Chapter 1710: Third Stage [8]

Raphael still had some troubles to deal with before he was completely in the clear. Melania had a clean sweep of the few nobles and troops that she had to face, but there were reinforcements on their way to take her down.

But, compared to what was headed towards Valerie, it wasn't anything much.

Valerie moved with a platoon of ten soldiers. Obviously, she didn't need their help just as Melania didn't, but they refused to leave her be.

The few noble soldiers on their side refused to follow their lead. Instead, they only obeyed commands from other nobles and Holy Clan geniuses, so most of them were delegated to Raphael's part of the army.

Valerie was the only one among the commoners who was able to find troops, since she had something of a Holy Clan supporting her as well. The ten young geniuses she'd brought from the Wood Dragon Clan were not accustomed to the outside world, and though Valerie tried to get them more comfortable in the week they had before the war started, none of them could easily adapt.

For now, they were more comfortable acting under Valerie's supervision. This would change by the end of the war, but, for now, they still needed some time.

Valerie and her ten supporters moved to the border city on the western side of the opposing territory. What they met originally was around the same as what Melania faced.

When the ten wood dragons worked together, the enemy group was easy for them to eliminate.

The entire border city was turned into a jungle. Trees and plants inhabited the space that buildings once took, and the dampness changed the entire climate into a humid and hot ecosystem.

Within that domain of wood, the twenty or so soldiers on the other side and the noble who led them fell quickly. Under Valerie's orders, her own platoon started to move through the city and secure it.

Meanwhile, Valerie left and scouted the perimeter, making sure that there wasn't anything nefarious waiting for them.

There was.

Countless explosives that could be detonated at a distance, countless tripwires and other devices that would activate deadly mechanisms within the floor, and countless other traps laced the city, all controlled by a formation that was etched along the outer wall.

'I have to get rid of it.'

Theoretically speaking, a formation etched with a method like this could be destroyed as long as she broke down the wall. It was the most vulnerable method of creating arrays, but it was also the quickest, so it made sense why they used it.

Valerie was preparing to take down the existing wall and replace it with one made of her power.

That was when she felt it.

'Someone's approaching.'

There was evident hostility in their aura, which was completely visible as if the individual in question didn't have the time to try concealing it.

That kind of aura was extremely telling.

'Aureat Clan.'

Metallic yet esoteric, as if related to both material values and the most ethereal concepts in existence.

The Aureat Clan was strange when compared to the other Holy Clans as their power wasn't derived from anything like a law or element existing in this world.

And because of that, they were the hardest to predict in combat.

Valerie looked back at the city for a moment.

'Well, it'll be fine as long as they don't find out.'

Just like everyone else, Valerie had grown immensely since the last time the audience had seen her.

At this point, whether it was a Holy Clan genius or someone even better, Valerie wasn't afraid of facing them in combat.

She dashed forward, her steps becoming quicker and quicker until she was flying through the air.

Her body changed. Green scales that shimmered and blended into the ground and trees, eyes that would terrify any human child, and a head crowned with horns made of the most ancient wood in the world, all contrasted by a tan underbelly that seemed unprotected, yet was anything but.

Her wings expanded into the vicinity and flapped fiercely, pushing her forward at an even faster speed than before.

The enemy was approaching in his dragon form, so Valerie did the exact same.

Now that the third stage had begun, she didn't need to hide it anymore.

It was right about time for her to start spreading the Revell Clan's name, to force people to remember those who had been buried in history.

The first step was to show the world their majesty.

Dragon forms were never banned from the heir wars. There weren't any rules that prevented their use in any stage either. After all, in a competition to determine who was the next Dragon Emperor, wouldn't it ruin everything if the contestants were forced to remain bipedal?

Some stages were more friendly to staying bipedal, so there was no need to ask why people didn't switch when those were ongoing. In other cases, geniuses were eliminated before they could ever show off their true power.

There were plenty of reasons why people refrained from transforming thus far, but the main one was the same for almost everyone remaining in the competition.

In the dragon form, they had access to the most power they could possibly output. Their attack forms were simplified, sure, but the actual complexity hidden within would be amplified manifold.

Against a genius in their human form, it wasn't always guaranteed that a dragon form was enough to win. But, it was certain that the competition would reach a completely different stage the moment people started fighting as dragons.

One by one, everyone would be forced to reveal their true forms and power lest they be left in the dust.

Nobody wanted to break the balance.

Not until now.

Faldren Aureat had only used his true form as a method to travel faster. He just wanted to reach the border cities as soon as possible so that the threat could be dealt with before any serious damage was done.

But, he'd unintentionally provoked a monster.

Audiences watched on as two dragons approached each other at incredibly high speeds.

Their trajectories were in such a way that it was impossible for them to avoid each other, and considering Valerie...Faldren would've been forced into battle regardless.

Closer and closer, closer and closer, the two screens that showed them individually eventually merged into one.

In that moment, the only things the audience saw were a green blur and a golden blur.

And the only thing they heard was-

XIUUUUUUU!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The two dragons collided with physical force alone. They were above a plain, but the environment was still eviscerated by the pure force that they released.

The grass was torn from the ground and vaporized into ash. The earth itself instantly dried and cracked as the environment transformed into a desert.

There were no longer two blurs, only one massive storm of light as their mana collided fiercely.

The two dragons had already met eyes.

Golden mana, pure green mana with hints of white; they combined and clashed, refusing to coalesce as they created explosion after explosion.

That was a collision felt by everyone, no matter where they were on the battlefield.

And it was the trigger that changed the heir wars entirely.

In the coming days and weeks, seeing humanoid beings on the battlefield would become rarer and rarer until it was completely impossible.

This was a battle of dragons in the first place, but now...

Now, it truly looked like the most sacred event of dragonkind.

This was what the heir wars were always meant to be.