Rowan frantically looked everywhere, trying to locate the enemy. His heart was beating rapidly in his chest filled with fear and anxiety. He had been worried that the large release of mana would attract unwanted attention.

  It turned out his fears had come true.

  Only that whatever was more powerful than Rowan could have imagined.

  His bow was already in hand with an arrow ready to be released anytime.

  “GRRRRR.”

  Rowan looked to the side in which he saw Wolfie standing on all four with his fur on edge. Even when he was unconscious, the little monster must have sensed the presence of the incoming threat and forced themselves awake. The wolf pup was growling in a certain direction, so Rowan narrowed his eyes to see what was responsible for ingraining this sense of fear into them.

  At first, Rowan couldn't see anything, but seconds later, he saw a red dot.

  Rowan’s first thought was the red dragon back for vengeance, but then he denied that possibility.

  Rowan had fought the red dragon before and it didn't have a presence that they were currently facing.

  What kind of new monster was he going to face this time?

  The red dot in the distance slowly became larger, Rowan noticed certain characteristics.

  Wings, scales, four legs, and a tail. All characteristics that could be observed on the red dragon. Maybe his guess was wrong? Rowan thought it was hard for there to be another dragon of the same color in the same area.

  Maybe he should run?

  While he had been completely healed, he didn't like his chances of fighting with the dragon a second time. All his trump cards had already been revealed and he wasn't sure he could emerge victorious if he fought the red dragon again.

  The thought of running was instantly crossed off. Rowan deliberately gave up on the idea of escaping. Technically Rowan could escape if he wanted since he fulfilled his promise to Almar about raising the Mother Tree until it bore fruit. No one could blame him as he had already done more than enough in helping to take care of the tree.

  However, as an aspiring knight, running away from a powerful foe would be disgraceful. While he did take care of the Mother Tree all these years, the Mother Tree also did the same in return. In fact, it could be argued that the Mother Tree took better care of the human than he did for the tree.

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  Now it was Rowan’s time to return the favor.

  Besides, even if Rowan was able to escape, he would not be able to get far.

  Rowan could feel its eyes watching his every movement already. Even from afar, it was already tracking his every movement.

  As the red dot enlarged as the distance decreased and Rowan came to a new realization.

  His initial guess had been right.

  This red dragon was indeed a different dragon.

  For one thing, its size was far larger than the one he had originally faced. Even from afar, Rowan estimated this dragon size was almost triple the size of the one he fought in the forest. If the dragon Rowan fought was the size of a house, this dragon was the size of a mansion.

  The dragon leisurely flew closer as it was the master of the skies and no monster dared to touch it. It didn’t need to fly fast as its presence was enough to ward off any monster foolish enough to bother it. One single flap of its wings was enough to cut the distance by hundreds of feet.

  As the dragon flew closer, Rowan felt as if thousands of needles were being stabbed into him. The closer the dragon was, the more the feeling increased. HIs heart would not stop racing and he could feel his body losing its feeling and control as the dragon drew closer.

  When the dragon landed, Rowan couldnt moved at all. His body was completely petrified and helpless. Even when the black dragon first appeared so many years ago, he could still move then.

  The mere presence of this dragon immobilized him. He was completely at its mercy.

  The Dragon looked around and then lowered its neck to study Rowan, which gave him a chance to study the dragon up close. Just the fang alone was long enough to match Rowan's height. All the dragons he met in the past would take more than a few mouthfuls if they were to try to eat Rowan. This one could eat him in one gulp.

  The dragon opened its mouth and Rowan's mind was already preparing itself to be eaten.

  What happened next, only made Rowan open his eyes in surprise.

  “I thought that only the long ears lived here? Since when did this land belong to that of a human?” A deep rumbling voice spoke out.

  The sudden voice broke Rowan out of his fear.

  Since when could dragons talk? Not only could it talk, it was quite knowledgeable. Long ears were nicknames for elves and not many knew that elves had once lived in this very spot.

  As much as Rowan wanted to talk, he couldn’t. The dragon being in front of him had caused his whole body to freeze. As Rowan remained silent, the dragon continued to study the human.

  Then the proverbial lightbulb went off.

  “Oh I must have forgotten to contain my presence, no wonder you haven't spoken a word.”

  All of a sudden the force that kept Rowan frozen was suddenly lifted and he was free to move again.

  This was certainly a new experience.

  Not only was this dragon the biggest one he had seen to date, it was also the first friendly dragon he had ever met.