The Damned Demon

Chapter 765: A Difficult Dilemma



Not too long ago,

The royal city of the Bloodburn Kingdom was chaos incarnate, the ground trembling beneath the clash of its brave people and the bloodthirsty draconians.

The crimson glow of Rowena's blood-flames and the eerie radiance of Drakar's Dragonblood Knights illuminated the night like a violent storm.

The air carried the metallic scent of blood, thick with the cries of the wounded and dying, as Rowena stood amidst the carnage with Flaralis towering behind her, its dark golden scales shimmering ominously in the pale moonlight.

Rowena raised her whip slightly and whispered to her dragon, "Flaralis, it's just you and me now... until the end."

Flaralis rumbled low and deep, the sound reverberating like thunder through the battlefield. The dragon's massive maw opened wide, and an inferno of crimson flames erupted forth.

The air itself ignited, the flames scorching the ground and the draconians in their path. The searing heat was so intense that the ground cracked and smoldered as the river of fire surged toward Drakar and his forces.

Drakar watched her from the distance, his dark red eyes glinting with malicious glee," he sneered, raising a gauntleted hand to signal his troops, "Kill her dragon, but leave her breathing. I want her to kneel before me."

Dozens of soldiers, each at least a peak Soul Purger, rushed forward, but the flames spewing from Flaralis' gaping maw drowned them, the searing heat turning them into charred husks within seconds.

Drakar's Dragonblood Knights surged forward, their scarlet armor gleaming as they moved in perfect unison.

Each carried weapons imbued with powerful dark mana, their movements coordinated like a deadly machine. They leaped into the air, aiming for Flaralis, but the dragon was a blur of motion. Its tail swept across the battlefield, smashing into them like a battering ram, sending several crashing into the ground with bone-shattering force.

Rowena stepped forward, her whip snapping with a resounding crack that cut through the din of battle.

A single flick of her wrist sent the weapon spiraling toward a cluster of Drakar's men. The thick black tendrils of the whip glowed with her dark mana, wrapping around three soldiers before tightening with an audible snap. Their bodies crumpled to the ground like broken dolls, lifeless.

She moved like a shadow, her movements precise and fluid. With every flick of her wrist, her whip lashed out, slicing through armor and flesh as if it were paper.

Blood sprayed into the air, and with a sharp motion, her crimson flames erupted, consuming the nearest attackers in an inferno of searing heat. The ground beneath her cracked and trembled as her Force Bending powers surged, pulling enemy soldiers to their knees before crushing them under an invisible weight.

Yet, the tide of enemies seemed endless.

Drakar watched from a distance. Despite seeing so many of his men die, his lips curled into a sly smile as he gestured at the massive glaive before him, "Push forward!" he bellowed, his voice carrying over the cacophony, "Surround the dragon! Keep it occupied!" His gaze flickered to Rowena as he muttered to himself, "Let's see how long you can keep this up."

Flaralis, for all its size and power, moved with terrifying speed. Its massive claws tore through the ranks of soldiers attempting to flank it, while its wings beat with enough force to send entire groups flying backward.

Another roar erupted from its throat as he opened his maw, releasing a concentrated blast of crimson fire that melted shields and armor alike.

Rowena, standing beneath Flaralis, was an unrelenting force. As her whip lashed out again, carving a path through the elite draconian soldiers closing in on her, she raised her free hand. The air around her shimmered as her Force Bending powers activated.

Soldiers screamed as the gravity around them intensified, their bodies contorting unnaturally before collapsing into broken heaps.

Still, the Dragonblood Knights were relentless. One of them leaped onto Flaralis's back, driving a spear charged with dark mana into the dragon's flank.

Flaralis let out a rumbling growl of pain but twisted his massive body, throwing the knight off balance before snapping him up in his jaws like snapping an ant. With a sickening crunch, the knight's body exploded in a burst of blood.

"Your dragon bleeds, Rowena," Drakar taunted, his voice cutting through the chaos as he began striding forward. His glaive glinted menacingly in the dim light, "If you surrender now, I will at least spare your dragon," Drakar still had a wish to take control of Flaralis, even if he knew it was impossible. However, if he could control Rowena, then he could control her dragon as well.

His taunts only served to fuel Rowena's simmering determination as she turned her cold gaze toward him, her expression unfazed. She raised her whip, its black coils glowing with a faint crimson hue, and lashed it toward him.

"You dare!" Drakar roared and sidestepped the attack, but the ground beneath him erupted as her blood-flames surged, forcing him to retreat a few steps. He didn't expect she would have the gall to attack him in the middle of fighting his men.

But then he looked at what she was doing, realizing she made a feint to get him to retreat some distance.

Rowena's movements were methodical, and every action was calculated. The moment she was able to make Drakar back off, she reached toward the broken bodies littering the battlefield, channeling the power of blood.

Crimson tendrils of mana erupted from the corpses, twisting and writhing like living serpents. They struck out, piercing through the armor of nearby soldiers and draining their strength to fuel her own flames.

"Pathetic," Drakar sneered, lifting his glaive as he motioned to his knights. "Don't give her an inch! She's nothing without her dragon!" He knew her dragon was too strong that it was able to keep thousands of his men at bay. But at the same time, it frustrated him to see that because of her dragon, she was able to go all out without much worry. Even if she was doomed to fall eventually, he wasn't expecting her to cut down so many of his men so quickly.Nôv(el)B\\jnn

The Dragonblood Knights responded immediately, regrouping to surround Flaralis. The dragon roared again, its claws swiping through the ranks, but their coordinated strikes began to wear it down.

Several knights drove their weapons into its limbs, their dark mana flaring upon impact. Some of these weapons were imbued with powerful poison, while the rest were enchanted to weaken those it stabbed into.

Flaralis thrashed, its tail smashing into one knight and sending him flying into a group of soldiers, but even the mighty dragon couldn't be everywhere at once.

Rowena, seeing her companion being overwhelmed, extended her Force Bending powers toward him. The gravity around Flaralis lessened, allowing the dragon to move more freely. With a powerful beat of his wings, he soared into the air, releasing another blast of fire that

forced the knights to scatter.

Drakar chuckled darkly, "A valiant effort, Rowena, but you can't win this. Numbers don't lie, and I've brought enough to bury both you and your pet."

Rowena didn't respond, her crimson eyes locking onto him with cold resolve. She raised her whip high, and with a sharp flick, the ground around her erupted into a whirlpool of crimson flames. Soldiers caught within screamed as the inferno consumed them, their cries fading into silence as the fire burned everything to ash.

Despite the devastation, more soldiers poured in from all sides, their ranks seemingly endless. Drakar stood at the center of it all, his smirk never faltering as he watched Rowena and Flaralis fight valiantly yet struggle to fully turn the tide.

He knew he had more than enough men to do this all day, and on second thought, the satisfaction of seeing her slowly getting worn down was worth the men he had to sacrifice. He wanted to see the look of despair on her face, the point where she knew there was no way out.

But despite the destruction wrought by Rowena and Flaralis, the battlefield was still dominated by the winged soldiers of death.

Draconian soldiers poured in from every direction, their numbers seemingly endless. Drakar stood at the center of the storm, his smirk never faltering as multiple Drakebane Glaives were hissing with mana after firing multiple projectiles.

Flaralis descended beside Rowena with a thunderous crash, its massive body trembling as it landed. Rowena's crimson eyes flickered briefly with pain and concern as they fell on her

companion.

She could feel the pain Flaralis was feeling. Her dragon's dark golden scales were scorched and bloodied, and its breathing was heavy, labored.

Her gaze settled on the massive glaive embedded in its back, its wicked blade glowing faintly

with a dark red aura.

Despite the grievous wound, Flaralis stood defiantly on all fours, a low growl rumbling deep

in its chest.

Rowena's whip dangled loosely in her hand for a moment as her fingers tightened around its hilt. Her eyes quivered briefly-an emotion she rarely allowed to surface-but only for a

moment.

She stepped forward, her blood-stained armor reflecting the dim glow of the crimson moon above. Her body ached, her mana reserves nearly spent, but her resolve burned brighter than

ever.

"Still standing, are you?" Drakar's mocking voice cut through the din, drawing her attention back to him. He strode forward, his dark red cape trailing behind him as his soldiers parted to make way. His expression was one of smug triumph, the multiple massive glaives glinting ominously in the flickering light.

Drakar raised a hand, and his men aimed the Drakebane Glaives squarely at Rowena and her dragon. The soldiers holding them stood ready, their dark mana crackling like malevolent

sparks in the air.

Drakar's smirk widened as he rested his own glaive on his shoulder, "What's the matter, Queen of Bloodburn? That's quite the pitiful look on your face. Are you worried about your pet? Or maybe..." He tilted his head mockingly, "you're worried about yourself?"

Fresh drops of blood were dripping onto her whip from the grave injuries of her dragon. It just showed that her dragon was too injured to even heal.

As for her, she could still push herself and yet to fully go all out. But if she does that, she could

risk killing that life growing in her womb. Never before had she felt such a difficult dilemma of choosing between the possibility of saving her unborn child or saving her kingdom. Or maybe these choices were only meant to be an illusion.

Drakar chuckled darkly, gesturing toward the armed soldiers surrounding them, "Look

around you, Rowena. You're out of options. Your mana reserves are spent. Your dragon is bleeding out. You've fought well, I'll give you that, but this is where it ends." His smirk twisted into a sinister grin as he pointed the tip of his glaive toward her, "Now tell me... Are you going to surrender, or should I force you to your knees by bringing you both to the brink

of death?"