Manasvir Empire’s capital, Macnadix City’s imperial city, at the western zone of the arena. When Bella entered the time-space switch, she was instantly placed next to Kriss. As soon as Bella appeared, she was able to feel the problem. She felt an oppressive aura, which usually hinted at the presence of high-leveled demons.
This was a wooded area, but strangely, the trees were withered and the earth was covered in the air of decay. Reasonably, such a place should not exist in the imperial arena. Bella was wondering if Kriss had gone to the wrong place. This place didn’t look like a competition venue, but more like a hunting ground for wild monsters.
Kriss was already fighting. Swinging the longsword in her hand, she repelled the Skeleton Soldiers that rushed at her, breaking them into pieces. The Skeleton Soldiers didn’t look to be summoned by people. Instead, it seems they were present in the arena to begin with. Kriss’s name was well known amongst the students. Being nominated the no.1 warrior, it was likely that the mastermind behind the scenes targeted her on purpose and placed her here. The flying beasts responsible for relaying the scene in this area had already disappeared, and in worst case, eliminated.
“Dark Conversion!”
Bella raised her right hand and cast magic like a mage. Black energy ripples gradually spread from her hand and the Skeleton Soldiers that were touched by that energy seem to now be confused in terms of enemy recognition, and the Skeleton Soldiers in the front turned around and began attacking their Skeleton Soldier friends in the back instead.
“Dark Conversion” is the usual move a Demon King would use to control some low-level dark demonic beings. This can help them control Skeleton Soldiers without masters, as well as ghouls and other cannon-fodder level demonic beings. If the opponent has a master, it can disrupt their control over their units, disrupting them indirectly. Bella’s support made Kriss breathe a sigh of relief for the time being.
“Bella, you’re finally here! Are things going well on that side? It would be great if Isaman could come. It seems like not many teams drew this spot in the lot, and members with the Radiant Church’s members basically don’t get lots for this region.”
“Everything’s fine there, Kriss. Isaman and Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth are there so it’ll pretty much be a steady win. This side though…Hm, things might be a little tricky.”
After the Skeleton Soldiers, three Bone Dragons appeared. They looked like mutated versions of Bone Dragons and their bodies were emitting an aura of frost. They should be mutated versions of the Frost Dragon. Frost Dragons are one variant of mutated dragons, and they are special Bone Dragons summoned using the bones of dragons such as the Ice Dragons or Water Dragons. Usually, Bone Dragons would only do physical attacks, but besides that, this Frost Dragon can also make ice magic attacks, so it was considered an enhanced version of the Bone Dragon.
Three Skeleton Knight Generals could be seen on the backs of the Frost Dragons. When they saw the chaos amongst the skeleton soldiers, they couldn’t help but make their move.
After confirming that this place wasn’t relayed by the magic broadcast, Bella quickly took out the evil artifact she got from Great Evil God Mia from her storage ring. It was a sealed black box, and on it were strange shapes of dolls that looked broken and incomplete.
“Bella, this box…Isn’t this the legendary evil artifact, ‘Dark Nursery Rhyme’? Where did you get such a…such a scary…”
“It’s fine, Kriss. Nobody’s watching here. They’re trying to trap you here and we can’t just follow their script. Come out, Evil God’s dolls!”
Bella pressed a finger to the special keyhole on top of the box and quickly felt a sting of pain. The box quickly broke Bella’s skin and sucked the dripping blood as an activation key. After it was done, the box opened, and the instant it did, a strange melody flowed from the box as countless broken and bloody dolls came out from the Dark Nursery Rhyme.
These dolls were all things that only appeared in nightmares. They were either teddy bears with their insides gutted out or toy rabbits with missing limbs. The most terrifying thing was, these clowns and toy dolls that usually had cute, funny faces, so after becoming fallen, it gave the dolls a horrifying effect that appeared extremely gloomy.
Even though they looked strangely ridiculous, their combat power was much stronger than the Skeleton Soldiers on the other side. Without the need for Bella’s command, the killer dolls rushed towards the Skeleton Soldiers and the scene suddenly turned into an all-out war between dark forces with shattered bones flying everywhere. When the three Frost Dragons in the sky noticed that things didn’t look right and intended to come down to support them, several spiders launched themselves into the sky and latched onto the limbs of one of the Frost Dragons, pulling it to the ground.
Kriss leapt onto the back of Frost Dragon and attacked the Skeleton Knight. That Skeleton Knight was armed with a heavy sword without a shield. When Kriss got close, it swung its greatsword down, but Kriss nimbly dodged it by jumping sideways so that the greatsword just grazed by and did not hit her.
After a flash of her sword, the Skeleton Knight’s head was chopped clean off. The headless Skeleton Knight swung its greatsword aimlessly, planning to fight to the end to at least bring a bit of damage to Kriss.
“You’re already at the end of your life and…Wait no, you’re already dead! Disappear!”
Kriss jumped back and thrust out her sword at the same time. Like a thrown spear, a white light formed from her sword, instantly piercing the Skeleton Knight’s chest, and the great impact of it caused the Skeleton Knight to be blown ten meters away, killing it instantly.
Bella did not stay idle either. She jumped onto the head of the Frost Dragon and put a hand on its bony head as a black cone of energy pierced straight through it. After the frost core in its head was pierced through, the Frost Dragon was considered completely dead.
When the other two Frost Dragons saw their companions being killed so mercilessly, they angrily sprayed two streams of frost at Bella and Kriss. It was a very cold stream of water that could instantly freeze a person once it touches them. Bella quickly blocked in front of Kriss to catch the two attacks. With her contract with Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth, these ice attacks were practically useless against her as they were stopped by an icy blue barrier as soon as they came close and were unable to reach Bella or Kriss.
“I’ll send you two back into the ground. No need to thank me. Go, Thunderbolt!”
Bella still had Thunder Dragon Geleman’s Thunderbolt. She sent out two bolts of lightning magic that followed the cold streams back to the two Bone Dragons. The lightning magic was the same as over a million volts of electricity on Earth. Naturally, as the two Frost Dragons were covered in an aura of frost with tons of water vapour, there was no doubt about their conductivity. They were instantly turned into a pile of ash by the electricity before falling down like two meteors.
The Skeleton Knights on the back of the Bone Dragons who were wearing heavy armor made of conductive metal were ignited into flaming skeletons by the electric current, turning into ashes as well. Based on the general battle power calculation, each Bone Dragon Knight was comparable to a regular Dragon Knight, so they could only blame the venue that they were killed off instantly. Lightning seemed to light up on the other side again, steadily restraining the Frost Dragons.
Three Frost Dragons were killed in a short amount of time. This performance was enough to make the demonic boss on the other side sit up, and amidst a roar, both sides began summoning demonic beings. As a hidden Dragon Knight, Bella had already predicted the possibility of the opposite side summoning dragons in advance and was also familiar with their smell. Since they were summoning dragons, then she didn’t need to hide either.
In the magic broadcasting hall of the imperial city, the hosts and guests were all watching the broadcast transmission screen, which was showing the forest area where Bella and Kriss were. One of their special flying demonic beasts chanced upon the area by accident and was fortunate enough to broadcast the epic battle from the sky. The scene here was even more shocking than Grand Duke Bellina’s summoning of Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth from earlier, so much so that they forgot to cut off the magic broadcast signal, allowing the audience to catch a glimpse of this scene that went beyond common sense
In the once gloomy dark skies, four terrifying teleportation arrays opened up almost instantaneously as four dragons seemed to be summoned at the same time. The difference in time wasn’t too far off. In the east, a strange-looking red moon appeared, and a super elven dragon-shaped demonic dragon was born in the blood moon. The graceful figure of the Elven Dragon looked magnificent.
New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea arrived from the east from Bella’s summoning. After Sea Demonic Dragon Amy Beth was summoned, Dorothea predicted that she might have to make an appearance as well, so she made preparations early on, thus was able to be the first to rush over as soon as Bella summoned her.
From the south, a huge swirl of lightning appeared and a huge Thunder Dragon appeared from within. It was a large demonic dragon in standard western-style with a Thunder Horn on its head. Dark blue ripples of lightning were constantly flashing above the single horn, and every flap of the gigantic wings behind the dragon’s back emitted a sound similar to the crack of thunder. Many dark blue lightning ripples appeared around the Thunder Dragon’s body that looked like added special effects.
Thunder Dragon Queen Geleman was the second demonic dragon to appear in this area. After signing the contract with Bella, she received the blessing of the Demon King’s blood that allowed her power to flourish. Now, she had the confidence to win this 2v2 fight. The two enemy dragons on the other side were going to be tricky, which required her to team up with New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea to deal with them.
From the north, a huge turquoise demonic dragon appeared, emitting a luster similar to emeralds. It was also in the shape of a western-style dragon, similar to Thunder Dragon Queen Geleman. She was an Emerald Demonic Dragon that could use magic, though her physical attacks were not bad either. From the north, the demonic dragon with the most perfect appearance out of the four appeared. It was the Gem Dragon. The body shape of the Gem Dragon was similar to the Emerald Demonic Dragon, but its body was covered in dragon scales that looked just like gemstones, emitting a radiant luster, one that even New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea could not compare with. If it was a comparison of their beauty, then the Gem Dragon was the sure winner.
After four legendary demonic dragons appeared, they quickly split into two teams to prepare for a team fight. Thunder Dragon Queen Geleman and New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea were on one team, and both of them were on Bella’s side. And, they were normal dragons. Both the Emerald Demonic Dragon and Gem Dragon on the other side belonged to mineral-type mutated dragons, so they weren’t really in the same camp.
The Emerald Demonic Dragon and the Gem Dragon occupied the other side of the sky, facing off with the New Moon Demonic Dragon and the Thunder Demonic Dragon. As both sides faced off, a large rumble could be heard from the ground below. A Crystal Dragon whose appearance resembled an Earth Dragon emerged and joined the four-man fight. The amethyst-like scales of the dragon had already revealed its identity. This is the leader of the Crystal Dragons, Princess Purple Crystal.
Crystal Dragon Purple Crystal looked up at the four dragons in the sky. Without any hesitation, she stood underneath the New Moon Demonic Dragon and the Thunder Dragon. Based on their attributes, it was reasonable to say that they should be on the same side as the Gem Dragon and the Emerald Dragon, but after being recruited by Bella, Crystal Dragon Purple Crystal had already switched to Bella’s side.
“Ladies and gentlemen…After confirmation, the Elven Dragon and the Crystal Dragon’s registration information is confirmed to be Grand Duke Baize’s summoned demonic beasts. And, that Thunder Dragon is Grand Duke Bellina’s mount…As Grand Duke Bellina said previously, she had lent it to Grand Duke Baize.”
“We could not find any news regarding the masters of the Emerald Demonic Dragon and the Gem Dragon, so they should be wild ones without owners…”
The hosts in the magic broadcast room relayed the information in a somewhat awkward tone. Bella had already submitted this information before the competition, but the staff handling the material, including many of the guests, thought that both Grand Duke Baize and Grand Duke Bellina were just talking big. They looked down on nobles like these who liked to boast and the audience all thought they were just lying, but they didn’t expect it to be true.
Watching Grand Duke Baize, who was dressed in a mage’s outfit, sitting leisurely atop the Thunder Dragon’s back on the screen, many guests felt like they had just been slapped on the face. Many of them did not think much of Grand Duke Baize before the competition. They believed that she had just been riding the human race’s no.1 Swordsman Warrior Princess Kriss to advance in the competition and obtain the “Warriors of Lornosbill” medal but was actually just an apprentice magician who only knew how to cast fireballs.
However, the merciless truth was there right before them. For a magician to be able to summon New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea and Crystal Dragon Purple Crystal, it was hard to convince anyone that she was a low-level mage. For a moment, everyone was speechless. The one who was most dumbfounded was the Knights’ Union’s president. For such a strong dragon mount to actually be summoned by a mage, the Knights’ Union’s president’s reputation was almost blown out the window.
Fortunately, Mage Baize’s mount, the Thunder Dragon, was borrowed from Grand Duke Bellina, barely saving some face for the Knights’ Union. The Knights’ Union’s president was already beginning to craft up a secret plan to grant Grand Duke Baize the title of Dragon Knight. According to the Knights’ Union’s records, Grand Duke Bellina’s profession level was only at that of a Holy Knight. For a Holy Knight to be able to control such a terrifying mount like the Thunder Dragon, the Dragon Knights ranked before her must be feeling embarrassed.
The president of the Mage’s Union was currently planning similar things as the Knights’ Union’s president. He wanted to make an application to the Aldridge Empire, which is the Nation of Arcana, to give Grand Duke Baize the title of a master-rank mage. If an ordinary mage could summon dragons, then the master mages would be embarrassing themselves if they couldn’t do it, so it was better to raise Grand Duke Baize’s mage profession level a little higher.
Everyone’s eyes were all focused on the dragons fighting in the sky, automatically ignoring the skeletons and dark dolls that were already fighting in the dense forest. Bella sat on the back of the Thunder Dragon while Kriss sat behind her. Both of them got onto the Thunder Dragon and began their scuffle with the demonic dragons on the other side. The Emerald Demonic Dragon and the Gem Dragon seemed to be able to recognize Bella, but they chose to remain silent for the time being.
The first to attack was New Moon Demonic Dragon Dorothea. More than a dozen floating elemental energy balls appeared behind her back, and all sorts of magic smashed into the Emerald Demonic Dragon, but the Emerald Demonic Dragon was unwilling to show any weakness. The spike-shaped emerald-colored magic attack was launched over, and both sides exploded in the sky in brilliant “fireworks”.
The Gem Dragon belonged to the physical attack type. She flew over to try and hit Thunder Dragon Queen Geleman, but the Thunder Dragon spat out a huge spray of lightning. As numerous bolts of electricity hit the Gem Dragon’s body, many explosions emerged, but the Gem Dragon’s resistance to magic was very high, thus the lightning strike was only able to slow her down. However, she still rushed over at a quick speed.
Being the hardest of all mineral dragons, the Gem Dragon was going to use her body as a weapon while searching for an opening to attack Thunder Dragon Queen Geleman. Just as she was about to hit, Crystal Dragon Purple Crystal that she had overlooked jumped up and slammed into the relatively soft abdomen of the Gem Dragon with the hardest part, her head.
With a bang, the Gem Dragon was knocked away, returning to its place in the air. She had just realized now that it was 2v3. Even though the Crystal Dragon couldn’t get into the sky, the New Moon Demonic Dragon and the Thunder Dragon were deliberately flying low so that they had to follow for the fight, allowing the Crystal Dragon to jump up towards them to support her two partners above, putting them at a disadvantage.
“Bella, those two demonic dragons, their backs…There are people on them!”
“Yeah, but I think you might be wrong, Kriss. I don’t think they’re humans.”
At the moment when the Gem Dragon and the Crystal Dragon collided earlier, Bella and Kriss clearly saw a shadowy figure on the Gem Dragon’s back, and there also seemed to be one standing on the back of the Emerald Dragon too. Neither of them had registration records, so they could pretty much assume that it was a demonic being. Only, they were wearing black robes so the viewers watching the broadcast couldn’t see too clearly.
The guy standing on top of the Gem Dragon’s back was wearing a black cloak. It suddenly looked to the distance, then the flying demonic beast in charge of the shooting could be seen turning into stone and falling out of the sky in an instant. With that, the broadcasted image over at the magic broadcast hall was permanently frozen. The audience was confused. Just as something exciting was about to happen, it suddenly cut off. Nothing could be sadder than that.
“Petrification! You guys…Who the hell…”
“The Scourge Legion does not speak with weaklings, you ignorant woman. Prove your rights with your strength!”
