“Protect Her Majesty!”
Chloe’s gaze instantly shifted from annoyance at the Young Dragon to extreme coldness and killing intent.
The sharp aura belonging to a knight burst forth from her without reservation, and with a flash, she stood between Olga and the group of intruders.
The longsword in her hand traced a sharp, cold arc in the air, its tip pointed straight at the lead mercenary.
“Anyone who dares to take a step closer, dies.”
The mercenaries’ greedy gazes also fixed on Chloe; in their eyes, this half-elf knight was also extremely beautiful and tempting.
It was at this moment that the little thing lying in the pile of treasure stopped chewing.
A muffled sound, as if bones were dislocating, came from within his body, followed by a second, then a third, becoming increasingly dense, like firecrackers exploding in succession beneath his thick skin.
The gold coins, gems, and magic crystals he had swallowed were now turning into the purest fuel, catalyzed by the ancient instincts of the dragon bloodline, triggering a savage and violent growth!
“Roar… ugh…”
A low roar, distorted by intense pain, was squeezed from his throat.
His dark iron-colored scales were stretched upward, revealing newly grown, even tougher and thicker dark red dragon scales beneath.
His spine elongated at a speed visible to the naked eye, his limbs became thick and powerful, and his claws sank deep into the wooden floor, leaving behind deep scratch marks.
The body, originally only the length of a forearm, swelled within a few breaths into a hideous beast with a shoulder height of nearly one meter and a length of over two meters, full of primitive power.
An invisible, terrifying wave instantly exploded outward from the pile of treasure.
The noisy shouts and killing sounds seemed to be abruptly cut off by this pressure from the apex of the ancient food chain.
The lead mercenary stiffened, his hand gripping the giant axe trembling uncontrollably.
[Dragon Might]
It was the absolute fear of the concept of “Dragon” ingrained in biological instinct.
Before he could recover from this deep-seated soul-trembling, a dark iron-colored afterimage whistled toward him.
Without any fancy tricks, the Young Dragon’s mouth, filled with fangs, precisely clamped onto the mercenary’s thick neck, and accompanied by a teeth-grinding sound of bone snapping, blood sprayed onto the gorgeous carpet like a fountain.
“Wha…!”
The two mercenaries beside him had barely uttered half a syllable before the Young Dragon swung his neck, tossing the still-twitching corpse like a ragdoll at them; the massive impact sent all three flying into the corner.
Immediately after, the dragon wings, which had not been fully spread, suddenly opened to the sides, the dark red wing membranes casting a huge shadow under the candlelight.
“ROAR!!!”
A youthful but violent dragon roar exploded inside the narrow bedchamber, the sound wave visibly distorting the air and shaking the crystal chandelier in the room until it teetered.
The Young Dragon’s tail, covered in metal scales, swept out, striking the wall beside the window with tremendous force.
Amidst the loud sound of crumbling bricks, the solid stone wall collapsed as if made of paper, revealing the night sky outside, stained red by the flames of war.
[Hold on tight!]
Although he could not speak, the intention behind that action could not have been clearer.
The Young Dragon had no desire to linger in the fight; he turned, his claws—as if cast from steel—reaching out to grip Chloe’s waist armor and Olga’s belt respectively.
“Th-this, what kind of monstrous strength…”
Chloe exclaimed, feeling her body lighten; before she could even react, she was forcibly lifted off the ground by the Young Dragon.
She subconsciously tried to struggle, only to find the dragon claws were as steady as iron pliers; although they didn’t hurt her, they kept her completely immobilized.
“…Interesting…”
Pale-faced but desperately controlling herself, Olga stabilized her body in mid-air, her long black hair dancing in the strong wind.
She raised her phoenix eyes, staring fixedly at the Young Dragon attempting to defy gravity, a smile tugging at the corners of her bloodless lips.
“It was just born, yet it can actually take off with two people. The power of the dragon race is truly well-deserved.”
The Young Dragon’s wings flapped frantically, whipping up a whirlwind that blew the other mercenaries attempting to rush forward off balance.
Accompanied by heavy wingbeats, the three figures rushed out from the broken hole, plunging directly into the pitch-black night.
Below, the City of Darkness had turned into a sea of flames, with shouts and screams intertwined.
A few archers who had recovered panicked and shot arrows into the air, but under the cover of night and altitude, the arrows fell harmlessly.
Cold wind whistled into her ears, forcing Chloe to squint.
She looked at the rapidly shrinking castle below, her heart filled with shock.
“Your Majesty… we escaped.” The female knight’s voice was somewhat broken in the wind.
She looked up at the Young Dragon, which was flapping his wings with all his might, her eyes complex.
“But this thing… where is it taking us?”
“…No matter where we go, at least we have left that death trap.” Olga closed her eyes tightly, reaching out to grab one of the Young Dragon’s claws, her tone cold and firm.
“As long as I am alive, the City of Darkness will return to my hands sooner or later. Now… let’s see what this little monster is capable of.”