The giant fire dragon was over 1,000 meters tall, its body exuding a powerful pressure and aura. Yasenia, unflinching, commanded the forty-nine groups to battle it, using long-range attacks as a primary attack method.
The giant dragon was no pushover, its strength approaching the third level of the Mythical Core Beast Realm. With its solid body and large-scale attacks, the army was pushed back during the first few exchanges.
While Yasenia commanded the army, she was deeply observing the dragon-like creature. 'I can't feel true dragon blood in this being.' While it had the appearance, strength, attack patterns, and overall aura of a dragon, there was a big difference. The coercion it exuded was entirely different from that of a Dragon.
"If anything, this thing feels closer to Soluna than me."
With her own bloodline power, Yasenia could try to pressure the powerful creature. Nevertheless, since there was no real danger, Yasenia refrained from doing so. "This is a good chance to practice my army control as well."
The forty-nine groups moved swiftly, changing between attacks and defense. There were always ten groups that kept the dragon in check, while the others rotated with them. Meanwhile, the others were using the different skills they knew to bombard the creature.
What first looked like a brutal battle quickly tilted in Yasenia's favor. Her golden slit eyes had already analyzed and understood how to fight this beast. "Now! General group, sneak up and release a fully charged [Big Dipper Onslaught]."
The forty-ninth group in Yasenia's army was made up of a mix of all the stragglers in the group. After all, even with perfectly formed groups, some people didn't make the cut. Those 342 remaining people perfectly fit in a group with the general, creating the 49th and most complex group.
With Yasenia's order, the general and the others appeared above the giant dragon. Their energy exploded outward, creating the Big Dipper Constellation above it. The giant dragon reacted, but it was too late. Countless beams of concentrated star energy descended from the sky, striking the vital points of the creature.
Heavily injured, the dragon roared in defiance. "ROAR!"
"Shut it." Yasenia looked at it coldly. "Offensive formation. Bombard it to death."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
A few moments later, the giant dragon collapsed and lost its form, the flames spilling out like water from a popped balloon.
"Done. Let's…" Yasenia was about to leave when her attention was attracted to the middle of the sea of fire. "That's a [Broken Fragment]… Does it still have something inside?" Sniffing the air, Yasenia could faintly sense something inside.
Using [Crystalline Moon Dress], the dragoness stepped forward and quickly traveled to the middle of the flames. There, Yasenia extended her arm inside and heard the person speaking.
"You've collected 20 [Fracture Pages]."
"Oh!" The dragoness was surprised. Until now, the Broken Fragments have given her one to three Fracture Pages each. After stepping out of the flames, Yasenia continued searching for other Broken Fragments. "I guess that danger and reward come together. Was this dragon not supposed to be defeated? Or is it because of its strength that its reward is quite high?"
The search went smoothly because, after finding a few more Broken Fragments, Yasenia learned to distinguish their scent. In the end, they were treasures, and if Yasenia focused, learning to detect them was not a problem at all.
"I have 127 Fracture Pages, 13 [Area Healing Talismans], 21 [Thunder Strike Talisman], 13 [Flame Spiral Spear Talisman], and 11 [Profound Energy Shield Talisman]. Not bad, but I need to find many more if I want to have all seven levels of the Battle Formation."
There was no stipulated time frame, so Yasenia was sure that there were limited [Broken Fragments]. If she wanted to reach a high level, she needed to find as many as she could.
Yasenia started muttering while opening the Broken Fragment. "Please, giant fire beast, giant fire beast… Give it to me!"
WHOOSH!
"Oh… OH!" Yasenia's eyes shone when she saw the flames soaring to the sky and forming another giant dragon. "Kill it!"
The poor giant dragon was confused when it saw the dragon woman looking at it like a big, fat piece of juicy meat. It fought back immediately, but its efforts were for naught. Having already fought three of them, Yasenia was very familiar with their strength and attacking patterns.
The poor giant dragon was swarmed and killed by the army in less than five minutes.
After it exploded, Yasenia retrieved the loot and got 21 Fracture Pages and 1 [Fire Mountain Explosion Talisman].
"Oh. First time receiving this talisman. It feels quite… strong."
BOOM!
An explosion entered her sharp hearing sense from a distance, and she quickly looked over. With a squint in her eyes, Yasenia strained her senses to see through the flames. The Astral Fire surrounding them was able to burn Spiritual Sense, so their "vision range" was limited.
Still, bearing the pain of having her brain burnt, Yasenia was able to observe the person on the other side for a second. That second was enough, though.
"That's the charmed woman… From the size of her army, she has managed to get a Medium Temple."
Pondering for a moment, Yasenia decided to go and plunder her treasures. "Although she is a bit pitiful, I can guess that the male demon will force her to give him the treasures if they come across them. It's better to get them myself rather than waiting for that demon to get them."
With that in mind, Yasenia moved towards the battle area.
Meanwhile, that woman was fighting against the giant fire dragon, using her own strength together with her army to suppress the dragon. Unlike Yasenia, she couldn't afford not to participate in the battle.
While fighting, her mind was extremely complicated. 'I am finally away from that Demon, but… his disgusting influence still affects me.'
Being charmed didn't mean that she was brainwashed. It was more like being dependent on the other party, regardless of her thoughts. Just the thought of that male demon disappearing made her heart sink and her body burst in cold sweat. After all, how would she be able to scratch that itch without him? She might as well go crazy.
While thinking about her despairing situation, she saw several presences approaching. The numbers were incomparable to her own. Looking over, her heart sank. 'That's Yasenia Dravory! Why did I have to bump into this woman!?'
During the fourth trial, Hai Lanyue had naturally faced Yasenia's army once. She was honestly confused as to why Yasenia had received such a big advantage. Of course, she lost that battle.
Now that it was not just the army, but Yasenia as well, her chances of winning were close to zero percent.
"Hey."
Yasenia smiled at her from the distance.
"What do you want?" Hai Lanyue shouted, her sword never stopping as she and her army fought the dragon.
"What do I want… Good question." Yasenia laughed. "Give me all your [Fracture Pages]. If you do so, I'll leave you alone."
"You've come to rob me?"
She was in disbelief. She had not expected this woman to show such disregard for her current plight. "You… Don't you want to help me?"
"Help you?" Yasenia blinked twice, puzzled. "Why would I help someone I don't know? While I do find you pitiful, my objective is the Battle Formation. Your life and death are completely inconsequential."
The woman's heart sank to the bottom. Looking over, she could see that Yasenia's eyes were calm, like the surface of a golden lake. There was not even a hint of empathy or struggle, just pure coldness.
"I-I can't." Lanyue's eyes flashed with many thoughts. "I have given my Fracture Pages to Lord Yantao."
"Yantao…?" Yasenia hummed and asked. "That was the demon's name, right?"
"Yes!" The claw of the giant dragon blasted Lanyue back, but she was not flustered, joining the battle straight away.
The dragoness saw the Giant Dragon on the verge of dying, so she stepped forward with her own army. "Step back."
Her command was enveloped with her [Tyrant Warlord Intent Domain], compelling everything around her to obey.
Lanyue was reluctant, but fighting Yasenia was not something she could do now.
When Yasenia's group engaged in battle, she wanted to leave. However, Yasenia's voice reached her. "If you dare flee, I'll hunt you down and kill you. We are not done talking yet."
Balancing in her mind, Lanyue noticed that Yasenia was not even participating in the battle. So, while reluctant, she didn't dare flee.
A minute later, the dragon was destroyed, and Yasenia dove into the fire.
This stunned Lanyue. "What is she doing?" Looking closer, she could see that Yasenia had reached into a Broken Fragment inside the flames and taken out treasures from it.
"What? There are treasures inside those as well?"
After returning from the fire, Yasenia guided her army to surround Lanyue. The dragoness stepped close to the woman and hummed. "Your charm is different from that of those men. You seem to still be… you."
Hai Lanyue smiled wryly. "Yes. It's not mental but physical control."
"Oh." Yasenia nodded and extended her hand. "Give me the [Fracture Pages]."
Lanyue's body tensed up. "I told you—"
"Lies." Yasenia smiled coldly. "You told me lies. Give the pages to me, and I will let you off. Otherwise, I can finish your suffering here."
Pressure and killing intent descended on Lanyue, making her tense. Looking around, she knew that she had no chance of winning. The other side beat her in both numbers and strength. So, with a resigned expression, she waved her hand and summoned her loot.
Thinking that there would be more resistance, Yasenia asked while collecting the loot. "You gave up quite easily."
"I can live under the control of a Demon; doesn't that tell you how strong my will to live is?" Lanyue sneered. "Still, I didn't expect you to be so indifferent when you see what is happening. Wouldn't you want others to help your family members if they were in my current situation?"
Yasenia was unfazed. "If I see those demons, I'll kill them. However, don't expect me to treat you as if your situation makes you untouchable." Yasenia looked at the woman coldly for a second before approaching.
Lanyue didn't move. She had calmed down, and she was already indifferent. Moreover, this dragon woman showed no killing intent when approaching.
Yasenia reached out her hand, grabbing Lanyue's wrist and flipping it over. Then, before the other side could ask, she placed two fingers on her wrist.
Knowing that this was the practice of taking a pulse made by an expert in medicine, Lanyue's open mouth closed.
"Give me all your pages when this trial ends."
Yasenia grabbed Lanyue's chin and opened her mouth, making her look up. Leaning above Lanyue's mouth, Yasenia bit her own tongue and opened it. The woman was confused until a warm, metallic, yet sweet and delicious liquid dripped into her mouth.
Once the first mouthful gently slid down her throat, her pupils dilated, and she started drinking like a person who had not drunk water in days. She wanted to rush up and drink from the source, merge with it, but the fingers grabbing her chin were like steel vices, keeping her in place.
After ten seconds, Yasenia closed her mouth and turned around, leaving with her army.
Lanyue fell to the ground and started shivering, her body sweating like crazy as she moaned in pleasure. The blood she drank was like a passionate fire, engulfing her existence with pleasure and pain like she had never felt. After five minutes of writhing in pleasure, her back arched, and Lanyue's eyes rolled up, saliva dripping down the sides of her mouth.
After the powerful sensations subsided, her body fell limp onto the ground, and peace and calm like she had never felt before surrounded her body.
Yasenia's blood, like every single part of her body, was a treasure that cultivators would kill for. The Dragon blood purified, strengthened, and healed, and it even made those who drank it look younger and more beautiful. It was a panacea developed through the countless refinements of medical baths, enhancing her natural, precious blood.
"I am… Cured?" Hai Lanyue raised her arm and looked at her body, which had expelled a blackish-red, smelly substance. Tears gathered in her eyes as she felt a sense of peace and liberation after so long. "Cured. I am cured!"
Laughter burst from her mouth between her cries and tears. Then, as the realization sank in, her eyes and aura twisted completely as hatred bloomed from the depths of her soul. "Guo Yantao…!"
Her throaty, beastly growl was reminiscent of a thousand vengeful spirits' screams.