The dragon's harem

Chapter 1571: A Sign of Trouble

When Arad returned with Malina and her family, the situation had changed drastically. Linda, who was supposed to keep an eye on him, was nowhere to be found, hiding deep within his stomach, stretching her massive wings across the endless void of his inner world.

The fact that her presence had disappeared was enough to alert the whole fort, and when Arad returned, a surprise awaited him.

If Linda fell, then the Metallic dragons wonʼt be fools and charge straight at Arad. Theyʼll be just throwing their soldiers to their doom.

Instead, Loki, Alcott, and Kinryuu sat outside, waiting for Arad to show up and confirm where Linda was. Did he really kill her? Kinryuu and Loki couldnʼt believe Arad had the power to do it.

Alcott, on the other hand, could imagine Kali tearing anything that dares lift a finger against Arad to pieces. Time and shadows mean nothing when faced with the literal incarnation of primal destruction.

Loki stared at Arad for a long while, ”Where is my sister?”

”She is inside my stomach.” He closed his eyes for a second and called her. In just a second or two, a trail of darkness emerged from Aradʼs shadow and took form, transforming into Linda in her humanoid form.

That was something that Loki had never seen before, and even Kinryuu was surprised. From what they knew, the fortress didnʼt have enough darkness to allow Linda to take form.

After becoming an elder, she was forced to remain locked in a formless shadow. She couldnʼt even take a human form. But now, she could have a human form.

She looked at them with a passive face.

”Aradʼs stomach is vast and dark enough for me to exist in my draconic form. Iʼll be living there from now on.”

To the two dragons, that was far more horrifying than they ever expected. Linda, a drakaina so powerful that she couldnʼt even exist in a physical form, had managed to unleash her physical body inside Aradʼs stomach.

The fact that he can keep her inside without bursting open was scary. But knowing Linda well, the two wonʼt count on her being on their side anymore.

What Linda said next only proved their worries to be true, as Kinryuu asked her about what she would do next. She pointed at Arad and spoke in an even tone.

”This is my house. Touch it and Iʼll fight back.”

Lindaʼs stance was clear; Arad is her mobile home, and she had the right to defend where she lives. If anyone were to start a fight with Arad, including the Metallic dragons, they would be facing Linda before Kali would even show up.

The Metallic dragons had just lost one of their strongest cards against Arad, simply because he bribed her with a house. This wouldʼve been an apocalyptic disaster if the dragons werenʼt somewhat sure that Arad wasnʼt an enemy.

Linda didnʼt stay out for long. She was confined to a shadow ever since she became an elder, but now, she stood outside in a humanoid form only because she was standing in Aradʼs shadow and directly linked to the endless darkness of his stomach.

With that, she slipped back into Aradʼs stomach, where she could take her draconic form and fly freely across his void.

Arad was left outside, standing with Kinryuu and Loki; none of them could stop him, even without considering that Alcott was in the back. The coming negotiations were already steering in Aradʼs favor now that he had Linda literally in a bag.

With Linda in the bag, Arad now had another trump card he could play. That became more important when Kinryuu informed him that the Queen is back and that she is waiting for him to arrive.

Malina checked on her parents one last time before following Arad to the large armored car that Loki and Kinryuu came in.

The tension amongst the guards driving around the main car where Arad rode grew with each passing second. Loki could sense his men clenching their fists around their weapons, waiting for the second that something would go wrong.

At first, they were relaxed as Linda was there to keep Arad in check, but now there was no shield between them and Arad. What scared them more was that Linda didnʼt just leave; she was currently living inside Aradʼs stomach.

The proud and arrogant shadow now resided inside Aradʼs stomach; most of the guards would swear that she would rather die than do that, which only meant that Arad was either stronger than her or he had something that could impress her to such a level.

One of the guards looked out of the window of his car, spotting Arad who sat in the adjacent car. The guard was a wyrm, a mere driver here.

They were now riding through the streets, among the citizens of the fortress. Countless families and wyrmlings lived in the houses around them, most of which could be killed with a single breath from a wyrm.

If even he, a mere drive, could snuff tens of lives before this parade of armed soldiers could stop him, he shudders to imagine the countless lives that would be lost if Arad went on a rampage.

Transporting Arad like this felt like they were moving a live bomb across the street with the safety turned off, something that none of the guards here enjoyed.

Every turn, every bump in the road, every word spoken to Arad or in the streets could trigger Arad and lead to countless lives being lost.

The convoy did its best to clear the roads, secure a direct path to the main keep, and make sure no stupid fool got in the way.

The ride wasnʼt short either; the fortress was massive, and it had countless cities and dense artificial forests. It would take hours to drive from Malinaʼs house all the way to the main keep where the Queen was.

Of course, they could fly. But that would mean allowing Arad to fly over the cities in his draconic form, which was something they werenʼt willing to allow.

They drove for hours, but then, something happened. They were just getting out of the third city they passed when Arad suddenly moved, looked out of the window, and frowned.

The soldiers who closely monitored him and Alcott immediately sprang into high alert, shifting their attention to where Arad was looking.

Arad was looking at an ancient building that resembled a small castle. It was old, in ruin, and mostly abandoned for centuries.

Arad was currently building his own castle in Alina, so the guards thought he mightʼve found it an eyesore. But then, he opened the door of the still-moving car and jumped out.

Arad hit the ground with his back, rolled, and immediately came up to his feet, standing up as if nothing had happened. The air around him slowed down, the mana boiled, and shades of dark mist started rising from his arms and head.

A long, dark blade appeared in his hand, and demonic magic slowly filled the air.

Alcott saw Arad jump out and followed him, landing with one hand on the ground, doing a flip, and ended up landing right behind Arad. He looked around as the convoy of armed cars rapidly came to a halt behind them.

”They look scared and angry.” Alcott pulled the dragon slayer blade. The sword was usually with Arad, but since Alcott needed it here more than Arad, he was the one to hold onto it.

Arad didnʼt reply; his two eyes were fixed on the castle, burning with dark malice. ”Got someone to kill.”

Hearing those words, Alcott noticed the magic around Arad was that of Kali, which quickly explained what kind of target he was going after.

Alcott didnʼt waste a second to signal to Kinryuu that everything was good and that they must talk.

Kinryuu arrived immediately to hear what got Arad all worked up. At that moment, Arad disappeared like a ghost, reminding them of someone else.