Humanity Shall Never Be Enslaved!

"Full retreat, pull back to the Central City!!!" Abiel's roar cut through the air, shaking the ancient trees around him and ensuring his voice reached every human soldier on the battlefield.

In truth, his command was unnecessary; the army had begun to retreat at the sight of the primordial dragon, their efforts paltry against the dragon's flight. Left with no other choice, they fought desperately.

With Abiel's legendary intervention, the human troops finally had a chance to withdraw. Soldiers cried out as they fled the twisting forest, sprinting across the plains toward the distant Central City, wishing they had the speed of four-legged beasts.

The thirty-thousand-strong legion had been decimated within moments of the dragon's assault. With the unleashing of Drake's divine Emerald Dream, over twenty thousand had perished swiftly, leaving a meager thousand able to retreat.

This was unequivocal defeat—an absolute disgrace for Abiel, the Grand Marshal of the Holy Fleurs-de-lis Knights, even considering the excuse of facing an ancient dragon.

"Escape?" Drake sneered at the ant-like humans retreating in the distance, opening his maw to unleash another breath of dragonfire.

"Evil dragon! Your opponent is me!!" Abiel bellowed, leaping into the air as Drake readied his breath. Without his weapon, the legendary warrior channeled all his aura into his body, each cell a deadly weapon cloaked in flames, calling upon the divine will to integrate with his own.

Drake noticed the tiny human, whose will seemed to crystallize in that moment, a presence so powerful it demanded attention. It was the very essence of war, the flame of battle, analogous to the aura surrounding the soldiers earlier.

As Drake's claw swatted down, Abiel, dwarfed but undaunted, surged forward.

"BOOM—"

His punch landed with the sound of striking diamond, his battle aura bursting as he struck the dragon's maw scales.

To Drake, the punch felt like a toddler's slap—irritating but harmless. Considering Drake's immense draconic strength, it was astonishing that the human could deliver such a forceful blow.

Fueled by anger, Drake glared at the human, now like a fly buzzing around his grandeur. He bellowed, "Wretched human, how dare you touch the glorious dragon!"

With all his might, he expelled the breath he had held, a tide of emerald fury engulfing Abiel's tiny frame.

"AAAHHHHH—"

Abiel, his entire being alight with fighting spirit, screamed as he faced the dragon's full-powered emerald breath at a dangerously close range.

"O War God above!!" he roared hoarsely, his chainmail armor disintegrating into nothingness under the dragon's breath, his flesh beginning to corrode, turning translucent.

However, he withstood the deadly blow, his aura rekindling fiercely.

"The King of War!!"

With a skill invoked, Abiel's speed tripled, his form blurring beyond sound, as he rose like a war deity descending from the heavens, fists raised, and smashed down towards Drake's eyes with all his might.

Drake's indignant gaze sharpened; how dare this human aim for his eyes! With agility belying his size, he turned his head just enough to catch the punch with his sharp dragon teeth.

"BOOM—"

Abiel's full-force blow nearly shattered Drake's tooth—a feat unbelievable to onlookers, yet a grave insult to the dragon.

"You have thoroughly angered me, human!! Accept the dragon's punishment!!"

Enraged, Drake slammed his claw down upon the human once more.

"BOOM—"

The ground trembled, fissures spreading.

"BOOM—"

With another strike, the earth collapsed into a massive crater.

Drake continued his furious assault, pounding the ground more than a dozen times until a pit of tens of meters deep and hundreds of meters wide formed, before halting his claws.

Peering down, he found Abiel kneeling with one leg completely shattered, his arms raised defensively despite being fractured from the brutal impacts. Each strike had carried the weight of tens of thousands of tons, yet he had withstood them all.

Barely alive but with eyes still shining with resolve, Abiel had fought valiantly.

"Well done, human! Even as a grand dragon, I must commend your bravery!"

"You have earned the right to speak your name, that a grand dragon may remember it!"

Drake looked down at the human with inverted pupils, speaking with a commanding tone.

"The loyal follower of the War God Marsilis, Grand Marshal of the Holy Empire's Fleurs-de-lis Knights—Abiel!!"

Despite his vocal cords tattered like a leaky bellows, Abiel articulated each syllable of his name in the common tongue.

"Good, Abiel! I shall grant you a chance to live, sign a contract and become my servant, and you shall be bestowed with the dragon's glory!!"

Drake felt a surge of compassion for the defiant warrior before him. Even as his body neared ruin, Drake, inheriting the Five-colored Dragon God's core, possessed five types of divine power. The Emerald Dream was but one of them, and among the rest was the ability to grant life.

"Humanity shall never be enslaved!!!"

Abiel's resolute roar echoed once more, a creed he upheld as a devout believer.

"What a pity..." Drake sighed. Though empathetic towards the human warrior, he showed no mercy in his killing blow.

Using a draconic spell-like ability—Plant Growth—Drake called upon the Emerald Dream. The forest birthed from the dream scattered countless points of light that landed on Abiel, seeding his flesh and drawing nutrients from his body.

The legendary warrior clenched his teeth, refusing to scream as he knelt, transformed by the sprouts into a treant. His flesh turned to plant matter, and his life ebbed away.

Drake gave one last glance at the warrior before spreading his wings and soaring skyward, heading toward the remnants of the human army in the direction of their defeat. In the distance, he saw a city, strong as a fortress. He intended to siege this 'castle' before his transformation ended.

'I wonder if there's a princess in that castle...' Drake mused whimsically.