A Dragon against the Whole World

"Warriors of Lothern! Follow me—fight to the death!!!"

King O’Brien drew the Royal Sword ’Dawn’ passed down from the ancestors of the Saint King, its blade pointed straight ahead.

The remaining Royal Forbidden Guard, along with all the soldiers still willing to follow their king, let out deafening roars, charging ahead like moths to a flame, following their monarch without hesitation.

The battle instantly entered its most brutal and heated phase.

Relying on his Legendary Tier’s formidable strength and his determined resolve to die, O’Brien tore through the vast battlefield, each swing of the Dawn King’s Sword bringing a bloody storm, attempting to use his personal valor to delay the kingdom’s downfall.

In the high places of the palace, Alina used magic to ascend, wanting to witness with her own eyes the final battle outside the city that would determine the kingdom’s fate.

However, just as she ascended, a giant shadow suddenly enveloped her.

The Iron Dragon Gordon had returned, hovering before her.

His heart was filled with struggle and contradiction, but ultimately, the emotions that persisted for nearly a century won over the balance of reason; he could not bear to leave alone.

He still clearly remembered the fear and unease in his heart when he was sent as a tribute to the Royal Court as a child.

He had thought that what awaited him would be imprisonment and humiliation. However, what he saw first was the still-young Princess Alina giving him a smile as warm and delighted as the sun.

The anticipated miserable life never came; instead, it was replaced by flowers, food, and the princess’s unreserved kindness and companionship.

For nearly a hundred years, they grew up together.

Alina would confide all her worries in him, whether it be frustration, grievances, or occasional joy and anticipation.

And every time he awoke from slumber, the first sight he saw was always Alina’s smiling figure.

Whoosh!

The Iron Dragon extended his colossal claw, this time not inviting, but with an irrefusable tenderness, gently holding Alina by the waist and placing her on his broad and solid back, taking her to fly higher into the sky.

"Alina, I will say this one last time—when the royal city truly collapses, when the defenses are completely breached, I will flee without hesitation and will not die defending the city."

Gordon’s voice was unusually solemn: "But until then... I’ll stay with you, for the rest of this final time."

The Crystal Princess froze, gazing at the giant dragon’s neck covered in hard scales, her eyes flickering with a complex and inscrutable gleam. Despite the wrinkles etched by time on her face, her natural grace and the serene beauty through trials and storms were more moving than ever.

She gently leaned forward, her hand touching Gordon’s icy scales, suddenly blooming with a smile.

"All right, Gordon."

"If... and I mean if, in this desperate situation, a miracle truly happens for the kingdom, turning defeat into victory."

"Then, once the war is over, and the dust settles, I can become your princess as you wish."

For this Iron Dragon who had accompanied her through nearly her entire life, Alina also harbored deep and complex feelings, but in the past, the responsibilities and boundaries as a human princess always prevented her from facing these feelings that transcended race.

But now, at this moment of life and death, with everything possibly lost...

She chose to face her inner self frankly.

Gordon’s massive body gave an almost imperceptible tremble.

Despite his usually good fortune, deep inside he knew how slim the chances were for any so-called miracle at this moment.

Yet, even so...

Hearing Alina’s promise with his own ears instantly relieved him of the emotions that had been pent up for years.

"It’s a deal."

The Iron Dragon opened his massive mouth, also revealing a smile.

Afterwards, the Iron Dragon flapped his wide wings, carrying the Crystal Princess on his back, cautiously approaching the walls.

Outside the city, it had become a grinder of flesh and blood.

Severed limbs and shattered weapons and armor mixed together, staining the ground a dark red, streams of blood pooling into small blood-filled puddles in the low ground.

King O’Brien at that moment was like a burning meteor.

In the densest part of the enemy lines, he charged with unmatched bravery, each slash of the Dawn King’s Sword bursting with blinding golden sword light. Those facing him were effortlessly cleaved in half, even the ferocious and heavily armored Alchemy Golems being torn asunder, their parts and magic circuits flying everywhere.

Other than attacks of the same Legendary Tier, or a few specialized war weapons designed to combat the Legendary.

Ordinary attacks could not penetrate the Legendary Domain.

O’Brien was a rock on the battlefield, standing firm within the flood of destruction.

Under the leading charge of the king, the Legendary Forbidden Guards also fought fearlessly, countless Lothern warriors bursting with final courage, desperately lunging at the enemy.

For a moment, they withstood the Alliance Army’s fiercest initial onslaught, even forming a brief counterattack in local areas.

O’Brien’s blood-soaked figure became the most dazzling beacon on the battlefield, the final pillar supporting the Lothern defenders, refusing to let them fall.

In the sky, the Iron Dragon Gordon, with Alina on his back, circled beneath the vast Magic Shield enveloping the royal city.