The Truth About English Dragon Riders / The Trap of Orléans / Battle Between Dragons

Several dragons appeared in the sky above Orléans.

They had bodies as strong as Fafnir's, and each flap of their enormous wings stirred up a gust of fierce wind.

The silver moonlight bathed the dragons' bodies, dyeing their originally yellowish-brown scales a whitish hue.

Without a doubt.

These were dragons—the most powerful creatures of this era.

And for Pierre, it was an unprecedented visual shock.

After all, in a sense, this was the first time the boy had seen dragons other than himself.

However—

This shock only lasted for less than a second before it completely disappeared.

Because Pierre realized something.

Whose dragons were these...?

[You carefully observed the dragons soaring in the sky.]

[You could feel that they had similarities to your dragon side, but also differences.]

[You realized that their appearance might not be a coincidence.]

[Combining the current location, an ominous thought echoed in your mind.]

Orléans, a city mentioned by Charles VII with an extremely anxious tone.

However, Pierre could completely understand this anxiety.

Because Orléans was a fortress city located on the Loire River.

Once this place completely fell.

Then the English army would be able to drive straight along the Loire River, directly threatening Chinon, where Charles VII was located.

This would then paralyze the entire Bourges region and eventually be completely devoured.

In this way, France would be truly considered a Fallen country.

Therefore—

After appointing Jeanne as Royal Commander, Charles VII had hoped, with an almost pleading attitude, that this saintly girl could immediately set off for Orléans.

And Jeanne had indeed lived up to this trust—she had achieved great victories all the way to the vicinity of Orléans in just half a month.

However, these were not the things to consider when guessing the origin of the dragons at this moment.

The only thing truly helpful for judging the current situation was the fact that "Orléans was the place where the English army and the French army were fighting."

France couldn't possibly possess such dragons.

After all, if they did, Charles VII wouldn't need to place his hopes on an illiterate girl from a northern rural village.

Then—

Only one answer remained.

These were England's dragons.

It was even very likely that these were the same dragons that had previously beaten the French army to a pulp.

Of course.

There might still be another possibility—that these dragons came from the wild and had appeared above Orléans City due to a series of coincidences.

But how likely was this possibility? Any normal person, even thinking with half their brain, would know that it was almost zero.

After all, dragons were not creatures that would actively approach human cities.

[You confirmed that these were England's dragons.]

[A new question arose—what was the reason for their appearance here?]

[You realized that this might be related to the large area of magic lurking in Orléans City.]

[However, there was one thing you could confirm at this moment.]

[That was that you would definitely have a fierce battle with them—because they were from England.]

"Fafnir... what's their strength like?" Pierre asked his dragon side.

"Mongrels," Fafnir replied directly.

"Mongrels?" Pierre was a little confused by this word. "Fafnir, what do you mean?" he asked, his brow furrowed.

"Don't misunderstand," the black dragon raised his head, looking at the dragons flying in the sky illuminated by the silver moon.

"They are like you, people with a dragon side," he explained, his voice grave.

"However—"

"They have probably lost their human side and now only the dragon side is controlling their bodies," he concluded, his tone grim.

[You understood the truth about how the English were able to "control" dragons.]

[In this era with dragons and magic, your situation with Fafnir was not unique.]

[But not everyone could be like your mother, willing to risk her life to separate her child's human side and dragon side.]

[And it was even more likely that this magic that separated humans and dragons was something only your mother knew how to use.]

[In this way, the English who had a dragon side but had not been subjected to this magic would inevitably transform into dragons at some point.]

[This was also the outcome Fafnir had warned you about.]

[Because those who were originally English people and dragons would naturally serve England.]

[But even though you understood the truth, you weren't happy at all.]

[Because it meant that the opponent's strength might not be below Fafnir's.]

"Shall we go now?" Fafnir's voice pulled Pierre back from his somewhat pessimistic thoughts.

"Eh..." Pierre hadn't expected his dragon side to take the initiative to do so.

"Fafnir, you..."

"Don't be surprised," sparks of fire flickered from the black dragon's mouth.

"You are me, and I am you," he declared, his voice resonating with power.

"Our minds are one," he concluded, his gaze determined.

"These are all Jeanne's enemies, right... if we don't eliminate them now, she will have to face them later," he added, his tone grave.

"..."

Fafnir's words were also what Pierre was worried about at this moment.

Indeed.

If these were really England's "dragons," and he didn't eliminate them here.

Then Jeanne would face an unprecedentedly dire situation.

Pierre would absolutely not let her step into such a dangerous situation.

However—

If he were to face these dragons directly, he would also inevitably face danger first.

"Fafnir, do you think we can win?" Pierre asked, his voice filled with concern.

"I don't know," Fafnir replied honestly.

"But we have no choice, do we?" he added, his tone resigned.

"...You're right," Pierre agreed softly.

In the next moment, the giant dragon spread its wings and flew towards the sky illuminated by the silver moon.

A sharp screech pierced the air, and violent flames spewed from the dragon's mouth full of sharp teeth, surging towards one of the English dragons in the middle.

[Talent Endless Rage + Activated: These dragons don't seem to know how to use flames, you realized that this might be your only advantage.]

Probably completely unexpected to be attacked at this time.

The English dragon engulfed in flames was shot down to the ground just like that.

Rolling crimson waves burned back and forth on its body, and soon it was directly baked into a piece of charcoal.

Before the other English dragons could react.

Fafnir had already screeched again—he pounced towards another English dragon.

Boom!

The two giant dragons collided together, crashing into the stone walls of Orléans City, making an earth-shattering sound.

Countless rubble and debris were shattered, then fell from the city walls, landing on the empty streets below, creating potholes.

The black dragon's eyes glowed with a fierce red light.

He opened his mouth full of sharp teeth and spewed ferocious flames towards the dragon embedded in the city wall before him.

Boom—!

The flames swept forward, and after hitting the wall, they spread out to both sides like a wave.

In the next moment, the ashes of the English dragon's head drifted away in the wind.

Perhaps it was the arrogance derived from their usual invincibility that made the remaining three English dragons only realize what had happened after their two companions were successively killed.

They began to launch a team counterattack.

The three English dragons began to fly around the black dragon, surrounding him as if they were hunting.

In an instant—

Two of the English dragons quickly pounced and bit at the black dragon that had transformed from the boy.

This was actually an attack with hidden killing intent.

Because they needed to simultaneously face the pouncing attacks sweeping in from two directions, the first reaction of a normal person (dragon) should be to dodge towards the remaining direction.

After all, being bitten or engulfed was extremely dangerous.

But—

If they really dodged like this, they would fall into another trap.

Because the third dragon was waiting for such a thing.

The moment the black dragon dodged, it would begin to move—this was an attack that was absolutely impossible to avoid.

This was dragon team combat!

However—

What none of the three English dragons expected was.

Their seemingly seamless plan had a fatal flaw.

That was—

What if the opponent didn't plan to dodge at all?

Facing the two English dragons attacking him, the black dragon showed no intention of dodging at all.

The giant dragon's sharp teeth bit into his body.

A sharp screech shot straight into the sky, breaking through the clouds in the clear night.

In the next moment, the black dragon directly grabbed the two English dragons attacking him, one with each claw, and then swooped down towards the ground with them!

Boom!

A wave of fire erupted from the landing point of the three dragons.

The powerful impact engulfed everything it touched in the heat, then burned it to ashes.

The ground of Orléans City instantly turned into an endless purgatory, and everywhere they looked became a sea of fire.

The last English dragon looked at the scene before him and quickly understood what had happened.

The black dragon that had suddenly appeared had charged towards the ground with his two dragon companions and spewed out powerful flames the moment they arrived.

This was actually not much different from the previous attacks—it just guaranteed the simultaneous killing of two dragons close to him.

But as a price.

The one who launched such an attack must have also been engulfed by the flames.

The English dragon couldn't help but feel a bit fortunate and fearful—if there was one more, it might not be able to handle it.

But just at this moment.

A sharp screech shot up from the black smoke of purgatory.

The black dragon, engulfed in flames, stood up once again, staring straight at the other dragon in the sky.

Not dead?!

The English dragon couldn't believe what he was seeing at all.

But he knew that such a dragon absolutely could not be left alive.

That would turn all the honors England had achieved in this land into nothing!

The English dragon flew into the sea of fire—he would kill this black dragon from another land here!

However—

The English dragon couldn't defeat the black dragon before him.

No matter how many times he knocked him down with sharp teeth and claws, the black dragon would always get back up again and again.

He seemed to be burning with some indescribable belief.

This was... an enemy that could never be defeated!

[Your dragon side miraculously defeated five English dragons in this moonlit night.]

[But you also paid a heavy price for being forced to transform back into your human side due to exhaustion.]

[The rapid burst of flames at the first English dragon had now made your throat as dry as if it had been roasted by fire.]

[The surprise attack on the second English dragon had nearly broken the bones in both of your hands.]

[The Heavenfall Strike against the third and fourth English dragons had left you with a bloody head.]

[Multiple attacks from the fifth dragon had broken the ribs in your chest.]

[At this moment, you were constantly spitting out blood, and even the slightest movement would cause a heart-wrenching pain.]

[But you discovered something even worse at this time.]

[That was the truth about Orléans City.]

Orléans was a trap.

A trap set by the English using the entire city.

The great fire caused by the battle between the dragons burned away the cover, completely revealing the magic covering this place.

It was a targeted magic—aimed at Jeanne.

The English hadn't been unable to organize an effective counterattack, but instead wanted to lure Jeanne, who was rumored to be able to eliminate dragons, to the already massacred Orléans City by feigning defeat.

The magic would kill her, and the English dragons would kill the rest.

In this way, all of France's hopes would vanish here in Orléans City.

This was—

The city of death laid out by the English.

[You realized you had to tell Jeanne about this.]

[But you quickly found that you couldn't do that—your body no longer supported the dragon side to fly.]

[But the unsuspecting Jeanne would definitely still lead the troops to Orléans City.]

[The moment she set foot on the ground, she would still die here.]

Was there really nothing he could do?

No.

Pierre, lying on the ground with swollen eyes, looked at the traces of magic exposed by the fire and realized he still had a chance.

As long as he eliminated them little by little... the magic wouldn't work!

But this also meant he had to drag his heavily injured body and crawl through the entire city of Orléans.

"Pierre, are you crazy? You'll die like this!" Fafnir exclaimed, his voice filled with worry.

Pierre laughed out loud, enduring the pain all over his body.

"Fafnir, I won't die," he declared, his voice hoarse but determined.

"Jeanne... hasn't had a good life yet," he added softly, his gaze filled with affection.

After saying these words, he began to move on the ground like a worm, eliminating the magic aimed at his younger sister bit by bit.

In the silent night, only the soundless flow of blood recorded the traces of an older brother's crawling.

[One day later.]

[Jeanne arrived at Orléans with the French army.]

"Brother..." Jeanne hadn't seen her older brother for a day—and no one knew where he had gone.

But she still had to hold the white holy banner and lead the French army across the pontoon bridge into Orléans City.

But what came into her sight next was an extremely terrifying scene.

Orléans City had turned into ruins, and lingering black smoke rose from the remains of the buildings, silently recounting the flames that had burned the heavens and the earth in the past.

Several dragon corpses were scattered throughout the city.

Some of them had completely turned into charcoal, some were embedded in the city walls, losing their heads.

The rest either lay in a large pit with their necks twisted at a strange angle.

Or they had become unrecognizable, and without wings, it was even impossible to identify them as dragons.

But Jeanne couldn't notice any of this.

She could only see Pierre lying not far ahead, his whole body covered in dried blood, not a single piece of intact skin could be found on him.

What was worse was that he wasn't moving at all.

"Brother!" The girl dropped her holy banner and ran towards the direction he was in.