In a large hall lit by the light of torches hung on the black granite walls of his castle, Blikrot paced impatiently in circles. His mind thrummed with uncertainties, and he hated uncertainties.

You have made many foes...you must stop the execution of dragons, the Soothsayer had said. Stupid bitch. No one could defeat him or his army, that was the blessing of a dragon. Such a blessing could never be reversed, never be proved wrong. Otherwise, how could he explain the continuous victories of his Infernos in every battle that he had waged against other kings who had refused to obey him? How could he explain the smoothness with which thousands of Infernos kept locating and destroying dragons, one after the other? And still, he couldn't be at peace...a nagging worry kept persistently bothering him.

Those whom you have harmed shall help one of your foes, and they will be drawn to the Forest of Falling Leaves. Your foes will have the blessing of its resident dragon as well. Could it be? Could a blessing by a dragon undo another wish granted by it? It was surely impossible...

But a misstep always led to death, and Blikrot left nothing to chance. "Arthur!" Blikrot called one of the Commanders of Infernos. Immediately, one of his attendants rushed into the hall from outside.

"Do you need something, King?" The attendant asked.

"Where's Arthur? He hasn't reported since morning..."

"I'll inform some Infernos that you're looking for him, sir," the attendant said and left the hall.

Blikrot continued his pacing. Arthur had been acting strangely for some time. Yet he couldn't just kill Arthur...he was definitely the most talented Knight he had. Arthur also knew a hell lot about dragons and their lairs...thus, even if Arthur didn't fear him like his other followers and didn't think it necessary to report to him whenever he had the chance, Blikrot couldn't lose him.

"All hail King Blikrot," two Commanders said, while entering the hall. They bowed before Blikrot and then stood straight again. They were dressed like Roman legions, ready for marching into battle. But they were not carrying swords, they only had knives attached to their belts, knives which glowed mysteriously when the light of the torches fell on their blades.

"Where's Arthur, Bakrasur?" Blikrot asked one of the Infernos' commanders.

"I'm afraid he has left his post and your service, my King," the commander named Bakrasur answered.

"Left? What do you mean, left?"

"Left means left. He said your corruption was increasing and I..." The other commander was saying. Blikrot turned towards him, moved his right palm in the air, and this commander was lifted up from the floor and thrown to the wall. "Argh!" The commander whimpered.

"Always address me as 'King' or 'Sir' before conveying anything to me. Specifically when conveying such useless news. You get me, dog?" Blikrot screamed.

"Yy..yes, sir," the commander said with trembling voice. He stood up with some effort.

Blikrot turned towards Bakrasur. "Is this true? Have we lost Arthur?" He demanded.

"I'm afraid so, sir. I think he left before the breaking of the dawn. He had been speaking of leaving for some time, because according to him there was too much corruption, but I can't believe he..." Bakrasur said.

"From now on, you take his position. Command everyone to look for him and kill him. Also, seal off the entire area around the Forest of Falling Leaves. That area is off limits from now on. If anyone tries to go anywhere near that forest, arrest him and bring him to me. Keep an eye out for suspicious groups of people, too. If Infernos find anybody blaspheming in my name anywhere, bring them to me," Blikrot commanded.

"As you wish, sir," the commander said. "There's one good news sir. About a hundred infernos invaded the Witches' Haunt yesterday. All of them were killed, their magic was no match for us."

"But of course. We are invincible. Okay, you may go now," Blikrot said.

"Come on," he beckoned the other commander, and together they left the hall.

Blikrot felt a wee bit better after having taken some action. Maybe he should asked from the Soothsayer what his "foe" would look like, before killing the old hag. That would have made looking for him much easier.

But he had lost Arthur....Blikrot banged a punch on a granite wall in frustration. A crack immediately appeared on the spot. Corruption? What did Arthur know about corruption? King Alfaer's men were much more corrupt...

Blikrot still couldn't forget that night. The night of the celebration. The celebration of Alfaer's righteousness. His hands and legs tied up, his mouth gagged, his eyes forcibly held open...

Yes. Blikrot still remembered the hyaenas, and their ravaging everything he had left....

"Power is everything," Blikrot muttered, and stormed out of the hall, his black cloak floating behind him.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE

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HELLO, DRAGON RAISERS!! I'M GLAD YOU HAVE REACHED CHAPTER TEN OF MY BOOK! THIS SURELY MEANS THAT MY EFFORTS HAVE CAPTURED YOUR ATTENTION AND I CAN'T EXPLAIN HOW HAPPY I AM....

I KNOW THAT YOU'LL STICK AROUND TILL THE END OF SHIVAM AND JOSH'S JOURNEY.

IN THIS CHAPTER, THE NARRATIVE SHIFTS AGAIN, AND WE SEE BLIKROT'S RAGE. AGAIN.

BUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER WE WILL RESUME SHIVAM'S ADVENTURE! REMEMBER THAT MYSTERIOUS VOICE HE DECIDED TO FOLLOW? WELL I WILL REVEAL WHOSE VOICE IT IS IN THE NEXT CHAPTER! SO STAY TUNED!

~~DON'T FORGET TO VOTE. AND PLEASE COMMENT. I NEED TO KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF BLIKROT.~~