Felts IV naturally remembered Green—more precisely, because of the branch that had been handed over.
He had not ended up as miserable as Green recalled, all thanks to that branch being grafted into the ancestral land’s rock, which meant that for now, he had not yet fallen to the point of burning his own life force.
But he was approaching his limit.
Felts IV did not think that Green’s appearance would change anything. The latter’s potential and superb swordsmanship had been revealed in the royal palace.
But in the face of a dragon, skill and courage could not surmount absolute power.
At this moment, the dragon had exhausted its dragonfire. With its vengeful nature, it no longer waited for its magic to recover, but instead dove straight at Felts IV.
A flute sounded—deep and searing.
Green blew the flute. In the next instant, the diving dragon staggered and crashed to the ground, instantly whipping its head in Green’s direction.
The dragon’s roar, mingled with a surge of powerful magic, tore the surrounding houses apart in an instant. Everything within several hundred meters was flattened by the dragon’s fury.
If Green understood Dragon Language,
He would have heard the dragon’s roar calling out the name “Fulkan.”
The enraged dragon charged at Green at once. Seeing that he had drawn its attention, Green immediately slipped into a collapsed pit a hundred meters deep.
These tunnels twisted in all directions and could help him avoid most of the dragon’s attacks.
There were monsters, true, but those undead of a bygone era could never compare to the mythical might of a dragon.
But most important of all,
There was a tunnel here leading toward Golden Square and the area near Mercury Street.
If Albertco had not lied to him,
Then, after reaching Golden Square, Green would lead the dragon toward the collapsed hollow near Mercury Street.
There, he would await the arrival of a “miracle.”
Boom!
The dragon began to force its way through the underground with brute strength and magic. Glancing back from the tunnel, Green saw the dragon’s crimson eyes fixed on him,
And on the “Dragon-Summoning Flute” he was playing.
Stirred by the flute, memories flickered in the dragon’s mind—another dragon, a human, and that person’s mocking words.
“Zug, how did your parents die?”
“So those two ancient dragons were your parents? I thought they were just speed bumps.”
The dragon roared again. This time, the surging magic completely shredded the tunnel a hundred meters behind Green, causing the ground to collapse.
Green could even sense the meaning of the dragon’s roar through its magic.
A dragon with reason could communicate with other creatures using magic.
“Fulkan!!! I will have your blood as payment for blood!!”
Green’s body was instantly lacerated with deep wounds by the magic. Had he not reacted swiftly to dodge, his legs might have been snapped clean by the roar even from a hundred meters away!
“Wait, isn’t this supposed to be a tool for calming dragons?! I was prepared for trouble, but why does it see me like I’m its mortal enemy?!”
In utter disarray, Green darted frantically through the tunnels, the dragon mindlessly chasing after him, punctuating its rage with blasts of dragonfire.
Felts IV watched as the dragon pursued Green farther and farther away, the sounds of the dragon’s roar and collapsing houses echoing ever on. The exhaustion in his eyes was gradually replaced by a hint of admiration.
He turned around to see that the palace’s rear wall had collapsed at some unknown point. His once-proud royal guards now mostly lay slumped and powerless.
If Green had not lured the dragon away, he would have had no choice but to burn his own life to try to stop the dragon.
He could not sit by and watch the dragon slaughter his guards and knights, for if that happened, the scheming nobles surrounding them would no longer behave themselves.
By then, even if he survived, the Kingdom of Rand would be plunged into chaos and fragmentation.
No matter what reason brought Green here,
He had truly rendered him an enormous service, and at the risk of his own life.
It was no exaggeration to say that Green had saved that last unburned remnant of Felts IV’s life—or, at the very least, the guards and knights who stood as the Royal Property’s martial safeguard.
Law and proclamation alone could not hold together this turbulent Kingdom of Rand.
Felts IV gazed at the distant thunder of crumbling buildings.
He felt gratitude toward Green, though his face remained as resolute as ever, like his title—the “Rock.”
He acknowledged Green’s actions and courage.
Meanwhile, as Green fled in sorry disarray—still a good distance from Golden Square—a familiar task completion message from Dolores sounded in his ear.
[Dolores Favorability Task: (Familiar)]
Task Requirement: Fulfill the wager with Felts IV, accomplish a deed recognized by him (1/1)
“Completed”
“Next Stage [Trust] Favorability Requirement: 70”
Western District of the Capital, Obsidian Street.
The raging flames had reached this area, and monsters emerged from the collapsed hollows, pouring onto the street.
Shattered armor, half-rotted corpses, bizarre clockwork constructs—they were like the dead of different ages, buried together in a grand tomb, their forms diverse, their decay and mutilation extreme.
But one small mercy remained: these creations and undead from different eras and lands mostly fought each other.
This gave most of the city’s residents a chance to seize the moment and escape.
Two figures moved swiftly through the street.
Dolores was following her maid’s lead, heading toward the nearest barracks. According to the maid, that was where armor and supplies could be found—items that only the royal family could unlock.
“This way, citizens!”
Suddenly, someone called out to Dolores. Turning, she saw several guards in leather armor—only their chests were protected by full plate.
They stood at a shopfront, blood trailing from the doorway. Through the cloth curtain, wounded men could be seen within.
The guard clearly took Dolores for some noble’s daughter accompanied by her maid. The maid tugged Dolores in the guards’ direction.
The maid whispered in Dolores’s ear:
“There’s a powerful automaton up ahead. Let’s take shelter here first.”
After Dolores entered, the guard who had called them over introduced himself, then explained their escape route.
“My name is Integrer. Right now, monsters from underground are swarming the royal city’s streets. You can join my comrades on the balcony and rooftops to cross into a safer district, far from the collapse.”
As he finished, Integrer glanced at the well-dressed and spotless Dolores. At his feet, a one-armed guard sat slumped against the wall, blood streaming from his stump, wrapped in a brown cloth strip.
“I might need your help to carry the wounded over. It could stain your skirts, but I beg you—please, help us. He lost his arm trying to save others…”
“I still have to search for more survivors. Many remain out there in the streets.”
When Integrer finished, Dolores suddenly revealed her identity and told them her destination.
Integrer looked at Dolores in surprise, but when he heard she was headed to the barracks to unlock the Royal Property, his demeanor changed in an instant.
Yet he still hesitated, glancing at his maimed comrade. The latter nodded and said:
“Take Her Highness the Princess, Integrer. Don’t worry about us.”
“Protect our kind Princess. Who would have thought the royal family would remember us at such a time, and Her Highness herself would come all this way for such a cause… cough, cough…”
The wounded comrade urged Integrer on, pushing himself up against the wall. “I’m fine. At the very least, I can get these citizens across the street.”
Integrer had no reason to refuse any longer.
The barracks and the refuge lay on different paths. He offered a clumsy salute to Dolores and said,
“Your Highness, thank you for your kindness.”
“Allow me to guide you from here on.”