A Journey That Changed The World.

Chapter 1292: Like A Teenage Girl In Love

While Archer was clearing out the Alliance vaults, Pope Jeremiah was sitting in a carriage heading for Tsaryovsk City after being alerted to the White Dragon’s presence. ’Damn demon, why did he have to strike now!’ he internally raged.

Nothing has been going right for him lately as his wife had pulled away and moved to her sister’s mansion. The only thing that had been going right for them was the skirmishes that they were winning against the Moonriver Empire, who joined Draconia in the war.

As Jeremiah sat there, his mana communicator came to life as the Novgorodian Emperor’s voice bellowed through. ’Idiot! We’ve just lost three fleets to the demon! You said they wouldn’t come to help the water elves, but they’re here in full force, Pope!’

His face paled when hearing that and shook his head before praying to the Light God who had gone silent of late. This worried Jeremiah, but there was no going back as they gathered the other continents against the White Dragon.

By the time they reached Tsaryovsk City, it was in utter chaos. Jeremiah stepped out of the carriage only to see the place on fire, which baffled him. He turned to the assistant and questioned in a fed-up voice. ’’Did the White Devil do this?’’

The young woman shook her head. ’’No, my lord. It was the Church Knights who were chasing after him.’’ Find your next read at .Côm

’’Dammit!’’ he raged before turning to his commander. ’’Hand the men in charge. That should please the emperor.’’

Following that, they were led to the bank that held their wealth, only to witness a horrifying scene with bodies littering the ground and blood staining the walls. Jeremiah entered and stopped in his tracks when he got a message.

[Hello Jeremiah! I am writing this to inform you that Sofia is carrying my child. Could you tell her mother Lysandra that I will be late for our meeting? Thank you, old friend]

When the Pope saw this, his face went bright red before he exploded. ’’Damn, devil! I will fucking kill you.’’

He went to check on the vaults, only for his stomach to drop when everything was gone, including the secret ones. Jeremiah lost his shit but as he wallowed in his misery, more alarms blared out across the city.

They rushed outside as his guard commander rushed up to him. ’’My Lord. The White Dragon is still in the city, but we’re under attack by a horde of nightmarish creatures that are killing anything moving.’’

Jeremiah’s confusion turned to dread as the distant screams grew louder, a chorus of agony that sent a chill down his spine. Then came the commander’s bellowing voice, sharp with urgency. ’’Form a circle around the Pope! The monsters are coming!’’

Panic surged through the ranks. Soldiers scrambled into formation, steel clashing, boots pounding against the ground. Yet no one spared Jeremiah or his staff a second glance. He was adrift in the chaos, grasping for understanding until he saw them.

His breath hitched. His stomach twisted. The creatures emerged from the darkness, towering nightmares of flesh and chitin. They loomed over the tallest men, their four jagged limbs ending in scythes gleaming like obsidian blades.

Every movement they made was unnervingly fluid, silent, relentless, and lethal. Then their beady violet eyes flickered, locking onto the soldiers with almost hungry intelligence. Jeremiah gulped, his heart hammering like a war drum.

***

While the Pope’s soldiers fought their way out of Tsaryovsk City, two women were sitting on a balcony drinking tea. Natalia looked at Catherine and spoke in a sweet voice. ’’He’s lovely big sister. When I met him, he was nothing but a gentleman and didn’t make a move on me.’’

The grey-haired woman giggled, her chest bouncing with the motion, before playfully teasing her younger sister. ’’Wait, he didn’t even glance at these monsters? Or your dangerously tempting curves?’’ she asked, gesturing to her body.

Natalia’s face flushed crimson as she responded. ’’He looked at me, but it wasn’t awkward. It felt... nice to be wanted. But I could tell he wasn’t the type to make the first move.’’

When Catherine heard this, her eyebrow rose before she questioned. ’’I heard he was a playboy and loved all kinds of women.’’

’’He does,’’ Natalia replied, her tone thoughtful. ’’I mean, we’d be perfect in his harem. He’s definitely into older, curvier women these days. He ended up with Brooke, after all.’’

’’The Ashguard girl?’’ the older woman asked. ’’Interesting. If my instincts are right, he’s up north right now, robbing your husband’s bank—which, I must say, is quite amusing.’’

Catherine suddenly stood, declaring, ’’I’m going to see what this young man is like for myself. Do you want to go see your little lover?’’

Natalia’s cheeks flushed deep red at the question, which only made her older sister’s grin widen. ’’Ah, I see how it is,’’ Catherine teased. ’’Even though you’re a grandmother, he’s turned you into a lovestruck teenage girl.’’

Following that, the two of them traveled across Verdantia and stopped at a coastal city that was under attack. They stopped on a mountain that overlooked it, but when the grey-haired woman saw it, her eyes opened wide as a vision came to her.

All Catherine could see was chaos—fires erupted from the ground, and a suffocating aura pressed down on her like an invisible weight. Around her stood several familiar faces, battle-worn and exhausted, yet still holding their ground.

Then, a towering figure emerged, clad in pitch-black armor, a massive sword resting in its grip. The sheer force of its presence made her heart pound, her breath hitching as recognition struck her like a bolt of lightning.

’What is ***** doing here?!’ she thought in complete shock.

She stood frozen amidst the wreckage of war, flames crackling around her as the suffocating aura of death loomed over them all. The massive figure in pitch-black armor gripped its colossal sword, its presence an undeniable force of annihilation.

The ground itself seemed to tremble beneath its feet. Then, without hesitation, Archer charged. Like a violet comet, he rushed toward the newcomer with reckless abandon, his fist cutting through the air with terrifying speed.

He didn’t falter, didn’t hesitate, as if the very concept of fear was beneath him. Sparks erupted as they clashed, the shockwave of their collision splitting the earth beneath them, causing her to grow shocked.

Catherine’s breath caught in her throat. His every movement burned with radiant energy, golden light pulsing from his body like the dawn of a new era. Each strike of his sword sent out waves of brilliance, pushing back the overwhelming darkness.

After that, she was abruptly pulled back to reality, the outcome of the battle still haunting her thoughts. Her mind raced, gripped by the uncertainty. ’What just happened?’ she wondered, the sound of distant explosions echoing in her ears.

Then, a familiar voice cut through the chaos. ’’Cath! Are you okay?’’ Her little sister’s voice filled with concern.

’’Let’s get out of here,’’ Catherine answered with an unknown expression. ’’I will go meet him on his little island using Emberport to get there.’’

Natalia nodded in agreement before vanishing back into her manor, as her sister looked like she needed to think.

***

[The day Archer raided Tsaryovsk City]

Admiral Joseph Anderson stood at the helm of the fleet, overseeing the mission to deliver a critical food shipment to the Moonriver Empire. His 21st Fleet, a formidable force, flanked a dozen transport vessels as they made their way through the vast expanse of the sea.

They departed from the DRN base on Northridge Island, located to the northwest of Draconia, which was recently established thanks to several queens helping. As he monitored the fleet’s progress, his fiancée Maria approached, a warm smile lighting up her face.

She stood beside him, her eyes searching his, a hint of teasing in her voice. ’’I’m curious, darling,’’ she began, ’’Did your mother get you this post because she’s with the king?’’

He sighed when hearing this while thinking. ’Why did you have to choose someone that’s half your age, Ma?’

Joseph sighed before answering. ’’No. I still had to take the tests and prove to various admirals I could be good at the job. My mother had nothing to do with the choice. Remember, Draconia runs on merit, not blood.’’

The woman giggled as she continued. ’’How does it feel having a step-father younger than you?’’

’’Stop with your teasing,’’ he said with a chuckle. ’’We need to be serious on our first mission, Maria.’’

This made his fiancée giggle before she hugged him. ’’I’m just joking, darling. You know what I’m like.’’

Joseph shook his head, a small chuckle escaping his lips. ’’I haven’t met the king yet, but I can tell you one thing: Mother’s acting like a teenage girl in love. Everyone’s happy for her, including me. Who would’ve thought a forty-five-year-old woman would end up in the king’s harem?’’

He paused, a wry smile playing on his face. ’’Guess life’s full of surprises, huh?’’

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