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Chapter 102: You Are…!

“Stop!” Leo felt an alarm go off in his heart, unsure of what Roy was planning next. He quickly tightened the reins of Storm, keeping a safe distance.

Charlotte, losing her shooting angle, promptly put her bow down without revealing her intentions but anxiously said, “No way, Leo isn’t stupid! If there are no openings, I can’t guarantee a hit with a single arrow!”

Roy’s archery skills were indeed superior, but with a Sequence 9 power level, his attack just wasn’t enough—hitting him wouldn’t mean anything.

Leo, still haunted by the burning flames, remained cautious of Roy’s tactics and didn’t dare to get too close.

God knows what tricks this guy has up his sleeve! With a higher sequence, his long-range capabilities are stronger; maybe I should just wear him down slowly!

Leo drew his bow again, gathering flames, planning to win with shot density!

“The attack is coming again! What do we do?!” Charlotte started to panic.

But just then, Roy turned around and let out a string of bizarre noises.

“oa;sm kf; dfs .dk&％$25*gfdsdpjpik!”

Charlotte was dumbfounded, and so was Leo.

However, Storm, Leo’s mount, bared its teeth and nearly bulged its eyes out, yelling at Roy.

“You’re cursing again?! (Griffin language)”

“Eat shit, birdbrain! If you can’t hear me, I’ll say it again until you do! (Griffin language)”

“You…”

“You what? Old geezer rambling on and still can’t catch up, huh? My turtle moves faster than you! (Griffin language)!”

Storm was fuming.

Griffins can be insulted in many ways, but never for being slow! Just like men can never be insulted for being fast!

As a proud royal griffin, serving for years in the army, it had never been so humiliated—after all, those who knew Griffin language dared not insult it, and those who dared to insult it were simply not understood.

“Roar!”

Leo never expected his mount would suddenly charge at Roy as if it had been doped up, breaking free from his control!

“Damn it, behave…!”

Leo, being Sequence 6, held onto the reins tightly, using sheer force to halt the royal griffin mid-air.

But Storm was jerked back so hard it stuck out its tongue, dizzy and confused.

“Now’s my chance!”

The Golden-Winged Griffin pulled its wings back and swooped down below Storm with the agility of a swallow.

Charlotte suddenly pulled back her fiery longbow, aiming at the underside of Storm’s wings, a hunter’s excitement curling her lips into a smile.

“Oh no! Quick, dodge…”

The sharp twang of the arrow drowned out Leo’s alarm.

A reverse-flowing flame arrow pierced expertly through the weakest inner side of Storm’s wings!

If I had to compare it, it felt like getting hit on the toe with a sharp rock while running—this griffon emitted a bird-like, pitiful cry, losing balance and crashing down!

Even Leo, being Sequence 6 and having the strength of a thousand men, couldn’t fight against gravity, blindly shooting out a few last arrows as he fell along with Storm into the forest!

The Golden-Winged Griffin let out a victorious roar, celebrating its triumph.

Roy and Charlotte both sighed in relief, exchanging smiles.

“I shot pretty well, didn’t I?” Charlotte puffed her chest up proudly like a little cat, igniting an impulse in Roy to pet her smooth chin.

“Of course! I knew you could do it!” Roy showered her with praise.

Charlotte let out a soft hum, her spirits soaring.

Then, curious, she asked, “But you were impressive too, were you talking to the griffin just now?”

“What did you say to Storm?”

“Uh…” Roy felt awkward about sharing the insults with her.

Charlotte was all excited, her eyes sparkling, “And that powder you threw! You’ve got some tricks up your sleeve!”

As Roy was about to explain, his peripheral vision caught a shadow rushing toward them, and his expression changed drastically.

“Danger!”

Roy quickly pulled Charlotte close, leaping off the back of the Golden-Winged Griffin!

The rushing shadow opened its claws, leaving a deep gash in the griffin’s back.

Roy and Charlotte plummeted straight into the woods, brushing past countless branches, until Roy’s back slammed heavily against a thick tree limb, forcing a muffled grunt from him and sending Charlotte flying away.

Seconds later, bloodied and bruised, Charlotte struggled to get up, fighting through dizziness.

If it weren’t for Roy protecting her, falling from that height would’ve likely broken a few bones…

Wait, where did Roy go?!

She heard something approaching and quickly looked up.

“Are you okay?!” Charlotte blinked, but instead of Roy, it was a grotesque monster covered in gray-black scales standing before her!

The creature loomed right in front of Charlotte, its muscular body was barely concealed by a mass of thick, reptilian scales.

Its eyes were narrow and cold, devoid of warmth, only radiating the cruel desire of a beast.

“Charlotte…”

It gazed at Charlotte like a starving beast spotting a fresh rabbit, a thick, foul-smelling green ooze dripping from its massive maw.

“You are, mine!!!”

Charlotte was still just a girl, and facing such an ugly, terrifying monster startled her greatly.

But the Lionheart Princess wasn’t an ordinary girl.

While an ordinary girl might scream and flee, the Lionheart Princess was different.

“Get lost!”

As the grotesque monster lunged at her, Charlotte felt goosebumps all over and summoned her strength, slapping her claws down toward its head!

With a loud bang that sounded like the earth itself was groaning.

A burst of crimson flames erupted on the dragon-like creature’s face, Charlotte’s powerful blow sent the opponent, who was several times her size, flying into the air, landing hard several seconds later.

“Where on earth did this monster come from?!”

Charlotte spat angrily, turning around only to find Roy standing there with his sword, frozen in shock.

Feeling embarrassed to be seen in such a rough state, Charlotte softened her earlier aggressive posture, transforming from a fierce lioness back into a docile cat.

Worried that Roy might be scared, Charlotte waved her pristine little hands, which had just made the earth shake, and quickly explained, “I-I just got startled! I don’t usually curse!”

“I didn’t say anything,” Roy scratched his head, teasing, “Honestly, that was pretty cool.”

Who wouldn’t love a girl who could explode fireballs?

Charlotte fell silent from the compliment, her face betraying her joyful excitement.

But Roy didn’t have time to appreciate it, instead gazing in surprise at the distance.

The dragon-like monster actually survived Charlotte’s full-power hit? It looks like it’s not some regular dragon spawn?

The dragon-like creature crawled up from the grass, glaring viciously, its scales singed and cracked, revealing familiar outlines to the two.

“Heh, heh heh, Roy Ainbrad, long time no see!” The dragon-like creature stared hard at Roy, seeming to regain a sliver of sanity, grinning with its sharp fangs, laughing in a low, raspy voice with an air of recklessness.

That somewhat familiar voice finally made Roy’s expression change: “You are…?”

“Who was it again?”

The tense air momentarily fell into silence.