Westminster Bank

If the Gale Dragon had hesitated to enter because of the Dragon Spear before, what was causing its agitation now?

’Is it still the Dragon Spear? But the aura on it has already dissipated after Isabella absorbed it.’

That left only one possibility... The two Silver Dragon Guides glanced at each other, seeing the profound shock in the other’s eyes.

’This... This is impossible, right?’

’If that’s true, doesn’t it mean the fire burning in the square right now is pure Dragon Flame?’

They exchanged another look, debating whether they should use the flames still lingering on the corpses to conduct an experiment.

Just then, Lucy came over. She cast a spell with her hand, and a vine shot up rapidly from the square.

She tore off the vine, dipped it into the Dragon Flame on a corpse, and hurled it toward the pack of Dragons led by the Gale Dragon outside the square.

The pack of Dragons immediately scattered. The Gale Dragon instinctively flapped its wings and took two steps back, its massive body making the ground tremble.

Some of the Trial Takers were confused, thinking the Gale Dragon was preparing for another wave of attacks. But the two Silver Dragon Guides who saw this simply kept repeating:

"A hundred years... Could it be..."

’This gauntlet is more than any human can handle. If it weren’t for the Status Suppression from my Little Flame Demon and my rank as a Dragon Knight, I’d probably be dead by now.’

’They still haven’t noticed that I’m completely out of Spiritual Power. I need to stand here a little longer, drink some blood, and recover... The blood of these Dragon Devourer Cultists isn’t pure enough. I wonder if I can manage to subtly shift over to the Dragon Descendant corpses.’

As Baron was grumbling to himself, he suddenly saw Isabella pick up her spear and push herself to her feet. "Just as I thought," she said. "Everything that happened... it was all your doing."

Baron replied, "My doing? Miss Isabella, I must correct you. That’s called ’helping.’"

"What I hate most in this world... is being deceived."

Isabella pulled out a vial of Dragon Blood, drinking it right in front of Baron. Her face was instantly covered in purple-gray Dragon Scales, and a faint golden light appeared in her pupils.

She tossed another spear to Baron. "Let’s finish the fight we never completed. If you win, I’ll let you go. If you lose..."

She said coldly, "You’re not leaving this place."

Baron looked at the spear before him and smiled wryly. "Is this how Miss Isabella treats the one who saved her life?"

"Not joining in when those guys decided to swarm you was the best repayment you could ask for," Isabella said. "Besides, the Dragon Helmet you gave me was a fake. It dissolved into a puddle of clay under the Dragon Spear Baptism."

[Petra’s Helmet of Cowardice] was tossed over. It was truly just a puddle of clay.

Baron knew why, but he wouldn’t say. He just replied, "You’re injured. It would be a dishonorable victory if I were to win now."

’In reality, I’m out of Spiritual Power.’

"Then we’ll compete using only spear techniques. No Spiritual Power. Come on."

Without another word, Isabella charged.

’Here she comes.’

As Isabella and Baron began to fight, Adam suddenly whispered, "I smell Griffins." His words caught the attention of Dewey and Gold, who were standing nearby.

"It’s the Griffin Knight Order," Gold said.

Under normal circumstances, not even a Griffin would dare to fly over the Dracul Mountain Range, which was swarming with Little Flying Dragons. The only ones who could were the highly trained Griffin Knight Order, which belonged exclusively to the Hestia Family.

Considering that Roy Hestia was still impaled on the Dragon Spear—and most likely dead—it wasn’t hard to guess that the Hestia Family was furious and had directly petitioned for the Griffin Knight Order to come to the Dracul Mountain Range and capture Baron Constantin.

’I have to end this quickly.’

Baron also sensed the threat coming from beyond the rain clouds. He guessed the Law Enforcement Organization was about to arrive, and if he didn’t escape now, it would be too late.

He glanced at the sky. His pursuers were almost here, and with them came a terrifying sense of menace.

"Where is the Dragon Witch?" Isabella asked as she attacked.

"I have no idea."

"Why did you become a Dragon Knight?"

"No comment."

"Where did you learn the ancient tongue?"

"No comment."

"Is that the only phrase you know?" Isabella’s voice was sharp with anger.

But Baron whispered, "If you want to fight, I can spar with you in the training hall later. Right now, they’re coming."

"According to the plan, I’m supposed to be taking you hostage to get away."

Isabella heard him but only said, "I don’t want to lose."

Baron grew desperate. "Are you crazy?! This isn’t what we agreed to!"

The wings of Griffins were already visible among the clouds. Not wanting to be delayed any longer, Baron looked for a chance to escape.

But Isabella’s assault was too ferocious. In the heat of their exchange, Baron couldn’t find an opening to make a run for it.

Isabella said coldly, "How do you know how to use *Dragon-Deficient Spear*?"

"A trade," Baron said decisively. "I’ll give you the complete version, and you let me go. Deal?"

Their spears locked together. Isabella stared intently at Baron for a moment, then said, "Fine."

BOOM!

Thunder rolled through the clouds.

The moment Elder Pence appeared in the sky with the Griffin Knight Order, Isabella flicked Baron’s spear from his hand.

Without a moment’s hesitation, Elder Pence ordered the Griffin Knights to attack Baron using their Promise.

At the same time, several Bronze Tiers on the ground, led by Dewey, made their move and instantly surrounded Baron and Isabella.

Baron glanced at Isabella. As she thrust her spear, he did the unexpected—he stepped onto its tip. With a flick of her weapon, Isabella launched him onto the Dragon Bone where the Dragon Spear was still embedded.

’This isn’t the escape route we agreed on.’

Baron had no time to think. An impossibly large great tachi slashed toward him, its blade a razor-thin line of light, wielded by someone with an equally slender waist.

It was a Battle Nun from the Holy Mechanism.

Baron threw caution to the wind. He wrenched the Dragon Spear free to block the great tachi, leaped off the Dragon Bone, and backhanded Dewey, knocking him unconscious. He then pressed the Dragon Spear against Isabella, taking them both hostage.

He then faced off against Elder Pence and the Patriarchs of the Beowulf and Frank families who had arrived with him.

No, it wasn’t really a standoff. The moment he pulled out the Dragon Spear, everyone froze, completely ignoring the hostages he held.

Those who were unaware of the significance saw nothing unusual. But then the descendants of the Beowulf Family, including their Patriarch, began to mutter, "How is this possible... How is this possible..."

It was only then, hearing these crazed words, that the others finally shook themselves from the daze of the thunderous battle and realized what was happening. The Dragon Knight was holding a vine-wrapped spear—it was the Dragon Spear!

The Dragon Spear, which so many Old Blood geniuses had failed to even budge, had just been pulled free by the Dragon Knight with utter ease!

No wonder these great figures of the Inner Side had lost their composure so completely.

Just then, the voices of the two Silver Dragon Guides rang out. "Pulling out the Dragon Spear without any resistance... No wonder the Dragon Gate couldn’t stop him... No wonder the Thunder Wolf Dragon Group suddenly migrated... No wonder the second-generation Gale Dragon is acting this way... So that’s why... That’s why..."

The two Silver Dragon Guides looked from Baron and his Dragon Spear to the Gale Dragon in the distance, which was now clearly terrified of him. They declared, "An Ancient Dragon! The Dragon Knight Baron Constantin is contracted to a Pure-blood Ancient Dragon!"

"Only the aura of an Ancient Dragon could make a second-generation Gale Dragon react this way!"

As soon as the words were spoken, the crowd of onlooking Trial Takers fell silent for a heartbeat, then erupted into an uproar.

But one shock came right after another.

Before the crowd could even recover from the astonishment—that Baron, a mere Lawbreaker, was contracted to a Pure-blood Ancient Dragon and had pulled out the spear no Beowulf could wield for generations—

A torrential downpour began to fall as the rain clouds from the southeast came to a halt directly overhead.

The flames in the square were all extinguished by the rain.

The two Silver Dragon Guides watched as even the Dragon Flame was doused, their eyes wide with disbelief.

A vast draconic roar, seemingly from the dawn of time, echoed from behind the clouds. The immense sound shattered the water-still air, sending ripples through it like a stormy sea.

BOOM!!!

A brilliant thunderbolt split the sky, and for an instant, a colossal shadow flickered across the square.

Every human and Dragon alike looked up, their gazes fixed on the sky, their breath catching in their throats.

There, a colossal, maimed Dragon with wings that blotted out the sun hid amongst the raging clouds. It needed not flap its wings, for the gales themselves held it aloft. It needed not roar, for the thunder announced its arrival.

That was... a Flying Dragon!

And not just any, but the legendary...

"A Pure-blood Ancient Dragon... the one that never stops flying... Wax Dragon Bad!"

The two Silver Dragon Guides muttered:

"No wonder... No wonder... The so-called early Dragon Calamity... It was all because of it!"