When I went out on the surface, there were many beastkin wolves gathered around.
Altogether, there must have been one hundred of them.
Goran was talking to them about dealing with the aftermath.
The beastkin wolves had rushed here after wiping out the enemies in the area.
I had destroyed the barrier with Meteor Strike.
And then I had killed all the enemies inside with Eric and the others.
However, as it was an ambush, we had not touched the surrounding area.
âItâs their main base. So there should, of course, be dark ones in the surrounding area. And so I asked them to sweep the area.â
âHow many of them were out there?â
âThere were ten evil dragons and two magic machines. There was also a band of about seventy vampires led by a lord.â
âThatâsâŚquite a lot.â
The evil dragons were especially dangerous. As were the magic machines.
And seventy vampires could raise hell.
Just then, I saw that Danton Woolcott was rushing towards me.
Danton was Shia and Niaâs father.
âDanton. Are you alright?â
âHe is actually not completely healed. He shouldnât have been out todayâŚâ
âAs a father, how could I stay when my daughters were fighting so hard?â
Danton was as stubborn as ever.
âStill, you beastfolk wolves sure are strong.â
âI am happy that you think so⌠But we were unable to stop the evil dragons from coming here.â
It had been their role to stop any enemies who would try and return to the base.
âIt cannot be helped. The dragons can fly, after all. It is enough that you stopped the machines and vampires.â
âYes. It was a great help.â
âIt is the highest honor to hear you say so, Your Majesty.â
And then Danton turned to Shia.
âI hope you were able to be useful to Mister Locke and the others?â
âThat was my intention.â
âYes, Shia was a great help. As she always is.â
âThank you for saying so, Mister Locke. AndâŚwhere is Nia?â
âNia is helping to protect the water dragon princess.â
âWhat⌠Can she handle such an important role?â
âI returned to the settlement once during the fight. She held her own admirably.â
âEven I hadnât expected her toâŚhave grown so much.â
Danton heard this and smiled happily.
As we talked, the oldest of the beastkin chiefs walked up to us.
He bowed to Eric, who stood next to me.
âYour Majesty. To destroy the enemyâs barrier with meteors⌠I was shaken to my core.â
âOf course, you were.â
Eric said a little happily.
âI had assumed that a sorcerer would do something about it. But I imagined it would be to force it open.â
The old chief looked around him and then stopped at Dorgo.
âWas it you who cast that magic, Your Majesty?â
Dorgo was acquainted with the beastkin tribes.
As they were both in charge of watching the surrounding area, they had probably been introduced.
âI see. I was thinking that such great magic could only be done by a dragon within the royal familyâŚâ
âOh, even for us royal dragons, such magic would be very difficultâŚâ
Dorgo said with a chuckle.
Then the old chief looked at me.
âCould it be you who summoned the meteors?â
As Dorgo had denied it, I was the next likely person.
Aside from the beastkin, the only people here were Eric, Goran, Serulis, and Dorgo.
Well, Grulf was here too, but he didnât look like he could summon meteors.
And everyone knew that Eric and Goran were not sorcerers.
Serulis had traveled with the beastkin recently and was known to be a warrior.
And so if it wasnât Dorgo, than it had to be me.
Shia and Danton looked at me worriedly.
They knew that I wanted to keep my identity secret.
âYes, thatâs right. I hope that the shock waves did not cause any trouble for youâŚâ
âOh, not at all. The summoning of the meteors made our job much easier. It reduced casualties for us.â
âThatâs good to hearâŚâ
âYou would have lost your advantage had you taken time to force your way into the barrier. They would have been able to prepare to meet you.â
As I talked with the old chief, about ten other chiefs gathered around.
And then the old chief bowed once again.
âThank you. You made good use of the information that we risked our lives to acquire.â
âDonât mention it. It was thanks to your bravery that we were able to attack them.â
âIndeed. Lockeâs magic would not have been much use if he didnât know where to use it.â
Then one of the younger chiefs spoke up in a hesitant voice.
âPlease correct me if Iâm wrong, but could you be the Great Philosopher, Our Saviour, Grand High Sorcerer Ruck?â
At this, the rest of the beastkin wolves became excited.