Chapter 856
Chapter 69: The Erosion King
In the center square of the royal capital, amidst the rubble of broken stones, Robert gasped for breath, spitting out blood.
A dragon’s breath had pierced through his abdomen, acidic liquid tearing at his rotting insides. Even for a high-ranking Extraordinary Being, this was a fatal wound.
Yet, even so, the dragon clan didn’t dare to underestimate the Lionheart king.
A cornered beast fights back.
A large flock of pterodactyls gathered, cutting off Robert’s escape route, but they dared not advance, planning to wait for his blood to drain completely.
No knight would choose such a humiliating way to die.
Clenching his teeth in desperation, Robert strained to get up, ferocity written all over his blood-red eyes.
A lion, even when hunting a rabbit, would exert its full strength. A rabbit backed into a corner might bite, and a dying lion king, even at the cost of its life, would surely retaliate fiercely.
The faint Extraordinary aura didn’t hinder.
Unfortunately, he still couldn’t witness the moment his daughter found happiness. For a moment, Robert felt a haze of confusion.
But as he swallowed this final regret, his face twisted into a fierce resolve, matching that of nineteen years ago.
This time, however, he hadn’t been granted the chance to fight to the death.
Because the next moment, the Griffin swooped in.
Blood-red sword energy sliced through the dragon horde, and crimson flames pierced through, turning them to ash. With that strike, the dragon’s encirclement was shattered, and more Griffin knights rushed in to block all possible threats.
Robert, surprised yet delighted, exclaimed, “Karl? Naz? I knew you guys wouldn’t go down so easily…”
“Old buddy, it’s been a while since I’ve seen you in such a mess,” Karl said.
“Tsk tsk, looks like the old man’s getting old, huh?” Naz added.
Under normal circumstances, Robert would have smashed Naz’s head for that remark, but all he could muster now was a bittersweet smile.
“Ha! First Nidhogg, then Croleyan. With two consecutive defeats, this dragon-slayer really doesn’t deserve his title.”
“Sorry, I might not last much longer…!” Robert spoke as if settling his affairs, but Naz splashed him with a vial of holy water, drenching his beard and hair like a soggy cat.
Forgetting his anger, Robert was astonished to find his wounds slowly healing, life returning to him.
It still wasn’t enough for a full recovery, but a vial of holy water was enough to keep him alive.
“Holy water? And this is the high-quality stuff even the church doesn’t have?!”
Once he felt safe, noticing the distant battle aura, Robert’s expression changed: “Wait, don’t mind me; Charlotte is in greater danger over there.”
To this, Karl simply smiled.
“Don’t worry, Robert. The Ainblard family will never disappoint the royal family.”
——————————
“The royal capital has fallen. What can a wet-behind-the-ears girl do?”
Sitting atop a pile of corpses, the shrewd Croleyan looked down with evident disdain.
Charlotte shot back with a sneer, “So the dragon is proud of defeating an injured king, huh?”
“Haha, sharp tongue, fiery temper. I like girls like you; it makes your screams when I rip off your limbs all the more delightful,” Croleyan licked his lips, a sinister glint in his eyes.
Reluctantly, Charlotte had to admit this arrogance had its backing.
Streets around Croleyan were eroded and collapsed, littered with the horrifying bodies turned to blood and bones—knights and civilians alike.
The city center, supposed to be a safer zone, was likely beyond anyone’s expectation; Robert had been defeated, the barrier broken, and the Seven Heavenly Dragons had stormed in directly.
The ghastly sight of the corpses spoke volumes of their suffering in life.
Suppressing the burning heat in her heart, Charlotte coldly remarked, “A mighty dragon, yet you resort to attacking unarmed mortals. You’re quite the eye-opener.”
“Hold on, don’t get me wrong,” Croleyan waved his hand, chuckling, “I have no interest in squashing these ants.”
“I am the Erosion King, and I possess the dignity of a king. It’s merely my presence here that happened to affect them, otherwise, they wouldn’t even leave a shred behind.”
“Just like you humans wouldn’t intentionally step on ants…”
The cold, dark glint in Croleyan’s eyes targeted Charlotte fiercely, and his smile gradually darkened: “Unless doing so is amusing.”
Croleyan leapt down from the pile of corpses, stretching with lazy grace.
“You know why I maintain this human form?”
“First, it’s because it’s more entertaining to slaughter you in the guise of your kin.”
“Second…”
Croleyan looked at his hands, sneering, “Without scales, claws, or even wings, and with teeth so weak and ugly it makes me want to laugh—that’s the disposition of you humans. The weak deserve to see only this form of mine, not witness the noble dragon’s body.”
“So, entertain me.”
Croleyan excitedly licked his lips as a deep, acidic liquid dripped from them.
“If you can wound me even a little, I’ll send you down to hell in the guise of a noble true dragon.”
“Are you trembling? Is it anger or fear?”
Exhaling sharply, facing the fierce and cruel gaze, Charlotte scoffed, “Neither.”
“I’m excited.”
“To be honest, my biggest dream as a kid was to slay dragons. I must thank you for giving me this chance to show off to my father.”
Croleyan arched an eyebrow: “You probably won’t get that chance.”
“Taking a direct hit from my breath? Not even a king of mortals would survive; even a vigorous blood elf would die without a doubt.”
Charlotte trembled slightly.
Then, raising her voice, she retorted, “You really talk too much.”
“Just like when a Crimson Fire Dragon breathes its last.”
Croleyan lost his smile.
The air became heavy in that moment.
However, far from feeling afraid, Charlotte seized the moment of weakness to launch the battle herself.
With a tremendous boom, flames erupted.
The royal Griffin was not far behind the speed of the Golden-Winged Griffin.
The [Cake] transformed into a cannonball, trailing flames and directly assaulting.
Using that as acceleration, Charlotte delivered a punch, unleashing her full force.
The fiery fist shone brightly, like a shooting star.
A blow infused with primal fire, enough to make any pure-blood giant dragon quail.
Yet when it landed, there was only an explosive shock wave, the ground sinking, while Croleyan stood firmly in place.
With just one hand, he caught the full force of a Sequence 5 attack.
“Not bad speed, but with just this much power…”
Before he could finish his evaluation, the fire fist exploded, engulfing Croleyan in flames.
Charlotte urged the Griffin to flee rapidly, but when the smoke cleared, the green-haired man with dragon scales on his face stood completely unharmed.
He spread his arms wide, exposing terrifying crimson claw marks, laughing loudly, “King of Lionhearts’ daughter, at least you should reach this level! Otherwise, I wouldn’t be satisfied!”
