Faced with the sudden surge of pressure, Lu Qiuchen had no choice but to abandon offense and focus solely on defense.
But after only a short while of holding the line, the shield’s regeneration speed couldn’t keep up with the full-force assault from the five drakes.
As the last shield shattered, the Dark Dragon unleashed a dark magic strike against Lu Qiuchen’s scales.
Although the Silver Dragon possessed high magic resistance, the weakening effect attached to the dark magic still caused her intense pain.
In the brief moment Lu Qiuchen cast dispel magic, she was hit by several different types of magical attacks.
Seeing the furious Fire Scythe Dragon preparing to use its tail sweep on her, Lu Qiuchen realized all too clearly that if this continued, she would be doomed.
She hastily activated spatial teleportation to escape.
Because long-distance teleportation required preparation time, Lu Qiuchen first used short-range teleportation, intending to switch to the longer-distance one once safe.
But those drakes had not recovered the Sky Fragment, and since Lu Qiuchen had injured one of their companions, they naturally would not let her go, doggedly pursuing her.
Faced with the dense magical barrage, Lu Qiuchen had no choice but to give up teleporting and turned to run.
She was confident in her own speed; among those drakes, only the Storm Drake and Cloudrest Dragon were known for their speed.
However, the Cloudrest Dragon had been injured moments ago and was temporarily incapacitated, while the others posed no real threat to her.
They were self-aware as well; after seeing the Silver Dragon’s speed, they no longer chased and placed their hopes on the Storm Drake.
They turned back to tend to the injured Cloudrest Dragon.
After chasing Lu Qiuchen for a while, the Storm Drake was surprised to find his proud speed no match for the Silver Dragon ahead.
Just as he was about to accelerate and push himself further, he looked back and found no drakes following him.
A hint of hesitation blossomed in his mind.
Those bastards are useless; all bark and no bite! The moment things got serious, each ran off faster than the other!
With no drake support, even if I could stop the Silver Dragon, I’d still lose!
Cursing silently, the Storm Drake began to suspect that the clumsy heavyweights really couldn’t keep up—but perhaps that was only part of the reason.
After all, the loss of the Sky Fragment was a fact, and if the Dragon Lords blamed them later, no one would have a good time.
At a moment like this, the drake lords should have been fighting with everything they had.
Instead, the situation was the exact opposite—they likely gave up the chase quite early.
“小云云!” The Storm Drake’s heart jumped—his home was being stolen!
Those bastards surely wanted to show concern to Xiaoyunyun while he was gone, and once Xiaoyunyun had healed with water magic, they could stretch out their evil claws.
Xiaoyunyun was his partner—they had agreed to switch partners once every hundred years, yet now others were trying to steal her away!
Thinking of this, the Storm Drake could no longer restrain himself.
He turned around and flew full speed back the way he came, moving so fast that even Lu Qiuchen secretly gasped.
Thus, in this race of speed, Lu Qiuchen inexplicably took first place, and it seemed the drake lords no longer cared about the Sky Fragment.
But Lu Qiuchen soon realized she was gravely mistaken.
Those drakes were not chasing her because they had another goal.
*****
Meanwhile, Zhang Cheng followed Natasha back to the Half-Drake tribe.
Considering the trouble the Silver Dragon and his followers had caused here, the group quickened their pace and eventually returned safely to Half-Drake territory.
Crossing the border, they were greeted by a village built by the Half-Drakes.
Although the village was small in scale, it was bustling inside because this was the last supply station for orc merchant caravans heading to the drake gathering grounds.
Although most drakes were naturally irritable, they favored products like furs and cheeses produced by the orcs.
Some friendlier drakes would even engage in trade.
However, most drakes considered other species lowly creatures, and only recognized trade partners who shared drake blood—namely the Half-Drakes.
Therefore, orc caravans would restock here and seek local Half-Drakes as guides, allowing the Half-Drakes to profit handsomely in between.
Having rushed continuously, the group was exhausted.
Seeing this, Natasha ordered them to rest temporarily in the village.
Eager to level up, Zhang Cheng declined Natasha’s kindness and went out to practice his skills in an open area.
Wearing elegant Gothic armor, he already stood out among the princess’s entourage.
Now, showing strong combat ability, he attracted many curious stares from the orc caravans and Half-Drake elders.
When the Half-Drakes learned this human knight was personally brought back by Her Highness the Princess, and that his identity was kept secret, complex emotions flickered in their gazes toward Zhang Cheng.
At this moment, Natasha sat alone in her room, troubled and pondering what to do next.
If the Silver Dragon truly fought with the drake lords, how would the Half-Drakes position themselves?
This was her first time meeting the Silver Dragon, and she had been swept up in excitement.
Hearing Zhang Cheng’s request, she had helped him leave without much thought, but now realized her actions were inappropriate.
The Silver Dragon had angered the drake lords and taken the crystal they treasured.
If the drake lords believed the Half-Drakes were in league with the Silver Dragon, the Silver Dragon could simply flap his wings and leave—but the Half-Drakes’ lands were right next to the drakes’ territory.
She believed the Silver Dragon could defeat several drake lords.
But judging by the Silver Dragon’s attitude toward the Half-Drakes, it was unlikely he would give them the crystals afterward.
If the human knight’s reasoning was true and the Silver Dragon really needed the Sky Fragment, then no matter which side the Half-Drakes chose, they wouldn’t achieve their goals.
Though she admired the Silver Dragon, Natasha was still the princess and next candidate for chieftain of the Half-Drakes, responsible for the whole tribe.
If the outcomes were the same, did she really need to favor the Silver Dragon?
The Half-Drakes had genuinely prospered thanks to their proximity to the drake gathering grounds, and cooperation between the two races was growing deeper.
On the other hand, the Silver Dragon could not stay forever bound to Half-Drake lands opposing the drakes.
The answer was clear, but the deed was done.
Natasha could only hope the drake lords had not discovered her involvement.
Resolute, Natasha decided to be honest with the human knight.
She had already helped him escape danger and fulfilled his request at the time.
Now, it was only fair to hope he would leave voluntarily.
Leaving her room, Natasha asked her personal maid about Zhang Cheng’s whereabouts.
When she found him, the Silver Dragon had just appeared from teleportation magic.
What she intended to say stuck in her throat.
After escaping capture, Lu Qiuchen teleported toward the Half-Drake territory.
Fortunately, after only a few attempts, she sensed Zhang Cheng’s location and arrived beside him, immediately spotting Natasha nearby.
“Zhang Cheng, give that smaller fragment to Natasha,” Lu Qiuchen suddenly said.
She had been puzzled why those drakes suddenly withdrew—weren’t they supposed to care deeply about the Sky Fragment?
Unable to figure it out, seeing Natasha gave her an idea to stir trouble elsewhere.
Wasn’t Natasha very interested in the Sky Fragment?
Then why not lend the smaller piece to the Half-Drakes?
This way, they could observe the drakes’ subsequent reactions and win favor among the Half-Drake people.
Maybe that small fragment wouldn’t even be missed.
After all, Zhang Cheng had also said that as long as too much of the Sky Fragment wasn’t lost, it would be fine.
With this, matters with the drakes could finally be laid to rest, right?