'I'm certain I couldn't throw away my life for her—not in that single, final, heroic moment everyone romanticizes. If she were in danger and I knew I couldn't save her… I wouldn't be able to stand still and face that fatal blow. Not out of apathy, but because I'm too much of a coward. Maybe that means this isn't love—not the selfless, poetic kind that stories celebrate. But even then, I know this much: if there were any chance, any path left, no matter how impossible, I would fight with everything I have to protect her. And if I could not win, I would run—not to abandon her, but because I believe I could still find a way to bring her back. I would defy fate, bend the very laws of life and death, just for that sliver of a chance.'
'So tell me—does love always have to look like sacrifice? Or can it be the desperate, clawing refusal to let go, the belief that death isn't the end as long as I still draw breath?'
'If a 'true lover' stands in front of the blade… then what am I, if I'm the one who would chase it down after it falls?'
But I kept those thoughts buried deep within me, for voicing them would do nothing but fracture the fragile illusions they held dear. There was no need for such cruelty even if I happened to be a black dragon. I have long since mastered the art of silence, the performance of affection, the graceful dance of words that soothe without truth. I am more than capable of fulfilling their desires—emotional or otherwise—and if fate permits, perhaps in time… the ember I once called love may flicker to life again. Until then, I wear my mask with ease, not out of deceit, but mercy.
"It would seem I have to go my lord"
"You can go but don't forget that you are mine~"
My voice turned dark at the end but she took it with some gust as she responded with giggle.
"Of course~"
---
At this time, at the border of the Seven Nations Alliance, a huge fortress covered by a magic barrier was blocking the surging beast tide.
The overwhelming terror claw beasts and the huge magic bulls were fearlessly ramming the magic shield with their horns, but soon there were soldiers on the wall controlling the magic crystal cannons to blast them into pieces of flesh and blood.
But the magic bulls behind them came up again...
This fortress spreads almost one kilometer, standing here like a red Great Wall, protecting the people of the kingdom behind it.
But at this time, the city guards looked at the monsters below with ugly faces.
Although the beast tide broke out in less than half a day, the consequences were very serious. Many cities in the kingdom were breached by the monsters. Soldiers and spellcasters could still resist, but ordinary people became the food of the monsters.
Behind their fortress are four major cities, and they cannot afford to lose them!
"Sir, we don't have many magic crystals, and the magic stones are consumed very quickly. If this goes on, the barrier will not be able to be defended!" a gray-robed spellcaster hurriedly said.
Magic crystals are the energy source for maintaining magic crystal cannons. Magic stones can be used as consumables to maintain the barrier and restore the magic power of the caster.
The most serious thing is that if they lose the magic barrier, they will have to face the huge beast tide head-on.
The officer guarding the city knew what the consequences would be if he confronted the monster group head-on. He gritted his teeth and looked at the beast tide outside. He knew that there were high-level monsters commanding and pushing inside. Otherwise, ordinary monsters would seek benefits and avoid harm. How could they be so fearless?
---
And just as he expected, in the beast tide in the distance, a huge white wolf surrounded by a pack of wolves was also staring at the city wall.
The Silver Moon Wolf King stared at the fortress in front of him. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he came to human territory, and even forgot the taste of human flesh and blood.
But he knew clearly how powerful humans were. If it were usual, he would not dare to provoke humans like this, because this sudden beast tide would cause losses to humans in a short period of time, but humans would react quickly.
Those top strongmen would quickly lock onto its position and kill him to solve the beast tide crisis.
But now it's different. There is a dragon behind him as a backing. Who dares to kill him?
But the Silver Moon Wolf King continued to lean towards the wolf pack. Its body shape is too iconic.
To put it bluntly, he is afraid of death. So many female wolves in the tribe are not pregnant yet… so many offspring yet to arrive in the world…
But at this time, in the fortress, the city guards had made a decision.
"Has the support not arrived yet?"
"No, the news from the Swift Eagle said that they also encountered a small beast tide, and they can only clean up the beast tide first..." the adjutant whispered.
"Damn it! How could 50,000 elite troops not be able to deal with a small group of beasts!"
The city guard officer said angrily.
He knew that the other party was making an excuse, and he also knew the reason.
Although they were called the Seven Nations Coalition on the surface, there were other intrigues besides the superficial alliance.
After all, there were seven countries, and it was normal to have their own little thoughts. The other party just wanted to use up their own forces and then rush to support them, but they didn't expect the consequences of the loss of this fortress.
"Ricken, I will give you the command here now. I will dispatch some high-level spellcasters and warriors to find the high-level monster in the beast group and kill them!" the city guard officer patted the adjutant on the shoulder and said.
"Sir, I should be the one to kill the beast. The fortress still needs your command!" the adjutant said hurriedly.
"But I am the most powerful warrior in the entire fortress, and you are not!" said the city guard officer.
Then he left here to gather elite warriors and planned to go all out to kill the damn high-level monster.
The adjutant looked at the other side's back and said nothing more. The commander was right. He was the most powerful warrior in the entire fortress. He had to stand up at this time!
---
At the same time, Tuerson was quietly lurking in a forest with two little dragonesses.
The place where they were was still within the scope of the Sunset Place. This was the place where humans appeared most often, which was very suitable for young dragons to choose suitable prey.
At this time, a little pixie appeared on Tuerson's shoulder. The little gal flapped her transparent little wings and said happily, "The human reconnaissance team is less than one kilometer away from here. There is a senior warrior in the team, with a giant axe as the weapon, two intermediate warriors, a shooter, and another with two swift eagles, and finally a spellcaster!"
Most of the residents of the Magic Forest have joined the Black King, but most of these guys are brainless, and other tribes don't stay with them much.
So they could only do some odd jobs, and some even ran away secretly, but the Black King didn't care about these little fairies and pixies. They would die if they ran away. Humans and various monsters were their graves, especially some humans who risked their lives to catch these little creatures.
But the little girl in front of him, named Irene, was different. She took the initiative to contact Tuerson, who looked the most ferocious, and used her magic talent to assist him, so as to gain a chance for her people to survive.
"Then we'll wait a little longer!" Tuerson's huge figure was hiding behind a small tree, which was unpleasant to the eyes.
Since the red dragon blood in his body was stimulated, the secondary development of Tuerson could not be concealed, and the influence of the latest twisted seed was even more outrageous.
He was eight meters tall, and his body leaned forward slightly. He seemed to have degenerated from walking on two feet to walking on all fours. There were also many bone spurs on his body, which looked extremely hideous, but at this time he had basically reached the limit of his bloodline. This kind of dragon man was unprecedented.
And this eight-meter height is as tall as a two-story building in the human world, which is considered a giant beast.
For Emilila beside him, Tuerson was no different from a devil from hell.
Not only is he ugly, but he dares to be mean to them. When she grows up, she must be very pretty. After all, the upper limit of half-dragons is there. The potential of true dragons is far beyond the comparison of mere half-dragons.
And this little pixie, sooner or later she will be eaten. She will be fried and stir-fried like humans. She buzzes around every day. It's so annoying!
Emilia's mind flashed with countless trying find ways to cook the little pixie...
"You two go deal with these high-level humans first. If you can't, you can ask me for help!" Tuerson used his dragon claws to tap the armor on his body. In fact, his scales were strong enough. The red dragon's body was famously strong.
But in order to increase the lethality, he asked the goblins and demi-humans, the blacksmiths of Monster City, to forge a set of dark red armor for him with magic iron. With the blessing of the armor, he was invincible on the battlefield against his own rank, and killing those soldiers was like cutting melons and vegetables.
"Who asked you to save me? Just a human is not the opponent of the Black Dragon Princess!"
True dragons are arrogant. The more Tuerson said this, the angrier she got. She would never ask for help even if she were beaten to death!
"Here they come!" The pixie chanted a spell and cast some kind of invisible magic. Suddenly, Tuerson's huge body disappeared directly on the spot, leaving only Hannah and Emilia behind the bushes.
But before Tuerson hid, he showed a hideous smile and then roared.
"There's something over there!"
"Be careful!"
"Haha, it's two black dragons!" a voice of fear and excitement came from a distance.
"Damn half-dragons!" The two black dragonesses who wanted to launch a sneak attack had no choice but to face the surrounding humans head-on.
Tuerson's voice directly increased the difficulty for them.
---
At this time, black king and Laysa had departed. Laysa secured a cozy seat on the wyvern beneath the Black King.
While the Wyvern King Drogon in the palace had dispatched eight wyverns to follow my commands.
In view of the situation nearby, I directly gathered my air force. These guys can not only serve as combat power, but also inspect the enemy situation. The vision of the wyverns is also extremely amazing.
The deployment of these human armies is laid bare before me, their every move exposed. And with Laysa, my cunning little sexy spy, feeding me intel, I can't fathom how he could possibly lose!
Of course, either I or any of my nearly-legendary dependents could resolve this battle single-handedly—but where would be the fun in that?
These wars aren't for us; they are for the millions under my banner. A grand stage for natural selection to weed out the weak and forge an army of the finest, honed through blood and survival. Before everything inevitably descends into chaos, I will carve out the strongest among them.
And let's not forget the other pressing issue—food.
With their massive void-stomachs, my dependents consume an ungodly amount. Unlike me, who feasts only once a month, they devour relentlessly, their hunger insatiable. Overeating fuels their gluttony, allowing them to gorge themselves until their bodies can hold no more—only to rapidly convert flesh and blood into raw power, then start the cycle all over again. They eat, they grow stronger, and then they eat again.
Now it depends on what the other party does. After all, if they can't even deal with the simple beast tide and my own weakest followers, then they are not qualified to fight head-on with me. I am going to force them out step by step.
---
At this time in the Prison Kingdom, Andre, the commander-in-chief of the Seven Kingdoms Coalition, was staring at the map in a trance.
It had only been a short day!
The beast tide had already attacked the four kingdoms on the border of the Larkana Mountains, causing millions of casualties, especially among ordinary residents.
Andre knew that he couldn't go on any longer.
He had to find a way to fight the black dragon, and all the previous bullshit cannibalization strategies would have to be scrapped.
If this continued, it would not be the black dragon monster that would be cannibalized, but their entire kingdom.
"Pass my order: all the high level guardians of the seven kingdoms will gather to deal with those high-level monsters and drive away the beast tide, and the ordinary army will follow closely to clean up the battlefield. All the elite will gather in Tumon of the Orlis Kingdom. We will have a decisive battle with the black dragon at the Serptah River!" Andre decisively issued the order.
"But the beast tide has not been resolved yet..." said a man in heavy armor next to him.
"This beast tide is just caused by the black dragon controlling several high-level monsters. The other mid-level and low-level monsters were all coerced. Do you really think that monsters are not afraid of death? As long as the high-level monsters are dealt with, the remaining low-level monsters can be driven away by ordinary troops!" Andre looked at the other party with an imposing manner.
Seeing this, the other party did not speak again.
"So the final result of this war still depends on whether we can kill the black dragon. Now I hope everyone can work together. If anyone dares to disobey or say one thing and do another..." Andre looked at the senior officials in the room with sharp eyes.
"Then you'd better pray that I die in battle, otherwise I will let you know what the end is!"
Andre could be said to be the strongest of the seven countries, and his mysterious trump card made everyone fall into silence. No one dared not to believe his words.
Some nobles also put away their own little thoughts. At this time, it was better to share the same hatred and enemies!
"Now, set off to Tumon!" Andre gave the order directly.
Then the soldier next to him, Kashi, went out to convey the order.
Anderson also walked out. He looked at the clouds that were close at hand, and the surrounding sky was full of huge magic airships.
The scene of these magic airships, each more than 100 meters long, gathered together, was quite shocking. On the deck of the airship, there was a neat army making final preparations.
There was also a huge magic airship under Andre's feet. The top leaders of the seven countries had long left the Prison Kingdom and come to the airship troops.
This was built by the seven countries under the leadership of Andre at a great cost of manpower and material resources.
These huge airships were equipped with a large number of 'super-powerful' magic crystal cannons and turrets, and there were many alchemical bombs in the warehouse. There were also many defensive magic runes engraved on the airships, which were enough to form an indestructible magic shield, making this aerial monster both offensive and defensive, which was much more powerful than the Griffin Legion.
And this is why the top leaders of the seven countries were confident in defeating the Wyvern Legion head-on.
The wyverns' sharp teeth, claws, and acid could not break through the defense of the magic airship at all.
However, due to time and resource factors, there were only 156 airships, and each one was extremely precious.
Then the dense airship troops flew toward Tumon...
And all this was seen by a huge wyvern hiding in the clouds in the distance. It was the wyvern king Drogon, and his cold eyes were full of murderous intent.
But then he was ready to leave quietly, and at this time, Andre in the airship in the distance seemed to sense something, and his pale golden eyes looked toward Drogon.
"Huh?"
A golden light flashed in his eyes. "Wyvern? It's so big!"
Then Anderson's body disappeared directly, and Drogon had already felt something was wrong. He flapped his huge wings to leave quickly.
"Wyvern king, since you are here, stay!"
At this time, a huge golden sword appeared above Drogon and slashed toward his neck.
Drogon's huge body was extremely flexible. He dodged the sword with a difficult mid-air somersault and roared at Andre above.
Then he looked at the opponent eagerly. He knew that the enemy in front of him was very powerful, but he was more eager to fight with a powerful enemy!
"Such a big wyvern is so unscrupulous in the sky over our kingdom, just like it's at home, and we didn't even notice it!" At this time, the other people on the airship reacted.
*****
"By now, you've probably heard that India has launched missiles toward Pakistan. I live in India — and while the chances of a full retaliation are low, if one does happen, my city, Jaipur, would likely be a primary target.
So, if you don't hear from me for the next fifteen days, there's a chance I'm either lying in a hospital bed… or I've left this world altogether.
Until then… take care."