Story: Matthew and the Dragons (Part XXV)

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Part XXV

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*Hurried footsteps *

Footsteps could be heard as people run on the hallway in hurried manner. Servants carrying food and drinks, and a soldier running as fast as he could.

The soldier then opened a big door without knocking. Yet the people inside, the king and his officials did not scold nor berate the soldier. Instead they look at him with serious expressions.

"The defences near the Woodsworth forest had fallen, and the commander ordered the troops to fall back at Hudson fort!" The soldier reported.

Everyone's expression sank after hearing the report. After completing his report, the soldier was asked to leave and return to his post.

The king then looked at everyone and said, "the new weapons are going to be completed in few days. We must do our best to hold until then."

The officials and nobles nods their head, but one official asked.

"Do we have any news about the reinforcements from our allies, your majesty?" He asked.

The king sigh and aswered, "They've only started marching three days ago, and it would take two months at the earliest."

Everyone become gloomy after hearing this. The distant between the neighboring kingdoms are just that far. If they are facing an invasion from an enemy nation, this would not be a problem and an advantage instead as a marching will take months before arriving. But this cannot be said about dragons considering that many of them can fly!

Yes, the invasion of the black dragon and his troops started five days ago. Fortunately, the silver dragon had forseen this and stationed lesser dragons and wyverns at the nearby forest and hills. Therefore, the damage have been minimal.

Another good news is that the black dragon himself did not made his move yet, weary of the silver dragon, thus giving them much needed time to complete their preparations. The bad news is that those traitors, duke Bernard and his army had returned to cause chaos! But since suffering a devastating defeat weeks ago, their forces were limited and could only cause annoyance.

Yet they still could not let their guards down against this insignificant force, as the duke would surely take advantage of any opening they see. What's more , they also need to guard against assassination attempts. As such the king and nobles decided to use counter-measures. They hired the "organization" to disposed of any assailant!

Though the amount they have to pay was astronomical, none of the nobles complain, considering that there lives are at stakes. Of course the best assassins are hired to guard the king and a certain young man.

Right now everyone had been waiting in anticipation for his new invention. The effectiveness of the "hives" had already been proven, and the altered large crossbows and crossbows have double the range and power. They could only hope that the new weapon is enough to kill or wound the greater dragons, including the black dragon.

At Matthews workshop, everyone are scrambling to complete their task. Most of them focused on completing the new weapon. Matthew himself are leading them to make sure that no mistakes are made.

Everyone was obviously tense, with the exemption of a certain black-haired young lady. Maria watches everything with great interest but that does not mean her concentration is lacking.

After the king and the nobles hired the services of the assassins from the "organization", Maria quickly voluntered to guard Matthew against assassination attempts. The leader of the assassins was not surprised by this and gave his approval. But the other assassins were definitely surprised. So much so that they temporarily forget to put on stern expressions—yet Maria just ignored this.

"We killed two assassin earlier. Judging by the tattoo on their bodies, they're from the crows", a male assassin reported.

"Um! Good work, do not allow any assassins to get near," Maria answered without looking.

The male assassin whispered "yes" and disappeared in the shadows.

Then Maria's eyes shines! Matthew and his group finally completed the new weapon!

To be continued...

Previous Chapters:

• Part I
• Part II
• Part III
• Part IV
• Part V
• Part VI
• Part VII
• Part VIII
• Part IX
• Part X
• Part XI
• Part XII
• Part XIII
• Part XIV
• Part XV
• Part XVI
• Part XVII
• Part XVIII
• Part XIX
• Part XX
• Part XXI
• Part XXII
• Part XXIII
• Part XXIV

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