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

Eluvia was silent for a brief moment, seemingly having completely calmed down.

With a soft hum, she slowly adjusted her dragon body, lowering her body slightly and reducing her thick dragon claws to a height that Luo Ye could easily climb back to.

"If you dare to disrespect me again, I will throw you into the abyss to feed the demons."

"Yes, yes, Your Majesty is wise and magnanimous..."

Luo Ye deftly used the dragon's claws for leverage, quickly climbing back up the broad dragon's back along the patterns on its tail. While rubbing his sore shoulders from the earlier bump, he shamelessly tried to appease it:

"I was seriously injured and dizzy just now, and I was talking nonsense. Your Majesty, please don't take it to heart. Besides, we signed a contract to live and die together. If you throw me down now and I die, you will also suffer the backlash of the contract and the same pain. It's not worth it."

"you--"

Eluvia was instantly rendered speechless by his shameless remarks.

This is indeed the case.

An eternally binding contract of life and death firmly ties the two together; their fates are intertwined, one prospers and the other perishes. If he were to fall to his death, she would inevitably suffer the strongest backlash from the contract, her severely injured body would be further damaged, and her life force would be greatly diminished.

This cunning human clearly understands the rules of the contract perfectly, which is why he dares to be so presumptuous and repeatedly defy her.

Eluvia felt secretly resentful.

Not long ago, on the battlefield in dire straits, when he rushed towards her amidst the overwhelming torrent of destruction, knelt down to swear an oath, and risked his life to protect her, his appearance was so firm, sincere, serious, and resolute that it moved people deeply.

How come you revealed your true colors so quickly after barely surviving and escaping danger? You're a shameless scoundrel!

She gave a cold snort, and with a slight exertion of her dragon tail, she swung Luo Ye back steadily to the center of her dragon back. The force was not gentle, and it carried a small sense of punishment.

Luo Ye groaned, rubbing his aching back, but a sly smile of triumph lingered on his face; he wasn't angry at all.

"Thank you, Your Majesty, for showing mercy and sparing my life."

"Shut up and stay put."

Just then, a system notification sounded quietly:

【Elvia - Wings of Eternal Night Affection: 38→ 40 (I've gotten used to your chatter, and I find a strange kind of fun in teasing you)】

Luo Ye: "..."

What does it mean to "find fun in teasing me"?

Is this Black Dragon King a hidden sadist?

He grumbled to himself, but didn't notice that the huge black dragon head in front of him seemed to relax slightly after confirming that he had safely returned to its back.

The man and the dragon continued to speed and traverse above the clouds.

After flying smoothly for another two hours, the landscape below gradually changed from rolling mountains to a vast, boundless sea of ​​dark green forest.

Towering ancient trees rise from the ground, blocking out the sun. Their thick trunks are so thick that several people cannot encircle them. Their lush canopies overlap and are closely connected. From the air, they look like a vast, undulating green ocean, stretching as far as the eye can see.

Huge black shadows occasionally swept through the forest, accompanied by deep, rough roars and the sound of wings tearing through the air, exuding a fierce aura. Clearly, the forest was home to a large number of high-level magical beasts and was by no means a benign place.

At the same time, Eluvia's flight speed visibly slowed down, and she no longer had the swift speed she had shown earlier.

Her breathing grew heavier and heavier, each flap of her wings was extremely laborious, and her enormous dragon wings trembled slightly, revealing her undeniable exhaustion.

The fine cracks that were originally on the edge of the wings widened and spread again after a long period of continuous flight and constant depletion of life force. Fine, dark golden dragon blood slowly seeped out along the cracks, and as soon as it flowed out of the body, it was blown into fine blood mist by the fierce wind at high altitude.

It was obvious that she was already exhausted and on the verge of collapse, only managing to hold on thanks to the Dragon King's pride and willpower.

Eluvia slowly reduced her speed, and her massive dragon body, aided by the high-altitude air currents, glided and descended slowly towards a clearing at the edge of the forest, a flat and unobstructed area.

Luo Ye keenly sensed that something was wrong with her condition and quickly propped himself up, asking, "Your Majesty? Have we arrived at our lodgings?"

"……No."

Eluvia's voice was low and hoarse, full of undisguised exhaustion and weakness: "I am severely exhausted and need to rest for the time being. This dense forest is rich in magical beasts and can be used to hide our tracks and avoid being detected by outsiders. There is also plenty of prey to replenish our energy, making it a suitable place to temporarily settle down and seek refuge."

Her tone remained indifferent, but Luo Ye could tell that beneath that indifference lay an almost unbearable exhaustion.

Boom!

The massive black dragon landed steadily in the center of the open space, the heavy impact sending dust and gravel flying.

The moment she touched the ground, her thick dragon claws trembled slightly uncontrollably, their hard tips digging deep into the soil, carving several deep furrows in the ground to stabilize her swaying body.

After holding on for only two seconds, the Black Dragon King, who had roamed the continent and looked down upon all races, could no longer support his heavy dragon body and slowly lay down on his side.

His massive chest heaved violently, each breath accompanied by scalding black smoke, and tiny bubbles of blood constantly spilled from the corners of his mouth. The dragon's might surrounding him grew weaker and weaker, on the verge of dissipating.

Luo Ye didn't dare to delay. He quickly slid down the cold dragon scales to the ground and rushed to her massive head.

With a thought, he directly brought up the status panel of the exclusive contract and saw all of Eluvia's current status data.

【Elvia - Wings of the Eternal Night (Black Dragon King)】

[Status: Severely injured and near death / Cursed / Mana depleted / Extremely weak]

Health: 3% (Slowly decreasing)

[Magic Value: 1.7%]

Stamina: 0.4%

[Warning: The contracting party is currently in an extremely dangerous, near-death state. Without immediate intervention, death is expected within 72 hours due to worsening injuries and the spread of the curse. At that time, the 'Shared Life and Death' contract will be triggered, and the host will also die.]

Luo Ye's pupils contracted sharply, and he felt as if something had gently bumped into his chest.

3%.

He only knew that Eluvia was severely injured and in very poor condition, but he never expected that her injuries had become so critical that she was on the verge of death.

For more than seven hours, she dragged her dying body and endured endless pain, carrying him across hundreds of miles of mountains and rivers.

He evaded pursuit and fought desperately to escape, barely managing to reach this safe area before finally collapsing from exhaustion to rest.

He suddenly remembered her suppressed gasps and the trembling of her wings during those seven-plus hours of flight... she had been risking her life to keep going.

Just then, the system beeped again:

[Ding! Eluvia is severely injured, her HP has decreased by 0.1%]

Luo Ye: "...Are you kidding me?!"