"Lord Yumigawa Sumeragi, this dragon just spotted a crowd—ants swarming across the earth."

It didn’t take long; Lanxia nailed the task I gave her, swift as an arrow cutting cloud.

"Where? Hey, I can’t see through this woolly sky."

"Same. Lanxia, drop a little, below the gauzy veil."

Lingxiao and Lingsaki leaned over the rim, excitement bubbling, but saw only a sheet of gray like wet ink.

"Yeah, from this height the world’s just an ink wash, no edges."

A dragon’s eyes are mountains sharper than a human’s. Up here, our gaze hits cloud and stops, like waves on stone.

"Eh-heh—this dragon didn’t notice. My bad."

The words had barely left her lips when Lanxia dove. My heart lurched like a sparrow in storm, and the fall rushed up cold.

"Mm… huh?"

Lixue, who’d been asleep in my arms, stirred. I must’ve clutched her tight on instinct when we dropped.

"You’re awake, Lixue."

I smiled and loosened my hold, warmth settling before my hands let go.

"Mm. Where are we now?"

She sat up from my embrace and scanned the horizon, eyes like frost-lit glass.

"We’re hunting for a crowd. If luck holds, we’ll snag a map of the Northern Abyss Continent."

"I see. That’s needed."

She stretched, then gazed at the ground drawing near. "I can see them—wait, are they arguing? No, they’re actually fighting."

"But there are bodies already. That’s not just a spat."

"Definitely not. Look at the ones in black armor—wolves, not saints."

As Lanxia descended, the scene sharpened like a blade.

Two groups clashed on the road—no, not a clash, a cull. A dozen black-armored brutes, cleavers wet and smiles hooked like fishhooks, butchered a line of white-armored noble guards.

Around them lay guards fallen like broken scarecrows, blood pooling into slick lakes, cargo splintered, carriage parts strewn like ribs. The carnage had a stench that rose like steam; my stomach turned.

"Dear brother, look! Two girls there."

I was weighing whether to let Lanxia intervene when Lingxiao pointed behind the guards, voice bright and urgent.

"So pitiful. Shouldn’t we help them?" Lingsaki’s tone carried a soft ache.

"Yeah…"

I followed Lingxiao’s finger. Two girls—fifteen or sixteen by the look—stood like lilies in frost. A silver-haired lady in a lavish gown clung to a beautiful maid. The young lady glared at those black-armored devils, pain tight across her face, yet helpless as a bird in snare. The maid was pale as paper but kept soothing her mistress, like a candle holding its flame in wind. If the guards fell, their fate would be ash-dark.

"Do we even have to ask? Of course we help. Those black shells scream bandit, not knight."

At some point Lixue had bared Ice Illusion Moon. Frost rimmed her eyes; disgust cool and sharp.

"Lanxia, land in three."

"Got it! This dragon can’t stomach this either—hold tight!"

Lanxia dropped faster, wind whistling. We hit earth with a thud, right in front of the black-armored men.

"A dragon?! Retreat!"

We’d barely touched down when their leader snapped orders, turning to flee—too late.

"What the—so cold!" "Ah! My lower half’s frozen—!"

One by one, every brute found his legs locked in ice, rooted like stumps.

"Running? Not so easy."

Lixue had moved like winter lightning. I hadn’t even caught the moment.

"Lixue, nice work. Don’t let the scum scatter."

"The blood stinks. Makes me sick."

Where Lingxiao’s pulse raced, Lingsaki’s brow tightened at the corpse-strewn ground, like seeing a stain on silk.

"Lingsaki, no worries. Leave the tidy-up to this dragon!"

Lanxia’s great maw opened, and a stream of ice hissed out, cold enough to bite bone.

"Ice Breath."

In a blink, corpses, blood, and broken things were sealed under a thick frost, the scene scrubbed clean, as if the horror were a bad dream dissolving at dawn.

"Cleanup done. You may dismount~"

"Lanxia, you’re pretty capable. Nice."

"Agreed. That lifts the mood."

Lanxia’s thoughtfulness pleased the sisters; their smiles came back like sun after rain.

"Let’s go down."

I took Lingxiao and Lingsaki by the hand, and we followed Lixue, hopping from Lanxia’s broad back onto the frozen earth.

"Honored dragon riders, we’re with the Dark Knights. We have urgent business. Might you let us depart? We’ll repay you richly later."

Their leader saw escape was hopeless and laid on sincerity thick, voice bowed low like a man in temple.

"Dragon riders? What’s that? And you call yourselves a knight order?!"

"Shameless to say that out loud."

Lingsaki and Lingxiao wore matching smirks. I felt the same—he called himself a knight and I nearly laughed. Some faces are thicker than armor.

"Knights stand for loyalty, courage, and honor. You look a lot more like highwaymen."

Lixue’s disgust deepened, a frost feathering the edge of her gaze.

"No, no, earlier they took our goods and refused to return them. We had no choice but force. Thinking back, we were wrong. It’s our fault!"

He wore remorse like paint—voice low, words struggling, performance practiced.

"Don’t listen to his lies! We couldn’t steal from them if we tried! They coveted the divine herb we collected today. When covert theft failed, they came to rob in daylight!"

The young lady dragged her maid and rushed to us, eyes blazing at the black-armored leader, anger crackling like dry wood.

"Not true! That herb was found in our territory, and they never—"

Before he finished, the girl cut him off, voice rising like a bell: "Your territory? Nonsense! It was my grandfather’s land!"

Her voice wavered toward tears, then steadied. She snapped open a precious box at her waist; gold gleamed, and inside lay a herb like a blade of sky. She took it out and offered it to me.

"Sir, if you’ll help me avenge him, this divine-tier herb—Heaven-Seeking Grass—will be yours."