Chapter 81 Sunhaven.
With swift and agile movements, Archer darted around the soldiers, unleashing his claws and tail to inflict slashes, stabs, and slices upon them.
He began casting Void Blaze, hitting the soldiers with violet fireballs.
Bodies dropped left and right, causing the soldiers to panic and attempt to flee.
In that instant, the Royal Guard sprang over the flames and charged towards the Kagians, relentlessly cutting them down one by one.
The soldiers were no match for the combined might of Archer and the Aquarian Royal Guard.
As the battle raged on, the Kagians began to falter, and soon the battlefield was littered with the bodies of their fallen enemies.
He spotted the siblings fighting alongside their guards and used Cosmic Steps to approach them.
Archer approached within five meters of Teuila, he noticed her gracefully finishing off a soldier with a quick slash, while her brother Triton spammed spells into larger groups.
The battle eventually died down, and Archer went around collecting as many hearts as he could, gaining 213 human hearts.
After collecting the hearts, he walked away from the scene and sat down under a tree that provided plenty of shade.
As he relaxed, he checked his status.
'Status.'
[Experience: 3450/12000]
[Level Up: 91>96]
[SP: 0>10]
[Mana: 9080>9200]
[Void Blaze: 0>1]
[Blink: 0>1]
[Plasma Missiles: 0>1]
Puzzled by his sudden level-up, Archer checked his notifications and discovered that he had gained 7,000 experience points for defeating the skeletons that had attacked Yahir's caravan and emerged from the dungeon.
Additionally, he had earned 1,950 experience points from killing the Dragon Slayers and a whopping 45,000 from the Kagian soldiers.
After the successful battle, Archer was pleased with his gains and pulled out some Palusami to eat while he watched the Aquarians loot the battlefield.
Sera flew over to him and landed on his lap, and he began stroking her until she fell asleep.
As the sun beat down on the landscape, Archer took a nap under a tree with Sera sprawled out on his chest.
One hour later, Teuila approached a sleeping Archer and noticed the little dragon.
She couldn't help but wonder where it had come from, but she shrugged and crouched down next to it to stroke Sera.
The little dragon felt Teuila's touch and opened her eyes to see the blue-haired girl smiling at her.
She started chirping and crawled into Teuila's arms, curling up as the girl sat down and slowly stroked her.
Teuila's gentle strokes had a soothing effect on Sera, and the little dragon began to purr contentedly.
The sound of her purring woke Archer from his slumber, and he opened his eyes to see Teuila petting Sera with a smile on her face.
"She seems to like you," Archer said, noticing Sera loved the attention.
Teuila looked up at him and grinned.
"She's a delightful little dragon."
Archer sat up and stretched his arms, taking in the pleasant surroundings.
The sun was still up, and a gentle breeze rustled the leaves of nearby trees.
"What's her name?" Teuila asked, turning her attention back to Sera.
"Her name is Seraphina, but I call her Sera," Archer replied.
The girl smiled at him as Sera noticed he was now awake and flew over to his shoulder, plopping down and chirping at Teuila.
Teuila pouted as she stood up and started speaking.
"It seems like she's very attached to you."
He stroked Sera's chin as he responded.
"Well, she was about to be eaten by some wolves until I came along."
Teuila watched as Sera's head snapped up, and the dragon flew towards her, crawling over her head before settling on her shoulder.
She giggled, and Archer watched the interaction with amusement.
"It seems like you've found a new friend, Sera. Just don't bite her ears," he said.
Sera nodded her head at Archer's words. Just then, Malia called out to them.
"Children, come get in the carriage. We need to hurry to Sunhaven before any more soldiers appear."
The two of them made their way over and entered. When Archer entered, Triton gave him a strange look along with Malia.
"Why are you two looking at me like that?" Archer asked.
Triton spoke up first.
"You're a monster trapped inside a boy's body. I've never seen a spell like the one you used."
Teuila's aunt, Malia, settled into the carriage with a heavy sigh.
As the carriage began to move, she turned to Archer, who was seated across from her.
"I have to say, I've never seen anyone like you before," Malia said, looking at Archer with a curious expression.
Archer raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
She smiled as she explained.
"The power you hold is beyond my imagination, and you got involved knowing it had nothing to do with you."
When Archer heard her speak, he felt guilty, so he decided to tell them the truth.
"Well, you're wrong about one thing. They were most likely chasing me, and your group was in the middle."
The woman's eyes widened when she heard his words, and she quickly asked what he meant.
"What do you mean, Archer?"
As Archer recounted his actions, he gazed out the window, his eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
"When I entered the Kagia Kingdom and witnessed the atrocities they were committing against the Dragon-kin people, I knew I had to take action. I rescued as many of them as I could and destroyed two of their castles, resulting in the deaths of many of their soldiers."
Malia, Teuila, and Triton listened in stunned silence as Archer spoke.
When he finished, the woman's eyes widened with shock.
"I had no idea you were capable of something like that," she said, her voice trembling.
Archer looked down at his hands, feeling a sense of shame wash over him.
"I know it's not something to be proud of, but I had to do it."
Triton and Teuila looked at him with curious gazes, while Malia nodded her head in understanding.
"I don't blame you for what you did," she said.
"The Kagia Kingdom treated the Dragon-kin people cruelly and killed many of them.
My sister and I did everything we could to stop the slaughter and grant them citizenship in the Aquarian Kingdom."
Archer smiled gratefully at Malia.
"Thank you for helping them. I appreciate it."
"It's fine, any normal Aquarian would have done the same thing," she said, quickly brushing it off.
Silence filled the carriage until Archer pulled out some chocolate pastries and offered them to the others.
Teuila and Malia eagerly took one, but Triton watched him with narrowed eyes before speaking in a sarcastic tone.
"You're not going to throw one at me again, are you?"
The two girls looked between the two before Teuila started laughing and asked.
"When did he throw one at you?"
Triton took the pastry and kept an eye on Archer as he told his sister the story with a small smile, which made her and even Malia laugh.
Leaning over to Teuila, Malia whispered, "Triton seems to like little Archer. I've never seen him act like this.''
Teuila nodded, but Archer overheard their little talk and ignored what they were saying.
That's when he heard annoying noises coming from the boy.
Without thinking, he took out another pastry and threw it across the carriage, hitting the boy's face and causing everyone to go quiet.
Triton started shouting at Archer, "Why throw another one? I wasn't doing anything wrong!"
Archer was lucky they didn't explode and only slapped against his face like a wet sponge, but he didn't fail to notice that the boy kept hold of the offending pastry.
The two girls started laughing as they saw Triton scoffing down the pastries while making weird noises.
Malia quickly pointed this out, "He does make weird noises when he eats. Hehe."
As time passed, the carriage continued to travel along the dirt road until a large city could be seen not far away.
The royal carriage entered the city without any hindrance, as it was recognized and allowed to pass through without any stops or delays.
Archer heard the sound of waves crashing against the shore, and the bustling chatter of people going about their daily lives filled the air.
The streets were adorned with palm trees and vibrant flowers, and the fragrance of saltwater and tropical blooms permeated the atmosphere.
As he was taking in the sights, Malia spoke to him, "Archer, we have some business to attend to. Why don't you explore the city and meet us at the square when the sun sets?"
A/N: Sorry for the lack of chapters, I've been really ill and fuzzy-headed for the last few days. But everything will be back to normal from tomorrow.
[A/N - Leave some comments, power stones, and gifts. It all helps support the book. Artwork in the comments or discord]