Chapter 366: The Lionheart Family
The sun slowly took the place of the moon. On the deck of the flying ship, four figures stood. Naturally, they were none other than Ilaris, Andreas, Daniel, and Rynor.
At last, after a night of travel, they had reached their destination. Yet the journey had been so calm that none of them had felt anything at all. On the contrary, they had taken the chance to enjoy a good night’s rest.
Fino was sitting on Daniel’s shoulder, staring into the distance like the others. After just one day, he had already grown a little, which surprised Daniel greatly.
He had not expected this dragon hatchling to grow so quickly. At this rate, in only a month it would be as big as the ship itself.
Still, there was nothing he could do about it. All he could do was sigh. But then again, having a dragon was not such a bad thing either. The advantages it might bring in the future would be beyond imagination.
Soon, magnificent palaces appeared among the clouds. The ship slowly entered the skies of the Lionheart family’s estate and descended toward the landing grounds.
From above, the place looked vast — so much so that it left Daniel astonished. From the air, it resembled a complete city. Of course, that was only natural. After all, the Lionheart family was a centuries-old lineage, and it was expected that they would have many members.
The ship landed gently, and they all disembarked. The moment they stepped down, a middle-aged man who represented the family’s Patriarch approached Andreas instead of greeting them all.
He said nothing, but Andreas understood his meaning.
"I have to go and make a report. Ilaris knows this place well, and she can show you around until I return," Andreas said to Daniel.
"No problem," Daniel replied with a simple nod.
Andreas and the middle-aged man left in another direction.
"Well then, what should we do?" Daniel turned to Ilaris with a smile.
"Well, just like Andreas said, we can take a look around," Ilaris said after a short pause.
Then she stepped forward to lead the way.
Magnificent and gleaming palaces, and mansions more splendid than the next.
A great Royal Barrier surrounded the main estate of the Lionheart family, guarded by many watchmen.
Daniel glanced at the estates, which from the outside seemed like an empire of their own. And yet, they hadn’t even entered the inner section, and already everything appeared so majestic.
"Shall we go?" Ilaris asked with a small laugh when she saw Daniel staring at the estate in a daze. In truth, when she had first come here, her reaction had been far worse.
She had been completely shocked, while Daniel only seemed to be calmly admiring the beauty of the sight.
"Let’s go." Daniel cast one last look around. The entrance area was extremely crowded.
Many people arrived — some by carriage, others by flying ships, and some through portals. Yet all of them shared one similarity.
Whether carriage or flying ship, none could pass through the Royal Barrier and enter the Lionheart estate. Everyone was forced to disembark outside.
It was clear they were either various guests, merchants here for trade, or even members of the Lionheart family.
They moved toward the entrance gate. After Daniel and Rynor registered their details, they were finally granted permission to enter.
The moment they crossed the threshold, it was as though the world around them changed. The sight visible from outside the barrier now became even clearer and more vivid.
"Andreas must have ordered them to prepare a room for you before we arrived. It’s right next to mine. Do you want to go there first?"
"It’s better if we explore a little first." Daniel wanted to see if there was any chance to meet the younger generation of the Lionheart family. The more familiar he became with this place, the easier it would be to carry out his plans.
After that, silence filled the space as Daniel began walking around. They passed the palaces, glanced at the gardens, and even visited the training grounds of the guards and soldiers.
But there wasn’t much of interest. It seemed more like a decorative site. Daniel reasoned that perhaps in the past, guards and soldiers had used this place for duels.
At present, most of the Lionheart family’s soldiers and military forces lived in bases scattered around their estate and even across the entire world.
They had to remain on constant alert for attacks from corrupted beasts. Even though no such creatures had appeared for some time, they were still considered the greatest threat to the world.
"Whose work is this? Do you know?" Daniel glanced at the walls, noticing strange marks on them, clearly left by past attacks.
He could sense extremely powerful energy within them. If he was not mistaken, these marks had been left many years ago.
Yet they still carried traces of their creator’s aura. The level of force behind these strikes was truly remarkable. Even Daniel could not yet create something like this.
"Oh, Andreas explained it to me once. It seems that whenever a family leader takes their position, they come here and leave a strike on the walls as a memento," Ilaris explained.
One indentation on the wall, shaped like a dragon, caught Daniel’s eye.
"You find it interesting too? In fact, it seems everyone who comes here ends up staring at this particular strike," Ilaris said when she noticed Daniel’s focus.
"Do you know whose it is?"
"Well, not exactly, but apparently they call her the White Whale."
"The White Whale, huh?" Daniel thought to himself. He suddenly grew curious to see this White Whale for himself.
"As far as I know, she’s the only one who managed to leave her mark here without ever becoming the leader," Ilaris added.
Daniel fell silent. Clearly, to be an outlier and change a family tradition, one needed to be truly powerful.
"Anyway, are you satisfied living here?" They began walking again.
"Well, honestly, it’s not bad — but it’s not really good either. Everyone here is too competitive. Even Andreas, though he won’t admit it. And I don’t like that kind of environment. I feel like you can’t truly trust anyone here," Ilaris said after a moment of thought.
"Would you like to return to the other elves?"
"Hah? Where did that come from? But... I don’t know. I’m not sure anymore."
Daniel simply nodded and asked no further questions. It was not yet time.
"Anyway, this place is the public training ground. Almost everyone trains here. Of course, those of higher rank have their own private grounds," Ilaris said suddenly as they reached an open area the size of a football stadium.
No walls surrounded it. Parts of the ground were made of soil, while others were covered with wood and metal.
Several practice dummies stood there, animated by magic arrays to function like robotic figures. Their role was to act as sparring partners. Though they might look advanced, they weren’t truly so.
The most advanced type of these dummies possessed awareness — but only the youths considered most important to the Lionheart family were allowed to use them.
"I thought there would be training chambers instead of open grounds like this."
"There are. But only people like Andreas and his siblings are allowed to use them," Ilaris explained.
Those private training chambers were some of the most advanced facilities in the world — a level of development not made available to the public.
Daniel said nothing. Inequality existed everywhere and was not something that could be erased. Besides, he didn’t care enough to destroy it.
He himself was always given attention and favor because of his power and talent.
"Hm? That girl? Those features... Inborn Spirit...?" Suddenly, Rynor, who had been silent until now, finally spoke.