━━━━━━ ━━━━━━

━━━━━━ ━━━━━━

A low rumble escaped Ao Guang’s throat as his gaze shifted between the three Dragon Kings before him, Ao Run, Ao Qin, and Ao Shun.

His eyes lingered on each before snapping back to Ao Run, his sister, his glare sharp as a blade.

A tense silence stretched between them, the air thick with unspoken words, before it was broken by the slow rise of a clawed foot from the lava.

Molten rock splashed, droplets flung into the air before sizzling into steam as the talons tapped lightly against the blackened stone.

A form emerged, sleek and serpentine, their silhouette shimmering with heat as molten liquid dripped from their scaled body.

“What she says is true, 我的国王,” the voice purred, smooth and laced with amusement. “Let’s… make a deal.”

The sound of clinking metal followed as chains strained, their holders yanked forward by the force of the dragon’s movement.

They recovered quickly, tugging back, muscles coiled tight with tension.

“I assure you…”

Draconic eyes, deep and knowing, locked onto Ao Guang’s crimson gaze.

The dragon edged closer, their snouts nearly touching, their breath mingling in the heat. Then, in a voice just above a whisper, they added,

“我们能提供很大帮助…”