Chapter 23: 24- The Final Stand

Rodan Rickard still remembers the day he met his master.

It was when he was still a boy, not that far of age from Rowan.

As the third son of farmers, he was often left to his own devices once he helped finish the farm work. There were a lot more farms back then and a lot less bustle. The village was barely formed as it was more of a community where the people gather to support each other. There was no official name as everyone just call the place they gathered the ’the village’.

He remembered that day how he heard over the grapevine that a group of knights assigned by the empire had visited. Excited, Rodan had rushed over to get a look of the knights after finishing the farm work.

Anything new in the village stuck out like a sore thumb and news traveled fast amongst the villagers. It brought a breath of fresh air to the village's boring monotony. 

Unfortunately he missed his chance. 

When the knights arrived, they immediately reported to the village head and holed up in the head's house ever since. A small crowd had formed around the house to get a sight of the newcomers. Rodan had joined the crowd for a bit, but soon became tired of waiting when it became evident that the knights were not coming out any time soon.

So, Rodan decided to head off to play in the forest.

There was no name for the Forest of Death back then, it was just known as the forest. Everyone knew of its dangers as monsters were occasionally spotted. The villagers often warned the children to stay away.

However, being the child as he was, curiosity got the best of Rodan. He would wander the forest whenever he could. He loved wandering the forest and discovering its secrets. Everyday was a fresh new adventure for Rodan when he ventured in.

Rodan was going on another one of his ‘adventures’ on that day  when he discovered a giant grumpy man resting by a tree. 

It was not a face from the village. He had assumed the man to be an adventurer or an explorer as they were the only types of people who would come into the forest. The worst kind were bandits which were rare and Rodan made an effort to avoid them. 

The man wore rugged clothing covered by a cloak . There was bushy bread on his face as he was muttering foul words after tripping over some tree roots. Despite his rough appearance, the man's senses were sharp as he immediately discovered Rodan right away. The man called out to the wary boy and shared humorous tales to relax the child’s guard. Soon after, Rodan befriended the man and they navigated their way out of the forest. 

Just as they were about to leave, the duo chance upon a woodland wolf. The man had jumped in front of Rodan in an effort to protect him, but Rodan fearlessly walked up to the wolf. Instead of being eaten, he began chatting with the wolf. 

Another fact was that people received their blessings a lot earlier back then. There was no controlled method of receiving blessings like the current day. It did lead to a lot of problems since there was no systematic control over the age of receiving a blessing. It was not until a lot of trouble and studies that scholars decided later on the optimal age to receive a blessing was ten years old. He had received the blessing <animal communication> for a few years already and chatted with all different kinds of animals. Both on the farm and in the forest. 

The wolf was one of the friends he made in the forest on one of his adventures.

The wolf had been curious about the newcomer, saying that the man gave off a dangerous stench and came out of concern. Rodan calmed his friend and soon the duo soon made their way out the forest. After some parting words, the two separated and Rodan thought that would be the last he would see of the man. 

Only to be surprised the next day when the village head’s son had run over and said he had been nominated to guide the Knight group through the forest. To his surprise, the man he had helped was the leader of the group.

That was how Rodan met his master Golfar Maldog and learned his name.

Not that he knew how interconnected their fates were back then.

The group had been tasked with finding and making contact with the denizens of the forest. A fable group that not even the villagers who had lived there all their lives were sure if they actually existed. Golfar had been impressed with Rodan's knowledge of the forest and wanted him to guide him once more. His parents had not been happy to learn how their son had been traversing through the forest deposit all their warnings. His mother had even threaten to beat him silly that day. After a small argument with his parents about the transgression of intruding into the forest and gaining their permission, Rodan agreed to Golfar’s request.

To cut a long story short, the group was able to successfully meet the secretive denizens of the forest after a long and harrowing adventure. Afterwards, majority of the group returned back to the empire, with Golfar remaining in the village. Rodan was assigned to help the man since he was already familiar with him. He enjoyed Golfar’s company, so he didn’t mind .He would also receive training from the knight which was a bonus.

A few years had passed since Golfar stayed in the village when they received the news of the emperors passing. With his passing, acts of banditry and destruction ran rampant all over the country. The princes did nothing to help and only squabbled with each other for the throne. Some had gone so far as to send a messenger and demanded Golfar to side with them. He resolutely refused and stayed as the villagers protector, along with Rodan who had received the knight’s training.

 They hadn't been worried when the emperor's death reached them. 

They weren't worried when the messengers came.

But when the armies started amassing near their village, that was a different story.

After many battles and close victories, Golfar declared the land his territory and no villager objected.

Rodan had never been happier that day when his master became the lord of the land.

He had never been sadder after his master’s passing when he succumbed to long lasting injuries due to many excruciating battles.

Time quickly went on. The village turned into a city and then a kingdom, as another generation of regents passed. He retired from the line of duty as he had become tired. Tired of watching people he knew pass before him. Tired of politicians bootlicking him for personal benefits. Rodan decided he had to leave since he was too powerful. A kingdom that relied on one man was doomed to suffer. 

Not to say there were no good memories. Rodan had married a servant girl, one he met during one of the war campaigns against one of  the prince’s armies. They were blessed with a long and fortunate marriage. Unfortunately she passed due to the fact she was unable to awaken her mana. Mana awakening was strictly controlled when the empire was active. They didn’t want to have a bunch of commoners with power running around. The empire controlled people who could wield mana with an iron fist. 

Since the empire fell, the method of mana awakening became more common.  It spread to the point that almost everyone could use it.

That was how he ended up on the farm and in his current position.

 

As Rodan watched his grandson being taken to safety by a stranger, he prepared himself. It was time to wake up these lazy bones of his. Re-awaken those rusty battle instincts he had honed so long ago. Mana gathered and condensed over his body, both to strengthen and for protection. Rodan’s mana also gathered around the plow, reinforcing the farm tool to an unnatural degree. Dolly and Buckbeak stood to his sides to witness Bessie’s final stand against the dragon.

“I’m sorry guys. Looks like you drew the short end of the stick.” Rodan said to the animals. He knew the animals could have escaped anytime.

Buckbeak snorted as if the apology offended him. He most likely would have started a fight with Rodan right there if the killer of his flock wasn’t standing unharmed by his attacks. This offended the rooster’s pride more so than anything else.

Dolly let out a low “meh” as she also didn’t mind staying behind. She may have bullied Rodan a lot, but that is only her way of showing affection. She knew that her current status was thanks to the human and did not mind helping him out.

Most importantly for both animals, one fact stood out. This monster had attacked and killed some of their own. As if that wasn’t bad enough, it even burned their house down.

It did not matter if this intruder was a dragon. Legendary creature or not, intruding and wreaking havoc on their territory will not go unpunished.

There was only one way to become a grandmaster, at least to Rodan’s knowledge. That was to take one’s technique to the extreme and beyond. For Rodan, that was his blessing. His body changed as he began to chant.

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“Strength of a bull.”  His body toughened.

“Eyesight of the hawk.” His vision became more keen.

“Agility of a rooster.” His speed became faster.

“Claws of a wolf.” HIs nail sharpened.

“Skin of -...” With each animal he called out, his body adapted its characteristics. A long time ago, Rodan had discovered that with the animals' agreement, he could gain their abilities. Even if the animal passed, Rodan was still able to use their ability thanks to his blessing.

Even from beyond the grave, his friends still helped him.

Rodan had combined the best of every animal's features to become the ultimate warrior, eventually reaching the stage of grandmaster. It was not easy, but he had done it.

Not that there wasn’t a price. His abilities put a heavy strain on his body. When he was younger, it was manageable. Now the effects of living for so long had began to show and his strength had waned. Right now his strength has dropped to the level of a master. His weakening was one of the reasons he retired. Given a few more years, Rodan would be at the intermediate level.

However none that mattered now as he pulled out all the stops without reservation. Like he said to the stranger; either the dragon dies this night or he dies tonight.

Bessie legs had finally given out as she laid still in front of the dragon. Seething with rage, it once again arched back for its signature move. 

At this point, Rodan was ready for it. “ I had enough of that already. Let's shut that mouth of his, shall we?” With those words said, Rodan swung low, whacking Dolly reinforced wool coat.

Faster than one could blink, The sheep flew at the dragon’s mouth, hitting it so hard that it almost caused a concussion. Its fire was caught in its throat, causing it to choke as it inhaled its own flames.

That was when the second strike came from above.

Right after whacking Dolly, Rodan once again prepared to swing his plow. This time Buckbeak was on it.The man launched the rooster into the air as the dragon tried to regain its bearing. Mana accumulated all over the avian’s body as it swooped down like a hawk. The mana shifted into keen claws as the determined rooster unleashed a killing blow at the dragon’s head.

This time Buckbeak was successful.

Three long gashes cut into the dragon’s left eye as blood flowed downwards. Temporary blinded in the left side, the dragon let out a fearsome howl.

The farm group was far from done. Rodan personally dived in next and swung his plow horizontally at the dragon's neck. Had this been in his heyday, he would have used a spear and easily beheaded the dragon. Unfortunately time has not been kind to him and his strength weakened. His current weapon was one made for farming, not killing. 

The dragon sensing the impending threat, swung its tail with its whole body to repel all attacks. This had formed a small twister, forcing the farm group to retreat.  Rodan’s strike had made a small cut on the blocked tail before he was forced to back off.

“Alright guys let's go in for one more time.” Seeing that their rhythm was disrupted, the battle advantage had returned back to the dragon. They needed to quickly deal a serious blow otherwise all the momentum they gained in the last few attacks would be lost.

This would be the last strike. Rodan could feel his bones creaking from his current output. HIs body was protesting all over from even the small movements he made. The next strike was all he could afford.

That was when he heard it.

Clip. Clop. Clip. Clop.

All the combatants turned to the noise, wondering who dared to intrude into  their battle.

As it turned out, it was a knight in silver armor, bask aglow from the crimson flames surrounding them. 

Rodan recognized the armor. It belonged to a certain Knight Commander that he once trained.  

When the horse arrived in front of the elderly farmer, the man jumped off. The horse collapsed from exhaustion as the man thank it for its service.

The armored knight drew his large broadsword, ready to do battle with the dragon.

“Why are you here?” Rodan couldn’t help, but ask. He could actually guess the reason, but he would like some clarification. 

“As knight commander, it is my duty to find out how powerful of a threat the capital is facing.” Sycamore Oak Replied.

“Not personally! You could have sent a scout. How can the Knight Commander be here? This is a dereliction of duty.” Rodan chided halfheartedly. He was happy to see reinforcements, even if it was just one person. He just didn’t like how the man had dropped everything to join them. Rodan supposed he should thank the gods for sending the man who was currently the strongest in the Kingdom.

“The vice commander is capable of taking my place. Where is Rowan?”

“Hmph, I knew that was the real reason you came. Not because you cared about this old man.” Rodan teased. “He was forced to flee with a denizen of the forest.”

“Then let us finish off this threat and go search for him.”

“Are you not worried?”

“He is my son. Unless there is a body, he will be fine.” A direct reply. It sounded cold, but there was a deep trust in the well being of his child.

“When you say it like that, then let’s not forget he is also my grandson.” Rodan smirked as both men and animals faced the dragon once more.  The dragon had recovered itself and began to make its way over. This time opting to get close and personal as it had learned its lesson.

No more words were exchanged between the men as they were not needed. Both sides prepared their strongest techniques for the final offense. 

Rodan swung his plow downward with all his might, leaving a scar in the sky as the aftermath of the technique. Sycamore Oak slashed his sword with the same might that rivaled Rodan’s slash. Dolly charged in with its impenetrable wool coat as a veritable cannonball. Buckbeak flew in with mana shaped claws that were triple his size.

The dragon met the clash with its mighty body and swung its indestructible claws to destroy the group once and for all.

An explosion rang out from their clash, clearing out the flames and illuminating the night sky.

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