A thick, massive torrent of flames swept out, its coverage perfectly matching the entire vanguard of the monster tide.
The pillar of fire was nearly as wide as Lola's body was long. The moment it erupted, the sky itself was obscured, all natural light swallowed by the crimson flames, which then exploded outwards with even greater ferocity.
The scorching flames slammed down into the monster horde on the ground.
Areas directly struck by the pillar of fire didn't slowly burn; the yellowish-brown earth instantly carbonized and blackened, rapidly turning white under the intense heat, and finally melting into a liquid flow.
All monsters within the blast radius had no chance to struggle or escape. The Shadow Forest Wolves were instantly carbonized by the extreme heat, shattering and scattering. The hard, keratinous scales of the Multi-Headed Snakes peeled away like thin paper. The Skeleton Undead monsters were directly vaporized by the high temperature, leaving not even a speck of bone dust.
The scorching flames spread outwards with overwhelming force, a crimson shockwave carrying hot debris and burning ash, sweeping across the entire battlefield.
Where the shockwave passed, only carbonized monster remains and smoking, scorched craters were left behind.
By the time the sky-filling flames slowly dissipated, the area where the monsters had gathered was reduced to a narrow, scorched wasteland.
The shallow topsoil was melted through, constantly bubbling with hot magma. The air was filled with the pungent smell of sulfur and the strange, foul odor of burnt flesh.
The few surviving monsters completely scattered, their fighting spirit utterly gone. They didn't even dare to look back.
They fled in all directions, crashing through roadside bushes and trampling over the corpses of their kin in a desperate scramble for their lives.
Lola folded her massive wings and landed smoothly back in the open space at the village center.
Her breathing was noticeably rapid and heavy, wisps of black smoke constantly puffed from her nostrils, and her chest and abdomen, covered in hard scales, heaved dramatically. It was clear that the widespread use of her Dragon Breath had consumed a vast amount of her stamina.
She quietly tucked her slightly trembling foreclaws beneath her body, deliberately raising her head to adopt a proud posture, forcing herself to maintain the dignified and majestic appearance of a dragon, unwilling to let the humans below see her exhausted state.
The entire village fell into a deathly silence. Only Lola's heavy breathing and the faint lingering echoes from the distant battlefield could be heard.
“Th-this… how is this possible?” Chas's legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees in the mud. He stared up blankly at the massive red dragon, taking a long moment to piece together a coherent sentence. “It… it just wiped them out in an instant…”
The archer beside him leaned against the wooden fence, his longbow slipping from his grasp unnoticed.
Bards always depicted dragons as terrifying, world-ending monsters, but seeing one in person, everyone's feelings were entirely different.
Carson stood frozen, taking a while to compose himself.
He inhaled the lingering scent of burnt vegetation in the air, then walked steadily toward Lola, placing his right hand over his heart and bowing in a standard noble salute.
“Esteemed Dragon Lord,” he said, his tone steady and solemn. His previous panic and fear in the face of the massive beast had completely vanished, replaced only by genuine reverence.
“The entire Luka Village will remember your life-saving grace. Not only everyone present today, but our descendants will also never forget your aid.”
The surrounding villagers slowly gathered, still wary and unwilling to get too close, but all mimicked Carson, bowing respectfully.
A bolder young mother peered out from her wooden house doorway and loudly thanked Lola: “Thank you so much! Thank you for saving our entire village!”
She held her young child in her arms. The child couldn't distinguish between a dragon and a monster, nor could he understand what a monster tide crisis was. Seeing his mother smile, he too smiled innocently, extending his chubby hand and gently waving at Lola.
Lola lowered her gaze, looking down at the small humans below. They tentatively took a few steps closer, still cautiously maintaining several meters of safe distance from her, not daring to approach rashly.
She could clearly sense the shift in their attitudes. A few minutes ago, their eyes were filled with panic, wariness, and distance; now, all of it had transformed into genuine gratitude and adoration.
“Hmph!”
Lola cleared her throat, raised her head, and adopted a majestic posture, speaking in a flat tone: “No need for such formality. This was merely the repayment I promised. A mere monster wave is nothing worth mentioning.”
Chas scrambled up from the ground, brushing the mud from his trousers, his face still flushed with excitement. “Your Lordship is too humble! Your Dragon Breath incinerated those ferocious monsters into ash!”
Another villager nearby bravely chimed in: “Exactly! We used to lie awake all night, constantly worried about monsters invading the village, but you solved this disaster in an instant!”
The village archer picked up his fallen longbow, his gaze still somewhat dazed.
“Bards sing legends of dragons, and I always thought they exaggerated. But seeing you today, I realize those songs can't even describe a tenth of your power and majesty.”
Hearing the praise, the tip of Lola's tail uncontrollably tapped the ground, kicking up a small puff of dust.
She immediately pinned her tail with a hind claw, her facial expression unwavering, though a small, irrepressible flame secretly flickered from the gaps between the scales on her chest.
“Your bards do possess some insight,” she slowly nodded, her tone unhurried. “However, songs are ultimately just songs; they cannot compare to witnessing it firsthand.”
“That's so true!” Chas nodded vigorously, praising her directly: “The dragons in those picture books are nothing but little lizards painted with colors compared to you!”
Lola's tail twitched again, escaping from under her claw. She clenched her sharp teeth, her jawline tight, trying hard to maintain a composed expression.
Yet, the surging pleasure in her heart simply couldn't be suppressed. She could only deliberately avoid Chas's adoring gaze, turning her head to feign looking at the still-smoking, scorched remains of the monsters in the distance.
But her fleeting gesture was still caught by Carson.
The moment Lola averted her gaze, that majestic, cold dragon face secretly curved into a faint smile.
This smile vanished in an instant; the next second, she reverted to her aloof, distant dragon persona.
Her expression changed so quickly that Carson couldn't help but wonder if the dazzling Dragon Breath had momentarily blurred his vision.
Carson instinctively rubbed his eyes. It must have been an illusion, right? How could a majestic dragon secretly grin?
The relaxed, warm atmosphere in the village lasted only a few seconds before an unusual sound abruptly came from the distance.
This sound was completely different from before; it wasn't the chaotic thundering of a stampeding monster horde, nor the noisy retreat of a defeated monster tide.
It was an extremely heavy set of footsteps, each landing accompanied by ground tremors. Small pebbles on the ground bounced continuously, and loose wood chips from the roadside wooden fence rattled down.
Lola abruptly turned her head toward the source of the sound, her golden vertical pupils instantly narrowing into two thin slits, her expression becoming serious in an instant.
The scales on her neck instinctively flared outwards, a posture completely different from her confident demeanor when facing the monster tide. Her vertical pupils abruptly contracted into thin slits; now her entire body was tense, her guard fully up.
She stared into the distance where the sound originated, her thick dragon tail uncontrollably thumping heavily, and the dangerous aura around her suddenly spread.
Rate on N.U.
