Boom!

An explosion rang out, and two men were thrown backward at incredible speed.

Bang!

Both of them slammed into a giant rock with such force that it shattered into pieces.

The two men vomited blood and grimaced in pain.

"Damn… that hurts!" the man on the right groaned, clutching his stomach.

The other man wasn't much better. He took off his mask and saw it was covered in blood.

'Damn... what happened? Why is there a dragon here?' He cried out in horror in his heart.

His gaze fell on a red dragon, nearly fifty meters long, standing proudly in front of them.

The dragon spread its wings and stared at them coldly.

"Kleith, you... lied! You said those two kids had no protection. But now... ugh... this dragon appeared out of nowhere. Damn you!"

His comrade turned to him and hurled a string of curses.

A few moments earlier, he and Kleith had intended to capture Merlin and Luna, who were inside a horse-drawn carriage.

Unexpectedly, just as they were about to succeed, the space around them distorted, and they suddenly found themselves in the middle of this forest.

Even more terrifying was that the dragon appeared out of nowhere and immediately attacked them.

Although they were at the Fifth Spirit Core, facing a dragon was like children fighting an adult man.

In the end, they were beaten to a pulp without being able to fight back at all.

This made him furious, because Kleith had assured him earlier that their plan was safe and perfect.

Kleith wanted to explain that he also didn't expect this to happen.

After all, he had prepared the plan carefully.

But he knew that saying that would be the same as admitting his mistake.

The fact was right in front of them—his plan had failed.

"I'm sorry. But no matter how much you complain, we'll still die if we don't find a way out. So you better help me think of something," Kleith said as he wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

"Find a way?" His comrade snorted coldly. "It's impossible for us to escape. The dragon has sealed the surrounding space. Even if we were at the Second Spirit Core, escaping would still be impossible."

Kleith fell silent, his mind racing to find a way out.

But the dragon—Lyserra—didn't let them rest so easily. She opened her huge mouth, and a ball of fire instantly formed between her jaws.

Whoosh!

When she released it, it shot forward at terrifying speed toward the two of them.

"No good!" Kleith and his comrade were stunned, then immediately leaped aside.

Unfortunately, their bodies were already covered in wounds, and they were struck by the attack, sending them flying to the right and left.

Lyserra sneered coldly. "Trying to run? Get past me first, the dragon empress!"

Without giving them a moment to breathe, Lyserra continued to launch attack after attack at them.

...

The battle between Lyserra and the two was quite far from the city of Dralmor.

However, its effects could still be felt. Many people in Dralmor sensed a faint shaking, as if a distant earthquake had struck.

This naturally caused widespread panic, and everyone began to wonder if an enemy attack was imminent.

Fortunately, the city guards appeared quickly and calmed the crowd.

The festival, which had been temporarily halted, finally resumed.

Meanwhile, in a narrow alley on the outskirts of the city, James stood casually, staring at the ten unconscious men before him.

"What a hassle," he muttered indifferently.

These ten men had intended to cause chaos at the Dragon God festival.

Luckily, he had acted faster and defeated them all.

James glanced at the big clock in the distance and noted that it was already midnight.

"Young Master Merlin and Young Lady Luna should be back at the mansion by now. In that case, I should return as well," he whispered.

As he turned to leave, a faint tremor shook the ground beneath his feet.

"An earthquake?" he wondered warily.

But in the next second, he dismissed the thought. If it were an earthquake, the animals would have panicked.

He glanced at the cats and dogs along the road—they still looked relaxed.

That meant one thing—this shaking was caused by something other than an earthquake.

Suddenly, a possibility popped into his mind—a fierce battle.

"Could it be because of that?" He narrowed his eyes.

His gaze locked onto the distant mountains, shrouded in clouds.

***

Merlin and Luna finally arrived at the mansion safely.

As they stepped out, Luna shook Merlin's right arm, her eyes full of curiosity. "Merlin, what was that? Why was there such a huge explosion? You must know, right? Please tell me."

She kept urging him until Merlin swayed from side to side.

Unable to resist her pleading, Merlin let out a small sigh and gently pinched her cheek.

"All right, I'll tell you. But stop moving first. You're making me dizzy."

Luna felt embarrassed and quickly released his hand.

"The explosion was caused by my guardian spirit, Lyserra," Merlin explained casually.

"Your guardian spirit?" Luna asked, surprised.

A few days ago, Merlin had shown her his guardian spirit—a red dragon named Lyserra. She was adorable.

However, Lyserra didn't seem to like her.

Every time Luna tried to touch the little dragon, it would bite her or growl angrily.

This made her feel sad, and she wondered quietly to herself, "Am I that ugly?"

If not, why didn't Lyserra like being touched by her?

"Yes, my guardian spirit," Merlin repeated as he grabbed her left hand and pulled her into the mansion. "Earlier, Lyserra sensed two assassins. They were targeting both of us. If it weren't for Lyserra's warning, we might both be dead."

Thinking about that possibility, Merlin couldn't help but feel helpless. A great sense of crisis weighed on him.

He had to grow stronger as quickly as possible. Otherwise, the fate he had tried to change could be wasted.

"[Don't worry, Master. As long as I'm here, you will definitely become stronger.]" A soothing voice from the system sounded in his mind.

Merlin smiled and whispered, "Thank you, system."

"So that's how it is..." Luna nodded in understanding. At the same time, she felt a little envious of Merlin.

His guardian spirit was very strong and attentive. Meanwhile, her own guardian spirit was only a three-star and not very useful.

Still, when she remembered the bloodline of the founder of the Tharot family within her, she felt calm.

Although she didn't have a strong guardian spirit, she possessed a powerful bloodline that would allow her to grow limitlessly in the future.

"Alright. I'll go back to my room first," Luna said softly.

She looked at Merlin for a few seconds, then continued, "Thank you for accompanying me to the Dragon God festival, Merlin. And I have a gift for you."

With that, she leaned over and planted a kiss on his left cheek.

Without waiting for his reaction, Luna immediately dashed off to her room.

"[Ding! The affection of the heroine Luna Tharot has increased by 0.3 points. Current affection: 99.8 points]"

Merlin: "…"

...

Boom!

Boom!

Explosion after explosion ripped through the air. Two figures, Kleith and his comrade, weaved left and right, struggling to evade Lyserra's relentless attacks.

"Where do you think you're running?" Lyserra grinned, opening her mouth wide.

An energy ball appeared, streaking straight toward Kleith and his comrade.

"Damn it!" They cursed, scattering in different directions.

To their surprise, the energy ball split into two, each one pursuing them relentlessly.

Though fast, Kleith and his comrade were no match for the twin energy balls.

They unleashed their most powerful attacks, hoping to destroy them.

But it was useless—the energy balls obliterated and incinerated everything they struck.

Their bodies plummeted to the ground, striking it with a sickening thud.

The air was filled with the acrid stench of burning flesh, mingled with the sharp scent of blood.

"Ugh... it hurts so much..." Kleith's comrade groaned, writhing in pain.

He tried to channel the energy within to heal his burns, but it was futile.

Lyserra's energy ball carried the power of nature itself.

Unless one had reached the First Spirit Core stage, healing was impossible.

Kleith fared no better. Half of his body was scorched, and his left leg refused to move.

If this continued, his life would surely be lost.

"It seems there is no other choice," Kleith muttered through gritted teeth.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a purple glass. Then, channeling his power into it, a burst of purple light shot out.

The light slowly formed into the figure of an old man with a thick beard. His face was hidden beneath a hood.

"What happened? Didn't I tell you not to contact me?" the figure scolded.

"Master… we were defeated," Kleith said weakly.

"Defeated?" The figure repeated in surprise. "By whom?"

Before Kleith could answer, Lyserra suddenly appeared in front of him.

"By me, old man. Are you the one behind all this?"

The figure's surprise deepened when he saw her.

"A dragon? What's going on? Why are you interfering in the affairs of our human race?" he asked coldly.

"Hehehe…" Lyserra grinned widely. "You don't need to know, old man. What matters is that you chose the wrong opponent. I'm going to finish off your two lackeys."

"Wait—!" The figure panicked and tried to speak, but flames erupted from Lyserra's mouth, consuming him instantly.

She then turned to the terrified Kleith and grinned even wider.

"Now… it's time to send you both to the underworld."

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