Sword of Dawnbreaker

Chapter 941 - 940: A Journey Through the Skies

Fly over...

Upon hearing Melita’s response, Gawain instinctively narrowed his eyes—this answer was within his expectations.

However, he still sized up Melita and, as if to confirm, asked, "Are you going to take the three of us alone?"

Melita glanced at Gawain and the Amber and Veronica standing next to him, a confident smile appearing on her face: "Of course there’s no problem—for a healthy adult dragonkin, this is not a burden to be concerned about."

As she spoke, she took a few steps back, then looked at the curious guards and human officials who had come to see them off, spreading her arms: "Then, everyone, please step back a bit. I need some space to release myself."

Gawain immediately waved his hand while stepping back with Amber and Veronica. Soon, the crowd made way for a wide open space large enough for a dragon to take off and land. The agent lady walked to the center of the clearing unhurriedly. She glanced around to confirm the space was sufficient, then took a deep breath—the next second, a surge of magical power erupted!

A powerful force beyond human control rapidly emanated from Melita, forming a magical light screen as solid as steel in the blink of an eye. Under everyone’s shocked and curious gazes, the suddenly inflated light screen began to rhythmically pulsate, expand, and contract, gradually reshaping itself. Her original human silhouette quickly disappeared in the resplendent light, and a pair of massive dragon wings emerged from within the glow. Moments later, the light screen silently shattered, leaving only an imposing, awe-inspiring blue dragon standing where Melita had been.

A few small gasps could be heard from the crowd—although many here had seen Dragonborn before, watching a real dragon transform right before their eyes was a completely different experience than merely seeing a Dragonborn soar through the sky. Even Rebecca, standing at the edge of the plaza, couldn’t help but exclaim. She stared, wide-eyed and open-mouthed, at the blue dragon in the center, then turned to poke Maji, who was standing beside her, trying to diminish her presence: "Hey, upon closer inspection, this one really is much bigger than you..."

Maji lowered her eyelids, speaking in a slightly downcast voice: "She is a genuine, healthy dragonkin..."

Rebecca immediately changed her tone: "You’re not bad either, you have an iron jaw—she doesn’t even have one."

Maji: "..."

The Dragonborn maid continued to keep her eyes downcast, seemingly not much comforted by Rebecca’s words...

"Though I witnessed it once on the battlefield of the Plains of the Holy Spirits, seeing it again still makes me marvel... dragons indeed are formidable creatures," Gawain said, looking up at Melita, who had turned her gaze toward him, smiling as he praised her, "Those fortunate enough to witness dragons call you the natural rulers of the sky, and it’s not without reason."

"Sky rulers... no species can truly rule the sky; its vastness is something even dragons must revere," Melita shook her head. In her dragon form, her voice, though still feminine, rolled like thunder. "So, dear passengers, are you ready?"

"One moment," Gawain waved his hand and summoned Soldrin, who was waiting nearby. After Soldrin approached, he quietly instructed, "Send the image here to the imperial capital’s defense forces, remind the anti-air positions to recognize it."

"Understood," Soldrin nodded, casting another glance at the nearby blue dragon, and whispered to Gawain, "By the way, don’t forget to help me..."

Gawain glanced at the High-Ranked Ranger’s bright golden hair, his expression suddenly wooden: "...I’ll try."

Soldrin left with the orders, while Gawain turned to face Melita. She had clearly overheard the hushed conversation without any soundproofing and showed a few fangs with her lips slightly curled (it was very likely a smile): "Looks like I’ll have to be extra careful when flying over your Empire from now on—hope your anti-air positions aren’t specifically targeting me and my colleagues; we’ve always been friendly and orderly."

"Of course, dragonkin are our friends," Gawain grinned, "but we have many enemies, and everyone’s technology is advancing—there’s no choice but to develop some new things for protection."

As he spoke, he glanced at Melita’s back in her dragon form. As an epic creature with wings wide enough to cover half a plaza, her back was exceptionally broad. Even considering the rugged keratin structures, there was more than enough room on her smooth scales for passengers or even luggage.

Melita noticed Gawain’s gaze and curiously asked, "What are you looking at? Is there anything else you need to prepare?"

Gawain stroked his chin: "Everything’s prepared... as I remember you said, we could bring some necessary luggage?"

"Of course," Melita nodded, her voice like thunder, "You can bring quite a bit; as I mentioned, for a healthy adult dragonkin, you and your luggage are no burden. However, if it’s everyday household items, there’s no need to bring too much—my flight speed is fast, and we’ll reach Talronde within a day, where we’ve already prepared a human-friendly living environment for our guests."

"As long as we can bring luggage, that’s good. Don’t worry, they’re not household items, just some ’equipment’," Gawain nodded reassuringly, turning to wave at the attendants nearby, "Bring the items over."

Melita curiously watched the humans suddenly busy themselves, wondering what they were up to. Soon, she saw two magic-guided vehicles emerge from behind a low wall in the courtyard. Attendants skillfully removed the tarps from the vehicles, revealing what was underneath. Her eyes widened in surprise.

These were several rather large magical devices that looked quite heavy. They shimmered with the texture of crystals and steel under the sunlight, appearing both new and advanced. Melita wasn’t sure what they were for but could roughly guess that one device resembled a large magic web terminal, evidently a custom model—she hadn’t seen anything like it during her travels in this country.

The blue dragon couldn’t help but raise her eyebrows: "Interesting..."

"These are some testing devices," Gawain didn’t hide the purpose of these devices—after all, he would soon be securing them onto Melita’s back, and although he had her consent, he still felt a bit apologetic, so he spoke candidly, "We hope to use this opportunity to collect some oceanic and atmospheric data beyond the continent. Of course, this is on the premise that it won’t cause you any inconvenience."

"No inconvenience at all," Melita replied offhandedly, "Whether it’s some steel equipment or a few tons of stones on my back makes no difference... I just didn’t expect you to be carrying just some ’testing devices’."

"What did you think we were bringing?" Gawain asked curiously.

"I was even prepared for the psychological possibility of you setting up a table and chairs or even a small cabin on my back," Melita shook her head slightly, her tone quite lighthearted, "It would make the journey more comfortable. Humans have always been creatures who know how to enjoy themselves—and you, as a person of high status, should understand how to enjoy even more."

Gawain was dumbfounded by Melita’s casual comment—he really hadn’t thought of what she suggested!

To him, this seemed a bit too extravagant, and from his point of view, quite inappropriate: "Mounting a set of tables and chairs... I feel like it might be a bit disrespectful to you..."

"But I don’t see it as a problem," Melita commented offhandedly, "Installing ’testing devices’ on my back isn’t much different from installing anything else."

Gawain thought it over. Honestly, for a fleeting moment, he did entertain a bit of a lazy idea, but he quickly shook his head: "No, it’s not necessary, I still feel it’s inappropriate, besides, it’s just less than a day’s journey..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard Amber beside him muttering softly: "Actually, I think it’s fine..."

Gawain immediately turned and glared at the half-elf, who maintained her unflinching expression while shrugging her shoulders: "Of course, it doesn’t have to be fine either..."

Melita observed all this, not expressing any opinions and even maintaining a slight smile on her lips—it might seem a bit grim to outsiders, but she was genuinely in a good mood: "Is there anything else that needs arranging? If not, you can start loading these things onto my back. Don’t worry about securing them, for me, it’s just a little spell."

Gawain immediately indicated that there was no problem. Then, under the coordination of a senior attendant, the staff on site began using anti-gravity runes, traction spells, and the Sculpture Hand to transfer the "testing equipment" one by one onto the back of the blue dragon.

The staff responsible for installation were obviously a bit nervous while doing this, but with Melita’s very friendly cooperation, the entire process went smoothly to the end.

After the last installer left her back, Melita slightly moved her body. The large devices fixed on her back were stable without any wobbling.

"Feels quite light, lighter than I expected," she said. "In comparison, those bombs I helped you transport last time were heavier."

Hearing the matter the other party casually brought up, Gawain couldn’t help but curl his lips into an awkward yet polite smile. He then cleared his throat twice: "Now it’s our turn."

Melita confirmed the position of Gawain and the other three with her peripheral vision, then slightly adjusted her posture, pressing down one side of her giant wing. The broad, scale-covered dragon wing formed a gentle slope connecting the ground of the square to the high dragon back. Miss Blue Dragon briefly said with a smile, "Please."

They were about to head to Talronde...

Gawain raised his head, glanced at the "slope" in front of him, and after a very brief moment of contemplation, he took a big step, walking up the "slope."

Amber and Veronica followed closely behind.

Aunt Heidi, Victoria, and Baldwin, the three Grand Governors, stood not far away. The senior officials from the Administrative Office who came to see them off stood behind them. Everyone craned their necks, watching this scene without blinking. Someone recorded the precious footage on the Magic Web Terminal, and some subconsciously wanted to step forward but were stopped by those beside them.

Gawain looked back—he was standing very high, able to overlook everyone.

It seemed he should say some words to boost or comfort people, expressing that he would return safely or achieve some glorious results on this visit—this was the standard process for a hero’s "departure," but after thinking carefully, Gawain decided it was best to say nothing.

His movie-watching experience in his previous life told him that too many grand words often led to an inglorious end.

So he simply raised his arm and waved vigorously to everyone.

The dragon soared into the sky.

...

On the top of the highest sanctuary in Talronde, the splendid golden terrace was bathed in starlight that would last for the next half-year.

An elegant figure with golden hair that reached the ground stood at the edge of the terrace, calmly gazing at the mountains and cities of Talronde, seemingly deep in thought, having maintained this posture for a long time.

Heragor looked up, gazing at the clear, bright starry sky.

The atmosphere here was very clean, and the interactions between the planet’s magnetic field and magic formed the best stargazing window on the entire planet over Talronde. No place was more suitable as the starting point for mortals to explore the universe—it had always seemed to Heragor quite ironic for the Dragonkin.

The twinkling stars reflected in the eyes of the Dragon Priest. He stared at them until they suddenly transformed in his vision into countless pairs of cold, overlooking eyes, until a sudden surge of fear and a sense of enclosure rose from the depths of his soul, prompting him to quickly avert his gaze and lower his head.

The golden-haired figure standing at the edge of the terrace slightly tilted her head, her calm voice reaching Heragor’s ears: "Cherish your life, Heragor—this is the highest point in Talronde."

"My... my Lord, I’m deeply sorry!" Heragor suddenly prostrated, his forehead touching the ground, "I became momentarily lost..."

"Mortals can make mistakes," said the voice, "but you are not an ordinary mortal, you stand by my side."

"I... understand."

"Alright, rise."

To Heragor, these words were like heavenly music. The Dragon Priest immediately breathed a sigh of relief, rising swiftly and respectfully.

For some reason, the god seemed to be in an exceptionally good mood today.

He looked curiously ahead, not daring to inquire aloud, but a few seconds later, the god suddenly spoke: "Melita has already set off back—bringing the guests I invited."

"That human emperor?" Heragor asked with curiosity in his tone, "Ah... indeed quite bold, to make a decision so quickly."

"It might be boldness, or perhaps just a rash nature," the god said softly, yet there seemed to be a faint sense of pleasure in the depths of the tone. "Either way, he has finally accepted my invitation."

Heragor looked at the golden-haired figure with her hair trailing on the ground. It was a long time before he finally blinked.

He wasn’t sure if he had been mistaken.

He actually felt that at this moment, the god’s tone carried... a sense of expectation.

This Dragon Priest, who had lived through long ages, suddenly felt dazed—he could no longer remember the last time he saw the goddess express expectation for something, was it ten thousand years ago? Twenty thousand years ago? Or perhaps even earlier... during the Inversion Tide?

He shook his head, no longer letting his thoughts wander, gathering his mind as he joined the goddess he had served for most of his life, together bathing in the starlight of the north pole.