With permission, Jason and Veronica erected a grave where the Blue Heart Grass grew.
It was Mikhail Baruch's grave. They had never settled down before, so they had only now laid him to rest.
Veronica briefly carved an account of Mikhail's life on the stone marker. On the back, Jason carved the fact that dragon blood used with Blue Heart Grass could activate the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, fulfilling Mikhail's wish.
Jason did not dare entrust this secret to the Baruch Clan. The Radiant Church was keeping a close eye on them.
Veronica had no intention of doing so either. From scattered remarks during this time, Jason had inferred that the struggle for power between Veronica's father and uncle had been fierce. Her parents and everyone in her mother's family had died, and she wanted nothing more to do with the Baruch Clan.
After that, it was time to train. Jason planned to reach Saint-level before he turned fifty, no matter what.
In the original story, Linley had reached Saint-level at twenty-nine, while Olivier had done so before forty.
As a Dragonblood Warrior, Veronica could easily reach Saint-level in her fifties or sixties. Jason did not want to fall too far behind.
Five years flew by.
Linda the Moonshadow Flame Cat was quite depressed. She had only casually picked out two humans to be her "cook" and "litter scooper," so how had she happened to find two geniuses?
There was the red-haired Veronica, who had made a contract with her.
Linda had taken a liking to the girl and signed a contract with her because her strange transformation ability interested Linda. According to the girl herself, she was something called a "Dragonblood Warrior." As a kitten just over three hundred years old, Linda had never heard of one, but it was a good ability, and the girl seemed like a human who could live a long time, so Linda had made a contract with her. It definitely was not because her cooking was delicious. Definitely not.
To Linda's surprise, in just five short years, the girl had gone from a fifth-level warrior to the peak of the seventh level. Originally, that would not have mattered. To a Level Nine Magical Beast like Linda, there was no difference between a seventh-level warrior and a fifth-level warrior.
But there was that "Dragon Transformation" ability. After turning into a monster, a seventh-level warrior could attain the strength of a ninth-level warrior! Without using magic, Linda actually could not beat her!!
Then there was the black-haired litter scooper, though Linda had always paid close attention to hygiene and never needed him to scoop her litter. But he was far too strange.
His rate of advancement was not all that outrageous. In five years, he had gone from a seventh-level warrior to the peak of the eighth level, and his magic was only at the seventh level.
But he had comprehended something called "force" and said that anyone who comprehended it could attempt to reach Saint-level. An eighth-level warrior, boasting that he's going to reach Saint-level? Who are you trying to fool?! Even I, a Level Nine Magical Beast, haven't reached the threshold of Saint-level.
He clearly said before that he'd comprehended "Wielding Something Heavy as Though It Were Light," and now it's turned into "force." If I could beat him, I'd definitely "unman" him.
Yes, Linda had discovered that she actually could not beat an eighth-level warrior. When he had been at the intermediate eighth level, he had fought her to a draw using that "Wielding Something Heavy as Though It Were Light." Then, after he said he had comprehended "force," Linda could not beat him at all, even with magic.
Linda decided she needed to work harder and stop indulging in human food. It would be best to go into seclusion and raise her strength to the advanced ninth level. At the very least, she could not let herself be beaten by an eighth-level warrior.
"Linda, dinner's ready!" the girl called from outside.
"Meow!!" Coming!
"Lady Linda, other groups have been spying around the area lately. They seem to be dragons." Linda was taking a walk after dinner when an eighth-level griffin descended from the sky. "Lord Farga says this group is unusual and hopes Lady Linda and your two subordinates will prepare to meet the enemy."
The magical beasts in the valley had all heard that the Moonshadow Flame Cat had taken on two human followers.
"Mm, got it," Linda said casually.
"Dragons? A whole group of them? I wonder what kind." Jason and Veronica exchanged a glance when they heard Linda's news.
Not many dragons lived in groups: only Fire Dragons and Green Dragons. Velociraptors might live in family groups, while other dragons were solitary, except during mating season.
"Any group of dragons that dares fight for this valley must have at least one level-nine leader, and there are plenty of level-nine dragons. Generally speaking, any kind of level-nine dragon is much stronger than those two Ironback Gryphons," Jason said.
The griffins occupied the valley thanks to the advantage of living in a group. Level-nine Ironback Gryphons were not considered strong among Level Nine Magical Beasts. In all these years, Linda had seen no sign of the two Ironback Gryphons breaking through to Saint-level. Most likely, they could not beat level-nine Silver Dragons or Black Dragons, and they were far weaker than Spined Iron-Armored Dragons.
"The Ironback Gryphons' advantage is that they can fly. If a Black Dragon or Silver Dragon has come, the two Ironback Gryphons might not be able to beat it even together." Linda knew the strength of the two Ironback Gryphons well.
Changing the subject, Linda asked, "Speaking of which, are you confident you can beat a level-nine dragon?"
"I can't," Linda answered bluntly.
"Neither can I," Jason answered just as bluntly.
At their current strength, each of them could probably fight an intermediate level-nine magical beast to a draw. If their traits countered the opponent's, they could defeat an intermediate level-nine magical beast.
Yes, the Moonshadow Flame Cat's current strength was at the intermediate ninth level.
And dragons were generally among the strongest of their level at every rank. Black Dragons, Silver Dragons, and Wind Dragons were all at the peak of level nine. As for Spined Iron-Armored Dragons and Frost Wyrms, they were qualified to compete for the title of "strongest Level Nine Magical Beast."
"So, when magical beasts invaded before, how were the fighting assignments divided?" Veronica asked.
"Oh, before, the two Ironback Gryphons fought the enemy leader, while the other griffins and some level-eight magical beasts fought head-on. We took the opportunity to launch sneak attacks. The Bladeback Earth Lizard and I are both good at that." Linda licked her paw.
"Then let's do it the same way as before. If they're dragons, the three of us would just be serving ourselves up if we went out there."
A mage might be able to hurt a dragon with long-range attacks, but a ninth-level warrior posed no threat at all unless they were half a step into Saint-level. A dragon's physical toughness gave it tremendous natural defenses, and an ordinary ninth-level warrior might not even be able to break through them.
"So," Linda said very seriously to Veronica through their souls, placing both front paws on the table, "how about an extra meal tonight?"
The next morning, Jason sensed that something was wrong.
Looking at the densely packed dark shapes in the sky, Jason felt that this battle might be particularly fierce.
"One Black Dragon leading a group of more than fifty Flame Dragons and Green Dragons." Jason looked up at the sky.
(Generally, Green Dragons have the life attribute, but in the original story, they used water-attribute magic.)
"Meow, meow, meow."
Jason could not understand what Linda was saying.
The griffins facing them were far outmatched: two level-nine Ironback Gryphons, nearly a hundred seventh- and eighth-level griffins, and a few level-six White-Headed Griffons.
Although they had slightly greater numbers, they were far behind in size and individual strength. An eighth-level Flame Dragon alone was seventy or eighty meters long, and the Black Dragon had a wingspan of over a hundred meters.
Just as Jason and the others were discussing whether to wait for the griffins and dragons to fight for a while before joining in, the two Ironback Gryphons let out a piercing cry, then turned and fled with the flock of griffins-
"Why did they run?" Veronica blurted out.
"Meow!" All the fur on Linda's body stood on end.
"Run!" The two of them scooped up Linda, turned, and ran.