CHAPTER 922: GERTRIA’S GIFT

With the old man dead, his Tritail Dreadturtle was now the sole target. Its shell, however, was incredibly tough; even the ancient giant-horned whale was having trouble breaking through the mountain on its back. Orion raised his trident and joined the fight.

High in the sky, the battle between Leonidas and the female dragon, Daize, was reaching its climax.

Leonidas had absolutely no shame. His attacks were relentlessly and deliberately aimed at Daize’s chest. Even for a dragon with astonishing defenses, she instinctively moved to protect herself—a feminine reflex.

For a master combatant like Leonidas, that defensive motion created the perfect opening, allowing him to press his attack without pause.

"You lecherous vermin! You despicable beastman! You are foul! You deserve to die!" Daize shrieked, truly on the verge of a breakdown from Leonidas’s sleazy fighting style.

To escape his groping attacks, she transformed, revealing her dragon true form.

ROAR!

With an enraged bellow, Daize’s sky-blue dragon body materialized, spanning the sky. She lunged, her massive jaws snapping at Leonidas, swearing to tear the crawling insect to shreds.

"Oh yeah, my darling! You finally revealed your true form!" Seeing her as a full dragon, a strange light flashed in Leonidas’s eyes, visible to all. He was getting more and more excited, his body and even his voice trembling slightly.

"My sweet, I am going to cherish you so, so much!"

With a flicker of teleportation, Leonidas appeared on top of the blue dragon’s head. He grabbed her horns with both hands, stroking them as if caressing the body of a pure maiden. His expression was a bizarre mix of sincerity, adoration, fanaticism... and pure sleaze.

ROAR! ROAR! ROAR!

The female dragon, Daize, went insane. Aside from a bonded dragon rider, for anyone to touch a dragon’s horns was the ultimate violation—the equivalent of rape. The horns were a taboo among dragonkind, never to be touched by anyone but a beloved mate.

"Perfect curvature... a beautiful color... what an exquisite feel..." Leonidas murmured, critiquing her horns as he stroked them. "Go on, my darling, scream for me! The more you scream, the more excited I get!"

Her roars were interrupting his... appreciation. He ducked his head, pressing himself flat against her skull to dodge a swipe from her massive claws.

AWOOOO!

The man was truly shameless. After dodging the attack, he stood up again and resumed stroking her horns, all while letting out his own ridiculous wolf howls.

Daize beat her wings, carrying him higher and higher into the sky. After reaching her maximum altitude, she tucked her wings and began to plummet. It was a desperate attempt to shake him off.

Unfortunately for her, Leonidas refused to let go. In his world, female dragons were meant to be conquered. To let go now would be an insult to his very manhood.

"Come, my darling!" he roared over the wind. "Let the sea witness our fall into the abyss of love! Let everyone see our vow! We shall be together in life and death! Let the world feel my passion for you...!"

Under the watchful eyes of nearly everyone on the battlefield, Leonidas clung to the horns of the female dragon Daize as they plunged together into the deep sea. Even Orion, in the middle of his fight with the Tritail Dreadturtle, had to spare a glance at the colossal tidal wave Leonidas kicked up in the distance.

"Honored powerhouse, perhaps we can talk."

As Orion’s attack rhythm slowed for a moment, the giant turtle floating on the surface of the sea extended its massive head, met his gaze, and spoke.

Orion reined in the ancient giant-horned whale, halting its assault. He was curious to hear what it had to say.

"I am Gertria, of the Tritail Dreadturtles. I greet you, honored powerhouse."

Orion remained silent, his eyes fixed on the ancient turtle.

"Thank you for killing that turtle-slaver, for allowing me to break free from the seal on my consciousness," Gertria’s voice was rough, like a constant wheeze. "It was not my intention to be your enemy. I was being controlled by him. I thank you, truly. You have broken my bonds and given me a choice, a hope for continuation."

The creature was clearly exhausted and heavily injured. Still, Orion said nothing, forcing down his curiosity. Sometimes, asking questions just gave the enemy an opening.

"Honored powerhouse, the mountain on my back is a formation. To break my defense, you must first destroy it. This formation," it added, "is also the method of my enslavement."

As it spoke, Gertria began to shudder violently. The mountain on its back started to crumble as if hit by a magnitude-12 earthquake. After a quarter of an hour, the mountain had completely collapsed, sliding into the sea as rubble.

Freed from its burden, Gertria seemed to regain some of its spirit, its voice growing stronger.

"Please, do not misunderstand, honored powerhouse. My life is fading. I have no wish to be your enemy. On the contrary, I wish to offer you a gift."

Sensing it was still being targeted, feeling Orion’s undisguised killing intent, the ancient turtle quickly tried to explain.

Orion remained silent, his gaze cold and unwavering.

"Honored powerhouse, please wait but a moment."

With that, Gertria opened its mouth and inhaled. A limitless volume of seawater rushed into its body, filling out its previously shriveled form. The three tails that the ancient giant-horned whale had bitten off began to regrow.

They swayed with a strange, mystical rhythm, gathering the water magic from the surrounding area. The speed of the condensation left Orion stunned.

A vortex of pure water magic began to form behind Gertria. It grew larger and larger, swallowing more and more elemental energy. The terrifying fluctuation of magical power made even Orion frown.

"Honored powerhouse," Gertria said, its voice now soft, "I hope you will be kind to them."

It gave one last look at the surrounding sea. This was a foreign ocean, not its home. A hint of regret was in its gaze.

Then, Gertria closed its eyes and began the final rite of dissolution and release.

Just as Orion was debating whether to intervene, to kill Gertria and prevent the volatile water magic from spiraling out of control, the turtle’s massive body began to visibly shrink and wither.

As it did, the vortex of water magic behind it grew even more powerful, its pull becoming immense, the fluctuations more and more violent. Fortunately, this was an arch lord’s battlefield. There was no one else nearby to be caught in the blast.