"Fel, I really have to thank you for this. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have succeeded so smoothly, oh, wait a second, it looks like we've got new guests."
Upon hearing this, the three people outside the cave instantly realized they had been exposed.
They wanted to leave but it was already too late.
Several dragon guards hiding in the shadows directly captured them and brought them into the room.
The three children struggled, but they were already exhausted, how could they be a match for these adult dragons?
"Another three. Seems like we're not the only ones looking for the Primordial Energy, Senior Constantine," Fel said faintly.
'Constantine?'
Noah suddenly stopped struggling. She looked up at the two dragons in front of her.
One of them was the very same dragon hero once written about in textbooks, and who had been defeated twice by her dad... the Crimson Flame Dragon King...
Noah's eyes widened in disbelief.
"Constantine... you actually—"
Only to see that dragon king who represented flames take a step forward slowly, his voice deep and majestic,
"Yes, children, I've returned."
"Crimson Flame Dragon King Constantine... wasn't he defeated in the Silver Dragon Battle a few years ago..."
Even Yuna of the Thunder Dragon Clan had heard of that battle, "Why is he appearing here now?"
At this moment, Constantine had already taken human form, appearing as a human man in his thirties.
Although only his head was original after the fusion, transformation still fell within the domain of magic. Taking human form made it easier to move and reduced the wear caused by a massive body.
"It's a long story, little ones."
As he spoke, Constantine slowly shifted his gaze to Noah.
He squinted slightly, examining her face. After a moment, Constantine said faintly,
"Oh, I recognize you. You're the eldest daughter of Casmodeous and the Silver Dragon Queen. Maureen gave me intel with your photo a few years back, back then, you were still very little."
Maureen had once been Constantine's planted spy within the Silver Dragon Clan, later exposed by Leon's fishing tactic.
When Constantine spoke, his tone was very casual, as if he were a distant uncle chatting about family with Noah.
But Noah had no desire to talk to this guy. One attack on Silver Dragon territory, another on the Red Dragon Sanctuary, this crazy dragon was definitely not a peaceful character.
"Casmodeous? Your Majesty, since she's Casmodeous's daughter, why don't we just take care of her now and help Your Majesty avenge your grudge?", said a Crimson Flame Dragon guard through gritted teeth.
The feud between Leon and Constantine had lasted for years. Moreover, Constantine's long torture at the hands of the Empire couldn't be separated from Leon's involvement.
And now his daughter was in their hands. Just like the guard said, killing Noah would be like killing Leon's heart. Wouldn't that be delightful?
However—
"My grudge with Leon doesn't extend to the next generation. Besides, do you think that I, as a Dragon King, would lay a hand on a child not even ten years old?" [T/N: Respect +]
Even though he had been elbowed into the loser's bracket twice by General Leon, the great old Constantine still chose to focus on the issue itself.
And indeed, just as he said, targeting a child for revenge would truly be a disgrace to his title as Dragon King.
Compared to so-called "cutting off the enemy's heart," Constantine, who possessed the purest dragon bloodline, still preferred to defeat that man called Leon Casmodeous head-on.
Constantine withdrew his gaze and unhurriedly turned around, "Watch over these six. Don't let them run wild."
'Six?'
Noah suddenly looked up, only then realizing that in this spacious room, there were three others present.
They were Helena, Diane, and Raymond.
At the moment, they were also being tightly guarded by several dragon guards, pressed to the side.
"Helena!"
"Noah..."
"What are you yelling for? Quiet!", barked a guard fiercely. Then, Noah and the others were shoved beside Helena's group.
"I saw your hair left on the road," Noah said in a low voice.
Helena first gave a tired but relieved smile, but that smile was quickly replaced by disappointment, "But now we've all been caught. No one's coming to save us."
'No one...? Not quite.'
Her dad, the daughter-loving maniac, and her mom, the Silver Dragon Queen, were probably somewhere near this ruin.
Actually, all along the way Noah had been curious why her parents had come here, but after seeing Constantine, she gradually pieced it together.
Although she couldn't be certain what kind of game her parents and Constantine were playing, their presence in the far north definitely had something to do with either Constantine or the Primordial Energy.
Noah made such a guess because, from what she knew of her parents, that couple would never be bored enough to come to a place like this for a date.
And if they really wanted to enjoy some couple time, the excuses they used most often were, "Ah, your dad and I are patrolling the border," or "Grown-ups have grown-up work to do too."
Still, even knowing her parents were nearby, Noah couldn't just sit around and wait.
After all, she couldn't entrust her and her friends' lives to people who might or might not show up in time.
Noah looked ahead, and only then did she notice Constantine's true goal on this trip. In the center of the ruin stood a massive dragon-shaped statue.
The size of the statue was no different from a Dragon King's body, wings half-spread, posture elegant.
Though merely a statue, everyone in the ruin could still feel the majesty and pressure it radiated.
Noah frowned slightly, "That's... whose statue?"
"Primordial Dragon King Noah," Helena replied, "Just now Constantine and the others were deciphering those ancient texts on the walls. Simply put, this is the ruin of the first Dragon King in dragon history, Noah. Or you could call it... a tomb."
After a pause, the little sea dragon girl forced a bitter smile and looked at her best friend, "Pretty funny, huh? You've got the same name as this Primordial Dragon King."
Noah pondered for a moment and replied, "Can't really say it's a coincidence. After all, my mom used this dragon ancestor as reference when naming me."
As she spoke, Noah looked around and asked, "We fell down from that snow-covered slab. How did Constantine and the others get down here?"
Helena lifted her chin to gesture upwards.
Noah looked up in confusion, and then her mouth dropped open in astonishment.
Directly above the ruin was an enormous opening that extended straight up to the surface, at least over a hundred meters high.
Along the inner walls of the opening, melted snow and searing rocks were constantly falling, trickling sparsely to the ground.
Cold wind poured in through the gap. Noah swallowed hard, still in disbelief, "Constantine... burned through the ice layer of the far north?"
Helena nodded, "Yes, he did. I always thought that was just an exaggerated rumor adults used to describe how harsh the far north was."
Looks like those "Baby Dragon Enlightenment Stories" weren't all made up. Old Constantine really had some skills.
"Then what did he come here for?", Noah asked.
"I didn't fully understand, but it seemed like he wanted to obtain some kind of power... and that power is sealed within the Primordial Dragon King's statue."
"Quiet, brat. His Majesty only said not to take your lives, not that you wouldn't be hurt," threatened a Crimson Flame Dragon guard again.
The two little ones fell silent.
Noah, however, continued secretly observing the statue in the center of the ruins, and Constantine.
She saw Constantine slowly walk to the Primordial Dragon King's statue, spreading his arms, closing his eyes, as if quietly sensing the invisible yet powerful ancient force.
"I can feel... the fluctuation of Primordial Energy," Constantine's body had been stitched together by the Primordial Energy, fundamentally different from the self-condensed Primordial Energy of Rossweise. That's why he could clearly sense this force's presence.
Especially at such close range.
"Let's begin, Senior. This supreme power will soon belong to you."
The Iron Wing Dragon King, Fel, spoke as he slowly stepped back, leaving enough space beside Constantine.
And Constantine began the "ritual."
He slowly gathered energy, concentrating the Primordial Energy at his chest. Then, a beam of white light extended from Constantine's chest toward the Noah statue before him.
The light beam linked Constantine to the statue. A crisp cracking sound rang out as a few fragments fell from the statue.
Then, the purest, most ancient, and most powerful Primordial Energy in existence began to flow into Constantine's body along the beam of light.
The moment he felt this power, Constantine's eyes snapped open. His crimson dragon pupils had unknowingly turned pure white, and scales began to appear around his eyes.
"This is... Noah's power... the oldest power of the dragon race! It's mine now!"
Light filled the ruin, and the massive energy fluctuations caused the ground to tremble continuously.
Noah stared at the scene in front of her, forcing herself to think calmly, just like her dad. No matter what crisis he faced, he could always come up with a solution.
If Constantine had come to the Noah ruins for the Primordial Energy, then in reverse, her parents came not for a date, but definitely to stop Constantine.
And even if they weren't, her dad had a grudge with Constantine already. This crazy dragon wanted to grow stronger, then what?
Revenge.
Revenge against Leon.
But her parents' whereabouts were currently unknown. The only one who could stop, or at least stall, Constantine... was her.
But Noah was also very aware of the gap between her and Constantine.
She was good at sneak attacks on dragon kings, but direct combat... even the hardest-working overachiever couldn't cross the chasm between power and age.
Noah bit her lower lip, scanning the surroundings for anything she could use.
Soon, she noticed a stone giant statue standing to the side of the Noah statue, the same type she had bumped into when she fell.
But this stone giant hadn't been activated. There was no white crystal on its forehead.
"Crystal..."
A thought flickered through Noah's mind.
She remembered that after defeating the first stone giant, she had stuffed the crystal from its forehead into her pocket.
Originally, she planned to exchange it for test scores once she got back to school. Yes, our genius overachiever was still thinking about her grades while searching for her best friend. If she didn't take first place, who would?
'Putting the crystal into the giant's forehead... should activate it.'
Noah glanced at the Crimson Flame Dragon guard behind her. He was also stunned by the sight of Constantine absorbing the Primordial Energy.
'Perfect timing!'
Noah suddenly released lightning magic.
The sudden burst of searing pain made the guard reflexively loosen his grip.
Noah seized the chance and dashed toward the stone giant.
"Damn it! Stop that brat! Don't let her interfere!"
Guards rushed forward to intercept Noah.
Noah relied on agile footwork and the "disadvantage" of her small size to barely slip past them.
But more and more guards appeared, and they were closing in.
At that moment, Helena also broke free of the guard holding her, and launched a dragon flame attack, which exploded behind Noah.
The fireball from the dragon flame temporarily held back the guards chasing Noah.
"I don't know what you're trying to do, but do your best!", Helena shouted.
The next moment, two guards slammed her to the ground.
But she still kept shouting to Noah, "Go! Noah, you can do it! You definitely can!"
Seeing this, Yuna also joined in disrupting the guards.
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