The pursuit of the Shadow Lord and Adam pressed on. As Leon's group traveled deeper south, they gathered more fragments of information along the way.
That evening, Leon, Rebecca, Martin, and Nacho sat around the crackling campfire, organizing and reviewing the intelligence they had collected.
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"We encountered several relatively friendly nomadic races along the way," Leon began, his voice low and steady. "Their accounts are consistent: a massive dragon was sighted passing through this area not long ago."
He continued, painting a picture from the eyewitness reports. "The dragon was described as colossal, with scales so vast they seemed to blot out the sky. They were a deep, weathered gray in color, and it had piercing crimson eyes. However, witnesses noted its left eye appeared to be injured and remained permanently closed."
Nacho nodded, picking up the thread. "This entire region saw very little direct conflict during the Dragon Wars because of its incredibly complex racial diversity. No major power wanted to ignite a full-scale war here. At most, there were minor, isolated skirmishes."
"In other words," Nacho concluded, "the likelihood of anyone here seeing a dragon at all is already slim. Yet, these different, isolated races all independently claimed to have seen the exact same dragon around the same time frame."
Rebecca tilted her head, her teal hair catching the firelight. "Captain, didn't your wife ever mention what Adam, the Warhammer Dragon King, actually looked like?"
Leon shook his head. "Adam is ancient, from a time long before even the oldest current Dragon Kings. His rank is so high that he might only make an appearance once every few millennia. My wife is barely two centuries old—it's not surprising she's never seen him in person."
Rebecca raised an eyebrow, her expression turning playfully sly. "Barely two hundred years old... Very young... Captain, you've been married to a dragon for so long that your entire understanding of age has completely drifted from us mere mortals."
"What do you mean, 'you mere mortals'? I'm still human! Right?" Leon shot back, feigning indignation.
Rebecca scooted a step closer to Martin with a grin. "Well, you've got dragon scales implanted in your body, synchronizing your lifespan with hers. It's getting hard to say if you're still fully human anymore, Captain—ouch!"
Leon had flicked her forehead without mercy. "Focus."
Returning to the grave matter at hand, Leon said, "Based on all the information we've gathered, it's safe to assume that the dragon sighted heading south was Adam. Combine this with the intel we extracted from those Heart-Scale implant users, and the conclusion is clear: the Shadow Lord and Adam are operating together in this very area."
"So, the million-gold question is: what are they doing here?" Rebecca asked, her playful tone gone.
Leon's gaze hardened, reflecting the flickering flames in his dark eyes. "That's exactly what we need to find out—and then eliminate them once and for all."
"Or," Leon added, his voice dropping to a grim tone, "if the situation demands it, we can skip the questions and move straight to the elimination."
Martin, who had been silently observing, glanced at Leon. While not one to speak much, his sharp instincts told him something was off. The Captain seemed more driven, more anxious than usual.
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For Martin, this journey south brought back vivid memories of their old days serving in the Dragon Slayer Corps. Traveling by day, resting at night, and subsisting on whatever wild game they could hunt—it all felt deeply familiar.
But there was a key difference. Back then, Leon had been the picture of calm composure, a strategist who never rushed into a battle unprepared. Now, the relentless pursuit of the Shadow Lord and Adam seemed to make him impatient, even restless.
Martin understood why. Leon's world was far larger now. His responsibilities as the de facto leader of the Lionheart Society, the foster son of Tiger, the father of three—soon to be four—dragon children, and the husband of the Silver Dragon Queen meant he had infinitely more to lose. The pressing need to protect his family and loved ones from these existential threats weighed heavily upon him.
Martin silently prayed for this mission to end quickly. Prolonged stress, even for someone as formidable as Leon, could take its toll.
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"Nacho, where is our next search location?" Leon asked, his voice pulling Martin from his thoughts.
Nacho unrolled a worn map on a flat rock and marked a spot with his finger. "The locals told us the dragon was last seen heading toward a massive southern forest, one known for its abundance of powerful and dangerous creatures. It's possible the Shadow Lord's plans involve harnessing or experimenting on those creatures."
Nacho's theory wasn't baseless. Along their journey, they had passed through deserted orc settlements where they found evidence of grotesque experiments—captured beasts forcibly merged with plant-based elements to create unnatural, stitched-together abominations.
Leon nodded in agreement. "How far are we from that forest?"
"About a week's journey at a standard pace," Nacho replied.
"Do we have any detailed information about this forest?" Leon pressed, his eyes fixed on the map.
Nacho nodded again. "It's called the Demonic Moon Forest. It's a primordial place, home to numerous dangerous creatures, most of them ranked A or B in threat level. The local races often use the forest's periphery for their trial rites or coming-of-age ceremonies. Also—"
"Wait!" Leon interrupted, his expression instantly darkening. "What did you just call the forest?"
"The Demonic Moon Forest," Nacho repeated, looking up in surprise. "Why? What's wrong?"
Leon's face had gone pale and serious. He reached into his inner jacket pocket and carefully pulled out a letter—the one Rossweise had sent him a month ago.
In it, she had shared the news of her pregnancy and detailed their eldest daughter Noah's upcoming academy promotion examination. The exam location was clearly stated: the Demonic Moon Forest.
Leon quickly calculated the timing in his head, his blood running cold. "Four or five days from now... Noah's trial will begin."
He clenched his jaw and stood up abruptly, the letter crumpling slightly in his hand. "We need to move. Now. Nacho, inform everyone to rest for only three hours and then prepare to depart. Our next destination is the Demonic Moon Forest."
Rebecca and the others immediately understood the terrifying urgency. Nacho left at once to notify the other Lionheart Society members, while Rebecca turned to Leon, her usually playful demeanor completely replaced with stone-cold seriousness.
"Captain, what's going on?" she asked, though she feared she already knew.
Leon stared into the endless black of the southern horizon, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles were white. Noah's smiling, determined face flashed in his mind. "Rebecca, Martin," he said, his voice deceptively steady but firm with a father's fear. "We're racing against time."
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The group pushed through the night, their pace drastically increased, shortening the journey to the Demonic Moon Forest by days. Leon remained largely silent throughout the forced march, his tension a palpable force that drove them all forward.
Eventually, when they paused for a brief rest, Leon explained his urgency. He voiced his grim suspicion that Noah's academy trial might tragically coincide with Adam's movements in the same forest. While he trusted the academy's safety measures for a standard exam, the potential opponent was Adam—a mercenary Dragon King known for his cunning, his cruelty, and his utter lack of morals.
The memory of what Adam had done decades earlier hung over Leon like a specter. Adam had severely injured Constantine and his newborn daughter, Hefei, leaving the child sealed in a magical stasis for thirty years. That tragedy had left a permanent mark on Leon. He would not, he could not, let history repeat itself—not with his own daughter, Noah.
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"Captain! There's something up ahead!" a scout shouted, his voice cutting through the dense foliage.
Leon and the others rushed to the scene and found the colossal corpse of a creature—a Steel-Rock Elephant-Chicken, a legendary S-rank danger beast known for its nearly impenetrable rock-like hide and formidable strength.
"This thing's tough as hell," Nacho murmured, inspecting the massive body with awe and horror. "But its injuries..."
The creature's chest had been violently blown open, exposing its mangled heart and lungs. Its entire ribcage was shattered inward, and the whole left side of its torso looked like it had been crushed by a tremendous, overwhelming force. Deep, parallel gouges—claw marks—marred its skull, and from the immense size of the wounds, the attacker was clearly much larger than the beast itself.
"A dragon," Martin stated grimly. "Only a dragon could leave claw marks like these on a creature this strong."
Leon frowned, his eyes scanning the brutalized carcass. "What kind of dragon could collapse its entire side like this? It's not just claw marks... the bone is pulverized."
Rebecca added, her voice hushed, "Unless..."
"...A hammer," Leon finished, his voice grim and certain. "A warhammer."
It was Adam. He was here. And he was close.
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"Rebecca, prepare paper and ink. Martin, bring me the messenger dragon," Leon commanded, his tone leaving no room for delay.
"Yes, Captain," they replied in unison, snapping into action.
Once everything was ready, Rebecca looked at him, understanding dawning. "Are you notifying your wife?"
Leon shook his head. Rossweise was pregnant—there was absolutely no way he would involve her in such direct and immediate danger. The Sea Dragon Clan was also too far away to provide timely assistance.
That left only one option: the one person who shared a deep, personal, and burning vendetta against Adam, and whose power could potentially match him.