While the sun was ascending over the horizon to bath the world into its brightness, five massive figures shot in the air, flying from a rectangular-shaped mountain into the sky where only a deserted expanse could be seen below.
One of the flying figures, this one red in color, sped forward, putting in a remarkable interval between it and the other figures. Two people could be seen in a cart that was tied on the back of that moving figure, the figure that brightness had labelled as a dragon.
Byron was sitting in a cart on the back of one the four dragons left behind the scouting team, staring at a shimmering circle in front of him. They were four people with him, two at the back, one on his left and one in front, riding the white dragon.
"Are you sure they'll not pass past it?"
It was Peony's voice, asking Byron if the scouting team would be able to recognize the location to her cave.
"I've provided them with the neccesary details, so I hope they'll."
Peony nodded her head, flinching it on the left side to stare at the landscapes below.
Byron did the same, too, and as he flinched his head to the side to stare down below, Gillian's image came into his side view. She was sitting with Snake, seemingly bored.
Well, what else did Byron expect? That a person like Snake would be cheerful only because of flying on the back of a dragon? Hell, no! She was as austere as a snake could be.
At this, Byron could do nothing to help Gillian except asking, "How does it feel?"
Though he was sure that Gillian might have told her parents about it, Byron thought it was a good idea to help her express her awe.
Peony turned with an open mouth ready to answer, but Gillian's voice made her realize the question was not for her.
"Breathtaking!"
Gillian said with a smile, happy that Byron had showed concern.
"I feel like..."
She continued talking, but now, Byron's attention was drawn to a group of huge rocks which looked like they had once been a one rock and shattered by some powerful being years ago.
These are the rocks where he had spent a night at the first day of his first expedition. The dragon had reached them in a matter of minutes.
'It took me a whole day to reach here, dammit!'
Byron couldn't help but feel sad at the reminencse of the pain he experienced that day.
'At least it gave me Peony!'
Minutes flew like seconds as they viewed the scenery below, until Byron received a message from the scouting team.
He took the rolled parchment from one of the scouters' hand and gave it to Peony who read it for him.
[We have found a canyon with a lake and a few low-ranked monsters around the area. Should we eliminate them?]
A smile appeared on Byron's face, noticing that dragons were able to reach an on-foot-two-days journey in only a matter of minutes.
Come to think of it, dragons didn't need to circle around hills or struggle to cross the canyons. As for Byron, he was not used to the concept of walking on foot, nor did he have wings to leap over the hills. The very reason it took him two days to reach there.
'I'm glad I thought about dragons!'
This reminded him that for life to be easy, one needed to work hard and gain popularity and influence. Because, if not for his discovery, if not for the pain he experienced during his first expedition, Flaming Realms would not have accepted to lend him a Floating Fleet.
'I should work hard.'
He muttered this to himself, remembering another part of the message. They had found a few low-ranked monsters around the area.
This also made the grin on his face widen as he told Peony what to answer the scouters.
"Tell them to let the monsters alone. They should instead signal us their location."
This command was Byron's intention to start his monster hunting quest. While others would be busy at Peony's cave, he would go kill those few monsters as a warm-up for the battle ahead. They were low-ranked, right?
When Peony finished sending the message, thick white smokes could be seen in the far distance ahead, a sign from the scouters.
The guy who sat in front of Byron saw the smoke sign, too, increasing the speed of the massive creature.
Now, even Byron himself was seeing the lake, mesmerized by the view. That day when he was on foot, he could only see small parts of the canyons. But with aerial view, the cracks covering the ground seemed like a cobweb with a hole in the center. It was as if something powerful was sent crushing onto the ground years ago, digging a hole where it fell, the impact resulting in a spread of cracks.
Seeing this, Byron couldn't help but turn to Peony. She had told him it was the titans. Were they still alive? He was asking himself this because he could not see any corpse or their remains.
"Peony, what kind of monsters were those titans?"
The way Peony hurried to answer, it was as if she had been waiting for this question.
"They were humanoid in nature, with grosteque features and one of them as big as five dragons put together. I was here when they fought."
Even looking at the traces of their fight was a frightening experience, how was Peony able to withstand it? Well, she was a Venomous Beauty.
"Where are they?"
"None of them seemed strong enough to defeat another. They're probably still fighting."
"You're joking, right?"
Byron said this because it had been a thousand years. There is no way they could still be alive.
Peony chuckled while pointing west.
"They disappeared over there, still fighting."
Byron's gaze followed her finger and saw a path made of cracks and shattered rocks.
She was not lying.
"That's why no one dares to venture west," she continued. "Hundreds of titans, if not thousands, had conquered the area and they hunt each other. Humanity had lived in fear that one day the titans will migrate toward their safe zones, but that is yet to happen. I wonder how you'll be able to go there."
'Hundreds? Uh... no! Thousands!'
Was it even possible?
'And... and what's up with that last sentence?'
"What do you mean by how I'll be able to reach there?"
She had made it sound like he would need to go there one day. Why would he? Even the strongest people never dared to venture there. That's what she said, right? Why would he want to go there?
Peony let out a chuckle and stared at him, her expression becoming serious to match the intensity of the answer she was going to provide.
"Because some of us, I mean those who have picked large shards, live in the west, the only place they can find dangerous monsters to hunt and grow stronger."
Was Peony trying to tell him that they hunt those titans?
'Damn!'