Dust and debris exploded from the shattered vault into the dungeon. Outside, the warriors felt the violent tremor as part of the main hall’s floor caved in, leaving a vast opening torn deep into the stone.

Luckily, all the warriors had already evacuated the citadel. They had gathered just outside, waiting for Max’s return and further instructions. Their faces went pale when they rushed back inside to check on him.

Meanwhile, Max rolled out of the choking dust cloud, his body wrapped in swirling black mist. He held Gertrud tightly around her waist, her soft, curvaceous body pressed firmly against him. His eyes gleamed with raw joy.

"Can’t believe I scored so many treasures all at once," he laughed heartily, still buzzing from cheating death.

He felt something soft and full in his palm. Looking down, he realized he had a big handful of her massive breasts. A wicked grin spread across his face as he gave them a couple more quick, greedy squeezes before slinging her over his shoulder.

He smacked her plump ass a few times, watching it jiggle with each hit.

"Damn, what a haul... hot woman, treasures, and new powers!" He couldn’t hide his excitement as he strode toward the dungeon exit.

Rosalia rushed in first, frantically searching for Max among the rubble. Her heart turned ice-cold for a moment, terrified that he might not have made it. Her eyes darted desperately through the destruction, even though she knew she wouldn’t find him this way. Agnia hurried after her, her gaze sweeping across the chaos, half expecting Max to be safe and half bracing for the worst.

Her kingdom was already doomed. Sooner or later, the other two empires would force her to surrender. After losing the dragon progenitor as her final hidden weapon, Max was now her only real chance of survival. She knew her fate would likely be far worse than anything even the Ice Dragons had suffered.

"He’ll be alright. Trust your man..." Agnia called out.

Rosalia shot her an angry glare the second those words left her mouth.

But deep down, Rosalia knew Agnia was right. She had to trust that Max was still alive. Part of her even hoped he wasn’t buried under all that rubble at all. Yet the enormous collapsed area made it clear that this had once been the treasure vault.

Rosalia shook her head and shot to her feet, searching frantically for the dungeon entrance. When she finally spotted it, her wings carried her there in a flash. It hung halfway suspended in the middle of the broken hall. Even if Max made his way back, he wouldn’t be able to escape easily. She remained floating right beside it, waiting with her heart clenched tight.

After twenty long minutes of terrifying thoughts racing through her mind, the sound of footsteps finally made her heart leap with relief. Max stepped out from the dark dungeon into the light. Rosalia rushed toward him, but the second she saw him holding another woman with his hand planted firmly on her plump ass, she stopped dead in her tracks. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

She shot him a dark look.

Max simply flashed her a smug grin in return. He set Gertrud down gently on the ground and took a quick look over the mess he had caused.

"Rosalia, help us out. I just—"

Before he could finish, Rosalia struck him with a cold glare.

"I can see you’re quite comfortable there. Maybe stay a little longer then."

She turned her head away with a pout and flew off on her own, leaving him speechless.

For the first time ever, Max understood just how jealous women could get. But at the same time, he had no plans to explain himself. He was going to build a whole crew of partners in this new life, and Rosalia would have to accept that sooner or later, whether she liked it or not. This was his fate, and jealousy wasn’t going to slow down his grind.

Agnia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as she watched the whole scene. She whistled sharply, calling the fire ancestral beast over to her.

"Go. Bring them to the surface," she commanded, giving Max a sly wink.

He found it a little suspicious, but he still accepted her help.

He didn’t know yet that Agnia had already decided to use this chance to get closer to him. If Rosalia stayed pissed and pushed him away, Agnia would be the one to step in and claim his attention, securing not only her own life and safety, but the future of her entire kingdom as well.

After Max dropped back to the ground, he saw everyone lined up. Every single warrior stepped forward to congratulate him on his successful return. The people of the Wind Empire weren’t the slightest bit happy, but after seeing their young princess alive, they still let out a quiet sigh of relief. Even then, their eyes remained filled with distrust, afraid that Max might have done something to her while she was unconscious.

"Listen up!" Max barked, making many of them flinch. "Today, the Wind Empire’s capital has fallen to me. Whether you like it or not, until the Wind Dragon Emperor comes to collect it, this place belongs to me, and that goes for all of you too."

The Wind Dragon clan members gulped hard, their eyes burning with pure venom, as if their glares alone could melt him alive.

"Our next target is the Thunder Empire. I expect all of you to follow me and not try anything stupid, because that will only bring ruin to yourselves and your loved ones. I promise to keep you safe until the Wind Emperor comes to collect you. Until then, I expect full cooperation."

His voice rang loud and clear, carried by void magic.

"Glory to King Maximus!"

The shout came from Marcus of the Ice Dragon clan. The rest of the Ice Dragon warriors joined in right after, chanting his name. The Wind Empire’s people kept their mouths shut at first, but after being nudged again and again by the others, they started chanting too. Every word felt like a blade being dragged across their hearts. The shame of betrayal burned deep, but they were forced to swallow it anyway.

"Pack up! Let’s bring hell to the Thunder Dragons!" Max roared.

He snapped his fingers, and darkness swallowed the entire Wind Empire citadel. It slowly consumed the walls, turning the brilliant fortress that had stood for thousands of years into nothing but dust.