Lately, the Frontier had been attracting a lot of attention. First, the Secret Waves went silent. Spies were sent in secret. By all reports, the entire East Side of Fort Spoas had dropped down a cliff. Then, the excavation site went dark. Three Sky Galleons loaded with troops went to investigate. By all reports came, a Tier 5 Wild had stomped the excavation site into dust. That Wild had been captured by local miners, and the site was soon under reconstruction. But when four airships from Ashdale visited Fort Spoas at the same time, people began to ask more questions. Apparently, there were a lot of natives from Fal’Herim already there. Taskmasters were sent to those slaves’ clans to exploit that fact. How surprising that most of those clans were already gone. Furthermore, some friends from Ashdale indicated that Frontier Town was on the rise, with the Beast Waves stopped and slaves being freed, and they were even buying airship parts…<

Salim Eran thought that boarding the airship early would make a good impression on his superiors. As the newest member of the Sons of Sand Mercenary Band, he was often the butt of inside jokes about his inexperience and clumsy ways. Salim wasn’t like the other mercenaries; he was basically a fresh graduate from the Italim branch of the Ceres Metro Magic Academy. They were supposed to be on standby. Apparently some troublesome creatures were headed toward the city and they just might be sent out to bombard them from above. Maybe. If the Desert King felt bored enough to pay them for it. But the Red Fangs and the Red Claws were cheaper, and most of the time, if he could get away with sending only the cheaper mercenaries, the Desert King wouldn’t splurge by calling out the SOS. But Salim figured he might score a few points with management if he made a good impression during this standby period. They probably won’t be sent out, everyone knew it. Half the guys weren’t even

Tim tried to stay out of the whole mess, he really did. But ultimately, he failed. “We need you to take refugees on board!” a desperate woman pleaded. “Please! My daughter doesn’t deserve to die here! Help us!” “But…” “Even if you can only take one! Just one person!” Dear Tim hadn’t had time to wonder about how anyone managed to contact him using the airship’s own short-range communication crystals. Those things only worked for the air traffic control tower and the royal palace. But of course, Tim couldn’t know that. He only heard the voice, and the desperation. That was why, ten minutes later, a rope was lowered and a girl was reeled in. [Is that how humans pick their mates?] Mikai observed with interest. [Reeling them in with a fishing rod? Like fishing?] “Not exactly.” Tim grimaced. “Although maybe it’s not that different from fishing. But no, the fishing rod is definitely not it. Actually, before that… she’s not my

In a great hall roughly five times the size of Spike with a gold-plated statue of a dragon running two loops all around it, the leaders of Fal’Herim met to discuss the future of the city, only to have Remian politely suggest their surrender. “Sorry, who were you, again?” The Crown Prince looked at Remian as if puzzled. “This is Remian Vin, King of the Wildlands!” Asda declared. That’s way too exaggerated! “Uh, no, I just have some influence over one small piece of it…” Remian said, but in a voice so low that only the wolfcats next to him could hear it. Yet he cleared his throat and said, “The point is, I have overwhelming military advantage and if you don’t surrender, I may very well just destroy the city and take all its people captive. From what I hear, there’s not much else of worth in it.” “Oh, but there is!” The Second Queen assured him. “The Imperial Palace is full of valuable treasures. The treasury might be empty, but the cutlery alone

[Khar’al? What are you doing? What’s going on?] [Kor’ag! Mal’thor! Give me back my stuff!] [What stuff? What are you talking about?] [My fire crystals! My gold! My bed! I know you took them!] [You’re dreaming! Quit talking nonsense and let us go back to sleep!!] One roar met two, bodies enlarged and collided, one gold, one gray, one grass-green, and disaster swept through the deep Wildlands. Smaller Wilds scattered screaming in every direction, entire forests toppled in moments. Dragon Lake practically emptied as the little Tier 5, Tier 6 and even Tier 7 dragons in it fled for their lives. The sheer wind of their battle caused storm and tempest and the earth quaked for a full hour just from the sound of their collisions. Then from afar, another roar sounded, larger and stronger than anything they had mustered between them. A fourth dragon appeared, steel colored and wearing a pair of huge eyeglasses larger than most mansions. [You guys