Chapter 17 [Revision]

The elders all retreated, exclaiming, "It's here!"

The roar beneath Xia Qian's feet grew louder and louder, causing the earth to tremble even more violently.

Xia Qian's gaze unconsciously fell to her feet, where the ground was trembling violently, as if it were about to crack open and something was about to burst out from underground.

What scene is this?

It's not in the book at all!

Just then, the ground seemed to crack like glass; cracks appeared one after another. In that instant, everyone instinctively stepped back, but couldn't help shouting in worry, "Your Highness!"

Before they could react, the crack beneath Xia Qian's feet widened even more completely with that roar.

Everyone gasped in surprise, accompanied by a beastly roar. A beam of light, like flames, shone from the ground, but it didn't quite resemble light; it looked more like the shimmering scales of some animal.

Before Xia Qian could see clearly, her waist suddenly tightened. When she came to her senses, she saw Xiu Si's tall and slender back.

"Miss Xia, it's dangerous here."

The speaker was none other than Hughes's shadow guard. As soon as the shadow guard finished speaking, he continued, "Please come with us."

The shadow guard gestured "please" politely. Behind him stood countless other shadow guards.

These shadow guards were dressed in identical clothes, and even their weapons were exactly the same. They stood there like countless clones, and the moonlight shone on them, making their mecha suits shimmer.

“Xiaxia, go with them. They will take care of your safety,” Hughes said.

He didn't turn around, his gaze fixed on the huge crack in the ground, from which deafening roars continued to come. Just then, a huge bird's head emerged from the crack, with bound wings, and roared into the sky.

It's called a bird's head, but it's not like an ordinary bird's head. Its whole body is covered in burning flames, and its feathers are soft yet like scales, each one carrying flames and incredibly hard, shimmering under the moonlight.

"Everyone be careful! The fire dragon seems to have gone berserk!"

Elder Gao shouted loudly, and as soon as he finished speaking, all the elders retreated and assumed a fighting stance.

The shadow guards also blocked Xia Qian's way, forming a safe barrier. Just then, the leader of the shadow guards turned to Xia Qian and said, "Miss Xia, it's not safe here. Let us escort you to a safe place!"

Only Hughes stood there, his tall figure clearly illuminated by the firelight, his waist-length hair fluttering in the gentle breeze.

Xia Qian looked at his profile and saw that his eyes were still indifferent.

Even in the face of an unexpected situation like this, Hughes never seemed to lose his composure, not even a ripple of emotion in his eyes, remaining as indifferent as water.

Just then, Xia Qian heard Hughes whisper, "Flying Dragon, come here."

As soon as she finished speaking, Xia Qian heard a lively cry, as if it were right beside her. She turned around in the direction of the dragon's cry and saw the dragon's figure in the sky.

The dragon was pure white, like a seabird, but more mysterious. It emitted a faint white light, and its feathers were like spotless snow. Under the bright moonlight, it was like the embodiment of moonlight itself.

The dragon folded its wings and slowly slid down.

The dragon's cry, melodious and lively, still lingered in Xia Qian's ears.

According to Xiao Yaoyao's worldview, the flying dragon is not her divine beast; only the master can hear the divine beast's cry. However, Xia Qian heard it, and not only did she hear it, she heard it very clearly.

That shouldn't be happening!

Just then, the dragon's cry became clearer.

Xia Qian looked up in surprise and saw a white feather floating in the air and landing on her toes. Looking in that direction, she could see the flying dragon getting closer and closer overhead.

Is it flying in her direction?

Just then, she heard Hughes's voice transmitted through his spiritual power, "Xiaxia, go up."

"The fire dragon is about to go berserk."

"oh……"

She obediently listened to Hughes's words.

Xia Qian obediently followed Hughes's command and climbed up. The dragon's feathers were soft, so it wasn't uncomfortable to sit on. It even considerately nodded slightly to make it easier for the petite Xia Qian to climb up.

According to the patterns Xia Qian has learned from years of editing experience, the more dangerous and sudden the situation, the more she should listen to the protagonist; otherwise, cannon fodder like her would die even faster.

And never try to steal the spotlight.

At times like these, it's the stage that belongs exclusively to the protagonist.

A nobody like her should just quietly save her own life and step aside to be a background character.

So when that roar clearly rang out behind her, Xia Qian really didn't react; her mind went completely blank.

The moment she turned around, she met the eyes of a wild beast, eyes that seemed to be made of flames. Even from a distance, Xia Qian could feel the intense heat emanating from it.

Xia Qian knew about it.

It is called a fire dragon. Unlike the pure white flying dragon, the fire dragon looks like a bird or a phoenix, but it is much fiercer than the phoenix. Its feathers are covered with flames that are always burning, and they are as hard as dragon scales.

It is highly lethal.

The fire dragon is very proud, so no one throughout history has been able to subdue it, not even the founder of the empire. This is because the fire dragon, a divine beast, would rather commit suicide than wear shackles and become someone else's divine beast.

It's a very arrogant mythical beast.

The fire dragon in front of us is also exceptionally powerful.

However, it will bow its head.

It will willingly be tamed by Hughes.

It will become one of the divine beast mounts under Hughes's command, and in the not-too-distant future, it will even be Hughes's first divine beast.

But it isn't yet!

It is merely the guardian beast of the desert temple, a berserk divine beast that goes mad and attacks anyone it sees!

Danger level, five stars maximum!

Xia Qian instinctively wanted to escape, but she had already boarded the flying dragon. The flying dragon flew in the air and fiercely attacked the fire dragon. Its usually calm and melodious cry was now shrill as it roared at its opponent.

No one reacted in time, staring blankly at the scene. "How could a fire dragon..."

Go after a little slave!

Even Hughes hadn't expected it.

He was the only one among everyone present who possessed divine bloodline, and the fire dragon, being a divine beast as well, should only be interested in him.

But the fire dragon did not.

Its gaze was fixed on the petite figure on the dragon mount.

This is going to be dangerous if it continues.

"Your Highness, Miss Xia—"

Before the shadow guard could finish speaking, Hughes frowned, gathering all his spiritual power into a giant water sphere. The next second, the giant water sphere transformed into a huge, snake-like figure, flying sharply towards the fire dragon.

Before the fire dragon could dodge, the giant water snake opened its mouth and bit down hard. The next second, all the water on the snake's body rushed towards the fire dragon, almost extinguishing most of the flames on its body.

The fire dragon immediately let out a miserable roar.

Only a small portion of the flames on its body remained, and it angrily turned its head to glare at the black figure.

Hughes stood there, his waist-length hair fluttering in the wind.

He met the fire dragon's eyes without flinching or looking away, as if he were born without knowing what fear was.

His gaze was fixed on it, as if in defiance. "So, where were your eyes looking before?"

His tone was as indifferent as ever, yet it also seemed to be mocking.

They mocked its slowness.

The fire dragon roared madly at Hughes, as if it understood, and flew angrily towards him, completely forgetting Xia Qian who was not far away.

"Fly away," Hughes commanded the dragon.

As soon as he finished speaking, Hughes looked at the Shadow Guard leader beside him. Before Hughes could speak, the Shadow Guard already understood and said to the other Shadow Guards, "Let's go and catch up with Flying Dragon."

Just then, two huge vines suddenly rose from the crack in the ground.

They move nimbly and swiftly, and can stretch to an astonishing length, as if they have a life force, constantly extending into the air, reaching straight towards Xia Qian!

Feilong cried out in alarm, spread its wings, and prepared to fly higher and create distance, but the two vines had already fiercely bound Xia Qian's legs, pulling her down firmly and powerfully.

The elders exclaimed in surprise, "What's going on?"

Xia Qian, whose legs were bound by vines, also wanted to know what was going on!

Isn't she just a minor cannon fodder character?

Why is it different from the book? Everything in the desert temple is aimed at her.