Evil Dragon: The young dragon I picked up keeps planning on becoming an empress

As Turtle returned to its original size, its shadow immediately engulfed most of the Earl's Mansion, while only Lance sat leisurely in the bright sunshine, reading the newspaper.

Er Gouzi turned his head to glance at Turtle, thinking that even Evil Dragon Lance really needed Turtle to deal with these humans? He alone could trample all these human knights under his paws.

No, he couldn't let Turtle steal the spotlight; he had to display absolute intimidating power.

A low growl emanated from his throat, and the hellish flames ignited in Er Gouzi's eyes, his paws, his head, his massive body... all were aflame with the infernal blaze.

Humans, witness the flames from hell itself.

Growling, Er Gouzi slowly walked towards the group of knights loyal to Leia, his hellhound ferocity prompting some of the knights to assume a defensive posture instinctively.

A pure-blooded Hellhound has three heads.

Even though this two-headed Hellhound before them wasn't as powerful as a three-headed one, it was still sufficient to put these knights through a grueling fight.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Should they carelessly come into contact with the Hellfire on the Hellhound during battle, they would be annihilated in an instant.

If bitten by the Hellhound, their souls would be sucked into hell.

Just one Hellhound could drag them into a bloody, grueling fight, let alone a monstrous Giant Tortoise several times larger than the Hellhound.

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Their knightly lances... might not even be able to breach the Giant Tortoise's shell.

In a fight with the Giant Tortoise, one misstep could lead to being crushed to death or seriously injured by a collision; the tortoise, as huge as a small hill, was bigger than some lesser dragons.

How to fight?

Captain Galaway had intended to challenge the Lord himself, but given the current situation... even if they all attacked together, they might not achieve victory.

From their investigations, the Lord before them was supposed to be just an ordinary Earl who knew a bit about mixing potions, farming, and painting...

Why... could he also control beasts?

To tame fierce Hellhounds, one must possess significant strength of their own.

Not to mention having a Giant Tortoise as large as a small mountaintop.

Caught in a difficult position.

Single combat with the Lord of Holy Blue, Captain Galaway couldn't overcome the Hellhound or the Giant Tortoise.

Challenging the Lord himself was not the act of a knight.

And that's not even considering that the Lord might be an immensely powerful and deeply hidden extraordinary being.

"Don't hold back against my beasts, all of you attack at once; if you manage to kill them, I won't trouble you," Lance said, not the least bit perturbed by being challenged.

Seriously pursuing knowledge for more than two thousand years, Lance had learned many things.

He could be a Beast Master, a Spirit Summoner, a Card Maker, an Alchemist, and a swordsman whose Swordsmanship reached the divine.

If someone could kill off so many of his "identities," then congratulations to them for unlocking the "Doom Black Dragon."

He would face such an opponent in his strongest form, ready for battle.

Obviously, Galaway, loyal to Leia, didn't have the ability, but Lance didn't mind adding several dozen excellent knights to Holy Blue.

A true knight would use his life to protect the honor of "knight."

Princess Leia struggled to shift her gaze away from the Hellhound and Turtle; if she had such powerful beasts, she could completely reverse the tide against McDonna's rebellious army.

Very strong, yet utterly without ambition, why is that?

If only Earl Lance had even the slightest ambition, With Holy Blue's potential, he could completely change the name of this province to Holy Blue Province.

Then strategically plan from there to have the entire kingdom renamed... For example, the Holy Blue Kingdom.

But he hadn't done that and was as lazy and free as a salted fish.

What she sought, she couldn't encounter or obtain; what Lance didn't want... would somehow inexplicably fall into his lap.

He had never aspired to become an Earl.

Yet, the title of Earl just so happened to fall upon his head.

Beast Master, Diviner, Pharmacist....

No wonder he had the courage to pursue the mother of the little dragon.

Thinking about it... Leia smiled, quite good... a free and easygoing Earl is quite good.

If Earl Lance had agreed to form an alliance with her yesterday,

then with the potential of Holy Blue, she could become a Queen within a few years.

Lance refused.

No other lords in the Red Maple Kingdom would dare to confront McDonna.

To find support, she would have to use her princess status to leverage the power of other kingdoms and then, upon becoming Queen, cede some cities, or even a few provinces.

She didn't want to do that, having McDonna as King would be a civil discord.

If she were to rely on the power of other kingdoms to restore her nation...what right would she, the princess, have to face the citizens of the Red Maple Kingdom?

To seek glory by betraying her country... she would rather let McDonna become the King of the Red Maple Kingdom.

However, now she had a new option, the once hazy Plan B that started to crystalize in her mind when she was rejected by Earl Lance yesterday.

Before Earl Lance came to Holy Blue, she had investigated the current situation in Holy Blue.

It was safe to say that the suddenly risen Holy Blue had become the target of suppression by nearby lords, and even the entire province.

Because Holy Blue had risen too fast and its foundations weren't stable yet, if Holy Blue were allowed to continue to develop at this rate, it would infringe upon their interests.

The massive emigration of peasants from many lord's territories to Holy Blue further inflamed those lords due to the significant population drain.

Under such circumstances, those lords would naturally unite to stop Holy Blue, and the disputes that kept breaking out lately were proof.

Lance had no particular demands for Holy Blue and was not interested in expansion, while Tixia was capable of governing Holy Blue, she lacked a clear goal for its future.

This was related to her background; with a little guidance, she could become a competent minister of a kingdom.

What Tixia lacked, she happened to possess.

Plus, with Lance's complete delegating authority, if she could join Holy Blue and gain the trust of Lance and Tixia, she could slowly elevate Holy Blue to the height of a kingdom.

She might not become Queen, but she could choose someone who could make the kingdom's people live happier to govern the kingdom.

Lance had that ability.

This plan, she hadn't told to the knights who followed her; too many people talking might complicate things, especially if Lance were to find out.

Tixia could be persuaded easily, she believed Tixia would also hope that the Viscount she served would become a King.

To realize the plan in her mind, she chose to become a knight for Earl Lance and voluntarily abdicated her status as a princess.

For this, she could even give up her claim to the throne.

Besides, given Lance's personality, if one day he discovered he had become King, during the reward distribution, he would likely grant her the title of a Grand Duchess...

Not being royalty, being a Grand Duchess with royal blood wasn't so bad.

As for how to dispel Lance's suspicions, what he mentioned yesterday about "fate" was enough for her to persuade Lance.

"Galaway, concede defeat."

"Lady Leia..."

"I will serve Earl Lance alongside you, and besides, given Earl Lance's ability to judge character, I think... he might even have you serve under me, as part of my team."