Chapter 180: Aurora

"Then let's call her Aurora. It means 'polar light' and 'dawn,' and it just so happens that our little daughter was born at dawn."

"Aurora... Alright, this name it is," The smile on Rossweisse's face gradually faded. She reluctantly let go of Leon, then took a few steps back, gazing at his back.

"Go, Casmodeous. Go do what you must do."

The man in front of her slowly turned his head halfway. The moonlight illuminated his determined profile, and a gentle breeze brushed through his bangs.

He nodded slightly, then strode forward, charging toward the silent beast in the distance.

The Silver Dragon Queen stood there in a daze, watching his figure grow farther away. She murmured softly, "Leon, may victory be with you."

[A/N: The Empire arc won't last long, and there are no tragic moments. Enjoy with peace of mind.]

———

Leon did not swagger into the city through the main gate.

The current situation within the Empire was unclear. A man who was supposed to have died three years ago suddenly returning was bound to cause unnecessary trouble.

Moreover, back then, General Leon was known as the strongest dragon slayer, a well-known figure.

Saying he was a household name might be an exaggeration, but in those days, Leon could eat at any restaurant in the Empire and get a free meal just by flashing his handsome face.

He would even occasionally receive flirtatious glances from mature, elegant restaurant owners.

Slap! Slap! Slap!

'A man with a wife and children shouldn't entertain such wild thoughts.'

At the very least, he definitely had to pay for his meals now.

So, sneaking in was the only option. Leon hid in the shadows, waiting for the right moment.

At the break of dawn, he finally found an opportunity.

Blending into a merchant caravan that had come to do business in the Empire, he slipped in unnoticed.

As expected, the Empire's gate guards were as lazy as ever, merely giving the caravans a perfunctory glance without conducting thorough searches.

General Leon, hanging onto the underside of a carriage with astonishing core strength, noted this observation.

Once safely past the Empire's gates and after traveling through a few streets, Leon crawled out from under the carriage and slipped into its cargo hold.

The hold was filled with goods the merchants planned to sell in the Empire, mostly small trinkets and accessories popular among the younger crowd.

The Empire had vast territory and abundant resources, making it the central powerhouse of human civilization.

The surrounding vassal states relied heavily on this big brother, whether for trade or when bullied by foreign tribes, they always turned to the Empire for help.

Of course, the Empire never provided aid for free. Occasionally, it collected protection fees.

And the vassal states were happy to comply, offering up gold, treasures, or beauties each year in exchange for peace and security, ensuring no foreign power dared to invade.

This-this was the confidence the Empire instilled in its people!(hands on hips)

Leon sat in the cargo hold, peering through the gaps in the wooden planks.

The streets were bustling, just as lively as he remembered.

He sighed inwardly, 'Three years have passed, yet the Empire remains as vibrant as ever.'

After navigating through several more streets, Leon finally sneaked out of the cart.

Before leaving, he even swiped a pair of sunglasses.

A celebrity has to wear sunglasses when going out.

Especially a dead celebrity.

Standing on the street, Leon surveyed his surroundings. After confirming that no one was tailing him, he headed into a nearby alleyway.

His first destination was his master's farm.

Though his master was unlikely to be there, Leon wanted to try his luck. Perhaps his master had left behind some useful information or clues.

With hands in his pockets and head lowered slightly, Leon strode forward with a brisk pace.

However, before he had taken more than a few steps, his peripheral vision caught sight of several eye-catching notices plastered on the alley walls.

He stopped in his tracks, turned his head, and then slightly widened his eyes.

These weren't ordinary notices.

They were Empire-issued wanted posters, and not just any wanted posters, but red-level highest-priority ones.

And the person in the image wasn't just anyone, it was his master, Tiger Lawrence.

"Master… is a wanted criminal?"

'Impossible! That old man has never so much as killed a fly, let alone committed arson or murder. He even has to ask his wife for permission before smoking a cigarette, how can he be a wanted criminal?'

Leon stood frozen for a moment, struggling to process the situation.

His expression darkened.

The Empire was indeed as prosperous as before.

But beneath the surface, dark currents were already surging.

Leon reached out, ripped the wanted poster off the wall, crumpled it into a ball, and stuffed it into his pocket. Without hesitation, he left the alley immediately.

.

.

.

An hour later, Leon arrived at his master's farm, his old home.

Naturally, the property of a fugitive had been seized. Large official seals were plastered across the gate, and the courtyard beyond had long since fallen into disrepair.

Glancing around to make sure the neighbors weren't around, Leon easily vaulted over the fence, crossed the gravel path, and made his way toward the farmhouse.

The wooden house had suffered years of neglect. One side of the roof had collapsed, and the windows were shattered, as if someone had thrown stones at them.

Leon circled the house once, checking for traps. Finding none, he climbed in through a broken window.

His boots landed with a creak on the wooden floor, stirring up dust.

He waved a hand in front of his nose and began searching the house.

Living room, kitchen, bedroom, all in a state of disrepair. Clearly, no one had lived here in a long time.

More importantly, there were no clues or messages left behind.

Leon sighed, "That old man didn't forget our one-year agreement, did he?"

Leon had assumed his master would leave him a clue since he was the one who had set the one-year timeframe. If he wasn't at the mountain hideout, then the farm was the only logical place for a message.

But there was nothing here.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly remembered something: he hasn't checked the barn in the backyard.

Holding onto a sliver of hope, Leon made his way to the barn.

It used to store hay and firewood but had also been home to… a donkey.

Yes, in Leon's household, donkeys not only had a place to live but actually resided inside the barn.

Which was akin to letting a 200-pound man live in an all-you-can-eat buffet.

Leon searched the barn thoroughly, sneezing from the dust, but at last, he found something.

Beneath the spot where the donkey used to sleep, there was an old cloth strip with a message written on it.

["Little Leon, love you!"]

The text was scratched on with a red brick.

Clearly, his master had no access to paper, nor even a pen.

Truly pitiful.

The message was simple: ["Rebecca is trustworthy."]

Rebecca...

Leon's memories stirred.

Rebecca Clement—the gunner from his squad.

A chatterbox with a slightly neurotic streak.

Back in the war, he and the other two team members could completely entrust their flank to Rebecca. Her firepower cover was always timely, and her shooting performance ranked among the top in the entire Dragon-Slaying Army.

At the same time, she also had a bit of natural-born strength.

Despite her petite figure, she could skillfully and effortlessly handle all sorts of large firearms, which baffled Leon.

This completely defied biology.

Oh, you say that General Leon soloing the Dragon King without a scratch also defies biology?

Then never mind.

Back to the main point.

This messy handwriting was indeed his master's.

High EQ: Unrestrained, slightly sloppy.

Low EQ: What kind of BS handwriting is this?

If not for the fact that Leon had been his disciple since childhood, others might really struggle to decipher it.

"Rebecca is trustworthy... Does this mean Master already knows that I was betrayed by a mole back then?", After pondering for a moment, Leon couldn't be certain about this guess.

If Rossweise had mentioned the betrayal to his master when she met him, then his master must have already known about it and had been secretly investigating Leon's teammates over the past year.

But if Rossweise hadn't mentioned it, then his master leaving this message might have just been to provide Leon with a safe contact when he returned to the Empire.

However, regardless, Leon looked at the familiar name on the fabric strip.

He had to go see his gunner and find out what was going on.

———

Although Master said Rebecca was trustworthy, Leon still did not completely let his guard down.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his master, but the mole who betrayed him back then was one of the three members in Rebecca's squad, making it hard for him to relax.

It never hurts to be cautious.

Putting on his sunglasses, Leon followed various small paths and dark alleys, turning left and right, until he arrived at a detached apartment.

This was Rebecca's home.

Why was Leon so sure that she hadn't moved in the past three years?

He turned his head to look at a corner of the yard.

There sat an absurdly oversized cannon.

There was probably no normal person who would place a fire-element magic-powered cannon in their yard, right?

Leon withdrew his gaze from the cannon and then circled around the apartment.

There was no one inside.

"At this hour, she should still be out on a mission, right?", Muttering to himself, Leon walked up to the back door of the apartment.

He tried twisting the doorknob.

Click—

The door slowly creaked open.

Leon was slightly startled, "This crazy girl is still as careless as ever, huh? What if a thief breaks in?"

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