Mountain Tolpeak

About three days after Lu and Rena were added to Blake's party. The party was currently going up a mountain that had sheer drops with jagged rocks at the bottom on one side, while on the other side were steep cliff faces. Anyone but a mountain goat would have trouble climbing here, and it was definitely not the best place to drive a horse-drawn cart, but it was the fastest way to Gorz, and that's what Blake wanted.

"Easy now, Nash..." At the reins was Lu with a nervous look on his face as he looked down the bottom of the pass where they were a few hours ago. "Uh..." And quickly fixed his eyes on the path in front of him. "...Blake remind me why we're going through he-AHHHHH!" He screamed when the cart shook to the edge because of a random rock.

Inside the cart, Blake was laying on one of the hammocks while reading a thick leather bounded book. "Hmm? What was that, Lu? I couldn't hear you over your girlish screams." He joked, taking his eyes off the book to see the girls in the kitchen area of the cart working on a small garden on one of the counters. "Hey, girls? How's the harvest going?" Blake asked, forgetting about Lu for the moment.

"Well, we can only grow some herbs and spices for now," Risabeel answered for the girls. "Hmm?" then she noticed the book in Blake's hands. "Excuse my curiosity, Sir Blake, but what is that book you are reading?"

Blake took a moment to get out of the hammock, then held up the book. "Oh, this thing? It's just a Monster Bestiary. I was studying up on anything we might run into later, you know? Just to be safe." He explained, waving the book around in the air.

"Oh, I see then does such a text have insight on what kind of Demon I may be?" Risabeel asked, walking over to Blake's side wanting to get a look at the bestiary maybe this could help her get some information about herself.

"Well...actually, I've been kind of looking in on that, but this bad boy doesn't have any info on Demons," Blake answered, flipping through some of the bestiary's pages without really looking for anything when he looked up from it Risabeel had a solemn look on her face. "Hey, cheer up, I'm sure we'll learn about your past! Especially if we do it together," Blake assured Risabeel, giving her a warm smile that she returned until they both felt a burning gaze on them. "Mari, if you keep that up, you'll set something on fire."

"Then don't get all googly eyed with another girl, cheater!" Mari warned, keeping up her intense glare on Blake and Risabeel causing the two to move away from each other. "HEY!" That is until the cart came to a sudden stop knocking Risabeel into Blake's arms. "What did I just say!"

"Oh, look at that? I should go check on, Lu, bye!" Blake stammered out after letting go of Risabeel and went to the driver's seat. "Hey, thanks for the save, Lu."

"I didn't stop for you. I stopped because of that." Lu pointed over to a tall wall made of stone with metal spikes lining the top, at its center were two large wooden gates above that was a burnt sign reading; Tolpeak. "So, what do we do?"

"Easy, we just knock," Blake answered, jumping off the cart and walked over to the gates without care. "Hmm?" But he only got in five steps before a spear fell right in front of him. "Oh?" Blake just stared at the spear then pulled it out of the ground then he looked up to see a group of guards on top of the wall all armed and ready. "Uh? Did one of you drop this?" He asked, pointing at the spear in hand while the guards gave Blake death stares. "Guess, that's a yes."

"Wait there!" One of the guards ordered then went down, and after a few minutes of waiting the gates opened with two more guards on each side of a huge man wearing a fur coat, under it he had an iron chest plate, brown pants, and boots. His hair was dark brown with streaks of grey here and there with his eyes were hazel.

"Hello! I am Colten, chief of Tolpeak!" The man greeted with a strong voice and bashed a fist to his chest plate. "State who you are and your business here or leave!" Colten demanded, holding a hand up to ready his guards, with each of them aiming at Blake and the cart.

"I am Blake, a blacksmith of Fairmaw, I and my friends wish to pass through your town then move on towards Gorz," Blake answered, standing his ground giving Colten a battle-ready stare.

"Hmm? Then you are welcome here!" Colten declared with a big smile after thinking it over, letting his hand drop to his side, allowing his guards to ease up then he turned around while motioning for Blake to follow. "But I will be taking you to town hall first if you please."

"Sure thing, chief." Blake agreed, waving for Lu to bring the cart into town. "..." Once inside Blake took a look around Tolpeak; most of the buildings were made out of stone, but each had some burn marks to them, and the streets were empty aside from a few guards who had grim looks to them. "Things are looking living around here, huh?" He asked, joking a little so that it wasn't too bad then he looked up seeing a few mountain peaks on either side of town that looked like they were going towards the sun.

"Yes, it is...I'll explain once we're inside the hall..." Colten answered grimly with eyes to the sky as he walked along empty streets in silence.

After a while of walking, they came to a tall three-story building made of stone with some archer towers around it in them were men at the ready with bows, this and the large group of guards around it made the town hall look more like a war fortress. "There's a place to set your cart over there." Colten pointed over to an area where other carts were parked.

"Huh? That's okay. We're just passing thro-." Blake tried, pointing that out but Colten raised a hand to stop him. "Rude, much?" He thought, waiting for Colten to speak.

"It would be rather difficult for you get through the pass at this time believe me," Colten informed Blake in that same grim tone he used earlier then walked to the large doors of town hall pushing them open. "So I would ask you and your friends to stay awhile."

"Fine, whatever you say, chief," Blake went along with Colten feeling a bit suspicious about him and everything else in Tolpeak then Blake turned to Lu who had a look that said he felt the same as Blake. "I know...but just go along with it for now, and I want you and Rena to keep an eye on the cart." He told the Elf then went around to one of the doors of the cart and knocked. "Hey, girls! We're having a pit-stop, so who wants to come with m-!" Before he could finish, the door flew open and Mari latching on to his left arm. "Okay..."

Next came Risabeel with her hood up and looked around. "I would like to accompany you as well, Sir Blake."

"Back off! Clumsy!" Mari warned with venom in her voice striking a deadly blow on Risabeel with her new nickname causing Risabeel to hide under her hood more than usual.

"Mari, be nice." Blake sighed not having the interest to deal with this today or any other day for that matter, especially since they might be staying in Tolpeak for a bit thanks to Colten. "And don't worry, Risabeel, you can come with." He told Risabeel, taking her hand in his free one.

"~Weeeeell~ someone has his hands full, hmm?" Rena hummed out as she flew out of the cart and into Blake's face with a cheeky smile on her face.

"Heh, if I had another arm, I would bring you along too!" Blake joked playfully and winked at Rena which got him the pain of Mari digging her nails into his arm. "Ow! Ow! Ow! I was joking Mari! Dammit!"

"Thanks for that, Mari, but don't worry! I got my Lu!" Rena cheered, flying over to Lu and rubbed her tiny head against his cheek.

"Right, whatever just stay with the cart please," Blake nodded over to Lu.

"Uhm, yea s-sure thing," Lu answered nervously and a little embarrassed as he looked around at all the guards and tried giving Blake a confident smile but failed badly when one of the guards gave him an all too friendly smile. "H-h-hi!"

"Right, not really good around humans you don't know, you'll have to fix that at some point." Blake pointed out as he and the girls left Lu and Rena to deal with the cart and headed for townhall. Once inside they came to the sight of some if not all of the town's people looking like they were taking refuge in the hall. "...That's a little weird?" Blake wondered out loud while looking out for Colten among the people and found him at the foot of some stairs.

They followed the chief up two stories then down a hallway and into an office that had a rack of weapons on one side and a large wall map of the area on the other, in the back was a desk and chair that Colten took.

"So uh mind telling us what's going on in your town, chief?" Blake asked once they entered the office.

"I suppose so since I am keeping you from leaving for the time being." Colten started, combing some of his hair. "My town is currently being terrorized by a Dra-!"

Before Colten could get his words in the door to his office got slammed open showing an old man, who had dark brown eyes and shoulder-length gray hair with a band around his head, dressed in red robes and sandals with a cane to help him walk. "COLTEN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WASTING TIME IN HERE!?!" He yelled, stomping over to Colten's desk then hit him on the head with his cane leaving a cartoonishly large bump behind. "And what about em' youngins over there?" He asked, pointing his cane at Blake and the girls.

"They're travelers heading for Gorz so they'll be st-!" Colten tried to explain only for the old man to hit him again with the cane. "Goddess dammit! Old man stop that!

"Are you daft boy!?! You know very well that this town isn't safe! You should have sent 'em back down the mountain, boy!" The old man lectured Colten swinging his cane around in the air each time nearly hitting Colten with it.

"Well, that's a no-go, elder, we need to get to Gorz as fast as possible, I'm bringing a weapon delivery to the army, kind of...you know? Important?" Blake insisted calmly, raising a hand to get the old man's attention, which only got him a smack on the head with the cane. "Oooooh! You are lucky you're old, or I would hit you so hard right now!" He warned, cracking his knuckles.

"I am sorry about him, Blake, this is elder Dans, he and I are in charge here," Colten explained, motioning to the older man.

"Hmph! Youngins these days! So full of foolishness, you don't know what's in em' mountains!" Elder Dans stated, pointing out a window to one of the many peaks around Tolpeak.

"No, I don't, so could one of you tell us?" Blake asked, getting bored with this and wanted nothing more than to get back on track but what Dans said next got his undivided attention.

"Well! Just to keep you youngins alive, there be a Dragon in em' mountains." Elder Dans warned in a grim voice even shaking in place as he kept pointing at the peaks.

"A Dragon?" Risabeel questioned curiously, Blake had told her about such a beast before but had yet to see one himself.

"Yes, a Dragon! It has been in em' mountains for weeks now! It's a vicious monster that can fly through the air like a bird! It spits fire that can melt stone! With claws sharp enough to rip a man in half! And powerful fangs that can bite through a sword! A terrifying beast that Dragon be!" Dans explained using a deep and dark voice to try and scare Risabeel which didn't work at all since she just had a look of wonder on her face. "Youngins..." He mumbled, looking at Mari who had a bored look on her face like she's heard this a thousand times over and then to Blake who had a big smile on his. "Huh? Why are you smiling boy?"

Outside with Lu and Rena

"Hmm?" Lu was looking up at one of the mountains with a thoughtful look on his face as he was making a few arrows just in case of some action.

"Hey, Lu, what you are 'hmming' about, hmm?" Rena asked on Lu's shoulder as she kicked her feet in the air. "Aww! Now you got me doing it, Hmm?"

"I just got a feeling, hmm?" Lu answered, not knowing how to answer her that well, but he did have one thing to say. "Whatever it is, it's something bad."

"Oh? That sounds like trouble maybe you should tell Blake about it once he's done with whatever that man wanted with him," Rena said, causing the two of them to look at the town hall.

"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR DAMN MIND!?! I SHOULD HAVE YOU TOSSED OUT OFF A CLIFF!" The mad yelling of elder Dans made the guards stand at the ready looking to the skies.

"Lu, what are the chances that he's not talking to Blake?" Rena asked reluctantly, giving Lu a look that told him to lie to her.

"...Very low Rena, very low." Lu answered, shaking his head along with Rena as he quietly started to get ready for a fight making his arrows twice as fast.

Back in Colten's office

"Geez! Old man, mind giving some warning before you explode like that!?"! Blake nagged, covering his ears along with Mari and Risabeel. "All I said was that I would take care of your Dragon problem for you."

"And I am telling you! That it's a fool's errand! You'll be killed in seconds! No! Just one second!" Elder Dans tried, warning Blake but the redhead just blocked him out. "Grrr! Would the two of you talk some sense into your friend!" He yelled at Risabeel and Mari hoping they would do the trick.

"I why should I? My brother can kick a Dragon's butt with his arms tied, old man!" Mari boasted, sticking her tongue out at Dans, showing that she didn't care one bit for the elder.

"Marius, I believe that is a little bit of an exaggeration, but I'm sure that, Sir Blake, could help your town if you gave him the chance, elder Dans," Risabeel added, taking the less aggressive approach.

"You youngins, don't get it, do you? Colten! It's your turn to talk to these fools. I'm done with 'em!" Dans turned to Colten who had been silent for the most part.

"Hmm? Blake we've been trying to get rid of that Dragon for weeks now without luck, I've taken some of the best men in this town with the best weapons to fight that thing, and only a hand full of them come back to live another day, so I hope you understand what that means?" Colten asked, giving Blake a hard stare.

Blake returned the stare with a cocky smile. "It's part of my job as a blacksmith to find the best Ore to make the best items, making something out of a Dragon's Ore would add a lot of frame to my rep, haha!" He laughed selfishly then put on a serious face. "Besides, I can't just sit on my ass while you and your men are out there fighting to protect this town, so I'm just making sure you all come back this time around."

"..." Colten thought on Blake's words, leaning back in his chair to look up at the ceiling. "...Fine, be ready in one hour." Was all he said as he looked up some papers he had on his desk. "Now, leave, I have work to do."

"Sure thing, chief." Blake smiled, leaving the office with Risabeel and Mari.

"You want to see that youngin die out there, Colten?" Elder Dans asked, sending Colten a questioning look.

"Hah! From the way he talks it sounds like he doesn't want us to die instead, Dans, which is why I want him to come along," Colten answered, looking up from his paperwork to smile at Elder Dans. "That boy has more guts than any of us right now."

Back outside

"WHAT!?! ARE YOU CRAZY!?!" Rena screamed to the sky after Blake told her and Lu what they were going to do later before Blake could answer she held out a hand to stop him. "Wait. Don't answer that please, Lu, we could still get back down the mountain, right?"

"Hmm? I don't think that's a good idea, Rena, on our way down that Dragon could attack us, and that would be fatal..." Lu answered, shaking a little at the thought of going back down that rocky path, also causing Rena to do the same. "And I really don't want to go back that way, either."

"Which is exactly why we're going to help these people, ok!" Blake smacked his right fist into his left hand, getting pumped up for the fight to come, while everyone else nodded in agreement.

One hour later at a gate leaving Tolpeak

"Alright! Everyone ready to do this!?!" Colten holding a large spear asked a large group of guards all well equipped with weapons and armor ready to take on anything in their way...standing next to them was Blake's group which was made up by Lu, Rena, Risabeel and Mari who was riding Nash with Blake holding on to Nash's reins. "Are you serious?"

"Mari's as stubborn as I am, so that's a no on her staying in town, plus I don't want to leave her alone anyhow," Blake explained with a smile then held out a hand for Risabeel. "Now, Risabeel, if you please!"

"Yes, Sir Blake!" Risabeel took Blake's hand in her's then closed her eyes and instantly turned into a cyclone of purple mana then into a sword, which Blake now with black horns held over his shoulder and smiled at the shocked face of Colten and his men.

"What kind of blacksmith were you again?" Colten asked, pointing at Risabeel with a perplexed look on his face and question marks on the heads of his men. However, none of them seem to act threateningly towards Blake, given what they were about to do.

"I'm a little bit different is all, chief, now lead the way," Blake answered, patting Colten on his shoulder.

One hour later

The Dragon hunting party had trekked long and hard into the higher areas of the mountain pass, which became more and more dangerous to move through, the drops got higher, and the rocks became harder to hold.

"?!" Leaving Nash with the worst of it being a horse in all of this made even worse by carrying Mari, thankfully they stopped after coming to a clearing.

"We'll stop here for the moment but keep yourselves ready," Colten ordered, stabbing his spear into the rocky ground and sat down on a boulder.

"So, uh, Lu? Have you ever fought a Dragon before?" Blake asked, taking a seat next to Lu, who was looking into some of the caves around them.

"No, but I've heard stories, and they never sound fun even after the Dragon got killed," Lu answered, drawing an arrow on his bow and aimed into one of the caves. "What about you?"

"I wish! But after today we'll be able to tell some stories of our own, haha..." Blake laughed it off, but Lu didn't go along with it. "...Lu? What's up?"

"Shh!" Lu held a finger to his lips as his right ear flicked around a few times, turning his head in response to it. "Something is coming our way!" He warned then stood up, causing Blake to do the same getting Risabeel ready.

"The fun's about to start," Blake declared almost cheering as he stood back to back with Lu. "Hey, chief, get off your ass!" He yelled over to Colten, causing him and everyone else to get on their feet with their eyes looking in each direction and up at the sky. "Ok, Lu, where is it now?"

"..." Lu was silently listing for anything more but... "Tsk! I don't know where it is! I just know it's out there." He answered, unsure of himself as he looked around like everyone else.

"Really? You lost the sound of a Dragon moving!? How hard is that!?!" Blake asked, angrily yelling at Lu while shooting him a glare.

"Well, it's not my fault! A while ago, it sounded like something was echoing from one of the caves!" Lu yelled back glaring at Blake then they each got shocked looks.

"BACK AWAY FROM THE CAVES NOW!" Blake yelled out to everyone, but inside one of the larger caves, he saw a pair of large glowing blue orbs with a row of dagger-like fangs under them. "Shit!"

"GGRAAAH!" Out of the cave came a Dragon roaring to all before it. It had a pair of blue forward facing horns on its head and was covered in bright red scales. The Dragon stood tall on four clawed legs with a long tail that ended in a deadly blue spike, on its back were a pair of massive leathery wings which could take it into the sky at any moment. It also had a line of large light blue spikes running down its head, back, and tail. "GRRRRAAAAH!" It let out a loud, terrifying roar as it lashed out, catching a guard in its jaws and tossed him aside.

Legendary Monster, Dragon: Well known throughout the world as one of the most powerful and rarest of all creatures, Dragons are known for their monstrous psychical, and magical strength, combine that extremely long lives, and you have a beast worth the title of legendary.

They usually have large bulky bodies with many combinations of the numbers of wings, horns, tails and even heads with scales that cover their bodies that can be any color of the rainbow. There are also Dragons who have long snake-like bodies that can fly without wings.

Many of them either guard large amounts of gold and gems or just chose a random place as their territory while other acts as loyal protectors to a kingdom or are mindless destroyers that terrorize the lands for pure fun.

Items made out the Ore of a Dragon are viewed in the highest of tiers due to the simple fact that they were made from Dragon Ore which like the beast it came from is highly considered as powerful and rare, and often sought after by all blacksmith to forge the best of items.

"TO ARMS ALL OF YOU!" Colten commanded his men aiming his spear at the Dragon as it bared its fangs at him. "SPEARS!" He yelled at the guards, and they began throwing their spears at it, but they were all caught between the gaps in its scales.

"GRRRR!" The Dragon growled at them before clawing its way to Colten knocking him away with a bash of its horns then swiped its tail across some of the guards knocking them down.

"Whoa, there, chief!" Blake rushed in to catch Colten before he hit the ground. "Alright, lizard breath bring it!" He taunted the Dragon and was rewarded by it raising one of its claws and slammed it down on him. "Right! One of the most powerful monsters." Blake groaned, having blocked the attack with Risabeel but was pinned down. "Lu! Mind getting this thing off me!"

"Right!" Lu aimed at the Dragon and fired, but the arrows bounced off its hard scales. "Dammit! Rena, I need something heavier!" He yelled, reaching into his quiver to pull out three arrows each with a large silver thorn as arrowheads. "Iron Thorn Shots!" Lu fired all three at once, each hitting a spot along the Dragon's neck digging into its scales, but that caused it to look in Lu's direction as red blood dripped from its wounds. "Crap!"

"Thanks, Lu!" Blake cheered as the Dragon eased up on him, giving him time to charge up Risabeel. "Demon Slash!" He took a swing at the Dragon hitting it perfectly on its side, leaving behind a noticeable gash in its scales but wasn't able to cut into its body. "Dammit! Those scales are something!" Blake thought, rolling out of the way as the Dragon tried hitting him with its tail. "Hah! That's the best you got...?" He started out yelling and slowly went silent when he noticed embers starting up in its mouth before it let out a torrent of fire down on him. "Oh shit! Oh shit! OH, SHIT!" Blake cried, running from the flames before jumping behind a boulder for cover. "Ok, how do I deal with that armor?"

"Then, Sir Blake, perhaps you could pierce through it instead of slashing," Risabeel answered, helping Blake out as he was thinking to himself.

"Thanks! That could work, and I have the perfect way of testing it out, but I need a distraction first...?" Blake was trying to think, but the Dragon's flame stopped suddenly out of nowhere. "Huh? Why did the fire stop?" He asked and peeped out of his hiding place to find the Dragon facing the other way. "What could get a Dragon to turn around?"

"Leave my big brother alone! You big dumb lizard!" Mari yelled, tossing a rock at the Dragon which bounced off its horns then hit it in the center of its head. "Hmph! Take that!"

"GRR!" The Dragon growled with its scales showing a whole new level of red beginning to walk over to them.

"!" Nash was losing his cool as the Dragon was making its way over to them, backing away as best he could with Mari still tossing rocks at the beast.

"Back away from the girl, you beast!" Colten yelled with his spear, ready to be thrown at the Dragon. "ARGH!" But before he could the Dragon kicked him into a boulder with its hind legs knocking him out cold then blew some smoke out of its nose.

"Wow! The chief's even more useless than I thought..." Blake muttered, running up a hill made of rock that was about as tall as the Dragon. "Hey, Lu! I've got a plan, but you need to get its attention again and lead it over here!" He ordered, charging Risabeel up again from another attack.

"Fine! Just make sure it's going to put this thing down!" Lu nodded, shooting more arrows at the Dragon pulling its attention off of Mari and Nash and onto himself. "I better not die." He hoped, jumping out of the way as the Dragon came down on him with a blast of fire while keeping up a steady volley of arrows bringing it to where Blake needed it to be.

"Alright, I'll take it from here, Lu!" Blake cheered, jumping onto the Dragon's back and worked his way up to its shoulders and held Risabeel fully charge with her blade facing downward. "Take this! And bleed!" He drove Risabeel into the Dragon's right shoulder and unleashed a blast of purple mana that tore right through its scales, body and out its chest striking the ground under its feet.

"RAAAAH!" The Dragon roared in pain, thrashing about wildly as a beam of purple mana was tearing through its body

"Whoa! Hey! Take it easy and die already!" Blake screamed when the Dragon tried shaking him off its back, bashing its body against the rocky terrain, breathing fire in all directions and bleeding from its wound.

"GRROOOOH!" After a few more failed attempts, the Dragon went up on its hind legs and slammed its back into a wall with Blake in the middle of it all.

"BLAKE!" Both Lu and Mari cried as the Dragon repeated the action over and over again each time it did rocks fell from the wall with some hitting both it and Blake.

"Ugh! This ride isn't fun anymore!" Blake groaned covered in bruises after the fifth round of smashing. "...is it over?" He asked, looking up to see if another rock was coming his way. "?" He noticed that the entire cliff face was about ready to come crashing down on top of them. "That's going to hurt a lot more!" He pulled Risabeel out of the Dragon and jumped off, turning towards it as he landed. "Here have one more! Demon Slash!" Blake sent the Dragon staggering backward into the wall giving it one last hit to send the cliff face crashing down on top of it burying the Dragon under countless boulders.

"H-H-HE DID IT! HE BEAT THE DRAGON! YEEEEEEAH! HAHAHAHA!" One of the guards cheered punching the air as others joined in his cheers.

"That was smart thinking there, Blake." Lu congratulated Blake by taking Blake's arm in his own.

"Yeah, it was but next time, give the win to Lu will you hehe," Rena said, coming out of Lu's quiver since everything was safe now.

"Sure! If he's willing to get slammed into a wa-argghh!" Blake groaned, letting go of Risabeel to hold his sides, which were all racked with pain only getting worse when Mari jumped into him with a big hug. "Mari! You're not helping right now!"

"You were so awesome back there!" Mari cheered, tightly hugging Blake, putting him in even more pain.

"Yep! You're doing that the next time..." Blake groaned while looking at Lu, who shook his head.

"Sir Blake, we should return to Tolpeak and get you aid." Risabeel insisted, now back in her normal form and was very worried for Blake's health.

"I agree, and maybe a little victory party for you as well?" Colten back on his feet offered with a big smile on his face. "Thanks for your help, blacksmith Blake!" He cheered Blake's name along with his men.

"Heh, no problem, chief, just make it a good one, alright?" Blake forced a smile then realized something turning to the pile of boulders. "Dammit! I forgot to get its Ore! Fuuuuuuuuck!"

"If you want it so badly then, later on, we'll come back and dig it out for you." Colten offered, getting Blake's hopes up but they were all shot back down when the boulders started moving. "What?!"

"EVERYONE GET BACK!" Blake yelled, using the last bit of his strength to push everyone safely out of the way as the Dragon clawed its way out of the rocks, bashed and bloody from having part of a mountain dropped on it. "Why can't you die!"

"GRAAAAH!" The Dragon roared as it locked eyes with Blake and raised an arm to bring down a massive claw. "GROUUH!" luckily for Blake, it missed, and its claw dug into the rocky ground around Blake which was followed by a cracking sound coming from underneath Blake and the Dragon.

"Fuck! This is bad!" Blake thought, feeling like the ground just got lower. "Stop!" Which only got worse when the Dragon tried lifting itself and caused the ground under them to cave in on itself taking the Dragon and Blake down into a black abyss.

To Be Continued