Nathan and Doombringer locked eyes, the powerful, raging flames still licking at him—or rather, his black armor. Behind Nathan stood Elvin, his face frozen in a mixture of confusion and shock. Anyone could easily tell that he hadn't expected to survive the terrifying flames that had instantly obliterated countless beasts.
In his dazed state, Elvin's gaze fell on Nathan's black armor.
That armor... I remember it! Elvin thought. It had been years since he last saw this armor, and he had long believed he'd never see it again.
This armor was a Emperor-Tier artifact personally bestowed upon Nathan and Brawn by the former king as a gesture of gratitude for the Silent Whisper's unwavering loyalty to the kingdom.
With such powerful armor, Elvin began to understand the reason for his survival.
Of course, unlike him, the rest of the guards on the walls had no idea about the significance of the armor and the history behind it.
After seeing that its flames were completely ineffective against Nathan, Doombringer closed its giant maws, staring deep into the old man's eyes, which were burning with anger.
"Those bastards... what have they done to you?" Nathan whispered, his voice barely audible.
"You're not the little beast I held several years back... now it's as if I don't even know what you've become." Nathan almost choked on his words. For some strange reason, the wyvern didn't attack, as if waiting for the old man to pour out his heart before snuffing the life out of him.
Nathan's voice, although low, could be heard by everyone present, and they felt the raw emotions in it. The atmosphere suddenly became heavy. The others couldn't even begin to fathom how devastated Nathan was in this moment.
Some of them even had tears on their cheeks.
Why wouldn't they be emotional?
Every one of them knew the wyvern was a good beast at heart. It had been a friend to all, and everyone loved it.
The simple thought of fighting this friendly creature because of the twisted games of some being made their hearts sink.
At that moment, Nathan suddenly straightened up with a determined gleam flashing across his features. Flicking the tears off his face, he said, "I know you're being controlled by someone or something... but until I find a way to cure this madness... I'm sorry."
As he said this, the ground started to tremble as both dragon and human charged forward.
RUMBLE! RUMBLE! RUMBLE!
Nathan, engulfed in flaming armor, slammed his fist hard into Doombringer's stomach.
Upon impact, a loud bang echoed in the air as the wyvern flew backward, slamming into the hard ground and forming a deep crater in its shape.
The massive beast thrashed its limbs as it struggled to get to its feet. However, before it could make any progress, Nathan was upon it.
Countless punches flashed through the air like lightning strikes, smashing into the beast. Each blow forced the giant creature to shriek in pain. Nathan didn't hold back! Each punch carried the weight of a crashing boulder.
Whenever he landed a hit, a single teardrop left his eyes, but they quickly dried off because of the flaming armor coating his body.
I'm sorry! Nathan thought as he saw Doombringer's painful expression. "I promise... it will all be over soon!"
"It must be really hard on him," Hans thought. He could still recall the day Nathan had shown them Doombringer's egg. He had been very happy, like a little child.
"Will Doombringer return to normal?" Serena asked with a worried look. A few minutes ago, she had been angry at Doombringer, but now that she knew the beast was most likely being controlled, her feelings were complicated. She only felt pity for the beast.
Hans sighed with furrowed brows. "We can only hope Nathan finds a way at this point."
One Awakened glanced at the severely burned beast lying outside the barony and couldn't help but point out, "But... but why would it kill the other beasts... if it's being controlled?"
"That's because of Doombringer's nature. Since it was a child, it had a habit of hunting down other creatures... I think this habit didn't die despite the thing tampering with its mind," Gordon responded. "But it could also mean something else."
"What do you mean?" Hans turned towards Gordon, his eyes burning with curiosity.
Gordon was a druid. Naturally, he was more knowledgeable when it came to beasts, plants, and anything related to nature. Hans was hoping he'd have a logical explanation for Doombringer's behavior and also a way to cure it.
"I'm not really sure about this," Gordon admitted. "But I think the reason Doombringer killed the beasts attacking the walls was most likely because..."
He paused, which caused everyone listening to become anxious.
"Like I said... I'm not really sure about this... but I suspect it's because, deep down inside... it still cared for the barony, and after seeing that the wall was about to be breached, its body moved on its own."
Hans, Serena, and the Awakened present nodded their heads, thinking what Gordon said made a lot of sense.
Soon, their attention was diverted when they saw Nathan forcefully mounting the Doombringer despite the wyvern resisting with all its might.
"So strong," Serena's eyes flickered with admiration as she saw how he was restraining the wyvern with his bare hands, forcefully controlling it against its will.
"I didn't know Grandpa Nathan was this powerful."
"Don't be fooled by his looks, child," Elvin said. "That man is one of the strongest experts in the far west... He has only been tamed all this while and bent his head because of his health, his people, and his family... but he's anything but weak."
Finally, at that moment, Nathan successfully mounted the beast and soared into the sky before disappearing from their view.
As soon as Doombringer was out of sight, a heavy silence descended on the battlefield. Everyone's gaze remained fixed on the sky, wondering just what was about to unfold there.
However, countless roars suddenly echoed through the air, and their eyes shot toward that direction.
Everyone's expression immediately turned dark.
"The second wave," Elvin muttered grimly.
This wave of monsters was several times more fearsome than the previous one.
"Everyone, get rea—" Elvin was about to give the order to attack, but before he could finish his sentence... Hundreds of reddish figures appeared on the battlefield.