Chapter 2666: Houndragon Platoon

Date: Unspecified

Time: Unspecified

Location: Myriad Realms, Card World, Southern Region, Blossom District, Sky Blossom City, Teleportation Hub

"Let’s find a better place to continue this party, shall we?" I said, giving the venue a quick scan. Declaring world domination had scared off all the fakes and the faint-hearted. A shame it turned out to be almost everyone except Border City. Quality over quantity, I guess.

"Your Highness—" City Lord Malvin began, but I cut her off gently. "Madam Tess, my freedom doesn’t come from stepping on yours. If you get what I mean, skip the formalities."

"Yes, mother. Just call boss, Boss," Aurelia chimed in, folding her hands behind her back and leaning backward with exaggerated ease.

She immediately froze under her mother’s glare, a look that clearly said, ’So now you remember I’m your mother? Where was that respect a few seconds ago?’

City Lord Malvin controlled her turmoil and said, "Master Wyatt, before we go, with your permission I would like to make a few arrangements for my people."

"Sure go ahead," I had a pretty good idea of what she was talking about. The Freedom Fighters in charge of the city’s array had already informed me of it.

After getting my silent approval, City Lord Malvin cast a glance at Cindy, Diana, and the others. Then she raised one arm calmly and said, "This is how it’s done."

The sky answered her.

A deep, thunderous roar rolled across the city as a full platoon of Dragon Riders descended in perfect formation. Their arrival wasn’t sudden or chaotic, but practiced discipline, like a marching army made of living legends. Massive shadows swept across the streets as colossal forms passed overhead, wingbeats striking the air in slow, disciplined rhythm.

Row after row of dragons flew past, scales like living armor, eyes burning with cold intelligence. The riders sat unmoving in their saddles, backs straight, banners snapping in the wind. It wasn’t a show of aggression. It was a declaration of the birth of new power and authority.

These were SSS-rank Houndragons, the dragons of the hunt. Their senses were so refined that scent alone allowed them to distinguish truth from lies. Their sense of smell could predict approaching calamities, glimpse threats seconds before they manifested, and instinctively judge true intent. They were the perfect sentinels, perfect wardens a card apprentice could ever find. They were a force whose mere presence meant no one could intrude without being noticed.

In Clown Mask’s future vision, through Tess’s generosity, the western and eastern forces learned that the Houndragons could identify demigod worshippers hidden among their ranks, as their sense of smell exposed a person’s true intent. By the time that knowledge spread, however, the damage had already been done, it was too late.

After circling the city once, the formation tilted upward in flawless unison and shot into the heavens, vanishing beyond the clouds as suddenly as it had appeared. The city soon settled back into silence as the Houndragons took up their positions above it, ensuring that none of the Emissary of Light’s fanatics could enter without being detected.

Fortunately, Corey had taken Lil’ Baem with her into the dungeon seal. Lil’ Baem and Dredre being in the same place sounded like a disaster waiting to happen.

But it wasn’t.

Dredre was no longer a helpless little pixie. She could travel freely between the planes of the living and the dead, resurrect the fallen, and wield the ’Breath of Erosion’ without limitation. If anything, it was Lil’ Beam that needed to be careful. One misstep, and it would meet a painful end, its soul tainted and tormented by the Breath of Erosion.

A pixie who dared to taunt Dalie, a celestial, was hardly going to be intimidated by a giant serpent.

"Master Wyatt, with this Houndragon platoon watching over your city, no pest will be able to enter without being noticed ever again," City Lord Malvin said with quiet confidence.

Her generosity confirmed my suspicions about why she had come to me, and why she had chosen to act now of all times. There were many factors at play, but this had to be the decisive reason as to why she stepped forward while others hesitated or abandoned the idea altogether.

"Thank you, Madam Tess. That’s very thoughtful of you," I said sincerely.

At that moment, Diana stepped forward and guided us toward the TSR Guild, where she had already made arrangements for me to entertain my guests. Meanwhile, Asong hurried to Anna’s side, who lifted her and carried her along without a word.

...

Inside the TSR Guild’s main hall, after the initial small talk, most people gradually returned to their duties and filtered out, leaving behind Anna, Jill, Asong, Tess and her entourage, and finally Aurelia, who was still shamelessly trying to assert her seniority over her mother by standing right next to me. I guessed she was trying to collect interest on all the neglect and hardship she had suffered growing up.

Seeing that Tess had already demonstrated her sincerity, I didn’t waste time testing her further and asked directly, "Madam Tess, how can I help you?"

"This..." City Lord Malvin hesitated, clearly worried that I might misunderstand her earlier gesture as a transactional move rather than an expression of loyalty and conviction.

However, now that the question had been asked, she knew there was no point in retreating. Straightening her posture, she met my gaze and spoke plainly.

"Master Wyatt, at the risk of sounding rude, I would like you to share the technique you used to cure those manipulated by that false herald who calls himself the Emissary of Light," she said. "Many of our innocent citizens and brave soldiers have fallen prey to his sinister ability. Thanks to the presence of the Houndragons, we were able to detain them before they could do anything they would later regret. We could not find a way to cure them, so we imprisoned them instead. With your grace, we wish to finally cure them and put an end to their suffering."

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.