Because it, too, was an Ancient Dragon.
In terms of age, someone like Ten-Step Hall or Juzi Xueli would only be considered eggs among the Ancient Dragon race—barely even lolis—while the giant before them belonged to the kind of immortal old dragons whose brains had already grown stiff from living so long.
It no longer had what you’d call a clan; its bloodline existed only in itself. Wherever it appeared, it would become a disaster for all living or dead things.
They said they’d come for a trip, but now they’d suddenly matched with a true opponent.
“It’s called the Hongshan Dragon. It’s an ancient earth dragon that has lived for thousands of years. There’s basically no way to kill it completely in this world; we can only drive it off,” said Ten-Step Hall, revealing its true identity.
“We’re only here to work on a project, right? There’s no need to fight something like this,” Lianjian was the first to voice retreat.
“We can’t possibly win against this dragon without revealing our true forms,” Yeqi wiped the cold sweat from her forehead, analyzing.
“Let the Human Race Kingdom Army wear it down first, then we attack. That way, we might have a chance to drive it off,” Xueyuedai suggested.
“No, we must launch a forceful attack. Only then can we raise our prestige, making it easier to infiltrate Human Race society,” Qingshamu also suggested.
“There’s no need to risk our lives. Let them fight to exhaustion, then we strike. It won’t be too late,” Yeqi retorted.
Qingshamu fell silent, as no one supported her.
She looked at Feini, as if questioning why she wasn’t speaking up for her.
“……” Feini was speechless, too lazy to try persuading her.
This girl was too impatient, completely lacking any sense of undercover awareness. There was no saving her. Exposure was just a matter of time.
Thinking about sacrificing the small self for the greater good, yet in reality not willing to give up anything at all, not even the Kingdom Knights down below—yet their duty was to protect the country.
Someone like Qingshamu really wasn’t fit to be an undercover agent. Why had the Human Race sent a Hero to go undercover? Could someone this overflowing with sympathy really go undercover?
No way, Feini could already see the future.
But just at that moment, she felt it—a voice echoing in her heart: Banyan Lily 2~ Activate!
Once again, Feini triggered her passive skill. Another time to choose.
Time froze. Above Shijietang Simon’s head, three options popped up.
Option One: Retreat! Tactical retreat! (Smash the Teleportation Bottle.)
Option Two: Start a fire and eat your fill first, then sit back and watch.
Option Three: Seven maggots descend the mountain! Battle rush!
Except for the unreliable first choice, the other two meant either staying at the edge as observers or launching a proactive attack.
Normally, the right move would be to observe—let the Kingdom Army battle Hongshan Dragon first.
After all, the Kingdom Army certainly wouldn’t be able to stop the Hongshan Dragon, but they could drain its stamina, and act as a background to raise the audience’s sense of excitement.
Then, when they came onto the stage as reinforcements from the heavens, it would be glorious and satisfying.
But what did that have to do with me? I’m not the protagonist. Neither the glory nor the fun are mine.
So, why not just go have some fun? My current mindset was just to sow chaos.
After a moment of thought, Feini’s face filled with delight as she chose the third option directly.
“I suggest we take the initiative and attack, driving away the Hongshan Dragon before the Kingdom Army does. That way, our reputation will soar, and our mission to infiltrate the Human Race will become much easier.”
Time flowed again, yet this time, the one who spoke was Feini herself.
“……”
After Feini spoke, even she fell silent, her face calm but her heart utterly shocked, rooted to the spot.
Why was I the one who spoke?
Wasn’t I supposed to control Ten-Step Hall’s lines?
What the hell? Is this a scam?!
“Feini’s right. We are Lost Beasts, not cowardly turtles. We have to do something great, and without battle, there will be no greatness.”
But Ten-Step Hall, having heard Feini’s words, seemed to have received a divine oracle, and finally made up her mind.
Hearing this, everyone knew the captain’s mind was made up, and no one dared voice another opinion.
In the end, it was still Ten-Step Hall’s final say. In fact, only Qingshamu was qualified to argue with her, but this time the two of them were, for once, on the same side. That left no suspense at all.
Feini also wiped her brow, thinking she’d be in trouble.
It seemed this hidden skill didn’t necessarily make Ten-Step Hall speak out, but could also let her voice her own opinions, and Ten-Step Hall would obey unconditionally.
Even when controlling the protagonist from the shadows, logic was required—even if it was only a tiny bit.
Letting herself speak at least needed a smidge of reason.
And while Feini seemed to pick at random, it was absolutely not random.
Our Lost Beast team would win great merit by attacking, and no one would remember Ten-Step Hall—they’d only remember my daughter’s face, and the glory earned would belong to my daughter in the end.
After all, it was because the Knight Commander saw my daughter’s heroic visage that he trusted us to leave—not because of Ten-Step Hall’s threats and nonsense.
Looking at it this way, my hidden skill was really useful—I could manipulate things from the shadows, quietly securing benefits for myself and my daughter, and no one would ever know.
“Lost Beasts, descend the mountain,” Ten-Step Hall said solemnly.
Brainwashed by Feini, even her personality was getting chuunibyou.
Everyone’s expressions shifted from bewildered to solemn. Once a decision was made, there was no hesitation.
They didn’t even need to pack up camp—just stamped out the campfire and, seven people strong, charged down the mountain to intercept.
Although Feini was a slacker, it was actually more dangerous to stay alone at camp, so she followed the group to the front lines.
Looking down to the plains at the foot of the mountain, the Kingdom Knight Army was also bracing themselves for battle.
Feeling the tremors in the ground and seeing the moving mountain not far away, everyone was drenched in sweat.
This battle was one in which nine out of ten would die—many would never return home.
“Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!”
Suddenly, a series of explosions erupted from ahead. The Hongshan Dragon stopped moving.
It let out a heavy, mournful dragon’s cry, and several kilometers in front of the Kingdom Army it began rampaging, as if fighting something unseen.
“What’s going on?”
“The Hongshan Dragon has stopped!”
“Someone’s fighting it!”
The Jingyan Bianfang Jiangjun at the front was full of confusion, suddenly recalling something. He looked toward a nearby hill and saw that the smoke above it had already dispersed.
“It’s the Yongzhe Xiaodui! They’ve attacked! First, second, and third knight regiments, follow me! The rest hold the line!”
The border defense general quickly issued orders, leading a hundred elite knights from the army to support the fight.
When they reached the battleground, they saw that a vast stretch of forest had been flattened.
The Hongshan Dragon was trapped there—its massive body, hundreds of meters long, was terribly unwieldy, and was being harried by several swift and nimble figures.
Looking closely, the ones locked in fierce battle with the Hongshan Dragon were the young adventurers from the mountain top.
“Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff! Huff!”
But the Kingdom Knights couldn’t approach the battlefield, because every time the Hongshan Dragon moved its body, a surge of fierce draconic flame pressure would burst from between its huge scales, sweeping through the area like a shockwave—any ordinary person who approached would be dead or gravely injured.