High above Academy City.
Little Green let out a dragon roar of utter exhaustion.
Although it still couldn’t stand that dark… bad man who always bullied its Master, it knew that now that she had been caught by him, she was likely safe.
The next moment.
The massive dragon body rapidly shrank amidst a brilliant radiance.
Finally, it transformed back into that palm-sized, harmless-looking Chubby Chirp.
After fluttering for a moment, it dove into the girl’s wide sleeve and immediately fell into a deep sleep.
Just like its Master, it was now very, very tired… and needed a good rest.
Chu Tian held the girl, who was weak to the point of exhaustion, in his arms.
He lowered his head, gazing at her exquisite face, which was somewhat pale due to the depletion of her Magic.
Unknowingly, the wicked desire in his heart to completely conquer the girl had quietly receded a little.
In its place was an incredibly complex emotion that he couldn’t even describe or explain himself.
He leaned down and, in a voice only the two of them could hear, whispered into her delicate ear in a nearly murmuring tone.
“You woman… you really know how to find trouble for me.”
In that tone, there was actually a hint of… heartache that even he hadn’t noticed.
***
Academy City.
Commoners, nobles, merchants, and mages alike had all fallen into the same state of frantic sensation.
Every person had witnessed that miraculous scene with their own eyes!
Not only that, they had also seen the exquisite and heroic figure of the Saintess up close through the Magic Image Crystals.
That magical idol girl named Su Nian had, in a moment of desperation, suddenly manifested azure wings behind her that looked like divine punishment.
She had slain 10,000s of Demon soldiers.
Wherever the sword light reached, Demon blood splattered, and she was unstoppable.
Following that, she had single-handedly forced back the terrifying giant claw that had emerged from the portal — a claw enough to make even gods tremble.
She had ultimately forced shut that dark gate leading to the abyss.
Finally, and most heart-stirring of all.
It was in the apocalyptic desperation of the Floating Fortress falling, when the city was about to be destroyed.
She had ridden the legendary holy dragon.
In a tragic and solemn display of self-sacrifice, she had forcibly knocked that moving mountain out of the city limits.
She had saved this city.
She had saved 100,000s of innocent lives!
At this moment.
Every single person in the city was frantically discussing and recounting the supreme miracle of the “Saintess.”
They discussed that majestic dragon covered in jade-green scales.
They discussed the Saintess even more — that beautiful back as she stood proudly atop the dragon’s head.
That awe-inspiring figure, invincible in the world.
In the taverns, Mercenaries who usually spent their days bragging about their adventures were now describing the scene to everyone with spit flying everywhere.
They weren’t bragging, but spoke with the fear and awe of a survivor.
“That sword light! You didn’t see it! It was like cutting through tofu! A commander, a guy that big, and his head just flew off!”
He took a large gulp of ale, foam sticking to his beard.
“And that dragon’s might… Heavens, I felt my own bones shaking. My legs went soft. That’s true power!”
“I used to think about becoming a dragon slayer. Now that I’ve seen a real Giant Dragon, I realize how naive my thoughts were.”
“A woman who can tame a dragon. Heavens!”
In the city square.
The bards who had survived the disaster used trembling yet impassioned voices to compose new heroic epics.
Under the realization of having survived certain death, all sorts of inspirations erupted.
The bards used voices full of power to praise the “Saintess of Star-Moon Dragon Wings.”
The gathered crowd, with tear streaks and soot still on their faces, followed the stirring melody and sang in low voices.
The flame of hope was rekindled in everyone’s eyes, burning more intensely than ever before.
Even the games played by children chasing each other in the streets and alleys had turned into “The Saintess Saves the City.”
A little girl with pigtails, draped in a tattered blue bedsheet, stood atop a pile of rubble.
She held a branch high, imitating that heaven-shaking declaration with a childish voice.
“I am the Saintess! The Saintess who saves the world!”
Those noble girls who had once looked down on Su Nian as a mere “magical idol,” or had even felt jealous, now had no thoughts of competition left at all.
In the face of such absolute strength and merit that felt like a deity descending to earth.
All of their family backgrounds and sense of superiority appeared so pale.
So laughable.
Furthermore.
The storm regarding the “Saintess” was spreading throughout the entire world at an unimaginable speed.
One had to know that before this, Academy City was hosting the grand Winter Festival.
As the most critical host site for the Red Maple Kingdom’s Winter Festival this year, combined with the personal presence of Third Prince Elvin, this Winter Festival had already received widespread attention from all surrounding kingdoms and powers.
Add to that the omnipresent Photography Crystal Orbs, which had clearly recorded and broadcasted the entire battle and rescue.
This wasn’t a legend.
It was a live broadcast witnessed by the entire world.
More and more people outside of Academy City learned of this epic of a Saintess descending, repelling the Demon Race, and riding a dragon to save the city.
In an instant, Su Nian’s name — or rather, the Saintess’s prestige — resounded throughout the entire human territory.
Magic Feather Fantasy, the idol group that was already quite famous, saw its reputation pushed to an unprecedented, almost legendary height because the Saintess had been a member.
***
Meanwhile, in the distant power center of the Red Maple Kingdom, within the royal palace of the Royal Capital, Red Maple City, the atmosphere was as heavy as ice.
The King had received the urgent magic report from the Third Prince, which desperately tried to distance him from the blame and sugarcoat the situation.
In the report, Prince Elvin used flowery language to describe his desertion as a “strategic transition” and credited the Demon Army’s defeat to the “deterrence of the royal family’s majesty.”
He even described the destruction of the Floating Fortress as a partial loss.
The King only took a glance.
He loosened his fingers, letting the magic scroll carrying those lies fall into the never-extinguishing fireplace.
The scroll curled in the orange flames, turning into a wisp of ash.
The King’s gaze returned to that massive Magic Image Crystal.
Inside the crystal, that soul-shaking scene was being replayed silently over and over again.
The girl wore a star-moon gown, standing proudly atop the head of the azure holy dragon.
The wings behind her flowed with sacred radiance.
She rode the legend, and with a desperate resoluteness, she slammed into that falling aerial fortress.
In the King’s eyes, the initial shock and relief had long since faded.
In its place was something close to greed and ruthlessness.
It was as if he could hear the mountain-like cheers of Academy City through the crystal.
But none of those cheers were praising the Red Maple Royalty.
Not a single one was praising his royal power.
In the mouths of the people, there was only one name, one title.
Saintess.
The people’s faith should belong to royal power!
Now, it had been entirely stolen away by a mysterious girl who had suddenly appeared.
This was not a good thing.
This was a threat!
“Your Majesty…”
An old man dressed in court robes with white hair and a white beard bowed as he stood by, his voice dry.
The King did not look back. he remained staring fixedly at the image in the crystal, as if he wanted to brand every detail of the girl deep into his soul.
“How long would the research on large-scale floating magic circles take?” The old King finally stood up from his throne, pacing slowly in the empty hall.
The aerial fortress that had stood above the clouds for 100 years, symbolizing the kingdom’s military power and glory, was now nothing but a pile of wreckage.
The Floating Fortress was destroyed.
“Your Majesty, even if we gathered all the Archmagi in the kingdom… I’m afraid… it would still take several decades, even — “
“Even that we might never be able to figure it out, correct?” The King interrupted him coldly.
The old mage did not dare to speak; his silence represented affirmation.
Decades of time.
Would the Demon Race give them decades?
Before this….
The Floating Fortress was deployed at Academy City — the central region of the kingdom.
This meant that no matter where an enemy attacked the kingdom, this Floating Fortress could be fully loaded with soldiers and mages, carrying various magical military equipment, and fly quickly from the sky.
This rapid support capability, combined with the aerial supremacy of the Floating Fortress itself, allowed the Red Maple Kingdom to control a massive territory while maintaining only a small number of troops.
Now….
Once the Demon Army returned, the Red Maple Kingdom, having lost its Floating Fortress, would be forced into a passive position.
Furthermore, they had to guard against other Human Kingdoms, and those inside the kingdom…
The marble floor was cold and hard, echoing clearly with the dull sound of his scepter striking it.
The old mage buried his head even lower.
The King stopped in his tracks, his gaze shifting to a copy of an ancient covenant on the wall of the hall.
That was the supreme covenant signed jointly by the Human Kingdoms 100 years ago.
Once activated, the five Great Human Kingdoms would set aside their past grudges, gather all their forces, and jointly form an allied army to resist the Demon Race.
But this also meant that each country would need to hand over part of its military command to the so-called “allied army.”
This kind of change… carried risks.
Historically, the strong who led the allied army to victory over the Demon Race would be called “Heroes.”
In the past, there had even been those who established kingdoms based on such merit…
Assembling an allied army might affect the status of the royal family.
Unless it was a last resort, he would not activate the plan for a human alliance.
The old King’s gaze returned once more to that magic crystal.
Looking at the girl riding the dragon, the greed and fanaticism in the old King’s clouded eyes burned to the extreme.
Researching a Floating Fortress was too slow.
Activating the human covenant would weaken royal power.
But wasn’t there a third choice right in front of him?
A living person who possessed powerful strength and the support of the people, and who also possessed a Giant Dragon that could instantly turn the tide of a battle.
As long as he could grasp this weapon in his hand.
That reputation, high enough to threaten royal power — once she became the Owner’s Possession of the royal family, then her glory would naturally become the glory of the royalty.
The corner of the old King’s mouth curled into a cold and cruel arc.
He turned abruptly, his aging body erupting with an astonishing aura at this moment.
“Pass down the kingdom’s highest command!”
His voice boomed within the hall, carrying an absolute will that allowed no doubt.
“Find her! Use every bit of power to contact this Saintess!”
A gleam of determination shone in the King’s eyes, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth.
“At any cost!”
“Wealth, status, glory… whatever she wants, give it to her!”
“Make absolutely sure that she swears her loyalty to my Red Maple Kingdom!”