Westminster Bank

While Baron and the Blood Department were locked in a duel between True Dragon People up in the sky, the Trial Takers below on Dragon Spear Plaza had all completed their respective Dragon Spear Baptisms.

They had begun their final attempt on the Dragon Spear, which radiated a brilliant golden light from its position atop the Dragon Bone.

The very first step was simply to approach the Dragon Spear.

But because the Spiritual Pressure around the Dragon Spear reached the Silver Tier, this first step alone eliminated most of the Black Iron Tier Trial Takers.

Even those at the Bronze Tier were overwhelmed by the Ancient Dragon’s might that constantly radiated from the spear, finding it nearly impossible to draw near.

The only ones who could step forward and stand near the Dragon Bone were the Trial Takers who had achieved a preliminary "Unity of Spirit and Body" during the Dragon Spear Baptism, and the twelve who had been granted seats.

At this moment, everyone—from those inside and outside the plaza to the Dragon Slayers fending off the unending Dragon Tide beyond the mountain range—temporarily fixed their gaze on those attempting to draw the spear.

The first to step forward was a Black Iron Tier Silver Demon Hunter. It was rumored he had once slain a Bronze Tier Vampire and even bathed in its blood.

But the moment this formidable Demon Hunter’s hand touched the Dragon Spear, his entire body froze as if struck by lightning. A few seconds later, he scrambled backward and collapsed to the ground.

The crowd looked at the Dragon Patterns on the Golden Dragon Spear.

Only one had lit up.

In other words—one single pattern.

Everyone’s breath caught in their throats. ’Just a single pattern?’

The Demon Hunter, apparently unable to believe the result, reached for the Dragon Spear again. From the foot of the Dragon Bone, Jose only had time to shout, "Don’t touch it!" But it was too late. The Dragon Spear instantly erupted with a massive, swirling pillar of golden light, blasting the unprepared Demon Hunter hundreds of meters away before he could even react.

The crowd looked in the Demon Hunter’s direction. He was lying on the ground, covered in wounds.

A nearby Trial Taker went over and checked the Demon Hunter, then shook their head at the crowd.

He was dead.

A silence fell over the crowd.

Outside the mountain range, a group of Law Enforcers watching the projection on the screen turned to look at the Elder of the fallen Demon Hunter’s family.

Before the trial began, this Elder had been bragging to everyone about this Demon Hunter. He’d called him an elite of his family, exceptionally talented and powerful, unafraid to fight above his Tier and take on Bronze opponents.

Just a moment ago, when the young man had passed the Dragon Spear Baptism and earned his right to draw the spear, the Elder had been singing his praises while simultaneously fending off the Dragon Tide descending the mountain.

To think he would only manage to reveal one Dragon Pattern in the Dragon Spear Trial. If it had ended there, it would have been just a disappointment, but instead, he’d gone and thrown his life away.

The Elder forced a smile and said:

"No matter, no matter. His skills were lacking. If he’s dead, then so be—"

SPLAT!

He was slapped into a paste of flesh and blood.

"Whoa, so messy. Looks like he got turned straight into bolognese sauce."

Bronze Saint Elvin twisted his hips to dodge a sneak attack from an Earth Drilling Dragon, and Battle Sister Lian came up from behind and lopped its head off with one slash of her saber.

Then, saber in hand, she charged toward the Fourth Generation Species that had splattered the Elder.

"Ever since that explosion earlier, it’s like all the Dragon Descendants in the mountains have woken up. They’re coming down one wave after another. There’s no time to rest or even touch up my makeup."

Nun Camilla complained as she cut down another Earth Drilling Dragon with that ridiculous Chain-toothed Great Saber of hers, "My silk stockings, the ones I picked out especially to ensnare some Old Blood Nobility, are completely ruined! I have no idea why the higher-ups assigned me to this grunt work. Aren’t you and Lian enough?"

"What do you know," Elvin said. "The torn stockings are the whole point."

"Whew, the Dragon Spear Trial is finally starting up again. Kind of feels like I’m at the movies. Slaying dragons while watching a show... not half bad."

Back on Dragon Spear Plaza, after a brief pall cast by the Black Iron Demon Hunter’s death, more Trial Takers stepped up to try their hand at drawing the spear, figuring they might as well since they had come all this way.

The results, however, were more or less the same. The best so far was only four Dragon Patterns, which was hardly anything to write home about.

Following the order, after these Trial Takers, it was soon the turn of the twelve who had received seats for the Dragon Spear Baptism and had maximized its benefits.

The Trial Takers stepped forward to draw the spear in reverse order of their seat numbers. However, just as things were about to begin, Freya, who as the twelfth seat holder was supposed to go first, promptly forfeited.

Her reason was that she was a Wizard.

A very Wizard-like thing to do.

In the subsequent attempts, the seat holders proved to everyone why they were the ones who had earned those spots.

Without exception, none who stepped forward achieved fewer than four Dragon Patterns.

The highest so far was six Dragon Patterns, achieved by Tune with the aid of the Beowulf Family Pattern.

The Beowulf Family Pattern was the manifestation of the support from the Elders that Jose and Tune so often mentioned.

This family pattern was branded onto the back of a bearer’s hand as a totem, its size proportional to the number of votes they received. It was useless under normal circumstances, but during the Dragon Spear Baptism, it greatly helped the bearer absorb Spiritual Power to achieve "Unity of Spirit and Body."

For example, Tune’s total Spiritual Power had now reached the Bronze Tier, and his control over it was effortless. He could even project it outward to a moderate degree. Passing the Magic Potion Trial to officially become a Bronze Tier was now just a matter of time.

The family pattern’s second function was for the formal Dragon Spear Trial itself.

It could directly assist the one drawing the spear to pull out—or rather, to light up—more Dragon Patterns.

For example, Tune, who might have only managed four or five Dragon Patterns on his own, shot straight to the highest count of the day with six.

Not even Roy, whose Tier was the closest to Isabella’s out of everyone present, had achieved such a result; he had only managed to light up five.