Chapter 26: Courage
Blazing fire illuminated the night sky, its crimson glow clearly visible even from several kilometers away. Standing at the edge of the forest, the hunter could smell the pungent stench of burning.
Sulfur, roasted meat, and the scent of charcoal that hadn't fully burned—it was all so distinct that his heart trembled violently, unable to think clearly.
The hunter looked out and could only see the burning village, houses collapsing in the flames, and the mutilated corpses of the villagers.
And of course... dragons.
Dragons, rarely seen in daily life and nearly becoming legends, had gathered in a group, converging on the human village. They tore at the villagers' corpses, recklessly destroyed houses, and spewed flames and lightning, burning everything.
Seeing this, the hunter's face flushed crimson, blue veins bulging at his temples, and his teeth chattered uncontrollably—whether from fear or rage, he couldn't tell. The bow in his hand was gripped tightly by a hand covered in bulging veins, but contrary to his body's extreme anger, his heart was filled only with icy coldness.
In the mouth of the leading fire dragon was his intended prey, the great wild boar king. He had planned to distribute its hide and the money from the hunt to the villagers after a successful hunt. They had always taken care of his family; otherwise, a hunter who often roamed the forest wouldn't be able to support his household.
But now, everything was gone.
The corpse beneath the male fire dragon's feet was that of an old woman who had always been kind to him. She adored his two children and often made pies for their family.
But now, the old woman and her son lay twisted on the ground, burned, their expressions agonized.
Nearby, being torn apart by a ground dragon, was the corpse of the militia captain, who usually competed with him for village leadership. This taciturn middle-aged warrior still clutched his spear tightly even in death, as if he had tried to resist these dragon beasts, but clearly, he had failed.
The hunter's excellent eyesight, usually a source of pride, had now become a source of pain. He could clearly see every detail of the familiar villagers' deaths, and the dragons' devouring behavior infuriated him to the point where he wanted to attack recklessly.
But reason told him that any one of these dragons had the strength of Silver-rank, and he couldn't defeat any of them.
Moreover, his remaining rationality was still analyzing the situation.
Male fire dragons, female fire dragons, sleep dragons, electric dragons, and various other small dragon species. Fortunately, there was no sign of Astral Dragons among this dragon group—those intelligent beings capable of casting magic. But then again, Primordial Realm Dragons and Astral Dragons never considered each other kindred; Primordial Realm Dragons saw Astral Dragons as powerful prey, while Astral Dragons viewed Primordial Realm Dragons as lowly mongrels.
And these Primordial Realm Dragons, which normally hunted each other and were even natural enemies, had gathered together as if they were a close-knit family. To the hunter, this was utterly unreasonable, a completely unbelievable situation. After all, male fire dragons often preyed on smaller dragon species. How much meat did humans have? Why would it ignore so many moving pieces of meat nearby to hunt a wild boar king with flesh as tough as steel, and devour humans who were mostly bones?
But this was not the time to think about that. The hunter moved quickly through the forest, heading toward his home, which was beside a small river.
On the other side of the river, there was no trace of dragons for now. A few lonely houses stood by the bank, forming a stark contrast with the burning village across the way.
Seeing this scene, a glimmer of hope suddenly rose in the hunter's heart.
"Maybe they're fine! They're all still alive!"
He thought excitedly, then quickly ran toward the other side of the river, toward his home.
Meanwhile, in the small house on the other side of the river.
"Stay inside, don't come out. Be good, don't make a sound."
A calm voice echoed from the basement of the small house. A sturdy middle-aged woman lay at the entrance of the basement, speaking softly to her children: "Little Ivan, take care of Amira. There's water and food in the basement. If the house catches fire, pull down the second layer of the partition..."
She rambled on about many things, but a low dragon roar interrupted her.
"Mom, stop talking, come in quickly!" The boy named Ivan, holding his sobbing sister's shoulder, comforted her while asking in a panicked tone: "You're saying so much, I can't remember it all..."
"Mom isn't coming in..."
Looking at the cramped basement, the middle-aged woman took a deep breath. How could the oxygen in such a place support three people? She understood this well.
The dragon roar sounded again, growing closer. The middle-aged woman knew it was no time to hesitate. She revealed a resolute smile, quickly kissed her two children's cheeks, then pushed them deep into the basement and closed the partition.
"Mom loves you."
She whispered this as if to herself. Sensing the dragon rapidly approaching, the mother picked up an iron pot and a fire poker from the house and ran straight outside.
As she ran, she banged the pot loudly with the poker, creating a noisy racket. At the same time, she shouted curses at the dragon: "Come on, look here, you idiot!"
The female fire dragon approaching the house was startled by the noise. It cautiously watched this human woman who had made such a loud sound, its attention completely captured.
In the forest beside his house, the hunter saw this.
He saw his wife run out of the house, banging the iron pot, desperately trying to attract the dragon's attention.
—No words were needed; in an instant, he understood this woman's intention.
Truly worthy of the woman I love...
The hunter thought to himself, his teeth clenched. Shame at his own inadequacy and rage hot enough to burn away reason gnawed at his heart simultaneously.
Shame, rage, fear—all negative emotions stemmed from his own lack of strength.
Why couldn't I be stronger? Strong enough to protect my wife, my children, and the village?
But this was not the time for self-blame.
Another male fire dragon, apparently the mate of this female, seemed to notice the commotion and began walking toward the direction of the small house.
The direction where the middle-aged woman was sacrificing herself to lead the dragon away.
And a sudden realization arose in this self-blaming man's heart.
Andre, what are you waiting for?
This is the moment.
As if sensing the destined fate, the hunter named Andre felt neither nervous nor panicked. He simply had an epiphany, smiled in relief, and raised his bow and arrow toward the fire dragon approaching step by step.
The bow was drawn.
The arrow was loosed.
The enchanted arrow sliced through the air, leaving a trail of pale blue light in the night, striking the fire dragon's eye with precision.
A violent explosion followed, and then an earth-shaking roar erupted in the burning village.
Nearby, the woman who was running far away, trying to lead the female fire dragon further off, also looked in this direction.
The hunter met her gaze.
And they both smiled.
In the basement of the house.
Ivan could faintly hear his mother running out, shouting desperately to attract the attention of those monsters.
To lure the dragon away, his mother had chosen to sacrifice herself.
By the time he finally realized this fact, explosions and dragon roars also sounded nearby. His sister beside him began to sob quietly again, but she suppressed the sound as low as possible. The boy's eyes were also filled with tears, but he covered his mouth, closed his eyes tightly, and controlled his emotions to the lowest possible fluctuation.
Intense emotions consume more oxygen. And in the basement, oxygen was limited.
These were bits of knowledge his father had casually mentioned while teaching him how to train his body. Because of his mother's actions, Ivan now recalled them and put them into practice.
But even so, his heart was still filled with unquenchable confusion and anger.
Why? Everyone was living well. Why had dragons, which only appeared in stories, suddenly descended on their village? Why didn't these dragons seek out their most suitable prey, but instead attack humans?
No one told them, just as no one noticed that the eyes of these dragons were flickering with a purple-blue light.
...The next day.
The news of the dragon attack on the village was sent to the Lord's Mansion of the main city of Moldavia.
And after Joshua finished reading it, he fell into a long silence.
To be continued.