“Protect Her Majesty!”
Chloe’s gaze instantly shifted from annoyance at the hatchling to extreme coldness and killing intent.
The sharp aura of a knight exploded from her without reservation.
In a flash, she stood between Olga and the group of invaders.
The longsword in her hand drew a chilling arc in the air, its tip pointing directly at the lead mercenary.
“Step any closer and you die.”
The mercenaries’ greedy eyes also fell upon Chloe.
To them, this Half-Elf knight was also exceptionally beautiful and alluring.
It was at this moment that the small thing lying in the pile of treasure stopped chewing.
A dull sound, like bones shifting out of place, came from within its body, followed by a second and a third, growing more frequent like firecrackers exploding under a thick hide.
The gold coins, gems, and mana crystals it had swallowed now turned into the purest fuel, triggering a savage and violent growth spurt catalyzed by the ancient instincts of the dragon bloodline!
“Roar… ugh…”
A low growl distorted by intense pain escaped its throat.
Dark iron-colored scales were pushed upward, revealing newly grown, stronger, and thicker dark-red dragon scales underneath.
Its spine lengthened at a visible rate, its limbs became thick and powerful, and its claws sank deep into the wooden floor, leaving profound gouges.
Its body, which had been only as long as a forearm, swelled within a few breaths into a hideous beast nearly a meter tall at the shoulder and over two meters long, radiating a sense of primal power.
An invisible wave of terror instantly exploded outward from the pile of treasure.
The originally noisy shouts of battle were abruptly cut off by this pressure from the top of the primordial food chain.
The lead mercenary froze, his hand holding the giant axe trembling uncontrollably.
[Dragon Fear]
It was the absolute fear of the concept of a ‘Dragon’ embedded in biological instinct.
Before he could recover from this shuddering of the soul, a dark iron-colored afterimage came whistling toward him.
Without any fancy techniques, the hatchling’s fang-filled maw accurately clamped onto the mercenary’s thick neck.
With the sickening sound of breaking bone, blood sprayed like a fountain onto the ornate carpet.
“Wha—!”
The two mercenaries beside him had barely uttered half a syllable before the hatchling swung its neck, tossing the twitching corpse in its mouth toward them like a rag doll.
The massive impact sent all three crashing into the corner of the room.
Then, the dragon wings that had not yet fully unfurled snapped open to the sides, their dark red membranes casting a massive shadow under the candlelight.
“ROAR————!!!”
A juvenile yet tyrannical dragon roar exploded within the narrow bedchamber.
The sound waves visibly distorted the air, shaking the crystal chandelier until it was on the verge of falling.
The hatchling’s tail, covered in metallic scales, swept out with the force of a thousand pounds, slamming heavily into the wall by the window.
Amidst the roar of crumbling masonry, the solid stone wall collapsed like paper, revealing the night sky outside, stained red by the fires of war.
[Hold on!]
Though it could not speak, the intention of its movement was unmistakable.
The hatchling did not linger for the fight.
It turned and thrust out its claws, which clamped onto Chloe’s waist armor and Olga’s belt like forged steel.
“Wha—what kind of monstrous strength is this…”
Chloe cried out in surprise, feeling her body become weightless.
Before she could react, she was forcibly lifted off the ground by the hatchling.
She instinctively tried to struggle, but found the dragon claws as steady as iron pincers.
Though they didn’t hurt her, they left her unable to move.
“…Interesting…”
Olga, pale but exerting great self-control, steadied herself in mid-air, her long black hair dancing wildly in the gale.
Her phoenix eyes looked up, staring fixedly at the hatchling that was attempting to challenge gravity.
A smile tugged at her bloodless lips.
“To be able to take flight carrying two people so soon after birth… the power of the Dragon Race truly lives up to its reputation.”
The hatchling’s wings beat frantically against the air, kicking up a whirlwind that sent the other mercenaries trying to charge forward stumbling.
With the heavy sound of flapping wings, three figures burst out from the hole and vanished into the pitch-black night.
Below, the Black City had become a sea of fire, with shouts of slaughter and screams of agony intertwined.
A few archers who had regained their senses frantically fired arrows into the sky, but under the cover of night and height, the arrows fell back down powerlessly.
Cold wind howled into her ears, forcing Chloe to squint as she watched the castle rapidly shrink below.
Her heart was filled with shock.
“Your Majesty… we’ve escaped.” The knight’s voice was somewhat broken in the wind.
She looked up at the hatchling flapping its wings with all its might, her gaze complex.
“But this thing… where is it taking us?”
“…No matter where, at least we’ve left that death trap.” Olga kept her eyes shut tight, her hand gripping one of the hatchling’s talons.
Her tone was cold and resolute.
“As long as I live, the Black City will return to my hands sooner or later. For now… let’s see what this little monster is capable of.”