Journey of the Dragon

Chapter forty three : Encounter on the River

 Dragon and Princess Reina who were fighting on the edge of the cliff, surprisingly received a kick from a raging horse, the horse went berserk because it's butt was hit by the shot of Rizu's arrow. After the bodies of Dragon and Princess got kicked and pushed then fell into the abyss, Rizu who saw the incident from a distance immediately gasped in surprise.

 Dragon and Princess Reina plunged far enough down, then their bodies were both splashed and carried away by the very heavy river currents, so they both tried their best to come to the surface. However, the current of the water that carried them was so strong, so they both continued to drift until it was far away.

 Rizu, who was still in a state of shock, rushed to the edge of the cliff to see the condition of the princess down there, who had been carried away with Dragon until she could no longer be seen. Rizu's expression looked completely incredulous at what had just happened, then suddenly Rizu started to feel weak all over his body, while lamenting the events that had continued to occur as a result of his misdirected shot.

 Meanwhile, in the suburbs of Togu City, Gill, Tatsui and Glauss were seen packing goods into a horse carriage, it seemed they were all going to a place according to what had been planned, namely waiting for Dragon in Tatsui Village while improving the condition of the village. by using the money that has been earned from the Tournament. Kalpen and Zhoei were also seen on there to escort their departure.

 They will go on a horse carriage belonging to Narra and Beppu, because the road to the village of those brothers is also in the same direction. Gill is very grateful to Kalpen and Zhoei for the help they’ve given, so they can complete tha task from Dragon. And even though Zhoei didn't really respond to the thanks, but her attitude showed that she was happy because she had succeeded in helping Gill and his friends, and it seems that now Zhoei also really feels that She has a friendship with all of them, so Kalpen is also looks happy about it.

 After they said goodbye, a few moments later, Tatsui, Gill, and Glauss had left Togu City with Narra and Beppu to travel to Tatsui Village, and there they would use Dragon's money to repair the Village, so the Village could recover, just like new condition, while waiting for the arrival of Dragon who had promised them, that he would definitely come there and he would also explain everything that had happened. Regarding Flaur, Aporion ball, Ghistory Necklace, Princess chase, and so on.

 The day was getting dark, meanwhile in a river area where the water flow was quite calm, there were two people who were sitting on the edge of the river, sitting by the fire, on the rocky surface on the riverbank. The two people were Dragon and Princess Reina.

 (Apparently they both managed to survive the astonishing incident earlier. When the two of them fell into the fast-flowing river, Princess immediately tried to swim while approaching Dragon, who apparently couldn't swim, so easily his body was swaying and almost drowning. Dragon was indeed reliable in doing various things, but one of his weaknesses is swimming. And at that time besides having to save herself, Princess Reina also had to help Dragon so that the fugitive of the Nexus Kingdom could be caught alive. Then after being adrift for a long time, finally the two of them float by holding on to a piece of wood that is carried along the river flow, then after being in a fairly calm river flow, they can both pull over to the riverbank and manage to survive the distress.)

 Currently, Dragon is seen lying on his stomach with his hands and feet tied by tree roots, while Princess Reina is seen sitting by a campfire grilling some fish to eat dinner for her. Because it was already dark, it would be too risky for her to return to the Nexus capital especially if he had to carry Dragon while passing through the dark forest area. Therefore she decided to stay there while waiting for help to arrive, because she knew that Rizu and friends must be looking for her right now.

 A few moments later, Dragon began to wake up and he felt surprised because at this time he was on unknown place, and in a bound state as well. So because of that he immediately asked the person who was near him, namely Princess Reina.

 “W- where is this? And why are my hands and feet tied? " Asked Dragon to Princess.

 "Hmm, of course so you can't run away."

 "P- princess ?? So I've been caught, huh?" Muttered Dragon.

 "Yes, not only that ... all your weapons are already on me." Princess replied while showing the Dragon's weapons that were nearby.

 "Oh, I see ... Sigh." Dragon said with a sigh.

 "Aren't you panicking?" Asked Princess Reina.

 Then Dragon replied, "Looks like it's useless if I scream while telling you to let me go, huh?" Said Dragon, who was embraced his situation because he realized that there was no way the Princess would voluntarily give the weapons to him and then just let him go, remembering the things Dragon had been doing all day.

 "Now that you already know ... So shut up and eat this fish." Princess Reina said while handing out grilled fish to Dragon. Even after everything Dragon had done, it turned out that the Princess was still a little nice to him.

 "How can I eat? first untie my hand please. " Dragon persuaded Princess Reina.

 "Oke, i may do it ... But first, tell me about the reason why you stole this necklace from the palace?" Princess Reina said while holding Ghistory's necklace in her hand, and it turned out that the grilled fish that was offered was only a tool to lure Dragon so he will tell her about the reason why he dared to steal it from the Nexus Palace.

 "Wow, you are tricky ... Are you really a princess?" Dragon asked, because Dragon's stomach was very hungry.

 "Of course!" Princess Reina replied while hiting Dragon's head.

 Then the Princess continued to say. “What do you think when you hear the word 'Princess' ?? ... Do you think that a princess should always look elegant, and only attend important events? ... No, I'm not a princess like that. I have to be a tough person, so that I can achieve my goal of becoming the protector of the Nexus Kingdom, just like my great grandfather. " Said Princess Reina. (What he meant by great-grandfather was the Late King Velodros.)

 "Oh, so you were inspired by your great grandfather, huh?" Asked Dragon again.

 "Yes, that is true. In the past he was the one who had defeated Darkros and succeeded in stopping the war that took place in the capital of Nexus Kingdom, so because of that he was known as the most respected King in the entire land of Azhuloth ... When I was a child, my father once invited me to enter the treasury storage room, and he told me that this is the Legendary necklace that my great-grandfather used to defeat Darkros, so this necklace must be a very valuable item to the Nexus Kingdom ... But you! have dared to steal it. What an unforgivable act!” Said Princess Reina to Dragon.

 "Hmm, it can't be helped ... Your own father gave me the necklace, he said the necklace has chosen me as its true owner." Said Dragon.

 "What?!!" The princess was very shocked, and then she continued to say. "It is impossible."

 “Just like you, I also don't believe what your father has done. But that's the truth, he did give me the necklace voluntarily. "

 "Hmm, you have fought tooth and nail in the Togu City Tournament to enter the Palace, so that means, has your goal of being able to steal this necklace been achieved?"

 "Actually, what I'm aiming for in Nexus Palace, is not the necklace ... But an object called the Aporion ball, and I have to be able to get that thing so ... Eh-" Suddenly Dragon stopped his sentence because he felt something was strange, then Princess Reina was also surprised when she saw the expression on Dragon's face, who suddenly stopped talking.

 "What happened to you?" Asked the Princess.

 “How weird… Usually my shoulders will hurt if I try to say Aporion ball. But why now it feels fine huh ??” Dragon wondered, then he looked at his shoulder which was already wrapped in blue cloth, from the torn of princess robe.

 Then the Princess spoke again. "Oh, about that shoulder ... On the moment earlier, you really were unconscious when I pulled you from the river, because it seemed you were swallowing too much water, so I had to try to get the water out of your body. And don't ask how I do it! ... But after that, you were still unconscious and fell asleep. So from that I immediately tied your feet and hands using the roots of the tree around here ... Then after I finished doing that, suddenly the necklace that was around your neck emitted a light that spreads to your shoulders, then when I looked at your shoulders, apparently there is a green lump that throbbed so that it caused you to grimace in pain, so because of that I immediately took the knife I always carry in my shoes, then I used the knife to cut your shoulder, so I could take out the mysterious thing that made you feel in pain. And finally ... I found this Stone from inside your shoulder." Princess Reina said explaining, while showing a green stone in her palm.

 When he saw the stone, Dragon suddenly shouted, "Why are you holding that thing? !!! Hurry and throw it away! " Dragon shouted spontaneously.

 Then the Dragon's shout made Princess Reina startled, so she immediately threw that spell stone wich was in her hand, she threw it far into the river. And all of a sudden.

 "BOOOOOOOMMMMM !!!" An enormous explosion burst out of the river, right after Princess Reina threw the stone there. So that large amounts of water scattered in all directions.

 Dragon and Princess Reina looked very surprised when they saw the thing that had just happened in front of them, because a stone that had been in the princess's hand suddenly exploded when it was thrown away by the Princess.

 At the same time, of course it also gave a signal to Flaur, he knew that incident from hIs crystal ball, so at that time he worriedly thought that now Dragon's body had completely exploded, because Dragon had turned away and didn't want to carry out his task anymore, then it made Flaur feel very anxious. But Flaur didn't want to immediately assume that Dragon was really dead. Even though he had lost the monitoring device he kept on Dragon's shoulder, he still had another way to monitor what Dragon was doing right now, because Flaur had prepared a contingency plan in advance.

 Meanwhile, in another place, Rizu, Arci, and Holdi, who were walking along the river area in search of the Princess, heard an explosion from a distance, so they rushed over there. The three of them will not return to Nexus Palace before they can find the existence of the Princess, because they are afraid of getting the wrath of the King. In addition, on the way, Rizu never stopped blaming herself for making Princess Reina fall into the abyss with Dragon.

 "It's all my fault ... If only I didn't try to shoot Dragon at that time." Said Rizu while looking gloomy.

 Then Holdi said. “Never mind Rizu, what happened has happened. We cannot change things that have passed, and we cannot turn back time. All we can do is try to fix it.”

 "Hmm. Thank you, Holdi ... But still, I can't forgive myself. " Rizu was gloomy again.

 Then Arci spoke to Holdi. "It's not uncommon this time you spoke very wisely ... log."

 "Don't start with me." Said Holdi warned Arci.

 "Do not fight! We have to focus on finding the princess's whereabouts! ” Rizu said firmly, then he continued to say, "I hope she okay."

 "Yes. Hopefully." Said Holdi and Arci simultaneously.

 "Wait ... Did you guys hear that?" Rizu asked suddenly to his two friends.

 "Yes, I heard. Looks like there was an explosion just now. ” Arci answered. The explosive sound they heard came from the incantation stone that the princess had took from Dragon’s shoulder then she thrown it into the river.

 "Let's go there immediately." Invite Holdi while running with Arci and Rizu.

 Then suddenly the steps of three of them were stopped by a group of people who came to confront them there, and it turned out that those people were Mailon and his quite a lot of troops. While smiling and feeling excited, Mailon very confidently dared to block the path of the three Knights Storm of Nexus, perhaps because he had come with a horde of Soldiers with him.

 Mailon is a trusted subordinate of Flaur who since a few days ago has been sent to monitor Dragon all the way to Togu City, and so far he has also been watching Dragon's every move from a distance with his Soldiers who he has placed in several other locations. Actually Mailon has also witnessed Dragon's victory in the Togu City Tournament. Then next, because he couldn't follow Dragon to enter the Nexus Capital, so Mailon decided to wait somewhere else for Dragon to leave. But he was so surprised when he saw Dragon was running from the pursuit of Princess Reina and the Nexus troops, so secretly, Mailon also followed the chase process, then after he found out that currently Dragon's position was alone by the river with Princess Reina, then Mailon and his Soldiers rushed to visit Dragon to the river area, but in the middle of their journey, apparently they also encountered three knight storm of Nexis who were looking for the Princess, so that Mailon and his Soldiers had to block them. Whereas where Dragon and Princess Reina were, someone was also there to handle the two of them. That person was none other than Krypt, he was also one of Flaur's mainstays.

 That means, there will be battles that occur in two places at once, namely the battle between Mailon and his troops against the three Knights storm of Nexus, and the battle between Krypt against Dragon and Princess Reina.