?


    Once they were finished eating, Tiamat stood up, "Let me show you the areas where you can recover mana," she said.


    Archer nodded before standing up and putting their rubbish in the nearest bin before Tiamat took his arm and started walking down the road; as she started speaking, "I can''t tell you much due to an agreement between the gods."


    They passed a young couple who smiled at them. She continued, "But when you''re here in your physical body, you can use these spots to recover mana after frequent use. You''ll need to increase it to use the Gate and return to Thrylos."


    "Okay, thanks for the advice," Archer said with a smile as he noticed a forest in the distance.


    As the couple strolled, he saw the sights around them, observing families and couples heading toward the nearby beach under the beaming sun. Reaching the treeline right up against the road took them ten minutes.


    Tiamat began talking when they stepped into the forest, "I know you have a huge mana pool, but use as much as you can without drawing attention to yourself, which is important as there are forces on Earth we don''t want to disturb."


    His eyes widened in surprise as many questions came to mind. He was just about to speak, but Tiamat interrupted him, "They are old and powerful beings. Don''t be meddling with them, Arch. You won''t get anything out of it and could risk your family''s safety."


    He nodded in understanding as they walked on in silence. Archer''s gaze swept over the scenery, marveling at the trees stretching in every direction and the scattered flowers. With his heightened senses, he could perceive the presence of all the animals nearby.


    Archer spotted a few alligators leisurely resting in a nearby pond. Shaking his head to focus, his concentration was interrupted by Tiamat, who said, "Earth has its charm, but nothing beats ughtering monsters on Thrylos."


    "I agree," he replied. "But this ce could be a good spot to rx and get away from the chaos."


    Tiamat nodded in agreement but then quickly spun around and grabbed his cor. The dragon goddess kissed him, and Archer held her waist, passionately returning the kiss just as they heard peopleing down the trail they were on.


    They separated and continued walking, only to be greeted by arge family. Each member greeted them. Archer noticed all of them were staring at the two of them, making him smile as one of the older women stepped forward.


    She had a friendly smile while speaking, "Hey! Are you two locals?"


    Tiamat quickly answered, "We will be moving her soon; my darling''s mother moved here recently. The Bet Family?"


    The older woman frowned as she nodded, "I do, but it''s a shame what happened to Tim; I pray to god that he returns home."


    "I''m sure he will turn up one day," Archer said.


    Following that, the group continued their journey while Tiamat turned off the trail and walked into the forest for an hour. Soon, they came across a pond surrounded by trees with arge boulder overlooking it.


    When he saw this, Archer felt a sense of peace, but Tiamat exined, "This is one of the areas you could use; the manaes from an underground source deep under the pond."


    They continued their journey, and he nodded in understanding. The dragon goddess led him to several other locations, including a waterfall, a mountain summit, and a river. Each ce amazed Archer with its natural beauty and primal appearance.


    As the sun began to set, the two returned to town. Though Archer wanted to explore more, Tiamat preferred to rx. They rented a hotel room facing the ocean and unwinded, watching a beautiful pink hue envelope the world.


    Archer sat on a balcony, looking at the empty beach, before turning to Tiamat, who was rxing. "How long until I can return to Thrylos?"


    Her violet eyes opened as a smile appeared, "The girls are going after thest ingredient."


    ***


    [E, Halime, Tal, N and Maeve''s POV]


    The five of them were sitting on Demetra''s back as she swam along the seafloor, dodging all the Novgorod and Nightshade patrols. Since they left Draconia, the girls, including Ashoka, who remained behind, told them the attacks had increased.


    Following that, Aisha deployed all but one fleet to overwhelm the enemies, and the girls witnessed this as ships started to sink above them. But they only saw it briefly as Demetra sped up and headed straight for Verdantai.


    E took out five rings and handed them to the others while exining, "These are disguise rings. We need to wear them while traveling to Novgorod City, the Novgorodian capital, where the Holy Trees are kept.


    "How are we going to steal them? Won''t the best soldiers be guarding them?" N questioned.


    The half-elf nodded, "We will figure that out when we reach the city, but rumors speak of the continent being on lockdown after Archer robbed them," she said with a giggle.


    Maeve, Halime, and Talughed, but the silver-haired elf said, "As long as we''re careful, we can get the Holy Leaf."


    "I heard the Novgorod Imperial Guard are the strongest soldiers on Thrylos," Halime revealed, which made the othersugh.


    "You haven''t seen the Dragonblood Knights or the White Dragon Knights; they will be the most feared soldiers once husband begins his conquests," the lionessmented


    excitedly.


    E looked at her curiously. "What if he targets the Lionheart Kingdom?" she asked.


    "I''d help him conquer it," N answered without hesitation, shocking the others. But she continued, "I''m in Archer''s pride now and will do anything for him, even if it means going against my own family. That''s what any loyal lioness would do."


    They all nodded in agreement, and their eyes turned to Maeve, who smiled, "The Avaloch Kingdom hates him. I would happily help him take my homnd if he treats the people


    fairly."


    "Haven''t you seen the Draconians? The elders are fat and happy while most of the younger generation are soldiers or work for Archer somehow," Halime eximed. "That boy has brought wonders to his people; imagine what he''d do for our homnds?"


    The snake girl became passionate as she spoke, "Once they experience the Draconian peace, they will never look back, including the Nagendrians."


    "Girls, you need to concentrate as the enemy is closer, and I need to take out a patrol to get you ontond," Demetra abruptly spoke.


    The five stopped speaking and waited for her to destroy the ships, which didn''t take long as she shot out of the darkness and bit a Novgorodian Battleship in half with a single bite before pping another with her tail.


    As the vessels sunk, she darted toward the beach and suddenly stopped, allowing the group to jump off her. Demetra''s gazended on them before bidding farewell, "Be careful,dies, and


    make sure you return."''


    After speaking, the Demon Shark dived down, and N transformed into her Primal form, allowing the four girls to climb onto her back. Once they were all settled, the lioness began sprinting across thendscape.


    As they traveled, E noticed military forts scattered throughout the area, which surprised her. It was clear they had copied Draconia''s designs. To the half-elf, it seemed like they were simultaneously fighting the Swarm and preparing for something more significant.


    Curious about their motives, E voiced her thoughts aloud, wondering why they were attacking Draconia. Maeve promptly exined, shedding light on the situation for everyone, "Draconia is a growing kingdom that trades with other realms, making it rich. The Novgorod and Nightshade Empires hate that."


    Following that, they stopped speaking and turned their attention to the surroundingndscape, which was rolling hills dotted with hundreds of farms and viges. The five girls ran into no trouble until they came to a river.


    N wanted to jump across, but E suggested they find a crossing, as Verdantia was getting busier the further they made it. The group agreed and donned their disguises as they spotted a


    bridge in the distance.


    The only problem was that a fortress guarded the middle of the bridge, and E spotted soldiers patrolling the top. While walking toward it, Halimemented nervously, "I have a


    bad feeling, girls."


    "If we get caught, we will use our magic to destroy the gate and any soldiers that get in our way," Maeve said with a knowing smile.


    They all agreed it was the best n, except for Tal, who wanted to find another way around but was outvoted. The five of them stepped onto the bridge and approached the fortress''s


    gate.


    E was about to speak when their disguises suddenly deactivated, startling everyone around them. An rm rang out immediately, prompting a swift reaction. The half-elf and Tal quickly pulled out their bows and fired explosive arrows at the fortress gates.


    Maeve and N quickly intercepted the Church Knights that charged at them. The two girls moved like masters, dodging attacks while cutting down several men. Even more enemy soldiers appeared, but a wave of poison took them out.


    Halime stood behind the girls and continued to cast her deadly spells that sowed fear into the


    knights. Soon enough, the gate crumbled in on itself, allowing the five to rush forward as


    Tal took out her short swords.


    They fought through the Church Knights until a shieldwall appeared in the gateway, but


    Halime sprinted toward them and transformed into his ck Mamba form before crashing


    into it.


    The soldiers were crushed, and the way forward was clear as the snake girl went crazy and destroyed the fortress.