"I guess the dragon is now awake," Luo Yan said looking at the northern part of the marsh. He turned to Shen Ji Yun. "Should we strategize first before going there?"

Shen Ji Yun nodded. It's better to analyze the situation first rather than going carelessly there without any kind of plan. "The Gamekeeper said that we should discover the identity of the dragon, unlock the truth, and satisfy whatever request he has," he said repeating what the little Gamekeeper said. "That meant that this dragon was not just some ordinary stray that just happened to be asleep in this marsh."

"According to what the Elder told me before that the dragon entered the realm of the moon elves a millennium ago. He was badly wounded and went to a cave in the forest to recuperate. Because the monsters and animals didn't want to disturb the dragon, they tried not to make any sound as much as possible. Since then, the surrounding area around the cave had been known as the Silent Marsh," Luo Yan said recounting what the Elder had told him. "But as you may have already noticed, I think the real reason why this area had been in that state was because of the Eternal Lotus. Although there's no evidence, I think it probably appeared the same time as the dragon."

"I think so too," Shen Ji Yun said, agreeing to Luo Yan's deduction. "Since this task was triggered after I destroyed that lotus flower, it would be hard to not think that the two were not linked together. And since the dragon quickly woke up from its supposed sleep right after the lotus was gone, the dragon was most probably in a suspended state as well."

Luo Yan also agreed to what Shen Ji Yun said. Then he suddenly thought of something. "Wait- if we assume that the reason why the dragon was asleep was because of the effect of the Eternal Lotus and he was badly wounded then, wouldn't it mean that he would be back in that wounded state?"

Because now that the Eternal Lotus was gone, the dragon could no longer be in a suspended state. So, he would be back to the state he was in before he was affected by the lotus flower. If the dragon was suspended during a time where his wounds were still not healed, then wouldn't those wounds affect him greatly now?

He and Shen Ji Yun looked at each other. Luo Yan could see that he was also thinking of the same thing. Then they heard another loud roar. This time, they could clearly hear the pain that was mixed in with it.

[Mashter, what's that? It sounded like they were suffering.] – Eclipse said, looking at the direction where the roar came from.

"We should probably heal the dragon first. If he died here, then we wouldn't be able to finish that hidden task," Shen Ji Yun said. Although he's not really interested in this dragon that much. But if he could spend more time alone with Luo Yan by doing this task, then he wouldn't mind finishing it.

"Not to mention, he couldn't be your pet if that happened," Luo Yan added.

Shen Ji Yun almost forgot about that. The real reason they were here was because Luo Yan suggested that he should take the dragon as his pet. Although with this hidden task triggered, it was quite obvious that this dragon didn't have a simple identity. Which would definitely make it harder for him to make the dragon as his pet. But no matter. Since Luo Yan wanted him to take that dragon as a pet, then he would do so. Even if he had to use force to accomplish it. 

 The two, along with Eclipse, ran towards the northern area of the marsh where the cave was located.

"Based on the roar we've been hearing, he's probably hurt more than we imagined," Shen Ji Yun said while running.

Luo Yan agreed with this statement. The Gamekeeper mentioned that dragons were proud creatures. So, he doubted that the dragon would cry out like this in pain unless he's really, really hurt. The wounds on his body were probably very severe. 

When he first went to the cave, he didn't really notice any wound on the dragon. Well, it was mostly because he was being too careful. He was trying not to wake the dragon so he barely looked at it. Then once he took the beast's egg, he just ran out of there. Maybe he should have looked more properly at that dragon.

"That dragon won't probably let us heal him that easily. He'd probably even fight us. Then his wounds would just open even further." Luo Yan could already feel the headache just thinking about it.

"Then we'll just incapacitate him before he could make a fuss," Shen Ji Yun simply said.

The closer they got to the cave, the louder the cry of the dragon. They could even feel the ground shaking, as if the dragon was on a rampage. Which was probably the case. When they reached the cave, they could hear the sound of ceaseless rampaging. Luo Yan shook his head. Just by the shaking of the ground and the sound coming from the inside of the cave, he could tell that the dragon was probably going crazy right now.

He looked at Shen Ji Yun who also turned to him. They nodded at each other and carefully walked inside. Both of them could see well in the dark. So, they could see clearly what was happening inside even though there was no light.

A huge dragon with scales as dark as obsidian was roaring and moving as if his whole body was in pain, hitting the walls as he did. There were large and small wound on his body. Because of his rough movements, blood splattered around. The most eye-catching wound on him was the deep claw marks on his chest. Even his wings were tattered. His eyes were all white, a sign that he was probably not in his right mind right now. 

Because Luo Yan was busy observing the dragon, he didn't notice that the dragon's tail was about to hit him. If not for Eclipse's reminder, he might be still staring at the dragon. But it was still a bit too late for him to move. Even if he did, some fragments of the cave floor would still hit him. But that's still better than being hit by that tail head on.

He was about to move when he felt his waist suddenly being held by a strong arm. Not just his waist, but also the back of his knees. Before he knew it, his whole body was already lying horizontally and was floating away from the place he was formerly standing. Dumbfounded, he raised his head and saw Shen Ji Yun's handsome face.

Then his whole face heated up when he realized what was happening. He was actually being princess carried!

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.