【 REPRIMAND 】

Elven Forest, City of Florence.

The temple and plaza lay in ruins as if a tornado had swept through the city.

At that moment, two enormous creatures, one black and one red dragon, each spanning dozens of meters, were ‘kneeling’ in an obedient manner at the base of the plaza platform.

On the platform above them stood a cold and aloof elven maiden clad in a black armored dress alongside Samuel Galewind, the elderly high priest of Florence, with the latter’s face etched with wrinkles but still sporting a devout expression.

Before them lay five massive dragon eggs, each enveloped in a radiant holy light that pulsed gently, as if infused with divine energy.

The brilliant radiance shone for a couple of seconds before gradually fading. The once-smooth surfaces of the eggs began to change and intricate dragon markings slowly emerged, etching themselves into each shells with an almost ethereal shimmer, as though the eggs had undergone a profound transformation.

“T-These eggs… they actually changed?!”

Tiberia’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the altered surface of each eggs.

“The Goddess, Her Divine Grace has now purified their bloodline,” Samuel said fervently. “We only need to wait for about a week before these eggs can finally hatch.”

Hearing this, Tiberia sighed in relief.

Then, she turned her gaze toward the elven maiden standing beside the elderly priest. Her massive dragon face bore a hint of nervousness.

“U-Um… Miss Zero… have you… given any thought to my proposal? About… becoming my dragon partner?”

The red dragon shifted her body, whilst her demeanor despite her fearsome colossal form tinged with an almost bashful hesitation.

Meanwhile, the surrounding players were left dumbfounded, with many of them standing frozen in shock at the utterly bizarre sight.

However, in response to her question, Zero merely cast a cold glance at the red dragon before turning back to Samuel and resuming their conversation.

“Sir Samuel, what’s the estimated damage assessment for Florence?”

At Zero’s inquiry, Samuel’s expression grew solemn. He pulled out a small notebook and began to report in a calm but serious tone:

“Lady Zero, according to the estimates provided by the Chosen Ones, the recent battle between Meryer and Lady Tiberia resulted in a total of 439 elves injured. Of these, 13 were locals, while 426 were Chosen Ones. The city plaza itself suffered considerable damage in which half of it incurred significant damage. Specifically, 18 buildings were completely destroyed, while 31 sustained partial damage. This includes the Temple of Life, which has been severely impacted.”

“If we want to restore all the damaged areas back to their original state, it will probably take at least a month, maybe longer depending on the extent of the repairs. As for the financial loss incurred, considering the current land value and repair costs in Florence, along with the resources required for rebuilding the structures… the total comes to around 18,000 gold coins.”

Florence’s skyrocketing land prices were, of course, the result of players purchasing the city’s land titles in large numbers. Due to it, the demand for property had surged, as many players had chosen to set up businesses or build establishments within the city.

Nevertheless, compared to the exorbitant prices in Chosen City, Florence’s real estate was relatively affordable.

“E… eighteen thousand gold coins?!”

Both Tiberia and Meryer’s eyes widened in unison.

They instinctively swallowed hard.

Zero remained silent for a moment, her gaze fixed on the two dragons as the two processed the staggering amount. Finally, with a calm but firm voice, she stated, “The compensation will come from Meryer and Tiberia.”

“No way!”

Both dragons shouted in perfect sync.

Their gazes met, and they saw the same expression of horror mirrored within each other’s eyes.

“Rua! It’s all this red lizard’s fault! She’s the one who started it!”

Meryer bared his fangs in protest.

“I was only defending myself!” Tiberia shot back, her voice rising in indignation.

“This black mongrel was the one who attacked first! And besides…” Her expression turned defiant. “I will never part with a single gold coin from my treasures! Over my dead body!”

Being the greediest of all dragon species, red dragons held their hoarded treasures in the highest regard, valuing them above all else. Their obsession with wealth was so intense that even the slightest threat to their hoard would send them into a fit of frenzy.

In fact, a single missing coin could even spark a violent outburst, with red dragons relentlessly pursuing any thief who stole it, no matter how small the offense, and exacting brutal retribution. They were known to hunt down those who dared to steal from them with unrelenting fury, and in their rage, they would not hesitate to raze entire cities to the ground.

“You’re the mongrel! Your entire family are a bunch of mongrels! You battle-crazed red lizard!” Meryer roared back.

“You’re the lizard! You scrawny, black-skinned lizard!”

Spittle flew as the two dragons once again descended into another heated argument, that is until a cold, commanding voice cut through their bickering.

“Silence.”

It was stated in a soft tone yet still carrying along an unprecedented sense of danger, making both dragons instinctively turned towards the platform.

Upon seeing Zero’s impassive face and sensing the terrifying aura emanating from her, the two swallowed hard and immediately quieted down.

However, while Meryer’s face was filled with fear, Tiberia’s eyes shone with admiration and yearning.

“So… so powerful! This is indeed exactly the kind of strong and beautiful being I’ve always imagined to be my partner! She’s truly worthy of being my companion!”

Meryer: “…”

Zero cast a cold glance at the two dragons before addressing Meryer.

“Meryer, you are now an esteemed Godwarden of the Goddess. Aren’t you supposed to be studying Her Grace’s teachings? Need I remind you that every action you take should be carefully considered? Or perhaps… do you still wish to remain a ruthless, evil black dragon?”

Meryer flinched slightly at her reprimand, a flicker of shame appearing upon his face.

Tiberia, on the other hand, looked completely baffled.

Isn’t this mongrel a black dragon in the first place?

So, isn’t it completely normal for him to be ruthless?

After all, their species inherent nature is widely known to be cruel and malevolent.

“I… I…”

Meryer hesitated, then clenched his jaws and replied reluctantly,

“Lady Zero, I admit I was reckless. But… aside from paying in gold, do I have any other options?”

“Of course,” Zero replied. “If you are unwilling to part with your treasure, then there is an alternative. For the next six months, you will devote yourself entirely to assisting the Chosen Ones, fulfilling their reasonable requests, and reflecting on your actions. You will also be required to study and memorize the Holy Codex of Life in its entirety.”

Assist the Chosen Ones… wholeheartedly?

Wouldn’t that mean he’s gonna be working for these long-ears every day?

And… there’d be no more carefree days of eating, sleeping, and lounging around?

Meryer’s face turned visibly green.

He struggled internally, but in the end, the thought of losing his treasures proved to be the stronger deterrent. The very idea of parting with even a single coin was more unbearable than submitting to the pressure in front of him.

Hence with a heavy sigh, his immense form deflated, and while lowering his head in defeat, Meryer muttered, his voice barely audible, “Yes, Lady Zero.”

Seeing the little black dragon admit his mistake, Evé nodded to herself in approval.

She was never truly angry with Meryer and his punishment was simply an opportunity to instill some discipline into this unruly punk.

After all, she still held the racial divinity of Black Dragons and Meryer was the one she had chosen to bestow this divinity.

However, while Meryer had long since become ‘black-scaled on the outside, silver-hearted on the inside’ type of dragon there were still aspects of his nature that remained unchanged…

Greed.

Laziness.

Impulsiveness.

Of course, Evé never expected Meryer to completely overcome his inherent greed or laziness. But… she at least wanted him to learn to be a bit more rational.

Take his recent fight with Tiberia, for example.

They say a single hand cannot clap alone but both sides were indeed responsible for this whole debacle. But if Platinum Dragon King Reinhardt had been in Meryer’s position, then Evé was certain the elder dragon wouldn’t have charged in recklessly like Meryer had.

Even if he had chosen to act, Reinhardt wouldn’t have done it here, in the vicinity of Florence.

From that perspective, Meryer needed to mature further before Evé could fully entrust him with the divinity of the Black Dragons.

Having finished reprimanding the black dragon, Evé finally turned her gaze toward the red dragon, Tiberia.

If Meryer bore some responsibility for the incident, then this red dragon was undoubtedly the root cause of the turmoil that had unfolded.

Evé inwardly felt a slight headache as she looked at Tiberia whom directly met her gaze, with eyes brimming an eager desire to truly become her dragon companion.

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