Chapter 76

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Chapter 76: I Got Up, But I Was Defeated Instantly

This was the only way for Parnis to regain his honor.

After spending time together these past days, Parnis had completely figured out Illya’s situation.

It was true that Illya had incredible talent, but she had never experienced a real battle. Even when faced with a few weak Heroes on the beach, she trembled in fear. Let alone facing a trained, emperor-level dragon like himself.

He lifted his head and saw Illya being pushed forward by Her Majesty the Queen.

“Get up first, Parnis. Go outside the palace and prepare yourself.”

Parnis stood up.

He walked out of the square in front of the hall, and Iris followed with Illya. They stopped after reaching a spacious open area.

Of course, a crowd of onlookers followed, including Naya.

Even though Naya was furious at Iris’s decision, since Illya had accepted the duel, she couldn’t publicly shame her. She’d just have to deal with Iris slowly when they got home.

Parnis was the first to transform into his dragon form, and then Illya transformed into a small pink dragon.

“Begin.”

At the Queen’s command, Illya flew into the air and opened her mouth, breathing fire toward Parnis.

Parnis quickly flew up, dodging Illya’s flames.

He retaliated with a golden flame, but Illya didn’t dodge. Instead, she opened her mouth and continued to release her pink flames, directly clashing with Parnis’ golden flames.

It was obvious that in this battle of flames, Illya, with her superior magical talent, had the upper hand.

Parnis had no choice but to quickly fly upward to avoid being engulfed by Illya’s fire breath.

He then accelerated toward Illya.

Close combat—you will surely lose to me, Illya!

With this resolve, Parnis successfully got close to Illya, and just as his front claw collided with Illya’s body.

A sharp blow struck his back, causing him to crash down, hitting the ground face first.

What just happened?

The small golden dragon felt as though the moment he got close to Illya, he had been attacked.

When had he been hit?

The small pink dragon seized the opportunity, pressing down on Parnis’s back, pinning him to the ground.

After that sudden blow, Parnis felt as if his bones were about to shatter, his entire body wracked with sharp, tearing pain. Illya’s suppression only worsened the agony inside him.

“Roar!!”

Parnis let out a pained howl and couldn’t get up again.

Illya, her eyes gleaming with excitement, looked around.

“I won!”

Almost all the dragons present were left dumbfounded.

No one had expected the duel to end so quickly—they hadn’t even gotten to enjoy the spectacle!

They thought it would be an epic battle, with an emperor-level dragon facing off against the direct descendant of the Dragon King. To avoid getting caught in the crossfire, many dragons had distanced themselves.

But in the end, Parnis got up in a flash, and then, in another flash, was instantly defeated.

Was Illya’s attack too fast?

So fast that no one could see her movements before Parnis fell?

Iris turned and looked at Chloris, who was standing beside her watching.

“Well, Chloris, what do you have to say now?”

“Hmph! Punish me if you must, I don’t care.”

Chloris turned and left the scene.

Naya rubbed her eyes, unable to believe what she had just witnessed.

Oh my God.

Her beloved daughter had subdued Parnis without a scratch!

Was Parnis just that weak?

But if Illya was this strong, why was it so difficult for her when facing Leo?

Illys smiled at the pink dragon and spoke.

“Come back, Illya. You won.”

Illya reverted to her human form and gleefully jumped into Naya’s arms.

“I won, Mama! I won! Hehe… Parnis was nothing after all!”

“Illya…”

Naya hugged Illya, still recovering from the shock of the battle.

“Drag Parnis back to the square. Prepare to start their punishment.”

Iris ordered the soldiers nearby.

The scene shifted back to the square in front of the hall. Parnis was dragged by the guards and placed alongside the other four kneeling dragon cubs.

But the five dragon cubs didn’t start kowtowing. They remained kneeling in silence. The crowd that had gathered around the square was silent too, waiting for the five dragons to perform.

Seeing that they hadn’t moved, Iris’s tone grew colder.

“Soldiers, take action. If they won’t willingly accept punishment, then let them be forced to.”

The soldiers behind the five dragons grabbed their heads.

Seeing this, the young dragons began struggling and crying out.

“We’re sorry, Illya, Your Majesty! We were wrong! We’ll never do it again!”

“Illya, aren’t we friends? Illya, why are you being so heartless?”

“It was all Parnis’s idea! We were just… just going along with it. We never meant to hurt Illya. Illya, Your Majesty, please spare us!”

Aside from Parnis, the other young dragons sobbed and begged Illya as the soldiers forced their heads down.

Illya’s eyes showed a hint of compassion. She was about to speak when Iris’s stern voice rang out again.

“Soldiers, what are you waiting for?”

At Her Majesty’s command, the soldiers forcibly pressed the five dragon cubs’s heads to the ground.

The sound of their heads hitting the ground echoed around the square.

Cracks began to appear on the ground.

Each time their heads hit the floor, Illya’s body trembled.

“Mother…”

“Shh.”

Naya, noticing the impact this was having on Illya, gently covered her eyes.

Still, this was to teach Illya a lesson.

As the heir to the Dragon King, she couldn’t afford to show mercy to her enemies.

However, after thinking for a moment, Naya raised her hand and covered Illya’s eyes completely.

It was enough for her to just hear the sound.

The wails of the young dragons echoed in the air.

However, by the time they had knocked their heads thirty times, all five had passed out.

Each dragon had blood streaming down their faces, their foreheads cracked open. Their faces were horribly disfigured.

Luckily, Naya had covered Illya’s eyes the entire time.

Otherwise, it would have left a psychological scar on Illya.

Young children shouldn’t witness such a gruesome scene.

The strong bodies of the dragons allowed the young ones to endure even more pain. If they were human, they would’ve fainted after just ten head knocks.

These dragon cubs, however, were still breathing.

Iris called off the soldiers.

Looking at the young dragons with blood all over their face and broken foreheads, Iris spoke coldly.

“Switch to flogging when we return. However many kowtows they kowtow less, flog them that many times.”

The punishment concluded, the dragons in the square dispersed, and the dragon cubs were taken away by their family members.

In the end, only a handful of people remained at the scene.

However, Chloris stepped closer to Iris and stopped in front of Naya.

“Your Majesty, what great skills you have. You managed to have my sister so enchanted. Punishing one’s own kin for love is not something a Dragon King would do, my sister.”

Iris shot a cold glance at Chloris, who simply chuckled and brushed past her.

Naya couldn’t help but frown.

She noticed that when Iris punished those five dragon cubs, no family members stepped forward to plead for them.

Even when taking the dragon cubs away, their faces were full of disdain.

Chloris only showed clear displeasure when Parnis lost the duel, then watched the entire punishment of the five dragon cubs with a blank expression, just like Iris.

This royal atmosphere was truly suffocating.

“Come to my office for a moment, Chloris.”

Suddenly, Iris called out to Chloris, her cold command seeming to freeze the air around them.

The golden-haired dragon girl halted.

She then turned, looking at Iris with a puzzled expression.

“My dear sister, is there anything else? You don’t think I planned all of this, do you?”

“Come here.”

Iris stared at Chloris, exhibiting a hint of sternness typical of an elder.

Chloris hesitated for a moment before slowly walking back towards Iris.

“Naya, you go back and prepare dinner.”

“Okay.”

Naya held Illya, reluctantly glancing at Iris.

Though she had many questions she wanted to asked Iris, the current atmosphere didn’t seem like a good time for a couple’s heart-to-heart.

In the end, Naya obediently returned to the Celestial Dragon Palace to cook.

In the front hall, within Iris’s office.

As Chloris closed the door and turned around, a chilly fragrance swept over her.

Bang!

In an instant, she was pressed against the door, her neck tightly gripped by the red-haired dragon girl in front of her. She stared in horror at Iris, whose crimson eyes flickered with a domineering rage.

“Uh… My dear sister… What are you doing…”

Iris did not apply lethal force.

Chloris could slightly enhance her neck’s defenses with magic, allowing her to speak even while being choked.

Then Iris threw Chloris sideways.

The golden dragon collided with a stack of bookshelves, causing the shelves to collapse and cover Chloris. Chloris pushed aside the bookshelves and the scattered books, sitting on the ground in a disheveled state.

Holding her neck, Chloris took a breath and looked up at Iris, who was looking down at her with disdain.

“My dear sister, what do you mean by this?”

“Take back those unrealistic thoughts, don’t seek death.”

Chloris bit her lower lip.

The cheerful expression on her face had faded, leaving only the dullness of her schemes being uncovered.

“But, my dear sister, the Crown Princess has gained experience, hasn’t she? Don’t think I don’t know that she won against Parnis thanks to your help in secret. As the Dragon King, to protect your own daughter during a duel—what if the other dragons find out? Wouldn’t that be laughable?”

“You can risk your life to tell that truth to the other dragons.”

“I certainly won’t do that. My dear sister, I am also doing this for the better future of our dragon race. If the Crown Princess turns out to be useless, we can just keep looking for an better heir, right?”

A slender flesh-colored leg swept toward her, and Chloris quickly raised her hands to block Iris’s kick.

However, Iris remained relentless, repeatedly stepping on her, using her high heels to toy with her as if she were a plaything.

“My dear sister! Please don’t go too far!”

Chloris knew she couldn’t overpower Iris and could only endure the torment.

Iris withdrew her jade feet.

“Illya was born with pure blood of the Dragon King, she’s not like the useless offsprings you bore though promiscuity.”

Iris squatted down, reaching out to pry Chloris’s hands away from her head, Chloris’s body was slightly trembling.

“Look at me, Chloris.”

Chloris turned her eyes to meet Iris’s gaze.

“I am the Dragon King. The next Dragon King can only be my daughter, Illya. You are smart, Chloris, but I hope your cleverness won’t be directed at me. Manage your territory well, you will still be my best sister in the future.”

“My dear sister…”

Tears sparkled in Chloris’s eyes.

She felt it was so unfair, she had given birth to so many children, yet none had pure enough bloodlines.

For so many years, Iris had not taken a wife.

Chloris thought this would be her chance, so she constantly sought male lovers to mate with, trying to have as many children as possible, just to secure her position in the royal struggle later on.

However, just a week ago, Iris suddenly announced to the dragon race that Naya was her queen and that they already had a six-year-old Crown Princess.

Chloris instantly felt a clown. She was not convinced.

Thus, she secretly encouraged Parnis to approach Illya, to discover Illya’s true strength, only to find that Illya had never received any training and didn’t even know what fighting was.

Just then, while patrolling around Minglong Island, she stumbled upon the group of humans coming to rescue Zelan.

She overheard the Hero Leo’s plan to kidnap the Crown Princess to threaten Iris.

So, she decided to take advantage of the situation.

She deliberately lured Parnis to frame Illya, partly to see Illya’s true performance in battle, and partly, if successful, removing Illya would greatly benefit her claim to the throne.

But she didn’t expect that all her little schemes were seen through by Iris.

Her plans were turned against her, used by Iris as an opportunity to train Illya.

“It’s time to let go of your obsession, Chloris. After fighting me for so many years, are you not tired yet?”

“It’s not fair…”

Chloris choked on her words.

She utterly despised the doctrine of bloodline purity.

From childhood, she had been neglected by the previous Dragon King because of her bloodline.

Because her blood had more impurities than her brothers and sisters, she had always been the outcast, with no one willing to give her a second glance.

Her mother was just a breeding tool to her father—used and discarded.

She had never experienced true warmth.

Born as a member of the royal family, her entire childhood was spent in an environment of intrigue and deception.

The previous Dragon King had countless concubines in his harem, giving birth to dozens of offspring.

Among those who survived until now, including Iris and herself, there was one older brother and one younger brother, four in total.

Chloris had climbed her way up step by step like this.

She had always been waiting for the day when she could seize the position of Dragon King and purify her bloodline.

But each time, her hopes were mercilessly shattered by Iris.

Iris was born with higher blood purity, superior magical talent, and a sharper mind than her.

Once, Iris thought that her blood wasn’t pure enough and that she might die in the power struggle, so she wanted to protect her like a sister.

She felt this was a form of humiliation.

She didn’t need anyone’s protection, she wanted to climb to the top through her own efforts.