170: On the road

The fierce wind was cut into chaotic currents by the Red Dragon's massive membranous wings.

Thousands of meters above, a person and a dragon were tearing through the sky at an astonishing speed. The Kalamo Canyon below had long since become a thin crack, replaced by vast plains, winding rivers, and scattered human settlements.

"My Lady, if we fly further south past the Klei River, we'll be in the heartland of the Rocasia Kingdom."

Klaus Difan's booming voice echoed in the wind. To please the "Goddess" on his back, he deliberately flew more steadily, trying to minimize turbulence.

"The tallest white spire there is the landmark of the capital city, Angus City."

Ilya stood on the dragon's back, the force field emitted by her bionic body holding her firmly to the dragon scales like a nail, completely unaffected by the high-speed flight.

Her crimson electronic eyes narrowed slightly, activating long-range zoom mode. Her gaze instantly crossed thousands of meters, taking in the scene on the ground.

What met her eyes was not the peaceful and idyllic medieval pastoral scene she had imagined.

The land was burning.

The once verdant plains were now covered in charred ashes and burning beacons. Countless tattered flags of various colors fluttered in the wind, representing armies of different factions clashing fiercely on the plain like two black tides.

Although there were no explosive roars of the hot weapon era, the brutality of this cold weapon battlefield was no less intense.

Tens of thousands of human soldiers, clad in crude armor, wielding spears and sharp swords, fought in the mud.

Blood stained the rivers, severed limbs were everywhere, giant stones hurled by catapults crushed flesh and bone, and burning rockets ignited villages and farmlands.

And on the edge of the battlefield, there was an even more tragic long line.

It was a procession of countless displaced refugees. Ragged old people pushed wheelbarrows, women clutched crying infants, their eyes numb and despairing as they stumbled forward on roads littered with corpses, trying to escape the engulfing flames of war.

"Is this a human kingdom?"

Ilya's voice was as calm as still water, betraying no emotional fluctuations.

"Yes, My Lady," Klaus Difan explained, flapping his wings. "The Rocasia Kingdom hasn't been peaceful these past few years. The Orc tribes in the north are moving south, and the neighboring country to the west is taking advantage of the chaos. Plus, there seems to be a rebellion within the country... In short, it's very chaotic."

The Red Dragon secretly turned its head, observing Ilya's expression out of the corner of its eye.

In its understanding, legendary benevolent deities or righteous heroes would usually show anger and pity when witnessing such a scene, perhaps even intervening directly, unleashing divine punishment upon the warmongers or performing miracles to save the poor refugees.

But it saw nothing.

Ilya's face was devoid of any expression.

There was neither pity nor disgust in her red eyes, only an indifferent disregard for matters that did not concern her.

At this moment, in Ilya's visual UI, the tragic hellish tableau below was being broken down into sets of cold data by the Navigator.

【Detecting large-scale biological cluster activity.】

【Behavior pattern: Group violent conflict.】

【Weapon level: Predominantly cold weapons, a very small amount of low-level chemical energy explosives.】

【Casualty rate estimate: Approximately 150 carbon-based life forms losing vital signs per hour.】

"Boring and inefficient resource consumption," Ilya commented indifferently.

Born into a highly technologically advanced, materially abundant New Human society, and an academic noble born with a silver spoon, Ilya's life trajectory had never intersected with the word "suffering."

In her world, her biggest worries were merely experimental data not matching up or Lei Wen not approving her budget.

For the primitive struggles on the ground, fought for survival, territory, or power, she found it difficult to generate any so-called empathy.

It was like someone squatting by the roadside watching two ant nests fight. Would you feel sad and cry because an ant had its head bitten off? Perhaps you'd find it cruel, but certainly not empathetic.

In Ilya's eyes, the humans below were no different in essence from ants; they were merely a part of this planet's ecosystem's evolutionary process, a barbaric stage that lower civilizations inevitably experienced.

"My Lady... aren't you going to do something?" Klaus Difan couldn't help but probe. "Like saving people or something?"

"Why?" Ilya retorted, with a hint of incomprehension in her tone. "What does that have to do with my research? I'm not a savior."

"Besides," she pointed to the continuous war below, "this is their own choice. The progress of civilization requires self-selection. My rash intervention would only disrupt the natural evolution data of the samples."

Klaus Difan shivered upon hearing this.

"Indeed... this is a god."

It thought, trembling in its heart.

"Heaven and Earth are impartial; they regard all things as straw dogs."

In the eyes of a god, the lives and deaths of mortals are merely withering weeds, not worth investing even a shred of emotion. This rationality and indifference were ten thousand times more terrifying than its own man-eating evil dragon nature.

"Don't bother with these trivial matters." Ilya patted the hard scales on the dragon's neck. "Accelerate, fly directly to that Angus City. I'm in a hurry."

"As you command..."

Klaus Difan stopped talking nonsense. It let out a long roar, folded its wings, and its body plunged downwards like a red meteor for a distance, then swept past the low-lying clouds at extreme speed... Although Ilya didn't care about the ants on the ground, the commotion caused by an adult Red Dragon, over twenty meters long, sweeping past at low altitude, could absolutely not be ignored.

Whoosh—

Klaus Difan's massive body streaked across the battlefield at near-supersonic speed. The immense wind pressure created a visible gust of wind on the ground, instantly blowing away countless banners and tents.

What followed was the terrifying dragon's might belonging to a top predator.

"Dragon! It's a giant dragon!"

"Oh my god! Why is there a Red Dragon here?!"

The opposing armies, who had just been fighting to the death, simultaneously stopped their actions in that instant.

Warhorses neighed in fright, soldiers looked up in terror, watching the huge red shadow obscure the sun, roaring over their heads with a scorching hot air current.

In that moment, whether they were knights fighting for the king or rebels fighting for survival, only one thought remained in their minds—escape!

Before a legendary monster like a giant dragon, humanity's pitiful courage instantly collapsed.

The stalemated front line instantly crumbled. Soldiers threw away their armor and weapons, scattering like a frightened flock of sheep, just to find cover that would prevent them from being seen by the sky.

And the refugee columns fell into extreme panic. Cries echoed across the plains, and countless people knelt on the ground, trembling and praying for divine protection.

Klaus Difan felt the fear emanating from below, and the dragon's vanity, suppressed by Ilya, finally found a shred of satisfaction.

"Hmph, though I am a dog before that perverse woman, before you, I am still the terrifying Lord of Kalamo!"

It deliberately lowered its flight altitude, and as it passed over a fortress, it playfully snorted a puff of breath with sparks, scaring the defenders on the city wall into jumping directly into the moat... The capital of the Rocasia Kingdom, Angus City.

This was a majestic city built into a mountain, with white marble walls tens of meters high. Countless spired towers and domed temples were scattered throughout the city, showcasing the prosperity and heritage of this ancient kingdom.

But at this moment, chaos reigned within the royal palace.

"Your Majesty! Urgent report! Highest level urgent report!"

A sweat-drenched messenger stumbled into the magnificent council hall, even neglecting basic etiquette.

"Why are you panicking! What impropriety!"

On the throne, King Taros IV of Rocasia was irritably rubbing his temples. The front-line reports had already overwhelmed him, and seeing the messenger in this state made him even angrier.

"Did the front line lose again? Or have those rebels attacked?"

"No... not the rebels, Your Majesty!" The messenger gasped for breath, his face filled with terror. "It's a dragon! An adult Red Dragon! It has breached our border and is flying straight towards the capital along the Klei River! The armies along the way dare not stop it!"

"What?"

Taros IV suddenly stood up from his throne, the glazed wine glass in his hand falling to the ground and shattering.

"A Red Dragon? Is it the one from Kalamo Canyon?"

As king, he naturally knew about the Red Dragon on the kingdom's border.

It had been a chronic worry for successive kings, but because it was powerful and mostly stayed in the canyon, the kingdom had chosen to turn a blind eye.

"Could... something have gone wrong?" Taros IV's face instantly turned pale. "Did someone offend it?"

If it were an army, he might still have the confidence to defend with the sturdy city walls.

But facing an adult giant dragon that could fly, breathe fire, had extremely high magic resistance, and possessed sturdy dragon scales, what difference did Angus City's defenses make compared to paper?

"Quick! Convey my orders!" Taros IV's voice trembled. "All soldiers to the city walls! Mobilize all Magic Cannons! Send the Royal Gryphon Knights into the air! Call all Court Mages!"

"No matter the cost, it must not be allowed to enter the royal palace!"

...When Klaus Difan's massive figure appeared on the skyline of Angus City, the entire city fell into a deathly silence, followed by desperate screams from many people.

Alarm bells rang continuously, and countless civilians frantically rushed to basements and temples for shelter.

On the city walls, thousands of fully armed Rocasia Royal Guards stood with spears and heavy crossbows, staring intently at the approaching red figure.

Their hands trembled, their legs shook, and cold sweat soaked the lining of their armor.

In the city wall towers, a dozen massive Magic Cannons were charging, their muzzles flickering with unstable magical light.

And above the royal palace, hundreds of Royal Air Knights riding gryphons were circling. Although their mounts were trembling in fear under the dragon's might, and several gryphons even lost control and plummeted to the ground, the knights desperately pulled their reins, trying to maintain their final formation.

"Roar—"

Klaus Difan let out a deafening roar a few kilometers from the city.

It saw the well-prepared armies and the Magic Cannons aimed at it.

"A bunch of ants, daring to resist?"

The Red Dragon's tyrannical nature was aroused. It opened its massive maw, and a great red light flared deep in its throat, preparing to give the city a welcoming gift.

Slap!

Just then, a crisp slapping sound rang out.

Ilya slapped the dragon's head, directly forcing the dragon's breath, which was about to be exhaled, back in, causing the Red Dragon to cough violently, with two plumes of black smoke rising from its nostrils.

"Cough cough... My Lady, what are you doing?" Klaus Difan asked aggrievedly.

"Who told you to breathe fire?" Ilya said coldly. "I'm here to find someone, not to slaughter a city."

"Also, fly steadily, don't wobble."

Ilya stood up and walked to the very front of the dragon's head.

Her silver-white mage's robe flapped loudly in the strong wind, and her silver hair streamed like a banner.

Under the gaze of countless terrified eyes below, the terrifying red giant dragon slowly decelerated, finally stopping in an open space a few hundred meters outside the city walls.

And atop the giant dragon's ferocious head, a tiny silver-haired girl stood with her hands behind her back.

She looked down at the terrified humans nearby, like a true deity descending to the mortal world.

"Who is in charge here?"

Ilya's voice, amplified by the bionic body's built-in loudspeaker, boomed like thunder across the entire Angus City sky.

"Have him come see me."