Azderos, Northern Glaciers, Hvítreiðr.
As usual, the people rose early to engage in various activities such as construction, food preparation, hunting, and training. Buildings were being erected, and old ones were being demolished. The clan members' only complaint these days was how badly maintained the settlement, formerly known as Tu'bask, had been.
Nevertheless, they were content. Under the rules and guidelines set by Ülgen, everyone received what they were due. Dissatisfaction was addressed through duels or by a small group known as enforcers. Northerners were happy to be living in a level of order they had never seen in any other clan.
Most of the populace was healthy. They owed this to the elderly healers who had compiled their knowledge and were working together in a place called the infirmary. The Young Fatih knew that many issues affecting the clan's strength, especially population growth, stemmed from health. Therefore, the infirmary was one of the few buildings prioritized for construction in Hvítreiðr.
If he didn't have so many other responsibilities, he wouldn't hesitate to spend weeks just increasing the knowledge base and efficiency of the infirmary. The elderly healers were not bad either; after consolidating their knowledge and cooperating, they had become far more efficient than an average clan.
While work continued in the city, their lord had already departed and transformed into his dragon form, hidden among the clouds. "Ah, I can feel the growing potential of my people. There are few sensations more wonderful for a Fatih!" He had noticed the small but steady increase in the energy flowing to him from Hvítreiðr.
Taking a deep breath, he glanced at Hvítreiðr one last time. With a flap of his wings that didn't disturb the clouds, his nine-meter body moved forward.
...
Azderos, Northern Glaciers.
The journey with humans felt like crawling compared to the speed he could achieve in the sky. However, while hidden among the clouds, he had to be careful not to exceed a certain speed.
A young dragon flying at full speed could attract unwanted attention. He especially wanted to avoid falling into the hands of the bronze dragon near his mother's territory or the ice titans rumored to be wandering the area.
Even his mother barely managed to protect herself by forming an alliance with another white dragon. Although he was far more intelligent than his mother, he could not yet win a direct fight against her at his current level. Despite having surpassed the tenth degree barrier and reaching the size of a young dragon thanks to the power boost from conquering Hvítreiðr, the difference between him and an adult dragon was still vast.
"Once I arrive, no matter how foolish my mother is, she'll be curious about the increase in my power. I'll tell her I was fortunate enough to absorb an ice-natured crystal. However, the threat there was even more terrifying than the bronze dragon, and I had to flee before I could look for more (!)." The excuse he concocted was quite simple, but the north had plenty of dangers to make it plausible.
He wondered what his dragon siblings had been up to in his absence. How much had their power increased? Probably about a quarter degree. Advancing a quarter degree in a month was quite absurd for young dragons. However, before leaving, he had them hunt powerful magical creatures known as winter wolves. It wouldn't be surprising if they experienced a significant power boost after absorbing the energy from the winter wolves.
As he advanced in his thoughts, he realized with his multitasking mind that he was approaching the bronze dragon's territory and slowly descended to a lower altitude. Flying at high altitudes could attract dangers much stronger than the bronze dragon.
When he descended to a sufficient level, he transformed into his human form and flipped in the air to land in the snow. He then had to lighten his body with his aura to avoid sinking into the snow. From here on, it was better to proceed in his human form. The place he landed was about three days' distance by an ordinary northerner's measure from the bronze dragon's territory. However, for a dragon flying slowly in the sky, it wouldn't take even two hours.
Ülgen tensed his muscles and controlled his power, which had dropped to the sixth degree due to his human body. Then he started walking. Now he was in the depths of the north, so he believed there wouldn't be any problems besides the magical creatures he could avoid whenever he wanted.
But fate seemed to have a little surprise for him. After two days of peaceful walking and killing a few magical beasts to replenish his energy, trouble found him while he was lying on a tree to rest his mind and check his plans.
"Hm?" He frowned as a gloomy aura hit him.
Then he narrowed his eyes and turned toward the source of the gloomy aura. A knight in black armor was approaching the tree he was lying on from hundreds of meters away. For a moment, Ülgen wondered if it was a coincidence, but then he realized the gloomy aura was targeting him and calmly stayed in place.
A human or humanoid being was extremely rare to see in this region patrolled by dragons and ice titans. In fact, the large sword he lost in a three-on-one fight and later decided not to retrieve was a trophy he found after years of wandering the area. Now, a man clad in black armor with a horse was targeting him.
"The aura he emits doesn't exceed the sixth degree, but there's something unusual about him." As the man approached and Ülgen felt a slight sense of danger rising, he couldn't help but grumble, knowing he couldn't transform into a dragon due to the proximity to the bronze dragon's territory.
When the distance between them reduced to a hundred meters, the black knight suddenly stopped. Then he spoke in a creaky and chilling tone. "I'm looking for a child." The words were slow but carried the accent of the central lands.
The words caused a brief silence. Ülgen coldly responded, "What child?" He had many questions he wanted to ask, but the gloomy energy radiating from the knight made him feel like they were about to fight at any moment.
"My master said that child has a powerful destiny."
The knight's words brought to Ülgen's mind the image of the girl singing northern melodies as they departed for Dromkez. As a Fatih, he had complete trust in his racial instincts, so he suspected that the child with the powerful destiny mentioned by the black knight could be that girl.
Still, he decided to play the fool. "I'm not a frail seer who relies on destiny, stranger. Get to the point!" he threatened, releasing his aura. He had analyzed the northerners enough to mimic their mindset.
But something was different about the black knight. He continued to speak as he radiated his own aura. "I can smell the scent of that child's destiny on you. My master said even if I can't find the child, I should at least-!"
Before he could finish his slow speech, a fist filled with aura struck his face, knocking him off his horse and sending him flying meters away. The black knight reflexively moved to defend himself from a second attack while trying to regain his balance.
But the expected attack did not come. Instead, the dismembered corpse of his horse crashed into him in pieces. Looking at his horse's corpse, he began to draw his spear with trembling hands. Additionally, the gloomy aura around his body became much more intense.
"Ah, I see the death of your horse bothers you," a contemptuous voice echoed in his ears as he looked at Ülgen with red eyes glowing through the slit of his helmet. But the young Fatih didn't care about the fury in those eyes. On the contrary, he extended a hand towards the knight and beckoned him, "Come on, after I tear you apart, I'll see who this master of yours is!"
The insult to his master angered the black knight more than the death of his horse. With a muffled, beastly roar, he leaped. Seeing his opponent jump meters into the air, Ülgen grinned and jumped as well.
Realizing Ülgen wouldn't let him gain momentum, the black knight abandoned this idea and swung his spear mid-air. The downward slash was powerful enough to bury Ülgen in the snowy ground if it hit.
"Hah, got you!" But the spear was caught in mid-air, and using the momentum of the slash, Ülgen added his own strength and delivered a fierce kick to the knight.
Despite the dent left in his armor by the kick, the black knight had no intention of letting go of his spear. He tightened his grip with one hand and pulled it towards himself, delivering a savage punch to Ülgen, who was caught off guard by the force.
The shockwave from the punch sent Ülgen flying meters through the air. The two of them landed in the ground, creating small craters. Ülgen wiped the blood trickling from his nose with the back of his hand. As expected, his opponent wasn't easy prey!