88 Everyone, Stand Up
(Combined Version)
In the border territory of the Silver Dragons, smoke filled the air, and the chaos of battle raged on.
Black Sun Dragon King Blay stood shoulder to shoulder with Chaos Dragon King Jagers.
Blay gazed ahead at the three battered women, dragging their exhausted bodies, shielding their queen and princesses.
“I don’t understand. Two maids and a scout, clinging on to protect a dragon king on the brink of falling. What on earth are you thinking?”
Blay looked at Anna and said blandly, “Not long ago, your queen dispersed the Silver Dragon race. You could have easily flown away like a bunch of chickens in a crisis. Sure, you’d be branded as deserters, but hey, at least you’d keep your lives, right?”
Anna’s half-covered face was matted with bl**d, her broken dragon wing swayed, threatening to collapse as she fought to remain upright. But before she’d ever give an inch, she’d rather d*e.
“My life… belongs to Your Majesty, not for you to worry about—cough cough—”
Just speaking loudly made Anna cough up bl**d.
She was utterly powerless to continue fighting.
Right now, if those two dragon kings so much as twitched a finger, it could spell her end.
But so what?
As the head maid of Roswiser, she would never abandon her majesty to save herself.
“Hmph, still talking tough even facing d*ath.”
Jagers said leisurely, brimming with the pride of a victor, “Your queen is running on fumes already, and as for those three little bunnies… Even if we let them go, how long do you think they could survive in this chaos? Sooner or later they’ll—”
“You will not insult the princess!”
Before he could finish, maid Milan gathered her magical power, conjuring a concentrated water ball and hurled it towards Blay and Jagers.
But the two didn’t flinch.
As the magical water ball closed in, they merely opened a spatial array and easily nullified Milan’s attack.
“Just a dying gasp.”
Blay yawned, apparently losing interest.
He turned to Jagers, “You go or I go?”
“I’ll go.”
Blay shrugged and didn’t argue.
You’d think this old buddy of his could outrun anyone in a crisis, but when it came to snagging credit, he was always first in line.
Always trying to get the jump on things.
Jagers slowly stepped forward, making his way toward the flickering candle flames that were the women.
Roswiser was exhausted; her magic was running low. She knelt weakly on the ground, sheltering her three daughters beneath her bloodied dragon wing.
She lowered her head to look at her daughters.
At least… so far, her precious little ones hadn’t been harmed.
A weary smile broke on Roswiser’s face.
“Leon… I’ve protected the girls well…”
Noia clutched Little Light with one arm while tightly holding Moon’s hand with the other.
Both younger sisters were trembling in fear, huddled next to their older sibling.
Returning the gaze of their mother, Noia caught a glimpse of fleeting despair behind that smile.
So… Mom, was that just the calm before despair?
Noia’s pupils quivered slightly.
After pondering briefly, she placed Little Light by Roswiser’s side. “Mom, watch over Little Light for me.”
“Noia… what are you going to do?”
“Do what I can.”
“Noia, don’t! Noia—” Roswiser, nearly drained, couldn’t stop her daughter.
Noia turned to Moon, bit her lip, and after much internal conflict, she said, “Moon, I need your help.”
“Sister…”
Moon, tearing up, held on tightly to Noia’s sleeve, “I’m scared…”
Noia gently cupped her sister’s face in her hands, looking straight into her eyes. “You are that man’s daughter; you can do this.”
Despite her tear-streaked face, a flicker of hesitation crossed Moon’s eyes, but with newfound courage, she nodded firmly, “What does Moon need to do?”
Noia leaned close to her sister’s ear and whispered something.
“Got it?”
“Mhm, Moon understands.”
“Good.”
Noia mimicked their father’s encouragement, ruffling Moon’s hair.
Then she turned and walked toward Anna and the others.
“Your Highness? Please, you need to go back! We’ll hold them off—”
“Milan, your magic element is water, right?” Noia interrupted, ignoring Milan’s attempts to dissuade her.
Milan blinked, but nodded, “Yes, Your Highness.”
Noia turned to Anna and Sherry, “Anna, Sherry, can you still unleash Dragon Flame?”
Sherry glanced at the head maid beside her and shook her head, “Anna can’t, but I can still manage.”
Sherry was also injured, but at least she was somewhat capable of casting Dragon Flame.
But…
“Your Highness, what are you planning?” Sherry asked.
Noia slowly lowered her gaze, staring at her right hand. The mark left from countless practice sessions was faintly burned.
“I won’t just sit here and wait to d*e. I am… his daughter.”
Jagers’s footsteps grew closer.
He raised his hand, beginning to gather energy.
“Hey? You’re seriously sending the kids out as bait? You guys really must be out of tricks.”
Jagers kept mocking, “Don’t be afraid, kiddo. d*ath is just a fleeting moment—no pain in it.”
With his energy gathered, it seemed Jagers was about to strike.
But before that, Milan and Sherry simultaneously unleashed their elemental magic.
The concentrated water ball collided with the blazing Dragon Flame, erupting into a thick fog in an instant.
The fog quickly engulfed a large area around them.
Through the haze, Jagers’ vision was obstructed, and visibility dropped dramatically.
He furrowed his brow, grinding his teeth, and shouted into the fog, “What are you still struggling for?! Isn’t it better to just wait for d*ath?”
Immediately after his words, flashes of lightning and fire lit up nearby.
He remembered that Leon Casmod’s eldest daughter, just the young child who had been shoved forward. A rare awakening of the Thunder Element.
The fire element next to it must belong to that scout who just unleashed Dragon Flame.
“Using the fog for cover to sneak to the side, huh…”
Jagers scoffed, “Childish tricks.”
He took a step and headed toward the direction of the lightning and fire.
“Whether it’s a diversion or a feint, it makes no difference to me.”
Jagers leisurely stated, “I’ll k*ll you one by one and chop off your heads—”
Before he could finish, a sharp blast echoed behind him.
A tiny black figure charged forward and leaped from its spot, the lightning glowing in its hand like a sharp arrow aimed at Jagers’s shoulder.
In an instant, a searing pain shot through Jagers; he stumbled and barely managed to maintain his stance.
The little attacker had prepared for a second lightning strike.
But this time, Jagers wouldn’t let her succeed easily.
At such close range, even with fog concealing her, he accurately caught on to her movements.
“You annoying brat!”
He roared angrily, reaching out and seizing Noia by the neck.
The fog gradually dissipated.
In the open area, Jagers dangled Noia, her feet barely touching the ground.
Noia struggled but it was futile.
She was no match for the dragon king in size or strength.
For some reason, Blay, observing from a distance, had a vague recollection bubble up in his mind.
Jagers had indeed caught the little sneak, but why… did this scene seem so familiar?
“Creating fog with water and fire elements to obscure vision, then using a twin awakening as bait, finally advancing for a sneak attack with lightning.”
Jagers looked at the squirming Noia, “What could a kid possibly know about these strategies?”
“I’m not… a kid…” Noia pounded against Jagers’s arm with her tiny fists, her little tail thrashing behind her.
“Hah, then what are you?”
“I’m… the daughter of Leon Casmod!”
At the mention of his name, Jagers’s mocking grin instantly froze.
A sudden tightening of his grip squeezed Noia’s neck. “Your useless father died long ago, lost inside the spatial rift. It’s been six months, and you still don’t get reality?”
“You won’t talk bad about my dad…”
Jagers tightened his grip even more, yet the little brat still didn’t give up her struggle.
“It must hurt, huh, little one?”
Jagers chuckled, “Just say it, Leon Casmod is dead, and I’ll let you go, or I can give you a quick d*ath, how about that?”
Noia’s heart raced, her breath became labored, and bloodshot veins invaded her eyes.
“Let go of Princess Noia!”
“Don’t move! Or I’ll snap her neck immediately!”
Jagers wasn’t joking.
Crushing this little girl was an effortless task for him as a dragon king.
After his threat, he looked back at Noia,
“Just say it. Your father’s dead. He’s a coward, a weakling who abandoned you and your mother to d*e alone.”
Noia gripped Jagers’s wrist, forcing her mouth open with difficulty,
“My dad… is not dead! Augh!—”
“Say it one more time and I’ll break your neck! You won’t be able to say a single word after that.”
Noia clung tightly to Jagers’s forearm, her dragon pupils glimmering fiercely, filled with a rage and determination far beyond her age.
Scales began to shimmer at the corners of her eyes, her dragon bl**d boiled with fury.
“My dad… is Leon Casmod! He is not dead! He will come back and k*ll every last one of you!”
Jagers gaped in surprise.
Where did this two-year-old dragon get the courage to talk back to a dragon king?!
“Well… fine then, little one. Since you’re not afraid of d*ath—”
Jagers threw her to the ground, then turned and transformed into his giant dragon form.
In an instant, his dragon wings eclipsed the sky, casting a shadow over Noia.
The ominous, terrifying body of the giant dragon loomed before Noia, a size comparison that was just absurd.
Jagers slowly lowered his dragon head, getting right in Noia’s face.
Even just a dragon head was several times larger than Noia’s entire body.
“Not scared you’ve wet your pants, huh, little girl?”
The heavy dragon might felt like a tidal wave crashing down, enveloping Noia in an instant.
Her body shook from fear; her heart nearly stopped.
Yet her resolve… did not waver at all.
Noia gasped for breath, her trembling hands summoned the Thunder Element, then she lifted her head, glaring fiercely at the giant dragon before her.
“……”
Jagers was left speechless.
The daughter of a monster… was a monster herself.
How could she not be afraid?!
How could she still stand here?!
Describing the disparity in power would pale in comparison to the reality.
Yet this little girl… still thought to attack Jagers.
“Well then, come at me.”
The dragon breath brushed Noia’s hair, “Let’s see how your pathetic strength can affect me. I’ll just stand here and let you hit me; what can you do?”
“In the end, won’t you meet the same fate as your dead father?”
“You all are going to d*e!”
“You, your mother, your sisters, your maid, all of you will d*e!”
“Your struggles are in vain, little one!”
The furious cry of a thousand birds interrupted Jagers’s declaration of victory.
The magical shockwave swept through, rustling Noia’s hair, and every memory of moments spent together with her father flashed in her mind.
With a determined gaze and calm expression,
“I told you, do not call me a little girl.”
“I am his daughter; I am the daughter of the Silver Dragon Queen. I will not wait to d*e!”
“So let’s see what you can do, you pathetic weakling! You can’t even leave a scar on me!”
Noia raised her weapon high, aiming it at the giant dragon.
Boom!—
In that moment, the lightning dominated the entire battlefield.
The shrill cry of the weapon resonated through the air, the thunderous elements roared like a waking beast.
And the dragon that had been flaunting its power just a second ago let out a heart-wrenching wail.
“Roar!!!—”
He wanted to escape.
But the Thunder Element paralyzed his body.
All he could do was lie there, helplessly allowing the violent electricity to disintegrate his gigantic dragon form.
A child… how could a child have this kind of power?!
Jagers mustered the strength to open his dragon eyes; in that flash of lightning, it was as though he saw another man standing behind that little girl.
“It’s you… it’s really you?!”
With the explosion of thunder and lightning, the body of the giant dragon was reduced to ashes.
As the light dimmed, Noia stared in disbelief at what lay before her.
The dragon king’s body fell at her feet.
This is…
Suddenly, a warm sensation on her small shoulder.
That familiar hand gently rested on her shoulder.
“Well done, Noia.”
“Now, go back to your mom and sisters.”
“Leave the rest to your father.”
