“Oh, really?” Ethan slowly loosened his grip on the Black Dragon’s neck and reverted to his human form.
If what the Black Dragon claimed was true, he couldn’t kill it just yet.
But having a dragon, who couldn’t be tamed, by his side was also a problem.
Once he finished the Hidden Quest of the Black Dragon’s treasure, he could bid farewell to the dragon.
Each part of a dragon was worth a fortune, and he believed every part of this Black Dragon could fetch a high price.
Ethan looked at the Black Dragon and mused, “Well, I guess you’ll just have to stick around for the performance.”
“A performance? What do you mean?” Komait asked, confusion etched on his face.
“Of course, I mean the performance where a hero slays the evil dragon. Do you think you can just waltz into Riverside with your size and dig out the treasure buried under the city?”
Komait wanted to argue that if Ethan took over Riverside, they could just stroll in and claim the treasure.
But under Ethan’s intimidation, Black Dragon buried his questions, nodding in silent agreement.
…
Riverside, Lord’s Manor.
As the acting lord of Riverside, Rose was ready to rest after a busy day when she was suddenly informed that a Hero named Zachary Barnes requested to see her.
“Zachary Barnes…”
Rose thought for a moment.
She remembered him as one of the earliest subordinates who pledged loyalty to Ethan.
Why is he here to see me?
As she pondered, Rose instructed the guards to bring Zachary Barnes in.
“Greetings, my Lord,” Zachary Barnes said respectfully.
His eyes briefly rested on Rose before quickly looking away.
Any normal man would linger on such a beautiful woman, but his fear of Ethan overshadowed everything else.
In his heart, he was not happy about Rose’s position.
If it weren’t for the fact that Rose was Ethan’s woman, he would have a fair shot at becoming the lord of Riverside.
Regardless of his feelings, he knew that Rose was a force to be reckoned with.
If a conflict arose between them, it was evident that Ethan would not hesitate to dispose of him.
Rose gave a slight nod and asked, “So, Ethan sent you. What’s up?”
“Here’s the thing…”
“The battle between the Riverside alliance and the Black Dragon has been settled.
Riverside’s army is in full retreat and has been incorporated by Lord Ethan.
He’s captured the Black Dragon.
Lord Ethan’s message is straightforward.
He wants you to lead the Riverside relief force tomorrow to assist him.”𝑂𝓋𝗅xt.𝑐𝞸𝓂
“The Black Dragon will cooperate with you for a performance. He’ll pretend to be defeated by you, then be captured alive and brought back to Riverside.”
Zachary Barnes hurriedly relayed Ethan’s instructions, his envy of Rose deepening.
Such a huge achievement fell into her lap… if only he could have accomplished it…
“Alright, I understand,” Rose responded after hearing Zachary Barnes’s words.
Her heart was pounding wildly, but she managed to maintain her composure, suppressing her excitement.
With such a merit, her reputation would definitely skyrocket across the entire Sunset Empire…
Having this accomplishment as a stepping stone, it’s only the beginning to officially taking on the role of Riverside’s city lord.
“Go and tell Lord Ethan that I understand his message. First thing tomorrow morning, I will personally lead the Riverside relief force and rush to the Mist Forest.”
“Yes, my lady.”
Zachary Barnes bowed respectfully, then turned around and left.
The following day, under Rose’s call, a large number of Riverside’s Heroes and the remaining few forces in the city gathered and started heading towards the Mist Forest.
At the beginning, whether it was the Heroes or Riverside’s troops, morale was extremely low.
They were going to face a Black Dragon.
The Riverside alliance, whose military strength far surpassed theirs, was rumored to have been defeated.
If they were embarking on an uncertain expedition, there might have been a glimmer of hope.
But the outcome of this rescue operation was undoubtedly linked to failure.
Upon their arrival at the battlefield, a series of bad news confirmed what most of the soldiers had in mind.
The city lord of Riverside has fallen…
Jeremy, the son of the Grand Duke, was killed by the dragon.
The Riverside alliance was in chaos.
Their reinforcements, who at most could be considered elite cannon fodder, had become the main force of the battlefield.
However, when the battle started, the direction of events went beyond everyone’s expectation.
The Black Dragon showed off its might above the reinforcements, causing numerous deaths and disasters with its terrifying dragon flame.
At this time, Rose stepped up once again.
Just like when she defended Riverside and drove away the Golden Dragon, today she replicated her heroic act.
Under her relentless onslaught, the Black Dragon quickly fell apart.
In the end, Rose punctured both wings of the Black Dragon, pierced its chest, and captured it alive.
When Rose stood on the head of the Black Dragon, declaring victory, the soldiers finally snapped out of their trance and cheered:
“Long live Miss Rose!”
“Long live Riverside!”
“So much for the damn Black Dragon. It’s nothing special, haha!”
Amid endless praises, Riverside’s army sang a victory song and officially returned triumphantly with the Black Dragon in tow.
When the Black Dragon was locked in a massive prisoner’s wagon and dragged into Riverside, the entire city erupted in cheers. Rose’s popularity reached its peak.
Riverside’s savior, Sunset Empire’s strongest female Hero, the dragon-slaying heroine… Numerous titles were bestowed upon Rose.
Even without the Empire’s official decree, with just a word from Rose, countless people in Riverside were willing to lay down their lives for her.
Meanwhile, after two days, Ethan had finally finished cleaning up the battlefield in Mist Forest.
The Riverside alliance had left behind a vast amount of resources, which Ethan promptly swooped up, fattening his coffers immensely.
Moreover, the treasures that lay submerged at the bottom of the Black Dragon’s cave were a great find.
It took Ethan considerable effort to extract them all and transport them back to his own treasure vault.
Obtaining such a substantial fortune and, bolstered by the Golden Dragon’s treasure boost, Ethan’s power further increased.
Unlocking all the useful skills, Ethan’s attribute panel became even stronger.
[Name: Ethan]
[Strength: A+ Rank]
[Bloodline: Golden Divine Dragon]
[Skills: Golden Divine Scale (Intermediate), Magic Immunity (Advanced), Fiery Dragon Flame, Thunder Claw, Wind Wing, Holy Light Judgment, Holy Shining Form, Deluge, Demon’s Gate, Heart-Eroding Spell.]
[Attributes: HP 9000, Spirit 610, Strength 152, Constitution 180, Agility 100]
S-rank was no longer a distant dream.
After returning to the dungeon, Ethan went on another spending spree.
His forces received a great replenishment with various types of troops.
Most resources, however, Ethan chose to summon Bipedal Wyverns, keeping in mind that the best steel should be used for the blade.
The number of Bipedal Wyverns rose to ten.
The current dungeon was too crowded for Ethan’s forces.
Under his instruction, with Aluna commanding and Zachary Barnes as the vanguard, Ethan’s large army began a cleansing campaign against the surrounding Dark Lords.
All Dark Lords who didn’t participate in the last alliance were within his attack range.
Ten Bipedal Wyverns were equivalent to ten B-rank strengths.
Such an army was almost a crushing blow to all the current Dark Lords.
Leaving the expansion work to his subordinates, Ethan transformed into a treant once more, brazenly arriving at Riverside.
Riverside at this time was bustling, even more so than before it was plundered by the Dark Lord alliance.
After seeing Rose, Ethan learned the reason for this celebration – everyone was here to see the dragon.
Though Riverside had suffered two major blows, causing many deaths, including the tragic death of Riverside’s lord, the big news of capturing a live dragon drowned everything else.
Dragon-slaying feats were not unheard of in the history of the Sunset Empire, but capturing a live dragon was a first.
Most residents of the Sunset Empire had never seen even a dragon’s corpse, let alone a live one.
Their understanding of dragons existed mainly in legends and tales.
Given the opportunity to observe a real dragon, they naturally wouldn’t miss it.
The originally morose Riverside had a tremendous resurgence.
A large number of tourists from afar brought along numerous caravans.
The emergence of these caravans brought more missions, attracting more and more Heroes to Riverside.
Rose, who had been worrying about how to rebuild Riverside, suddenly found that all the difficulties seemed to be resolved overnight.
She jokingly referred to this as the “Dragon Renaissance.”
In addition to the revival of Riverside, Rose, who had made significant contributions in the two major battles in Riverside, was also rewarded by the empire.
She was officially appointed as the lord of Riverside, and was granted the title of viscountess.
Now, when meeting Rose, one must call her Viscountess.
The regions surrounding Riverside, including Mist Forest, were also assigned by the empire as Rose’s private territory.
Of course, whether these territories could be taken depended on Rose personally leading the troops to reclaim them.