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Join the ServerThe training ground was enveloped by a silencing barrier, allowing them to speak freely now.
‘It’s still the same, that baffling confidence of hers,’ Theodore mused, a hint of a smile playing on his lips. He then declared, “If you had shown this much consideration back then, I wouldn’t have sought refuge with the Old Patriarch. But alas, it’s too late now! I am no longer the man I once was! I have been reborn from the ashes, solely to conquer you, Theresia!”
“Hmph, a traitor, indeed. Why can’t you understand? Why?” Theresia lamented, a profound sense of sorrow in her voice. “That old dragon is a relic of the past. You and I are still young; our time working together in the future stretches endlessly before us. Can you truly bear the thought of your future self being beaten senseless every day? Turn back from your misguided path, pledge allegiance to the great Black Dragon King, and tell me what new schemes that old dragon is plotting. I will bestow upon you lavish rewards in the future.”
“Heh, are you truly so confident that in the future, it won’t be you beneath me?” Theodore retorted with a playful taunt.
Theresia did not interpret his words as a crude joke. Her mind was entirely consumed by the thought of the Old Patriarch plotting against her once more. “It seems there’s no other way. Only a good beating can bring you to your senses. If you were once my elder, you’ll remain my elder forever!”
“Seven years to the east, seven years to the west; never bully a young man in poverty!” Theodore shouted, then charged towards Theresia.
“Wait, seven years?” Theresia realized something was amiss, but Theodore granted her little time to ponder. The long spear, imbued with immense power, was already hurtling towards her.
****
“They’re fighting! They’re finally fighting!”
“Hiss, they talked for so long just now. I really wish I could have heard what they were saying.”
The onlookers outside murmured amongst themselves, the expedition team and Theodore’s squad members divided into two groups. They harbored no animosity, especially after Theresia and Theodore’s preceding conversation and actions, which made it clear this was not a fight to the death seeking vengeance.
Rather, it was a former loser, returning after mastering new skills, ready to reclaim their honor from the most wicked of dragons. Such a spectacle of the underdog triumphing over the mighty was the best kind of drama for these adventurers.
If not for the fact that the most wicked of dragons was their patron, and Theresia had made certain arrangements for them on the way, they would already be cheering for Theodore.
Lola, however, was not captivated by the duel. She repeatedly glanced at the curvaceous woman opposite her, a strong sense of familiarity washing over her for reasons unknown.
Yet, the woman had clearly used magic to obscure her identity from outsiders, leaving Lola utterly unable to recall who she was. The alluring woman seemed to notice Lola’s gaze, even waving a hand in greeting.
This gesture only heightened Lola’s vigilance. This woman, she suspected, was no ordinary individual.
****
Meanwhile, Theresia’s mind raced, trying to recall anyone she had offended seven years prior. Logically, she had already ‘reasoned with’ everyone who had wronged her. Who could be so audacious and persistent as to ambush her on the 100th floor?
Theresia automatically removed Theodore from her list of enemies. No, he had never even been on the list. How could they be enemies? Besides, she had already wiped Theodore’s memory.
Hahaha, surely that old dragon couldn’t have found the random town she had chosen. Impossible, absolutely impossible. Theresia’s inner self refused to entertain such a possibility.
After searching her memories two or three times, she spoke to the masked man in a deep voice, “It’s just the two of us here. What, are you still going to face me with that sneaky mask? Even your revenge looks like a clown show.”
Theodore chuckled softly, raising his long spear. “Wouldn’t it be better for you to uncover it yourself?”
“Oh, alright. But it might sting a little, so bear with it,” Theresia said with a gentle smile, instantly revealing her brutal nature. Despite being clad in heavy armor and wielding a greatsword, her speed was as swift as lightning, the massive blade arcing straight for Theodore’s neck.
However, Theodore reacted quickly, blocking it with his spear. The clash of their weapons unleashed a terrifying shockwave, shattering all the surrounding rocks.
“Phew, it seems we can have a proper fight,” Theodore remarked meaningfully, then launched into a fierce exchange with Theresia. Their afterimages flickered and were instantly destroyed; in just three minutes, the greatsword and long spear had collided thousands of times.
With a seemingly casual horizontal sweep from Theresia, Theodore was repelled. Theresia lifted her greatsword, its blade already covered in cracks, clearly unable to withstand such high-intensity combat any longer.
“It seems your greatsword isn’t of very good quality,” Theodore said triumphantly. Theresia nonchalantly tossed the greatsword to the ground, letting it shatter into pieces, then pulled out a new one from her spatial ring.
“I have dozens more swords of this quality in my spatial ring.” Theresia had already realized that the long spear’s quality and strength were unbelievably high; it was no exaggeration to call it a divine weapon.
She held her greatsword back, lowered her center of gravity, and took a deep breath, preparing to unleash a thunderous strike, intending to at least force her opponent to reveal their true face. Theodore also sensed this; he hunched his back, holding his spear horizontally, pointing directly at Theresia, and began to gather his power.
The surrounding onlookers also noticed the combatants building their momentum, holding their breath in anticipation of the terrifying collision. There was no countdown, but Theodore and Theresia moved almost simultaneously.
The two charged like unstoppable trains, colliding violently and unleashing a massive shockwave. The long spear and greatsword locked in a standoff, battle qi raging around them.
The leather armor and mask on Theodore, and the heavy armor on Theresia, rapidly developed spiderweb-like cracks. Yet, neither side intended to yield.
With a sharp crack, all their disguises shattered. Although regrettable, Theodore had to admit that Theresia, in her human form, was indeed stronger than him. Even with the stone spear in his hand, a relic of the giant race that had once ridden alongside them in divine wars, stained with the blood of countless powerful foes, Theresia still managed to nullify this advantage through her masterful application of strength.
In fact, his thirteen brothers had also mentioned this: Theresia habitually maintained her human form, and throughout her two hundred years as a dragon, she had repeatedly sought to learn from and challenge human powerhouses. Her combat techniques were meticulously refined.
While this was a rather ‘painful’ endeavor in the eyes of other dragons—after all, for dragons, true power could only be unleashed in their dragon form—Theodore, after merging with the blood of giants, had studied the giant inheritance collected by the dragon race.
Seven years was too short to fully comprehend the giant’s legacy. Therefore, Theodore primarily focused on learning the giant’s dragon-slaying combat techniques, further refining them based on the battle experiences of the Thirteen Protectors and Theresia. This meant that facing Theresia in her dragon form, while he was in his giant state, was his trump card for this challenge!
One was a dragon, the other a human. Yet, at this moment, the dragon’s human form was stronger than the human, and paradoxically, the dragon’s dragon form was weaker than the human.
Revealing his true face, Theodore smiled joyfully at Theresia. “So, Theresia, let’s begin the second round.”
Theresia, however, was utterly bewildered. She had recognized the incredibly familiar face beneath the mask and promptly let out a shriek. “THEODORE!!!”
****
“The Most Wicked Dragon is actually a woman?”
“No way, and a super beauty at that! You can’t tell she’s usually so brutal.”
“You just don’t get it, do you? The prettier a woman is, the more she lies.”
The expedition team members chatted animatedly. Alicia’s suspended heart finally settled, and her gaze towards Aesop grew even more resolute. Aesop, conversely, grew even more terrified; despite Alicia’s incessant indoctrination, his firm resolve to remain single remained unshaken.
Lola already knew Theresia’s identity, but she was still greatly surprised, as she hadn’t expected Theodore to be the one dueling Theresia. But hadn’t Theresia said they had a very good relationship?
Why was Theodore so earnestly seeking revenge? Was this some new kind of ‘play’? Lola’s small brain felt a little muddled.
Just then, a figure quietly approached her. “Hello, Princess Lola,” he whispered softly.
Lola nearly jumped in fright, eyeing the ‘enemy’ before her with extreme caution. “Who are you? I don’t know you. Can you please not act like we’re old friends?”
Larkin introduced himself, “My name is Larkin. I am a close friend you and Princess Theresia have never met. I am the Tenth Prince of the Arad Empire.”
“Tenth Prince? You?” Lola scrutinized Larkin from head to toe, her expression one of disbelief. She reluctantly said, “I’ll pretend you’re telling the truth. What do you want? Don’t forget, we’re still enemies right now. Don’t just casually try to get close to me.”
“Enemies? No, no, no, no, how could we be enemies?! Let me tell you, I’m actually an undercover agent, ostensibly on their side but with my heart on yours! I’m just waiting for the right moment to switch allegiance to your side.”
“And when will that ‘right moment’ arrive?”
“Uh, can it wait until we return to the surface?”
Lola looked at Larkin with a ‘do you think I’m an idiot’ expression. “How about you don’t switch sides? How about we just kill you? That way, you can die as a loyal warrior. Also, you’re really weak. You don’t need to switch; I can kill you with one hand.”
“How can you say that! Let me show you the power of human magical technology!”
****
Upon seeing that familiar face, Theresia, who had supposedly ‘paid for services,’ completely lost her usual bravado. She forced a dry laugh. “Oh, Theodore, it’s been so many years. You’ve grown so tall.”
“Indeed, Theresia. You, on the other hand, haven’t changed a bit,” Theodore said, his gaze fixed on Theresia with a half-smile. “Seeing me, whose three years of memory you erased, standing before you again, must be quite a shock, right?”
Shock? This was like watching a lewd film only for it to suddenly switch to a horror channel! Theresia chuckled awkwardly. “Haha, how could it be? Of course, I’m very happy. After all, I’m seeing a dear friend who once helped me through a tribulation… This, that, damn it, it must be that old dragon again, right!”
Seeing Theresia point the finger at the Old Patriarch to bolster her momentum, Theodore said fiercely, “That’s right! It was the great Dragon Patriarch who couldn’t stand your behavior, which lowered the entire dragon race’s moral standards! To salvage the dragon race’s reputation, he traveled thousands of miles to find me and restored my memories!”
Theresia tried to explain, “Theodore! You can’t trust that old dragon! You know how cunning, treacherous, and deeply scheming that old dragon is!”
Theodore snorted coldly. “That’s still better than your heartlessness! After treating me like a one-night stand, giving me some money, you ruthlessly erased years of our bond. Theresia, how could you do something so cruel!”
Theresia was startled, hastily explaining, “How can you say ‘one-night stand’? Look, we had a normal contractual relationship, definitely not a vulgar transaction like that. See, I brought you to my home, then gave you an advance payment, then we did *that thing*, and then I gave you the final payment…”
Theresia’s voice grew softer and softer as she spoke. This… this did sound like a one-night stand. “In any case, I never thought of it as a one-night stand from the beginning!”
“Good technique, consider it your reward,” Theodore interjected coldly, seeing Theresia try to force an explanation. Theresia broke out in a cold sweat. ‘No way, I shredded that paper into pieces. That old dragon!!! This is too much!! You don’t deserve to go to a nursing home; you can only live beneath my nostrils at my house!’
Theresia tried to play dumb. “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”
Theodore raised an eyebrow. “Are you admitting it by default?”
Theresia vehemently denied it. “Of course not! My mind was just muddled; I wrote that down in a daze.”
Theodore wore an ‘I knew it’ expression. “Indeed, words from the heart.”
Theresia attempted to play on their emotions. “Theodore, you must believe in our three years of camaraderie. Am I that kind of dragon?”
“Our three years of camaraderie have already been wiped clean by you, haven’t they, you heartless dragon?” Theodore waved her off coldly. “I just didn’t want you to have bad memories.”
Theresia, emitting copious amounts of steam, forced herself to resist digging a huge hole on the spot and screamed, “You were truly pitifully ravaged by me during those three days! I didn’t want you to spend the rest of your life in shadow, which is why I resorted to such a desperate measure!”
“Then why didn’t you just erase only those three days of my memory?” Theodore’s retort left Theresia speechless. Theodore continued, speaking to himself, “To be honest, I’ve thought about this for a long time. I’ve wondered why you did it.”
To be honest, this self-talking Theodore was a little scary. Theresia, already feeling guilty, involuntarily took two steps back. “Those three days were a terrible ordeal; the good parts were insignificant. The Old Patriarch actually told me this. But the past three years we spent together were so happy, why did you have to destroy it?”
“Indeed, our relationship happened because of a curse, which broke our previous understanding. Theresia, I like you very much.”
Theresia feigned madness, saying, “Haha, I like you very much too!”
Theodore gave her no room to retreat. “I mean, a man and woman’s kind of liking.”
Theresia decisively stated, “I’m sorry, you’re a good person. I think you deserve a better female. I know you like dragons and want to be a dragon knight. I know tons of female dragons…”
“If you hadn’t erased my memory, if you had just paid me for my services and ruthlessly left like a dragon, I would never have shamelessly pestered you after expressing my feelings and being rejected,” Theodore interrupted, his face devoid of emotion.
Theresia cried out in exasperation, “That wasn’t payment for services! How many times do I have to say it! Really! I might have *acted* like I paid you for services, but mentally, I didn’t!”
Completely ignoring Theresia, Theodore shouted, “Give it up! From the day you chose me, you intended to treat me like a one-night stand! Theresia, since you chose to evade, chose not to give me an explanation, then my dignity as a man will not allow me to easily let this go! That is why I changed my appearance, underwent thirteen trials, and stand before you again!”
“Ah, alright, I understand. That incident was indeed a bit inappropriate on my part. I betrayed our three years of trust, and my actions did carry the suspicion of treating you like a one-night stand. I am willing to admit my mistake and offer you compensation!”
Cornered and with no retreat, Theresia had no choice but to face reality and bear all the accusations. Afterwards, she transformed back into the mature, capable, and arrogant Black Dragon she was: “State your wish, Theodore! Even if you want to become a dragon knight, it’s fine! The great Black Dragon King, the future ruler of the dragon race, promises you that I can personally introduce you to the dragons you like, and guarantee they will be very cooperative with you!”
“My wish will indeed make me a dragon knight,” Theodore said, revealing a bright, sunny smile. He then took off the spatial ring from his finger and tossed it to Theresia. Theresia looked bewildered. “What does that mean?”
“Payment for services,” Theodore stated, word for word. Theresia didn’t quite understand. “Hmm?”
Theodore pointed at Theresia and shouted loudly, “Theresia, I’m going to pay you back!”
Theresia: “…”
After a brief silence, Theresia stiffly asked, “Pay back who?”
“Pay back you!” Theodore replied with resounding force.
The air fell silent once more.
Theresia said in a deep voice, “Theodore, for the sake of our many years as comrades, you still have a chance to retract that statement.”
“I won’t!” Theodore replied very firmly.
“Sigh!” Theresia looked up and sighed. “It seems your mind has been corrupted by that chaotic old dragon. Although we were once comrades in life and death, disloyalty in any degree is absolute disloyalty! Since you have decided to betray me and side with the old dragon, I can only strike you down with full force. Don’t worry, I also bear some responsibility for this, so I absolutely won’t harm your life. However, your memories will need to be purified!”
“And this time, I will find a place where that chaotic old dragon cannot capture you again, allowing you to live out the rest of your life safely and prosperously there.” Facing Theresia’s words, Theodore merely replied expressionlessly, “You heartless dragon, I’m definitely paying you back.”
Theresia panicked. She was utterly terrified. So, following the plan she had discussed with Lola earlier, she began to signal her.
However…
Nothing happened. Instead, Theodore raised an eyebrow and asked, “Are you asking for outside assistance?”
“How could I be! Am I that kind of dragon?!” While vehemently condemning Theodore’s distrust, Theresia frantically signaled Lola. However… Still no response.
Left with no choice, Theresia had to divert a little attention to see what Lola was doing. She discovered that Lola was engaged in a heated conversation with a man! Completely ignoring her situation! ‘Lola! Your dragon is gone!!!’
But when Theresia saw Larkin place a cool-looking mechanical box on his waist, followed by a remarkably flashy armor enveloping him, Theresia’s eyes instantly widened. ‘Holy crap, a Kamen Rider!’ She suddenly understood Lola and excitedly said to Theodore:
“Theodore, why don’t you give me that box in that man’s hand first? I’ll add 99 points to my favorability with you.”
“What’s the use?”
Theresia provocatively adopted a charming posture. “Once you accumulate 100 points, I can give you a ‘Do As You Please’ gift package. You can do anything you want to me, oh, as long as you snatch that box and give it to me; it’ll only be one favorability point short then, oh.”
Theodore: “…Do you think I’m an idiot? Isn’t the right to interpret favorability entirely in your hands?! As long as you want, no matter how hard I try, it would just be adding a decimal point and zeros before the ‘1’. If you’re so capable, hand over the favorability mechanism to the Old Patriarch; he’s fair, just, and transparent!”
Theresia angrily retorted, “Fair, just, and transparent my ass! If I handed it to him, I wouldn’t even need to get out of bed!”
Theodore stroked his stone spear, his gaze firm and resolute. “Is that so? It seems there’s no other way. I’ll just have to use my dragon-taming ultimate skill, Theresia. Lie down obediently! Those three lost days, I will personally reclaim them!”
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Jinho's Story is a must-read. Click here to start!
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