Riding the Dragon

The massive crater looked like the aftermath of a tremendous explosion! As the knights speculated, it seemed the entire mountain had been obliterated in the blast. Scattered along the crater's edge were various strange stones of different sizes, and the ground was covered in thick sand, completely obscuring the original soil.

The enormous circular crater was shallower around the edges and grew deeper towards the center. What was even more terrifying was the appearance inside the crater.

This gigantic crater seemed to be divided by an invisible line into two drastically different halves!

On the left side of the crater, there was a thick layer of ice! The ground was covered in what looked like ice that had accumulated over thousands of years! This solid, hard ice, along with the frost covering the ground, turned this half of the crater into a silver world. Even the stones were coated in a layer of ice crystals!

The right half of the crater, in stark contrast, resembled a desert!

If the left half was a frozen wasteland, then the right half was an arid desert! The ground looked as though every drop of moisture had been scorched away. The surface was covered with dry, hard sand, and the uncovered ground was cracked from extreme dryness. Here, it seemed impossible to find a single drop of water... even the stones appeared to have been burned and cracked!

This massive crater, split into two contrasting halves, filled everyone with an indescribable sense of awe and terror.

Andrew, being a knight of strong character, was the first to snap out of his shock.

"I guess... there must have been a fierce battle here last night. The level of this battle is beyond our imagination... Lilith the Witch is also missing, which suggests that she fought the female assailant here last night," he analyzed with a grim expression. "But that's not our concern... Our problem is, where is our young master now? He wasn't in the garrison when we were rescued! He must have been taken... or perhaps..."

Andrew didn't finish his sentence. After all, if an entire mountain could be turned into a crater, making a person disappear wouldn't be difficult for a Wizard.

Andrew's face turned extremely grim, but he knew he had to fulfill his duty. As the highest-ranking leader among his men, he couldn't allow them to lose hope. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Things might not be so bad. Perhaps the master escaped on his own, or maybe he was taken by the Wizard. Regardless, our priority now is to find him!"

He immediately issued two orders: first, to search the area for any sign of their master; second, to send someone back to Russell Plains Castle in Cote Province to report the situation.

The situation had escalated beyond what Andrew and his men could handle.

Where was the young master now?

This question weighed heavily on everyone's mind.

So, what was Freyr doing at that moment?

...

Freyr was doing something he had never even dreamed of before.

He was... riding a dragon!

Flying through the sky on the back of a dragon! The wind around him was so strong that he could barely keep his eyes open. He had to wrap his head with his clothes. Gripping the dragon's scales tightly, he watched as the massive creature swiftly navigated through the clouds, with a vast sea of clouds below. This thrilling sensation made Freyr want to shout with excitement!

"P-please don't g-grip its s-scales so hard!" came Lilith's pitiful voice from beside him. The Witch was lying weakly on the dragon's back, her body pressed tightly against it. Her delicate face was as pale as paper, showing her extreme weakness. Seeing Freyr gripping her dragon's scales so tightly, Lilith couldn't help but feel distressed. "I-it won't b-be happy. D-dragons are p-proud creatures. M-my Sunfire is still a y-young one. I-it doesn't like people g-grabbing its scales..."

"If I don't grab its scales, what should I hold onto?" Freyr frowned. The moment he spoke, the wind filled his mouth, making him cough repeatedly. He quickly lowered his head, glanced at Lilith, and said, "With such strong winds, if I don't hold on, I'll fall off!"

Freyr muttered, "Not gripping its scales is fine, but first, we need to escape your terrifying sister. Once we're safe, I'll make a bridle for it."

A bridle?

Oh merciful gods! Please forgive the poor Lilith... and this terrifying man.

To put a bridle on a dragon... Did he think dragons were creatures that could be casually ridden?

Just then, the giant red dragon beneath them let out a mournful cry...

Freyr was startled and shouted, "Not good, your dragon seems to be in trouble!"

Lilith was also distressed, "Sunfire is still a y-young dragon. It j-just got injured, and n-now it has to carry t-two people. I-it can't..."

The red dragon had a large, ghastly wound on its left wing. The injury hindered its flight, causing it to struggle to flap its wing properly. As they flew, the dragon began to tilt to one side.

"Think of something quick!" Freyr yelled, "Otherwise, we'll both fall to our deaths."

"M-my things were all c-confiscated by you! I-I have no way..." Lilith was so scared she could barely speak. Tears welled up in her large eyes, and suddenly, she started crying loudly:

"Waaah!!! The outside world is so scary! Teacher! Teacher, please come save me! I want my mommy, I want my daddy! Save poor Lilith!!"

Huh? She wasn't stuttering while crying out?

Freyr almost fell off the dragon in exasperation! At such a critical moment, she was crying like a child, calling for her parents!

He scolded her harshly, but at that moment, the dragon beneath them finally gave out.