domitello. Just so you know, we are now seizing this city. So, please do evacuate."
"Just for confirmation," Elodiaren said. "You know of a woman who have white hair and red eyes with the name of Emersyn Lachlan?"
Domitello's eyes widened and nodded with glee. "So, you know of our hero! Yes, she is helping us! Are you her comrades?"
"Yes, she asked us to obtain monster delicacies for our home."
"Ah. You can't leave right now since there is a high risk of someone running away from us, but you can leave once we have succeeded on eliminating the Emperor and deflecting the other empire's army. We have a lot of cleaning up to do, so I ask of you a lot of patience until then."
"Can I help?" Melody asked.
"Huh? Well, you can, but what can you do?"
"I am a healer, sir. I can attend to the injured. I will do the best that I can!"
"Oh! A rare one! Yes, you can help, but the only place teeming with injured people is the battlefield. Are you okay with that?"
"Yes!"
"Wait! Can we help too?" Chu Yubin asked, exasperated.
"Huh? Uh… damn it. Sure! I'll handle the introductions! Follow me. We are attacking the Grand Duke's castle right now, and the place is filled with experienced knights. As you can surmise, the Grand Duke is the little brother of the Emperor, so his personal knights came from the Royal Capital. Sir Mahaze Burlock is the one leading us at this. Our main troops is attacking the Royal Capital which is being led by Sir Struan Ancel. We will regroup with them once we finished here. There is still a very high chance that something is waiting to ambush us from our blindspot…. Oh, we are here now. The important battle is right ahead. Oh, and people with red bands are our comrades. Ah, yes! You guys also need a red band! How could I forget that?!"
"..."
"..."
"Anyway! Come! We still need to gear you up after the introductions! Let's hurry up!"
They sped up their pace and Domitello was surprised that they could all keep up. He was more surprised to see that Melody, the only woman with them, ran along without getting tired after the long run. They arrived in their hideout and briefly introduced Yao Yun, Elodiaren, Chu Yubin and Melody before giving them their bands and a breastplate with a mark that signified their rebellion. They didn't waste any more time as they immediately joined the people fighting in the Grand Duke's castle. Meanwhile, Melody was running around the castle to search for injured comrades and heal them. Their bodies didn't need that much mana, so her expenditure and rate of healing became faster than usual. Then and there, she realized that she was strong all along. She was just being surrounded with people that were much, much more stronger than her. It shook her foundation, but she still firmly held on the belief that she was weak.
"Thank you, miss…."
"It's no problem, sir. I need to search for more injured comrades, so please do get a rest before you can join again. Be careful, yes?"
"Ha ha ha! Okay, okay. I will," the man said as he waved his hand.
"Oh, and please accept this. This is an energy drink that I concocted. Two sips would be enough for you."
"I got it."
Melody bowed then continued searching for more patients.
***
Grand Duke Draven des Luiva was escaping through the secret passage installed in his castle that connected to the Royal Capital. In the Emperor's secret projects, it was, by far, the most extensive passage ever made. Only the Royal Family knew of it, and the rest were killed for secrecy. They couldn't risk the passage being leaked since it concerned the safety and survivability of the Royal blood. There were emergency rations preserved with mana in every stopgap along the way. Draven only had his disheveled expensive clothing and his neatly combed hair was filled with dirt and dust.
He heaved when he finally stopped at the fifth and last stop in the passage. There were food and drinks being transported through a circle and his eyes beamed with delight.
It was warm food, and he immediately took it from the circle. The circle lost its light as he gorged on his food. When he finished eating, he took off the dirty cloth that covered the bed and laid down. He closed his eyes and soon, he fell asleep. He was so exhausted that he immediately went into a deep sleep. It had been a few days since he was being chased by Mahaze on the surface. It was equally exhausting to run away with the Royal Guards protecting him behind. Thankfully, this passage was done just a few months ago. No one lived here to protect this passage, but the Royal family. There were only three entrances that were wonderfully hidden through another hidden room.
Draven woke up with a startle. He looked around and saw nothing, but he felt like he was being monitored. For this reason, he hastened his escape to his older brother. However, when he arrived at the junction leading to his brother's place, there was a wall of dirt.
This couldn't have happened if no one found out about this secret passage.
"Who's there?!" He bellowed. "Show yourself!"
"My, you're one impatient fellow."
Draven looked up and saw a woman's head jutting from the ceiling. He screamed in terror and the lights that illuminated the passage flickered then went out. He scrambled to stand up with his trembling legs and tried to unsheathe his sword hanging on his waist. He can't see now, so he was terrified if this unknown foe attacked him. Suddenly, there was a ball of fire that generated out of nowhere and the full figure of the woman fell down on the hard floor.
She was quite beautiful with her silverish white hair tied up in a messy bun, and her eyes marbled of silver and red. It was more ominous with a redder tint from the flame.
"I'm Emersyn Lachlan. Nice meeting you," she smiled.
"..."
"Hm? Don't worry, I am not here to kill you?"
"How did you know of this place?"
"Right on spot. It was really weird, you know? There was an interference underground, so I came to check. Then, I found you sleeping soundly."
"How… did you get in here?"
"Why are you asking me that when you already know the answer?" Emersyn said as she rolled her eyes.
"..."
"Never mind that. Anyway, you seem important. Probably one of the Emperor's direct family?"
"Didn't you say that you are not here to kill me?"
"Oh, you are one of them. Well, I am not one with the grudge, so I have nothing to hold against you. You're going through there, right?" Emersyn gestured at the collapsed wall of dirt. "You can go now."
"..."
Draven stepped back and ran into the passage. He had to inform His Majesty about that woman. He could feel it. Even after being this far from her, he could feel it. That compacted mass of walking menace that was filled to the brim with purity that was never seen before.