The Return of the Betrayed Heir

1

"War... A war that everyone thought would never end... The battlefield was so intense that ashes flew in the air. Some areas were still burning, and the surroundings were covered in blood and dismembered corpses. The greatest war in the history of the entire Edeya continent. But what was the purpose of this war? Was it humans consumed by jealousy? Or was it a war between monsters and humans? If not these, what was it? A struggle for the throne? No one knew why this war broke out... All that was known was that a bloody war had taken place between dragons and elves. The deep forests of the Elven Kingdom were decorated with flames and blood.

Not too far from the battle, a young man was lying in deep mud... He had hollow red eyes and muddy black hair. On his face was a deep but closed T-shaped scar...

"Isn't it time for you to get up? We managed to push the enemies back."

A deep voice made the hollow red eyes of the young man stuck in the mud move. Then, the young man's shadow shifted, and from within it emerged a forty-meter-tall young dragon with golden hues, ash-colored eyes, and light pink tones inside its wings. It had a saddle on its back. The dragon slowly brought its head next to the young man stuck in the mud.

"Get out of my way, Tessarion... I can't look at the sky that is about to cry."

A golden dragon... A beauty unprecedented in history, and its rider, the youngest member of the dragon family, Alex Dragonblood.

"A crying sky?" Tessarion said as he looked up at the sky.

Alex raised his hand toward the sky. "You haven't noticed yet, but it will start soon..."

Dark clouds were slowly gathering, but it was not raining yet. However, Alex felt the sound of the storm raging inside him as if it were forming in the sky. What was this storm brewing inside him? Solitude? Anxiety? Or... the enemies he had killed so far..?

Alex slowly emerged from the mud, his clothes completely covered in grime. He carried a heavy exhaustion, but it was not a exhaustion of energy or mana. It was the weight of everyone he had killed settling on his body. The golden dragon slowly approached Alex and rested its head against him.

"Everything will be fine... From now on, everything will go the way we want."

Alex patted his dragon's head. "The only reason I am here is that my family hates me and sent me to fight on the front lines so I would die quickly."

Tessarion sighed. "My friend, why do you think like that? The only reason we are here is to boost the soldiers' morale. Knowing their young lord is by their side makes them fight with more passion."

Alex remained silent. He slowly grabbed his dragon's saddle and climbed onto its back. When he looked up at the sky again, raindrops began falling on his cheeks.

"The sky is crying... This war is exhausting even the heavens."

Tessarion spread his massive wings and quickly soared into the sky. A quarter of the forest was engulfed in flames, and smoke covered the sky like clouds.

Alex continued to stare with hollow eyes at the scene they had created. The golden dragon gathered glowing particles around its body and concealed itself.

"Soon this war will end... How will history books and the media label us? As heroes or invaders?"

The thoughts inside Alex were consuming him. When Tessarion noticed this, he tried to intervene, but it was already too late. This sixteen-year-old boy was slowly abandoning his true self and turning into a monster.

Alex returned to the campsite. The golden dragon revealed itself again and prepared to land slowly on the ground.

Seeing the dragon return, all the soldiers cleared the way.

"The dragon has returned!!"

Alex and Tessarion landed slowly. The Blood Knights, the most prestigious knights of the Dragonblood family, were preparing for the next battle.

Alex dismounted from the dragon and walked toward his tent. Seeing Alex approach, the two armored Blood Knights standing at the tent entrance straightened their spears. As Alex entered, they crossed their spears in an 'X' shape to close the entrance.

Inside, two servants stood with bowed heads.

"Welcome, Young Lord," both said in unison.

"Is the bath ready?"

"Yes, Young Lord."

One of the servants adjusted his posture and walked slowly. Alex followed him. The tub was filled with water. Alex took off his muddy clothes and stepped into the tub.

The moment he entered, the water slowly turned brown as the mud washed off his body. A servant took a loofah and began washing Alex's back.

Alex looked at every drop falling from his wet hair and remembered the elves he had killed. Perhaps all of them had families, children, and loved ones waiting for them...

Alex leaned back, and the servant began cleaning his chest. The other servant entered holding two towels, set them down gently, and began massaging Alex's shoulders.

When he closed his eyes, he saw through his dragon's eyes that it was eating a burnt bull. Through its vision, he saw the other knights sharpening their swords. The soldiers stationed throughout the camp were on constant high alert, ready for a sudden attack at any moment—especially extra cautious with a member of the Dragonblood family present.

Alex stepped out of the tub, dried himself, and put on light armor. Long boots and flexible yet tight-hemmed pants allowed for better movement. The armor was pitch black, decorated with a red claw emblem. On his right shoulder was the Dragonblood family emblem: a dragon holding a sword.

As Alex sat at his desk, he lit a cigar and crossed his legs. Brushing his black hair back, his flawless facial features and handsome appearance remained striking despite the scars on his face.

Boom!!

A massive explosion echoed through the air. All the soldiers immediately grabbed their weapons and assumed battle positions.

Alex calmly picked up his black sword from the side and walked out of the tent.

"Be my eyes in the sky, Tessarion."

"Understood."

Tessarion flapped his wings rapidly and soared into the sky. Alex unsheathed his black sword and began walking slowly.

Smoke rose from the southern part of the campsite. Alex continued chewing his cigar.

"I just want to rest a bit. Why are you walking toward your death..?"

Tessarion sent a telepathic message: "Elven warriors are rushing here quickly, and there is a powerful individual among them. I can't see them, but I can feel them."

He then spewed flames from his mouth and began burning the forest. The Blood Knights quickly ran after Alex and moved in front of him.

This unit of knights bound to the Dragon House was sworn to protect their lord at the cost of their lives. The soldiers entered the forest, and screams began echoing one after another.

This was clearly a trap, but Alex was inclined to march right into it with confident steps.

A rain of arrows came toward him. Using the wind, he created a shield for himself, scattering the arrows around him.

Suddenly, vines began lunging toward Alex. He coated his sword with Blood Flames—the destructive flames of dragons. With a single strike, he managed to destroy all the vines.

When he fully entered the deep forest, he heard no movement—not even a sound. He narrowed his red eyes and looked around carefully.

"An illusion..." he thought.

Alex had received special training for such illusions since childhood and knew exactly how to deal with them. He began continuously channeling mana into his brain, successfully breaking free from this mental trick without an issue.

The moment he broke free and looked around, he smiled, for all the Blood Knights had lost their lives. Each of them had a limb severed and had been brutally slaughtered.

Elves surrounded him on all sides. Tessarion was far away, providing support to the other soldiers.

"Do you want me to come?" Tessarion asked.

"No, I can handle this on my own."

Alex threw the cigar from his mouth and crushed it with his foot. The elves pointed their swords, spears, and arrows at Alex.

"Are you afraid?" Alex asked in a deep voice.

Some elves swallowed hard, their hands trembling. None of them had ever encountered a dragonblood before, but now a pureblood dragon stood right in front of them.

Alex took a step forward and dashed into the midst of the elves. Before they could even realize what was happening, Alex had already severed several of their heads. As arrows flew toward him, he deflected them with his black sword.

After creating three massive fireballs behind him, he launched them all to burn the surrounding area. He deflected the spear of an attacking elf warrior, grabbed his neck, and burned him with Blood Flames.

The elf soldier died in agony. Alex unleashed his killing intent, and the aura he emitted took the shape of a dragon.

As the elves trembled in fear, Alex prepared to slash them all down.

"Alex, watch out! The powerful person I felt is heading your way."

Alex smiled faintly. "Finally... someone strong..."

The sound of armor echoed from inside the forest—slow but steady steps. Alex knew the approaching person was confident and stood ready to fight.

From the dark side of the forest, a pair of blue eyes emerged, accompanied by short, braided silver hair, shining gray armor, and a steel skirt.

The smirk on Alex's face widened.

"Princess Laena Arwen."”