The clear light of the twin moons spilled over the rocky piles of the Hemlock Hills.
Samantha was sticking her butt out, her tail held high, fully concentrated, using her claws to carve crooked furrows into the ground. She wasn't drawing an alchemy circle; she was teasing ants.
Watching a group of ants at a loss, only able to move forward along the furrows she had carved.
A pleasant smile appeared on Samantha's face.
As a Red Dragon, she was born with a natural love for this feeling of controlling the life, death, and even the destiny of other creatures, like a monarch. Since her current strength didn't allow for it, she could only play with ants to satisfy the urge.
With a swipe of her claw, she connected the ends of the furrows.
The poor ants crawled helplessly within the maze-like furrows that had no exit.
Samantha tilted her chin, her gaze disdainful, mimicking the deep tone of an adult dragon as she said: "Lowly ants, cry out and beg for mercy from the great Red Dragon Queen, bow and scrape; perhaps I will show great mercy and spare your insignificant lives."
The ants said nothing, only continuing to crawl.
Among them, a clever and strong ant, finding no way out ahead, began to climb upward, out of the furrow, unknowingly arriving in front of Samantha's claw.
The 'Red Dragon Queen' let out a soft "eh?" of interest.
"The most powerful and wise Legendary leader of the Abyssal Demon Ant race, do you intend to defy my arrangement of your fate and issue a challenge to this Queen?"
"Good, very good. I admire your courage. As you wish, I grant you—death!"
Splat!
The Red Young Dragon brought down her claw, crushing the 'Abyssal Demon Ant' with a single strike.
Feeling a bit embarrassed, Samantha only played such childish house-like games in secret when no other creatures were around.
Now that Garros was away and the Great Bear Mobel was out hunting, it was her exclusive entertainment time.
After making a fuss and entertaining herself for a while longer, Samantha stood up, head held high, still immersed in the feeling of being the Red Dragon Queen dominating all things. She walked toward the Alchemy Workshop with an arrogant, overbearing stride.
—A simple shack built from rock slabs.
Taking a closer look, inside the workshop, black oil boiling in a metal crucible was emitting an eerie purple smoke.
"I played too long and forgot the heat! Oh no! Garros is going to beat me when he gets back!"
Her high-held head dropped instantly. Samantha rushed forward, pouncing toward the crucible. She hurriedly used Demonic Energy to sketch out runes one after another, striking them into the boiling black oil to gradually calm it down and prevent an explosion.
Samantha snorted sparks from her nostrils and breathed a sigh of relief.
She lowered her head to sniff the bubbling black oil, completely failing to notice five dark shadows staring at her from the darkness.
A Rogue hidden behind a rock raised the crossbow in his hand.
Bolts with armor-piercing and silence rune effects were already loaded. The arrowheads glinted with a blue sheen in the night, clearly coated in potent poison.
On the other side.
The Blonde Warrior stepped through the shadows cast by the hemlocks, approaching the Red Young Dragon. Finally, he slowly drew the door-sized greatsword from his back, pressed his palm down with a light wave, making a gesture to begin the hunt.
Silently.
A specially made alchemical crossbow bolt pierced the night, accurately pinning into Samantha's right wing joint. The arrow was still trembling slightly, making a metallic vibrating sound.
The blue color immediately spread out, covering a small area on her wing membrane.
The sudden attack, the sharp pain in her dragon wing.
Samantha's pupils narrowed into thin lines from the pain. She swung her tail frantically, knocking away the alchemical crucible emitting purple smoke. The boiling black oil splashed onto the ground, releasing a pungent smell.
"Despicable humans!"
Seeing the attackers, Samantha let out a loud roar.
The Blonde Warrior lunged forward and leaped high. The alchemical runes on his greatsword all lit up with an imposing aura.
Jump Slash!
The heavy sword came hacking down at her head. Samantha raised her dragon arm and swept it across.
Weakness!
A beam of dark light shot from the Necromancer's pale finger, landing on Samantha, making her instantly feel weak all over. She lost a great deal of strength, and her movements became feeble and sluggish.
The blade sliced through dragon scales and tore into flesh.
Whoosh! Another crossbow bolt shot over, pinning into Samantha's side.
The Blonde Warrior turned and performed a whirlwind slash, his blood-stained door-sized greatsword hacking into Samantha's shoulder again.
Facing the sudden sneak attack from a group of professionals, the unprepared Samantha fell into a passive state. She was furious. Lava-like light glowed between the gaps of her chest scales, and a piercing red light also lit up in her mouth.
She intended to use Dragon Breath to burn the warrior who dared to offend her into ashes.
"Haven!"
The Blonde Warrior felt the danger and shouted.
Silence Spell!
The Caster of the Conjuration School had prepared his Spell. Complex incantations flew like a silk ribbon, weaving into a ring around Samantha's neck. It transformed into a silencing sealing force, preventing Samantha from breathing out her Dragon Breath immediately.
The runes on her neck began to crack continuously.
Samantha let out a silent roar and swiped a claw at the Blonde Warrior. Although he blocked it with the blade of his sword, the powerful force still sent him flying, crashing through a hemlock tree.
Samantha was about to pursue when ghost fires shaped like skulls quickly approached and slammed into her body.
They were incredibly cold, not ordinary fire. Samantha's fire resistance could only reduce a portion of it, and she inevitably took damage.
On the other side, a white light emanated from the priest, shining onto the Blonde Warrior.
He stood up and, with even greater speed, strode toward the Red Young Dragon.
With Samantha's draconic roar, the Silence Spell around her neck shattered. But before her Flame Dragon Breath could be prepared and exhaled again, a sphere was thrown by the Rogue. It exploded with a highly irritating odor, making Samantha sneeze uncontrollably. Fire puffed out from her nostrils.
When she looked up again.
The Blonde Warrior was already right in front of her, the door-sized greatsword hacking toward her.
Being restricted at every turn made Samantha realize she was no match for these humans.
Because of Garros's education, she was much better regarding her arrogance and conceit than before. Suppressing the thought of fighting to the death, she flapped her wings and soared directly into the sky, intending to disengage and leave.
But after flying only a few meters high.
A large net full of hooks was thrown out by the Rogue, enveloping her body. The dense iron hooks caught on her scales, making it difficult to break free.
The Blonde Warrior grabbed the iron net with one hand and pulled down hard, slowing Samantha's ascent.
Another Spell from the Caster was completed.
Grounding Curse! The solid-looking runes directly locked and branded themselves onto Samantha's wings, dispelling the Demonic Energy on them.
The wings of an ordinary young dragon, without relying on Demonic Energy, could hardly support their heavy bodies with just the strength of the wings alone. Samantha flapped a few times but was ultimately dragged to the ground.
She tore open the iron net, her face full of fury.
Since she couldn't escape, she would fight to the death! A Red Dragon would not fear any challenge, nor would they fear death! Samantha roared as she continued to struggle with the five people. Although she was at a disadvantage and constantly being injured, she did not lose immediately.
At the same time.
Between a thick cloud high in the night sky.
Garros silently watched the battle below.
"These adventurers seem a bit weak; they can't even take down Samantha directly."
"However, just as I expected, relying primarily on Demonic Energy for flight is indeed a major Weakness, easily targeted."
Garros had just returned when the battle between the two sides began.
Seeing that Samantha's life was not in danger, he didn't intervene directly but watched silently for a while, finding that these adventurers were far less powerful than he had imagined.
In the future, when facing adventurers, perhaps he wouldn't need to be too cautious.
With my current strength, I should be able to deal with them easily.
Adventurers? Just a bunch of rabble!
Thinking of this, Garros quickly shook his head.
"Arrogance is always quietly growing; I must be on guard against it at all times."
"These should only be the lowest-level adventurers, yet they can already deal with a normal young dragon like Samantha. And it seems they want to capture her alive, so their offensive isn't too fierce."
Garros thought to himself.
Confirming that these adventurers posed no great threat, he folded his wings. His guillotine-like dragon wings sliced through the night as he dove down at extreme speed.