"What is your plan?" Rosalia asked as they strode away from the clan caravan. "Are you going to kill them all?"

Max shook his head, his expression grave. He had spent long hours turning the problem over in his mind, weighing every possible outcome.

"No. I need their numbers for the war ahead. But I can’t risk them turning on us the moment I turn my back. Even if I capture them, fear of the other empires might still make them defect."

Rosalia watched him with soft, loving eyes. The man beside her felt more and more like an unshakeable mountain. Solid, dependable, and growing taller with every step he took.

"Then how will you subdue them?" she asked.

A dark smirk tugged at the corner of Max’s mouth.

"I’m going to scare them so badly they’ll fear me more than the combined might of both empires," he said, voice low and confident.

He could already picture Agnia’s face twisting in helpless horror as she watched her proud warriors being blown away like leaves in a storm.

"By the time I’m finished, the Fire Dragons will kneel because they’ll believe defying me is worse than death itself."

-----

The entire mountain range trembled violently as the force of the exploding volcanoes rolled outward like thunder. The shockwave reached all the way to the hidden tundra where the Ice Dragon Clan had taken shelter.

Their faces tightened with worry; many glanced skyward, silently praying that Max and Rosalia were unharmed. Yet they had no choice but to trust him. They had bet everything on the young human conqueror, and now there was no turning back.

Max, however, remained in complete control.

He had shaped the devouring wave with surgical precision. The black void pulse shattered the golden army and ignited the volcanoes, yet it never touched Agnia. He made certain she remained untouched, forced to hover helplessly in the sky while she watched her entire clan plummet from the heavens, warriors crashing into the blackened slopes like broken dolls.

He wanted to break her completely. To crush her spirit until submission was her only remaining choice.

The system had once protected her, after all. He knew he would likely have to take her as a concubine... or perhaps a second wife. Whichever proved more useful. He felt nothing for her but cold hatred.

If not for the system’s interference, he would have simply chosen another beautiful woman from the Fire Dragon clan and claimed her instead. All for the sake of securing their powerful bloodline.

When the sun finally pierced the battlefield once more, Agnia’s face froze in horror.

Nobody remained.

Not a single warrior. Not a trace of her once-mighty army. Even her ancestral beast lay crumpled on the blackened slope below, wings broken, chest rising and falling in shallow, uncertain breaths.

Agnia opened her mouth, but no sound came. Her eyes darted desperately across the empty sky, searching for even one soldier still willing to fight. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

"Y-you... you killed them..." Her voice cracked, tears welling in her golden eyes. "You killed them all..."

Max said nothing. He simply reached over and gave Rosalia’s hand a gentle, reassuring pat, then lowered himself onto a chunk of cooled volcanic rock as if settling in for a show.

"Just like we agreed," he said calmly, a faint smirk playing on his lips. "She’s all yours."

He wished he had some popcorn right about now. Sadly, he still hadn’t found corn in this world.

Agnia’s gaze snapped to Rosalia.

"Agnia, proud Queen of the Fire Dragon Kingdom," Rosalia declared, stepping forward, her voice ringing with icy authority. "I, Rosalia, proud chieftainess of the Ice Dragon Clan, challenge you in my husband’s stead."

Purple flames ignited along her claws, chilling the superheated air around her until frost crackled in the wind.

Agnia’s expression twisted with disgust. "So that’s why..." She laughed bitterly, her body erupting in golden flames. "You filthy slut. You sold your body to a lowly human and sullied the sacred dragon bloodline?!"

Her claws blazed as she launched herself forward. "I’ll kill you first, and then I’ll rip that pathetic human apart!"

The two dragonesses collided mid-air with a thunderous boom. Golden fire clashed against purple ice in a storm of sparks and steam. For the first time, Max got to witness Rosalia’s true strength.

He had warned her that Agnia was far more powerful than her father, yet Rosalia had simply smiled and assured him she would be fine. Her pure bloodline, she claimed, made her unafraid of anyone, as long as they weren’t on the level of the Thor.

Gold and purple exploded as their claws collided. A violent shockwave ripped through the air, racing toward Max and buffeting him with a stinging mix of scorching heat and biting frost.

Rosalia twisted mid-air with fluid grace and drove a powerful kick into Agnia’s side. Ice flames erupted along her leg on impact, flash-freezing the golden armor solid before it shattered like brittle glass. The force sent Agnia hurtling sideways through the sky, her face twisted in a furious, ugly scowl of pain and disbelief.

Rosalia hovered in place, a cold smirk curling her lips, purple eyes gleaming with satisfaction.

Agnia recovered mid-flight, golden flames roaring back to life across her shattered armor. She snarled and shot forward like a comet, claws slashing in a blazing frenzy.

Rosalia met her head-on. Their bodies crashed together in a storm of fists and claws. Agnia threw a brutal right hook, but Rosalia ducked, drove an elbow into her ribs, then spun and whipped her long, powerful tail across Agnia’s face with bone-cracking force. The scaled appendage cracked like a whip, sending the Fire Queen spinning.

Before Agnia could steady herself, Rosalia was there. She grabbed the queen’s wrist, twisted, and slammed a knee glowing with purple ice-flames straight into her stomach. Frost exploded outward, freezing Agnia’s midsection solid for a heartbeat before the impact launched her downward.

Agnia crashed into the mountainside, carving a trench through rock and lava. She roared, exploding upward in a pillar of golden fire, but Rosalia was already diving. The two collided again in a furious exchange of punches and kicks, each strike trailing fire or frost.

Rosalia’s tail lashed out once more, wrapping around Agnia’s throat like a living noose. She yanked hard, pulling the queen into a devastating headbutt that split the air with purple light.

"You’re finished," Rosalia hissed, eyes blazing with icy fury.