Chapter 61: I Choose You, Victoria

Facing the furious red dragon, Victoria remained completely unfazed.

A smile even tugged at the corner of her mouth.

It seemed the time had come to reveal her true power.

The very next second, she whirled around and fled.

The sheer speed of her flight and the decisiveness of her choice left the red dragon momentarily stunned.

Gohilbert: "?"

What kind of supreme ruler boasts defiantly, only to make turning around and running away their very first priority?

Are you the Emperor of Escaping...

Although harboring some doubts and unsure of what tactic the enemy was employing, he still resolutely gave chase.

Though his temper had flared, he had not yet been blinded by rage.

The red dragon had noticed that Lynder and the other smaller creature were nowhere to be seen.

This young dragon was likely nothing more than a thrown bait, intended to lure him into a trap.

He reined in his initial rash mindset, keeping a watchful eye on his surroundings even as he pursued the young dragon.

Those strange explosive devices from earlier seemed to have a height restriction, as they had completely vanished once he took to the higher altitudes.

Viewed in this light, this young dragon was most likely attempting to draw him down to a lower altitude.

Yet if she did that, the young dragon herself would remain within the explosion radius; the adversary perhaps possessed some sort of protective fallback measure, a possibility that required vigilance.

Beyond that, the traps laid out on the ground by the absent Lynder and that little creature remained entirely unpredictable.

For now, he would simply play it safe and refrain from casting high-intensity spells.

A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit—he would not afford Lynder another chance to rebound and injure him.

Once he used fireballs to seal off the young dragon's escape routes and his dragon talons had seized her, he would assume complete control of the situation.

Gohilbert sneered.

The enemy wanted to trap him into a protracted brawl within this mountainous terrain, but how could he not equally desire to pin his opponent down to fight in this fixed area?

With no way to avoid it, he naturally had no choice but to engage in a direct, head-on collision.

Having plundered his treasury, they would pay the price!

The red dragon opened his cavernous maw, and one scorching fireball after another erupted from his throat, relentlessly assailing the black young dragon.

***

Victoria also sensed the magical fluctuations rolling in from behind, constantly twisting and turning her form to evade the onslaught at her back.

Yet this very dodging maneuver narrowed the distance between the two dragons.

Victoria inwardly bewailed her plight; had she known, she would have transformed into the Sapphire form, which symbolized agility.

Black was undeniably cool, but coolness could not save one's life.

Nor could she recklessly fly straight ahead without a care in the world; she had to shepherd the red dragon into this advantageous terrain.

As long as she could lure the red dragon toward lower altitudes, the big guy's "great treasures" had long been starved and eagerly awaiting their moment.

Having helped Lynder set everything up, Victoria knew the subsequent interlocking sequence of traps all too well.

Yet this red dragon possessed a vigilance that surpassed the ordinary; the moment she showed any inclination to dive downward, he would linger at high altitude, beating his wings in place while spitting fireballs at her.

This red dragon had grown crafty and refused to use any powerful spells against her.

Damn it, had she been seen through...

A wave of frustration washed over Victoria.

The adversary's strength and foundation were sufficient to let him leisurely waste time with her, but her own super gemstone form possessed a strict time limit.

With no other choice, she decided to first test out her dragon breath in the black gemstone state.

If that failed, she would resort to the ultimate technique Lynder had taught her.

Taking advantage of the breathing room after dodging yet another fireball, Victoria twisted her body, flung open her jaws, and launched a counterattack against the high-flying red dragon.

The black dragon breath exuded an ominous aura, writhing like a twisted venomous snake as it bored toward the red dragon.

Gohilbert did not dare to be careless; this pure aura of death was exceedingly rare even among the black dragons he had previously fought.

This young dragon's bloodline was extraordinary.

His previous judgment had been flawed; the most troublesome entity might not be that Human King Lynder, but rather this unpolished young dragon.

If she were given a few more decades to develop, she might well surpass him.

But for now, little dragon, you are still far too green.

He immediately spread his wings with force, spewing crimson flames from his jaws that collided head-on with the black dragon breath.

Within mere seconds, the black side ran out of momentum and was completely overwhelmed.

Victoria narrowly dodged the surging flames by a hair's breadth; even so, the intense heat inadvertently scorched her wings.

Pain stabbed at her nerves, yet her heart remained entirely devoid of panic.

***

The victorious red dragon felt not the slightest trace of joy bloom within him.

Compared to the strength she had exhibited previously, this young dragon had advanced by leaps and bounds.

If she could grow this much in such a short span of time, and he allowed her to continue developing, the one who would end up injured upon their next encounter would be himself.

He did not fear the arrival of that day; on the contrary, it stirred a deep yearning within him.

A truly strong being must possess a heart that does not cower before strength.

"I cherish the strong; that is the driving force behind my growth, and the meaning of my existence."

"I'll give you one last chance. Call Lynder out."

Gohilbert proclaimed in a booming voice.

"In your dreams! Aside from me, no one—absolutely no dragon—is allowed to bully Lynder!"

Victoria roared back.

"Your opponent is me, and I haven't lost yet!"

She took a deep breath and resolved to deploy that ultimate technique.

"One Hundred Thousand Volts!!!"

Lynder had told her that as long as she shouted out this spell, terrifying thunder would strike down from the heavens and directly reduce the red dragon to a half-dead state—it was a desperate, all-or-nothing trump card.

Seeing the young dragon adopt such a posture, Gohilbert felt a jolt of alarm.

This completely unheard-of spell forced him to brace himself for a rigorous defense.

And the next second, a streak of violet lightning cleaved down from the dark, cloud-heavy sky.

Possessing extremely acute vigilance, the red dragon reacted instantly and nimbly sidestepped the blow.

Then, a beat later, the realization slowly dawned upon him.

"Why is it so pathetically weak?"

Victoria: "..."