Dragonfall

Kang De gazed at the fallen dragon, its blood flowing freely, its mutated, alienated tissue exposed within its blooming flesh, gleaming with an eerie purple light, and rich in a high concentration of mysterious energy.

He said, "Let me try."

"... Try it?" the Dragon Girl exclaimed in horror, "You actually like this kind of thing?"

Kang De was taken aback at first, then glared at her fiercely.

Lily, hands behind her back, snorted and turned her head to the side, "Don't blame me for not warning you, be careful not to get bitten back. Dragons have incredibly strong vitality."

Kang De smiled and said, "Isn't it you and A Xing protecting me?"

"You're only looking to die, how can I protect you? Don't treat me like your free bodyguard."

Lily rolled her eyes, took a step back, and instead of looking at Kang De, stared at the muscles of the dragon's neck and back without saying a word.

Kang De approached cautiously, with A Xing following closely behind. He looked at the dragon's body on the ground, which was still rising and falling, blood flowing. The dragon's life force was disappearing at a visible speed. In a while, even with the support of mysterious energy, it would inevitably die.

He hesitated for a moment, then decided to give it a try.

The corrupted flock of birds in the dense forest was blasted into charred ashes the moment they were seen, leaving no survivors. The nameless monsters that rushed to the ground were extremely ferocious and uncontrollable. Most importantly, neither of these two types of monsters had any intelligence. Considering the risk of transmission, they had never been captured alive before, but now things are different.

He was facing a corrupted intelligent life.

The body was filled with aberrations caused by the infection of mysterious elements. In the Fire Thief's spiritual perception, the corrosive and mutated power was constantly expanding, changing its bodily functions and forcibly maintaining its life. The price was the mutation of its body and the loss of its intelligence.

Before this, although the dragon was still mad and would ask to see the imperial edict at the drop of a hat, it could recognize Kang De's disguise, knew its own identity, and still had a certain level of thinking ability.

When did it completely lose control and become a speechless beast?

It was when grenades were being fired and the purple shield was fully deployed.

That meant the mysterious energy was operating at full power. Although it formed a powerful protection, it also began to erode the dragon's body. It was the full activation of the purple energy that caused the dragon to completely lose control.

Now, Kang De wants to do the opposite.

Before the opponent dies, Extraction and eliminate the mutated tissue growing inside its body.

Absorb that dissipated mysterious energy.

Let's see what happens.

If we can restore the other person's senses... then at least they'll know what happened.

After all, this dragon is an intelligent being, now on its deathbed, powerless to resist, yet not quite dead yet... It's worth taking a slight risk and making such an attempt.

Because of the missing dragon... there was an entire delegation involved.

He reached out and pressed his hand against the dragon's rough skin. The mutation of the mysterious energy made the smooth dragon scales pitted and uneven. Kang De's spiritual power spread, and the Power of the Fire Thief unfolded, searching for the aberration of the mysterious energy.

He found the process to be going smoothly.

When the Power of the Fire Thief is used on living beings, it often evolves into a divine process, much like what the previous female boxer Fire Thief did, which would automatically initiate a process of devouring them alive.

Because living beings are complete beings, indivisible, with a surging, ceaseless flow of life force, it is impossible to pinpoint a specific part... But this time is an exception.

The infection and mutation caused by mysterious elements are foreign invaders.

Moreover, for some reason, it has an extremely high responsiveness to the mental power of the Fire Thief.

The Extraction process was extremely smooth. He could feel the vast mysterious Element being Extraction and absorbed, contained in his palm, extremely docile. To be on the safe side, the Extraction Element were immediately infused out, strengthening the line of ammunition and shells. Kang De was completely focused, carefully carrying out the Extraction work.

It spreads outwards from the abdomen to the surrounding body parts.

"Huh..."

He suddenly exclaimed in surprise.

Lily, who had been staring intently at the dragon's muscles, immediately asked upon hearing this, "What's wrong?"

"Here."

Kang De pointed to the dragon's back. "The area with the highest concentration of alienated energy... should be the origin of the diffusion, that is to say, the earliest mysterious energy invaded there."

The Dragon Girl took a few steps, narrowed her eyes, and said, "... Interesting."

Kang De asked in confusion, "What?"

Lily affirmed, "This place is called the Carver's Demise, a legend of the dragons. This spot is the dragons' weak point, the intersection of Magic Power and blood. A legendary dragon died here from a sneak attack by an artifact. In human form, it's also a vital point on the back, a weakness as well."

"Every dragon has undergone defensive training and has been instructed to pay special attention to the protection of this area, do you understand what I mean? Even if some powerful enemy injects mysterious elements into this dragon's body, it won't happen to be injected into this part. If an enemy wants to touch this area, they can only be defeated and unable to resist, or they can be killed directly."

"And it had no obvious external injuries beforehand."

At this point, the Dragon Girl's expression turned somewhat grim. "Then there's only one possibility..."

Kang De calmly stated, "A sudden sneak attack from a companion, followed by ambush."

Betrayal, huh?

That's normal.

Lily didn't speak; her eyes flickered, clearly finding the guess difficult to accept.

It is still a dragon, after all.

Despite her origins on Dragon Island and her resentment towards conservatives, coupled with a heavy childhood and even aversion to her entire race, she is still, after all, a dragon.

The pride of the dragon, its past glory, its power, its splendor, its history, its customs, its traditions, its records, its stories, its epics and legends—all these things subtly influence her character, her beliefs, and her attitude towards life. This is the power of Civilization.

Therefore, she found the speculation that came to mind unbelievable.

How could dragons betray their comrades and use their own kind as experimental subjects?

Just then, a heavy cough rang out.

The dragon's head, which was hanging on the ground, raised its long neck and spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

A Xing immediately raised his long staff, one hand ready to grab Kang De and throw him several kilometers away at any moment. Horus was also warming up the engine nozzles and using remote signals to command the war platform to prepare to fire. But the dragon seemed to have run out of strength. It struggled to turn its vertical pupils and saw the people around it.

It struggled and growled, "It's you! It's all of you! Lily! You've disappointed us so much, betraying your kind just like your father, going with a human..."

The voice was filled with anger and resentment.

As a new generation of dragons, it knew nothing about what had happened in its early years. Its elders kept it a secret and refused to reveal a single detail. However, the younger generation saw, learned, and inherited the older dragons' disgust, rejection, anger, and even resentment towards Lily.

Kids, after all, have no qualms about bullying.

Even after they grew up, although they still didn't know what the Rebel Dragon had done, they perfectly carried on the banner of the previous generation, consciously defending the honor, dignity, and glory of their race, and were therefore furious at Lily for repeating the same mistakes.

The Dragon Girl's expression remained calm and composed, just as she always was, her demeanor indifferent and aloof.

She initially felt wronged by this unwarranted discrimination, anger, and even resentment, then confused, then bewildered, then angry, and finally became accustomed to it. She protected herself with an unchanging expression so that the young dragons who bullied her could not enjoy their bullying. She protected herself with the ability to read eyes in order to judge the attitudes and feelings of the adult dragons she encountered towards her.

Then hone your skills and build strength.

To truly protect yourself, and then seek the truth.

That's how she's lived all these years.

Now, facing the long-dormant anger and rage, she was quite calm. Looking at the other person, she said softly, "Aocheweier, are we the ones who should be accused right now?"

The enormous vertical pupil suddenly contracted.

Upon seeing Lily, the instinctive accusations and roars were merely the first thoughts that surfaced in his mind. The reason for this was escapism, an attempt to escape the cruel reality.

And now, it has remembered.

Betrayal, nightmares, disbelief, and despair.

The dragon could no longer roar in anger; it lay helplessly on the ground, only able to utter a series of mournful howls, muttering, "Betrayal, madness, he has gone mad..."

Lily asked, "Who's gone mad? Where are the other dragons?"

"Cuixien..."

That was the leader of this mission, the grandson of the Armory Elder.

The character is positioned as a villainous love rival, a powerful second-generation heir, and also a deliveryman who's given away his face.

Now it seems this guy has some ideas.

The dragon said weakly, "He... we discovered this place, discovered what's inside—pure, powerful, it fascinated us. Cuixien said he would find them, and he did. We found them, but at a great cost. He's no longer normal. He said he wanted to utilize this energy, he said he wanted to restore the dragon race to its former glory, he said it was a divine gift of ascension..."

Its tone became increasingly vague and confused.

"I sensed something was wrong. I said I needed to report to Dragon Island first; this place is terrifying, especially the deeper parts. We had a disagreement, not just me, but others too, and then I..."

The dragon's voice was filled with pain.

They were ambushed, then injected with that terrifying, mysterious element, and the changes were observed... That must be it.

Lily pressed on, "Where did you go? What did you find? Where did Cuixien go? What is it trying to do?"

"I... he... he said he wanted to ascend, he said he wanted to unlock all the potential dormant within the dragon's body, the true power promised and bestowed upon us by Akatum, the King of the Gods..."

The dragon said weakly, "The River of Origin... it is searching for the River of Origin..."

What is that? Where is it?

"Deep within, deep within," he said, "That flows a sacred and magnificent spiritual river..."

"What is that?"

"River, that's a river..."

As the dragon Aocheweier finished speaking, his tone suddenly changed, his neck jerked violently, and his body trembled as he tried to stand up, but the attempt ultimately failed.

As Kang De continued to Extraction the mutated energy from his body, the dragon's sanity gradually returned. However, in contrast, without the support and protection of this mysterious energy, the terrible wounds inflicted by modern weapons were rapidly devouring his life, and death was not far off.

He understood his current predicament, and his tone was anxious.

"Lily..." He stopped answering her question and instead asked anxiously and fearfully, "Am I going to die? Lily, save me, I don't want to die..."

Even the mighty dragon, when facing the end of its life, will still feel reluctance and fear.

The Dragon Girl said slowly, "Aocheweier, I am powerless to help. The time for the Dragonfall has come."

The dragon roared in fury, "Impossible! Impossible! You must not want to save me! You must still resent us, right? You Rebel Dragon descendant, you're just like your father..."

He cursed and roared, but it did nothing but hasten his death.

As he looked up, he saw a tall and beautiful figure gazing at him silently, her long, pale golden hair cascading down, her black dress fluttering, her expression indifferent and unchanged.

Just like a long time ago.

The little dragon who was rejected, bullied, and made fun of by them when he was a child.

She seems to have never changed.

What has changed is themselves.

Aocheweier's soul jolted, the curses on his lips gradually subsided, dragon tears seeped out, fell to the ground, and transformed into crystalline beads. He slowly straightened his proud neck and said softly, "... I'm sorry."

Even now, as life comes to an end, memories resurface in his mind. In his final moments of clarity, he is able to clearly confront his own soul. The bullying and rejection he experienced as a child, the awkwardness and affectation he displayed as an adult—in fact, certain emotions had quietly changed, but they had never realized it, or refused to realize it.

So when they heard that Lily had made Dragon's Covenant with a human, they were all furious. Half of the delegation were his childhood bullies. They followed their fathers' opinions and clamored to punish the new traitor, but now he understood the source of their anger.

Only through empathy, only when the dragon was about to die, only when facing that fear, unease, and darkness, did he realize that what he had done before was inappropriate and should not have been done.

"Sorry."

He repeated, his voice growing weaker, "I shouldn't have treated you like that, not before, and not now, Lily, I'm dying... Can you forgive me?"

His eyelids drooped, and he heard the sound of death approaching. In his increasingly blurred vision, he vaguely saw the figure standing in front of him, the one he had ignored, the one he had once avoided, the one he finally realized was true but it was too late. Now it had become a permanent regret, but at the moment of death, she was by his side, and he was able to finally express his feelings. Perhaps this was Akatum's blessing.

He vaguely saw that beautiful face, that face that had always been cold and unchanging, reveal a beautiful smile he had never seen before, as if ice and snow were melting.

It felt like a dream.

He witnessed the last scene of his life, a scene that was beautiful and breathtaking.

Then I heard the last sound I would ever hear in my life.

The voice was gentle and beautiful, like heavenly music.

"Cannot."

Upon hearing this sound, the dragon's soul trembled violently, as if struck by a sledgehammer. A strong sense of unease surged within it, and then the world fell silent into darkness, its consciousness dissipating like a spark.

The dragon's eyes were wide open, but its spirit had been extinguished.

Lily's smile faded, and she said calmly, "Dragonfall."

Kang De withdrew his hand, sensing that all the aberrations had been Extraction completely.

The dragon returned to normal, its remains purified.

He stood up and looked at the dead dragon, its body covered in blood. It was a colossal creature, unlike the dragon skeleton that had been torn to pieces by air-to-air missiles in the Battle of Danfeng Lucerne. This dead dragon lay on the ground, its body well-preserved despite its many wounds, resembling a mountain.

"Dragonfall." He repeated the term Lily had mentioned, and asked, "What's that?"

"When a dragon dies due to an accident and cannot return to its tomb for burial, the Magic Power within its remains will gradually dissipate, its scales will slowly lose their luster, and the weakest parts of its body will gradually begin to decay, eventually spreading and rotting. Its powerful life force and Magic Power will flow to the earth, giving back to all living beings, having a long-lasting and lasting impact on the environment, and consequently affecting the entire ecosystem."

Lily gazed at the dragon, now completely silent, and explained softly.

"This process is called Dragonfall. The place where a powerful Dragonfall will, hundreds of years later, form a region rich in Magic Power, such as a Dragonblood Forest, Magic Power Valley, or a spring filled with magical power... Minerals, materials, soil, creatures, and the dragon's legacy will benefit the area for a long time."

After Lily finished explaining the facts, she added another paragraph.

"It's just that there haven't been any Dragonfall in the last few hundred years."

"Because the Dragon Emperor's cradle-to-grave welfare policy is so generous, and the strict insurance and compensation criteria that 'if no body is found, it's not a death in battle but a disappearance,' all dragons who die in battle or of old age will try every means to return to Dragon Island. Even if they don't have the strength to fly back, they will use their last bit of Magic Power to send a signal to Dragon Island to collect their bodies—you understand?"

"Because Dragon Island has inheritance laws, if someone dies and their body is not found, even if you go through the forced inheritance process, Dragon Island will still deduct a hefty tax from your estate..."

Kang De listened, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The solemn and ceremonial event of Dragonfall was also diluted in its atmosphere.

The next moment, he seemed to realize something, looked at Lily, and said, "... Are you alright?"

Dragon Girl snorted, "My enemies died right in front of me, and they died from backstabbing and infighting. I didn't even get my hands dirty. Seeing this bunch of idiots fighting each other, some dying and some going crazy, I felt fucking awesome. Why would I be sad? Why should I be sad?"

As she said this, she turned her head slightly to one side.

--But I didn't say you were sad or upset, silly girl.

Kang De's eyes flickered, but he simply smiled and said, "Well then, congratulations. I'll go check the equipment."

He turned around and pulled A Xing away.

Lily remained standing there, motionless, facing the dragon skeleton.

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PS1: Ring Fit Adventure... It should be 15 days now? The intensity is steadily increasing.