Speed Is King

"Khal, you can't be thinking of signing that contract, are you? It's our freedom we're talking about here!" Khellendra exclaimed softly as she finally realized that her husband was actually seriously considering it.

"Lendra… You've just reached the Apex of King level recently, and you haven't struggled against the bottleneck for as long as I have." Khalendros sighed deeply. "After so many years of pointless struggling, I've grown to realize one simple fact."

Khalendros looked deep into Khellendra's beautiful eyes and said very seriously.

"For us, freedom without power, is no freedom at all."

Khellendra remained silent as she considered Khalendros' words.

"Without power, having as many treasures as we have is a crime punishable by death." Khalendros said sadly. "The Tempest clan is barely clinging on to life by hiding behind the Typhoon Clan. But they're becoming greedier and greedier. You know just how much they asked Khaleria to pay just for another year's worth of "protection and rent" right?"

"Signing away your freedom will not solve the Tempest Clan's problems." Khellendra said gently as she stretched out her hand to hold Khalendros'.

Khalendros shook his head.

"One more Emperor is one more able hand in a sinking ship." He said softly. "We will need all hands on deck, and then some more when the Typhoon clan sheds all pretenses and outright demands for us to hand over our treasures."

"That might not happen. If we're able to win a new home, you won't even need to breakthrough into Emperor level right now. Our clan can leave Typhoon II as soon as the year is over. You can take your time and gather all the materials you require for a simple breakthrough. Let us focus on that, alright?" Khellendra said with pleading eyes.

Khalendros and Khellendra simply looked at each other quietly for a few moments, just connecting and calibrating their emotions as each tried to understand the other's point of view.

Whenever heavy topics arise, and they have disagreements about specific issues, their main goal for communication had always been to fervently try and understand each other instead of pushing and fighting for their own agenda.

And because of that, their bond as husband and wife had been impressively strong.

"I will postpone my decision and think about it some more." Khalendros finally said with a smile.

"There is no rush to make this decision. Let us consider every aspect first." Khellendra nodded.

"Alright, let's go get that boy. We'll need to help him and his beasts level up and reach their maximum potential by the end of this year." Khalendros waved his hand and extended his domed barrier to swallow Elliot in it.

Elliot turned to look at them both in surprise.

"You're done discussing it? What's your decision?"

"We're postponing our decision." Khalendros said.

"Not a problem. Just let me know if you decide to sign the contract."

"Alright. My name is Khalendros Tempest, and this is my wife, Khellendra Tempest. What is your name, human?" Khalendros said to Elliot and made a formal introduction.

"My name is Elliot Musk. Nice to meet you both." Elliot said politely.

"Likewise. So tell me, Elliot, now that we're allies. How did you become so powerful? We've been to several games, and we had never met a native who is able to power up as much as you did, and in less than a month!" Khellendra asked curiously.

"I got lucky I guess. I received a very powerful boon that made me into a Beast Master. And then I won the recent Battle Royale and got a drop of Red Dragon Blood Essence. I even got a Sentient Weapon." Elliot drew Gilgamar out of his sheath.

As if realizing that he was being shown, Gilgamar began to glow slightly.

"It's a beautiful sword." Khellendra smiled politely. "If I had to remain in human form permanently, I'd want one just like that!"

Elliot chuckled at her words. He could sense that Khellendra's attitude towards him had become slightly guarded after their short discussion.

"She probably didn't appreciate the fact that I made the offer to Khalendros. But her likes and dislikes are the least of my worries right now. I need power, and I'll be damned if I don't try to sign a powerful, full-fledged dragon to be my Beast Apostle!" Elliot thought to himself.

"You're extremely lucky. And beyond talented." Khalendros said seriously. "Receiving the boons and the rewards is one thing. But for you to be able to unleash such tremendous fire attacks simply means that you've mastered extremely powerful and advanced Red Dragon skills."

"I am what I am. In this apocalypse and my quest for vengeance, I need to give it my all. I'm sure you understand." Elliot nodded without a trace of embarrassment. He didn't want to reveal the existence of the Life Energy bones, so he had no choice but to say such shameless words!

"Still, the fire attacks felt a little different from the fire attacks that Red Dragons have." Khellendra remarked thoughtfully. "Yours is… much stronger and much more intense."

"Does it matter? I work with the tools I am given." Elliot shrugged off her words. "Anyway, I think we should split up to look for the token fragments that you mentioned. It'll be better if we can get five complete tokens as soon as possible. Once we have the five tokens, I would like us to initiate a rescue mission to save my sister."

"We'll save her, don't worry." Khellendra said gently.

"Thank you." Elliot smiled gratefully at her. "It means a lot to me."

"Save the polite talk for later. Your beasts seem to have attracted unwanted attention." Khalendros snorted as he undid his domed barrier. "Look!"

Elliot turned to look at the direction where Khalendros was pointing at.

True enough, a vast pack of flying bird-like beasts had taken to the skies and were diving down periodically to attack something.

Somethings.

"MAAAASTERR!! HEELLPPPPPPP!!!!"

"MASTER!!!! BIRDS! BIG UGLY BIRDS!! HELPP!!

"MASTERRR!!! THEY'VE SERIOUSLY INJURED MALONEY AND MOLONA!! HELPPP!!"

Came the cries for help.

"Let me handle it.." Elliot told the two dragons calmly.