I Only Tame Dragons

Chapter 128 The Desert's Demand

Velvet smirked, sheathing her dagger. "Let them come. If they thought this loop would stop us, they clearly underestimated who they're dealing with."

Dawnfire gave a tired laugh, the tension in her body easing. "I'd like to see the look on their faces when they realize we escaped their little trap."

Horizon turned to Fiora, offering her a hand. She took it, pulling herself up with a grateful smile. "You found the anchor. We couldn't have done it without you."

Fiora blushed slightly, looking away. "I just did my part. It was a team effort."

Aria stepped forward, her face serious. "Alright, we've wasted enough time here. We need to find the monolith, after that we have to search for the exit. We only have less than seven days to do that."

Seraphina nodded. "Agreed. Let's move out. And keep your guard up. We may have broken the loop, but the real fight is just beginning."

Horizon approached Nyx, who sat perched atop a jagged rock, her green eyes glowing with an eerie intensity as the last remnants of the desert's illusion faded behind them.

"Can you find the location of the monolith now?" he asked her.

Nyx's ears twitched at the question, and she flicked her tail with an almost regal disdain.

"Your pet can sense the monolith?" Seraphina's voice cut through the air, her voice soft as she joined them, her steps heavy from the strain of the difficult terrain.

Nyx hissed, her fangs glistening in the dying light. "I am no one's pet," she spat, her sharp eyes narrowing at Seraphina. "If anyone here is a pet, it's this man," she added, casting a pointed glance at Horizon.

Her tone was laced with a mockery that no one missed, but the disdain wasn't directed at Horizon—it was simply the way Nyx spoke, the way she always spoke, as if she were superior to everyone else.

Well, she was since she was a Great Wyrm.

"Alright, enough of this," Horizon said, cutting through the growing tension. "Just answer the question. Did you find the monolith's location or not?"

Nyx rolled her eyes in an exaggerated fashion, then took a deep breath before responding. "I did," she said, her voice dismissive but filled with certainty. "But it will take two days to reach it from here."

Horizon's brow furrowed at that. "Two days?" His voice held a note of disbelief. "That far?"

"Is that far?" Seraphina's question was pointed as she turned toward Fiora, hoping for clarification, but Fiora only shook her head.

She was out of mana, and the backlash from her earlier spell would keep her incapacitated for a full day. She wouldn't be of much help in the next few hours, and the thought of having to rely on others made her grit her teeth in frustration.

Nyx kept her eyes on the horizon, her gaze flicking back to the lagging figures of Seraphina, Dawnfire, Fiora, and the others. The desert stretched out before them, an unforgiving expanse of sand and sun, but Nyx saw nothing but opportunity.

"Why not ditch them already?" she said, her tone casual, as though the suggestion were nothing more than a passing thought. She barely even glanced back at the others as she spoke, her wings twitching in impatience, her mind already calculating the fastest route ahead.

Seraphina didn't respond—her focus was elsewhere, too deep in her own thoughts to bother with Nyx's jabs. But Dawnfire and Fiora, gasping for air, exchanged glances.

They were slower than usual, the heat weighing heavily on them, and it was obvious they needed a break. The desert was an unforgiving beast, and it showed no mercy, even to those who had walked through worse.

"Just give us a second," Fiora muttered, wiping sweat from her brow. She could somewhat control the environment, but even she wasn't immune to the desert's heat.

"We need to keep moving," Nyx said as she examined the others. "You can fly, Horizon. You could be at the monolith by now. Less than a day. The rest of them can't move that fast. They're only a hindrance at this point."

Horizon, trudging beside them, took a deep breath, his gaze distant. He was a man of few words, but Nyx's suggestion struck a chord.

She wasn't wrong—the group was slowing down, and Horizon skill [Fly] gave him an obvious advantage. He could easily cover ground faster, scout ahead, and potentially find a safer path.

Still, Horizon's sense of honor ran deeper than practicality. He stopped for a moment, glancing at the others, his face set in a stern expression.

"I already agreed to this alliance," he said, his voice low but firm. "You might think I'm some kind of fool, but I don't back down on my word. We stick together. Or at least, until we got out of here."

His words hung in the air for a moment, the harsh wind whispering across the desert, carrying with it the distant sound of something else: the moaning, shuffling sounds of the undead that had been following them for hours.

"Fine," Nyx muttered, her wings ruffling in irritation, but there was no malice in her voice. She understood, even if she didn't agree. "Let's keep moving. But don't expect me to be patient."

As a Great Wyrm, his words carried immense weight. The higher one ascended in power, the more their words became a force to be reckoned with. Every promise, every declaration, held the potential to shape destiny.

That was why they were so cautious in giving them—words were not just empty sounds, but binding forces that could alter the course of fate itself.

Horizon nodded, his expression softening. He wasn't here to make friends, but he was here to honor his word.

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"Let's pick up the pace, ladies," Horizon said. "We can rest after we covered more grounds."

The rest agreed, even though they were exhausted. It was baffling, considering they should have the stamina for such ordeals ever since they turned into players.

Yet, the desert seemed to drain the very life out of them, reducing them to mere mortals under the relentless heat.