Dragon Shadow

"Blocking the road?"

Lucia paused, then tossed the Godskin Stitcher that had been lying across his knees back into the carriage, took up his Dragonscale Blade and hung it at his waist, pushed open the carriage door, and stepped outside. The instant his gaze fell ahead, the magnificent, majestic sight of Dectus crashed into view.

Here, the edge of the Altus Plateau was like a giant curtain wall rising sheer from the earth, occupying half the sky as it stretched endlessly to either side. And at the very center of his vision stood a vast complex of buildings that seemed to exhaust the limits of imagination.

Countless heavy foundation stones, each weighing several tons, formed its base. Thick stone columns that would take more than a dozen people to encircle supported a towering, magnificent portico. Great swaths of mountain rock on either side had been artificially flattened, carved with uncanny craftsmanship into immense reliefs depicting the War of Unification. The figures and scenes engraved upon them were so lifelike that the epic battle capable of turning wind and cloud seemed to be unfolding right before his eyes.

Apart from the main hall in the center that housed the Grand Lift, a series of side halls equipped with smaller lifts and other auxiliary buildings were arranged behind it. Together with the wall defense system that fit the terrain perfectly, all of this formed an architectural miracle that stood alongside Sky City, Flame Peak, and the royal capital Leyndell, while also symbolizing the supreme authority with which the Golden Dynasty looked down upon the world after the War of Unification.

Lucia slowly let out a breath, dispelling the sudden pressure that had surged up in his heart from awe, and looked toward the uninvited guests Guerel had said were blocking the way. There were several hundred fully armed Leyndell Knights, golden helms engraved with the Erdtree crest on their heads and splendid, heavy golden armor on their bodies. They had formed a solid battlefield array to meet an enemy, sealing off the long steps leading to the main hall with a wall-like shield formation and a forest of blades and spears.

In front of the formation, six Tree Sentinels wielding Erdtree greatshields and golden halberds sat high atop monstrous warhorses. Their heavy visors hid every trace of expression, and the radiance of the Erdtree shone from the sky behind them, casting a dazzling golden glow over every one of them.

"Heh. What an impressive show!" Guerel sneered. "So this is how the Golden Dynasty treats its guests?"

Clearly, they were not here to welcome the demigod of the Ancient Dragon Dynasty. Otherwise, they would never have assumed such a tense, hostile posture, much less waited until the two armies were facing each other head-on without sending an envoy to explain their intentions.

Seen that way, the other side had only one goal—intimidation.

Lucia narrowed his eyes slightly, his hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist. Dectus was certainly the Golden Dynasty's most important strategic location aside from the royal capital, and it had always been heavily guarded, but Leyndell Knights were not so numerous that they could be thrown around like this.

Even across all of Leyndell, only a handful of people were qualified to issue such an order. He simply did not know whether it was the queen, the royal consort, or that flawless Golden Prince.

As he pondered, the Leyndell Knights remained silent as iron, while the dragon warriors and Storm Knights were already burning with rage.

"Your Highness, what do we do?" Even the usually steady Ekzykes could not hide the anger in his heart now.

Farther away, the two elders Merrell and Atok were also hurrying toward the imperial carriage. From the expressions on their faces, it was clear that these two aged yet powerful dragons had reached the edge of erupting as well.

On the matter of whether Lucia should accept the Golden Dynasty's invitation, Elder Atok had chosen to support it, while Elder Merrell had been firmly opposed. But in the current situation, their former differences no longer mattered. Since the other side had ignored the invitation they themselves had previously extended and committed such a grossly disrespectful act toward an ancient dragon demigod, Sky City had every right to interpret it as a signal for war!

"Your Highness—" Elder Atok hurried before Lucia. Before the latter could speak, he dropped to one knee and gritted out, "This old minister should never have urged Your Highness to accept the Golden Dynasty's invitation, causing you to be humiliated by others today. So long as you give the order, we will slaughter every last one of these overstepping, defiant wretches for Your Highness!"

As he spoke, Lucia noticed that layers of bandages still wrapped the elder's shoulder, and faint wisps of medicinal scent drifted from his body. Those were the wounds left by the Godskin Apostle's assassination attempt the day before yesterday. The dragon scales faintly appearing and disappearing on the surface of his skin revealed even more clearly the fury he could barely suppress.

He quickly bent down to help the old man up and said, "Accepting the invitation was my own decision. It has nothing to do with any of you. Elder, please rise at once!"

After practically dragging Atok up from the ground and soothing him for a while, Lucia strode toward the very front of the envoy group. The two elders and the captain of his personal guard followed closely behind him.

Along the way, he rapidly considered the other side's motives and purpose, yet could not find a reasonable explanation no matter how he thought. Even as a means of intimidation, this method was far too contemptible. If word spread, the one losing face would also be the Golden Dynasty, who had issued the invitation. If they really wanted to make this newly born demigod bow his head obediently to the Erdtree, they might as well have sent a sternly worded state letter from the start to force him to become a vassal, pay tribute, and enter court as a hostage. That would still have been far better than leaving everyone unable to back down like this, wouldn't it?

Could it be that the other side had put on such a grand display just to make him choose between storming off, declaring war in fury, and stopping where he was to wait obediently for an audience? As long as he did not want to represent Sky City in taking up arms against the Golden Dynasty, they could openly slap him across the face?

At that thought, Lucia involuntarily pressed down on the hilt of the Dragonscale Blade. Although he, who possessed memories of his previous life, had always thought through and handled all sorts of matters with a calm attitude, in essence, the current him was no longer the same person from his previous life. He was an ancient dragon with the highest bloodline of this age. That violence belonging to the dragon race gnawed at his heart like a venomous snake, constantly tempting him to draw his blade and lead the soldiers behind him to tear the bastards in front of them to pieces!

He stood silently before the two armies, the knuckles clutching the hilt of his blade turning stark white from excessive force. At this moment, the Storm Knights' formation was only a few hundred paces from the other side. Standing here, he could almost hear the heavy breathing behind the Tree Sentinels' visors.

Lucia understood that the long blade in his hand was tied not only to the lives of more than a thousand knights at the two ends of these long steps, but to the fate of millions of soldiers and civilians between two dynasties, two civilizations. The instant the blade left its sheath, the living beings who would bleed for it would outnumber those at Sunset Pass just one day ago by countless times.

If he had been sitting before a screen in his previous life, he would probably have backed up his save first, then drawn his sword and charged forward without hesitation. Unfortunately, the him now was not that person.

He was not alone. Behind him, there was still a declining Sky City.

"We..." He released the hilt and was just about to speak when an earth-shaking dragon roar suddenly came from the far end of the sky!

A massive black shadow swept over from the direction of the Altus Plateau. Its speed was so fast that it tore apart countless flowing clouds blocking its path, condensing a long-lasting contrail behind it. When it swept over Dectus, people finally saw what it looked like—

It was a white dragon body as majestic as mountains and rivers. Unlike a flying dragon, its four dragon wings spread wantonly and wide. Deep within its rock-like scales flickered faint golden light, revealing traces of the ancient Elden Ring's blessing. It blotted out the radiance of the Erdtree, casting a shadow that covered heaven and earth over the heads of the golden knights!

Under such a scene, the Leyndell Knights could no longer maintain their previous silence and composure. They hurriedly bowed in salute while quickly making a large clearing for the white ancient dragon to land.

The giant dragon beat its wings and descended gracefully amid a storm. It raised its long neck, and its cold gaze swept over the many golden knights. Wherever its eyes fell, the knights felt as if they had plunged into an ice cellar and did not dare move in the slightest.

A wash of brilliant light flashed. The dragon body rapidly shrank, transforming into a tall woman dressed in a white priest's robe. Her elegant brows lifted slightly, and her red lips parted as she said, "Who is your knight-commander? Step forward."

That voice was cool and elegant, yet carried an unquestionable authority.

A Tree Sentinel immediately trotted forward, bowed, and saluted. "It is I, Priestess Lansseax."

Lansseax gave him a faint look. Suddenly, the Tree Sentinel was struck as if by lightning. His golden breastplate caved in violently, and a large mouthful of blood spilled from behind his visor. His feet stumbled, and he collapsed weakly to the ground.

"Pass the message up. This happens only once. There will be no next time," she said indifferently.

"Yes..." the Tree Sentinel said hoarsely. He struggled to his feet, then gave another deep salute before retreating with the support of his comrades.

Lansseax turned to look toward the Sky City envoy group. Lucia still stood there dazed, while everyone behind him had already burst into cheers. Guerel, in particular, was so excited that she looked as if she wished she could pounce over in the next second.

Her feet shifted slightly. The several hundred paces between them were as nothing before her, crossed in a single step.

Lansseax came straight before Lucia and, without any explanation, reached out to rub his head. With a soft laugh, she said, "What is it? We have been parted from Sky City for less than three months, and at your age, Your Highness, has your mind already gone dull?"