"Your Majesty, we have completely surrounded the Dragon Kingdom's borders. We're getting closer and closer to their capital."
"It won't be long now before we conquer the Dragon Kingdom and drag that Dragon Princess down from her throne."
Inside the ruined city walls, crimson blood soaked into the earth. This city, once part of the Dragon Kingdom, had already fallen to the Beastmen.
Thousands of Beastmen of all shapes and sizes, clad in leather armor and armed to the teeth, moved about freely.
The shattered buildings and corpses scattered across the ground testified to the brutality of the war. Most of the dead were human. A smaller portion were Beastmen.
A werewolf in leather armor reported confidently, his tone brimming with certainty.
"We should still keep an eye on the Slane Theocracy. Have the main army advance faster. I can't wait to enjoy that Dragon Princess."
Seated upon a throne, a ferocious-looking Beastman waved his hand dismissively as he gave the order.
He was the King of the Beastman Country, a Beastman with distinctly tiger-like features.
Unlike human rulers, he did not stay behind the lines. He personally led the campaign.
Beastmen revered strength above all else. In times of war, their king would often be the first to charge into battle, tempering himself in bloodshed.
It was simply their instinct. Fear was a concept they barely understood.
The primary goal of this invasion was to capture the Dragon Kingdom's queen, Draudillon.
As long as they could seize this queen who carried the bloodline of a True Dragon Lord, the Beastmen's strength would soar beyond imagination.
How powerful was a True Dragon Lord's bloodline?
The Beastman King knew better than anyone.
He himself was a case of draconic atavism. Without that inherited dragon blood, he would never have risen above countless Beastmen to claim the throne.
Even a mixed bloodline, as long as it contained a trace of dragon blood, could bring about a complete transformation in strength.
With training, one could easily step into the [Realm of Heroes]. If the concentration of dragon blood was higher, even the [Outlier Realm] was not out of reach.
Not to mention the existence of Innate Abilities known as [Talents].
The Dragon bloodline also granted immense longevity. The Dragon Queen could be treated as a living heirloom.
As long as they mated with her and continuously propagated her bloodline, the Beastman Country would produce more and more powerful warriors.
From the Dragon Kingdom as a starting point, they would invade the Empire, the Kingdom, the Holy Kingdom, even the Slane Theocracy…
Overthrow the weak humans. In the end, the world would belong to the Beastmen.
Of course, all of this depended on one thing.
That the True Dragon Lords standing at the peak of the world would not interfere.
Especially the Dragon Queen's grandfather, the Brightness Dragon Lord.
But after years of probing, the Beastman King was convinced that this True Dragon Lord would not intervene.
If he cared about such trivial wars, he would have shown himself long ago.
Besides, as a Beastman with draconic atavism, the king himself had inherited the Brightness Dragon Lord's bloodline. Strictly speaking, he and the Dragon Queen were even related.
Both carried the blood of the Brightness Dragon Lord. The only difference was that their generational gap was just a little… large.
Thinking about what he would do once Draudillon was in his hands made the Beastman King smile unconsciously.
Just as he was about to sink deeper into his fantasies, a sudden commotion snapped him back to reality.
"What's going on?"
Before he could fully grasp the situation, a thunderous roar tore through the air.
The dragon blood within his body began to boil on its own, as if welcoming the arrival of something.
He looked up.
In the distant sky, a streak of seven-colored light was rushing toward them at terrifying speed.
With it came an overwhelming pressure that made it hard to breathe.
Within the swirling radiance, a colossal dragon, like a demon god descending from the heavens, stared coldly at the Beastmen below.
Without warning, a terrifying dragon's might crashed down from the sky, instantly enveloping the entire city.
The elements in the air were dragged into motion. Dark clouds swallowed the sky. Violent winds twisted into tornadoes. Lightning struck from above. Molten lava burst from the earth.
It was as if a natural disaster meant to erase everything had descended.
This was not Wild Magic.
It was absolute dominion over the elements.
"I am the Brightness Dragon Lord, sovereign of the Seven Elements!"
The Brightness Dragon Lord let out a furious roar, venting the terrifying power of a True Dragon Lord standing at the pinnacle of the world.
This was not just for Draudillon.
It was for himself.
The memory of his previous defeat was still fresh. He could accept defeat. He could even accept submission without complaint.
But he could not accept that he had lost in such a humiliating manner.
Pinned down like a female he had once subdued, crying out in shame and pleading for mercy.
The mere thought made his blood boil.
He needed to prove his strength again, and the Beastmen had chosen the worst possible moment to provoke him.
On the ground, the Beastmen were utterly powerless before this overwhelming might.
Crying, screaming, howling. The sounds blended together without end. The air was even tinged with the scent of scorched flesh.
Unstoppable.
Invincible.
That was the only thought left in the minds of the Beastmen.
They loved chaos on the battlefield. They even longed for wars between all races.
But there was one existence they knew better than to provoke.
A True Dragon Lord.
"Why… is it because of the Dragon Queen? …I carry your blood as well…"
Amid the collapsing army, the Beastman King stood upon the devastated ground, staring up at the sky as he questioned the very origin of his bloodline.
He could not understand.
Why had things turned out this way?
He bore dragon blood too.
Why would the Brightness Dragon Lord choose the weaker Dragon Queen over him, who was stronger?
The Brightness Dragon Lord only spared him a single glance.
Then he rewarded him with a breath attack.
Just a Beastman who had experienced a lucky atavistic awakening of his bloodline.
In the Brightness Dragon Lord's eyes, a hundred Beastman Kings could not compare to one Dragon Queen.
Throughout the endless lifespan of a True Dragon Lord, even he did not know how many offspring he had sired. Perhaps hundreds. Perhaps thousands.
But among them, the Dragon Queen was different.
Not because of strength.
Because she could use Wild Magic.
That alone was enough.
...
Far away on the distant city walls, Naohara and the others watched in the direction of the Beastman army.
"Looks like Brightness is really venting his anger."
Naohara smiled faintly. It seemed that after their battle, the other party had not been nearly as calm as he appeared.
"Whatever happened in there, it probably wasn't pleasant," Herohero said.
The [Depiction of Nature and Society] had originally contained one hundred micro-worlds. Now only ninety-nine remained.
That alone said enough.
Naohara simply shrugged and turned to look at the side.
"How's it going on your end, Momonga?"
"Pandora has already returned to Nazarick."
Momonga nodded, red light flickering within the shadows of his hood.
Since there had been no trap, they could proceed with the next stage of the plan.
Momonga had already instructed Pandora's Actor to return to Nazarick and retrieve an item from the Eighth Floor.
Before long, the three of them would take the two True Dragon Lords and head to Demiurge's experimental facility to regroup.
Off to the side, the Heavenly Dragon Lord let out a yawn. At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to find somewhere quiet and get some proper sleep.