This item was the very thing used to lock up Cyrus, the same one the brave tauren Sake had used as a metaphor for me, the Saintess.
It truly was a remarkable object. In addition to sealing mana, it could suppress the majority of one's physical strength and was exceptionally durable.
I had learned about it through certain records.
It was forged from a special ore through a process involving numerous complex steps and imposed heavy restrictions on the blacksmith.
Consequently, there were fewer than five people in the entire Kingdom of the Moon capable of crafting such a thing.
Naturally, this included Mr. Anton, the current representative of the dwarves in Brilliant City.
A single pair of demon-sealing shackles could suppress strength by about five levels.
This was merely a judgment I made based on my understanding of this world after reading the data.
Beyond suppressing strength, they also locked away most skills.
However, as a level sixty powerhouse, Zuka obviously couldn't be held by just one pair. Thus, by the time he was released from the golden dragon's claw, he was covered in demon-sealing shackles from head to toe, nearly bundled into a ball of iron.
His limbs were wrapped in iron rings, all of which were looped from behind his back to prevent him from tearing the chains apart.
"Urgh! Luo Li! I'll kill you! I'll kill you!"
Even now, Zuka remained in a Berserk state, screaming incessantly while the charred skin and muscle on his face and body continued to regenerate.
The newly grown granulation tissue wriggled like maggots crawling over him, and he emitted a nauseating, strange odor.
He struggled frantically, but the sheer number of demon-sealing shackles had completely suppressed his power. Despite his constant thrashing, he was pinned ruthlessly to the ground by several knights, unable to move.
At this moment, the battle was effectively over.
But the war was not yet finished.
I slowly raised my head and glanced at the Dragon King. He seemed to understand my gaze and nodded slightly. Then, with a flick of his massive wings, his form rose into the air.
The gale generated by his massive body even forced the knights behind me to retreat.
However, I remained unaffected because Ligeia had activated a defensive spell around me.
As the massive golden dragon shadow rose from the ground, the demon army appeared before us, less than two hundred meters from the knights.
At this moment, every demon was consumed by fear.
Though they were fearless of pain, they still feared death, the fundamental instinct of all living creatures.
There were no exceptions.
However, they could no longer escape.
"Ligeia, I must trouble you again."
"Her Highness certainly knows how to work people hard. I just used nearly all my mana to open that spatial array."
Ligeia gave me a charmingly resentful look, but she didn't hesitate. She raised her staff and began to chant.
"Ubiquitous water spirits, please bring relief to these brave people—Water Healing!"
As soon as she finished, Ligeia struck her staff against the ground.
In an instant, blue magical light radiated from the staff, spreading through the entire army in a heartbeat!
While not as effective as holy magic at repairing and restoring the human body, water magic still possessed significant healing and recovery capabilities.
Furthermore, as a unique tree elf, Ligeia had her own inherent bonuses to healing attributes.
Feeling a trace of strength return to my body and the soreness fade slightly, I nodded.
"Ligeia, thank you for your hard work."
I raised my head, gripping the Moon Banner in my left hand and raising the Sword of Fidelity in my right.
"Knights, comrades, in the name of the Saintess of the Moon, I command you..."
Swish!
I pointed directly at the demon army's central command.
"Crush them!"
"Roar!"
Lead by Cain, countless knights let out a boiling roar of fury and charged toward the enemy like madmen.
At the same time, the Dragon King in the sky raised a massive golden claw and pointed toward the demon center.
A single word echoed through the air.
"Kill."
Roar!
Two thousand skysoar dragons filled the sky, their bodies covered in silver scales that reflected the sunlight. They folded their wings and dove toward the demon army with the sound of rushing wind!
Swish! Swish swish!
Among them, however, was a very conspicuous, snow-white young dragon. It was less than a person's height, with two small conical horns on its head.
It let out a tender roar.
"Ya~"
Then, imitating the other skysoar dragons, it tried to dive!
But before it could even get halfway, it slammed into a massive dark shadow. Its body jolted, and it was knocked backward through the air.
Stars filled its red dragon eyes.
"Ya?"
The little dragon looked up, staring with large, confused red eyes at the Dragon King in front of it.
"Heh, you are too small. I don't want anything happening to you."
The little dragon seemed indignant and let out a childish cry at the Dragon King.
"Ya~"
The Dragon King chuckled, hooking a massive golden claw back and flicking the white dragon's head with the tip of a claw.
"Come with me. I want to introduce you to someone."
With that, the Dragon King glanced back at the battlefield. By now, the nearly two thousand knights had crashed into the demon army, frantically crushing everything in their path!
Without Zuka and with the Dragon King present, the demons had long since lost their will to fight.
Even against only two thousand knights who were not at full strength, they were unable to mount any effective resistance.
They could only scream and howl as they fled backward.
The demons capable of flight took to the air to escape, but they were met by two thousand skysoar dragons opening their mouths simultaneously.
The intense heat, capable of melting steel in an instant, turned the flying demons into ash.
The battle was decided. A being like the Dragon King naturally had no interest in the 'minor skirmish' of the cleanup.
Rather than watching those 'little things' bicker, he preferred to meet the human who had piqued his interest.
With that thought, his massive body slowly descended to the ground.
Looking at this great deity beside me, his body was so immense that even while he was crouched and I was on horseback, I had to look up to speak to him.
I rode my horse over to the Dragon King and dismounted, looking at the golden dragon before me.
"I am deeply grateful that you could find the time in your busy schedule to lead your army here in person. On behalf of the Kingdom of the Moon, I thank you."
"No need."
The Dragon King waved a claw, seemingly dismissive of the thanks. His massive eyeball rolled downward, staring at me for a long moment.
"Hmm... talking like this is inconvenient. Wait a moment."
As he spoke, the Dragon King slowly closed his eyes. Immediately, his massive form began to shrink rapidly, accompanied by a flash of flowing light.
A man clad in golden battle armor appeared before me.
The man had long golden hair, golden pupils, and even the armor he wore was entirely gold.
Standing over two meters tall, the Dragon King's face was full of masculinity. A smile played on his lips, and his voice sounded full of vigor.
"Allow me to introduce myself again. I am Asfield, the thirteenth Dragon King!"
"Luo Li Saint Sariel, the seventh Saintess of the Moon."
"Heh, not bad. For the humanoid races of the continent, yours is a very fine appearance. Are you interested in a trial marriage with me?"
"Uh... that won't be necessary. Thank you for the kind offer, Your Majesty the Dragon King."
Good grief!
Why start with a marriage proposal?
This Dragon King really doesn't follow the script.
How could I possibly agree to that!
"Is that so? That is truly a shame. You are one of the few humans I have acknowledged as a friend."
Clearly, the Dragon King's goal wasn't actually a trial marriage; he had just said it in passing. Truly a dragon... this nature of theirs was speechless.
To be able to suggest a trial marriage so casually, one could only imagine what kind of personality this Dragon King had.
"Then let us remain as friends."
"Hmm, that is also a good way. I wonder if you would be interested in talking through the night..."
"I'll pass. Thank you for the offer, but I have no such thoughts at the moment."
"Oh? Human lives are not long. Is 'enjoying life while you can' not something you people often say?"
The Dragon King was clearly very interested in me. A smile hung on his lips, but his words left me speechless.
Apparently, this guy hadn't noticed his own rudeness at all.
"Your Majesty, people are different from one another, just as dragons are different from one another."
"Oh! When you put it that way, I can understand."
The Dragon King nodded with an expression of sudden realization.
"Your Majesty... given your lifespan, you should be very familiar with the human race, shouldn't you?"
"Haha! I can't be bothered to study those little bugs."
Fine... this Dragon King seems quite arrogant.
"Your Majesty has come in person, so there must be something on your mind. If it is convenient, please tell me. If there is anything I can do to help, I will do my utmost."
"No need. I was simply interested in you. It also happens that I haven't left Dragon Island in several centuries, so I just came along to take a look."
While the Dragon King and I were talking, there was an inappropriate voice nearby.
Something along the lines of, "Wow, the Dragon King's human form! This is my first time seeing it, I must record this immediately."
Then, a figure appeared at the Dragon King's side, lifting his arm and using a ruler to measure it, even carefully recording various data in a notebook.
The Dragon King frowned slightly. He looked at me, then pointed at Ligeia, who was treating his body like a lab rat and constantly recording data.
"Can you do something about this thing?"
"Uh... as a ruler, you should respect the interests of your subordinates. Besides, it doesn't really affect you, does it?"
The Dragon King was forced to lift a leg by Ligeia and nodded with a solemn expression.
"That is true, but..."
He suddenly looked at me.
"But what?"
He simply raised his hand and pointed downward.
"But she's trying to undress me!"
Rate on N.U.
