Kent, petrified with fear, gazed at the mature black dragon in the sky. But Laurie reacted swiftly, pulling Hannah from the net and kneeling down in a panic, begging, "Respected Mother of Dragons, we meant no offense, please quell your anger!"

The Black Dragon Mother didn't bother to receive Hannah; instead, she opened her vast maw and, amid Laurie's cries of despair, swallowed him whole. Kent, attempting to seize Hannah as leverage, was no match for the dragon's speed. In a blink, not even a scream escaped him before he was bitten in half. The Dragon Mother could have dissolved them with her acidic breath, but she savored this method of killing.

Ignoring Hannah, who was left stunned at her feet, the Black Dragon Mother shifted her gaze towards the distant city walls. The Kaleni City guards were already in utter chaos.

"Hurry, hurry, hurry!"

"Get the crystal cannon ready!"

"Where are the archers? Quick!"

"Prepare the scorpion ballistae!"

"Where are the mages?"

...

The Black Dragon Mother watched all this with mockery. "Foolish and frail humans, how can they comprehend the power of a true dragon?" she scoffed.

She took flight, looking down upon Kaleni City as a sovereign surveying her domain. To the eyes of the chromatic dragons, humanoid creatures were no more significant than beasts of burden or insects; they firmly believed they were born rulers of the world, and thus all its riches were rightfully theirs.

"Release the arrows! Fire!"

The commander on the wall hastily ordered. The soldiers, nerves already on edge, released their bowstrings. Countless arrows, along with a few enchanted scorpion bolts, flew towards the Dragon Mother in the sky.

With a powerful beat of her wings, the Dragon Mother conjured a gale, sending all but a few heavy scorpion bolts plummeting to the ground. She snapped those bolts effortlessly and flew above the city, revealing a cruel smile on her face.

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Acid sprayed forth from her mouth, spreading rapidly, raining down like a scourge upon half the city. In moments, the district was filled with agonizing screams.

"Ah! Help!"

"Someone save us!"

The screams of the warriors were chilling to the bone.

Then, a burst of white light flashed, and a middle-aged man dressed in a white mage's robe, holding a staff, appeared not far from the Black Dragon Mother.

He was none other than the Lord of Kaleni City, the eighth-level mage of the Light, Leo.

Now, with a grim expression, he witnessed the chaos below. Weren't they bound by a truce? What madness had seized this black dragoness?

"Great Queen of the Black Dragons, have you forgotten the pact between us?" he called out.

"Hmph, you humans are indeed duplicitous, promising one thing to my face and doing another behind my back. The Kingdom of Der daring to send thieves to steal my offspring!" the Dragon Mother spat angrily, though whether that was the real cause of her fury was uncertain.

"Great Black Dragon Queen, from where do these accusations stem?" Leo asked, puzzled.

"And what is this?" The Dragon Mother pointed at Hannah, who sat on the ground with a clueless expression.

Seeing the professional mercenaries' tactics evident on Hannah, Leo's face darkened. Which fool had attempted to steal a dragonling? To steal was bad enough, but to get caught and then pursued!

"Black Dragon Queen, this must be a misunderstanding!" Leo regained his composure quickly.

"Human, are you insulting the grandeur of the true dragons?" she roared, and from the Bone-Eroding Forest behind her emerged hundreds of creatures—filthy orcs, repulsive crocodiles, and even a mix of dire wolves and large constrictor snakes.

Saron, hiding in the bushes at a distance, realized these must be the Dragon Mother's minions. Pathetic display!

But to Leo and the citizens of Kaleni City, this signaled the cunning black dragoness on the verge of insanity.

"Black Dragon Queen, what price must we pay for you to return to your lair?" Though it pained him, Leo felt compelled to ask.

"Foolish man, do you think you can bargain with me?" the Dragon Mother retorted with icy disdain.

A headache bloomed behind Leo's eyes, foreseeing the steep cost of appeasing her. The demands of this draconic tyrant, whose brood should rightfully be nothing more than corpses, would not be easily satisfied.

Saron could tell that the Dragon Mother seemed wary of something. It appeared that she was just using the situation to flex her muscles.

He silently withdrew, recognizing the unfolding drama was no longer his concern. Instead of returning to the dragon's den, Saron ventured to a nearby valley, a place Hannah had once mentioned she wanted to nest with him.

He was unsure of the number of magical beasts around, but he found the valley appealing. There was water, trees, and the aroma of earth filled the air with a potent essence of earth elementals.

Opening the magical device from the earth mage, he started examining its contents. A rough count revealed about three hundred gold coins, several dozen silver coins, and various gems. The most valuable finds were several magic scrolls and books on earth magic.

The text was written in the common language of the continent, which posed no challenge for a black dragon. There were spells of various levels:

- **Basic Earth Magic**: Earth Shield (Defensive), Earth Spikes.

- **Intermediate Earth Magic**: Earth Spirit Binding, Mud Swamp, Earth Pulse (Detection).

- **Advanced Earth Magic**: Earthquake, Mother of Earth (Healing), Slowing Magic (Reduces enemy movement speed).

"Quite the wealthy mage," Saron thought. With his affinity for earth elements, he felt studying these spells wouldn't be too difficult.

He wasn't like the native dragons of this world, who snubbed human artifacts and knowledge. True dragons were versed in both magic and combat, growing powerful over time without the need to learn magic—wouldn't it be better to spend time sleeping?

Starting with Earth Spikes, he followed the spellbook to construct the spell model. To him, the earth elemental particles were like playful children swirling around him.

As Saron adjusted his focus, the spell model quickly materialized.

Thump, thump, thump—

Dozens of massive conical spikes erupted from the ground, a truly impressive display. Yet Saron felt the spell was somewhat lackluster. Its slow activation made it hardly a threat to creatures with quick reflexes.