Ankula had displayed an extraordinary talent for alchemy since childhood.
She was fascinated by all kinds of materials—how mixing the same two ingredients in different proportions could produce entirely different results. It filled her with endless curiosity and wonder.
Angelie, her open-minded father, recognized her gift early on and sent her to a prestigious university for formal training.
In just two years, Ankula mastered all the university’s courses and became an accomplished witch—a feat that would take an ordinary person nearly two decades to achieve.
Grateful to her father, she had already decided to stay in Olie City, inherit the family business, and eventually take his place.
But now, Olie City was facing turmoil.
Angelie was a benevolent lord, beloved by his people—yet recently, vicious rumors had begun to spread.
Some ill-intentioned individuals claimed that the plague ravaging the city had nothing to do with any malevolent deity. Instead, they accused Ankula of causing it through her experiments—and her father of pinning the blame on the dark gods to cover up her crimes.
Absurd as it was, some fools actually believed these lies. Secret factions even rallied the people against the city guards, who were only trying to help, further fueling the chaos.
Ankula knew her father’s fair governance had inevitably made enemies among the corrupt nobility.
And as a witch, she was already an easy target for suspicion. Everyone knew witches excelled in brewing poisons, making the rumors all the more convincing when twisted by malicious tongues.
That was why she had resolved to take matters into her own hands—to quell the city’s unrest and restore her father’s honor.
The powder to repel monsters… She had been researching it for some time. Now, it would finally prove useful.
"That young lady is working hard. I thought she might have ulterior motives, but it seems she genuinely wants to end the plague as soon as possible," Liyana whispered to Xia Lun. "This mission might be a breeze—no need for us to lift a finger. Heh, the rewards and merits are practically handed to us."
"Just remember our actual task," Xia Lun replied calmly. "We promised Lord Angelie we’d look after Lady Ankula."
"Of course. I’d hate to see such a lovely and powerful girl get hurt."
Everything proceeded smoothly, just as Ankula had planned.
The potion was devastatingly effective against the dragon-blooded hybrids—like the most potent curse. Once inhaled, it reacted violently with their draconic blood, inflicting excruciating agony.
With Ankula leading the way, the group soon ventured deep into the Dragonblood Mountains.
Before them yawned a pitch-black cavern, devoid of light, like the gaping maw of a giant.
"Dragonblood flowers usually grow in caves where dragons dwell. Once I lure it out, I’ll drive it away with the potion. That’s your chance to gather the flowers—we’ll need as many as you can find. Just remember: pluck only the stems. Don’t touch the petals—they’re highly toxic."
Liyana and the others nodded. Who would’ve thought they’d end up as mere gatherers on this mission?
"Eina, stay with Liyana and the others. I'll keep watch over Miss Ankula outside in case anything goes wrong," Xia Lun whispered to Eina.
Eina frowned slightly, but considering Xia Lun was the team leader, she knew it wasn't the time to defy his orders. In the end, she nodded in agreement.
Ankula pulled out a thumb-sized gray clay bottle from her coat pocket and hurled it toward the cave entrance.
Boom—
The small bottle shattered, unleashing a deafening explosion that shook the earth like a quake.
"Roar—!" A massive crimson beast, over ten meters long, burst from the cave and soared into the sky.
"Concealment."
"Erase presence."
Eina cast her spells and charged into the dragon's lair alongside Liyana and the others.
Ankula threw another identical clay bottle as cover, triggering another earth-shaking blast.
Xia Lun noticed that while Ankula's explosions were spectacularly loud, they lacked real destructive power.
Witches weren’t skilled in combat, but they had all sorts of bizarre and troublesome tricks up their sleeves.
The crimson dragon circled briefly in the air before locking onto Ankula below.
She flung a cloud of powder into the sky, then summoned a wind spell, directing a thick white mist toward the dragon.
The dragon’s belly glowed faintly before it unleashed a scorching torrent of flames from its maw.
The fire ignited the powder instantly, spreading into a blazing inferno that consumed everything in moments.
The dragon watched with mocking amusement as Ankula’s expression shifted.
The half-dragon creatures they’d faced before had mindlessly charged straight at them—clearly lacking this level of cunning.
Her potions were potent against dragons… but only if they could be absorbed.
Another fiery breath rained down, forcing Ankula to dodge clumsily while hurling a few more explosive vials.
The deafening blasts only enraged the dragon further, driving it to dive relentlessly toward the tiny figure below.
The jagged rocks littering the mountaintop gave Ankula some room to evade, but—
Crash—!
The dragon simply bulldozed through, sending sharp debris flying and leaving bloody gashes on Ankula’s skin.
Cold sweat beaded on her forehead. This thing was far tougher than she’d anticipated.
She fired a volley of wind blades, but they clanged harmlessly against the dragon’s iron-hard scales.
"Can you hold on, Miss Ankula?" Xia Lun’s voice sounded beside her ear.
"You—why are you still out here?" Ankula startled. "The mission’s failed. Keep stalling this thing while your teammates escape!"
"With all due respect, I don’t think you’re stalling it anymore."
Ankula gritted her teeth. "It was my plan—I’ll figure something out!"
The dragon roared, the sound so thunderous that Ankula’s ears rang, her limbs trembling with weakness.
She met the dragon’s enormous slit-pupiled gaze—its emotionless stare sent a chill down her spine.
This was dragonfear.
Those who narrowly escaped a dragon’s claws often carried the scars for life.
Ankula froze, unable to move even a finger.
"Alright, Miss Ankula, you've done your best."
Xia Lun let out a sigh. Ankula was now completely incapacitated in battle.
The longsword unsheathed.
A surge of sword energy whistled through the air, and the massive dragon's head tumbled to the ground, its boiling blood gushing forth.