Wild Kratts: Here Be Dragons (Wild Kratts X Monster Hunter)

Chapter 15: The King's Guard

Martin stared up in awe at the magnificent bronze sculpture. It displayed three dragons mid-battle with what could only be described as some kind of draconic cyborg.

The eyes of the dragons were inlaid with jewels and incredibly lifelike, contrasting with the dull golden shine of the metal. One leviathan-like dragon, wielding a spear, swooped down from the bronze storm clouds above while another flew up from below, brandishing a massive sword. A third faced the cyborg head-on, swordstaff raised above its head, ready to strike the cyborg down.

Mizutsune had told him that the cyborg was the infamous Equal Dragon Weapon, an artificial "dragon" that destroyed everything it came across, including habitats, cities, monsters, and even the very humans that created it. Aviva was circling the statue, taking pictures of the bronze. Chris was asking Hellblade questions about the statue.

"When was this made?"

"If my memory serves me right, around six thousand years after the Great Dragon War."

"Who are the three dragons in the sculpture?"

"The one with the spear is Shantien, the former head of the aerial branch of the military. The one with the sword is Disufiroa. He dwells in a place called World's End, or, as you know it, the southernmost part of Antartica. The one wielding the swordstaff is Fatalis, the very same black dragon who destroyed Schrade." Hellblade said the name of Fatalis with even more reverence than he did the names of the other two.

A group of six tall, blue wyverns with golden crests in formation marched past them. Each one was shouldering a spear and had a sword hanging from their belt.

"Who are those guys?" Martin whispered to Astalos.

"They're the emperor's royal guard," he whispered back.

"What kind of monster are they?"

"They're egyurasu, or guardian snake wyverns."

The unit stopped and split up, positioning themselves around the city square. Each stayed perfectly still, but their eyes darted around, alert and ready for any threat that may come.

"The king's guard are some of the most highly trained warriors in the kingdom," said Mizutsune. "Every month a small detachment are sent here to help guard the city."

"Isn't the emperor an elder dragon?" Aviva walked back over to Mizutsune.

"Yes, but there are dragons more powerful than he is. And not all the guards are egyurasu."

Aviva looked back up at the bronze statue in the middle of the town square. "I almost forgot to ask; how was that made?"

"It was made in pieces, then brought here and welded together. A statue like this would have been extremely difficult to cast completely in one go." Soulseer adjusted his eyepatch slightly.

Jimmy was still munching on some candied fruit Astalos had bought him. "Hey Astalos, what's the fruit that they use for this anyway?" He held up the stick of fruit he was eating.

"It's nulberries."