A smaller version of the Lightning Emperor was standing upright at the helm of a middle-sized flying ship.

‘The technology is quite similar to our own but the engine looks to be more refined. If I could implement it in the Argonauts design when I return...’

Some time had passed since the Archdemon’s attack. Thanks to the healing spells and potions in this world the casualties were lessened. People like the Vice-Principal that lost a limb could also recover without that much of a problem.

It was clear that when it came to healing this world’s magic was stronger than Zhang Dong’s. Missing limbs would require special pills that required even rarer materials. Only people at a very high level with the holy element like him would be able to emulate the priest spells from this magical world.

“Lady Isabella you must reconsider what will the people think about this…”

“I have already decided, please don’t associate yourself with me anymore, Prince Ludwig.”

Zhang Dong’s attention was brought down to a little scene. There was a group of young noblemen and women bickering about. On one side stood Isabella and Beatrice also along with a few maids. On the other side was the Prince with a couple of knights. It was clear that after eavesdropping on Moss head’s conversation both the blond girls were furious with him.

He couldn't fault them for that and was quite glad that they all listened in on the conversation. Since Isabella was a proud lady she found offense in the way the prince was thinking about her. She was nothing more than a tool, someone to just link him to her strong family.

‘Not much different here than where I came from huh…’

This wasn’t anything new, something like this was how people in the clans formed bonds. The problem was that Isabella apparently didn’t see it like that. She was a young maiden that was still apparently looking for love. From his perspective, it would be immensely hard to find a loving partner in that way. His wife had grown on him through time and the love came later.

‘Well, at least this helped me to get this ship…’

Isabella was part of the main family that Beatrice belonged to. Since the two were required to work together to help him fight the demon lords he was given this ship. Together with it a crew of knights and wizards from both the academy and the Duke Hohenberg of Dragonridge household.

Beatrice’s father also lent some soldiers in the form of the old man that he previously faced off against. He was tasked with being Beatrice’s bodyguard and would have his work cut for him. The young Beatrice didn’t have much pull here to make any decisions. Only thanks to him were they willing to listen after he defeated the Demon Lord.

“Lady Isabella, I’m sure this is some kind of mistake I would never…”

Before Ludwig could continue with his words Beatrice stepped next to Isabella and started glaring at him as well.

“Lady Beatrice… you too…”

The prince looked quite baffled. From Zhang Dong’s perspective, he was just the young master type that never had any hindrance in his life. He was also not the crown prince which lowered his responsibilities while still giving him a large amount of status. This was probably the first time one of his schemes had gone down the drain.

“My lord, think we are done here. The great Holy Dragon Ancestor has requested our aid to rid the whole of humanity of the demonic scourge. We mustn't keep him waiting!”

After the little battle with the Lord of Pain Zhang Dong had gained another glorious title. Thanks to his draconic soul beast everyone thought that he was some kind of heroic spirit of an ancient dragon god. Due to his unknown name, they thought that he just had to be some long-forgotten ancestors, maybe even the father of dragons.

‘Daddy of all dragons doesn’t sound so bad… I hope none of them will try talking to me though…’

Dragon’s were an elusive species around here and revered by all. The high tier ones could change their form to look human thus his disguise was perfect.

He glanced at the conversation below and could see the prince moving to block Isabella’s path. After the cat was out of the bag Isabella asked her father to annul the engagement. The duke was quite fond of his daughter and almost instantly obliged.

From what he knew, the one who actually wanted the marriage was Isabella. The prince was a sweet talker so he did manage to weasel himself into her good graces. Now on the other hand he was going to lose quite a bit. Not being able to marry someone at the level of a Duke’s daughter was a hit to his face and prestige. It looked like he wouldn’t just give up like that.

“Please prince Ludwig, we are done with our conversation. We must depart towards Isthvar to gather more people for our quest.”

“Worry not Lady Isabella, how about I join you on your trip and have my men accompany you. They are the very best! We then could talk about everything in private…”

‘I got to give it to him, he doesn’t easily give up. Having some royal knights along the trip isn’t something that could be easily refused…’

Refusing this aid would normally be seen as foolish. The royal family possessed quite the military might that could bolster them. There was also the problem of a Duke’s daughter not being able to decline the help of a prince if he really imposed it on her. Their ranks were quite close but still in favor in old moss head’s. So then, before the conversation could go in the wrong direction a thunderclap was heard and a bolt of golden light descended towards the bickering children.

“That is enough, you may leave young prince of the humans, your services won’t be required.”

It was clear that this young casanova would try to somewhat sweet talk both of the girls along the flight. Maybe a few lucky events could somehow bring them all back together. Zhang Dong on the other hand wasn’t really interested in having this guy on his ship. He would clearly not be willing to listen to him, it was best not to bring him or any of his men along as they couldn’t be trusted.

“Lady Beatrice… your spirit…”

“My spirit?”

Beatrice narrowed her eyes while looking at the green-haired prince. From what Zhang Dong could tell she was mad that he referred to him without any honorifics. It was clearly rude to refer to a Dragon Ancestor as ‘Your Spirit’ but the young prince didn’t see spirits as beings above him.

He probably only saw them as useful tools, nothing more than a machine to do their bidding. This was quite normal for the young master types, even more, when his father was the strongest man on the continent. From what he could deduce this King should be at least on par with an Archdemon. In the eyes of this youth, he probably thought that his daddy would have no problem in slaying that beast alone.

While he was shaking his head Isabella took it upon herself to jump in.

“How dare you speak in such a way to the Dragon Ancestor, apologize immediately!”

“That’s right, apologize to Mr. Leigong!”

After the two had reconciled due to the prince being a sleaze bag, they were quick to work together against him. He wasn’t sure if Beatrice was still angry at the main house about her grandfather but at least she didn’t seem antagonistic towards Isabella anymore.

“Apologize, me?”

The prince was of course taken aback, he probably never had to apologize to anyone besides maybe his parents. While Zhang Dong wanted nothing more than to look at this comedic routine to play itself out he had things to do.

“ENOUGH!”

Zhang Dong’s form expanded into his regular size and lightning energy covered his whole body. When the girls were close by he could exert more of his power without Beatrice passing out.

“We don’t have time for your mortal squabbles, we must depart before the demon scourge causes even more chaos.”

He exerted some of his strength which pushed the people from the prince’s side to their knees. It was a very similar aura attack that cultivators loved to perform to assert their dominance over others. No one here was above the foundation establishment realm in power, even the knights only reached up to about the early stage at most.

“Beatrice, control your spirit, this is going too far!”

This time it wasn’t the moss head but the carrot top instead. From his perspective, this was an obvious attack against someone from the royal family.

“Oh, am I going too far? Why don’t I eat you along with that little prince of yours.”

To scare the duo Zhang Dong’s pupils turned draconic in nature and resembled reptilian eyes while he stared at the two young men. He wouldn’t eat them of course but the people here didn’t know that. To them, he was a scary spirit that could change into a huge dragon if he wanted to.

The two flinched at the notion of being eaten and started inching back while still underneath the pressure of Zhang Dong’s aura.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t eat you, human meat is disgusting.”

It was fun to play around with these kids but he didn’t want to be labeled as some kind of flesh eating monster. He waved his hand and the two girls started floating up into the air. Soon all of them were flying towards the ship where most of the people were already waiting for their departure.

“Mr. Leigong… how do you know how human meat tastes?”

While flying he looked to Beatrice that had a silly smirk on her face. It was clear that she saw through his bluff. Isabella on the other hand was more gullible as she saw him as some kind of god like being that had descended to this very earth.

She also for some reason liked him in his small form, to the point of asking him to allow getting petted. He had noticed that the girl had been looking at him funny from day one and it was apparently due to the love of cute things.

“Why you little…”

He wanted to give her cheeks a good pull but they had already arrived on the flying ship. People were already done loading all the necessary items and they were close to being able to depart. The principal couldn’t leave with them due to her position but the old friendly Vice-Principal was going with them. With him as a guide, they would be able to pass through most of the pesky barriers between the large cities and nations.

“So, do we have any information about any demon sightings?”

“Yes, there has been movement by the demons, they are fleeing as we speak, we must catch up to them!”

The one replying was the Vice-Principal who had his leg healed by now. He looked quite invigorated that he was chosen for this mission. It was clear that he wasn’t a fan of the demons and saw this as a good chance for retaliation.

“Well then, let us depart.”

Zhang Dong looked at the magic academy that he spent a few weeks in. He was glad that he was finally able to move on. With the help of these people, he hoped to reach his goal sooner than before. Hopes of meeting up with his family again grew even higher than before and he was ready to do everything in his power to return.