349 Chapter 349: King of the Dragons

I closed my eyes, even as I prepared to cast one last spell in defiance of the dragons that surrounded us. Draco manifested behind me, getting ready to fire his Thuban and nuke the whole mountain area. Even if I failed to kill all the dragons in here, I would at least take down a good number of them. A quarter, if I was lucky.

Rather than get killed by the dragons, I would much rather nuke myself with my own stragetic-scale spell.

"Sorry, Anastasia," I told her quietly. She stepped forward and held my uninjured left hand, despite still having poison magic wreathing her hands. Like me, she was readying herself for one final display of defiance. Even if she died here, she would at the very least turn the entire place here into a toxic wasteland. The soil around her was dying, the plants wilting from the sheer amount of toxins being pumped into the place. Even the dragons had to keep their distance.

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault." She gave my hand a quick squeeze. "In fact, I'm honored to make my last stand with you. I couldn't have hoped for a better partner."

"…thanks." I took a deep breath as I glanced at the dragons. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but how did you get here? I thought you would have left with the others long ago. The students from Lie Huo Academy…are they safe?"

"Yeah, thanks to you. You risked your life to rescue them, so it's only natural that I stay behind to look for you. The Silver Wolves have mostly moved out after recovering the majority of the lost students, but I convinced Captain Brent to allow me to stay behind to look for you. He gave me a week, and I was pretty close to leaving. Fortunately, I saw your battle with the Frost Dragon from afar, and I recognized your black dragon Constellation spirit, and Green Dragon."

"Ha ha, yeah. They are pretty large…"

I nodded, feeling touched. Against all odds, and against the wishes of her superiors, Anastasia had remained behind to help me. I wasn't even sure I would have done the same for her, if I was to be honest. I mean, I would have remained behind for a couple of days to search for her…but for an entire week? I wouldn't be that optimistic about her chances of survival.

I felt a little ashamed of myself. I really didn't deserve to be her partner. Taking a deep breath, I squeezed her hand and tried to channel the rest of my remaining mana into Draco, who had spread his wings over us protectively, and was somehow immune to poison like I was. Well, all of my Constellation spirits and Celestial Guardians inherited that trait from me. That didn't mean they were overpowered or immortal, of course. It just meant they wouldn't die from poison attacks.

The dragons, of course, weren't polite enough to wait for Draco to finish casting Thuban. They were charging forward too deliver their attacks in close range, to pulverize me. Having witnessed me basically withstand and hold off a direct hit from a Sapphire Dragon's destructive azure beam, they probably didn't want to take any chances. They wanted to crush me under their claws. I bet they were going to use Dragon Claw or Crush Claw attacks.

Reaching for one of my swords with my terribly injured right hand, I tried not to wince as I drew it. Taking abother deep breath, I whispered an incantation.

"Bankai."

Anastasia smacked me across the head, almost sending me sprawling on the ground. The snow was gone, having fizzled to steam thanks to her poison, but it still wouldn't be pleasant to roll around on toxic soil. I was glad I managed to recover my balance before I fell flat on the ground.

"Even until to the very end, you're still fooling around! Can't you at least be serious right before we die?"

"No, it's precisely because I'm about to die that I've to make jokes." I shrugged sheepishly. "I don't want to go out all somber and grimdark. I'm going to die while laughing, with a smile on my face. That's the best way to defy the enemy…to show them that they've failed to intimidate me…to completely defeat me."

"Ah…that makes sense." Anastasia nodded before smiling brightly. "Dying with a smile on our faces, huh? Defiant until the very end. I like that."

The dragons, on the other hand, didn't seem pleased. If anything, they were more agitated than before, and the lead one lunged forward to squash us. I tensed, holding up my sword with my injured hand and got ready to cast a second ice barrier. Hydra and Cetus were already rushing forward, with the latter tackling the lead dragon and knocking it onto the ground.

A Sapphire Dragon twisted its head to fire off another devastating beam at Cetus, but Hydra coiled around it and forcibly altered the trajectory of its attack, throwing its aim off. The immense beam went wide, smacking into a mountain and punching a hole through a couple hundred meters of solid rock before dissipating.

Green Dragon then descended upon another Frost Dragon, trampling it under his claws. Trees and vines grew rapidly, entwining themselves around the horde of dragons and temporaily inhibiting them. They would break out of their restraints in seconds, but even so Green Dragon had bought Draco precious time to finish casting his Thuban.

Letting go of my hand, Anastasia stepped forward and unleashed yet another torrent of poison at an approaching Frost Dragon, forcing it to dive to the side and break away from the attack. Even if it could survive and suppress the poison, it still wasn't something that any dragon in its right mind would want to bear the full brunt of.

In the midst of the melee, a sudden roar punctured the din of combat, the deafening sound drowning out all other noises made by the dragons or my Constellation spirits.

"?!"

Everyone stopped, including the dragons. The roar turned into a low rumble, a growl that appeared to be saying something.

The colossal Cocytus Dragon had finally spoken.

Every dragon in the Den, except mine, bowed their heads in supplication. To my absolute surprise, they backed away from both me and Anastasia. They retreated from my Constellation spirits, who were looking just as stunned as I was. To be fair, they were linked to me telepathically, so of course they would share the same emotions.

"What's going on?" Anastasia demanded, dropping her hands and watching the astonishing sight in disbelief.

The Cocytus Dragon loomed before us, approaching us in what appeared to be the draconic equivalent of a stroll. He beheld us arrogantly, derision coloring its white-blue eyes, and then he snorted before jerking his head in the direction toward the north.

The meaning was clear. He was telling us to go.

"What?" Anastasia was still confused. "What is the Cocytus Dragon trying to do?"

"He is telling us to leave the Den of Dragons," I explained, my voice almost a reverent whisper. "He is sparing our lives."

"Huh? Are you serious?!" Anastasia gaped at me in disbelief. "Why?"

"Dragons are monsters with a tremendous amount of pride and honor. The Cocytus Dragon…he is the king of the dragons living in this Den. And he has deemed their united attack on a couple of mere humans as beneath them…a dishonorable, cowardly move. Would you gather an entire gang of people just to crush two ants? He's disgusted by their behavior and what he deems as an overreaction."

"How do you know that?" Anastasia asked skeptically, tilting her head to the side. "You can understand dragon tongue?"

"No, of course not." I scoffed at that. "I read a lot about dragons, especially to conceive and create both Green Dragon and Draco. And also a few of my other Constellation spirits, such as Draco. I had to do quite some research, and from the few material humans gathered on them, they always inevitably talk about how dragons are prideful creatures."

The Cocytus Dragon was staring at us now, as if impatient. I dropped to a knee and bowed my head, as if to express my gratitude or acknowledge its mercy respectfully, and then I turned away. Gesturing to Draco, I mentally cancelled the Thuban spell and instead had him pick us up on his back. Cetus, Hydra and Green Dragon vanished from existence, so as to demonstrate to the dragons that I wouldn't pursue combat with them as long as they didn't provoke us.

Recognizing my move, the Cocytus Dragon grunted, and the whole horde of dragons backed away further. Some of them even moved away, breaking their ring to offer us a path. I gratefully took it, directing Draco toward the newly opened path and flew toward Olympus City.

*

At the city hall in the middle of Olympus City, all of the students had gathered. They were chattering as they hung out within the thick, solid walls of the castle-shaped building, watching the snow outside from behind glass windows.

"I'm pretty sure that girl has been standing there all night," one of the students remarked when he caught sight of a short, petite blond girl standing on the top of the fortress walls of the city, almost as if she was on sentry duty. He couldn't help but drop his jaw in awe. "She hasn't budged a millimeter at all since I saw her there last night."

"Who is that?" Dong Fang Yue Chu asked, tilting his head in puzzlement.

"Who knows?" Lily Liam replied with a shrug. "And who cares?"

"I bet her name is Amelia, and she is waiting for her team captain to return, along with the vice-captain. Unfortunately, she's secretly in love with her team captain for some reason…because the guy happens to be a harem story protagonist."

Everyone stared at Harrison Reed in disbelief.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Pearl Pang demanded, annoyed.

"Never mind…seems like Richard is the only one who read Battle Frenzy." Harrison sighed and shook his head. "Anyway, it's entirely possible that she is waiting for a team member or two who have yet to return."

"But there are only a few minutes before the deadline," Sheila Scarlet murmured as she glanced up at the gigantic holographic bulletin board that was displayed majestically in the middle of the hall. As she noticed, there were less than twenty minutes left. Eighteen minutes and thirty-four seconds at this precise moment.

"Yeah. It's going to be close." Theodore Hammond nodded gravely.

"Who cares about that?" Cody Crosby growled. "We're still waiting on news regarding Richard! Have they not found him yet?"

"I wouldn't worry about Richie if I were you," Craig Carlson cut in, crossing his arms and leaning back lazily. "He won't die so easily. I bet he'll show up anytime now, dramatically appearing right before the deadline."

"It's pretty pointless, though," Bu Fan observed coldly. "Even if Richard makes it back here before the deadline, he has been disqualified. The moment they sent out a rescue team to pick him up from the Den of Dragons, he was considered to be eliminated from the tournament." He shrugged. "But I think it's more important that he gets back alive than remain qualified for the tournament. His life is more important than our chances in progressing."

"That's surprising. I thought you hate Richie." Yue Chu raised an eyebrow.

"I think he's naïve, too kind and too soft-hearted for his own good, but I acknowledge his strength and skills." Bu Fan shrugged. "I don't hate him to the point where I wish him dead. And let's be serious. Without people like him, the world would be a worse place. Just look at the edgelord readers who condemn him for being stupid just because he risks his life to save strangers."

"Those people have no idea how the real world works, until the day comes when they become the ones who need saving," Yue Chu murmured in agreement.

"Besides, I have to deal with arrogant young masters on a daily basis. Richard is nothing compared to those obnoxious assholes."

"…you deal with arrogant young masters on a daily basis? Really?" Lily sounded incredulous.

"All Chinese webnovel protagonists do."

"Then why doesn't Richard have to deal with them?" Craig asked, amused. Bu Fan raised an eyebrow, as if the answer was obvious.

"Because he's not the protagonist. I am."

Before anyone could respond to that outrageous remark, a cry resounded over the students gathered in the city hall.

"Watch out! There's a dragon approaching!"

The staff was breaking into a flurry, with mercenaries and veteran tournament staff running to their positions.

"All defensive arrays activated!"

"Begin casting offensive spells! Rank A attack spells! Otherwise they would be too weak to hurt the dragon!"

"Hurry! The dragon will be here in less than three minutes, if it continues at its current velocity!"

"Identification of dragon species?"

"Unknown!"

"Is it a new species of dragon?"

"How would I know?!"

"Just cast the rank A Solar Flare spells first! We'll bombard it in two minutes!"

"Let's hope it's enough!"

"What's going on?" Theodore wondered as he watched the soldiers and staff running about and taking positions on the wall. Mana surged up and accumulated around the spellcasters, manifesting in esoteric magic circles as they tried to cast their spells as quickly as possible. The white paint on the wall began to blister and blackened from the sheer heat as their spells slowly clamped a grip upon reality.

"A dragon? A dragon is attacking the city?!" Pearl was close to panic.

"Don't worry," Harrison assured her, taking her hand to provide some comfort. "With so many powerful mages here, they should be able to drive away the dragon."

"Wait!" one of the mercenary mages shouted. "There's…there's people riding on the back of the dragon!"

At that moment, one of the Silver Wolves mercenaries rushed out of an office, holding a smartphone in his hand. The crimson of his flushed expression matched his red hair, and he was out of breath. Waving wildly, Redfield jumped toward the top of the wall.

"Halt the attack!" he yelled frantically. "The dragon is a friendly! I repeat, the dragon is a friendly!"

"Huh?!" all the veteran spellcasters turned to gape at him. Redfield waved his smartphone in response.

"That dragon is a summoned Soul Beast! And the passengers on its back are Silver Wolves mercenaries!"

After what seemed like a relatively long pause, the spellcasters began to power down their spells, their magic circles disappearing slowly. As they did so, the dragon swooped down on the wall, and I jumped down from Draco's back, landing in front of an astonished crowd. Seconds later, Anastasia joined me, along with a few Silver Wolves mercenaries who had remained behind in the Den of Dragons until the very last moments to search for any stragglers.

"Hey," I called out to my friends with a wave of my hand. "I'm finally back."