Journey of the Dragon

Chapter thirty four : The Hidden messages

 The great knight Tom Hayes had succeeded in repelling the troops of the Gold One Kingdom which attacked the eastern border of Nexus Kingdom domain, but then the Tomb Knights and all Nexus soldiers who were there were shocked by the presence of 'Hebi', one of the members group of the Emperors unity, who apparently had a nest near the battle area, and he was disturbed by the earthquake that was made by great Knight Tomb Hayes.

 Therefore, Hebi had come there to challenge the great Knights to a one-on-one fight. Hebi is a very strong monster with the ability to regenerate the body, so she is very difficult to defeat, while the great Knight is also not an ordinary person, because he has very great physical prowess, also has the ability to control earth elements, besides that with his large sword its green color, making the great Knight's earth control ability even more powerful. The battle between the great knights against Hebi in that place was fierce and brutal, and is still ongoing day by day.

 Meanwhile in Togu City, Dragon, who has won the Togu City Tournament, is invited to the city hall to receive his prize, which is 500 gold pieces, and also a ticket to attend the banquet at the Nexus Kingdom palace. However, to go to the Capital of the Nexus Kingdom, Dragon will be escorted and accompanied by the leader and deputy leader of the Nexus Kingdom's fort guard named Gard and Riple.

 They are very friendly and kind to Dragon, and will always escort Dragon anywhere to finish his business before leaving for the Nexus Capital, but besides that, Gard also gives a request that makes Dragon had a dilemma, namely Dragon must leave all his weapons to Gard and Riple, the reason is because for the King's safety.

 Therefore, there was anger in Dragon's mind, namely what if something untoward happened while he was carrying out his mission in the Palace, then he fear if he had to be separated from his weapons forever. he did not want that to happen, but nevertheless he had to obey the wishes of Gard because it was included in the provisions for him to enter the Royal Palace.

 But before Dragon handed it over, he had time to ask, "Can I leave it to my acquaintance who is in this city" Asked Dragon.

 "You can’t. I’m sorry Mister Dragon, but It is our policy ... Trust me, that your weapons will be fine, because they will be stored in a very safe place, we both guarantee it, because your weapons will be stored at our Headquarters. "Said Gard explained.

 After hearing that the weapon would be kept in the safest place, it did not make Dragon happy, he was even more worried. Because he was afraid that it would be difficult to get those weapons back later.

Dragon was silent for a moment while thinking about this, but this is the first step he must take if he wants to enter the palace easily and safely, after all he has struggled to get to this point. Therefore, he finally decided to give all the weapons he had to Gard and Riple.

 So Dragon smiled as he nodded, indicating that he agreed with the Gard's request. So after that Riple started walking towards Dragon to receive the weapons that were given directly by the Champion of the Togu City Tournament. Namely in the form of swords, gold plates, and magic ropes that have always been near Dragon and never far from him.

.Although with a little reluctance, Dragon tried to let his weapons be taken by Riple, because Gard also kept reminding Dragon that. "It’s fine, these weapons will be properly guarded and they will not be lost. We guarantee. "

 When Dragon began to hesitate again to give his weapons to Riple, Melinda (the gold plate that attached to Dragon's shoulder), had whispered to Dragon. "It's okay. Give me to them, I promise I won't cry even though I can't come with you into the palace ... You can just tell me about what happened there, huh? " Said Melinda to Dragon. But that only made Dragon feel even more heavy-hearted, because after all Melinda was the friend who contributed most to Dragon's every victory, and she was also the one who led Dragon to become the Champion of the Togu City Tournament.

 So that Dragon feels uncomfortable if he has to leave it, especially if he has to keep it in a unknown place. However, Melinda has vowed that she will not feel sad even though she has to be separated from Dragon. In addition, Melinda also does not want her to become a burden for Dragon to be able to go to his destination, namely the Nexus Palace. (Even though Melinda still doesn't know about Dragon's true purpose, why is Dragon so eager to enter the Nexus Royal Palace? So far, Melinda only thinks that Dragon only intends to find information about the Night Crow's existence there, which may be known by people in there, Melinda doesn't know anything else, like things about Flaur or the mission that Flaur gave to Dragon.)

 With a feeling of hesitation, but like it or not, now Dragon must give his weapons into Riple's hands, and he will get them back when the banquet at the Nexus Royal palace is over, but whether the event will end well or end badly for him? We still don’t know yet.

 After Dragon's weapons were in Riple's hands, then a surprising thing happened. Suddenly Riple's body split in half, so now there are two Riples, and they both stand side by side. The real Riple was holding Dragon's weapons, while the other Riple was standing smiling. Then the real Riple gives all the weapons to the other Riple. This made Dragon confused and could only gawk.

 “Don't be surprised, it's Riple's power. He can duplicate his body, even into a very large number, let's just call them his duplicates ... Well, right now, Riple Duplicates will bring your weapons to our Headquarters." Said Gard to Dragon.

 "Oooh." Dragon replied briefly.

.A few moments later, the Riple Duplicate immediately left the room, carrying all of Dragon's weapons in his arms, he will take those weapon to the safe in the Nexus Kingdom's fort Guard Headquarters. Which must be have very tight security.

 Then Gard started to approach Dragon to invite him to go, “Alright, now ... Where do you want to go? Do you want to rest right away? We can provide the most luxurious lodging in this city. " Said Gard.

 "No, I have my own lodging room ... But before that, I want to go to the hospital first." Dragon said.

 "Hospital? Are any of your relatives sick? ... I'm sorry. "

 "No, I want to see Gill condition." Dragon said.

 “Gill ?? Wasn't he your opponent in the Final round? Why do you want to visit him? Is he your friend? Where did you guys meet for the first time? ”Gard asked Dragon a lot question, because he seemed suspicious of their friendship.

 “Yes, he is my friend, we met at the Togu City Tournament, and we have been friends ever since. Apart from Gill, I was also friends with Tatsui and many other people I met in the Tournament ... So if anyone wants to accuse me of conspiring with anyone for my victory in the Togu City Tournament, it's best to prepare a lot of evidence, because if it's true we are in cahoots. until the final round, of course there are a lot of people involved, starting from the event organizing committee, fighting organizers, and other participants. " Dragon answered bluntly.

 "I- i'm sorry, I seem to ask too many questions. That's because my habit of interrogating i always brought wherever i went ... Once again, I'm sorry. You are already legally the Champion of the Togu City Tournament, which there is absolutely undoubted ... Please note that Riple. ”Then Riple immediately took note of this, and he also noted that Dragon had a temper too.

 Gard continued. "Whoever you are friends with, it shouldn't be my business. Once again I’m sorry Mister Dragon. So ... Let's go to the hospital now, let us take you." Invite Gard to Dragon, to which Dragon answered with a smile while nodding his head. Then Dragon walked out of the room while being followed by Gard and Riple behind him. Now they had leave the Mayor Office.

 Soon, Dragon, Gard, and Riple were in the hospital to see how Gill was doing. The three of them were walking through the hallway, looking for the room where Gill was treated. Everyone who passed them along the passage, looked at the three of them with a dumbfounded facial expression, because they all knew that Dragon was the Champion of the Togu City Tournament, plus the two people who accompanied Dragon to walk there were the Leader and Deputy Leader of the Fort Guard Nexus Kingdom (Gard and Riple), which is equally famous.

 Not long after, the three of them finally managed to find the room where Gill was, and it turned out that in the room there were also Tatsui and Glauss who were seen talking with Gill. The arrival of Dragon, suddenly made them shocked, including Gill, who immediately woke up from his lying position, with a wide-eyed expression, because they thought that Dragon had now left to the Palace, but it wasn't.

 Then Tatsui said, “Dragon! We thought you had already left to the palace? ” Tatsui asked Dragon.

 "Yes, it was very difficult for us to be able to meet you. So many people were around you while you were at City Hall. " Said Glauss.

 "Look, in an instant you have become an important person. Even you have bodyguards. " Gill said to Dragon, while watching Gard and Riple who were standing by the door.

 "Greetings, my name is Gard, and this is my deputy named Riple. The two of us are in charge of accompanying Mister Dragon on his visit to the Palace tomorrow. ” Gard introduces himself and Riple to Gill, Tatsui, and Glauss.

 "Looks like I know you, but ... Who is it, I forgot?" Glauss asked the two of them.

 “Have you ever tried to infiltrate the stronghold of the Nexus Royal Capital? If so, that means you must have dealt with us before. " Said Gard.

 "Oh yeah, I know you both ..." Then after saying that, Glauss immediately hid behind Tatsui.

 "What happened to you?" Tatsui and Gill asked Glauss.

 "Shhh ... They are important people." Said Glauss in a whisper.

 “Hahaha ... Don't be so nervous, just relax. The two of us are not here to arrest anyone. ” Gard said to them all, while Riple just smiled.

 Then Dragon immediately fulfilled his intention to give all of his prize money to Tatsui. "Tatsui, according to my promise, this ... I give all this money to you, because your village needs it more than I do." Dragon said to Tatsui.

 Tatsui felt shocked and nervous, because she still felt that she couldn't just take those money, so with a feeling of embarrassment, Tatsui said to Dragon. "B-but Dragon."

 Then without letting Tatsui finish his words, Dragon immediately put the bag filled with money in Tatsui's hand, after which Dragon immediately winked at Tatsui, who was also seen by his other friends, namely Gill and Glauss. At first they all felt strange when they saw Dragon do winking, but then they immediately realized that Dragon was giving a signal to the three of them (Gill, Tatsui, and Glauss).

 Dragon continued his conversation with Tatsui, “You must accept this good intention from me, because we are friends. As Gill once said, that fellow friends should help each other. " Then one eye of Dragon winked again (Indicating that he was in need of help).

 “I have gone through many obstacles and difficulties to get here, and finally I can become the Champion of the Togu City Tournament. It's not all easy, but because we always supported each other, I was finally able to succeed, and I'm very grateful to all of you ... I am so grateful that I can't even express it in words. ” Then one of Dragon's eyes blinked again (Indicating that the problem he was currently facing was so big that Dragon couldn't express it or explain it directly to his friends).

 "It's okay Dragon, we understand." Gill said as if he understood Dragon's gratitude, but he actually understood what Dragon meant.

 “Waaah… What an extraordinary friendship between the four of you. So Mister Dragon intends to donate the prize money for the improvement of Miss Tatsui Village? Waaah ... If I may ask, what happened to the village? " Gard asked Tatsui.

 "My village was destroyed by an evil sorcerer and his subordinates." Tatsui replied to the Gard.

 "Oh, I see, I'm sorry ... And you guys are actually participating in the Tournament in order to recover Miss Tatsui Village. It is truly glorious. Record it Riple. " Tell Gard to Riple, who quickly notes it.

 Then Dragon and his friends just laughed awkwardly in response to Gard, after that Dragon continued his conversation with Tatsui and his friends. "Oh yeah, because tomorrow I have to go to the Palace, then maybe I can only go home in the afternoon, but before I return to Togu City, I think I have to get my weapons which are currently being stored at their headquarters. So I hope that all of you don't first separate and then leave me in Togu City alone, I hope you are still in Togu City so that we can all meet and reunite. " Dragon said while winking again (Which indicates that tomorrow Dragon will do an important business in the Palace, Dragon also at the same time informs about the location where his weapons are located, which means that Dragon wants them to get all those weapons for him, then in the afternoon. Dragon hopes that he can meet again with his friends to hand over his weapons in Togu City).

 “Togu City Market is where we met for the first time, right? ... until whenever I will never forget the memories of that place. I remember Gill wearing the hood that was on his jacket. Is it because you don't want to show your face? ” Dragon asked while showing a joking expression to his friends, but interspersed with a wink, (Which indicates that the meeting place for the handover is in the Togu City market, and they have to use a hood to cover their face, so that their identity can’t be known).

 Tatsui continued to pinch Glauss's arm, so that Glauss did not slip away and remained silent listening to Dragon's words until it finished. Meanwhile, Gill immediately answered the words from Dragon. "Yes, I won't forget that place either." Gill said, which meant that Gill understood the Dragon's plan.

 "Okay then, I hope you use the money well, oke Tatsui. I will come to your village to see the situation after it's repaired, and I hope we can all gather there later, after all the business here is over ... Now I will go back to the inn to rest, because tomorrow I have an appointment with the King. " Dragon said with a smile, then he hurried away from the room, followed by Gard and Riple, who also said goodbye to Gill, Tatsui, and Glauss.

.Then after Dragon and his two bodyguards had left the room where Gill was being treated. So Gill immediately told Tatsui and Glauss to get closer to him, he wanted to invite the two of them to discuss, and it seems that the two of them also have a little understanding of the meaning code given by Dragon.

 Gill started whispering. "Are you aware of it? Dragon is currently in trouble, and he really needs our help. If we don't help him, then he won't know who to ask for help anymore. Right now Dragon is really relying on us, and we shouldn't let him down ... Dragon has already given us a task, and for sure this task will be very risky ... So, what's your decision?” Gill asked his two friends.

 "Of course I will help Dragon ... Not because he gave me money, but because Dragon is our friend." Tatsui replied.

 "I don't know guys, will he do something bad to the king, or not ... We still can't be sure." Glauss said. His words made Tatsui and Gill sigh a little.

."Listen, Glauss ... I won't force you to help us, you can refuse Dragon's request for help and go back to carrying out your activities as an outer knight ... But, not with me. I will help Dragon because he already thinks of me as a friend, and friends must help each other and trust each other. If you can't trust Dragon, it means you don't deserve to call him a friend. ” Gill said to Glauss.

."What are you saying?!" Said Glauss, pulling Gill's collar.

."Hey. What are you two doing? don't get into a fight like that! ” Tatsui said while separating the two of them.

."Then let me ask, Gill ... Why do you want to help Dragon, even though you have already beaten in the Tournament by him?" Glauss asked Gill.

 "First, I don't have a big motivation for my participation in the Togu City Tournament, so I don't really care about the prize at all, I just want to fill my free time." Gill answered, then Tatsui and Glauss responded with a flat expression, "Hmm, free time."

.Gill continue his sentence, “Then my second reason. Just like your reason for why you want to make Dragon as a friend. ” Said Gill, so that Glauss became a little stunned.

 “That is because I consider Dragon to be my true rival, and as a friend who is precious to me. Normally people would stay away from me when they found out that I was a monster hunter by profession, or when they saw the true power of my H butcher sword, but Dragon and you two normally still think of me as a friend, without any doubts or uneasiness. So I also think of all of you as precious friends ... And now, regarding the problem Dragon is currently facing, a problem that he can't say. You yourself saw his fighting spirit in facing every fight, right? He is not the type of fool who wants to harm the King or want to destroy the Nexus Kingdom, Dragon just wants to find information about the whereabouts of the person who killed his teacher, maybe he can get that information in the Nexus Royal Palace, and it might also be risky for him, that is why he needs our help ... He must have some reason, and he cannot tell in detail about the task he gave us. Now all we have to do is trust him and do what he tells us to do ... Or choose to ignore him, then cause harm to him, thus costing us to lost a precious friend? So which one do you choose? Glauss. " Gill asked Glauss straightly.

 Then Glauss took a deep breath. "Hmm ... You're right, forgive me. Because I had doubts about Dragon. Maybe because he suddenly gave us such an assignment, I was shocked and panicked a little ... However, when I saw the expression on his face, I realized, that Dragon looks like he really needs our help. Once again, I'm sorry. " Said Glauss.

 “Dragon once said that he didn't want us to get involved in his problems, but now things are different. We are only told to get his weapons, while hiding our identities. So that no one will suspect that we are in cahoots with him. Tomorrow in the afternoon, we will hand over all the weapons to him at the Togu City Market ... Then he also coded us that he wants us to gather at Tatsui Village, after all this Problems is over. And maybe there he'll explain to us about all the things that happened ... So, let's start planning. " Gill said.

 "Yes, I agree." Tatsui said.

 "OK! Let's do it." Glauss said excitedly, for the sake of helping Dragon.

 Initially the three of them did not expect that Dragon would come to them after successfully winning the Togu City Tournament while bringing news as well as very surprising things. Namely in the form of a task that Dragon entrusted them to carry out, because it turned out that Dragon could not solve his problems alone. He desperately needed help from his friends, so that he could get his weapons back. As for the full explanation, Dragon will definitely tell them when the situation is possible.

 Their friendship is now being tested again, with shaky trust between each other. But they are able to re-affirm their hearts, so they can maintain their friendship, and can trust each other more no matter what. Because if the friendship is constantly peppered by mutual suspicion, then the friendship will definitely be destroyed.