“For the winner, the loser would be in their service for two years, minimum. After that, however, if they deem whatever cause the winner is engaged in to be worthy enough to be followed through to the end, then those three years are there for the loser to embrace.”

A smile, as bright and gleaming as her armour flashed on her face. “You’re on.”

****

Deep within the confines of a cave, where magma mysteriously crawled along the walls like slithering snakes, were two figures.

One small and lithe, and the other large and foreboding, monstrous in form and all else.

The platform upon which they stood was surrounded by a sea of magma that swirled slowly as it gave off a wicked type of heat.

There was an audience surrounding them, or more accurately, a cadre of sorts.

The crowd was composed of the royal emissary, and the First Claw of the Dragons, Long Jin.

“Begin.” The sonorous voice of Long Jin reverberated within the cave.

“Kill!” The lithe figure was none other than Long Nuhuang, Long Di’s mother. As of now, numerous wounds peppered her body and blood ran like rivers from them in an unceasing flood.

Yet despite all this, her blood qi surged with the best of them and a staggering and indomitable will radiated from her in tandem with a monstrous killing intent and an insatiable battle lust!

Boom!

The ground under her feet exploded as she vaulted forth for the dragonkin she faced off against!

Unlike Long Huangdi, who wielded a halberd, she brandished a mace, metal and spiked to the teeth.

It was black from head to toe and carried a minacious air. Normally it would be well and out of place for a woman to wield such a thing, but in her hands, it belonged.

It found purchase and home there and complimented her in a way that nothing else did.

She brought it down for a crushing blow, but the dragonkin reeled back and brought its tail around to swat away at the mace.

Clang!

A crackle of sparks lit up the dim cave and the strength of the blow sent Long Nuhuang flying back.

Bang!

“Puah!”

A mouthful of blood spewed from her mouth when she crashed into a wall at the far end.

Tsss!!!

“Aaaahhh!!!!” A bloodcurdling scream escaped her lips when the magma streaming along the cave walls seared her skin, summoning a cloud of smoke that smelt of burnt skin.

Shu!

Despite this, the tearing of the wind signalled the arrival of her scaled foe, injecting greater clarity and a feeling of dread within her.

Move! She needed to move!

“Urkh!”

She swallowed her scream, but not without great effort, and her eyes focused on the danger that was closing in.

A long python-like thing shot through the air en route to crush her and stomp out the meagre life she knew it classified her as.

Finally, she freed herself from the wall and leapt back to the land within the lava-moated land that shackled her in combat against this monster.

Boom!

It crashed into the wall, sending loads of rocks falling into the magma followed by the thing that hounded her.

As the last of the colossal concretions fell in, a hush banished all sounds.

Silence…

Deep breaths and an ominous calm fell over the cave. The deep breaths were of course from Long Nuhuang.

The ominous calm was from the pall that stifled all else.

Her bosom rose and fell in restless repetition as she desperately tried to catch her breath.

Her knuckles were white with speckles of blood as her fist tightened around the handle of the mace she wielded. Nerves more tightly strung than a bowstring at full taut were present in her every feature.

Glup…

A bubble floated to the top and popped like many others in the moat around her did every now and again. However, every pop caused her hand to shudder in restrained action.

Splash!

An explosion of magma drew her attention, and she watched as the dragonkin lunged for her despite the lava that ran off it in thick drops.

It was upon her again, as it should, she thought. There was no breath to be caught here, only combat!

As it closed in, she dodged to the side and brought the mace down for a crushing blow!

Bam!

It crashed into the hide of this thing and the mace blew apart under her power and its defences. There wasn’t even a scratch on it!

She blanched upon witnessing the power of one of, if not the strongest, creatures that walked or flew over these lands. Then again, this one wasn’t one of those, was it?

S-S-S-S-Shu! Shu! Shu! Shu!

The metal that blasted apart now took the form of speeding shrapnels that shredded their way into her body!

“Aaah!”

It brought her to her knees, and she knelt there paralysed as the pain washed over her, freezing her limbs in its savage hold.

The thing that fought her saw this and slowed down. It touched down and held a proud look over its downed foe.

It was a curious thing. It was similar to a dragon, yet it missed most of the features that would hand it this distinction.

It was long, like a serpent, and covered in scales from head to toe. There were neither claws nor wings on this beast, but what it lacked there it made up for in teeth. More often than not, this would be enough against other non-scaled adversaries.

This was what was known as a wyrm.

It was a lesser dragonkin. The ones that were at the bottom rung, if you will. Their strength was among the weakest and their intelligence even more so.

Regardless, there was a proudness in its eyes that couldn’t be taken away, that couldn’t be faked, a domineeringness that sunk into its bones. This pride was what all dragons and dragonkin were known to possess.

It despised Long Nuhuang, for the sole virtue of what she was, a human, and that she dared to engage it in combat. How haughty must she have been to do such a thing?

Draconic might radiated from it in waves. Long Nuhuang felt it all and forced her to head upwards to look the wyrm in the face.

It opened its mouth, revealing rows of razor-sharp teeth that all beheld a pale red glint as they reflected the faint light of the magma.

“Raaargh!!”

It brought its head down to rip her body apart and the life from her in one fell swoop!

A vein bulged on Long Jin’s forehead when a flood of anger consumed him. “Foolish wench, use it! My time was nought but a waste if you die here!”

The roar of anger shook Long Nuhuang from her stupor quickly enough to see the maw quickly approaching her.

She gritted her teeth in pain and strain as she willed her limbs to move despite the torturous ache that afflicted them!

“Come on, move!”

Dum!

Her cauldrons exploded into being behind her all at once!

Eight were white and one was red. A core shone furiously within one of them, but this was all she had time to do before the head of the wyrm crashed into her with ferocious power!

“Nooo!” A roar of fury erupted, causing Long Jin and Long Cang to look at where a bloodied man was chained to the wall.