A Villain's Way of Taming Heroines

"Oliver, how much have you made this time?" inquired the adventurer, swinging his massive axe to sever the colossal dragon's claws on the blood-soaked earth.

He addressed his temporary companion, "I've heard you haven't taken a moment's rest since arriving in the West. Are you truly that…despair?"

"Nonsense. This opportunity is likely once in a lifetime," retorted the adventurer resting against a boulder, downing a potion. His demeanor was startlingly vibrant, belying the fact he had fought tirelessly for nearly four days.

"Do you understand the number of extraordinary beings flooding into the West?! It's practically half the empire! Each hunt can fucking assemble at least forty or fifty individuals, and every leader is no less than fourth-stage. Do you get the implications? Even if you merely tag along as a pack, there's scarcely any risk! We're slaying dragons, for heaven's sake – even the merest scraps are a feast!"

He gesticulated animatedly with his staff, continuing, "True, we're merely handling the aftermath, but what of it? The bigwigs leading us are more generous than you'd believe... Some lack materials, others magical crystals, and some even desire decorative trophies! If you slack off for mere minutes, another unfortunate dragon dies – that's pure gold slipping through your fingers!"

"Setting aside the higher-ups... Are you aware how exorbitantly those damn vain, wealthy merchants have inflated the prices of dragon spoils since Lord Hydral allowed extraordinary beings to enter the West?"

"Err... Logically, with so many dragons dead, shouldn't prices have dropped?"

"You're utterly clueless. How many extraordinary beings vie for a single dragon carcass now? These once priceless items have suddenly become more than enough – everyone is crazy for more, unwilling to relinquish even a claw! There's hardly any left for mere decorative purposes."

"Fair point. I've heard in Sodom, an complete dragon carcass fetches an unbelievable price."@@novelbin@@

"Sodom? You mean that temporary domain city established by Suellen, that Flamefeast bastard? Forget it – that place is teeming with cheaters!"

"But it's currently the empire's largest dragon trade market. Where else would you go?"

"You doubt me? Someone in my last group complained about purchasing materials at an auction there and still hasn't received them! If that bitch weren't working for Lord Hydral... She'd have been strung up by now!"

As the adventurers dismembered the dragon's corpse, they shamelessly referred to the once revered Flamefeast descendant as a "bastard", a "bitch", their demeanor as carefree as if on a leisurely excursion.

The reality unfolded precisely as he described... When half the empire's extraordinary beings flooded into the West, the dragons' role swiftly transformed from hunters to prey.

Their status as continental overlords had long since become a relic of the past, not merely due to the existence of an emperor among humans who rivaled the Dragon King at the sixth stage.

More crucially, humanity's power and potential had continuously evolved, surpassing these beasts that lingered in the Celestial Path mountains, occupying the continent's most ether-rich regions, yet never progressing.

In essence, even excluding the divine species on both sides, should a life-or-death struggle erupt between dragonkind and humanity, dragons would inevitably face defeat.

Their attitude towards the Flamefeast was unsurprising, given Lord Hydral's personal admission of having utterly slain Evora, the sole individual possessing imperial qualifications. As for the Empress herself? The vast majority of extraordinary beings held an exceedingly optimistic view—that old madwoman was surely doomed.

With the might of the sixth stage poised to vanish from the world, the Flamefeast's name plummeted from the pinnacle of reverence to dust beneath everyone's feet.

"At this rate..." The adventurer mused, smacking his lips, "It seems these dragons will be exterminated within a week at most. What a pity."

"Indeed, if only this dragon calamity could last a bit longer—"

The adventurer resting on the boulder, gazing towards the horizon, found his words and expression suddenly... frozen.

The sky's edge had turned black. Though the boundless ether that seemed to invert the world itself remained beyond, the surging ether was now at their doorstep, as if the heavens were collapsing.

"Bloody hell..."

The adventurer muttered, dazed. "What... is this?"

All present adventurers—those resting, dismembering corpses, or simply passing time—stared blankly at the shadow gradually engulfing the sky. Their earlier nonchalance and "longing" for the dragon calamity dissipated without a trace.

When opportunity presents itself on a silver platter, anyone can become a valiant warrior eagerly marching onto the battlefield.

Yet when inexorable destruction descends mercilessly, anyone might turn into a despicable deserter.

The dragons felt no shame in becoming prey. On the contrary, this reversal of status had plunged their species into unprecedented hunger and madness.

As they stood frozen, still in shock at the sight before them, a sudden burst of light flashed dozens of kilometers away.

Then, a white energy wave erupted violently. Everything in the path of that beam of light vanished in an instant, as if it had never existed, like snow thrown into a furnace.

Earth, soil, dust, air, ether... this strike, seeming to pierce the entire continent, annihilated everything in its path, proclaiming to the world that the hunt sweeping across humanity was about to descend, and the former overlords had returned!

That beam of light... missed this group by mere tens of meters.

Even at that distance, everyone felt their skin instantly burn to necrosis. Those slightly closer to the beam collapsed on the spot, leaving behind half-charred corpses silently testifying to this great horror.

But those who had lost consciousness from the shock could never have imagined... that an even greater horror was not only about to descend but also did not come from the dragon tide that had swallowed the horizon.

As they stared blankly at the dragon horde, they suddenly realized... it had gone dark.

No, not dark - a jet-black beam, as if in retaliation to that white light, had swallowed all the daylight illuminating the earth. Even the sun itself had dimmed in that moment!

"—"

The adventurers couldn't describe the sound in their ears, for those still conscious discovered their eardrums had already shattered.

They only saw a pitch-black energy cannon, capable of eclipsing even the sun, traverse the heavens, striking from behind towards the other end of the sky - the end obscured by the endless dragon tide.

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Afterwards, in that infinite dragon tide that had darkened the entire skyline... a visible gap appeared.

A gap visible to the naked eye, even from possibly hundreds of kilometers away.

"Here will be the frontline of the second wave of the dragon calamity."

A deep voice resonated above the adventurers. Even though they had temporarily lost their hearing, that indifferent yet majestic voice echoed in their minds.

"Prepare yourselves. Don't slink away like cowards."

All the extraordinary beings looked up, their eyes reflecting... the cold, iron hue emanating from the steel demon god.

It seemed to be addressing not just them, but all the extraordinary beings in the vicinity who had witnessed the approaching dragon tide.

After briefly uttering these words, the steel demon god's mountainous form ascended to higher cloud layers. Its wings, burning with ethereal blue flames, left a dazzling trail in the sky as he plummeted towards the distant horizon like a meteor of calamitous fire.

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