Lola pushed off with all four limbs, charging at the giant lizard once more.
She leaped onto the giant lizard's back. The beast was already too weak to resist, only able to feebly twitch its body, incapable of a proper struggle, its low growls weak and powerless. Lola aimed her fangs at the giant lizard's nape, at the already charred and cracked armor, and bit down hard, piercing through. As her dragon fangs sank into the soft flesh, her claws gripped the giant lizard's cervical vertebrae, and with every ounce of her remaining strength, she twisted and snapped its neck.
Crack!
The crisp sound of breaking bone echoed clearly across the open wasteland.
The giant lizard's movements instantly froze. Its massive body shook violently twice, then crashed heavily onto its side. The weighty thud made the ground tremble slightly, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Lola slid off the giant lizard's corpse, collapsing beside it, her chest heaving. Each breath tugged at the injuries in her ribcage, sending waves of burning pain through her.
The wound on her shoulder continued to bleed, trickling down her foreleg and pooling into a small puddle of dark red blood and mud at her feet.
Her left wing membrane was torn in seven or eight places, fluttering gently with her breathing. Her tail lay limply on the ground, caked in mud and blood, without even the strength to twitch.
“I knew it,” her voice was hoarse and dry, unfamiliar even to herself. “I shouldn’t have secretly run away in the first place.”
As her words faded, overwhelming exhaustion swept over her. Her eyelids slowly, uncontrollably, drooped.
A soft, warm, crimson-gold light began to emanate from the gaps in her scales, like fragmented rays of evening sunlight filtering through stained glass.
The light grew stronger, surging from deep within her scales, completely enveloping her body.
The soft orb of light slowly contracted, and the tall, draconic silhouette within it continuously shrank and faded.
A gentle breeze swept across the scorched wasteland; the entire field was lifeless.
The massive corpse of the Dragon-Armored Lizard lay sprawled in the center of the wasteland, viscous dark-green blood continuously seeping from its wounds, pooling into a deep crimson stain beneath it, slowly spreading out.
Just approaching the area, the pungent scent of charring and blood assailed them.
The villagers huddled behind the broken fence, no one daring to step forward, all staring nervously at the battlefield.
Carson stood at the front of the crowd. Though his short sword was sheathed, his hand remained on the hilt, unwilling to relax his guard even slightly.
“Is it… over?” The archer whispered, as if afraid of disturbing the battlefield, not daring to speak too loudly.
“It should be over,” Chas swallowed dryly. “There’s no more movement over there.”
On the battlefield, only the giant lizard’s corpse was faintly visible; everything else was silent.
Carson let out a long breath, releasing his grip on the sword hilt he had held for so long. He stepped over the broken fence, intending to go forward and check the situation.
“You all stay here,” he said without turning, his voice sounding steady. “I’ll go alone and take a look.”
“But what if there’s still danger…” Chas’s worry was cut short before he could finish.
“If there’s really danger, then only I’ll be in trouble,” Carson waved his hand without looking back. “Just wait here quietly.”
He spoke with an air of nonchalant ease, but only he knew that with every step forward, his knees would tremble uncontrollably.
He had seen many formidable things, but what lay there were two Transcendent behemoths. Even in death, they were certainly not creatures that ordinary low-level beings could approach carelessly. The lingering oppressive aura of top predators still instilled fear, making one hesitant to act rashly.
He cautiously made his way to the center of the battlefield, first approaching the nearest giant lizard corpse, carefully examining its eyes. Its pupils were cloudy and unfocused, showing no signs of life or reaction.
He then circled to the massive wound on its chest; its internal organs had long been shattered, beyond recognition.
After confirming the giant lizard was completely dead, he straightened up and scanned his surroundings for any hidden dangers.
But the red dragon was gone. The enormous red dragon that had just been spitting Dragon Breath in mid-air, fiercely battling the giant lizard on the ground, and finally emitting that blinding light, had now vanished into thin air.
Carson circled the giant lizard’s corpse carefully, then looked towards the shrubs at the edge of the wasteland, still finding nothing. He frowned, raising a hand to rub the back of his head.
A gust of wind blew past, dispersing the lingering wisps of smoke from the giant lizard’s corpse, and at the same time, bringing a subtle movement. It was very light, something shifted gently in a pile of rubble.
Carson spun around, his right hand instantly gripping his sword hilt. His gaze quickly swept across the scorched earth and overturned turf, finally stopping at an unusual spot.
On the other side of the giant lizard’s corpse, a pile of shattered rocks, broken by the aftermath of the battle, lay heaped. Curled up between the cracks in the stones was something, its color starkly different from the dull gray rubble.
He took a few steps forward, narrowing his eyes to examine it closely. It was a slender humanoid figure, lying prone in the pile of rubble, half its body pinned by stones, motionless and lifeless.
There was someone here!
Carson rushed forward and knelt, carefully moving aside the rubble pressing down on the figure.
As more stones were removed, the figure’s appearance gradually became clearer. Carson’s movements slowed, then stopped completely.
Curled up in the rubble was a very young girl.
She looked to be only fourteen or fifteen, slender and frail, her entire body curled on the scorched earth.
Her skin was so fair it was almost translucent, gleaming with a delicate porcelain-white luster in the sunlight, starkly out of place amidst the chaotic battlefield.
Light red hair fanned out over her shoulders and the ground, its color pure and translucent, like finely polished ruby powder. A few blades of grass and dirt clung to her hair, but could not obscure its unique texture and hue.
On her head grew a pair of horns, completely unlike the furry beast ears of demi-humans or ordinary bony protrusions. The horns had smooth lines, natural spiral patterns, and curved upwards from her temples in elegant arcs.
The horns transitioned naturally from a pale white at the base to a deep red at the tips, their surfaces covered in fine, regular ring-shaped patterns.
She wore a simple dress, its style neither the common coarse cloth dresses of the village nor the short, cinched tunics typically worn by adventurers.
The fabric had a soft, matte texture in the sunlight, impossible to discern whether it was silk, cotton, or some special material. It was clean overall, without superfluous patterns or decorations.
Both the neckline and cuffs were edged with a dark red trim. Seemingly plain and understated, a closer look revealed this shade of red was identical to the deep red color at the tips of her horns.
Carson stared at the unique horns for a moment, then noticed a tail, covered in crimson scales, extending from beneath the hem of her dress, drooping limply onto the pile of rubble.
The tip of the tail was slightly curled, its edge pinned by a piece of rubble; its owner clearly lacked the strength to pull free.
Dragon horns, scaled tail, the vanished red dragon.
The vague suspicion in Carson’s mind became increasingly clear.
Rate on N.U.
