Chapter 437: Boiling Water
“If you lose————”
“I can’t lose.” Olivia interrupted Aen.
Aen took a deep breath.
How arrogant!
It was hard for him to imagine that such a girl could be the goddaughter of that man.
“What if, just in case.” He spoke in a low voice.
“There is no ‘what if’.” Olivia's voice was calm—so calm that it was as if it were only natural.
“Fairness is a virtue, and this isn’t fair.” Aen resorted to the words of the Church.
Olivia’s expression twitched slightly.
She had been punished to transcribe the Holy Scriptures since childhood. So even if she had no interest in them, she still remembered the words. Corleon had expected her to embody the virtues found in the Scriptures.
But that was just an expectation—in reality——
Olivia didn’t believe Corleon had abided by those virtues when raising her.
Still, even if she was deeply repelled by them, she was still willing to follow them as best she could.
Thus, after Aen brought it up, she replied reluctantly, “If I lose, I shall bestow a reward upon you.”
The corner of Aen’s eye couldn’t help but twitch. This little brat——
Just judging by Olivia’s skin and presence, even his eldest son was considerably older than her.
However——
Aen was also curious. Why was Olivia so powerful?
He could be certain that her strength hadn’t been bestowed—it came from battle.
Such an extreme level of battle aura couldn’t be nurtured in a child cradled in their father’s arms.
Could it be bloodline?
He was the King who had unified the Northern Regions. King Pegira had unified Greenwood. Yet his own descendant was this powerful, while his——
He shook his head, discarding the pointless thought.
Olivia furrowed her brows in dissatisfaction. “What, are you dissatisfied with my reward?”
Aen replied, “I just wonder, since you’re so confident now, what kind of expression you’ll have once I defeat you. I must tell you—these are extensions of my will. To fight alongside them is to enter my prime state.”
Olivia snorted proudly. “Even if you bring an army, I alone will face you.”
Aen took a deep breath, gritting his teeth. “You truly are————confident!”
“My confidence comes from my strength.” As she spoke, Olivia’s body trembled, and a violent surge of mana burst forth like a storm sweeping through the hall.
Her skirt was silently overlaid with armor. With a flick of her hand, a sword appeared in her grip.
This sword, once mismatched with her young body just a few years ago, now suited her perfectly.
Her ruby-like eyes locked onto Aen. An invisible force of battle aura swept toward him, causing a translucent Dragon Soul to surface over his body.
The Dragon Soul Form had been triggered involuntarily, just from the pressure of her battle aura.
She had definitely fought often against Tier Six opponents.
Aen thought of several heroes from Greenwood.
Suddenly, he began to doubt if the three of them could truly win against her.
Though he was Tier Six, he had never fought a true equal with all his strength.
But things had come to this—whether he could win or not, he had to fight.
Aen glanced at Zeke. The man had drawn his sword, resisting the pressure with sheer will.
Yet the pressure seemed to be coming only from Aen’s own Dragon Soul.
Despite Olivia’s battle aura stirring up the entire hall, Zeke appeared unaware of it.
Zeke looked over, hesitant, and asked with his eyes if he should call for help.
Aen gave him a subtle shake of the head.
“This form—is it your full power?” Olivia’s eyes no longer hid their excitement.
“This isn’t my full power.” Aen replied. “You and I must fight at full strength. But this place is too cramped to unleash everything. So—dare to follow me to a battlefield of my choosing?”
Olivia raised her brow. “Are you provoking me?”
Aen said, “Just an invitation.”
Olivia grinned. “Interesting. So—where is this battlefield?”
Aen couldn’t help but laugh. Perhaps it was the blood of the King of the North stirring within him, making him feel exhilarated.
“Hahahahaha—then follow me!” he bellowed.
He bent his knees and leapt, blasting through the ceiling and piercing through three floors, arriving above the Pale Palace.
As he descended, a dragon appeared naturally to catch him, then carried him eastward.
“King of Greenwood, if you truly desire a dragon, I don’t think it would mind giving you a ride.” Aen’s voice echoed.
Olivia looked up. She could see the dragon circling above, seemingly waiting for her.
“Hah! I don’t need your charity.” Olivia replied. “I’ll earn them—and ride a dragon that belongs to me!”
Saying that, Olivia charged toward the side wall. Her sharp battle aura carved out a perfectly smooth circular tunnel through the wall.
It looked as though it had been gouged out with the edge of a sword.
Zeke stared dazedly at the gaping hole in the ceiling.
Had the Pale Palace not been sturdily built, that leap might have collapsed the entire structure.
When Zeke came back to his senses, he saw the circular tunnel Olivia had carved out.
Dazed again, he finally exploded, cursing aloud, “Aen! The North is not wealthy! Punching two holes like that—are you sick of this palace already?!”
“How are you any different from your kids?!”
Then he fell into another daze. Gazing at the circular tunnel, he sighed, “When they built this Pale Palace, those nobles dared to line their pockets. That’s why the quality’s so poor.”
“Looks like it’s time to rebuild the palace. Otherwise, those two dragons alone could crush it anytime.”
“But if we rebuild it—what should we name it?”
“With dragons around… perhaps Dragon’s Landing Fortress?”
Aen’s chosen battlefield was in the east of the Northern Regions.
Sparse in population and vast in terrain, it was an ideal place for a battle between dragons. A place where dragon tracks would be left behind.
Zeke had been striving to promote the Dragon-Worshipping Cult, and since he had the chance, Aen naturally wanted to help him.
As for whether crossing from the western to the eastern Northern Regions would drain stamina—Aen didn’t believe that a Tier Six warrior’s stamina was so meager.
He often made such trips himself. For him, it was merely a matter of catching a few more breaths.
He could manage it, let alone Olivia.
Just as he expected, Olivia kept up with his speed effortlessly.
With a slight smile, Aen gently patted the dragon’s back.
“Roar!” The dragon beneath him let out a roar, and then the tips of its wings ignited like fireworks. Flames of elemental fire twined around them, and the wild surge of mana transformed the dragon into a meteor streaking across the sky.
Wherever it passed, wildfires ignited, forming a corridor of flame in the cold Northern Regions.
Trailing behind, Olivia’s form turned into a blue sphere that soared across this corridor. Her powerful battle aura left a trail down its center. Viewed from above, one could see her trace carving through the Northern Regions like a sharp sword slowly slicing through the land.
Following Olivia was a dragon like a storm of frost. It brought up the rear, reclaiming the burning wildfires into the Northern chill.
Together, they nearly crossed the entire Northern Regions—and such a disturbance naturally did not go unnoticed.
What others saw were just two dragons—one of fire and one of frost—and the trails they left behind.
What was this? What did they intend?
The nobles who witnessed this along the way were struck with deep dread and fear.
Such speed, such power—it left them nearly in despair.
Even the Northern Warriors within their families could only kneel and look up in awe, unable to summon the will to resist.
Wolves, bears, and dragons—these were the symbols of faith in the Northern Regions.
Look at those kneeling and shouting fanatically—was this Ismir displaying his strength?
With that thought, their expressions changed, and in the end, they, like the commoners, knelt and cried out to Ismir.
Aen couldn’t see these people. Even if he could, the current Aen wouldn’t care.
At this altitude, he could already see beyond the Northwind Mountains, glimpsing the prosperity of Greenwood and even farther lands.
From this view, those few nobles meant little.
He only felt as if a vast surge of breath was erupting from his chest—as if all the built-up energy from years of maintaining the development of the Northern Regions with Zeke was now pouring out.
Yes, with dragons now in existence, did they still need all those past compromises?
At the very least, Aen was certain: the Northern Regions now needed only one faith.
At least, for as long as he was alive.
“Roar!” Suddenly, Aen let out a roar—a roar like a dragon. The phantom of the dragon surrounding him seemed almost corporeal; the scales on its body could even be seen clearly.
“Haa!” came a crisp shout from behind.
It was Olivia’s response upon hearing Aen’s roar.
It was almost solid. When Aen glanced back, he could see a vague shadow gazing at him.
Grinning, Aen’s eyes turned into vertical pupils. A dragon-shaped shadow slowly rose behind him, then flapped its wings and flew toward the waiting shadow.
That shadow seemed to sense that what it had been waiting for had finally appeared. It released a silent roar and charged toward the dragon-shaped shadow.
The two collided, unleashing a shock of will. Aen’s head flung back sharply, as if struck.
But he laughed joyfully.
So this is the world seen by those at Tier Six?
Power capable of manifesting will into reality. When the will remains, the body does not die—this was the threshold of divinity.
Suddenly, Aen felt that win or lose, he would owe the King of Greenwood a reward.
After all, without her, he might never have seen what true Tier Six power looked like.
And without this clash, when would the Northern Regions ever gain a Tier Six legacy?
Greenwood, favored by the Lord, had at least three human Tier Six individuals—including her. If one included non-humans, there were even more.
With such thoughts, they pressed eastward. When the Giant Dragon Mountain Peak became clearly visible, the sun still hadn’t set.
In less than half a day, they had crossed the Northern Regions.
The dragon’s wings stirred the sky. Hovering high above, it slowly turned, looking back at the light behind them.
“King of Greenwood, don’t go dying now!” Aen called out a challenge.
“Hah!” came Olivia’s voice, as a golden beam of light blasted toward Aen.
Olivia had taken the initiative.
Aen narrowed his eyes. He had never seen this form of combat before.
In the past, only Holy Relics could unleash such attacks—but now, this seemed to be pure mana.
Had this happened earlier, he might have dodged or endured it directly. But now——
“Roar!” Aen and the dragon beneath him roared together. The nearly solid, space-distorting breath of flame burst forth, colliding midair with the golden beam.
With a thunderous boom, power surged violently.
However, the golden beam was exceptionally sharp. Aen’s newly learned strength wasn’t enough to fully block it.
Even weakened by the dragon’s roar, the golden beam still surged forward. Though the dragon reacted quickly, it was still grazed by the beam, leaving sword-like cuts all across one of its wings.
The injured dragon lost balance for a moment, but its powerful regeneration quickly closed the wounds, leaving only faint traces.
It seemed a powerful will lingered, preventing full healing.
Aen glanced at it. Though he wanted to try dispelling it with his own will, now clearly wasn’t the time.
He could already see Olivia’s excited expression.
With a sharp “Roar!”, she called out.
Just as Olivia was about to charge, she turned back sharply—the Ice Dragon had arrived. At Aen’s call, it opened its mouth and released a blast of freezing dragon breath.
Olivia smirked, her eyes lighting up, and raised her sword to strike.
Aen noticed this sword strike was clearly weaker than before.
Was it due to depleted energy? Or from her earlier sustained build-up?
He pondered, but the dragon beneath him didn’t stop. It released a blast of searing dragon breath.
The Ice Dragon’s breath, Olivia’s sword light, and the blazing dragon breath collided violently, entangling and bursting forth like a pillar of light that reached the heavens.
Then, clouds began to gather, quickly turning into heavy, dark storm clouds—as if a black continent were descending from the sky.
“Rumble rumble!” Thunder cracked, like silver serpents writhing within.
Fine drizzle fell—then rapidly became a downpour. But the falling raindrops were scalding, like boiling water.
“Hahahaha, changing the environment to create a battlefield to your advantage? No wonder you lured me here. If we had fought back there, just this weather phenomenon alone could have killed everyone in the city.” Olivia was forced to raise her battle aura to deflect the rain.
This rain, boiling like water, wasn’t just hot—it carried the will of both ice and fire.
Anyone exposed to it would be constantly bombarded by these wills.
Though Olivia’s will was like the highest mountain—and these were not even climbers—
In battle, even such minor interference held weight.
“I’m facing the King of Greenwood, of course I must give it my all,” Aen replied.
As for the fact that he had just come up with this move after experiencing Olivia’s onslaught—there was no need to mention that.