“There are people looking for him.”

“Him? What for?”

Calron inquired, as he stepped towards Laris with a clear distrust in his eyes.

Wearing a suit of armor that closely resembled that of the city guards he had seen before, Calron knew that this blue-skinned woman was somehow related to the city officials. If Calron had guessed right, then she definitely had some connection to Weir as well.

“Easy, birdy, she is also student of mine.”

Tarnila spoke out, as she rea.s.suredly reached up and patted Calron’s wing.

Lately, Calron had gotten so familiar with the racc.o.o.n’s mood, that he could sense that Tarnila was being absolutely serious at this moment. Giving a final glare towards Laris, he slowly settled himself back on the ground so that he could be closer to eye-level with the beasts.

“Explain, Laris. Who is searching for this child, and what do they want?”

Tarnila asked in a calm tone.

“We do not know. Recently, we discovered a group of lion variants and they seemed to be searching for another lion within the city. The descriptions they gave appeared to exactly match the young friend we have over here, so I thought that I should come over and inform you since Master has taken that young lion under her wing.”

Laris explained, while the armor on her body slightly rattled with her hand gestures.

“Hmm, could they be his companions or enemies looking to harm him?”

The racc.o.o.n whispered to herself as she scratched her chin with her claw.

“Based on our surveillance, this group of lions never caused any problems in the city and usually just spent most of the time searching for the beast. I have personally evaluated them, and they do not seem to be the type that kidnaps beasts or harms the young ones.”

Laris stated in an even tone.

After briefly contemplating this issue, Tarnila suddenly called out to the distant Rebran.

“Rebran, would you happen to know if there is a group of lions who might be searching for you?”

“Huh? Oh, that must be Borgis! Is he here!?”

Rebran shouted in elation, as he swiftly rushed forward towards the racc.o.o.n. Avi lazily followed behind him, still full from all the food that she had gorged herself on.

“I’ll try to get some facts from him, and in the meantime, you two should talk.”

Tarnila declared, and left both Calron and Laris to themselves. While departing, the racc.o.o.n gave a meaningful glance at Laris, to which the female warrior responded with a sigh.

“So, Calron, how old are you?”

Laris politely started the conversation once her Master had left.

“Why?”

Calron brusquely replied.

Hey, kid, don’t you think that you are being a little harsh towards her? After all, you must always treat a lady with respect!

Ezkael suddenly interjected within Calron’s mind.

Teacher, have you forgotten about what happened back in the Arena? That was all clearly a setup by the Dragon King and she definitely works for him. What if she is here just to gather some information on me and send it to him?

Calron retorted back to his Teacher, as he continued to stare at Laris.

You are not wrong in your thoughts, but at least try not to verbally a.s.sault her…

Ezkael said, as his thoughts returned back to the shadows within Calron’s mind.

“Is it because I work for the city’s king?”

Laris softly whispered, as she sat down on the ground and removed several plates of armor from her body.

Calron did not respond.

Showing no signs of being offended by Calron’s behavior, Laris continued on.

“You know, both Weir and I grew up together. Back then, he was just a wimpy kid who liked to run away from all of his problems. Haha, he would kill me if he found out that I told that to anyone!”

The blue-skinned woman laughed, as she laid completely on her back and gazed up at the sky.

Slightly curious as to what the beast was talking about, and why she was even bothering to tell him this, Calron subtly leaned his head forwards.

“He is not really that bad of a beast, Calron. His childhood was simply troubling to say the least, and he has always had problems with letting people get close to him. He never wanted to exploit you or that strange power you have… he simply wanted to ask you for your help in defending the city. However, he just didn’t know how to approach you, and hence the predicament that we are in at the moment. Our goal from the very start had been to protect this city, and that is the root of all our actions. Haha, does that technique of yours prove that I’m telling the truth?”

Laris let out a small smile, as she tilted her head back and glanced at Calron’s astonished face.

While she had been talking, Calron had decided to discreetly use the newly learned technique to glean Laris’s true thoughts as she was speaking. However, even without a lightning element, she was still able to detect his probing.

“No need to be surprised, it’s just something that all Saint stage cultivators have. The power of the soul. Even if you had used that technique against a peak Vajra stage expert, you would have succeeded, but unless you enter the Saint stage and disguise your mental probing with your soul power, it will not work against someone like me.”

A Saint stage expert!?

A shock of alarm went off in Calron’s brain. This whole time, he did not even know that this easy-going female beast was that powerful.

“I do not know how to convince you with my words, but know this. If you ever want to leave the city or go your own way, I will not stop you and neither will Weir. You probably do not know this, but our city is actually one of the weakest within the Desolate Mountains. Our city’s armed forces are pathetic, and if not for the superior strength of the n.o.bles under Weir, then we would have long been invaded by another city. We do not even have any money to hire a Gold-rank mercenary… I am not telling this to you to get some sympathy. These are our current circ.u.mstances and this is the burden that Weir has on his shoulders.”

Laris quietly talked, while staring at the patterns of the clouds above.

“Do you truly mean that?”

Calron finally spoke after a long time.

“Letting you out of the city? Yes, I mean it.”

Laris solemnly stated.

“So, who are these ranked mercenaries?”

Calron curiously inquired, as he crawled towards Laris’s form on the ground.

Elated that the bird was finally opening up to her, Laris quickly sat up straight and began talking about the special forces of mercenaries that existed within the mountains.

Laris, it’s Xardoth… he’s here!

Suddenly, a powerful mental command burst into her mind, as the sound of Weir’s voice resonated within her conscious.

Abruptly stopping the current discussion she was having with Calron about the famous mercenary who had once challenged the Beast Emperor himself, Laris frantically got up and rapidly began to re-adorn her armor.

“What happened?”

Calron worriedly asked her, detecting the nearby Tarnila also swiftly rushing towards them with a worried expression on her face.

“Our city is finally at war.”

Laris replied in a heavy voice while holding Calron’s gaze.

“How many of them are there?”

Weir muttered with rage, as he looked down at the distant mult.i.tudes of beasts marching towards their city.

Standing on top of the palace balcony, the two friends observed the chaos about to unfold within their home.

“Roughly around a hundred thousand…”

Jarken calmly replied, but traces of uncertainty could be seen in his eyes.

“Has he gone mad? He would dare risk so many lives for a battle against me?”

Weir rasped, as thoughts of how he was going to defend the city surged within his mind.

“There seems to be something deeper in play here. Xardoth is rash, but he is not foolish. I will go summon the n.o.bles.”

Jarken stated while turning to face the draconic figure next to him.

“No need, I will summon them all now.”

Weir seethed with fury, as the silver scales on his body began to enlarge and distort.

The true form of the Dragon King was about to appear once again.