Gawain quickly noticed the expressions on the faces of the two women and took the initiative to ask, "Is there a problem?"
"Ancestor, don't you… feel angry?" Rebecca asked cautiously. "This is the last territory of the Cecil family…"
Gawain was momentarily taken aback, realizing he had not fully stepped into his character, revealing a crack in his façade. He promptly put on a serious expression and summoned all his acting skills. "Dwelling on these matters is of no use. Gawain Cecil is a pioneer. Every inch of land and wealth belonging to this family was built from the ground up by me. If the territory is gone, it's gone; we can always find a new place to pioneer. Why sulk over it?"
Hetty and Rebecca hurriedly nodded in agreement, feeling a deep admiration for their ancestor. They thought to themselves how worthy he was of being a legendary figure, and while his vision and mindset were indeed exceptional, they couldn't help but wonder where he intended to pioneer in an age where all land had already been divided among the existing noble system, with unclaimed lands mostly being off-limits…
"There's nothing more to see here; we need to plan our next steps. First, we must find a town, then figure out how to reunite with the group that broke through earlier…"
Taking advantage of the lingering effect of his bravado, Gawain quickly changed the subject. "I remember a knight named Philip led the way, right? Have you decided on a rendezvous point?"
Rebecca replied promptly, "We agreed on Tansan Town in the north. If Tansan has also been attacked by the monsters, we'll continue north along the Royal Highway."
Gawain nodded, about to leave when an odd sensation suddenly stopped him in his tracks.
After a moment of hesitation, he and Knight Byron shouted in unison, "Get down! Hide!"
Although they didn't understand the reason, Rebecca and Hetty immediately followed Byron, taking cover beneath a nearby boulder. Amber, quick as a flash, had already slipped into the shadows and vanished into some hidden corner the moment Gawain spoke.
Gawain darted behind Rebecca for cover but suddenly noticed that the seemingly dazed little maid, Betty, was still standing there, bewildered, clutching her frying pan.
Without thinking, he rushed out and pulled her back just as a sense of dread descended upon everyone—a heavy pressure that made their hearts tremble.
Amid the rising glow of the "giant sun," an elegant and massive creature slowly flew across the sky.
It was a dragon, measuring several dozen meters in length.
In a state of panic, Hetty instinctively cast a third-tier spell, "Bend Light Field," concealing the forms of everyone present. However, she wasn't confident that this basic spell could fool the eyes of a legendary creature.
Yet the dragon seemed oblivious to the people below, or perhaps it simply did not deign to pay them any attention.
It slowly flapped its wings, soaring gracefully and majestically across the sky, its enormous eyes reflecting the land of the Cecil territory ravaged by the magical tide.
Then, it unleashed a breath of saltwater… oh, a searing breath that incinerated the ground below.
The dragon unleashed its fiery breath upon the devastated land. The already scorched earth ignited again, turning into a blazing inferno, as if the very ground itself were being set ablaze once more.
Rebecca clung tightly to her staff, her voice trembling. "Ancestor, I saw a dragon!"
Gawain cleared his throat. "Ahem, no need for you to say it; I saw it too."
Rebecca snapped back to her senses, glancing at Gawain with a bit of embarrassment, then turning her gaze toward the Cecil territory.
This place, ravaged by the magical tide and then scorched by dragonfire, was utterly beyond salvation.
Those monsters… while they had posed quite a challenge for the inept guards of the Cecil territory, they were ultimately just the lowest tier of aberrations. Under the dragon's fiery breath, they had almost all been reduced to ashes.
Even those that might have survived would soon self-destruct after such a dramatic change in their surroundings; it was only a matter of time.
"I thought dragons only existed in legends…" Byron, usually taciturn, couldn't help but speak up. The three soldiers beside him still struggled to stand, but the normally strict knight didn't chastise them. Instead, he furrowed his brow. "My lord, have you ever dealt with a dragon?"
"No…" Gawain shook his head. "Dragons are mysterious creatures. Even during the upheaval of half the Loren continent seven hundred years ago, they did not intervene in the mundane world."
Although he said this, Gawain felt no great astonishment at the sight of the colossal creature.
He had seen dragons hanging in the sky in other realms, witnessing such beings appear on the continent multiple times.
However, dragons were indeed mysterious. Even though Gawain had hovered in the skies for countless years, his encounters with dragons had been quite limited, and due to the fragmented nature of those memories, he could not summarize many characteristics or habits of dragons.
At that moment, he noticed Amber standing nearby, still wide-eyed and astonished.
"I saw a dragon!" she exclaimed excitedly. "My mom will never believe me; I saw a dragon! It was so big!"
"Alright, alright, everyone here saw it…" Gawain shot a glance at the skittish and loud thief. "Where did you run off to just now?"
"I hid in the cracks of nearby rocks…" Amber puffed out her chest proudly. "I'm great at escaping!"
Gawain sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Master of shadow affinity, but your combat ability is only slightly better than that of a goose, and you're proud of it?"
Shaking his head, he added, "This place isn't safe to linger in; let's move on."
He stepped down the hillside, aware that although the dragon had departed, who knew what other bizarre entities might emerge? It was best to leave as quickly as possible.
But Hetty cast one last, complicated glance at the family territory. "Ancestor… that dragon burned our land."
"It burned our ruins; strictly speaking, it incinerated those monsters…"
Gawain looked at Hetty. When the dragon released its breath, he had carefully observed that it primarily targeted the areas with the densest concentration of monsters.
Although he couldn't understand why it had missed a few times, the tendency of its attacks was quite clear. "The Cecil territory was already lost before that dragon arrived."
"But…"
"Are you planning to seek justice from a dragon?" Gawain shrugged. "Let's be practical. If we are to do anything, it should be to return to civilization as quickly as possible and report everything regarding the monsters and the dragon."
Hetty could not argue and simply nodded. "Understood…"
In truth, Gawain empathized with Hetty's feelings. The Cecil territory was her homeland, the place where she had been born and raised.
Although her homeland had been destroyed, the emotional hurdle was not so easily overcome. Even knowing that the dragon had merely set fire to the ruins and that its flames might have been aimed at burning the monsters, she would still feel a sense of discomfort.
After all, it felt like the dragon had desecrated their family's final resting place.
However, Gawain found it difficult to fully immerse himself in the situation, as until he climbed out of the coffin, he was not yet the ancestor of the Cecil family.
With a myriad of chaotic thoughts, the group left the area, and what lay ahead of them was a dense forest.
Hetty held her staff in one hand, sketching a few shifting runes in the air with the other, then looked toward the direction of the forest. "We need to pass through this forest to get back to the main road, which is the route to Tansan Town."
Gawain watched the glowing runes in Hetty's hand with curiosity and envy (despite his efforts to hide it). "Magic truly is a convenient thing…"
"Ancestor?" Hetty asked, somewhat confused, then a look of apprehension crossed her face. "Am I displeasing you with these skills?"
Gawain was taken aback. "Huh? Why would I be displeased?"
"The Cecil family has always relied on the strength of knights; martial skills and horsemanship are the family's traditions. For someone like me, and Rebecca, to pursue the path of a mage… if it were a hundred years ago, we wouldn't even be considered for inheritance, let alone have a place in the family…"
Hetty nervously explained, "But since the incident a hundred years ago, the family's status has plummeted, and our numbers have dwindled. Those who can wield extraordinary power are scarce, so paths outside of knighthood have begun to gain recognition… But regardless, this goes against the family's rules."
Gawain casually remarked, "Who made these stupid rules?"
He had always despised such typical archaic family regulations that stifled progress and innovation.
But he didn't expect that as soon as he said this, the atmosphere became awkward. Knight Byron immediately lowered his head, pretending to tie his shoelaces, even though he was wearing iron boots. Hetty froze in place, while Rebecca timidly raised her hand and pointed at Gawain himself two seconds later.
Gawain: "…"
Checking his memory, he recalled that there was indeed such an event from years past. The young and impulsive hero Gawain Cecil, after a triumphant return, had shared celebratory drinks with Charles I, the founding king of Ansu. The two friends had boasted about their accomplishments, discussing how those who once struggled to escape to the north had become pioneers and foundational figures, foreseeing a wave of new nobility rising from their ranks.
As long as they lived and thrived, these new nobles would eventually give rise to long-standing, well-established families…
So, the tipsy founders contemplated whether they should establish some regulations, setting family rules to ensure that future generations would remember the spirit of their ancestors. As the foremost pioneer, Gawain Cecil and Charles I naturally felt it their duty to lead by example.
Thus, seven hundred years ago, Gawain had downed a large cup of strong liquor, glanced at his knightly sword at his waist, and raised his hand to scribble a line on the table:
"Knights are superior to mages."
Charles I, seeing this, felt pleased and also wrote his own line:
"Lord Gawain speaks the truth."
The former became the family's guiding principle, while the latter… the advisers and courtiers of Charles I had swiftly dismissed it as drunken folly.
The ministers, who were concerned about the bigger picture, and the sober king, of course, would not take such drunken declarations as basic national policy.
But Gawain Cecil, however, took his heartfelt sentiments from that night and etched them into the family rules.
Returning from his memories, Gawain looked at Hetty and Rebecca with an embarrassed expression.
He sighed, "I was drunk back then; just pretend this rule doesn't exist…"
Hetty and Rebecca: "…"
Just then, a gurgling sound emanated from Amber's stomach, finally giving Gawain an opportunity to escape the awkwardness.
"Though I know it's a bit inappropriate to say this while you all are enjoying family time…" The half-elf girl rubbed her stomach, looking somewhat embarrassed. "But I'm a bit hungry."
Amber's growling stomach seemed to serve as a starting signal; after her words, several other stomach noises followed from everyone present.
Even Gawain was no exception.
It was only at that moment that Gawain realized that since leaving the dark tomb, everyone present had gone a long time without food.
His own time without eating had exceeded that of anyone else; the last time he had experienced the satisfaction of chewing food, the monkeys on Loren Continent had yet to stand upright.