Chapter 51: Dragon Maiden

“Alice!!!”

Meilinya rubbed her eyes, thinking she must be hallucinating.

“How is she even here?!”

“Probably sneaked out again…” an elf behind her said helplessly.

Just then, Vera stirred once more.

She put her hands on her hips and looked up at the towering creature, at least ten times her height, complaining, “Hey! Don’t ignore me! Put Xiao Bai down quickly, I want to play… let me chat with her for a bit!”

Xiao Hei gave a disdainful huff and fell silent again.

“Stupid dragon!”

“You’re the stupid one ahhh!!!”

Meilinya, hiding in the bushes, suddenly let out a sharp, piercing cry.

“C-Captain, should we intervene?” an elf nearby hesitated.

“Of course! That girl’s really causing trouble!”

Meilinya irritably ruffled her golden hair and rushed forward, her squad following closely behind.

“Xiao Bai, come down and play with your sister. I’m so bored.”

Seeing the stupid dragon ignoring her, Vera changed tactics and directly coaxed Bai.

“Xiao Hei, can you put Bai down?”

Bai petted Xiao Hei and asked.

Xiao Hei seemed reluctant but sighed and lowered his massive body, setting Bai down, then shot a glare at the foolish elf Vera.

Huff

“Xiao Bai, did he say bad things about me again?”

“Xiao Hei said… Vera sister is smart and lovely.”

Bai said, tilting her head with a hint of sympathy in her eyes.

Unexpectedly, Vera immediately put on a smile again and struck a pose with her hands on her hips.

“Although this dragon is pretty annoying, he actually has good taste!”

Xiao Hei: ………

Xiao Hei was about to retort when suddenly his vertical pupils snapped shut.

He rose to his full imposing height and swiftly swung his tail, sweeping up Bai who had just landed.

“Stupid dragon, what are you doing, mmmph mmmph mmmph……”

Suddenly a hand reached out from behind and dragged Vera back, a familiar voice shouting, “Attack formation!”

Vera focused and saw dozens of elves seemingly appearing from nowhere, surrounding the giant dragon.

And the person behind them was none other than…

“Sister!”

“Don’t call me that! You nearly scared me to death!”

Meilinya scolded angrily, eyes wary of the dragon, her hands trembling slightly on her wooden bow.

Xiao Hei’s dragon eyes darkened, his great black wings unfurled, and he growled a low warning that vibrated like thunder, shaking everyone’s hearts.

“Sister! He’s one of us! No ill intentions!”

Vera hurriedly explained, seeing the tension rising.

“Are you kidding? No matter what, a dragon being one of us is absurd!”

“Elven friends!”

As the atmosphere thickened with hostility, Xiao Hei’s low growl finally caught the attention of Skarn and Aurelia, who hurried over.

“This dragon is not an enemy. Lower your weapons!”

“Lord Skarn?”

Meilinya saw the Blood Slave Captain step in and hesitated for a moment, then gave the order.

“…Everyone lower your weapons.”

The crowd sheathed their bows and swords, but Xiao Hei remained on high alert, eyes locked on these unfamiliar faces, worried Bai might get hurt again.

“Lord Skarn, what’s going on? Weren’t you requesting support? With this dragon here, nothing could hurt you. Even if vampires came, you’d just have to run.”

Meilinya questioned.

She was already exhausted from traveling all the way from the Northern Forest, only to find they apparently needed no help.

Worse, she had seen her princess fearlessly bickering with a dragon.

“It’s a long story. I’d ask you to come back with me to the Command Post for a detailed talk. But one thing I can assure you: this giant dragon means no harm. He only wants to protect his master.”

Skarn said, patting his chest confidently.

“Master?”

Meilinya frowned, suddenly hearing a pained voice from the dragon’s tail.

“Mmmph mmmph mmmph… Xiao Hei, Bai can’t breathe.”

Xiao Hei cautiously stepped back out of the circle and into what he considered a safe spot before setting Bai down.

At that moment, Meilinya finally got a clear look at the mysterious girl.

Her silver-gray hair was like mist, her features as faint as distant mountains.

Her gray eyes were neither cold nor fiery—just quietly smiling.

A human girl?

The mysterious girl pouted, gently punching the dragon’s tail twice and said irritably, “Really, Bai has told you so many times, Xiao Hei’s reactions are too intense.”

Bai brushed dust off her clothes and then walked over to the stunned Meilinya, bowing deeply in apology.

“Sorry, elf sister, Xiao Hei is just too nervous. He means no harm.”

Meilinya pointed at Xiao Hei and then looked at Bai, incredulous, asking, “You call him Xiao Hei?”

“Yeah, is there a problem?”

Bai tilted her head in confusion.

“You’re his master? How did you tame a black dragon?”

Meilinya asked again.

Vera behind her finally burst out laughing, only to be smacked hard on the head by Meilinya.

“And you, stupid girl! I’ll deal with you later!”

Vera’s smile vanished.

“Xiao Hei is Bai’s friend, not a pet.”

Bai replied.

Friend… Meilinya found it easier to believe vampires could fall for humans than humans befriending a ferocious dragon.

She discreetly glanced at the dragon, who seemed to notice and fixed his vertical pupils on her.

Humans are terrifying!

A White Dragon Girl like this, with such power, why fear vampires at all?

***

Following Skarn to the command tent, Meilinya’s mind buzzed with questions.

They needed a proper talk, especially about that White Dragon Girl!

After all, neither the Elven Kingdom nor the Orc Tribe had ever heard of humans commanding dragons.

If this could be leveraged, dealing with Vampire Beasts and Vampires would be a breeze—a single swipe of that tail could wipe out swathes of enemies!

But to her surprise, Skarn immediately crushed her hopes.

“Miss Meilinya, I advise you not to get any ideas about that dragon. He only follows that Bai child.”

“So who exactly is this child? How did she tame that black dragon? And I’ve never heard of humans possessing such power.”

Meilinya frowned.

“She…”

Skarn began, hesitating to reveal Bai’s status as a Blood Servant. After a moment, he continued.

“She is someone we encountered for the first time just a few days ago in the Forest. That night, we were ambushed. It was the girl who kept healing our fallen warriors, allowing us to barely win that battle. Then she disappeared the next day.”

“And then you were ambushed again shortly after?”

Meilinya asked.

Skarn nodded.

“Yes. Then just yesterday, that girl followed Vera… or rather, Princess Alice, here.”

Meilinya sighed with a headache.

“That fool, really has no fear of death.”

Skarn chuckled and continued, “They said they came to support us. I was shocked too… Yesterday, we were attacked by vampires. This black dragon descended from the sky and with a blast of dragonfire burned them all. That’s all.”

Meilinya raised an eyebrow.

So this dragon came to save his master!

Since when did humans give birth to a Dragon Girl?