The valley Duke spoke of—the one where the Council's search party had mysteriously vanished—was not far from the town where Weston was currently located.
It took the group less than a day to reach the site.
"Is this the valley you mentioned?"
"Yes, Master Weston!"
Weston nodded, signaling the others to back away. He then summoned the 'Super Archive' and began scouting everything within the valley, including the flow of magic power.
Soon, the Super Archive reacted.
Beep beep beep—
Accompanied by a series of rapid and loud alarms, a dazzling red dot appeared on the Super Archive's magic detection interface.
Next to the red dot, a tag popped up—
[EXTREME DANGER!!]
"What?!"
Weston froze instantly, his heart filled with disbelief.
From the time he had learned magic detection until now, he had never seen such a violent reaction from the Super Archive!
This 'scouting' function of the Super Archive was designed by Weston using his own data as the standard.
It could scan his own data in real-time. While detecting a magic reaction, it would compare the quantity and nature of the opponent's magic power with his own to make a rough [Hazard Level Judgment].
And right now, looking at the Super Archive's detection results, there was an existence in this valley with magic power far exceeding his own!
"Who... could it be..."
Weston's voice suddenly became hoarse.
Given his current strength, even looking across the entirety of Ishgar, it was difficult to find a decent opponent. Yet, the Super Archive still made this judgment, meaning the person in the valley was indeed terrifyingly strong.
In his memory, such existences were few and far between.
Zeref?
Irene?
Acnologia?
Or perhaps some dragon who wasn't afraid of death and had snuck over from the Northern Continent to Ishgar for a tour or to visit ancestral graves?
No matter which one it was, it didn't seem like something the current him could handle.
"I can't handle it... right? Well, that's not necessarily true!"
Whether he could handle it or not, he had to go in and see for himself!
In an instant, Weston felt the hot blood surging within him, giving rise to a strong urge to rush in and pick a fight with the opponent.
"Stay here and don't move. I'm going in to take a look!"
After instructing the group, Weston pushed aside the bushes with both hands and stepped into the valley.
Inside the valley, the woods were shaded.
Sunlight danced on the branches, and insects crawled among the tree roots.
The air was filled with the fresh scent of earth mixed with wild flowers, as if this land had never been disturbed by the mundane world.
However, as he continued forward, Weston gradually noticed traces of human presence.
It was an arrow-shaped scratch carved into a large tree.
"This mark was cut with a sword, and it hasn't been left for long..."
"Could it be a mark left by the soldiers who came in to search earlier?"
"If I follow this direction, there should be no problem!"
"But..."
Weston instinctively glanced at his 'Marauder's Map.'
The direction the arrow pointed was exactly the location of that large red dot on the map.
Furthermore, aside from the large red dot, there were no other life signs in that area.
It looked like those Council search troops were in a dire situation!
With the mindset of 'since I've already come this far, I might as well keep going,' Weston continued forward in the direction the arrow pointed.
Before long, light appeared ahead.
Weston walked toward the light, passing a row of thick trees, and his vision suddenly broadened.
What met his eyes was a massive lake.
Green water reflected the green mountains; it should have been a scene that made one forget all troubles and embrace nature with an open heart. But the thing appearing before him made Weston lose the mood for that.
The land along the lake shore was a total mess.
Deep pits appeared in some places, while the ground was cracked and overturned in others. Rocks of varying sizes were scattered everywhere.
A group of soldiers wearing Council uniforms were lying there in all directions with their eyes tightly shut, their status as living or dead unclear.
However, the weapons in their hands and the armor on their bodies were all severely damaged. They were covered in wounds; even if they weren't dead, they were likely close to it.
And the culprit responsible for all this was currently in the lake before him, bathing elegantly and at ease.
It was a giant dragon!
"It really is a dragon!"
"A pity, it doesn't seem to be Irene?"
Weston remembered that the dragon Irene transformed into was red and white, but the dragon before him had pale gold fur.
Did a dragon of this appearance appear in the original work?
It seemed it didn't appear in either the main series or the 100 Years Quest...
Speaking of which, knowing clearly that Acnologia is in Ishgar, there was actually a dragon who wasn't afraid of death and dared to step onto this land?
Truly a dragon that doesn't know the meaning of death!
The golden dragon also noticed Weston's appearance immediately.
It stopped its play in the water and turned its arrogant head. The pale gold fur on its body swung with the movement, and the water droplets being flung off sparkled brilliantly under the sunlight.
Its gaze lowered slightly, eyes filled with heavy contempt for a lowly race.
It spoke slowly, its scale-covered belly rising and falling rhythmically.
"Tch, another human who doesn't know the value of life!"
One human and one dragon—one standing on the shore, one floating in the water. Their gazes met in the air, sparking faint friction.
At this moment, both felt a deep sense of admiration for the other's stupidity and ignorance.
One second, two seconds...
Time slipped away quietly.
The expression on the golden dragon's face gradually shifted from mockery to confusion.
"What is it?"
"Seeing a giant dragon for the first time, are you so shocked that you can't even speak and your legs won't move??"
"You, human, are even worse than the soldiers before!"
The golden dragon thought Weston had been frightened out of his wits by its presence and continued to laugh wantonly at his cowardice: "But then again, how can a lone ordinary human compare to specially trained soldiers?"
As it spoke, the golden dragon suddenly lifted its right wing out of the water and swung it forcefully, splashing a massive amount of lake water toward where Weston was standing!
Letter Magic: Flame!
Weston swiped his fingers through the air, and a magic circle formed instantly. Immediately after, a stream of scorching flame gushed out from it, surging toward the incoming lake water.
The two collided, and the lake water evaporated instantly, turning into wisps of white steam.
After drying the lake water, the flame torrent's momentum remained unchecked, transforming into a crimson arrow that pierced through the white curtain and shot straight toward the golden dragon's right eye!
BOOM!!
The flames exploded at the dragon's eye, and a great wind suddenly cleared the air and broke the waves.
However...
Weston looked up at the site of the explosion; it was a classic case of smoke without damage.
"So you're a Wizard, are you?"
The smoke cleared, and a voice came from the dragon's mouth: "Leave this place at once, or do not blame me for being unkind!"
Weston's fists clenched tight, his fighting spirit erupting.
"If you can do it, then by all means, give it a try!"