Thwack! The Summer Queen waved her hand at Aether and the others as though they were flies. As she did, a storm of magic power began to swirl and cut down all the players in front of her. Although Aether’s precious subordinates had received elite educations and were renowned for their skills, the Summer Queen brushed them aside like mayflies. It took only one second to get rid of them; any longer would be a waste of time.

It was the same for Aether. ‘I-I have to run…!’

The Summer Queen’s eyebrow twitched when she saw that Aether had the nerve to dodge her Wind Whip. She immediately turned her hand to the other direction. Thwack! The whips smacked Aether’s head. Bang!

“He ran away like a rat.” The Wind Whip only left devastation in its wake, but Aether had already disappeared, using White Light to escape. However, the Summer Queen didn’t bother to chase after him. She could, but it would be pointless. She dismissed him from her mind and turned to Tom, who knelt, slamming his head to the ground. His forehead began to bleed. “I apologize!”

The Summer Queen growled, flashing her fangs. “Why must I come to this lowly place myself? I never imagined you would have such a hard time!”

“Please forgive…”

“I’ll punish you for this later, Beginning. However, before it ends, you should fight with the willingness to die at any moment.”

“Thank you for the chance, Mother!” Tom hammered his head onto the ground over and over. He could hear his skull cracking, but he didn’t have time to worry about it. If the Summer Queen was here, it meant that she was angry.

The Nine Dragon Sons’ reputations came from the amount of Dragon’s Blood they received, and the Summer Queen could adjust this amount according to what she wanted. She could even take back the blood. If she did that to him, he wouldn’t be one of her soldiers anymore, and with his powers gone, he wouldn’t even be in the Eighty-One Oculus. He would instantly fall from a prince to a pauper right away.

The back of his head was hot. He could feel the mocking gazes of his brothers, who already thought that he was no longer one of their rivals. Tom didn’t even want to think about it. He had to somehow appease the Summer Queen in the short time they had.

However, the Summer Queen didn’t even look at Tom. Her eyes were fixed on the canyons, which sent dust clouds floating to the sky. The Philosopher’s Stone would be there. ‘No matter what. No matter what…!’

The Summer Queen gritted her teeth and activated the magic that she had been holding back. A white light burst around her, and when it faded away, there was a large dragon in her place. She looked different from when she’d appeared in the war with the Cheonghwado. Her scales had turned black, and her fiery eyes were dull. Even her wings looked ragged.

With a broken Dragon Heart and Devil Poison inside her body, the Summer Queen was using the very last of her magic power and risking her life. If she failed, death would be the result. The Summer Queen felt a fearful urgency now that the Devil Poison had already penetrated into her marrow. As the last dragon, the last of the Draconic Species, she couldn’t die in vain in a place like this. Never!

“Kraaaaaa!” The Summer Queen cried at the sky. As she spread her wings, she activated all kinds of magic at the same time, and her large body trembled. Bang! She bashed her tail and took off, flying towards Brocken Castle. She was squeezing her spiritual power from her very soul in order to forcibly activate magic power. It was a dangerous process that might separate her soul from her body, but she didn’t have the leisure to worry about that.

The powers that the Devil Poison had buried rose one by one, and Dragon Fear emanated from her, filling the Outer Space. At that moment, the Endless World of Night ceased being the territory of the witches and became the Summer Queen’s territory instead.

* * *

‘The opening of Intrenian and Dragon’s Blood?’ Yeon-woo had a questioning expression on his face when he looked at the rewards. He wasn’t going to refuse them, but because he had connections to a few of the top five artisans, he didn’t have any particular interest in the artifacts that the Red Dragon owned.

Maybe if it was an artifact that gods or heroes used, he would be more interested, but there was no way that Red Dragon would have put anything like that in Intrenian. There were likely just a few A-class weapons or jewels inside.

However, the other reward was something else. Dragon’s Blood wasn’t something that you could find anymore.

[Red Dragon Species’ Blood Serum]

[Category: Elixir]

[Rank: S+]

[Description: The last dragon, the Summer Queen Ismenios, refined her blood to make this serum. Your stats will increase once you consume it.]

It was more than a simple S+ item. Everyone knew how powerful the Nine Dragon Sons were, and since they received their power from blood transfusions, this reward was something people would risk their lives for.

‘Is she trying to make a new dragon soldier?’ It was possible. The Summer Queen wanted Walpurgisnacht dealt with quickly. If someone not only annihilated them, but also brought her the secret of the Philosopher’s Stone, it was likely she wouldn’t just stop at making them into a dragon soldier.

‘Unfortunately for her, the Blood Serum is in my hands now.’ Yeon-woo wondered what to do with the Blood Serum. He was tempted to drink it down right there and then. However, he already had Dragon’s Blood running through his veins, so it wouldn’t really make much of a difference. Also, since the ancient dragon Kalatus wasn’t a Red Dragon like the Summer Queen, there was a chance that he wouldn’t even be able to absorb the blood.

There was probably a better way to use the serum, but it was such a sudden reward that he couldn’t think of anything at the moment. ‘Or…’

Yeon-woo looked at Vigrid in his hand. Vigrid trembled at Yeon-woo’s gaze, as though it enjoyed it. Vigrid’s curse was on the verge of being lifted, but Yeon-woo couldn’t manage to release the last seal. The process of the curse removal had stopped at ninety percent. Holiness wouldn’t help anymore. What if he borrowed the strength of the Draconic species, who were equal to the gods?

‘I’ll have to look into it.’ Yeon-woo reminded himself to discuss it further with Brahm and opened Intrenian to store the Blood Serum. Just as he was about to turn back, his back suddenly prickled from a hair-raising aura.

Swoosh! When he turned his head to look, he saw a large dragon flying toward him at an incredible speed. Her intense aura preceded her, creating a feeling of doom and fear as though another meteor were about to fall.

‘The Summer Queen!’ His skin stung and his back felt cold. The Draconic Factors inside his cells trembled as they tried to shake off the Dragon Fear. There was a clear gap between a Dragon Human and a full dragon, and it was unsurprising that a Dragon Human would be more hesitant to face a dragon. It was part of the reason why he tried to gain the Demonic Factors.

Yeon-woo calmed himself and tried to put as large a distance between himself and the Summer Queen as he could manage.

[Dragon Fear is creating fear in your body. You have been afflicted with ‘Stun’.]

[Your trait, Cold-blooded, has helped you maintain composure.]

[The Demonic Factors are activating.]

[The Demonic Factors are activating.]

……

[The status 'Stun' has been removed. You have developed resistance to ‘Dragon Fear’.]

‘I wish I had another meteor left. Why has she shown up now?” Yeon-woo used Blink over and over to escape from the Summer Queen’s notice. Even though she’d been poisoned, she was still too much for him to handle.

‘No way.’ He suddenly thought of the reason behind the Summer Queen’s unexpected appearance. ‘Is it because I caught Vieira Dune?”

Did she appear after she confirmed that the sudden quest was finished? Yeon-woo clenched his teeth. If that was the case, he’d made a mistake. However, he decided to think of it as an opportunity. ‘This could be a good chance.’

The Summer Queen was going to die anyway. What could she do with her broken Dragon Heart and the Devil Poison inside her body? Yeon-woo was still in good condition, and he hadn’t even awakened his powers or the Dragon Body yet. Boo had grown after swallowing the Philosopher’s Stone, and he could call out Shanon, Hanryeong, Rebecca, and Brahm, as well.

Also, Yeon-woo didn’t even know what his limitations would be once the Philosopher’s Stone was finished. If he used his full power, he might have a chance. Perhaps it was wishful thinking—after all, there was nothing more dangerous than an infuriated, desperate beast. Besides, the Summer Queen wasn’t weak at the moment. She was exactly as strong as she had been during the war.

‘I can’t believe she still has that much strength.’ Although he’d already pushed the Dragon Fear away, he still felt threatened. Even after activating the Cold-blooded trait, seeing her took all his energy and strength. His hands and feet were numb.

However, Yeon-woo didn’t give up. He trusted himself and his analysis of the current situation. The people that he saw with his Extrasensory Perception were all heading towards him, their enmity directed at the Summer Queen. ‘Summer Queen. You’ve made a big mistake.’

[Hidden Quest / Field Arrest (1)]

[Description: The Bureau has decided on disciplinary action in response to Red Dragon’s attack on the Kelat Auction House. However, because of the restrictions placed on the Bureau, they are requesting assistance to capture or kill Red Dragon’s players within the set time. You can take a percentage of the skills or artifacts of the ones you kill.]

Obviously, the Summer Queen was included among the Red Dragon players that the Bureau had placed a bounty on. If they could catch the Summer Queen, how many rewards would they get? Also, the Summer Queen seemed to be on her last legs.

There was no doubt that the survivors thought it would be possible to take her on. However, no one attacked right away. They paused to assess her strength first.

Bang! Just then, the Summer Queen landed and looked around after she landed, snaking her head around furiously, her vertically slit eyes searching for the person who had completed the quest and killed Vieira Dune. 『The Philosopher’s Stone! Where is it?』 She screamed vehemently, her roar ringing over the canyons and shaking the Endless World of Night. However, her command would go unfulfilled since Yeon-woo had already gotten rid of the Philosopher’s Stone.

『Bring it to me!』 Her eyes were filled with lunacy as she searched for someone to bear the brunt of her wrath. She quickly found Yeon-woo since she had been the one to give the quest. 『Bring it to me!』 She pawed the ground as though she were about to crush Yeon-woo at any moment.

Yeon-woo waited for the right moment before attacking. If he succeeded, he would get rid of an enemy who had once seemed too far away. It was a gamble with his life at stake. The odds that he would succeed were fifty-fifty—although when he thought about it, he had to lower his chances of success to ten. Still, he put everything he had into it because he didn’t think ten was all that bad, considering.

He felt like his chest had grown tight from the pressure, but Yeon-woo was still grateful for the chance. As adrenaline pumped throughout his body, he gripped Vigrid even more tightly. Just as the Summer Queen rushed towards him, he felt a hand grip his shoulder. When he turned to look, he felt all of his tension drain away. “Seseung-nim.”

The Martial King grinned at him, flanked by the other tribe members. Yeon-woo had no idea why the One-horned tribe had shown up, but he was sure that they had the ability to defeat the Summer Queen. His chances of success rose to ninety percent now. The Martial King patted Yeon-woo’s shoulder twice, as if telling him not to worry. Then, he put his hands in his pockets and strutted forward.

『Bring it to me!』

“What?”

『Bring it to me!』

“Lady, what are you talking about?”

『Bring it to me!』

The Summer Queen was spitting out the same words over and over again, completely taken over by madness. The Martial King smirked at her state and pulled a hand out. “Is this what you’re looking for?” He waved his middle finger elegantly.