Whirlpool Sea, White Oak Isle, the royal court of the Rosen Kingdom.

Inside a grand and solemn palace on White Oak Isle, slanted beams of light streamed through the stained-glass windows, bathing the palace in a myriad of colors. Amidst this beautiful atmosphere, the King of Rosen was holding a routine council with his nobles, oblivious to the immense danger hurtling towards them.

“Your Majesty, our repeated strikes against Thorn Isle have been highly effective.”

“A few more assaults, and the monsters on Thorn Isle will be utterly powerless, and we shall reclaim it.”

Since the death of the Storm General on Thorn Isle, the newly risen Fury General was reporting to the King of Rosen about the situation on the isle.

The imminent reclamation of Thorn Isle was good news.

However, not all the nobles in the palace wore expressions of joy; many bore grave countenances, seemingly weighed down by heavy thoughts.

The King remained silent, his face obscured by the backlight, his emotions unreadable.

A deathly hush fell upon the vast hall, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.

After four or five seconds of silence, the Duke of Coral Isle looked up at the King and said with a heavy voice, “Your Majesty, reclaiming Thorn Isle is undoubtedly a triumph.”

“But what about the Hell Queen?”

At the mention of the Hell Queen, the faces of the nobles grew even more somber, and the joy on some faces slowly faded away.

They remembered the fear of being dominated by the Hell Queen’s shadowy black fire dragon about twenty years ago, the entire kingdom wailing in despair under her fiery wings. Even now, with the support of the Mechanar Empire, though Rosen Kingdom had returned to its peak and even grown stronger, the shadow left by the Hell Queen lingered, difficult to dispel.

Years ago, after several probes.

Rosen Kingdom confirmed that the Hell Queen had left Thorn Isle and there were no signs of her activity in other realms; she had vanished without a trace.

After days and nights of intense discussion.

Led by the King’s will, Rosen Kingdom decided once again to launch a campaign against Thorn Isle.

In fact, given the power disparity between Rosen Kingdom and Thorn Isle, they could have reclaimed it long ago, but their campaigns had only involved small-scale forces, never fully committing.

Because.

Though the Hell Queen had disappeared.

The shadow she cast over Rosen Kingdom remained.

Uncertain whether the Hell Queen was dead or alive, Rosen Kingdom was indecisive.

Thus, discussions on whether to wage a full-scale war and completely eradicate the monsters from Thorn Isle to reclaim their land never ceased over the years.

Tap, tap, tap. The sound of knocking on the armrest abruptly ceased.

Under the watchful eyes of many nobles, the King exhaled slowly, leaning forward slightly, his aged face emerging from the shadows, his eyes revealing a resolute look as he declared:

“Thorn Isle is a land that has been part of Rosen Kingdom’s heritage for thousands of years.”

“No matter what, we cannot allow Thorn Isle to be taken from us.”

“In the next campaign against Thorn Isle, we will annihilate all the monsters and officially reclaim it.”

The King’s life was nearing its end, and he did not want to die without seeing Thorn Isle reclaimed, so he hesitated no longer.

“As for the Hell Queen, if she returns in fury, I believe that with the power Rosen Kingdom now possesses, we can extinguish her rage!”

Rosen Kingdom is adjacent to Yar Continent.

For the Mechanar Empire, which sought to extend its tentacles towards Yar Continent and enhance its imperial influence, Rosen Kingdom was an important vassal state. Hence, over the years, the continuous support had greatly strengthened Rosen Kingdom, making it far more powerful than before.

Moreover.

Since the battle with Rosen Kingdom, the Hell Queen had not made a move.

Her ascension to demigod status was unknown to others; otherwise, even with ten times the courage, Rosen Kingdom would not dare to seize Thorn Isle during her absence.

The King’s firm voice inspired the nobles and ministers.

Their expressions became invigorated.

“Your Majesty is right.”

“The Hell Queen? In just twenty years, given the growth rate of dragons, she should have undergone no change, but our Rosen Kingdom is no longer what it once was.”

“Should she come to our nation again, she will only be driven out in disgrace.”

“.”

Similar voices rose and fell, filling the grand palace with an atmosphere of encouragement and excitement.

Suddenly.

The tightly closed doors burst open.

A high-ranking guard with a panicked expression stumbled into the sight of the many nobles and ministers.

“What’s the matter, why the panic?”

An earl frowned and scolded.

The guard ignored the earl’s reprimand, knelt on the ground, and shouted, “Dragons, a legendary dragon is rapidly approaching White Oak Isle, soon to reach our airspace.”

What!

The King stood up abruptly, a hint of fear in his eyes, and the nobles could not hide their panic. The previously calm palace was now filled with unrest.

At first.

They thought the Hell Queen had returned.

Despite their earlier excitement and disregard for the Hell Queen, their current disgrace revealed that they had not yet emerged from her shadow and still harbored deep-seated fear.

“Has the Hell Queen come again?”

The King’s voice amplified, masking the fear in his voice.

“No, it’s not her, it’s… the king who has risen in the Near Seas in recent years, another dragon, the King of the Near Seas.”

Hearing this.

The King’s tense expression relaxed, and the other nobles also breathed a sigh of relief.

So it wasn’t the Hell Queen.

A false alarm.

The King of the Near Seas, self-proclaimed as Emperor Dragon, was indeed formidable, but at best, he could only stir up trouble in the Near Seas. Even if all the duchies in the Near Seas were bound together, they would not match half the strength of their own nation. What’s the point of dominating a quagmire? A dragon that had just stepped into legend, thinking to emulate the Hell Queen and storm the kingdom alone? How naive. But considering the arrogance and pride typical of dragons, such actions were to be expected, the nobles thought.

As for the relationship between the King of the Near Seas and the Hell Queen.

No one knew that these two dragons were mother and son.

Fury General stepped forward, approaching the King.

With a wave of his hand, he conjured a stream of water that emitted wisps of heat.

“Your Majesty, before this water cools, I shall return with the head of the King of the Near Seas.”

Fury General laughed heartily as he spoke.

He was somewhat familiar with the King of the Near Seas, the dragon that had made a name for itself in the Near Seas in recent years. Just a few years ago, it was only a ninth-tier creature, and even killing the weakened Duke Tsunami was a struggle. Now, even if it had broken through to legend, it couldn’t possibly leap several tiers to challenge him, a fourth-tier legend.

“Good, I await your good news.”

Now, including the King, none of the nobles present took the arrival of the King of the Near Seas seriously.

Following that, Fury General transformed into a stream of water and shot out, unleashing the might of a mid-tier legend at lightning speed, and in the blink of an eye, he reached the skies above White Oak Isle.

Then.

Wings like blades, the Golden Dragon tore through the clouds and sunlight and came into view.

Other legendary powerhouses of Rosen Kingdom were also rushing here.

Not wanting to be outdone, Fury General launched the first attack on the King of the Near Seas.

“King of the Near Seas, you’ve come to the wrong place.”

Swoosh!

A Sharpness water spear shot out, shattering against the Golden Dragon’s scales like an egg against a rock, and as Fury General wished, although it caused no damage, his preemptive strike drew the Golden Dragon’s gaze.

Another opportunity for glory!

“Rosen Kingdom is not a place for you to run wild, seek death!”

Under the Golden Dragon’s gaze, Fury General’s spirit surged, and he extended his hand.

At the same time, the sea below boiled as if endless waters were swirling, forming a water tornado that soared into the sky, eventually grasped tightly in Fury General’s hand.

With a swing of his arm.

The massive water tornado, like a Sea Dragon’s roar, swept towards the Golden Dragon with ferocious might.

The Golden Dragon was silent as a volcano, expressionless, as calm as the sea before a storm.

It looked down at Fury General with indifferent eyes, as if viewing an insect whose life was about to end, while the surrounding light twisted, and scales shimmered with golden light turned black, transforming into a black and gold dragon, exuding an aura of inviolable majesty.

“This King of the Near Seas…”

The water tornado was now inches away from the King of the Near Seas.

Fury General sharply noticed the dragon’s gaze and his heart skipped a beat, feeling that the King of the Near Seas might not be as simple as he thought, but with the arrow on the bowstring, he had no choice but to release it.

Boom!

The water tornado hit the King of the Near Seas squarely, countless high-speed swirling currents capable of twisting steel engulfed the dragon.

“It’s nothing, I was just nervous.”

Fury General relaxed.

However, in the next instant, his expression changed drastically.

Crash, crash, crash!

The water churned wildly, as if it could tear everything apart, but inside was a black and gold figure, unstoppable, breaking through the water tornado and advancing towards Fury General with overwhelming force.

Fury General’s heart sank.

He flicked his palm, abandoning the water tornado, and his body inch by inch turned into water, not daring to face the dragon’s edge directly, while his body shattered, turning into hundreds of water-formed bodies to confuse the King of the Near Seas.

However.

The black and gold dragon displayed agility and nimbleness far beyond Fury General’s imagination.

With a flap of its dragon wings, it weaved and dodged, and the surrounding water shadows vanished in an instant, destroyed in less than three seconds.

In a flash, only Fury General’s true body remained.

The black and gold dragon extended its heavy, thousand-pound claw and struck Fury General with unstoppable force.

Fury General’s eyelids twitched.

He tried the same trick, turning into a water elemental to evade the dragon’s blow.

At that moment, something beyond Fury General’s expectations occurred.

Buzz!

Droplets of water splashed around in the air suddenly converged inward, as if an invisible giant hand clenched around Fury General, causing his body to stagnate, and his water elemental form was once again compressed into a human shape.

“Damn!”

“I underestimated the King of the Near Seas; this is a terrifying monster!”

Fury General’s heart sank.

Because his thoughts raced, time seemed to slow down, allowing him to see every scale on the dragon’s face and the golden eyes burning like flames, as well as his own tiny, insect-like reflection.

The black and gold dragon’s claw swept across, aiming for Fury General.

The claw hadn’t touched him yet.

But the danger of death was already pervasive, the immense wind pressure causing Fury General’s skin to tremble.

“Ah!”

Under the threat of death, Fury General roared, unleashing all his potential, creating a shield barrier in front of him.

At the same time, attacks from other legendary powerhouses also arrived, giving Fury General even more hope.

Dawn Bishop, the burly bald man, raised his flail high.

“O holy light, become a hammer that falls from the heavens!”

A holy light hammer capable of collapsing mountains fell from the sky, smashing onto the dragon’s back.

Laser Space Cannon!

A legendary mechanic from the Mechanar Empire snapped his fingers, opening a portal behind him, and a several-meter-long barrel with light blue energy flowing and magical runes rising and falling, both mechanical and magical in style, emerged, then roared violently, firing a thick, space-distorting laser beam.

The other legends also showed their prowess.

But, all were in vain.

Boom!

The holy light hammer shattered upon itself, but the black and gold dragon remained unmoved, its actions uninterrupted.

Zap!

The laser beam hit the black and gold dragon’s side, a space-twisting attack now like a feeble stream, unable to budge it in the slightest.

The same was true for the other attacks.

No matter how many types and varieties, none could breach the black and gold dragon’s defenses.

“Is this for real?”

“What kind of terrifying defense is this?”

The dragon’s formidable defense left the legends breathless, in disbelief.

At that moment.

Boom!

In front of the black and gold dragon’s attack, the shield Fury General desperately conjured shattered instantly.

Beyond the ultimate defense, there was also the ultimate attack.

Just a single frontal blow, and Fury General’s lifeless, broken body flew back towards the royal court like a comet.

At the same time.

White Oak Isle, the royal court.

The King looked at the still-steaming water, a smile on his lips.

Fury General was a rising star that Rosen Kingdom had produced in recent years, advancing to the fourth tier of legend in just over a decade, and likely to become a high-tier legend in the future. To deal with merely the King of the Near Seas, it was surely an easy capture.

Crash.

The palace suddenly shook violently, the dome collapsed, and a shower of debris scattered, causing the nobles to scream and scatter, also interrupting the King’s thoughts.

Protected by his personal guards, the King stared ahead in shock.

In his view, Fury General’s mangled corpse lay in the rubble, with the water he had conjured still emitting wisps of heat, rising upwards.