Chapter Eleven: The Trial of the True Dragon's Daughter

Dragon Valley City, Town Square.

The square was completely sealed off by a human wall formed by monks in red robes, preventing the gathering citizens from entering.

The nobles stood silently behind Dia and Rain, collectively showing their support and allegiance to the Dragon Maiden.

At the center of the town square stood two high-ranking shamans—the High Priest and the Chief Cleric—preaching to the assembled townsfolk:

“The Lord says: All that vanishes shall one day reappear; all who depart shall eventually return.”

“The Lord says: One day, the world will be consumed by dragonfire. At that time, my bloodline’s descendants shall walk the earth once more.”

“The Lord says: He shall guide you through the Day of Judgment, as I have protected you.”

“The Lord says: You must honor me by defending his glory at all costs.”

Their eloquence was remarkable. The High Priest’s voice was steady and resonant, inspiring conviction; the Chief Cleric punctuated his speech with passionate, sweeping gestures, stirring the crowd’s emotions without their realizing it.

As the sermon continued, the nobles began to sense something amiss—the expressions of the gathered citizens grew increasingly solemn, devout, and... fanatical.

“This is bad,” they whispered among themselves, warning one another. “They’re inciting the crowd!”

Rain sneered beside them, thinking how impressive it was that they had noticed. What else could religion do but stir the masses? Debate them?

“Rain,” Dia whispered, her voice trembling slightly, “those people over there… their gazes are like they want to devour someone.”

Following her gaze, Rain spotted a group of about a dozen lizardfolk slum-dwellers standing silently behind the monks’ human barricade on the left.

Their vertical pupils stared fixedly at the nobles on the square. Their scaly faces betrayed no emotion—or rather, it was difficult to discern any on such reptilian visages.

Yet Rain keenly noticed one common trait: each had a scale on their throat precisely gouged out with a small knife.

They were Vipers.

Dogs, Cats, Rats, and Snakes—these names referred respectively to the bounty hunters’ guilds, the sorcerers’ academies, the black market, and assassin organizations spread across the Nine Kingdoms.

Among them, the Rainforest Peninsula’s Vipers were special. Originally, they were shadow-scaled assassins within the ancient Corpse Worship Church, trained by cultists through necromantic sorcery into breathless, pain-immune warriors. Even their throat’s reverse scales had to be specifically removed—because shattering a lizardfolk’s reverse scale causes agonizing spasms.

After the Corpse Worship Church was eradicated by the Nine Kingdoms, the shadow-scaled assassin order was banned. Until the High Priest of Shamanism in the year 752 of the First Era issued a general amnesty, declaring all long-pursued fugitives would no longer be hunted...

From this, it could be inferred that the masterminds behind the Rainforest Peninsula’s shadow-scaled Vipers were likely the Shamanic Order of Dragon Valley City.

Rain turned to look at the High Priest on stage, who was describing several traits of the true Dragon Maiden: golden, radiant eyes; broad dragon wings growing from her back; the ability to breathe fiery dragon breath to annihilate foes; and most crucially:

She must be born of the half-dragon race.

As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd erupted like steam boiling over!

Shouts of “Liar,” “Deceiver,” and “Blasphemer” rang out. If not for the red-robed monks struggling to maintain the human wall, the entire town square might have been overrun by the enraged mob.

Dia clutched Rain’s arm desperately, her breath quickening with fear.

Lord Argor gave a swift signal; immediately, three lizardfolk nobles stepped forward—Hassatche, Tigri, and Roy—experts in shamanic scriptures.

“The Dragon Maiden need not be born of the half-dragon race!” declared Hassatche, raising his hands to draw the crowd’s attention. “Ladies and gentlemen! Chapter 13, Line 131 of the ‘Holy Dragon Scriptures’ states, ‘The Lord says: I shall grant the dragonfire to my offspring and to those not of my bloodline, for my glory flows not merely through blood but is deeply rooted in the souls of all beings!’”

“The nobility of the Dragon Maiden lies not in her bloodline, but in her soul!”

The mob, previously clamoring for her death, was immediately divided. Most still believed this Dragon Maiden was a fraud, but some voices called out, “Let her prove it!”

“Friends, friends!” Tigri cried out. “No wings, no breath—these cannot be proof to deny the Dragon Maiden’s identity! Chapter 25, Line 11 of the ‘Holy Dragon Scriptures’ declares, ‘The Lord says: At first, she walked barefoot upon the earth, no different from ordinary folk. But behold! The true roar of the dragon echoes deep within her soul!’”

“The nobility of the Dragon Maiden also lies not in form, but deep within her soul!”

The crowd’s jeers gradually softened. If only one scripture mentioned this, it might be a stretch to interpret; but multiple passages affirming “the nobility lies in the soul” suggested the Shamanic Order’s judgment might be flawed.

Seeing their opponents silenced, the lizardfolk nobles felt a surge of spirit. They thought thankfully of Lord Argor’s exceptional wisdom in foreseeing the Shamanic Order’s attempt to incite the masses with scripture and preparing targeted countermeasures—otherwise, they would have been utterly defeated.

“Friends, hear me!” Roy, the last noble to speak, waved his arms, signaling the crowd’s attention.

But what he said next plunged the nobles into a cold abyss, their expressions shifting drastically:

“The nobility of the Dragon Maiden may indeed lie in her soul, but this human is no true Dragon Maiden. She is merely a counterfeit brought here by colluding nobles!”

“She might be a prostitute, a liar, or even a lowly illegitimate child—but absolutely not the true Dragon Maiden! For at yesterday’s noble council, I overheard their entire conspiracy!”

The surrounding uproar exploded instantly. Nearly all watching began viciously cursing the despicable nobles and the damned human impostor who dared claim the Dragon Maiden’s title, wishing them immediate damnation in the fires of hell.

The lizardfolk nobles’ faces turned slate-gray, their eyes burning with furious hatred toward Roy, as if they wished to swarm him and tear him apart on the spot.

Yet reason prevailed once more: they had already become the target of public scorn. To defend the Dragon Maiden any further risked giving the Shamanic Order grounds to brand them as conspirators supporting a counterfeit, sealing their doom.

Thus, the nobles collectively fell silent, expressionless, pondering any possible breakthrough while privately considering how to appease the Shamanic Order afterward to emerge from this crisis unscathed.

Dia was the most disheartened of all. She had hoped for a turnaround, only to be betrayed by an ally’s sudden blow, sinking once more into despair’s bottomless abyss.

What to do? Should she flee with Rain now? But...

What about these people? The undead are coming soon. If they don’t escape now...

They will all die! Just like everyone in Swamp Town!

She looked at Rain for help, only to hear him chuckle warmly:

“I told you so, right? What a spectacle, haha!”

At a time like this, still joking! Dia wished she could slam her head against him to make him regret it forever—though that seemed unlikely for an undead sorcerer.