Victory Celebration Banquet

Looking at the rose with only two petals left in her hand, Irene took a deep breath. Then, her fingers trembled as she pinched one of the petals and tore it off the flower, muttering under her breath, "It won't come back!"

After tossing away the petals in her hand and the worries in her heart, Irene looked excitedly at the last petal on the flower and shouted, "Come back! I knew you would come back! I knew you would come back to see me! I knew..."

The shouts grew fainter and fainter, until they were barely audible. The next second, the smile on Irene's face Dissolution, and two large pearls slid down her delicate cheeks before falling to the ground and Crush. Sensing that her pearl inventory was about to be depleted, Irene hurriedly closed her eyes and wiped away the tears from her face with her palms.

After releasing the torrent of longing and sorrow within her, Irene donned her mask of strength and prepared to proceed to the council hall to handle the day's affairs. Just then, a violent tremor shook the ground beneath her feet, followed by a blinding flash of silvery-white light around her. Already unsteady from the tremor, Her Majesty the Queen Her Majesty the Queen, blinded by the bright light, instinctively flinched backward, causing her to lose her balance and fall backward.

"Bang"

A few seconds later, Her Majesty the Queen's body slammed into the 'ground,' and strangely, despite the hard fall, she felt no pain. Irene instinctively reached her right hand down to get up, only to find herself on empty ground. Her Majesty the Queen opened her eyes in confusion and found herself lying in the arms of a silver-haired boy, with about a dozen burly... well, no, a dozen imposing dragons standing behind him.

"This humble general has arrived late to rescue Your Her Majesty the Queen, please forgive me!"

Hearing that familiar yet somewhat annoying voice, Irene raised her pink little fists and punched the other person.

"You big bad guy, why did it take you so long to get back!"

"How annoying!"

"Bad guy! Big bad guy!"

The young master Sordil, experiencing a bittersweet feeling (just kidding, it doesn't hurt at all, because human attacks can't harm dragons), gently patted Irene's back and said, "My dear wife, although I'm personally very willing to accept your punishment, for the sake of your image, how about we save it for tonight, when it's just the two of us?"

After Sordil's reminder, Her Majesty the Queen finally remembered her surroundings. She hurriedly stood up from Sordil's embrace and took a step back.

"I'm sorry, I lost my composure for a moment. Please forgive me!"

Upon hearing Irene speak, Igneel and the others, who were collectively studying the weather and celestial phenomena, stopped their work and bowed their heads to exchange pleasantries with Irene.

Sister-in-law, it's been a long time! How are you doing?

"Thank you for your concern, Brother Igneel, I'm fine!"

"Okay, that's good!"

"Sister-in-law, even if you're healthy, don't stay up late so often, or someone will worry about you!"

"Diphiya, little sister Dephia, I will be careful!"

After Irene greeted everyone, Sodir, who had been urged countless times by Igneel via radio (you all know what radio is, so I won't explain! Sigh, never mind, I'll say it again, it's eyes, remember, eyes! I really won't explain next time!) Sordil, spoke up, "Irene, we didn't come back this time to chat, but to share some good news with you!"

"What good news?"

"Just recently, we ambushed the enemy's grain convoy again, destroying most of their grain and inflicting nearly a thousand casualties on them."

"Real?"

"Of course it's true!"

"That's wonderful! I'll announce this good news right away!"

"Your Her Majesty the Queen, this general has rendered such a great service, shouldn't you hold a grand celebration banquet to show your appreciation?"

"Hmm... Your request is reasonable, I grant it! However, it would be too lonely if only a few of us participated. Why not invite the kings and the dragon leaders who are staying behind, so that everyone can have some fun together!"

Hearing Her Majesty the Queen's words, Sordil gave his wife a meaningful look, then smiled and nodded. As for the dozen or so dragons serving as a backdrop, they were completely oblivious to the Her Majesty the Queen's implied meaning; their attention was entirely focused on anticipating the upcoming victory banquet. (Uh...sorry, I made another mistake. Actually, Yelibell knew Irene's plans, but for the sake of the writing effect, so...hehe!)

After the couple finished their swordplay, Irene turned and headed towards the council hall to prepare for the victory banquet that evening. The task of entertaining Igneel and the others was naturally left to His Majesty the King Sordil. (Actually, even centuries later, this was still their way of interacting. Oops... spoiler alert! Sorry, my mistake, please forgive me!)

That evening, in the royal palace, at the banquet hall

The vast, brightly lit palace was neatly divided into two areas. The left side was filled with all sorts of human delicacies, while the right side was piled with all sorts of strange and wonderful things. For example: huge ores, blazing flames of various colors, ice blocks emitting a chilling aura, and lightning-attribute Magic Crystal of different colors, and so on.

At this point, there was still some time before the banquet officially began, so most of the guests were gathered with acquaintances, exchanging friendships or information they had.

"Brother Kelson, do you know why we're having dinner tonight?"

"Brother Muwen, do you think I look like someone who knows the reason?"

"Well... buddy, aren't you on good terms with King of Babaronza? I thought you'd found out the reason from him!"

"Yes, I do have some acquaintance with King of Babaronza, but not to the point of being able to confide in him completely. Besides, can you guarantee that King of Babaronza definitely knows the reason for holding the banquet?"

"This..."

"Brother Muwen, if you really want to know the reason for holding the banquet, why don't you ask those people? They can definitely help you solve this mystery!"

After glancing in the direction his old friend was pointing, Kelson laughed and said, "Of course they know why the dinner is being held, but why should they tell me? I don't even know them!"

"That settles it then! Let's just wait patiently for Queen Irene to announce the reason for holding the banquet!"

"Sigh! That's all we can do!"

"Igneel, can't you watch your eating manners? It's so unseemly, I feel ashamed to be around you!"

After taking a big gulp from the barrel, Igneel shoved flames into his mouth and mumbled, "What's wrong with my table manners? If you think it's unseemly, you can go somewhere else. I'm not stopping you!"

"Tch! You think I want to stay by your side? If it weren't for Irene and her sister-in-law putting the iron ore next to the flames, I would have gotten far away from you long ago!"

"Hmph! In the end, you're just staying here because you're greedy."

"I am indeed staying here to eat, but I am not like some dragons whose eating manners are so awful that they would frighten the humans at the banquet next door."

Igneel finished the wine and flames in his hand, then walked up to Metalicana and growled in a low voice, "Metalicana, do you want to duel with me?"

"Hmph! You're the one who eats awfully, and you can't even let others talk about it?"

Just as a battle between the two sides was about to break out, a loud singing voice rang out from the entrance of the banquet hall.

"Queen Irene, King Oddek, and Prince Sordil have arrived!"