The sky-scorching tree of fire had utterly broken the Flying Dragons' will. They lay in droves on the ground, wanting only to bury their heads even lower, reduced once more to a pack of lowly beggars pleading for mercy.
No sooner had Nolan flown into the sky than the vast flock of Flying Dragons spread their wings after him, gathering into a dense, gray-white river across the heavens.
At their head were still the great Flying Dragon Lord and his powerful Ancient Dragon follower. It seemed as if nothing had changed.
The dragon flock's destination was the north. There, the son of the Flying Dragons' new Lord was preparing a gift for his father, and the Flying Dragon Lord was going to meet him.
The Formless Mother had generously offered to help Nolan, but Messmer needed time to prepare the gift, and Nolan was clearly a fine father who would not disappoint his son.
With his wings spread in the sky, Nolan had just enough time to properly feel the power and majesty of being the Flying Dragon Lord.
Flying Dragons and Ancient Dragons both belonged to the dragon race. They were similar, yet different.
Bayle might have been arrogant and looked down on the tiny ants crawling over the earth, but in truth, everyone knew Flying Dragons were a race that fell short of the best while standing above the worst.
In talent and potential, they were inferior to humans. Across five thousand years of history in the Lands Between, the Flying Dragons who could be called heroic figures, whose names were known, could be counted on two hands.
In terms of their lower limits and the strength of their race as a whole, they were far beneath the Ancient Dragons, despite being dragons themselves.
Bayle, who had reached Lord-class, was an oddity among Flying Dragons, but even he had relied on a sneak attack to challenge Placidusax, and even then, he had still been defeated in the end.
"This is a disgrace, no doubt about it. Could Bayle have shut himself away in Jagged Peak Summit because he was mocked into seclusion over that ugly business?" Nolan thought.
Launching a sneak attack and still losing was undeniably shameful. It would be perfectly normal if it had become a topic of gossip among the dragons.
Nolan felt no pity for that dragon, much less regret. Seemingly arrogant, yet in truth despicable and vile to the extreme. That was the dragon known as Bayle.
Everything it had done had long since proven just how laughable its arrogance was.
Nolan silently felt the dragon power within his body grow another step stronger.
Bayle's nature might have been vile, but its power as a Lord was genuine. Even gravely wounded, it was still beyond any ordinary Demigod.
Now, without question, Nolan had fundamentally risen above the level of a Demigod, and his weaknesses had been greatly made up for.
The dragon flock following their Lord arrived above the Abyssal Woods, the air shaking violently in the gale.
Farther north of the Abyssal Woods was Bonny Village, where Nolan had once been. Beyond that lay the Nox's Cathedral of Manus Metyr, and farther still was Fingerstone Hill.
He was not far from his cheap eldest son.
The Abyssal Woods was a forest at the bottom of the Great Rift, connecting the territories of the Impaler's Army, the Nox, and the Flying Dragons. Mist shrouded it all year round.
It was said that strange things lurked below. In the past, even the Flying Dragons had not dared to land lightly when passing through on their way to Bonny Village.
Legend called this place a forbidden zone of life.
Looked at that way, the "rulers of the sky" were actually afraid of quite a few things.
The "sunlight" dispelled much of the forest's dense fog, revealing countless glowing creatures chasing after the dragon flock.
They were things even more terrifying than Flying Dragons. Flying Dragons could at least be called living beings, while those Forbidden Touch Okinas were simply pure, frenzied things.
Feeling their gaze, Nolan lowered his head and looked down from the sky. The Forbidden Touch Okinas were far more densely packed than he had imagined.
It was as if those things had gathered on purpose. Nolan suspected something was drawing them in, and even thought with a touch of narcissism that this "something" was very likely himself.
But after recalling his past experiences, Nolan could only conclude that he had no grudge against the Frenzied Flame. Even if he disliked it and did intend to act against it, that was a matter for later.
Still, perhaps this was fine. He had already eaten more than enough things, yet he had never tasted the Frenzied Flame.
He was not sure whether the Firstfire could devour the Frenzied Flame completely, but Miquella and Trina were behind him.
Their golden needles were enough to suppress the Frenzied Flame. They were absolutely a reliable safeguard that could withstand the test.
So what reason did he have to feel guilty or afraid, or to go out of his way to avoid them?
He might as well spit a mouthful of dragonfire at them. After all, these were creatures he had meant to kill anyway.
The Frenzied Flame longed for the world to return to chaos, while the Firstfire, though it also embraced all things, was in essence a "distinct concept."
In the terms of a fantasy novel, this would probably be called a conflict of the Great Dao.
Nolan did not much believe in the happiness of a world of Frenzied Flame. He was the sort of person who liked to see everything clearly and distinctly.
Nolan was Nolan, and Trina was Trina. In that other world, everyone was packed together inside a single fire, yet every flame still flickered on its own.
If he and everyone else merged into one, just as the Frenzied Flame desired, then he would no longer be able to see their faces or hear their voices. From then on, he would be together with everyone, and also parted from everyone forever.
So no matter what, Nolan was unwilling to let the Frenzied Flame become the god of this world. He felt disgust and anger toward the world that flame wanted to create.
He decided he would stand against that flame, at least so this world could still see day and night, and still have you, me, and him.
Six dragon wings moved with the wind, and the white dragon slowly descended, landing in the air just above the Abyssal Woods.
The so-called dragon flock was an army made up of cowards. They followed behind Nolan, exchanging uneasy looks, unsure whether they should approach that forbidden zone of life.
They had blazing dragonfire and thick Scale Armor. Together, they were enough to bring down a city.
Such an army might have been able to become a local overlord in Limgrave, but compared with the enemy they were about to face, they were no different from winged beasts. They could be ignored.
They were not heroes, nor were they named Flying Dragons whose fame spread through the Lands Between and made others afraid.
Borealis could hunt giants, and Ekzykes could protect the Dragon Queen, but these dragons could only follow humbly behind others.
Courage was not something that could simply be picked up, and Nolan could not instantly turn a pack of surrendered cowards into fearless warriors ready to die.
But fear was not always impossible to face. All he had to do was use a greater fear to make them forget they were afraid.
Just as Nolan casually glanced back, the Flying Dragons followed him of their own accord.
Trina withdrew her contemptuous gaze from the Flying Dragons and turned her gentle eyes on Nolan.
"You want to try the power of the Frenzied Flame? That thing is definitely on the level of a god. Be careful eating it recklessly, or it may be hard to deal with."
"That's exactly why I didn't wait to start with the Three Fingers," Nolan said, glancing downward. "These things are perfect for testing the waters."
"I still have one Unalloyed Gold Needle in reserve, but I don't know whether it will be enough to suppress the power of the Frenzied Flame. I'm not even certain the needle will work on it at all," Miquella said with a frown.
The pure gold he had created for Malenia possessed the power to drive back the forces of Outer Gods. Before he found Nolan, it had also been the only method he had for suppressing Malenia's rot.
But Miquella felt he still did not understand the Three Fingers well enough, nor had he ever come into contact with their power. He could not help worrying over Nolan's reckless course of action.
"I trust you," Nolan said calmly.