Chapter 63: Elrina Decides to Cooperate

Dragon flames cascaded downward like a waterfall.

Wherever the scorching hot breath swept, whether it was the lizardman warriors attempting to raise their shields for defense, the lizardman nobles hiding beneath their carriages, or the lizardman servants running around in blind panic, all were instantly ignited by the dragon fire.

Their outer clothing was consumed first, and then the scales on their bodies began to melt. Wails, screams, frantic crying, and desperate pleas... None of the expected lingering agony occurred. Because the mountain path was narrow and offered no room to maneuver, Daya simply breathed fire downward while gliding, reducing the entire troop to ashes within seconds, leaving them almost no time to struggle.

She circled back high in the air and looked down at the mountain path once more, only to find that the surface mud and rock had completely melted, with many spots even baked into glass. Charred corpses in various postures stood like blackened statues, making it impossible to tell one from another.

A wave of intense guilt surged into her heart, momentarily overpowering even the boundless, primal fury of the true dragon within her.

I... I killed so many people...

Reyn remained calm as he rode upon the dragon's neck, gazing downward to confirm that no stragglers had escaped, with no intention of comforting Daya.

Empty words of reassurance might make her feel slightly better for a moment, but some things she had to figure out for herself over time. She couldn't remain an innocent and kind little girl forever.

With a heavy heart, Daya flapped her dragon wings and flew back toward the city, suddenly gasping aloud in the air:

"Reyn! Look at that..."

Following the direction of the dragon's head, Reyn saw that the distant, towering city of Dragon Peak was already surrounded by a massive horde of sea roaches.

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Clinging to the city wall, the giant dragon Daya once more extended her graceful, slender neck, opened her jaws, and unleashed a torrent of high-temperature dragon flames, incinerating every single sea roach at the base of the wall.

Blazing torrents!

The morale of the defenders atop the city walls soared, and they burst into enthusiastic cheers once again.

As long as the Daughter of the True Dragon stands on our side, Dragon Peak City will never fear any monster!

Reyn stood silently beside the giant dragon, frowning deeply as he watched the sea roaches retreat like a receding tide.

As the "Enemies of the World," the Otherals certainly would not be stopped by a mere giant dragon.

First of all, Daya's dragon breath required the expenditure of bloodline power. This resource functioned much like a stamina bar; it was gradually depleted during dragon transformation and slowly recovered while resting.

Unleashing dragon breath consumed a vast amount of bloodline power, making it impossible to spew dragon flames without restriction.

Secondly, once the Otherals suffered heavy losses from dragon flames, they would dispatch variants with much higher fire resistance. For instance, the "slime beasts" so utterly despised by players possessed up to 99% resistance against various spells, and upon burning, they released a toxic, nauseating stench—enough to suffocate anyone even if they weren't poisoned to death.

"Have the citizens been evacuated?" He turned and asked Bethalia.

"All evacuated," Bethalia said with a smile. "As soon as they heard it was an order from the Daughter of the True Dragon, they complied without a single objection. Oh my, the power of faith is truly terrifying."

Time was extremely tight; packing up household valuables was out of the question, and the weight of luggage would have slowed down their escape. Therefore, when Reyn commanded an "immediate evacuation" of the entire city in Daya's name, it fundamentally meant ordering them to "abandon all worldly possessions to run for their lives."

That the lizardmen were willing to willingly give up their lifelong accumulations and savings showed just how lofty the prestige of the Daughter of the True Dragon was in their hearts—reaching almost a level of blind superstition.

"What about the nobles?" Elrilna suddenly asked. "Surely they didn't all obediently follow orders."

"And that is the interesting part," Bethalia said with a beaming smile. "The former lord, Diegoer, fled in advance, and the excuse he used wasn't exactly airtight. The slightly smarter nobles almost all followed him and left."

In other words, the nobles who chose to remain in the city were mostly the honest ones without any treacherous schemes.

"Did you calculate beforehand that these city lords and nobles would flee early?" Elrilna pondered for a moment before suddenly asking Reyn. "If we had arrived at Dragon Peak City even a single day earlier, we wouldn't have had such a golden opportunity to precisely isolate these restless lizardman nobles and eliminate them."

"That answer requires a favor in exchange," Reyn said flatly.

"Deal," Elrilna nodded in agreement.

"Why does she get to have you do things for her in exchange for a favor, while I don't?" Bethalia asked with a touch of jealousy, pouting slightly. "May I ask if sleeping with me once can count as a favor?"

"No," Reyn refused outright. "I don't want to suddenly end up with a dark-skinned, half-elven illegitimate child one day."

"I can take contraceptives," Bethalia immediately offered. "I can take the medicine right in front of you."

"No. If it makes you feel too good, it's a no," Reyn sneered.

Elrilna looked at the two of them with utter disgust and said impatiently:

"Answer my question first!"

Humming in mild displeasure, Bethalia dropped the subject, though she concealed her true thoughts behind the mask of petty jealousy.

On the journey from the imperial capital back to the Faeryl family estate, she had intentionally provoked Elrilna with her words, even engaging in a physical brawl with her right in front of Reyn, all to build up a persona of bitter rivalry for his affections.

Because the Queen of Roses knew very well that even if a man didn't particularly care for a certain woman, seeing her fight with another woman over him would inevitably bring a secret thrill of satisfaction.

As long as Reyn's affection rating toward her remained high enough, his corresponding vigilance would drop, creating more opportunities in the future.

As for whether Elrilna understood this, Bethalia suspected that the two of them shared an unspoken understanding. After all, the court education of the ancestral Elven Empire certainly left no room for naivety.

"You asked if I anticipated this in advance, and my answer is: yes," Reyn said, having secured Elrilna's favor. "Regardless of the nation, race, social class, or profession, anyone who has ever fought the Otherals and recognized their terrifying might will naturally harbor thoughts of escape."

"And then you could use that opportunity to wipe them out and consolidate the power of Dragon Peak City into Daya's hands," Elrilna wore an 'I knew it' expression. "What if these nobles hadn't chosen to run away alone, but instead organized the soldiers and citizens of Dragon Peak City to evacuate collectively?"

"That would mean they weren't completely beyond redemption," Reyn replied calmly. "If they are willing to actively help me, naturally I have no reason to exterminate them."

Elrilna asked no further, having already arrived at her own conclusion in her heart.

Reyn's intentions were crystal clear: those who helped him fight the Otherals would live, and those who hindered him would die.

In other words, the reason he was willing to help Daya organize the evacuation of the lizardmen from the jungle peninsula was also because these refugees could help him expand the overall strength of Salt Island's territory, thereby better preparing for the future war against the Otherals.

If she demonstrated an active and cooperative attitude in this regard, then to make her put more effort into fighting the Otherals, he would likely adopt an attitude of encouragement and permission, relaxing his control and guard over her—and even if he only pretended to let down his guard, given enough time, that vigilance would eventually relax for real.

"The Otherals are coming again," Bethalia said suddenly.

"Leave it to me," Elrilna drew her long spear. "Let Daya rest for a moment."

She leaped off the city wall, brilliant, dazzling lightning already crackling in her palm.

The Flower of Thunder and Fury from a millennium ago bloomed once more upon the battlefield.