Chapter 4252: Side Story 4: Ice and Dragon

Side Story 4: Ice and Dragon

(This story takes place after Chapter 1712, after the witches bid farewell to Xia De and before they leave the Lost Forest.)

"Your Majesty Marcus?"

Seeing the silver-haired half-woman turn to look behind her, Miss Adriana called out to her. The short witch didn't look back as she said:

"You go first; I will leave before this path disappears. If you don't see me later, go to my territory."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Saying this, the brown-haired witch pulled her maid and apprentice, and together with the bard holding a lute, hurried toward the end of the forest path.

The camp did not disappear because the story ended; the snow had stopped falling, and the wind had become calm. The departure of the living and the gods made the silent Lost Forest even more eerie. Lost souls flickered in the forest, attempting to approach, but as the chill from Chloe spread, even covering the ground in frost, those souls—who should have rested here before truly heading toward death—waited in the forest for the time being.

In that mist, the big-tailed red dragon girl looked quite nervously at this scene, watching the half-woman whose eyes were glowing slightly. Fiona Drag, wearing a hat and carrying a backpack, even felt that the ancient demigod's golden eyes before her had pierced through the barrier of time and space, seeing her soul.

Although before setting out, Miss Feilian and Miss Danister had said that because her time power had been strengthened in 【Eternal Night City】, she might be able to contact an ancient witch this time, Fiona hadn't expected to succeed on her first try:

"When did my luck get so good?"

She pinched the buttons of her top with both hands, not knowing what to say, so Chloe, frowning, took the initiative to speak:

"Time Dragon? Brass Dragon? Or Star-Colored Dragon?"

"No, I am a Red Dragon."

Although at a loss, Fiona still tried hard to defend her lineage:

"I am a half-breed Red Dragon; my mother is a half-elf."

"Oh?"

Chloe frowned deeply. The chill overflowing from her body had frozen the entire camp except for the bonfire, making even Fiona in the mist feel the cold:

"Appearing here in such an unusual way... the power of time... are you... a witch from the future? Seeking the traces of that man?"

The big-tailed dragon girl was a bit surprised, but nodded quickly:

"Yes! You understand all this, right? May I ask... do you also know Xia De?"

Although the silver-haired witch before her wasn't tall, Fiona knew who she was. During her most powerful period in history, she could even freeze time—just like she was doing now. She was one of the most powerful witch emperors from the Fifth Era until the era when Miss Feilian was active.

"Xia De Hamilton? Yes, I know him. I have also tried to find his traces in the long river of time, but all I saw were different witches... To be precise, he left just twenty seconds before you appeared... So that's it. The time disturbance when he left gave you the opportunity to appear here. Because he is protected by the power of the Tree Father, and you also have the scent of his blood on you, the Tree Father is temporarily not pursuing your responsibility for violating time travel."

When Fiona was in 【Eternal Night City】, Xia De had used his personal degraded version of the *Dragon Book: Breeding and Growth* sleep growth ritual on her, during which Xia De used his own blood. Chloe, on the other hand, had directly drunk Xia De's blood in the White Silver Mountains, so she was very familiar with that unique scent.

"Is that so?"

The red dragon girl in the mist blinked, then felt regretful:

"He just left... I guess I missed him."

After saying this, she finally remembered the purpose of this visit:

"Your Majesty Chloe Marcus Marcus, I am entrusted by the future demigod Miss Feilian and Miss Oulannode to hope to establish contact with you. We are searching for the traces of Xia De Suren Hamilton in the echoes of time and space. Currently, besides you, the witches of the end of the Fifth Era have already made contact with us."

Because she had been forced by that Yellow Moon witch to memorize this passage many times before setting out, Fiona didn't mispronounce a single syllable.

The silver-haired demigod's face was illuminated by the flickering bonfire, flickering between light and shadow:

"What do your teachers want to do?"

She asked a question that made Fiona blush:

"Snatch a man?"

"No, why would you think that? We are just Xia De's... friends. The teachers said they saw bad omens on Xia De. The Old Gods have ended, and we, the living beings who have lived since the First Era, are about to face the delayed ending that is coming."

Chloe's golden eyes were truly glowing:

"Your teachers know too? But that doesn't matter. The Witch Council has its own duties; we are the final insurance measure."

"But Xia De comes from the Sixth Era."

Fiona said very firmly:

"Miss Feilian said that the witch emperors of the Fifth Era eventually forgot and abandoned their duties because they were greedy for everything in their hands. Although someone finally started the Witch War, forcibly ending the Fifth Era and starting the Sixth Era, the situation in the Sixth Era is even worse than in the Fifth Era."

Fiona didn't quite understand what this meant; this was also information she had only received before setting out. If it weren't for the huge gains in the adventure in Eternal Night City, Miss Feilian and Miss Oulannode would not have told her these things.

"What? The Fifth Era has ended?"

Chloe was shocked:

"I originally thought Xia De came from... Damn it, he is actually so far away from me."

She took a deep breath:

"Since the destruction of the Fifth Era is a predetermined fact, we witches living in the Fifth Era can indeed only interfere with the more distant future through the darling favored by the 【Infinite Tree Father】... The future witch emperors actually abandoned their duties? Do they know what kind of decision they have made?"

Fiona didn't know what else to say; she had finished the lines she had memorized for this conversation.

Chloe nodded at the figure in the white mist:

"I understand. I will find a way to find a way to communicate with you directly. Connecting the entire Fifth Era, in this era that is destined to perish, preparing for Xia De of the Sixth Era. But in this way..."

She pursed her lips:

"The responsibility Xia De has to bear is too great."

The red dragon girl in the mist felt her heart jump, and the tail behind her gently wrapped around her ankle. She heard the meaning of these words:

"You and Xia De... um..."

Chloe's lowered eyes suddenly lifted, and her golden eyes looked at the red dragon girl in the mist again:

"I would know you were lying just now. Just friends? Ha, you still say you aren't snatching a man? What did you do to him?"

"Just kissing... The teachers said that finding your true love while saving the world is what an elegant and decent noble lady should do."

The tip of her tail tapped gently on the ground behind her small black leather shoes. This was actually her own thought, but Fiona forgave herself for the little lie.

Chloe's mouth twitched:

"If he can really fulfill that responsibility in the end, or at least help the future Witch Council complete that important task, even if he collects the entire council at home, that is the reward he deserves."

She took a deep breath:

"I can only see in the long river of time that the future witches have already met him, but my era is ultimately the furthest from him. Do you know about the more distant future? How do the witches of the Sixth Era treat him?"

Fiona nodded, her tone very dissatisfied:

"The teachers said that the witches of the Sixth Era didn't take care of him at all, whether it was mentally, physically, or in other aspects, they didn't take care of Xia De."

"Don't the future witches see Xia De's uniqueness?"

"The teachers said that the great witches of the Sixth Era are all soft-footed shrimps, timid and afraid to do anything. They have already lost the pride and courage of witches, only focusing on things like reserve and caution."

"Isn't that better?"

With a light laugh, her silver long hair draped behind her, Chloe looked up slightly. Although she wasn't very tall, that arrogant expression fully displayed the pride belonging to a witch emperor:

"The future witches don't seem to understand that if you want something, you have to snatch it yourself, and the happiness you want won't fly into your hands on its own. So, your teachers know how to see him again?"

"It can only depend on luck, but his soul already has our echoes. Our fates are intertwined with his, and we are destined to meet. This is the future chosen by fate."

Fiona said softly, and only then did a smile appear on Chloe's face:

"That's good, otherwise, I would have to send the girls under my command to repeatedly go to those unknown and terrifying 'boundary' areas."

The term "boundary areas" made Fiona a bit puzzled, but before she could ask, she noticed the white mist around her becoming thicker. The forest scene was blurring bit by bit; she was about to leave this time and space.

"Red Dragon, I will join this cooperation."

Chloe promised, and Fiona hurriedly added:

"Thank you. The teachers also said, if you meet Xia De again in the future, don't say we have met. Time and space are fragile to the extreme; except for his special soul, none of us should try to break the existing rules again."

"I understand. However, I won't promise that the next time I see Xia De, I won't do anything to him. If there is enough time..."

The silver-haired witch smiled:

"I will let him know how a witch takes care of her lover."

These words made Fiona think of her performance in Eternal Night City. At that time, after she broke out of her shell, if it weren't for the lack of time, she would have almost had some more fiery things happen with Xia De (Chapter 1392).

"If it's us meeting Xia De again, we also don't promise not to do anything."

Representing her teachers and her teachers' teachers, Fiona, facing a demigod, also expressed her thoughts.

The part of her that was a dragon told her that a dragon would not easily give up a mate she had taken a fancy to, especially a mate who had already been stained with her scent. And the part of her that was a witch told her that all witches understand that happiness must be fought for by oneself.

Waiting and hesitating without doing anything would only result in seeing the snacks at the afternoon tea party being snatched away by other hateful women:

"Then see you next time, Your Majesty Marcus."

"See you next time, Red Dragon from the future... I can see he likes cats, but I didn't expect he even likes half-dragons... Could it be that what he really likes are girls with tails?"

Muttering to herself, Chloe waved her hand and turned to walk toward the forest path opened by the gods.

The red-haired red dragon girl pouted slightly in the mist, feeling she had been underestimated. However, she looked down at her big tail, which was wrapped around her legs wearing white socks. She thought again, blushing, about Xia De's curiosity about her tail in 【Eternal Night City】.

"Next time we meet, if he takes the initiative to ask, I'll let him... touch it again." ===== CHAPTER 4253 =====