Chapter 310: Reaching For The Dome

They rode the unicorns for several hours, occasionally stopping to give the beasts water. Even though they were Tier One beasts, they still needed to avoid dehydration.

By evening, they finally pulled to a stop at another ruined settlement. Unlike the others which Leon and Selene had seen, this one didn’t have high walls. There were only a few collapsed houses built relatively close to each other, without a proper road connecting them.

"A village?"

Leon asked as he looked around. The unicorns had been tied, and everyone had gathered together.

Mahir nodded. "This place used to be a small village many years ago. Thankfully, the news of the parasites hit them fast and they were quick to escape towards the Dome. Now, they’re one of our major forces at the Dome."

"Oh? That’s nice." Leon nodded. "Smart people are the ones who always prevail."

Mahir’s eyes narrowed, and he nodded. "You’re right."

"You should make a fire," He said, turning to his wife. "I’ll go get something."

The woman nodded without any change in expression, simply setting down her bag and gathering sticks.

Soon, Mahir was gone, disappearing into the distance. Leon and Selene assisted Sara in arranging the firewood, and they started the campfire.

It didn’t take long before Mahir returned, dragging the corpse of a quadrupedal Tier One beast with him.

Leon relaxed slightly, realizing the man hadn’t gone anywhere suspicious.

Meow!

The cat meowed and escaped Selene’s arms, rushing to Leon and settling between his crossed legs as he sat on the ground.

Selene pretended not to care, her gaze focused on the way Mahir dissected the beast he had killed.

While patting the cat’s head, Leon asked, "Doesn’t that beast have a parasite in it?"

Mahir nodded. He cut off the head and held it up for him to see. There was a gruesome wound on the beast’s forehead where Mahir had killed the parasite.

The man smiled. "As long as you kill the parasite in the head, it’s safe to consume. After all, it doesn’t carry a disease or anything."

"Hm, that makes sense." Leon nodded, watching him continue to dissect it after discarding the head.

In less than an hour, the meat had been grilled and spiced, emanating a pleasant aroma in the air.

Looking around, Selene asked, "Aren’t we making ourselves targets with this campfire?"

Sara glanced at her, then shook her head. "No, not really. Parasites rarely move about at night. They all try to imitate living beings and sleep."

"Understood," Selene said with an enlightened nod.

Mahir cut everyone’s portion and handed it to them. Leon and Selene thanked him for the meal, then began eating.

"Hey, what is your planet like? How old is it?" Merlin asked, choosing to sit beside Leon.

From the way his eyes shone, it was obvious he wanted to hear stories. Mahir frowned slightly. "Son, asking about their world is a little forward, don’t you think?"

Merlin pouted, but Leon shook his head and laughed. "No, it’s totally fine. I’ll tell you what my world looks like."

"Uh... oh, well. If you want to." Mahir shrugged and refocused on his meal.

Leon turned to Merlin. "You asked how old my world is? I don’t know. Probably hundreds of thousands of years. There’s no detailed history."

"Ohhh!" The young boy’s eyes lit up. "That’s a little young, but still nice! How many years ago did the Star Stream reach you guys?"

"Years?" Leon chuckled. "It has only been a little over two months. Sigh... it really changed the world. I feel like years have actually passed."

The three Vaelari were surprised, and Sara couldn’t help but gasp. "Are you being serious? Just a few months?"

Leon nodded, puzzled.

"That’s very recent," Mahir muttered, surprised. "And for a world that was only recognized a few months ago, you two are very strong."

His gaze lingered on Selene, as if measuring her battle power.

Merlin’s eyes lit up. "Wow! You guys are already Tier One? Even my parents just reached Tier One about a year ago."

Mahir shot him a glare while Sara chuckled and covered her lips.

The young boy ignored his parents and continued asking Leon silly questions like if his planet had a sun, a moon, or more than one moon.

"How many stars does your world have? Our world has 5,537,070 stars!"

Leon’s brows twitched. "I don’t know how many stars my world has. Where did they teach you that?"

"School, of course." Merlin shrugged casually.

Leon’s lips twitched, and he grumbled internally. ’I went to school too, you know?’

Still, he didn’t stop answering the boy’s questions until they all finished dinner.

Meow!

The cat licked its lips clean, having enjoyed the meal too. Mahir approached them and handed them a large bag.

"We only have two tents. Merlin will stay with us while you two ’companions’ can manage this one. I’m sorry we didn’t have an extra."

Leon accepted it with a forced smile. "No, it’s fine. Thank you."

Mahir nodded and went ahead to set up his tent with his family. Leon did the same, already moving about to plant the holders.

Selene approached him, holding the cat.

"Where are you going to sleep?" She asked gently, surprising him.

Pausing his work, he shot her a suspicious look. "What’s with that tone? And what do you mean where? In the tent, obviously."

She frowned slightly. "Aren’t you a gentleman? You want to squeeze into a young woman’s tent? I didn’t know you were a rogue."

Leon gritted his teeth. "Since when did it become ’your’ tent? Tch."

Ignoring her, he went ahead to complete the tent. Once he was done, Selene slipped in.

He shot her an annoyed glare, then turned to Mahir. "Goodnight."

The man waved back, entering his tent with his family. Leon sighed and entered the tent too. Selene had already shifted to one side with her back turned to him.

Grumbling inaudible words, he lay on the other side and turned his back to her too.

"Goodnight," He said to her, and she replied with a hum.

A while later, he heard her voice again. "Leon."

"Hm?" He turned his head.

"Don’t let your guard down," She said calmly.

He understood why she was saying this, so he nodded. "I haven’t forgotten that we’re in another man’s land."

Besides, a person could never be too cautious.