Soren Grel, whom Sylvie called her younger brother, shifted his gaze from the Red Dragon, who was barely breathing, back to his dear older sister. Seeing her humanlike transformed appearance, he couldn't help losing himself for a moment in her beauty.
It was a serene, slightly sorrowful beauty that transcended race and everything else.
So you really are a Silver Dragon, my dear sister. Soren Grel buried the stirring of his heart and his admiration for her. He slowly lowered his head. It's time to begin.
"What, did you really think you could get away with what you did without a hitch? You might fool the other dragons, but did you really think you could fool Mother? My dear sister?"
He grinned, baring a mouthful of jagged, ferocious fangs. When he raised his head again, he was glaring down at Sylvie with a look of madness. "You really were reckless, weren't you? A mere Silver Dragon dared to infiltrate our Red Dragon lair and deceive me for all these years! You brought this on yourself. You can't blame me."
Sylvie had already gotten her answer. Her eyes dimmed slightly as she slowly lifted her head and looked at Soren Grel, whose eyes were filled with all kinds of desires. Clinging to one last sliver of hope, she asked:
"So it's true? When I ate that Dead Egg and transformed into a Red Dragon, I felt that Mother's gaze held no emotion at all. At first, I thought it was just a common failing of Chromatic Dragons, some evil instinct buried in their hearts that left them with little affection for family.
"I never imagined she'd already discovered the truth back then. But why would she let me live until now? Never mind. You wouldn't tell me even if I asked. Mother has her own reasons.
"But, my dear younger brother. I can understand Mother wanting to kill me, but you and I haven't had any issues between us all these years, have we? What made you so eager to come out and insist on killing me right now?"
At her words, Soren Grel's eyes flickered. He roared in fury:
"Shut your mouth! No issues between us?
"Back when we'd just hatched, who was it that stole my eggshell and ate it?
"Who was it that stepped on my head so I couldn't move while she ate her fill of Stingtail Lion meat?
"Who was it that used me as a target to test the power of every new spell she learned?
"Who was it that beat up every dragon around Pakavia Volcano from childhood on, so that by the time I was nearly an adult, not a single female dragon dared to rub the scales on my tail!
"And who was it that earned the title Furious Flame before reaching adulthood, leaving me to look up at her like some miserable wretch every day?
"My dear sister, blame your own strength. You're so powerful you're like some invincible freak! Even among us Chromatic Dragons, you're an incomprehensible monster!
"Sometimes I even wonder if you were driven to join the Chromatic Dragons because the Metal Dragons couldn't tolerate you.
"But don't be naive. If my estimate is right, you're nearly at the point of proving your [Legendary Destiny], aren't you? You're a monster through and through.
"Mother is already preparing to sacrifice you to the exalted Evil Scale, Her Majesty Tiamat, when you come of age and try to prove your [Legendary Destiny]. She'll gain Divine Favor to make up for the hidden damage she suffered while trying to break through to the Legendary Realm.
"Since your fate is already sealed, why shouldn't I be the one to bring it about early and witness it myself, my dear sister?"
So they really did find out. Li Wei watched from above, his heart tightening. At last, one of the questions that had puzzled him was answered.
Hearing that furious outburst, full of resentment, and learning that her fate had long been decided, Sylvie gave a faint, bitter smile. Then it faded, and she spoke calmly:
"So that's how you see me. I understand. Then go ahead and attack. But don't say I didn't warn you: sometimes, having more dragons isn't enough to solve every problem."
"Heh heh, we have more than just dragons. Attack!" Soren Grel beat his wings and withdrew to a safe distance.
At his command, the remaining four Red Dragons and the Green Dragon spread out in an arc. They each opened their wings at different points and began casting a bloodline spell known to almost every adult dragon!
The elemental density in the sky above the entire region suddenly thickened, as if the elements from dozens of miles around were surging toward them like a tide.
In an instant, clouds gathered over the entire wasteland. Thunder writhed like electric snakes in the sealed sky, and the rampaging elements seemed to roar.
Finally, with several dragon roars, enormous teleportation portals tore open in the space behind the six dragons, leading from the Material Plane.
"Sister! Today, I'll show you that I haven't wasted the past hundred years! Come forth, my Crimson Flame Army!"
"Answer my summons, my Retainers!"
"Appear, my Abyssal Kin!"
"Manifest, Red Dragon Power!"
"Green Field Legion! Crush your enemies!"
All six portals opened at once, a spectacle rarely seen even in the Material Plane.
"Looks like Sylvie's brother has some tricks!" Li Wei watched the rare sight in shock, feeling a faint envy as well. So summoning really is a dragon's specialty. But Sylvie...
Dense roars rang out from beyond the portals, making the entire wasteland seem to boil.
The next moment, tens of thousands of strange monsters roared and shoved their way through the portals.
They ranged from tiny Goblins, goblins, and Kobolds to enormous Earth Tyrant Bears, Stingtail Lions, centaurs, and Half-Dragons. There were even Quasits, Hezrou, Glabrezu, and Vrocks from the Bottomless Abyss!
The portals remained open for only a few dozen seconds, yet the vast armies had already filled most of the wasteland.
The dragons had spent nearly a century of their lives gathering these Retainers. Their troops had gathered excitedly behind the portals, expecting a tough battle. But when the portals opened and their masters' command came through, they learned their enemies were...
Just one tiny human?
Oh, maybe she was a Mage.
Then they would crush her.
Roar!
The tide of monster Retainers surged toward the outnumbered Sylvie!
The dragons Soren Grel had called in to help had been looking forward to seeing the human-shaped Silver Dragon's expression of despair.
But there was none.
There was nothing in the Silver Dragon's eyes. She simply watched them creep toward her like insects. After a long moment, she finally spoke:
"My foolish younger brother, let your older sister teach you one last lesson. Proving your [Legendary Destiny] doesn't necessarily require an awakening at the right moment. And one more thing: do you really think the Retainers you've summoned are enough?"
Apart from Soren Grel, who remained calm, the other dragons felt a sense of dread.
"Could it be...?"
"Then I'll show you the destiny I chose."
Sylvie raised the staff in her hands high above her head, like a queen ruling over the world. Then she drove the symbol of her authority deep into the ground.
The staff seemed to make no difference at all as it sank into the earth.
But the next moment, the elemental tide—already several times denser than anywhere else in the mortal world—surged toward Sylvie!
Even the dragons felt their elemental power being forcibly drawn from within them, leaving them hollow.
"Damn it! She's forcing her way into the Legendary Realm! Stop her!!!" the Adult Green Dragon screamed.
But Soren Grel still didn't move. He simply stared fixedly at Sylvie, seeming more concerned with whether she could prove her destiny.
An invisible wind abruptly spread from beneath Sylvie's feet. Every monster brushed by the breeze felt a faint, complicated tingling, like a weak electric current crawling across its skin. A faint, acrid smell of ionized air seemed to fill the surroundings.
Then a mighty pressure swept toward them. The front ranks of monsters faltered, and some even collapsed where they stood.
Sylvie, leaning on her staff with both hands, suddenly raised her head. Her eyes, once as blue as the sea, turned a deep red like Hell Lava. At the same time, a pair of silver-white wings unfurled behind her, then gradually turned blood-red under the assault of the explosive elemental power. Her clothes and scales changed as well!
The next moment, amid elemental fluctuations that seemed capable of shattering the entire space, a portal like an Abyssal Black Hole appeared behind her. It expanded in an instant, reaching the clouds, like a black cross-section cutting the whole region in half.
A scorching smell drifted through the air and reached everyone's nostrils.
Then, accompanied by a deep, earth-shaking roar, a seemingly endless Demon Army surged through the city gates.
Everywhere they looked, they saw High-level Demons.
Hunter Spiders, Hunter Spiders, Glabrezu, and Vrocks—mid-level demons that normally terrified adventurers—were only the lowest ranks. What truly chilled them were the Soul Eater Demons and Hezrou who appeared behind them, and the hundred-foot-tall Balor, who entered carrying a greatsword in one hand and a Flame Whip in the other!
"How many layers of the Bottomless Abyss does this power come from?" the Red Dragon whose Retainers mostly came from the Abyss murmured, unknowingly revealing the answer.
"Stop her! Stop her!" the Red Dragon beside him nearly broke down.
But all the dragons were so stunned that they froze in place. Not one dared to charge first.
"Holy crap..." Li Wei, watching from the sidelines, suddenly felt that the melon in his hand had lost its appeal. He couldn't think of a better way to describe how he felt.
"Crack!"
With a soft rumble of breaking earth and stone, the ground beneath Sylvie's staff collapsed. But she didn't fall into the pit.
A Bone Dragon, hundreds of feet long, had appeared beneath her feet!
The Bone Dragon lifted its mistress into the air, like Her Majesty the Queen ascending to the heights!
Beneath her, the rampaging Demon Army swept across the land, slaughtering the enemy in a completely one-sided massacre!
"This is my destiny, and mine alone! I am Destiny!"
Then, as though she sensed something, her gaze passed over Soren Grel, whose expression was complicated, and turned toward the distant horizon.
"You've finally come, Mother—and Her Majesty Tiamat, the Evil Scale."
A majestic projection of a castle radiating boundless, wicked light appeared at the End of the Sky!
It was the projection of Evil Scale Castle, the home of Her Majesty Tiamat, the Evil Scale, on the first layer of Barto Hell!
Tiamat, goddess of all Chromatic Dragons, known as the Evil Scale and the Mother of Evil Dragons, had arrived in the form of a projection!
But just as Li Wei watched, enthralled, thinking that Sylvie, who had just proven her Legendary Destiny, was about to take on her cheap mother—and perhaps even Tiamat's Divine Avatar—
the scene abruptly cut off, like a film reel suddenly running out and jamming.
Li Wei was dumbfounded.
"So what happens next?!"
Li Wei, ejected from the Inheritance Mark, continued to stare blankly at the information that had appeared in his mind:
This was Silver Dragon Xilvi's unique spell, developed from [Summon Monster] when she proved her Legendary Destiny—
[Otherworld Summoning]!
To preserve your reading experience, I won't split it up. I'll post first and edit later. Thanks to [xiaotang246] and [Muye Canglan] for the Hundred Rewards. Since I'm working so hard, how about some Recommendation Tickets, guys!
Before you continue