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

Luo Ye took a deep breath, suppressing the heaviness in his heart, and slowly squatted down, staring intently at the huge but dying black dragon in front of him.

"Your Majesty, you can't keep pushing yourself like this."

With great effort, Eluvia opened her heavy eyelids. Her once bright and sharp molten gold vertical pupils were now slightly blurred, and all her energy and spirit had been drained away.

Even at this point, she still managed to maintain the last vestiges of the Dragon King's arrogance, her voice hoarse and weak.

"I... know my limits, no need for you to say more."

"You have no sense of propriety," Luo Ye blurted out.

Eluvia's vertical pupils suddenly narrowed, and a lingering dragon's might pressed down on Luo Ye as if it were a tangible force: "What...did you say?"

The dragon's might was piercing, its aura icy; an ordinary martial artist would have already knelt in submission, their spirit shattered.

But Luo Ye was already bound to her soul, and the contract offset most of the dragon's power. He did not back down at all, and steadily met her cold gaze, his tone firm and serious.

"I told you that you need to rest, heal your wounds, and replenish your energy. In your current state, let alone flying back to your hidden lair to recover, if a group of high-level magical beasts or a few hunters come after you, we'll both be completely wiped out in this forest today."

He paused, deliberately softening his tone, shedding his harshness, and revealing a hint of helplessness and genuine concern.

"So, could you please temporarily shrink your enormous dragon body and become a little smaller? This would greatly reduce energy consumption and make it easier for me to take care of you."

Eluvia fell into a long silence.

She knew perfectly well that every word Luo Ye said was the truth and the safest and most correct choice at the moment.

Given her current state of utter exhaustion, every second she maintains her towering dragon form is a drain on her last remaining life force.

Reducing body size is the only way to survive.

But the problem is-

But she is the Black Dragon King who rules the eternal night!

It is a supreme being that has traversed the continent for thousands of years, revered by all races, and subjugated by all living beings!

She willingly shed her majestic dragon king form before a human she had known for less than a day, transforming into a frail and petite figure, allowing him to care for and protect her...

Where does this leave her with her pride?

"No..." she was about to say no.

Luo Ye spoke first, his tone almost devout:

"Your Majesty, have you forgotten our pact? To live and die together, to share honor and disgrace. Only if you live can I live well. By taking care of you, I am essentially protecting my own life."

He leaned down slightly, looking directly into her glittering, golden dragon eyes, a gentle, clean smile curving his lips.

"So, please let me help you."

These five simple words, without fancy language or deliberate flattery, carry a gentle power that strikes right at the heart.

Eluvia was completely stunned.

That same look in his eyes again.

Pure, sincere, and warm, untouched by the filth of the world, without the greed for power or the hypocrisy of currying favor.

She has lived for thousands of years and has seen far too much hypocrisy and greed.

But this tiny human being before her repeatedly shattered her understanding, causing unfamiliar ripples to constantly stir in her heart, which had been dormant for millennia.

long silence.

Finally, a very soft sigh, filled with weariness and resignation, filled the air.

"...If you dare to tell anyone what happened today," her voice was low and hoarse, carrying a final stubbornness and threat, "I will extract your soul and imprison it in the fires of the abyss for ten thousand years."

As soon as he finished speaking, the massive black dragon's body began to glow with a dark, eerie light.

The light faded from intense to faint, from its peak to its decline, and the enormous dragon body, like a shrunken shadow, rapidly shrank, condensed, and reshaped.

A few breaths later, only one remained in the spot...

A creature about the size of a house cat, covered in fine black scales, with two small dragon horns on its head and a long, thin tail...

Mini Black Dragon.

Luo Ye's eyes widened.

He had imagined the Black Dragon King's shrunken form countless times. Perhaps it would be a majestic sub-dragon, or perhaps a lithe and domineering beast. Even if it remained dignified and aloof, he could accept it.

But he never expected—

It's so tiny.

The miniature black dragon stood amidst the shattered fragments of dragon scales scattered on the ground, its head tilted back, trying to strike a majestic pose, but its once imposing tail dragged limply on the ground.

Those vertical pupils, a molten gold color, remained the same, but appeared exceptionally large due to their shrunken size, like two amber beads embedded in their small black face.

The destructive power of this appearance is completely unrelated to the title "Black Dragon King".

Because of his extremely small size, his upright posture not only lacked any intimidating power, but instead...

So cute it's unfair.

Luo Ye's lips twitched uncontrollably. He gritted his teeth with all his might to suppress the smile in his eyes, not daring to actually laugh and anger this arrogant dragon king.

"What are you looking at?"

As Eluvia's voice shrank in size, it lost its former deep and majestic tone, becoming childlike and clear, but her tone remained fierce, filled with arrogance and defiance: "Never seen the Dragon King's primordial form? You ignorant ant."

"N-no, I've really never seen it before." Luo Ye quickly tried to smooth things over with a straight face, his cheeks aching from trying so hard to suppress his laughter.

"His Majesty is exceptionally brave and has a unique temperament. Even in his original form, he exudes a kingly aura and is extremely domineering."

Eluvia gave a haughty snort and, with her short dragon legs, walked towards the shade of a nearby tree, pretending to be calm.

But at this moment, her physical strength was already exhausted to the extreme, and her body was extremely weak. After taking only two steps, her slender forelegs gave way, and her petite body swayed slightly, almost causing her to fall directly into the pile of fallen leaves.

Luo Ye reacted swiftly, stepping forward and bending down—

He scooped the mini black dragon up from the ground and held it in his arms.

Inside his combat suit, there was a hidden pocket sewn close to his body, just the right size to hold a curled-up mini black dragon.

The hidden pocket was pressed tightly against Luo Ye's chest; the thick fabric blocked out the cold wind, while his own body heat was continuously transferred to it.

"You impudent insect—"

Eluvia's dragon eyes suddenly contracted, and her voice rose in embarrassment and astonishment. However, her vocal organs were too small at the moment, and the voice that came out was high-pitched and childish, completely unlike the majestic and deep dragon king before.

"Your Majesty, please don't move. You are exhausted and seriously injured, and you are unable to walk on your own."

Without a word, Luo Ye gently gathered the hem of his coat, wrapping the struggling little thing in his arms securely, leaving only a small black dragon head and two slender, constantly flapping dragon claws exposed, firmly protecting her in his warm and safe embrace.