Westminster Bank

...

Meanwhile, on another front, the battle against the Third Generation Fierce Dragon had ended. Jose and his group had won a pyrrhic victory.

The battle had been incredibly perilous. The Fierce Dragon was truly worthy of being a Third Generation Species. Even Jose, who had awakened the Beowulf Dragon Slayer bloodline, couldn’t suppress it with his Dragon Mighty. He could only stun it for brief moments during the fight, launching fierce attacks while it was disoriented.

Even so, despite being led by three Bronze Demon Hunters, their losses were devastating.

The cost was the lives of three Trial Takers and five Dragon Guides. The rest suffered injuries of varying severity, and Jose’s own Silver Dragon Guide lost an arm.

Covered in blood and wounds, Jose used a Scale-Stripping Saber to cut off the Fierce Dragon’s Dragon Scale. He had intended to strip the rest of the scales to craft Alchemy Weapons and have his Silver Dragon Guide collect some Dragon Blood to see if it would condense into a Dragon Crystal. However, Roy stopped him, warning that the bloody scent of a dead Third Generation Species would likely attract other Dragon Descendants.

"We need to leave first and find a place for you to activate the Dragon Spear’s guidance. With the scale of a Third Generation Species, your first-place position is undisputed," Dewey added.

"If my Griffin were here, this fight wouldn’t have been so difficult."

Roy lamented as he looked at the blood staining the mountainside, the scattered remains of Dragon Descendants caught in the crossfire, and the Trial Takers who were now cutting scales with their Scale-Stripping Sabers.

Roy wasn’t bragging. When a Contract Knight fought alongside their Contractor, their combined combat power was far greater than the sum of its parts, especially when the Contractor was of a high Tier.

Roy’s Griffin had the combat prowess equivalent to a Bronze Tier Law Enforcer.

After a moment’s thought, Jose led the group to set up camp on a high mountain not far from the battle. Then, as promised, his Silver Dragon Guide activated the Dragon Spear’s guidance.

After all this was done, the rest of their journey was simple. Having almost certainly secured the first-place position for himself, Jose would help the remaining Trial Takers he was allied with hunt Dragon Descendants to activate their own Dragon Spear guidance.

Along the way, he would also collect more Dragon Scales to solidify his position.

While Jose Beowulf and his party were preparing to team up and hunt the next Dragon Descendant, his younger brother, Tune Beowulf, was having a far less fortunate experience.

Their target for this trip was a Fourth Generation Species from the Snow Dragon Faction: the Ice Blade Dragon.

A mated pair of Ice Blade Dragons lived in the cave.

According to their plan, Tune, with the help of the other Trial Takers, would use a strategy to separate and kill the Ice Blade Dragon pair to take their Dragon Scales.

In fact, the plan went very smoothly. With remote assistance from the Black Iron Mage Milton Merlin, and the coordination of Demon Hunters and Dragon Guides who set traps, the team suffered almost no major losses. This group, whose highest-ranking members were only Black Iron Tier, successfully hunted down the two Fourth Generation Ice Blade Dragons, each equivalent to a peak Bronze opponent.

They also slaughtered some of the accompanying sixth and seventh-generation species in the Ice Blade Dragons’ lair, obtaining quite a few Dragon Scales.

Logically speaking, if things had ended there, it would have been a perfect outcome.

But as it turned out, perhaps on a sudden whim, the Dragon Guides discovered a passage leading deeper into the cave behind the Ice Blade Dragons’ nest.

Tune, the "opportunist," felt he couldn’t pass up this chance. Seeing that his personnel were well-equipped and in good condition, he gave the order to press deeper into the cave to investigate.

There, they encountered a Third Generation Ice Scale Dragon that had just awoken from its slumber.

The casualties were catastrophic.

After bursting out of the cave, Tune and the few surviving Trial Takers and Dragon Guides scattered, but the Ice Scale Dragon pursued him relentlessly.

After an analysis by a Silver Dragon Guide, Tune understood why the Ice Scale Dragon was chasing him so frantically. The Ice Blade Dragon pair he had killed and stripped of their scales were its children!

But if he returned the Dragon Scales, Tune’s entire day would have been for nothing. Forget becoming Patriarch; his chances of even securing a position in the Trial would be slim.

Therefore, Tune ultimately decided to keep the Dragon Scales and continue fleeing. On the advice of the Silver Dragon Guide, he headed specifically for the East—territory that supposedly belonged to a Third Generation Fierce Dragon of the Fire Dragon Faction.

Dragon Species are extremely territorial. Under normal circumstances, the Ice Scale Dragon would never dare to rashly enter the Fierce Dragon’s territory—assuming the Fierce Dragon was still alive.

As he passed a slope halfway up a mountain, Tune saw his older brother Jose and his allies resting.

He shouted, and dozens of eyes stared blankly at him and the approaching Ice Scale Dragon hot on his heels.

Someone yelled, "Run!" and the entire group took off in one direction like a defeated army abandoning their armor on the battlefield.

As he ran, Tune shouted, "Head for the Fierce Dragon’s lair! Only a Third Generation Species can hold back a Third Generation Species."

For once, Jose lost his usual composure and yelled, "We’re all injured!"

Tune said, "I can see that! That’s why we’re going to the Fierce Dragon’s territory! The Ice Scale Dragon won’t dare to enter..."

"The Fierce Dragon is already dead!" Roy shouted.

"What!?" Tune couldn’t process it. ’That’s a Third Generation Species, equivalent to Silver Tier!’

"We killed it!" Dewey added.

The cold sweat that had beaded on Tune’s body from his death-defying sprint turned icy, and his heart sank. "The Dragon Scale?"

"I have it!" Jose said.

"Congratulations," Tune said bitterly.

"Thanks."

Jose didn’t have time to look at Tune, but he could hear the sour grapes in his own brother’s voice.

"This way! There’s another Third Generation Species over there—an Electric Dragon from the Thunder Dragon Faction!" Jose’s Dragon Guide pointed, and the group immediately sprinted in that direction.

...

The battle was over. Isabella, despite being besieged by Gold and the others, had emerged victorious.

Even though she was covered in wounds and her Spiritual Power was depleted, she was indeed the only member of the Old Race still standing on the field, aside from Baron and the Dragon Guides attending to him.

The other Trial Takers were all lying on the ground, completely exhausted.

Gold and Adam were both half-kneeling on the ground, having canceled their Beastification states.

The usually arrogant and defiant Adam was, for the moment, convinced of his defeat. He smoothly pulled a Fifth Generation Dragon Scale from his pocket and tossed it to Baron, who was enjoying the show while being tended to by his Dragon Guides.

"A bet’s a bet, but I’m still not convinced. If you didn’t have your [Old Blood], and if it were the [Night of the Full Moon]... the outcome would have been uncertain."

Adam Van Helsing wasn’t just being stubborn. Among the Old Blood Clans, the Van Helsing Family’s Blood Curse might not be the strongest, but it was definitely the best for fighting.

The Van Helsing Clan’s Blood Curse was obtained in the past to hunt Count Dracula. It was acquired by making a deal with the Evil God Fenrir through a special ritual, sacrificing their sanity in the process.

Because the Blood Curse’s negative side effects were too powerful, the Van Helsing ancestors found a special way to reach Yafurheim on the World Tree. There, they sought out the Mountain Druid, one of the four great Druids, who helped them regain their sanity and seal the [Blood Curse].

It would only be unsealed at specific times, like the Night of the Full Moon. The legends of the Werewolf began on this basis, spreading throughout the Inner Side and gradually leaking into the Outer Side.

Translated, what Adam meant was that he hadn’t been prepared, so Isabella’s victory over him was unfair.

Isabella spoke coldly, "Then we’ll fight again on the next Night of the Full Moon."

Adam was stunned for a moment, then burst out laughing. "Excellent! Miss Isabella, you’re more worthy of the Beowulf name than your two brothers. I’m starting to like you.

I’ve decided! After this ritual is over, I’m going to propose to the Beowulf Family!"

"And I’ll ask Mr. Gold to be my witness at the wedding!"

’Me, be your witness? We just started working together yesterday. Are we really that close?’

Gold gave Baron a Fifth Generation Dragon Scale and said nothing. In this situation, any answer he gave could offend both of them, so silence was the best response.

But what happened next forced him to speak. A clap of thunder, like the bellow of an ox, suddenly echoed from the sky. Flashing bolts of electricity danced on the ground, blasting a deep crater.

When the light from the electricity dissipated, an Electric Dragon wreathed in Thunderbolt appeared in the crater.

Its roar was like thunder itself.