Chapter 26: Lich and Dragon (3)_2
For safety's sake, Andrew didn't stop to rest, but continued to ride north.
They rode through the entire night until dawn, when both horses were so exhausted they collapsed, and Andrew and Christina finally halted.
To be precise, the whole group, except for the physically robust Christina, including Andrew and Turuk, were already extremely exhausted.
They stayed on a small hillside to rest temporarily.
Andrew leaned against a tree trunk, breathing heavily. Turuk looked fearfully at the two horses lying on the ground.
The desert had ended at some point, and hills, mountains, and one oasis after another began to appear around them.
Not far away, a small stream was even flowing.
Turuk hurriedly ran to the stream, fetched some water, and brought it back to the two nearly dead horses. One of them even snorted blood.
The first rays of morning sunlight appeared, revealing their destination—Udoven, a northern city-state built against the mountain.
The flag of the Lunbak Royal Family was flying from the tower.
The massive fortress almost covered the entire mountain; Andrew could already clearly see the soldiers patrolling on the city walls.
This was a unique town. It was more of a huge military stronghold than a town.
As previously mentioned, the huge fortress almost covered the entire mountain with numerous large-scale towers standing tall. The towers were filled with giant crossbow machines, and each of those crossbow arrows was made of tree trunks.
This was the first time Andrew had seen such a large military complex.
In contrast, the town at the foot of the mountain was only the size of an ordinary small town, and it didn't even fill the perimeter of the mountain; surrounding the town were several times larger military camps.
A vast number of soldiers in gray armor and horses could be seen everywhere. From the air, the scene would look like a blackened spot on the green field.
After a while, Andrew finally smiled, "We... we escaped. They probably can't catch up anytime soon. The gold dragon had a clash with the Lich, and now they have a lot of issues to deal with. They won't have the energy to worry about us."
Christina, filled with excitement, hugged Andrew tightly and laughed.
Turuk nervously looked back at Andrew and said something in Beastman language.
Andrew didn't understand a word, but he roughly knew what Turuk was trying to say.
Gently pushing Christina away, Andrew unsteadily stood up and took step by step towards Turuk, or more accurately, towards the two horses.
Reaching them, Andrew reached out to untie the saddles and the mess of ropes hanging on the horses, taking everything off in the process.
Closing his eyes, Andrew placed his palms on the horse's heart and chanted a spell. Silvery magic power flowed into the horse's body.
Soon, the horse that had seemed as if it would die at any moment struggled to its feet and let out a loud whinny.
Turuk was completely stunned, his eyes wide open.
Turning, Andrew then used the same method on the other horse.
Soon, the second horse came back to life as well.
Andrew panted heavily and sat down on the ground, laughing, "We are free, you are free too! Thank you! Hahahaha!"
The two horses began to frolic beside them.
Turuk excitedly shook Andrew's hand vigorously, "Mage! Mage! Mage!"
"I know! Hahahaha, I will teach you! But whether you can learn it is up to you! Actually, I think you should first learn the common language."
Christina also came to Andrew's side, "Are we going to stay here now?"
"No, this is just a temporary stop for us." Andrew forced himself to sit up, looking towards the distant Udoven, "We still have to go south. You just saw the war between the White Bone Holy Light Court and the Dragon Clan... we shouldn't get involved."
"There will be a war?" Christina was stunned, her eyes wide open.
"Yes."
"Because of us?"
"No, not because of us. It has nothing to do with us. Their relationship was already bad enough. The White Bone Holy Light Court and the Black Dragon Clan have deep conflicts. The Golden Dragons and the Black Dragons have an alliance, everyone knows that." Andrew brushed the hair from his forehead and smiled, "So, it has nothing to do with us."
"Then... if they fight, what will happen to the people here?" Christina asked, "Linlopes, Lady Lida, and... Mr. Mani. What will happen to them?"
"There's nothing we can do about that." Andrew sighed and stood up.
Just then, a voice almost simultaneously sounded in Andrew, Christina, and Turuk's minds, "You really can't do anything about it."
Andrew broke out in goosebumps, looking around in alarm. Christina and Turuk did the same.
All was quiet, with no anomalies to be seen.
However, the voice once again echoed in their minds, "I just wanted to see how far you could run and how long you could keep running. Why don't you fly? As a dragon, isn't it funny to ride a horse?"
Andrew's gaze finally settled in the direction of Udoven.
Between them and Udoven, at a distance of less than ten meters, space inexplicably twisted, as if there was a warped piece of glass there. Next, a figure appeared before them.
It was a tall, slender figure in a white cloak.
Gently pulling down the hood, a face very similar to Andrejewitsch's appeared before them.
Golden long hair, handsome features, pale skin, and cheeks marked with golden dragon scales. Unlike Andrejewitsch, he had scattered dragon scales not only on his face, but also on his forehead and hands.
Andrew was utterly shocked.
Turuk stood there, mouth agape.
Christina was also stunned, softly uttering the person's name, "Abraham..."
This figure was surely the third golden dragon that hadn't appeared last night!
Looking at Andrew and Christina, he smirked contemptuously.
"I noticed you when you mounted the horses. The reason I didn't act was only to avoid drawing the attention of the two Liches." Abraham's gaze fell on Andrew, "What is your connection to the White Bone Holy Light Court?"
A paranoid Andrew quickly denied, "I don't know what you're talking about! I have nothing to do with them!"
"Really? Then how did you manage to get the two Liches to help you? More than just two Liches, there was another Lich nearby. Come on, tell me how you did it?"
Andrew was momentarily speechless.
Should he tell that Bruto did it for Gold Coin? That would be hard to believe, even for himself, though it was the truth.
"Not going to say? Never mind, I have my ways to make you talk." With a cold snort, Abraham looked over at Christina, "The great elder was indeed right, those despicable undead are pervasive and certainly would target you. Listen, you now have two choices. One, come with me without resistance. Two, I beat you up and then forcefully take you back. Note that I said 'you all.'"
Pointing at Andrew, Abraham smiled, "Including you, the Blood Elf who instigated a war between us and the undead, you must come with me."
The wind gently blew by, and Andrew held his breath, eyes wide open.