Mr. Dragon Knight, the dragon girls are chasing you!

The night was like thick ink, soaking into the entire ancient mountain range.

Luo Ye leaned against a boulder smoothed by the evening breeze, closed his eyes to rest, and his body slowly repaired the hidden injuries left by the fierce battle during the day under the passive recovery effect of the Dragon Knight Contract.

The three claw marks left by the Shadow Leopard on his chest had scabbed over, and were slightly itchy under the effect of the herbal paste—a sign that new flesh was growing.

Eluvia curled up on the grass beside him, her breathing gradually becoming steady, and the shadow elements surrounding her slowly recovered under the nourishment of the remaining energy of the magic core.

The valley was quiet. The last rays of sunset on the horizon had long been swallowed by darkness.

Occasionally, the sound of night birds flapping their wings could be heard from overhead, echoing through the empty valley before being quickly swallowed by the boundless silence.

It's too quiet.

Luo Ye suddenly opened his eyes; his intuition was frantically sending him warning signals.

Suddenly, there wasn't a breath of wind in the air, and the chirping of insects on the grass had completely stopped.

In this suffocating silence—

"Boom!!!"

The ground beneath their feet suddenly trembled violently, as if some enormous creature was digging frantically deep underground, rapidly approaching their location!

Cracks spread outwards like a spider web, towering ancient trees fell in swathes, rocks tumbled down, and the entire valley shook violently as if gripped tightly by an invisible giant hand.

The system panel suddenly popped open in front of him, its blood-red border flashing wildly, and a warning sound so shrill it almost tore his eardrums:

[WARNING! High-energy unit detected approaching rapidly!]

[Energy Fluctuation Level: LV70+]

[Scanning and recognizing... Recognition complete!]

【Earth-Splitting Bear King (Lord-level BOSS)】

[Level: LV75]

【Characteristics: Earth Affinity, Super Defense, Frenzied Recovery, Earthquake Wave】

[Description: One of the overlords deep beneath the ancient mountains, it feeds on ores and magical beast cores, possessing terrifying physical defense and resistance to earth magic. It is short-tempered and easily angered, with an extremely strong sense of territory, and will fight to the death against any intruder.]

[High Risk Warning: This unit's combat power far exceeds the host's current ability to handle. The host's current level is LV15, a difference of 55 levels. Survival rate estimate: Unable to calculate.]

Recommendation: Evacuate immediately.

Luo Ye's pupils contracted sharply. He roused Ailuvia, who was still resting, and pulled her away as they ran.

"Your Majesty! Quick, something's coming!"

Eluvia opened her eyes almost at the same instant.

Her gilded vertical pupils contracted sharply. She slowly stood up, shielding Luo Ye behind her: "Here comes... an old acquaintance."

The words had barely left his mouth—

boom!

On the north side of the valley, the giant mountain wall stretching for hundreds of meters suddenly exploded!

Huge rocks shot into the sky and flew away, with fragments falling like rain, and dust obscuring the stars and moonlight.

A colossal figure, obscuring the sky, strode into the valley, stepping over the collapsed mountain fragments.

That was a bear.

A giant bear, the size of a small castle.

When it stands upright, it is over twenty meters tall at the shoulder, and its entire body is covered with thick, grayish-brown fur, each hair as thick as a steel needle, with an earthy yellow elemental halo flowing across its surface.

Its limbs are as thick as towering stone pillars, and its giant hands, when opened, are enough to easily shatter the entire city wall.

The most terrifying thing is its back—pieces of naturally formed rock armor are embedded in its flesh, like a living mountain range, with every line flowing with the heavy luster unique to the earth element.

Its eyes were dark red, like two burning embers, gleaming with a bloodthirsty light in the night.

Each breath brought out scalding white steam, like the roar of a steam locomotive.

The Earth-Splitting Bear King.

One of the lords deep within the ancient mountains, a king-level magical beast that suppresses a region with the power of landslides and earthquakes.

It stopped and slowly lowered its forepaws, causing the ground of the entire valley to tremble violently with its movement.

Those massive, dark red eyes looked down at the Black Dragon King in the center of the valley. There was no awe or fear that should be shown to the dragon race in those cruel vertical pupils, only naked greed and contempt.

Even stronger was the thrill of revenge.

"Elvia, Wings of Eternal Night".

The hoarse, deep voice made the valley walls vibrate and hum. The Earth-Splitting Bear King lowered its head slightly, and a chilling arc appeared at the corner of its mouth, which was covered with rock-like patterns, revealing two rows of thick, pillar-like teeth.

"The mighty Black Dragon Queen... is actually in such a sorry state now?"

Its voice was filled with undisguised sarcasm, each word like a stone crushed from the depths of its throat.

"Now, you're really weak."

Luo Ye's heart sank suddenly.

know?

No, it's not just knowing them—this tone clearly indicates an old acquaintance, and the kind of old acquaintance with whom there's a past grudge!

The chill in Eluvia's dragon eyes was freezing.

She slowly raised her dragon head. Even though she was seriously injured and completely crushed by the moving mountain opposite her, the pride of the Dragon King in her eyes remained undiminished.

"Just a defeated opponent."

Her voice was calm and indifferent, as if stating an undeniable fact.

"Back then, under my dragon claws, you used all the rare and precious materials and magic cores you had collected throughout your life to barely buy a bear's life. Now you dare to swagger in front of me?"

"Eluvia!!!"

The Earth-Splitting Bear King roared to the sky, stomped its hind legs, and instantly the ground beneath its feet exploded, creating countless cracks that spread outwards!

The bear's thick arm suddenly rose high, and earth elements frantically gathered, compressed, and reshaped in its palm, instantly condensing into cone-shaped rock spikes as thick as stone pillars, densely suspended around its body!

Luo Ye's lips twitched suddenly.

and many more.

My great-aunt—

He stared at the Earth-Splitting Bear King's eyes, which were instantly stained blood red, felt the terrifying tremors that shook the surrounding earth, and heard the earth-splitting bear king's roar that shattered the heavens—

You really dare to make sarcastic remarks.

Given the current situation, shouldn't we first lower our guard, soften our stance, and try to find a way to maneuver? Your comment about "a defeated opponent" directly hits their most painful wound. Aren't you just courting disaster?

But Eluvia clearly lacks the concept of "judging the situation".

She turned around, glanced at Luo Ye, and said with a rare seriousness in her voice, "Step back."

"His Majesty--"

"Stand back." She repeated, her tone leaving no room for argument. "This is an old score between me and it, don't interfere."

Then, she turned her head to face the giant bear that was as big as a mountain. Suddenly, dark dragon flames rose from the small dragon body!

Do you think I'm still the same person I was three days ago, on the verge of death?

Her voice echoed in the night, carrying the inviolable majesty of a dragon king.

"Even if I only recover 30% of my strength—that's enough to kill you!"

The moment she finished speaking, her body suddenly swelled up!