"That's my little helper for you. Don't you wish you had one?"
Westheid laughed, but the handsome young man's mysterious, teasing smile made the platinum-blonde girl clench her fists. If he wasn't her clan leader, she would've punched him already.
Fortunately, Reiya spoke up, cooling Yolanda's temper in the nick of time:
"It was a distress signal in the Dragon Language."
The Silver-haired Princess explained, "What West had me memorize before was the Ancient Dragon Language. The chant I just performed was a coded distress signal. They... they came looking for that signal."
Yolanda nodded. "Then why aren't they attacking us..."
The platinum-blonde girl's question died in her throat. She saw the conspicuous, silver, jade-like dragon horns on Reiya's head and had a sudden realization.
"I see... Brother, did you plan for this from the very beginning?"
"Different situations call for different responses. This just happens to be the optimal solution for the current one."
Westheid said calmly. He had played through the "Dragon Disaster Era" series of instances so many times he could beat them with his eyes closed. As for unorthodox strategies, nothing was better than when a player created a Dragon Descendant character and infiltrated the Dragon Group from within.
And Reiya was even more special. She wasn't just an ordinary Dragon Descendant; the room for maneuver was much greater than it had been in "Poem of Destiny."
Not far away, the Giant Dragon in Molten Rock Armor finally smashed open the Armor Battle Suit.
The Mechanical Battle Armor was truly a strategic-level weapon, having shielded its master from a long series of lethal blows. But unfortunately, no matter how durable it was, it couldn't withstand the Giant Dragon's relentless destruction.
After peeling open the powerless Mechanical Battle Armor, the Giant Dragon unhesitatingly tore the unconscious War Knight to shreds.
The scene was extremely violent and bloody. Kaplan was charcoal-grilled, then meticulously crushed, his "tomato sauce" spread evenly over the grass.
After doing all this, the Giant Dragon finally turned its gaze toward Westheid and the others.
Then, raising its massive draconic head, it approached step by step.
"Ngh..."
Yolanda stood nervously in front of Westheid, her hand on the hilt of her sword.
However, Westheid reached out and stopped the girl who was instinctively trying to protect him. He moved to the very front and shouted sternly at the mountain-sized Giant Dragon:
"You're only responding to the call now, allowing my Venerable Lord to fall into peril? And you dare to swagger over so brazenly? Have you no sense of propriety and hierarchy?"
Berated head-on by Westheid, the Giant Dragon was first stunned, then roared in anger:
"I am Tudor Ashsmoke, an Execution Officer under the command of the [Scorching Wings]! I rushed here the moment I received the signal, and you dare accuse me of dereliction of duty? And since when do slaves have the right to speak? Where is your master?!"
The Giant Dragon named Tudor roared coldly at Westheid, then looked toward Reiya, intending to mock whichever of his kin had been forced into such a desperate situation by a few mere mortals.
But when he got a clear look at Reiya, he fell silent at once.
The Giant Dragon that had been so arrogant just a moment ago was now like a kitten picked up by the scruff of its neck. Its body curled up, and it even trembled slightly. It prostrated its draconic head on the ground and said in a quivering voice:
"Such noble pure blood... You... Are you of the Divine Ancestor's True Blood? ...I... Forgive me, please forgive this lowly one's tardiness. I was truly unaware of Your Highness's presence."
Burying its head deep in the dirt, Tudor cautiously sized up Reiya from the corner of its eye and asked:
"Might this lowly one be so fortunate as to know Your Highness's name?"
...........
"What's with that Giant Dragon?! It just groveled like that?"
Yaligong roared, fuming with rage as he watched the scene on the projection screen:
"Weren't you so high and mighty when you were killing my Knight? Keep going! Tear her to pieces! Stomp her to death! Coward! Useless piece of trash!"
"I see. So that was his way of breaking the stalemate. Killing with a borrowed knife..."
The Regent King, Sylvia, lowered her eyes, her slender, pale fingers stroking her lovely chin as she said thoughtfully:
"Using Reiya's Dragon Blood to pose as a High-level Dragon Descendant... Heh. Did Duke Qinghui come up with such a plan so quickly? Or was it premeditated?"
"It's just absurd cleverness. This time, it was just a stroke of dumb luck."
Yaligong bit his lower lip hard and snorted coldly.
Although he constantly denigrated Reiya as a half-breed and hated her to the core, even he had to admit that the Silver-haired Princess was probably the noblest half-breed in the world.
Setting aside her Holy Descendant bloodline from the Imperial Family, the other half of Reiya's Dragon Blood came from a genuine, pure-blooded True Dragon.
If one were to trace her lineage back to its source, she could even be considered a direct descendant of the [Star Abyss Wings]—purer than a pure-blooded True Dragon.
There was no problem at all using her to borrow the tiger's might.
"Was it really just luck?"
The Regent King glanced at her younger royal brother, her expression full of doubt.
There was a significant difference between the Ancient Dragon Language and modern Dragon Language. It wasn't that it was impossible to learn, but aside from Scholars who specialized in ancient history, very few people studied it. What's more, from the looks of it, Westheid even had a notebook prepared.
'It's almost as if... he knew the content of this Trial in advance.'
"Duke Qinghui knows Ancient Dragon Language?"
In the seats of the [Branch of Prosperity], Luyetan saw this scene, clapped her hands in excitement, and stood up from her seat.
"Extremely proficient Ancient Dragon Language. Even I, after several years of dedicated study, am only at this level. Duke Qinghui is truly diligent and dedicated."
The Shadow Flame Duke also clicked his tongue in praise, but he pointed out a potential danger:
"However, mastery of the language alone is insufficient to pull off this deception. The ancient Dragon Race was rife with factions and internal conflict, and they were practitioners of mysticism. A single misstep could mean death in an instant."
The Shadow Flame Duke's concerns were easily shared by the others. Everyone was staring intently at the projection, wanting to see how Westheid planned to handle the situation.
...........
Watching the Giant Dragon tremble before her, Reiya was slightly surprised. But in the next moment, the Silver-haired Dragon Lady exchanged a look with Westheid, gave a tacit nod, and retreated without a word.
Reiya didn't know the Ancient Dragon Language. To avoid arousing suspicion, it was better to let Westheid handle the negotiations.
"My master is severely injured and finds it inconvenient to speak. Therefore, I will speak on her behalf."
"Human, and who are you? What gives you the right to represent the will of Her Highness?"
Tudor immediately retorted. He might grovel before Reiya, but he would absolutely not tolerate a tiny, insignificant human putting on airs in front of him.
"And why are there no other attendants by Her Highness's side? Only you two humans?"
Tudor's questions were pointed and potentially fatal. If Westheid couldn't provide a logical explanation, he would undoubtedly arouse suspicion. Even if they weren't killed on the spot, gaining the dragon's trust would become impossible.
Reiya and Yolanda couldn't help but grow tense. At this moment, they could only count on Westheid to provide a perfect answer.
Westheid raised his head and said proudly:
"Because I am my master's Star Fury Power."
The moment he finished speaking, both Reiya and Yolanda shot him strange looks.
Tudor, however, didn't seem to find anything wrong with that. Instead, he nodded as if it were a matter of course, pointed to Yolanda, and said:
"Then what about her? Is she also..."
Westheid looked at Yolanda. Her expression was stern, her elegant brows furrowed, and she was giving him a look that said, 'If you dare say I'm Reiya's Star Fury Power too, I'll fight you to the death.'
Westheid said, "She is my Star Fury Power."
Hearing this, Tudor carefully sized up Westheid and made a sound of understanding and relief:
"Oh, then that's not strange at all..."