Chapter 65: Impersonating Nuwa
Thousands of dragons clashed in battle, magic blasting and dragons roaring—almost no one would notice the movements of a child.
But even so, crossing a battlefield still required tremendous courage and an uncommon sharpness.
The lightning from Chidori illuminated that young face. Clearly, she was just a two-year-old child, yet the determination and courage in her eyes were no less than an adult’s.
Some said that Noa K. Merkve was merely a “卷王” (*juǎn wáng*), a title for someone who excelled only on paper, or just a school bully who picked on her classmates.
But today, in the face of an opponent as formidable as the Star-Wandering Dragon King, her attack showed no hesitation.
Like her father, she had no need to prove herself to others; she would stop at nothing to do what she believed was right.
Even if that meant facing danger, risking her life, or embarking on a path with no return.
Ravi slowly turned his head, but before he could clearly see who had ambushed him, a sharp pain shot through his right shoulder.
His wrist trembled, but he quickly steadied himself, turning back to deliver a roundhouse kick that sent the small figure flying.
Ravi looked at Noa, a savage and violent glint in his eyes. “Just a child after all…”
To be ambushed by a mere child was a tremendous humiliation for someone like him, a Dragon King.
But she must be the daughter of the Silver Dragon King and Cosmod, Ravi thought, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Noa, lying on the ground. She was indeed stronger than the average young dragon.
Much stronger.
But even so, she was still just a child. Even though she succeeded in her ambush, there was no way she could pose a real threat to him, the Star-Wandering Dragon King.
Ravi said, “Don’t worry, little brat. After I take care of your parents, you’ll be next—”
Leon shouted, “You dare… lay a hand on my daughter?”
The moment that sentence was uttered, time seemed to slow down.
Ravi’s heart sank as he thought not good, immediately shifting his gaze from Noa. But in that split second, the barrier in front of him shattered like fragile glass.
A large hand shot out from the shards, gripping Ravi’s throat tightly.
In that moment, Ravi felt as if his throat and windpipe were about to be crushed.
He struggled to stay calm, trying to raise his hand to conjure a new barrier.
But it was too late.
His body was hoisted into the air like a ragdoll by Leon, before being swung through the air in an arc and slammed heavily into the ground.
The force of the impact created a shallow crater beneath Ravi, cracks rapidly spreading outward.
The shock to Ravi’s back was immense, almost shattering his lungs.
At that moment, the Star-Wandering Dragon King was left speechless by the overwhelming power of the man standing before him.
He was a Dragon King!
How could the body of a Dragon King feel so fragile, as if made of thin paper, in the hands of this man, Cosmod?
Fire and disbelief flickered in his dragon eyes as he gripped Leon’s wrist, trying to break free.
Steam began to rise from beneath the silver armor as Leon applied even more pressure to his hand.
Ravi groaned, his eyeballs bulging and his eyes instantly bloodshot.
After a moment, the man beneath the armor spoke in a low voice, “Don’t move.”
Just two simple words, devoid of any emotion, like an irrefutable command.
And that “don’t move” wasn’t directed only at Ravi, but also at the other two Dragon Kings.
While Leon had Ravi under control, Rosvitha rushed over to Noa’s side.
“Noa! Noa, are you alright?”
The queen knelt down and cradled her daughter in her arms.
Blood trickled from the corner of Noa’s mouth. Although her ambush had momentarily distracted Ravi, giving Leon the opportunity to break the barrier, she was still just a two-year-old child. Taking a direct kick from a Dragon King—it was impossible for her immature body to escape unscathed.
Rosvitha used basic healing magic to ease Noa’s injuries.
Noa soon slowly regained consciousness. Her first words after waking up were, “Did I help, Mom…?”
Rosvitha, tears brimming in her eyes, gently wiped the dust and blood from her daughter’s face. “Yes, you helped. Noa helped us a lot.”
The pain in Noa’s furrowed brow gradually eased, and she managed a weak smile. “That’s good.”
Rosvitha held her daughter in her arms as she slowly stood up and looked towards Leon in the distance.
Leon happened to glance back at her as well.
She nodded slightly, signaling that Noa was okay now.
Leon was about to respond when suddenly he noticed Ravi’s breathing becoming slightly more pronounced, and then—
Boom!
A heavy punch, powerful and direct, smashed into Ravi’s face, driving his entire head into the ground.
Blood flowed into the cracks in the earth, and Ravi’s limbs twitched slightly.
“I told you, don’t—move.”
The last dragon who claimed Leon’s wife and daughter were his weak points had already lost his head; As for this one who had actually harmed Noa…what kind of fate awaited him?
Well, just this— Even breathing was a mistake.
Leon tightened his grip around Ravi’s neck and slowly lifted him into the air.
The sight of this left the remaining two Dragon Kings utterly dumbfounded.
This…this wasn’t what the Empire’s intelligence had reported!
Wasn’t Leon Cosmod supposed to be only slightly stronger than Constantine?
What was going on?
Did humans and dragons have different definitions of “slightly”?
One punch to take down Ravi—this was “slightly stronger”?!
Blaigh and Jaggs began to retreat, and their spatial magic formations gradually dissipated. But the dark blue crack on the ground remained.
“So, what now? Sta is dead, and Ravi looks like he’s about to be.”
Blaigh swallowed. “Is there any point in continuing to fight that monster?”
But there was no reply from his side.
“Jaggs? Jaggs? Hey?”
Baligh turned his head, only to find that the space next to him was already empty.
Baligh: ?
Space magic really was convenient—his teammate had disappeared without him even noticing.
Seeing this, Baligh immediately activated his own space magic and made a hasty retreat.
As for who was going to deal with a monster like Leon…
Well, whoever wanted to could take the risk. Baligh certainly wasn’t going to.
With his two helpers gone, Ravi was left with no path to survival.
He hung in the air, held by the throat, on the verge of suffocating to death.
At this point…was there any way to salvage the situation?
Should he go down in a blaze of glory, taking Leon with him like Sta did?
No, that wasn’t possible.
Who knew what other trump cards Leon might still have up his sleeve? Dying together might work against others, but it certainly wouldn’t against this armored monster.
In front of Leon, even the deeply ingrained dragon instinct for vengeance had to be reined in.
Ravi’s muddled brain worked desperately.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he glimpsed the spatial crack nearby.
“Ah… if that’s the case…” he muttered.
“What?”
“Leon Cosmod, let’s make a bet. Let’s see if you really can give up everything… for the sake of your so-called family.”
“What are you trying to—”
Ravi suddenly surged forward, planting a foot on Leon’s chest plate. With a forceful push, there came the sound of flesh tearing.
Blood spurted from Ravi’s throat in an instant as he resorted to this self-destructive method to break free from Leon’s hold. Leon was momentarily taken aback by Ravi’s desperate actions.
By the time he regained his composure, Ravi had already staggered towards the space rift nearby. He clutched his bleeding throat with one hand, while the other was placed on his chest.
“I admit it, Leon Casmod. With your power, even more Dragon Kings would stand no chance against you,” Ravi’s voice was raspy, damaged by the injury to his throat.
“Your admission means nothing to me, Ravi.”
“Heh…that’s true. Someone as strong as you doesn’t need anyone’s recognition. But, as I just said, can you really sacrifice everything for the ones you care about?”
Leon inquired, “What are you trying to do?”
Ravi no longer responded. In the next moment, his heart began to glow. After a brief moment, Ravi forcefully tore a scale from his chest—a dragon scale.
This dragon scale was different from the usual ones that adorned his body. It was more translucent, resembling a crystal.
Loswisser narrowed her eyes slightly. “Heartguard Scale…”
Ravi wasn’t trying to self-destruct like Sta. After all, a dragon can only gather the energy needed for a self-destruction when the Heartguard Scale remains within their chest. So what exactly was Ravi planning to do?
“Say goodbye to this world!”
Ravi raised the scale high, then plunged it into the space rift beneath him.
The moment the scale entered the rift, a terrifying energy surged, instantly disintegrating Ravi, who stood closest to it.
Leon reacted swiftly, immediately rushing to Loswisser and Noa’s side, activating the Fifth Gate of Nine Hells in an instant, teleporting them to a safe place.
Fortunately, the explosion had a small range and didn’t last long.
When the energy dissipated, Ravi’s charred corpse lay nearby, and a nearly two-meter-wide space rift had appeared in the same spot. The rift continued to expand, with surrounding sand and rocks being drawn into it by a powerful suction force.
Even Ravi’s body was sucked into the rift. Inside the rift, only swirling dark clouds and constant lightning could be seen. It felt entirely out of place, like a tear forcibly ripped open in reality itself.
“He forcibly activated that space magic with his Heartguard Scale.”
Loswisser explained, “But clearly, the magic has gone out of control. The rift is expanding, albeit slowly. If it continues like this, it won’t be long before everything around here gets consumed. And there’s no telling when it might stop.”
Troubles never come alone.
After Ravi’s death, the Star Dragon Tribe retreated completely. The Silver Dragon soldiers arrived and also noticed the expanding rift.
Anna stood beside Loswisser, inquiring about Noa’s injuries before beginning to discuss how to close the rift. “If we use equal amounts of magic to clash against it, could we forcibly stop it?”
Loswisser bit her lip. She wasn’t well-versed in space magic and had no other ideas at the moment, so she agreed to give it a try.
After confirming the plan, the Silver Dragons simultaneously gathered their magic and blasted it at the rift.
However, all their magical attacks were absorbed by the rift without leaving any effect.
Anna wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. “How…how can this be?”
As they spoke, the rift had already expanded to nearly five meters, and the suction had grown stronger.
Loswisser stared at the rift. If it was Ravi’s Heartguard Scale that caused the rift to lose control, then conversely, using another Dragon King’s Heartguard Scale might stop it.
But she was the only Dragon King present.
If she could, Loswisser would have no hesitation in using her own Heartguard Scale to end this crisis. But her scale had already…
“I understand.” Leon’s voice was low and heavy.
Loswisser looked at him. “What?”
“Before Ravi opened the rift, he said I would risk everything for you. I think what he meant by that was…”
He lowered his head, contemplating for a moment before slowly turning to his wife. “Only I can stop this.”
Hearing this, Loswisser froze, her silver eyes trembling. She seemed to have guessed what Leon was about to do.
“Leon…no, you can’t…absolutely not…”
The queen’s voice quivered slightly. She couldn’t accept such an outcome. No matter what, she couldn’t accept it.
Leon didn’t respond. He simply raised his hand and tried to remove the helmet of the Black-Gold Chariot. This time, the helmet came off easily.
Beneath the helmet was the familiar, resolute face she had seen countless times. She knew every scar on his face by heart.
Leon showed no expression. Silently, he handed the helmet to Loswisser.
Clatter—
The helmet fell to the ground. She didn’t dare to reach for it.
“No…Leon, no…”
Loswisser, holding Noa in one arm, reached for Leon’s wrist with her other hand, her voice almost breaking into sobs. “We’ll think of another way. There must be another way.”
Leon was silent for a moment before gently pulling away from Loswisser’s hand.
He turned his gaze sideways, looking at the daughter in her arms. The pain had caused Noa to temporarily fall unconscious. That’s good… it’s better this way…
Leon raised his hand, gently pinching Noa’s cheek. After a long while, a comforting smile appeared on his strong face.
“You’ll definitely protect your mother and your sisters, Noa.”
He trusted his eldest daughter, just as she had trusted that by distracting Ravi, her father would surely turn the tide.
“Your Highness…”
“Your Highness, I-I can take your place to seal the rift! The Silver Dragon Clan cannot lose you!” one of the dragon warriors said.
Hearing that a dragon was willing to sacrifice himself for him, Leon’s heart felt complicated. He looked at the soldier and shook his head.
“Sealing the rift requires more than just courage and determination. I don’t want to arrogantly claim that only I can do it, but unfortunately, that’s the truth.”
Ravi’s dying words were both a farewell and a curse. He wanted Leon to make this crucial decision. Besides that, as Leon had said, among everyone present, only he had the ability to stop the rift.
Loswisser’s power likely wasn’t enough. Even if it was, Leon would never let her take the risk. Loswisser’s description of him had been spot on:
Confident, a bit self-absorbed, and a foolish hero complex.
But then again, what boy hasn’t fantasized about standing alone at the end of the world, walking against the current, saving the day in front of everyone’s hopeful and astonished gazes, turning the tide just before everything collapses?
Leon was simply turning that fantasy into reality.
He took a deep breath and slowly exhaled before stepping toward the abyss-like rift.
“Leon! Leon, you can’t go, you absolutely can’t go.”
Loswisser rushed forward, gripping Leon’s hand tightly, almost pleading, “If you go, I’ll hate you for the rest of my life. I really will hate you forever, you’re not allowed to go.”
Leon blinked, his throat tight, but he didn’t look at Loswisser. Lowering his voice, he said, “You are the Dragon Queen, Loswisser. Don’t show such weakness in front of your people.”
“I-I’ll go with you—”
“What about our daughters?”
“…”
Leon gently pushed down Loswisser’s hand. This time, she didn’t stop him.
He stepped toward the rift, his back facing the Silver Dragon Queen. The rift’s suction grew stronger, whipping up a fierce wind.
Her silver hair fluttered wildly, and she didn’t dare to look back at Leon.
“Loswisser Melquess.”
Whenever he called her by her full name, it always seemed like he had something important to say.
Loswisser hesitated for a moment, but finally gathered the courage to lift her eyes and look at him.
That tall, imposing figure stood before the abyssal rift, half-turning his head, a relieved smile on his face.
He spoke three more words.
But they were drowned out by the howling winds of the rift.
In the next second, Leon’s figure disappeared into it.
The immense power of lightning surged within, causing the rift to tremble, electricity spilling outward, forcing everyone to retreat.
Gradually, the space rift began to shrink at a visible rate, until it finally vanished completely.
“Your Highness…”
“Your Majesty? Your Majesty…”
Loswisser, holding Noa, said nothing. In a daze, she walked to where he had just stood. Slowly, she knelt down, picked up the helmet from the ground, and hugged it tightly to her chest.
It still seemed to carry his warmth.
Rosvitha going through the 5 stages of grief is not gonna be a good time for anyone, especially when she gets to the anger stage. Vengeance doesn’t even begin to describe the rage she will unleash on the dragon clans who she knows sided with the empire. Then the leadership of the empire will be in her sights.
Does Noia know she is half-human now? Ravi said Leon was human in the last chapter. Depending on how long Noia was there she may have heard Ravi calling Leon human.
Crazy how were both reading this on the same day and have the same thoughts
Man, this became the most touching scene of them all! Rosvitha refused to let Leon disappear, but the only thing that could hold her back was their daughters. 😢
It also shows how Leon has become very important for the Silver Dragon clan!
Now it’s certainly confirmed by a Dragon King that Noia is way stronger than an average young dragon despite her very young age. The parents can be proud!
This is going to get interesting. He’ll definitely be back, but I hope we follow Rosvitha for a little bit and don’t hear anything on Leon until a little while later. This obstacle always seems to be a common trope (the separation arc), but it usually tends to have some of the best pay offs in my opinion.
As for when we’ll start to hear from him again… something about a couple dragon kings/queens getting offed as rumors will probably signal his return.
Kind of hoping his sister in law Isabella finds him first and tries to pry some more into him. I really want to see the reaction of a full blooded dragon to the secret given on how Leon’s friends and family already found out.
I’m not crying.
You’re crying.
Time to burn an Empire to the ground.
Definitely