349 Chapter 349: King of the Dragons (2/2)

”Who knows?” Lily Liam replied with a shrug. ”And who cares?”

”I bet her name is Amelia, and she is waiting for her team captain to return, along with the vice-captain. Unfortunately, she's secretly in love with her team captain for some reason…because the guy happens to be a harem story protagonist.”

Everyone stared at Harrison Reed in disbelief.

”What the hell are you talking about?” Pearl Pang demanded, annoyed.

”Never mind…seems like Richard is the only one who read Battle Frenzy.” Harrison sighed and shook his head. ”Anyway, it's entirely possible that she is waiting for a team member or two who have yet to return.”

”But there are only a few minutes before the deadline,” Sheila Scarlet murmured as she glanced up at the gigantic holographic bulletin board that was displayed majestically in the middle of the hall. As she noticed, there were less than twenty minutes left. Eighteen minutes and thirty-four seconds at this precise moment.

”Yeah. It's going to be close.” Theodore Hammond nodded gravely.

”Who cares about that?” Cody Crosby growled. ”We're still waiting on news regarding Richard! Have they not found him yet?”

”I wouldn't worry about Richie if I were you,” Craig Carlson cut in, crossing his arms and leaning back lazily. ”He won't die so easily. I bet he'll show up anytime now, dramatically appearing right before the deadline.”

”It's pretty pointless, though,” Bu Fan observed coldly. ”Even if Richard makes it back here before the deadline, he has been disqualified. The moment they sent out a rescue team to pick him up from the Den of Dragons, he was considered to be eliminated from the tournament.” He shrugged. ”But I think it's more important that he gets back alive than remain qualified for the tournament. His life is more important than our chances in progressing.”

”That's surprising. I thought you hate Richie.” Yue Chu raised an eyebrow.

”I think he's naïve, too kind and too soft-hearted for his own good, but I acknowledge his strength and skills.” Bu Fan shrugged. ”I don't hate him to the point where I wish him dead. And let's be serious. Without people like him, the world would be a worse place. Just look at the edgelord readers who condemn him for being stupid just because he risks his life to save strangers.”

”Those people have no idea how the real world works, until the day comes when they become the ones who need saving,” Yue Chu murmured in agreement.

”Besides, I have to deal with arrogant young masters on a daily basis. Richard is nothing compared to those obnoxious assholes.”

”…you deal with arrogant young masters on a daily basis? Really?” Lily sounded incredulous.

”All Chinese webnovel protagonists do.”

”Then why doesn't Richard have to deal with them?” Craig asked, amused. Bu Fan raised an eyebrow, as if the answer was obvious.

”Because he's not the protagonist. I am.”

Before anyone could respond to that outrageous remark, a cry resounded over the students gathered in the city hall.

”Watch out! There's a dragon approaching!”

The staff was breaking into a flurry, with mercenaries and veteran tournament staff running to their positions.

”All defensive arrays activated!”

”Begin casting offensive spells! Rank A attack spells! Otherwise they would be too weak to hurt the dragon!”

”Hurry! The dragon will be here in less than three minutes, if it continues at its current velocity!”

”Identification of dragon species?”

”Unknown!”

”Is it a new species of dragon?”

”How would I know?!”

”Just cast the rank A Solar Flare spells first! We'll bombard it in two minutes!”

”Let's hope it's enough!”

”What's going on?” Theodore wondered as he watched the soldiers and staff running about and taking positions on the wall. Mana surged up and accumulated around the spellcasters, manifesting in esoteric magic circles as they tried to cast their spells as quickly as possible. The white paint on the wall began to blister and blackened from the sheer heat as their spells slowly clamped a grip upon reality.

”A dragon? A dragon is attacking the city?!” Pearl was close to panic.

”Don't worry,” Harrison assured her, taking her hand to provide some comfort. ”With so many powerful mages here, they should be able to drive away the dragon.”

”Wait!” one of the mercenary mages shouted. ”There's…there's people riding on the back of the dragon!”

At that moment, one of the Silver Wolves mercenaries rushed out of an office, holding a smartphone in his hand. The crimson of his flushed expression matched his red hair, and he was out of breath. Waving wildly, Redfield jumped toward the top of the wall.

”Halt the attack!” he yelled frantically. ”The dragon is a friendly! I repeat, the dragon is a friendly!”

”Huh?!” all the veteran spellcasters turned to gape at him. Redfield waved his smartphone in response.

”That dragon is a summoned Soul Beast! And the passengers on its back are Silver Wolves mercenaries!”

After what seemed like a relatively long pause, the spellcasters began to power down their spells, their magic circles disappearing slowly. As they did so, the dragon swooped down on the wall, and I jumped down from Draco's back, landing in front of an astonished crowd. Seconds later, Anastasia joined me, along with a few Silver Wolves mercenaries who had remained behind in the Den of Dragons until the very last moments to search for any stragglers.

”Hey,” I called out to my friends with a wave of my hand. ”I'm finally back.”