"Your Highness, hurry! The black dragon is charging at us!" a warrior called out urgently.

At that moment, the black dragon mother, battered by the meteor shower, was flying straight towards Rawel. As the group watched, Rawel released his remaining Forbidden Spell scroll.

"Summon Greater Fire Elemental!"

With the scroll's activation, an overwhelming brightness and heat engulfed them. The black dragon mother, who had just reached them, was suddenly blasted away by a massive fireball and slammed viciously against a stone wall. A towering figure composed entirely of flames appeared in the sky—the source of the fireball.

"Good job, now finish her!" Rawel commanded, exhilarated.

The black dragon mother shook her head to recover and let out a roar at the fire elemental. Black dragons, accustomed to water, detested attacks of a fiery nature. She noticed some of her scales had started to crack from the burns.

She lashed out with her tail at the fire elemental, but it passed right through its fiery body, inflicting no damage. "It's no use, fire elementals are nearly immune to all physical attacks!" Lora stated, shaking her head.

"Your Highness, as far as I know, the summoned fire elemental has a limited time to exist, and this one seems much stronger than the ones from the legends!"

"The magical energy in the scroll is enough to sustain this fire elemental for at least a quarter of an hour, which should be more than enough for it to slay the black dragon. And this is no ordinary fire elemental; it's a Lord of Fire Elementals!" Rawel explained to Lora.

Meanwhile, the black dragon mother was at a severe disadvantage from the outset. Her strong physical body, usually an asset, was useless against her foe, and her draconic magic could not inflict significant damage. With Leo and two other eighth-level warriors watching eagerly for an opportunity to strike, the battle was tilted against her. If the fight continued, the black dragon mother was very likely to lose.

The black dragon mother was acutely aware of her dire situation, torn between abandoning her hoarded treasures and fleeing in disgrace or staying to fight a losing battle. Meanwhile, Leo and his fellow warriors could see the black dragon's weariness.

"Everyone, be alert and don't let her escape!"

"Black dragon, I offer you a chance. Submit to me, sign a pact, and your future will be brighter!" Rawel proclaimed proudly, hoping to subdue the adult black dragon. Having such a creature as an ally would be a significant advantage.

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The black dragon mother glanced at Rawel as if he were a fool and continued to contend with the formidable Lord of Fire Elementals, whose magic was a particular bane to her kind. She attempted several times to bypass the fire elemental to reach Rawel but was thwarted each time by the combined efforts of the two eighth-level warriors and Leo, an eighth-level light mage.

Rawel's proposition went unheeded, leaving him feeling somewhat embarrassed. To the chromatic dragons, humans were mere ants; the idea of them submitting to humans was preposterous, not even the mighty metallic dragons would do so easily.

Faced with increasingly grave injuries, the black dragon mother finally made a decision. She took flight toward the Bone-Eroding Swamp, where the abundant water elements would severely limit the fire elemental. The fire elemental pursued her into the swamp.

"Don't let her get away, chase her!" Rawel shouted, prompting his group to follow swiftly.

Suddenly, the ground near the swamp burst open, and Saron, Hannah, and Emily emerged. Saron had known they couldn't escape the Meteor Shower, so he had quickly used earth magic to dig a deep pit for cover. They had squeezed in and used a hardened earth shield to withstand the attack.

They had just emerged when, in the distance, the black dragon mother, covered in wounds, shot up into the sky from the swamp, followed closely by the much smaller Lord of Fire Elementals.

The black dragon mother sneered cunningly, seeing the diminished fire elemental. She had used the swamp's environment and her water magic to deal it a severe blow. She found it foolish that the human would command the fire elemental to pursue her into such unfavorable terrain.

"Humans, your Kingdom of Ter will soon face my wrath!" she threatened before taking her leave.

"Follow her, quickly!" Rawel commanded the two eighth-level warriors.

"Your Highness, she can fly, but we can't until we reach the Sacred Domain!" one of the warriors pointed out. Without reaching the Sacred Domain, warriors couldn't fly; at most, they could glide with the help of their fighting spirit.

"Damn it!" Rawel hadn't anticipated the dragon's cunning. The fire elemental was no match for the black dragon mother in pursuit.

Frustrated, Rawel produced two scrolls, "These are Wind Walk scrolls that will allow you to fly. Chase down that dragon!" These were some of his most precious possessions, aside from the Forbidden Spell scrolls, which his father had given him for protection.

"As you command!"

The two warriors activated the scrolls with their fighting spirit, sprouting ethereal blue wings, and lifted into the air after the black dragon mother.

"Lord Leo, it's your turn to contribute!" Rawel turned to Leo, who had been relatively uninvolved until now.

"As you wish, Prince Rawel," Leo replied resignedly, knowing he had little choice but to follow the command.

From a distance, Saron sighed as he watched the black dragon mother fly away, realizing she had completely forgotten her three offspring.

"That's irresponsibility on another level," he muttered.

Suddenly, the seemingly bewildered fire elemental turned its gaze towards Saron and his companions. Saron had a bad feeling about it; they were far away, yet the fire elemental's attention was fixed on them.

Rawel, sharing a connection with the fire elemental, also became aware of what the fire elemental had noticed.

"Black dragon whelps, go and capture them for me!" Rawel exclaimed with glee. True dragon whelps were priceless, capable of becoming the cornerstone of a kingdom.

"Split up and run!" Saron ordered, seeing the fire elemental inexplicably charging their way.

"Saron, I—" Hannah began to protest, but Saron cut her off.

"No time for talk, split up and go!" Saron urged, then took to the sky himself, knowing that his chances of escape were significantly higher than his flightless companions, Hannah and Emily, who had no choice but to flee towards the deeper parts of the Bone-Eroding Swamp.

"Capture the bigger one!" Rawel directed his command at the fire elemental, pointing at Saron. He fancied Saron's impressive appearance, fitting to serve him.

"Damn!" Saron cursed under his breath as the fire elemental closed in on him.