...

...

Giant Stone City.

Boom boom boom——

Soldiers of the Dragon Breath Legion, like a silver serpent, quickly passed through the gates of Giant Stone City.

The heavy, orderly footsteps struck the hearts of the defending soldiers like a sledgehammer.

The soldiers were all shocked, staring blankly at the advancing army.

"Luckily, Lord Earl surrendered."

In the corner of the city wall, an old soldier with mostly gray hair leaned on a long spear, his hand trembling slightly.

"Otherwise, I would never see my grandson again," the old soldier said with lingering fear.

The soldiers beside him vigorously nodded in strong agreement.

The Duke of Flowers took away most of the elite from Giant Stone City.

The remaining defending soldiers were all those who had been cast aside; most were older veterans, and the younger ones were weak and small new recruits.

"Do you think..."

A pale-faced young soldier asked softly, "If we resist, how long can we last?"

As soon as the words were spoken, the surrounding soldiers turned their heads to look at him.

The old soldier glared at him fiercely, "Do you want to die?!"

The young soldier was startled and shrank his neck, not daring to speak further.

The old soldier sighed, his tone softening, "Child, war isn’t what you imagine."

"On the real battlefield, the ones who die the fastest are recruits like you."

He pointed to the endless stream of the Silver Armor Corps entering the city gate, "Do you see their armor?"

"That’s armor truly forged from steel, not the scraps we have on."

The old soldier shook his head, his voice full of helplessness, "What do we have to fight them with?"

"With our lives?"

As the soldiers were quietly discussing, urgent footsteps were heard coming from the staircase.

Boom boom boom.

Squads of silver-armored soldiers were climbing the city wall, and the defending soldiers instinctively took a few steps back.

The silver-armored soldiers ignored the defending soldiers and quickly took positions at various spots.

The whole process was orderly and free of chaos.

This alone showed they were elite forces.

"Seventh Legion of Dragon Breath, ordered to take over the defense of the city wall!"

A robust soldier completely encased in silver armor shouted sternly, "Take your weapons and assemble in the open space outside the city!"

The defending soldiers were awe-struck by the presence of the silver-armored soldiers, standing in place, nodding blankly.

Seeing them still in place, the silver-armored soldier shouted sharply,

"Move quickly!"

"Okay, okay!"

"We’re going right away!"

"Right now! Right now!"

...

The defending soldiers hurriedly responded and quickly ran down the city wall.

Just then, the sky suddenly darkened.

A huge shadow loomed over the open space in front of the city gate of Giant Stone City.

"Whoosh——"

A wild wind descended from the sky, stirring up the dust on the ground.

A black giant dragon descended from the sky, landing on the city wall above the gate, its vertical pupils warily surveying everyone.

The soldiers outside couldn’t help but look up at the giant dragon, their mouths agape, faces full of shock.

"There really is a dragon..."

A soldier murmured to himself, his legs already weakened, his body slightly wobbling.

If not supported by companions beside him, he might have collapsed to the ground.

And the soldiers felt even more relieved.

Relieved they didn’t become enemies of this giant dragon.

The streets inside the city were crowded with people, fearfully yet curiously observing the black dragon on the city wall.

In the crowded crowd, Fa Fuke, wearing a simple linen robe, frowned as he looked at the figure on the dragon’s back.

"Damn! How did he get into the city!"

Fa Fuke yanked a servant over, "Didn’t I tell you to send a message to Lusen, not to let Luo De into the city?!"

"Did you actually deliver the letter?" Fa Fuke questioned harshly.

"I delivered it! Lusen received it personally!"

The servant looked bewildered, "I delivered it!"

"Damn!"

Fa Fuke stared intently at the dragon flying towards the manor on the mountaintop, "He mustn’t die here, no matter what!"

...

...

Black Flame did not stop due to the people’s shock.

It beat its wings and left the city wall, flying directly over the crowd, landing on the open ground not far in front of the Lord Manor.

With the fluttering of its wings, gusts of wind arose, causing onlookers to instinctively retreat.

Of course, even without the gusts, ordinary people dared not approach.

Because there was news spreading that Duke Luo De was a young man, yet unmarried, the people in the city were very curious, wanting to see this Duke.

And to see what the legendary dragon looked like.

Black Flame folded its wings, lowering its head. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The Frost Iron Guard was already waiting nearby, neatly lined up in two rows, their vigilant eyes sweeping over the surroundings.

Luo De jumped off the dragon’s back without expression.

Black Flame did not linger, beating its wings to ascend, disappearing into the sky amidst watching eyes.

With the Frost Iron Guard’s protection, Luo De walked slowly toward the Lord Manor.

The manor’s gates were already open, the middle-aged butler waiting under the porch, with dozens of servants behind him.

Seeing Luo De draw near, the butler immediately placed his right hand on his chest and bowed,

"Honorable dragon rider, Duke Luo De, ruler of the Northern Territory, welcome."

The butler lifted his head, smiling respectfully and said:

"To welcome your arrival, we’ve specially changed to a new batch of servants."

"Of course, if you’re not satisfied, we can change them again." The butler’s tone carried humility.

Luo De’s gaze slowly swept over the servants.

All the servants were bowing their heads, their bodies slightly trembling, not daring to meet Luo De’s eyes.

Luo De said nothing, simply nodded slightly.

His expression remained indifferent, showing no trace of emotion.

Seeing Luo De’s expression, the butler hurriedly spoke again,