Chapter 30: Watch Thunder and Fire Ignite the Long Night

Crimson lightning surged, and tongues of fire churned.

The black dragon’s body was wreathed in frenzied lightning, and a terrifyingly high temperature gathered in her mouth.
On Elvira’s back, I could feel the surrounding air rapidly heating up.
The heat waves churned, showing signs of distortion.

The next moment, the dragon’s head was raised high.
In the second before destruction arrived, even time seemed to freeze.
After a half-moment of eerie calm, an orange-red flame spewed forth, sweeping across the land like a tidal wave!

The raging fire burned all things to ashes, and the crimson lightning descended as a divine punishment.

Everything on the ground was instantly turned to dust.
Only the thorns, baring their fangs and brandishing their claws, swayed wantonly in the fire.
In this human inferno, the giant in silver armor shielded the golden-haired girl with his body, his arms crossed in front of him to withstand the dragon’s flame.

The giant was the only one who stood tall in the fire.
Elvira’s dragon’s breath continued, burning him for a full half-minute, yet the giant did not fall.

But, the giant’s action was clearly a provocation to the dragon race.
The dignity of a dragon could not tolerate the slightest offense.
And so…

The dragon’s body tensed, and then with a great effort, the dragon’s breath suddenly intensified.
Elvira’s flames were no longer a simple orange-red.
The azure blue dots on them indicated a further increase in the flame’s temperature.
The flames covered the entire port platform.
The stone platform was burned red and deformed, like flowing, churning magma.
The giant’s silver armor was also melting bit by bit.

If the initial dragon’s breath was like a sea wave, then at this moment, the dragon’s breath was a man-eating tsunami.
No life could survive in it…

Finally, the giant fell in the raging fire, his legs kneeling and fusing with the ground.
His ugly head hung limply, burned to a crisp.

Seeing this, Elvira stopped her breath and exhaled a puff of turbid air.
Her golden dragon eyes looked down upon the world, like a king reigning over all, looking down on all living beings.

I stroked her dragon scales to soothe her emotions, while also observing the surroundings.

With such a huge commotion at the port, it was impossible for the city not to have noticed.
The civilians in most of the houses near the sea had long since fled.
The turmoil in the city could be glimpsed from the high altitude.

Looking back at the coast, Nadiesse’s fleet had already gone far, so far that it was almost about to disappear below the sea horizon.

The fox lady ran quite fast.
Since the people from the church have been dealt with, we should also chase after them and regroup.

“Verona, there’s a fleet of airships in the distance. They’re the church’s reinforcements.”

“Tsk, these lingering priests…”

The plan I had just made was forced to change, which made me very unhappy.
Well, I have no choice but to take it out on the Church of Mancius.

“How many airships do they have?”

“No less than 10.”

“Hmm, quite the grand scale~”

Elvira and I didn’t rush over.
Before that, I needed to consider one thing—my attack method.
Although the thorns could extend into the air, it was still a bit difficult to attack airships.
And with me on her back, Elvira couldn’t fight freely.
What should I do?

Right, that eye.

I picked up the eye again and looked at it.
The eerie green pupils looked back at me, exuding a heart-pounding light…

“Hey, you can understand human language, right?” I asked.
I wouldn’t believe that this thing didn’t have a spirit.
It could even aim automatically just now.

Hoh~ it looked away.
It seems it can understand.

I wrapped it tightly with thorns and aimed it at the church’s airship fleet in the distance.
I said again, “See those grayish-white balloons in the distance? Shoot them, or I’ll crush you and feed you to the dragon.”

The large eye trembled twice, and the eerie green light gathered rapidly.
In just two seconds, a beam of energy shot out.

The beam swept from left to right, crossing a thousand meters and hitting the airships.
With just this one blow, most of the church’s fleet was destroyed.

This thing bullies the weak and fears the strong, huh?
I didn’t see it charge up this fast when it was in the giant’s hands.
But it did a good job just now, and my mood is also good.
It would be even better if this ugly-cute thing could become smaller.
The size of a basketball is really inconvenient to hold.

I clicked my tongue and glanced at the eyeball.
Who knew, the next moment, it actually shrank on its own, to a size that I could just hold in my hand.
Then it floated in the air and entered my body?!

Although I didn’t feel anything strange when it entered my body, who knows if it will cause any trouble in the future?
And it’s also quite scary…

Forget it, I’ll deal with the church’s people first…

“Elvira, come on, let’s go and deal with the church together—ugh…”

A feeling of weakness suddenly surged in my chest, spreading to my limbs.
My legs gave way, and I collapsed on Elvira’s back, clutching my dizzy head.

It’s the side effect of the “self-destruct”…
Why did it come so quickly this time?

“Verona! What’s wrong?!” Elvira’s concerned voice appeared in my mind, and her dragon head looked back at me.

“Sorry… I might have to sleep for a while…” my voice was weak.
“Go… over there, fly along the coast, lead… them… away…”

I struggled to squeeze out the last syllable, and then my consciousness sank into the dark bed of sleep…

The black dragon hesitated for a moment, then carried the white-haired girl on her back and soared into the sky.
What reappeared was a girl in a black dress, with black hair.
She held the person in her arms and flew into the distance, disappearing into the night sky.

At the Port Otas platform, magma flowed on the ground.
Sparks and ashes filled the air.
The scene, like the aftermath of a catastrophe, was filled with an icy silence.

A charred corpse was particularly conspicuous in a corner of the platform.
Something was stirring behind it…

Olivia walked out from behind the wreckage, distraught.
She placed her palm on the deformed armor, and a teeth-grinding “hiss” sounded.
Her palm was burned red…

But she still held her hand firmly on it, refusing to move.
Her short golden hair was curled from the heat, and her dress was covered in black scorch marks.
Even her snow-white, lotus-root-like arms were blistered.

“Uncle Galdos… thank you for saving me…” Olivia’s voice was hoarse and dry.
She wanted to cry, but her tears had already been dried up in the fiery wave just now.

Clang— Clang—

The sound of iron boots hitting the ground came.
Olivia looked in the direction of the sound.
A middle-aged man with golden hair, dressed in military uniform, was slowly walking towards her and stopped in front of her.

The man looked up at the charred corpse, then looked down at Olivia.

“Why… did you only come now?” the golden-haired girl asked through gritted teeth.

“There were too many official duties in the Holy City, which caused a delay.
Where is the target of this crusade?”

“The target? Didn’t you see them when your fleet was shot down?”

“…Where is Rosius?”

“I don’t know.”

The conversation between the man and Olivia paused for a moment.
Then the man sighed and said, “Olivia, I know you’re sad, but sacrifices are unavoidable.
Victory always comes at a price.”

“What do you know!” Olivia could no longer suppress her anger.
“You’ve always been like this, and you still are.
You pretend to be helpless, and you act all compassionate!
There were many ways to save them, but you just refused to act.
You weren’t there when mother died, and now Uncle Galdos is dead too!
Is the only thing in your eyes that damn position?
The Supreme Executor of the Holy Tribunal?
My dear father?”

“Olivia, calm down first…”

“I don’t want your persuasion.
Since you’re helpless, then fine.
I’ll go and hunt down that witch myself to avenge Uncle Galdos, and to avenge all the inquisitors who sacrificed themselves today!”

Olivia stood up straight and stared at the man.

“I’m telling you, father.
I earned the position of Grand Inquisitor with my own strength, not through my status.”

After saying that, Olivia turned her back on her father, and just stood by the corpse, staring blankly at the figure who had accompanied her since she was a child.

“Sigh… that witch and the black dragon… I’m afraid they will bring no small amount of variables…”

The man dropped these words and turned to leave.