Sword of Dawnbreaker

Since the ship left War God’s Divine Realm and the team embarked on this unprecedented exploration journey, everyone’s nerves had been highly strung. Even those with strong constitutions, like the Transcendents, felt fatigued under such total tension. Now that they had finally left the ”Sentinel Base,” although the return journey would still be spent on this ship, at least the most uncontrollable and risk-prone part of the trip was over, allowing everyone to relax a little.

The scouting teams found a suitable resting area near the entrance to the ship’s interior passages. They brought out carried provisions and water to eat and restore their strength. To guard against any unforeseen incidents during this final segment of the journey, Melita Ponia did not revert to human form but remained in her dragon form, resting on the nearby deck. Her enormous dragon body was like an upright wall, bringing an unquestionable sense of security.

Melita Ponia lounged on the deck, her gigantic scaled tail curved slightly, encircling the temporary encampment of the scouting teams. Her head veered to the other side of the team, resting her giant head on the edge of an alloy platform, with one eye observing the activity on the deck and the other watching Amber and the others at rest, appearing somewhat bored.

Amber approached at this moment, holding a sweet flatbread and waving it in front of Melita Ponia’s eyes: ”Hey, aren’t you eating anything?”

”Do you mean in my dragon form or human form?” Melita Ponia lifted her eyelids, uttering a deep rumble from her throat, ”In dragon form, this flatbread isn’t enough to get stuck in my teeth—but dragon form doesn’t require frequent feeding. I ate yesterday before setting out; my next meal can be next week.”

”... You dragons are impressive,” Amber paused, stuffed the flatbread into her mouth while gnawing, and muttered indistinctly, ”I can’t do it; the thing I fear most is an empty stomach.”

Melita Ponia immediately closed the eye facing Amber’s side and shifted her massive head slightly to the side, making a sound akin to metal striking as her scales rubbed against the steel, ”Hey, move away while you eat, crumbs are getting into my eyes!”

”Ah, sorry, sorry.” Amber quickly took a half step back, swallowing the flatbread furiously as she patted her hands clean. Melita Ponia then opened her eyes, glanced toward where the team was resting, and said: ”Hey, have you seen Gawain? I haven’t seen him since just now...”

”He went into that passageway, said he wanted to check the condition of the ship,” Amber cleaned her hands and then casually wiped them on her clothes, turning to look at the door leading to the ship’s interior passage, ”He didn’t let me follow, but I decided to go check on him secretly after filling my stomach—he clearly has something on his mind, and he’s moving alone. I feel uneasy.”

As she spoke, she shook her head, her expression rather helpless: ”Everyone seems preoccupied, Modir is, Victoria is, even Kamel’s color looks off. It’s only Daniel and his mage apprentice who seem unaffected; the former has an expression that suggests the sky never falls, and the latter as if the sky is always falling...”

Melita Ponia lifted her eyelids, gazing at her. Even someone as strong-minded as Amber felt at once unnerved under such a large eye staring, prompting her to ask: ”Why are you staring at me like that? Is there still crumbs on my face?”

”You seem like the most carefree among those around Gawain, but in reality, you’re one of the most observant and meticulous Loren People I know...” Melita Ponia’s voice seemed to carry a hint of amusement, ”You’re constantly observing everyone and every detail around you, yet most of the time, you pretend to be idle, making yourself appear the least functional.”

Amber hesitated, carelessly waving her hands, turning to walk toward the passage door as she murmured back casually: ”Survival codes from the slums, that’s called survival codes...”

Melita looked with one eye at Amber as she gradually walked away, finally slowly retracting her gaze. Near her tail, Modir was walking to a secluded spot, somewhat entranced as he gazed at the chaotic dark lumps constantly darting past outside the ship’s barrier, appearing to be in a daze.

Victoria came to Modir’s side. She looked somewhat worriedly at the old man before her, hesitated for a long time, and finally spoke: ”Ancestor, are you worried about how much time you have left?”