Chapter 436: We Will Definitely Meet Again [Part 1]

"Zephira, wait!" Dominic shouted as he urged his horse to run faster.

The Royal Gryphon turned to her Master for a brief moment before shifting her attention back to the battlefield.

From the sky, she could see the battle that was happening in the distance.

To ensure none of the members of the Gryphon Battalion would be harmed during this exchange, Leone allowed the Gryphons to lure them away from the Britannian Army.

Zephira screeched, telling Dominic to follow her.

All the Gryphon Riders could communicate with their mounts. Although it wasn’t perfect, they could understand what the other wanted to say to a certain extent.

Hearing Zephira call out to him made Dominic fairly certain that their bond had not been broken even after they had decided to leave them behind for their own safety.

After nearly thirty minutes of chasing the Gryphons, Zephira finally decided to land on the ground.

The moment she did, all the other Gryphons followed suit.

They then waited for their riders to arrive, eager for a short reunion with each other.

When Dominic and his men saw the Gryphons land, they urged their horses to go faster.

The Commander of the Gryphon Battalion then hurried to dismount from his horse before running toward his mount, who was waiting for him.

"Zephira, I’m glad you’re back." Dominic hugged the Gryphon’s neck and patted it a few times.

Zephira closed her eyes. She had only been separated from her Master for a short while, but it felt like they hadn’t seen each other in years.

The other Gryphon Riders were also overjoyed to reunite with their mounts once more. They really thought they would never see them again, so reuniting with them made some of them tear up.

A scene that no one would see again, aside from their comrades-in-arms.

A few minutes later, Zephira reluctantly pulled back, making Dominic’s eyes widen in shock.

"What’s wrong, Zephira?" Dominic asked. "Did that bastard do anything to you?"

"Yes and no," Zephira replied through telepathy, which shocked Dominic.

In order to make sure that the Commander of the Gryphon Battalion fully understood the situation, Leone bought a special potion from the Arcane Store that would allow Zephira to communicate with someone who shared a strong bond with her.

Although the potion cost 5,000 BP, the young chieftain believed it was an investment worth making.

"Y-You can talk to me?" Dominic asked back in disbelief.

"Yes." Zephira nodded. "The Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe gave me a potion that allows me to communicate with you through our minds. I know you have many questions, but allow me to share our current situation first."

Zephira was right. Dominic indeed had many questions. But for now, he decided to set them aside and listen to what his partner had to say.

"First, only our true partners can ride us. No one else," Zephira declared.

"And that bastard agreed to it so easily?" Dominic asked. "I don’t believe it."

"He had no choice." Zephira shook her head. "Well, more like we didn’t give him a choice. We made it clear that we would rather kill ourselves than let anyone else use us as mounts."

Dominic felt touched, not expecting the Gryphons to choose death over breaking their loyalty.

"Don’t celebrate just yet," Zephira added. "In return for honoring our condition, we are to follow the orders of Lord Astravor."

"Lord Astravor?" Dominic frowned. "Is that the name of that chieftain?"

"No. It’s the name of the Garuda Gryphon that forced us to submit," Zephira replied.

The frown on Dominic’s face deepened. He now knew the name and the race of the creature that had single-handedly neutralized the Gryphon Battalion of the Kingdom of Britannia.

However, knowing its name, as well as what kind of Gryphon it was, wouldn’t change anything.

Unfortunately for him, Zephira had more bad news to share.

"We refused to participate in the war against the Kingdom of Britannia," Zephira stated. "The reason was that we didn’t want to accidentally hurt or kill any of you. Because of this, the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe proposed that we lure everyone from the Gryphon Battalion away from the battlefield."

Dominic didn’t know how to react to this revelation. If the Gryphons returned to them, then things would return to normal.

Even so, Zephira told him that this was not possible right now.

"We have formed a magical contract with the Chieftain of the Aslan Tribe," Zephira stated. "We cannot return to your side even if we wanted to. We are also expected to help them fight off the Aurelion Empire, which is threatening to attack the sacred city of the barbarians called Eden."

As one of the commanders of this campaign, Dominic was aware of the hidden agreement between the Kingdom of Britannia and the Aurelion Empire.

They planned to attack the barbarians from the north and the south at the same time, ensuring that there would be no path of escape for them.

No one had expected that their plans would be thwarted. They couldn’t even push deeper into the Borderlands due to an unknown enemy who seemed to have many tricks up its sleeve.

"There’s one more thing that the chieftain has asked me to tell you," Zephira added. "If you feel like you are no longer safe in the Kingdom of Britannia, you may bring your family with you to the Borderlands. The Aslan Tribe’s domain is located at the Grimjaw Mountain east of here."

"Are you telling me to betray the kingdom?" Dominic asked her in a grave tone.

"No." Zephira shook her head firmly. "Just like how I cannot betray you, I also know that you cannot betray the kingdom. However, if your life is in any danger, then you know where to go. I will be waiting for you there."

Dominic clenched his fists tightly. At that moment, he felt as if he were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

He understood that the moment he returned to the Kingdom of Britannia, he would immediately be punished for losing the entirety of the Gryphon Battalion.

In fact, even now, he was feeling anxious because there was a chance that the King had already made a move to punish his family because of how furious he was with Dominic.

And the worst part was that his family might not be the only ones who would be punished.

The families of his subordinates were also in danger.

If he could not force Zephira to return, then Dominic only had one option left. Either accomplish a great achievement in this war that would please the King very much.

Or... die in active duty.

His death might allow his family to be spared from punishment because he fought for the sake of the kingdom.

Well, at least, that was the outcome Dominic hoped to happen after his death.