Leon slowly opened his eyes.
Blue sky, white clouds, grass, forest, a gentle breeze—
Hiss~~
This scenery felt eerily familiar, like something from the memory of an old lunatic he once knew.
He slowly sat up, scanning his surroundings.
Not far away stood what appeared to be the remnants of a collapsed hill, covered in moss from years of neglect. Beyond it, a dense forest stretched out, with massive trees that clearly had been there for quite some time.
After observing for a while and confirming there was no immediate danger, Leon finally got up.
His body felt incredibly weak.
His magic was completely drained, and he could feel a clear, aching pain in every part of his body, the aftereffect of opening the Nine Hells Gate.
But at least he could still walk.
Dragging his exhausted body, Leon moved toward the forest.
Even though this place seemed deserted, Leon vaguely recognized where he was. "The border of the Silver Dragon territory..."
But there wasn’t a dragon in sight.
Nor was there any sign of a battle.
"So... did I succeed in stopping that spatial rift...?"
Leon had no idea how long he'd been unconscious, or if he’d even been unconscious at all.
From the moment he stepped into the rift, he had no awareness of the outside world.
All he knew was that he had to keep drawing out his magic—only he could stop that rift.
Now, it seemed that Leon had indeed... succeeded.
Though it didn't seem like a complete success.
Damn it, where is everyone?!
Where's my wife? My beautiful, gentle, and kind wife, who, despite being stubborn and tough as steel, I love to death?!
Where are my kids? My hard-working eldest daughter, my lucky charm second daughter, my youngest who dreams of becoming a scientist—my three super cute girls?!
Where the hell are they?!
Leon was filled with confusion as he entered the forest, heading in the direction of the Silver Dragon's sacred temple.
"If the rift was sealed, then Rosvisser and the others should be safe..."
"But why haven’t I seen them anywhere?"
"Yet, if it wasn’t sealed, why is the border of the Silver Dragon territory still intact...?"
Leon silently analyzed the situation as he hurried along.
But his mind was a mess, and he couldn’t focus.
He was worried about Noa, worried about Moon and Aurora, and of course... Rosvisser.
To be honest, Leon was starting to regret stepping into the rift so decisively.
But it wasn’t the dying part he regretted; it was not saying more to Rosvisser before leaving.
His head was still fuzzy, but he clearly remembered telling Rosvisser those three words right before entering the rift.
Did that dumb dragon hear me?
Even if she didn’t, she could’ve read my lips, right?
"Ugh, wasn't that the confession you've always wanted? Satisfied now, you dumb dragon."
Muttering to himself, Leon kept moving.
While making his way through the forest, he observed his surroundings.
The trees here had grown wildly, with no signs of pruning. In fact, as the first line of defense for the border, these trees should’ve been trimmed regularly to avoid blocking sightlines.
Back when Leon and Rosvisser patrolled here, the Silver Dragon soldiers had done a great job maintaining the area.
But now, it was obvious that no one had tended to it in a long time.
Leon noted this oddity in his mind and continued toward the temple.
Based on the position of the sun, he estimated it was around 8 or 9 in the morning.
But when he entered the rift, it had been close to dusk.
Even if more than ten hours had passed, the forest shouldn’t have changed this much.
"Could I have taken the wrong path?"
Leon abruptly stopped walking.
The possibility seemed slim, but it wasn't impossible.
After hesitating for a moment, he decided to retrace his steps and carefully reassess his surroundings.
As he turned around and took a step, his foot slipped into a shallow pit, causing him to fall flat.
"Damn it... who’s the jerk that dug this hole here..."
The sudden fall worsened his already exhausted body.
Leon sat in the pit for a while, catching his breath before climbing out.
Just as he was about to stand, his peripheral vision caught something unusual in the nearby bushes.
The bushes were thick, and it was because of this that Leon hadn’t noticed the pit and had fallen into it.
"A pit and bushes..."
Leon felt a flicker of realization, and he immediately parted the bushes, revealing traces of something beneath.
Sure enough, at the edge of the bush was a perfectly smooth notch that caught his attention.
He examined the pit again, which, though mostly filled with dirt and moss, still had some traces that matched the smooth mark by the bush.
"This was the spot where that hidden sentry was silently wiped out by spatial magic..."
So, he hadn’t taken the wrong path.
This was the forest leading to the Silver Dragon Temple.
"If there are no signs of battle or invasion here, that means they’re safe, right?"
With that thought, Leon braced himself on the edge of the pit and hoisted himself up.
Now certain this was Silver Dragon territory, Leon quickened his pace toward the temple.
...
Leon reached the temple’s outer area by sunset.
But he had a bad feeling.
From the border to the temple, he hadn’t seen a single Silver Dragon.
Rosvisser, with her cautious nature, would never leave the area completely undefended, without a single guard or sentry.
Without stopping to think further, Leon, dragging his fatigued body, hurried toward the front gate of the temple.
But what he saw left him utterly shocked.
The once magnificent silver gate now hung loosely on crumbling stone walls, with weeds growing wildly at the entrance;
Inside the courtyard, the flowerbeds were shattered, and moss covered the tiles;
What surprised Leon the most was the temple itself—its walls were scorched, and the left-wing buildings had been completely blown apart.
It was a scene of ruin.
Leon’s pupils shrank in disbelief. Ignoring the pain in his body, he rushed into the courtyard.
"Noa!"
"Moon!"
"Aurora!"
He shouted his daughters’ names.
But all that answered him was the sound of the wind rustling the grass.
"Rosvisser! Are you here?!"
Thud thud—
Several stones rolled off a nearby pile of rubble.
Still, there was no sign of anyone.
Fear exploded in Leon’s heart.
Had he failed to stop the rift?
Had his wife and daughters already...
In his daze, he caught a glimpse of a pink figure dashing past.
Leon’s sharp eyes locked onto the fleeting shadow.
"Who’s there?! Is that someone from the Silver Dragon clan?"
He couldn’t care about who it was. He immediately ran toward the figure.
"Hey, I saw you! Don’t hide! Just tell me, where’s the Silver Dragon clan?"
Leon ran around the wall, but saw no one there.
He frowned, the hope that had just flickered in his heart now extinguished.
"Did I imagine it..."
He murmured in disappointment and was about to turn around when the pink figure suddenly appeared right in front of him.
Then, Leon felt a sharp pain in his jaw.
Everything went black.
...
Leon didn’t know how much time had passed before he slowly woke up.
It was now nighttime, and a small campfire burned nearby.
Beside it sat a girl.
She was young, around twenty years old, with long pink hair and a pair of black-rimmed glasses that highlighted her fair, smooth skin.
Her side profile was delicate, like a finely crafted piece of art—and strangely familiar.
She was wearing a worn-out white lab coat over a shirt and slim-fitting pants.
The pants were torn in several places, exposing patches of her thighs.
She was holding a skewer of grilled meat—likely her dinner for the night.
Leon slowly sat up, rubbing his still-aching jaw.
The girl noticed him waking up, and a flicker of surprise crossed her pink eyes. Her previously frozen expression softened slightly.
The man before her seemed to stir up heavy memories from her past.
But Leon didn’t notice her emotional shift. He licked his lips and cautiously asked, "Did you... knock me out?"
The girl stared blankly and nodded.
"Just one punch? And I was out?"
For the first time, General Leon doubted his own physical defense.
Even Dragon Kings couldn’t knock him out with one punch, but this girl managed it.
The girl glanced at her right hand, clenched her fist, and, like Leon, seemed puzzled. "Yes, I don’t know why, but when I saw you, I just couldn’t help but give you an uppercut."
Leon didn’t retaliate, even though the girl had knocked him out.
Firstly, because he was currently too weak—if they really fought, he’d be at a disadvantage;
Secondly, if she were truly an enemy, she wouldn’t be sitting here leisurely roasting meat.
So, that uppercut was probably a misunderstanding.
Leon glanced at the girl’s face.
She looked very familiar.
Too familiar.
She looked exactly like a certain someone.
"Have we met before?" Leon asked, moving closer to the fire.
The girl blinked, then smiled faintly. She withdrew her gaze, staring into the fire. The flames reflected in her pink eyes like dazzling gemstones.
"That’s a terrible pick-up line. How did you even manage to woo my mother?"
The information in that one sentence nearly overloaded Leon’s brain.
He widened his eyes, stammering, "You—you’re—"
"My name is Aurora, Aurora K. Melkwy," she said, handing the skewer to Leon. "But you, of course, can call me by another name... Little Light."
Leon so slow he didn't recognize his own daughter
........
???
Have they slowed the release of the free chapters?
..... .....
Adakah yg sudah baca? Boleh di copy mungkin hehe
:v