"She was born with the Dragon's Golden Eyes, the most ominous sign of our clan. According to the ancient traditions of the Oathkeepers, we should have abandoned this infant girl, but because of some special reasons, she was allowed to stay within the clan. And that became the root of all the disasters that followed.

As the girl grew up, the strength of the Dragon Blood within her increased day by day, far surpassing that of mortals. From a young age, she displayed an exceptional gift, almost perfectly controlling the power of the Dragon Blood."

"At the time, the High Priest of our clan believed that perhaps through her, we could find a way to permanently rid our clan of the turmoil caused by the power of Dragon Blood. It was because of his insistence that the infant was allowed to grow into adulthood, and everything seemed quite normal before she came of age.

She seemed destined to become the most outstanding Oathkeeper in our clan's history, even surpassing my ancestor Xiuyuede, who was being trained as Galapea's Sword Bearer at the time."

"But in her seventeenth year, the year of our clan's coming-of-age ceremony, everything changed."

"No one truly knows what happened that day. My ancestor was making a pilgrimage to Colin Ishurian at the time—a rite of passage for every Sword Bearer—but when he returned to the clan, all he found was ash and ruin, charred limbs, men, women, mothers and children, the elderly and the young, no one survived…"

Gulp.

Tianlan's face turned pale as she swallowed. The faces of the others weren't much better.

Only Mazak continued to speak slowly: "That day, we lost almost all of our clanspeople. The Clan Leader's heart was ripped out by her, and the High Priest who had raised and supported her was torn to pieces. Only my ancestor's branch survived and swore vengeance."

He turned to look at everyone and answered: "She turned into a dragon, turned into the very enemy we have always fought against, and the rest of the story, you probably all know. However, there are some details you may not understand, which are why Nikopolas in Colin Ishurian was called the Dragon's Witch—"

"Nikopolas was a cunning Giant Dragon, different from all our enemies before her. Before my ancestor found her, she had regathered those dark servants who had lurked within the Mortal Kingdoms since the Era of the Giant War.

She hid in the shadows, extending her reach towards the Royal Household, seducing that generation's Colin King, and as Countess Evril, she stirred up a bloody massacre in Colin Ishurian. That dark era saw the Royal Household's reputation ruined, and the Alliance nearly fell apart, until her true identity was revealed."

"Then came that legendary battle, my ancestor Xiuyuede fought her directly, using Galapea to sever her horn and a claw, blinding one of her eyes, forcing her to retreat with severe injuries. Afterward, that generation's Colin King abdicated, passing the throne to his only surviving daughter—the only Queen in the history of Colin and the grandmother of our present King."

At this, Mazak suddenly stopped.

Fang Hong was so engrossed that she couldn't help but ask: "What happened after that?"

The tall man flipped the blade, scattering a bright reflection between his eyes, staring at the sword as if pondering something. After a long moment, he continued:

"...After that, she was never seen again. Some rumors say that a wounded Giant Dragon was seen flying over the Cloud Sea, others say she hid in the shadows of the Dragon Roar Mountains, quietly waiting for her injuries to heal.

Some even say she fell in these marshes, her enormous skeleton still stands in the center of the swamp to this day, shrouded in mist, with that broken horn still telling the tale of the past."

"Is it really dead, that dragon?" Tianlan asked softly.

Atira glared at her: "Don't interrupt others while they're speaking, Fuli." making the young French girl stick out her tongue in embarrassment.

Mazak was not bothered, continuing: "...For various reasons, the Colin Royal Family concealed the truth about what happened back then, perhaps also to avoid scandal. But as Oathkeepers, we can clearly perceive the state of our quarry. My ancestor Xiuyuede set foot in this land several times afterwards, regretfully never finding her."

Fang Hong and the others exchanged glances, now somewhat understanding why no one knew that the Dragon Slaying Hero Xiuyuede had fought against a Dark Giant Dragon.

Mazak paused, then went on: "Until thirty years ago—"

"Thirty years ago, my grandfather began to sense that the Magic Power lingering in the Dragon Horn suddenly became active, making us realize—Nikopolas had returned, calling for the part of her that was missing. That's why my grandfather brought my father and me to this swamp, established this inn here, actually to monitor the movements of this Evil Dragon."

"You came here for it?" Gita asked quietly: "But it still took back its horn, didn't it?"

"That was the work of the Dragon Worshippers, those fallen Dark Followers who willingly serve as the dragon's servants and minions. I actually knew of their plan early on, and had the opportunity to stop them, but because of some special circumstances, I let these people sneak in and get lucky."

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