Chapter 018: They

Chenchen emerged lightly from the magic circle. The surroundings seemed to flicker slightly before returning to normal. In that instant, she had moved from one side of the palace to its center, suddenly appearing before the green dragon Isela, leaving the ever-vigilant dragon momentarily stunned.

Isela stared at this sudden apparition. It felt its dominance wane in front of this human woman, but after all, it was still a dragon—far beyond the reach of a mere mortal. Its gaze shifted from Alfred to Chenchen. Taking a deep breath, it declared arrogantly, “Human, since you’ve managed to escape from my grasp, why return to die? Do you truly think my mercy can be given endlessly?”

Chenchen shook her head slightly, running her hand through her hair. Her silhouette was alluring, and after a moment, she smiled faintly and said, “I’m sorry, Lord Isela… I’ve come back this time… to slay dragons…”

Isela was stunned. Throughout its long life, no human had ever dared speak such words in its presence. It wanted to rage but didn’t know how to express it. Eventually, all its anger and surprise condensed into a blazing fury. Not knowing how to vent it, it roared and charged at Chenchen.

Chenchen smiled calmly. With her hands joined together, she made no apparent movement, yet a silver-white holy flame ignited in her palms. The flame grew larger and swirled gracefully, looking like a dreamlike vision. Yet to Isela, these flames were a provocation and insult to its dignity.

Its attack became even more fierce. It had even forgotten the pain in its tail. With a loud roar, it swung its tail, covered in sharp spines. But Isela soon realized that this seemingly delicate woman was far more difficult to deal with than the previous two. Her movements were as swift as lightning, leaving trails of afterimages in the air. Though Isela was confident in its strength and speed, it found itself unable to even keep up with those afterimages.

Moreover, those blazing holy flames were absolutely impossible to ignore. The swirling holy flames resembled wandering will-o’-the-wisps; whenever they touched Isela’s body, a large piece of flesh would be burned away. Yet, the scales beneath her flesh remained unharmed, as if those holy flames could penetrate Isela’s proud dragon scales.

Inside the sacred palace, a giant green dragon kept attacking and biting in vain, with a faint shadow circling around it. The silver-white holy flames shone brightly in the dim light.

Angry dragon roars echoed throughout the vast cave, filled with immense dragon power that was truly awe-inspiring.

The more Isela fought, the more terrified she became. She finally realized that in front of this woman, her speed and strength were utterly inferior. Her futile attacks only exhausted her strength without any effect.

The great Isela finally felt fear. Vaguely, she remembered the stories of heroes fighting dragons that had been told by the elders of her dragon race for thousands of years.

Any powerful dragon would consider those stories mere jokes. Humans, who were as insignificant as ants—no matter whether there was one or a thousand of them—could never be rivals to the mighty dragon race.

But now, Isela finally understood that if she hadn’t believed those stories before, she should believe them now, because right before her was a human even more powerful than a dragon.

This thought kept provoking Isela’s proud heart. She let out a loud roar and opened her mouth…

This time, another burst of dragon breath was emitted…

Chenchen was slightly surprised. She didn’t expect the green dragon to still be able to breathe fire at such a moment. But she didn’t hesitate much. With a slight twist of her right hand, the blazing holy flames in her palm formed an arc-shaped fire wall, blocking the dragon breath outside.

Isela was shocked, but she had no other choice. She turned her body and emitted another burst of dragon breath, while swinging her tail again.

Chenchen frowned slightly. She spread her hands, tearing the holy flames in midair apart. The separated flames met the second burst of dragon breath. At the same time, she lifted her foot slightly and pointed diagonally.

A beam of combat energy, like a meteor in the night sky, streaked diagonally and landed precisely on Isela’s tailbone.

Isela was as if struck by lightning; her tail went limp and hung down helplessly. A roar erupted from deep in her throat as intense pain nearly overwhelmed her. The proud green dragon Isela finally gave up her dignity. She didn’t dare look at Chenchen again and vanished in a flash, flying upward.
“At this point, do you still want to escape?” Chenchen murmured. Her figure disappeared once more into the air, reappearing right in front of Isela. The human and the dragon faced each other in midair. After a while, Chenchen suddenly smiled softly and said, “You dragon are quite interesting. I’ll spare your life—how about you obediently become my mount?”
Du Fan looked up at Chenchen in the sky. It was the first time he had seen her take action. Though he had full confidence in her strength, he never imagined it to be this great. How much power lay hidden in that slow lift of her hand?
Plus, since both of them practiced the Art of All Methods, understanding the most fundamental forces, Du Fan realized even more deeply the destructive power contained in Chenchen’s seemingly gentle strike!
But could power really be used in such a way? What level was Chenchen’s strength exactly? Such a simple difference in power wasn’t something Du Fan could understand right away. His thoughts remained stuck at the moment Chenchen summoned the Sacred Flame. Could he not summon such a blazing flame himself?
Vaguely, Du Fan sensed that he might have touched a realm he had never even dared to imagine. Yet there was still a thin veil of mist between him and that realm. Only when that mist dissipated would he be able to see what lay beyond…
…
It was now the season of blooming flowers, and the harsh winter in Emperor Gavin’s capital had long melted away, leaving only a gentle warmth. Under the bright sun, the church remained profoundly sacred. Believers worshipped everywhere inside, while visitors from all corners wandered about with devout expressions.
How long had it been since he last experienced such peaceful and comfortable days?
Archbishop Anthony had now taken off his robe, which symbolized his status, and was wearing a simple cotton coat as he stood on the attic of the chapel, watching the scene inside.

Occasionally, a few Templars or priests passed by him, bowing respectfully, but he seemed unaware of it, his gaze fixed on the distant north, wondering what lay beyond those thousands of miles—what exactly was happening there?
A bitter smile appeared on Anthony’s aged face. How many times had he gazed in that direction already? Yet why did it still shock him so much each time?
After years of meditation, he should have achieved inner peace by now. How could such things still happen?
Anthony slowly shook his head, closed his eyes, and began to recite softly, “God says that everything that happens is already destined, and everything that will happen will surely occur. God says that only those who believe in Me shall obtain eternal life…”
Halfway through his devout recitation, Anthony’s voice stopped abruptly. He shook his head slightly and said slowly, “You’ve arrived…”
Nio’s slender figure appeared beside Anthony. He stood in such a clever position that, under the sunlight, his silhouette blended perfectly with the shadow of a pillar on the chapel’s attic. Unless one searched deliberately, no one could detect his presence.
With an expressionless face, Nio glanced around before whispering, “Lord Anthony… what orders do you have for me this time?”
Anthony’s facial muscles twitched. After a moment, he said softly, “How long have they been gone?”
Nio naturally understood what those “they” referred to. He smiled lightly and replied, “Lord Anthony, they have been gone for almost a month. By estimation, if everything goes well, they should be on their way back by now.”
Anthony’s breath hitched. “Then… are there any updates?”
Nio shook his head. “Since we received the last news, we’ve had no further updates from them. We couldn’t even send any final instructions. If I’m not mistaken, their situation must be extremely perilous… Even if there are any news, it’s unlikely they can get back in time… But Lord Anthony, don’t worry too much… If you can’t trust Alfred, Duvan, or Tasia, surely you can’t distrust Saint Nicholas either? He is the heir you carefully nurtured…”