Book 2: Chapter 89 (1/2)

“You’re not coming with us, Your Gloriousness?”

Vur blinked at the dwarf staring up at him. “Nope.”

“But, but why?” the dwarf asked. “If you came with us, the humans wouldn’t stand a chance. There’s nothing they could do to stop you. Their defenses would crumble, and we’d claim their lands without any issues.”

“I only came here to fight the phoenix,” Vur said, crossing his arms over his chest. “My wife says I rely too much on smacking my problems to solve them. Just follow my orders and you’ll win the war. It’s not that hard.”

“I, I don’t understand, but I hear and obey,” the dwarf said, hanging his head. “Men”—he gestured towards the dwarves standing behind him in neat rows—“we move out at once! We’ll seize the remainder of the forest and strike the humans where they least expect it.”

“You’re really going to leave them to their own devices?” Lulu asked Vur, rolling her eyes up to look at him. As usual, he was standing on her head.

Vur nodded. “Yeah,” he said. “They’ll be fine. One of them is supposed to be a leader, but I can’t remember who.”

“Probably the one with the eyepatch,” Lulu said. “You know, the one who just spoke to you? Now, I’m no detective, but I’m pretty sure it’s him.”

Vur shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter,” he said as the duo watched the dwarves march into their cars and drive away. A few went towards the east to deliver the captive elves back to the capital while the others pushed westwards. “The dwarves are supposed to be the strongest force on the continent, right? They should be able to take down a human city without my help.”

“If you’re not going with them, then what are you going to do?” Lulu asked, tilting her head, causing Vur’s body to slant towards the side.

“I want to go back to Auntie and see if she figured out a way to help me stay in my dragon form,” Vur said. “After fighting with the birdy mother-in-law…” He shook his head. “I can’t keep depending on your sketchy mana potions.”

“Hey, what part about my mana potions are sketchy?” Lulu asked. “They’re just a teensy bit alcoholic. Nothing a dragon can’t handle. Besides, you’re not going to find any mana potion that can fully recover your mana without some sort of negative side effect. Everything has a tradeoff.”

“That’s not true,” Vur said. “What are the negatives of being a dragon?”

Lulu blinked. “That’s obvious,” she said. “Everyone else is super jealous of us and our easy lives. Haven’t you noticed?”

Vur grunted. “People are more afraid than jealous of me,” he said. “But I get your point.” He sighed. “We live such tough lives.”

“Mm, definitely,” Lulu said while nodding. “Can you believe my mom kicked me out of the house for no reason? That first explosion wasn’t my fault, but I’m the one she blames.” She rolled her eyes before sighing.

The phoenix matriarch hopped beside the two. “Wow,” she said, her voice dry. “I feel so bad for you two. You two were planning on leaving soon?”

Vur nodded. “I was going to wait for Tafel to come back, but it’s already been a week. How far away did you send her?”

The matriarch rubbed her head with her wing. “I asked her to watch over my children,” she said. “I might’ve asked her to take them back to her home on the other continent. I don’t know if she actually went though.” She sighed. “If I knew you were her husband, I wouldn’t have asked her to go. I really thought she’d be back to check on the aftermath of our battle. It seems like I kept you here for a week for no reason.”

“That’s alright,” Vur said and yawned. “I had nothing better to do anyway. Thanks for feeding Sheryl this whole time.” He glanced at his shoulder which was pulsing with a faint yellow light. “How’s she doing, Deedee?”