"Dragon, Father, Dragon!"

The little boy riding on his father's shoulder grabbed his father's hair excitedly, and the man who was half-soaked in the water barely raised his head to look at the silver-white figure that passed by in the night sky.

"Did it do it? The fog ......," someone guessed in alarm, "what did it want to do? drive us all into the lake...... And then even the lake froze?!"

It wasn't a wonderful sight—the man shuddered, but the boy on his shoulder just asked curiously, "Can it do it, father?"

"Maybe it could, but it wouldn't do that!" retorted a chubby young girl, indignantly, "that's the ice dragon of Is-Christus—he's the best friend of our little master, he lived in the castle for a while, and he ate the pigeon pie I made!

"Maybe he's tired of pigeon meat and wants a different taste. Someone said dryly, but there was not much fear in his voice - a little numb when you could see a white dragon flying over your head and a small figure sitting around your neck...... Or rather, habit.

At least, it never hurt anyone, not even those who had the audacity to throw pitchforks at it. Many had heard that the dragon had become the guardian of the temple, and at least half of the people who showed up on the Plains of Collins tonight had actually been waiting for it to appear.

More arms pointing to the sky. Floating on the surface of the lake, the people who were not in danger of their lives even began to cheer at the legendary dragon.

The voice reached Ed's ears in the wind. He patted the ice dragon on the neck in surprise: "Eth, they're not afraid of you! They like you!"

"That's because I didn't want them to be afraid!" the ice dragon roared angrily, "Can you do your job first?!"

It swept low over the lake, the wind pressure from its wings that kept the priests and paladins away from the periphery. Instead, the cunning arrow into the lake fell crookedly. Ed took the opportunity to treat a few of the wounded, then mused to clench his cane.

"That's not the way to go. He said, feeling a little agitated.

The gray mist was torn apart again and again in the whirlwinds large and small, and again and again and again, and no one seemed to have a way to disperse all the fog at once, and sooner or later their spells would run out, even if it was the wind that the dragon flew by. It can only make those gray fogs retreat a little temporarily...... By the time he got closer, the ice dragon had already realized that it wasn't a mist created by some spell, it was harmless, but it was enough to obscure people's vision. Priests and paladins don't seem to be very good at dealing with such situations.

Some clergy began to gather together alone or in pairs. Boldly break into the fog in search of true enemies. Some returned injured, others disappeared......

“...... I need a gust of wind, a big, big wind. Ed said.

"The husband of your goddess is the god of storms. The ice dragon said coldly, "You can try to pray to him." Maybe he'll help his wife in the face of it. ”

That's really—rather disrespectful rhetoric.

Ed scratched his head. But there is nothing to be done.

Pray?...... He thought to himself, a little dazed. To be honest, he rarely prays, his studies have taken up most of his time, and all kinds of cranky thoughts have taken up the other half...... The book Icabold threw at him had very little to do with prayers, and he still couldn't memorize a single prayer, the only thing he could remember was the few words that Eric had once uttered in the graveyard of the Far Northern Light, and it seemed to be used to mourn the dead...... He didn't want to say that to anyone at all.

What else could he do?

He stared a little distracted at the tip of the Staff of Eternity, the tiny ball of light in the swirling waves...... He couldn't even remember when it lit up.

Something in your head that seems to be tickling...... He opened his mouth. But he couldn't spit out a syllable.

- There is no such spell...... There is no such spell...... The range is too large...... Another area...... Wind......

Ed tilted his head - since he didn't give the wind...... Then it's going to rain, right?

The Staff of Eternity points to the sky.

The soft light spread out like water in waves, flowing across the plain. The starry sky then swayed, like in the water...... The most peaceful and wonderful fireworks that no one has ever seen are reflected in the eyes of every pair looking up at the sky.

In the originally clear night sky, black clouds quickly piled up, the air became extremely dull, there was no thunder, no lightning, under the black sky, only a white dragon flew leisurely, a small figure on the neck, and a staff held high on the elevated cane seemed to be eternal light.

In an instant, the rain poured down.

The bean-sized raindrops made people feel pain all over their bodies, and they couldn't open their eyes at all, and in the Lake Starnestle, the candles that were still burning were completely extinguished, and some people simply shrank under the lake with their heads in their hands, and no one hid back in the temple in Collins Square.

Heavy rain and mist on the ground obscured people's view like a gray mist pouring out of the forest—obscuring everyone's view. The attack and defense were all forced to stop, and the well-meaning paladin put his shield over the head of the not-so-strong priest, and stared helplessly at the heavy rain.

Then, under the whipping of the rain line, even the gray fog began to dissipate weakly. The enemy, who had been hidden in the fog, seemed to retreat into the forest, and the clergy hesitated, not knowing whether to pursue or defend in place, but the heavy rain continued to rain on their own

“...... This fool ......" Alan couldn't help but mutter. He wiped his face, shook the water off his beard, and retreated to the corridor where he could shelter from the rain, shaking his head not knowing whether to laugh or scold.

But someone really laughed out loud and unceremoniously - it was hearty and loud laughter without any malice. The dwarf's thick voice made the air seem to tremble lightly, and it wasn't long before a smile unconsciously appeared on almost everyone's face. Although some laughed innocently, some laughed helplessly, and some laughed disapprovingly......

Mok Brass Flame, the leader of the dwarves from the Silvertooth Pits, shouted to the sky, "Has it rained enough, Ed, you're turning the whole grassland into a lake!"

No one knew if it was his voice that really pierced through the rain curtain, or if the young man riding the ice dragon realized that he had gone a little too far, or if it was just time for the rain to stop...... It didn't take long for the rain to really get lighter. The clouds silently dispersed, and the brighter full moon and stars shone brighter in the clean-washed sky, casting a charming glimmer on the plains of Collins, which had become a country.

“...... Good job. The ice dragon couldn't help but smile and praise. If it weren't for the humiliation of being a dragon rolling and laughing in the mud on the ground with its belly in its arms, it might have done that.

Ed smiled wryly, craned his neck, wiped his wet, dripping hair from his eyelids, and glanced down apprehensively. Lake Starnestle has expanded by almost a third of its size, barely connecting with two smaller lakes nearby. The water had flooded the white stone bridge, some of the people floating in the lake began to swim to the shore, others simply continued to soak, and the mischievous children began to splash and play in the water, chasing the animals that had been forced into or squeezed into the lake like them, and the tranquil sacred lake seemed to have almost turned into a giant bathhouse......

He did something stupid—Ed realized with some trepidation. It may be a useful folly, but it's probably still a folly...... Anyway, the May Festival is completely ruined...... The thought of what Sean would stare at him made him feel like every wet hair stood on end.

"You'd better tell those guys not to rush into the forest. The ice dragon pretended to be nonchalantly reminding him, "It's still dark, and this 'holy land' only reaches the edge of the forest. ”

There seemed to be a few corpses left in the place that had been obscured by the thick fog—Ed's heart sank suddenly, and his body suddenly froze.

“...... You know that even a Sage can't save everyone, right?" the ice dragon felt his body stiffen suddenly, and could only speak a little awkwardly to comfort him.

Ed tugged at the corners of his mouth ugly, speechless for a moment. He hadn't thought he'd be able to save everyone, but he hadn't thought anyone would die tonight......

The reality of the sudden attack was so cruel that he was not prepared for it at all.

He stared blankly at the ground, where several of the wounded were retreating with the help of others, others seemed reluctant to walk towards the forest.

"Stop!" Ed yelled at them, "Don't go into the forest!"

He was afraid that they would not listen to him...... Some of them weren't even believers in the water god at all, but were just guests who had been invited to help tonight.

But they stopped and looked up as the ice dragon flew by.

Isis circled around Ed so that he could examine the "corpses". The enemies in the fog seemed to have nothing left, dead or alive, and they took all their companions with them. The clergymen who fell to the ground were unprepared, rushing into a battle they hadn't anticipated, and luckily, most of them were still alive.

Icabold and York take over the wounded—the young priest of the Dawn stared at Ed several times unconsciously, shaking his head and nodding his head in confusion, surprised but friendly.

But Ed didn't care about that at the moment.

He fell to his knees in front of a corpse in a daze—the only real corpse. The blue mark of the god of water on the young priest's white robe was soaked in blood, and even that shower could not wash it away.

A crossbow bolt struck him in the chest.

"This is Tim. Ed's low voice seemed to say to himself, "Tim Reginord, from Sancia, a far away place rich in grapes and olives...... I've just remembered these ......"

The ice dragon bowed his head speechlessly, and touched his friend's shoulder with the tip of his cold nose.

Ed looked back at it, desperately trying to retract the tears that were about to burst out of his eyes.

“...... It's not a good start at all, is it?" he asked, choking up.

The ice dragon was silent for a while before replying softly, "Perhaps...... But it's a start, after all. ”.

(To be continued......)