Ehm spread its enormous wings, stirring up a gale, then leaped into the sky.
Redd looked down at the ruins of Valyria, filled with anticipation and tension.
He knew this flight was far from ordinary. Ehm's anxiety hinted that great danger might lie ahead.
As the temperature rose, Redd felt the air grow increasingly thin, the cold wind biting into him.
Ehm flew at tremendous speed, as though chasing something.
Redd kept his eyes fixed ahead, trying to spot anything unusual.
At last, in a barren valley, Redd saw an enormous dark shape.
The shape lay hidden in thick fog, appearing and disappearing like a sleeping behemoth.
Ehm slowed and circled overhead, seemingly watching the dark shape's movements.
Redd's heartbeat quickened as he felt a powerful aura emanating from the shape.
The aura made his heart tremble. It was even more terrifying than Ehm's dragonfire.
Ehm, what is that? Redd asked in his mind.
Ehm did not answer, but the emotions in its mind grew more anxious, as though warning Redd that danger was right before them.
Just then, the dark shape suddenly moved.
It slowly raised its head, revealing a hideous face, its two blood-red eyes staring straight at Ehm and Redd in the air.
Redd drew in a sharp breath. He had never seen such a terrifying creature.
Ehm let out a low draconic rumble, as though declaring war.
With a powerful beat of its enormous wings, it carried Redd straight toward the dark shape.
Redd gripped a dragon scale tightly with his left hand and drew the longsword at his waist with his right, preparing for the coming battle.
The dark shape opened its maw and spat out an enormous black rock, sending it straight at Ehm.
Ehm nimbly dodged aside while breathing a stream of searing dragonfire that collided with the black rock in a deafening explosion.
Redd felt an immense shock wave strike him, nearly throwing him off.
But he gritted his teeth and clung desperately to Ehm. He knew their lives depended on this battle.
The battle grew ever fiercer. Ehm and the dark shape clashed repeatedly, each collision producing an earth-shaking roar.
On Ehm's back, Redd felt its strength and resilience. He directed it not to fight head-on, but to use its aerial advantage to circle around and launch surprise attacks, while also coming to understand the terror of Valyria's ruins at night.
After a fierce battle, Ehm finally killed the dark shape with dragonfire.
The instant the dark shape fell, Redd felt an immense surge of energy, as though the entire ruins were trembling.
Only when the black mist around the shape dispersed did Redd see its true form: an enormous sandworm. Why was something like that here?
The rewards were substantial, though. King Ghidorah's hatching progress instantly increased by 20%.
Ehm slowly landed, and Redd jumped down from its back, filled with awe and questions.
He knew that without Ehm, he could never have dealt with such a terrifying being.
"Ehm, thank you," Redd said softly.
Ehm gently rubbed its enormous head against Redd, as though responding to his gratitude.
Looking at Ehm, Redd silently resolved that no matter how many dangers lay ahead, he would fight alongside it until he completed the mission.
As the sky gradually brightened, Redd and Ehm rested where they were.
Redd checked the system panel. King Ghidorah's hatching progress had already reached 77%.
He knew it would not be long before King Ghidorah finally hatched-probably within a week at most.
Redd was lost in deep thought, his brow tightly furrowed, as though the weight of the entire world rested on his shoulders.
Just then, Ehm gently nudged Redd's shoulder with its enormous snout, signaling for him to climb on.
Redd came back to his senses and looked up into Ehm's deep eyes, an inexplicable sense of trust welling up within him.
With no dragon saddle, he could only climb carefully onto Ehm's broad back, feeling the cold hardness of its scales.
Ehm growled, opened its enormous maw to reveal sharp fangs, and, with a powerful heave, dragged the dead sandworm out of the ground.
The sandworm's corpse looked especially hideous in the sunlight. Redd could not help frowning, but he did not intervene. Instead, curiosity stirred within him, and he wanted to see what exactly Ehm intended to do.
Ehm beat its wings and took flight, but with the enormous sandworm held in its jaws, it did not fly very high, and its speed was much slower.
Redd clung tightly to Ehm's scales, feeling the wind whistle past his ears, both tense and expectant.
Before even half an incense stick's worth of time had passed, Ehm slowly descended. Its landing spot turned out to be a hidden dragon's lair.
Redd was startled. Could there be another dragon here?
He looked around and saw that vines and weeds concealed the lair's entrance. Without careful observation, it would have been almost impossible to find.
Ehm dropped the sandworm's corpse at the entrance with a tremendous crash, sending dust flying.
Immediately afterward, Ehm landed, lifted its head, and breathed a stream of searing dragonfire into the sky, letting out a deafening roar.
A matching dragon's roar instantly came from within the lair, as though answering Ehm's call.
Redd's heartbeat quickened. He had not expected another living dragon in this desolate place.
When the dragon inside slowly crawled out, Redd could not help drawing in a sharp breath.
The crimson dragon before him was even larger than Ehm, but what shocked Redd most was that
countless lumps resembling rotting flesh clung to its body, giving off a nauseating stench.
Those lumps writhed between the dragon's scales as though alive, looking utterly revolting.
Redd forced down his discomfort and studied the dragon carefully.
Its eyes were dull and lifeless, as though it had endured endless pain and torment.
Ehm gave a low growl, seemingly conveying some sort of message to the dragon.
A thought stirred in Redd's mind. Perhaps Ehm had brought him here to uncover some hidden secret.
The dragon slowly lowered its head and stared at Redd with its clouded eyes, as though scrutinizing his soul.
Redd felt an invisible force pressing down on him, but rather than shrinking back, he met the dragon's gaze.
He knew he could not lose his nerve now. After all, earning Ehm's recognition had begun with meeting its gaze.
Redd and the old crimson dragon stared at each other for well over ten minutes, time seeming to freeze at that moment.
Redd's gaze pierced the old dragon's clouded eyes, and he saw a trace of comfort and approval within them.
The old dragon slowly looked away and turned toward the sandworm's corpse, beginning to tear into it and eat. Though its movements were slow, they carried an unquestionable majesty.
Ehm gave another low growl and joined in the meal.
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