Chapter 498: Behind Her Eyes
Inside the vast Aylin"s throne room, several dragons look at her as she gazes at the young dragon seated on her throne.
Even though everyone in that room is hundreds of years old, Aylin is still the youngest among them, and that"s why she"s seen as a kid by the older dragons.
The fact that everyone is looking down at her makes her really upset, and also that guy sitting on her throne. The hierarchy in the Dragon race is pretty strict, but powerful and influential people always think they can do whatever they want.
And that overconfidence makes those dragons smile provocatively at Aylin because if she attacks them, it will be even better for them.
And even knowing it"s a trap, Aylin can"t contain the urge to put those dragons in their place. She really wants to show them that she is no longer a kid and make them respect her by force.
But before she can do anything, Garen takes a heavy step forward and makes an angry expression. "What kind of joke is this?!? Don"t you have any respect for our Queen and Dynasty?!!"
Garen"s words carry the strength of someone from the late stages of the Immortal Realm, and those dragons feel pressured, though some of them are equally powerful.
The guy sitting on Aylin"s throne quickly gets up as he fears that Garen will actually do something to him. But as he makes that instinctive move, he notices his father"s disapproval look.
"Forgive my son, Garen… you know how spirited our younger generation is. Fenger is just too excited to see Aylin." The oldest dragon in the room speaks in a neutral tone, but his arrogant expression makes Aylin even more upset.
Garen is usually very polite, but he doesn"t like the fact that those dragons keep looking down at Aylin. "My son is younger than yours, and yet, he would never do such a disrespectful performance."
G.o.dric, Garen"s son, maintains a neutral expression but can"t help gazing at Han Feng, the frightened young dragon, who is now ashamed and angry.
Han Feng looks at his father for advice, but his disappointed expression makes him feel even worse. So he looks for someone to try to ridicule and divert attention from his humiliating act.
Since the other dragons on his side are their allies, he looks at Alvin"s group. He doesn"t want to offend the powerful Garen, but he doesn"t mind ridiculing his son and Aylin.
"Of course, G.o.dric would never move a finger without Alyin"s order, but in the end, what will so much loyalty give him? She will be my wife, just as this throne, so why don"t we get to what really matters?" He smiles provocatively.
"WHAT!?!?" Aylin advances towards Han Feng with the intention of beat the s.h.i.+t out of him.
But Garen quickly holds her arm as he looks at Han Feng"s father with a questioning expression. "Is that your intention, Lord Han? Do you want to send your son to certain death?"
Lord Han sighs as he wonders why his son is so useless. Then he looks at Aylin with a fake friendly expression. "We came to form an alliance, not enmity."
"You came because you want to control this Dynasty..." She responds. "But I won"t let it happen."
"You"re so stubborn..." Han Feng comments while looking at Aylin"s body with a lewd expression, making both her and Lucien upset. "This only makes me more excited to tame you."
"Why don"t you try?" Aylin provocatively smiles as the urge to kill him keeps growing inside her heart.
Han Feng gets excited by that proposal, but he still looks at his father before any move.
"You"re underestimating her..." Lord Han comments in a concerned tone. Everyone has heard the stories of how the young Queen Aylin defeats opponents a realm stronger than her, let alone a few layers.
Han Feng becomes even more determined to fight. He wants to prove to his father how strong he is and turns Aylin into his obedient wife.
"Huh?" Aylin makes a mocking expression as father and son look at each other. "I didn"t know the Han family was known for having such coward members..."
Lord Han and his son get even more upset as the other dragons in their group make strange expressions. They were supposed to be the ones leading that meeting and not give Aylin any s.p.a.ce.
"I can do this, father; just trust me." Han Feng speaks in a determined tone.
"I know you can." Lord Han tries to sound frank, but no one believes those words. He loves his son, but all his power is the result of treasures and the best strengthen techniques their family has while Aylin seems really talented.
Then he looks back at Garen, hoping he has some sense. "I"ll cut to the chase; my family and allies are preparing a great talent for the next Battle for the Golden Throne."
"And you want our support, right?" Garen asks.
Lord Han glances at his son before looking at Aylin and then back to Garen. "Bringing our families together by blood would only benefit us all. We could create a bright future for our people, much better than the Dark Dragon Queen could do."
"We don"t need your help," Aylin speaks. "I"m going to partic.i.p.ate in the next Battle for the Golden Throne myself."
"Hahaha..." Lord Han starts laughing sarcastically as Han Feng shakes his head, and the other dragons look at her with sorry expressions.
"Do you really think you have any chances alone?" One of them asks.
"Poor silly child..." Another old dragon comments and looks at Garen with an inquisitive expression. "What have you been teaching her? To be a fool or something?"
Lord Han shakes his head as he looks at Aylin. "Neither I could last more than a few seconds fighting the Dark Dragon Queen right now, let alone a child like you. The path from the early Immortal Realm to Its peak is much longer than you can imagine."
"That"s because your family is weak!" Aylin responds. "You don"t even allow your son, who has a much higher power level than mine, to face me..."
"You!" Lord Han gets really offended by Aylin"s words, mostly because she"s right.
Han Feng feels even worse for making his father lose face and again talks to him. "Let me put her in her place; I won"t fail!"
Lord Han sighs as he knows he"s being forced into that situation. If he refuses, he will lose even more face, and his allies will no longer trust him.
Then he looks at Aylin. "What do I get by accepting this duel? There has to be a prize for making my son pleases you, of course."
Aylin smiles confidently. "I"ll marry him if he can beat me... that"s what you want, right?"
The eyes of both Lord Han and his son sparkle with antic.i.p.ation. "Deal!"
Han Feng quickly takes a step towards Aylin, but his father steps up in front of him and caresses his face. That is not an act of real affection as Lord Han just pierces his son"s skin with a needle that comes out of his ring, injecting a red liquid into his body.
"Ah!" Han Feng softly groans as he feels waves of energy run through his body, making his real power advance a few layers enough for him to have the strength of someone from the eighth layer of the Immortal Realm, seven layers above Aylin"s current power level.
His eyes glow red, making it clear to everyone in the room what"s going on.
[Ancestral dragon"s blood...] They think.
G.o.dric is furious that Lord Han and his son use such a low trick in front of everyone. Using ancestral dragon"s blood to boost power in a duel is something most dragons would never do, as that would be the same as throwing away their self-pride.
Also, that makes Han Feng much more powerful than he looks. That, along with the collection of treasures he carries in his body, makes him a really dangerous opponent for Aylin, even though she"s also much stronger than she looks.
"It"s-" G.o.dric steps forward, wanting to make it clear that their behavior is wrong.
But Aylin extends her arm in front of him, making him stop. "Everything is fine."
Everyone understands what"s going on. Aylin was the one who challenged Han Feng, and even though Lord Han used such a trick in front of everyone, they would have to formally accuse him, and that would only create more problems between them.
Even though Aylin could refuse to fight, she still chooses to go on, which makes those other old dragons behind Lord Han respect her even more. Their loyalty to him is vanis.h.i.+ng every minute Aylin proves herself as superior as Dragon and Leader.
Lord Han squeezes his son"s shoulder. "Don"t lose this fight, even if you have to sacrifice all your limbs for that!"
*Glup*
Han Feng swallows hard as he realizes from the look of his father and the ancient dragon"s blood running through his veins that the fight is really serious. "I"ll do it."
Then he walks to the center of the throne room and looks at Aylin. "Isn"t it better to do this outside?"
She also walks to the center of the room, standing ten meters away from him. "No need; I"ll finish you with a few moves anyway."
"..." Han Feng tries to control his anger while focusing on fighting well. He knows he cannot fail now.
Then he summons his soul weapon, a huge dark-golden greatsword. Although his latent talent was far from high, his father did everything to help him strengthen his soul with various treasures, granting him an excellent soul weapon.
But as soon as Aylin summons her golden naginata, Han Feng"s impressive soul weapon starts to look like a child"s toy. In fact, none of those old dragons there have ever seen such an incredible weapon with such a pure golden radiance.
[Majestic...] That"s the first word that comes to their minds when they see Aylin holding her naginata.
She points it to Han Feng and smiles confidently. "Come on; you can make the first move."
He knows he couldn"t attack her without the ancient dragon"s blood in his body, but thanks to that and the pressure his father put on him, Han Feng swings his greatsword toward Aylin.
*WhooosH*
The dark-golden blade cuts through the air with incredible speed and power, throwing a wave of dark energy towards Aylin.
No one in that room would dare to take that blow carelessly. But she doesn"t move or show any hesitation reaction.
Her eyes glow golden, just like her golden naginata. Then she makes a vertical cut, slicing Han Feng"s dark energy wave in half while her golden light destroys all of his dark energy.
*Bam* *Smash*
Han Feng"s greatsword is immediately destroyed by Aylin"s golden naginata, and he is thrown back several meters, falling at his father"s feet.
Blood flows from his mouth and the various wounds of his body that are caused only by the golden energy of Aylin and her insanely powerful soul weapon.
[How is that possible???] Lord Han and the other old dragons wonder, shocked. [The boy has ancestral dragon"s blood in his body, and yet he can"t take a single hit from her?]
"Father..." Han Feng pleads as he tries to hold on to his father"s legs. He doesn"t have any courage to face Aylin again.
"Hey!" Aylin makes a fake upset expression while she can"t contain her smile. "I said I would defeat you with a few moves and not just one. I have to keep my words, you know..."
Han Feng continues to beg his father for help, but Lord Han just looks at him with disappointment. "You have to get up and fight like a real dragon!"
Aylin points the golden naginata at Han Fang while talking to his father. "If he doesn"t come back here, I"m going to kill your son there, at your feet."
Aylin"s words sound cruel, but she wasn"t the one who started that conflict and provocations. Anyway, all the dragons in that room respect her more and more.
Yet, her biggest fan is Lucien, who admires her so much while watching everything from her eyes.