The three walked along the village path, and as they ventured deeper, traces of an intelligent race’s habitation became more evident.

Sensing something, a glint of cold light flashed in Aino’s eyes as she cautioned the others.

“Stay close to me—there may be an ambush nearby.”

The hints were faint on the outskirts, but now Aino could clearly feel multiple entities suppressing their magic, lying in wait, ready to attack.

Suddenly, the ground beneath them began to collapse as several spikes shot up from below, accompanied by a series of attacks launched from all sides.

Magic attacks.

With a calm expression, Aino deflected all the incoming attacks. Two figures then darted out, rushing toward her to engage in close combat.

A gray shield of light materialized once more, effortlessly absorbing their strikes. The shield exploded outward, sending the two attackers flying back. They regrouped at a safe distance as the spellcasters who had initiated the ambush moved in behind them.

“Elves…” Alea whispered.

They looked human but had strikingly beautiful features, fair skin, and long, pointed ears.

It was an image that matched the memories of how elves were typically described.

In front stood two male elves, one appearing around thirty and the other quite young—though elves, with their near-infinite lifespan, never age, making appearances deceiving. These two seemed to be melee fighters, while the elves behind them, mostly female, had launched the magical attacks and were now preparing for another round.

Aino made no move to explain herself; instead, she smiled slightly and casually cast a spell.

A white wave of energy shot toward the elves. The spell was powerful, but not particularly fast, typically one to be avoided rather than blocked.

However, the mages behind were still preparing their own spells, leaving the two melee elves tasked with protecting them.

“ᚠᛁᛖᚱᛁᛖᛚᚨ ᚦᚠᛁᚱ ᚦᚨ ᚨᚾᛁᛋᛏ,” the older elf quickly instructed the younger one in their language. They then channeled their magic and charged toward the wave.

With a deafening impact, the energy wave dispersed, and while the two elves bore minor injuries, they were otherwise unharmed.

“ᚨᚾ ᚠᛖᛚᚨᚱᛁᚾ ᚠᚢᛖᛚᚢᚨ ᚦᚨ ᚠᛁᛖᚱᛁᛖᛚᚨ!” The elves' spellcasters had finished preparing their next attacks.

A barrage of spells launched toward Aino, far more powerful than the initial volley.

In response, Aino conjured a much denser gray barrier, effortlessly blocking all the elves' attacks.

Having assessed their strength, Aino found them lacking—no real threat to her. She planned to intimidate them with her power and then attempt communication…

Danger!

The thought flashed through Aino’s mind as an unexpectedly potent attack, strong enough to make her vigilant, came at her the moment she had relaxed slightly.

Although Aino could have handled it more effectively, with Alea and Parker behind her, she couldn’t rely on her usual solo tactics. If she dodged the attack, they would die.

So Aino took the brunt of the strike in the least optimal way, using a minimal shield and relying on her body to absorb the hit.

This attack was nothing like the previous ones—it had a greater intensity of mana, superior magical quality, and an expertly calculated angle.

With a resounding explosion, the elves visibly relaxed.

This had been their actual plan. When they detected an extremely dangerous creature nearing their home, they prepared carefully. The ambush was just a decoy, with the warriors acting as a shield for the mages.

It was the standard strategy for team combat, but they knew that this alone couldn’t defeat such a powerful, unknown creature.

Fortunately, their elven tribe had a trump card—an elite mage.

The “direct battle” was merely a ruse to buy time for this powerful mage to cast a spell, catching their opponent off guard with a surprise strike.

A blow that could shatter the stars.

As the magic faded, where Aino had stood now loomed a massive black beast, with Parker and Alea staring in shock beside it.

The creature’s enormous form resembled a moving mountain, covered in scales black as night, their depths unfathomable. In the light, the scales shimmered with eerie green and purple hues, as if gazing into an abyss that invoked despair.

It had two wings on its back, a long tail lined with bony spikes, and a mouth filled with sharp, curved fangs gleaming with menace.

“ᚠᛁᛖᚱ ᚨᚾ ᚠᛖᛚᚨᚱᛁᚾ ᚠᚢᛖᛚᚢᚨ... (This is… a dragon...),” one of the male elves muttered in disbelief. After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and shouted to the other elves, “ᚠᛖᛚᚨᚱᛁᚾ ᚠᚢᛖᛚᚢᚨ ᚦᚨ ᚨᚾ ᚠᛁᛖᚱᛁᛖᛚᚨ! (Take everyone and run! I’ll hold it off!)”

The elves’ most powerful strike had merely forced the dragon to reveal its true form. Judging by its undamaged state, continuing the fight would only lead to devastating losses or their total defeat.

Without hesitation, the elves scattered. Short, hurried exchanges followed, and in a blink, they had vanished, leaving behind only two male elves and the mysterious mage who had launched the powerful spell.

A young silver-haired elven girl now stood at the front, holding a wooden staff and panting slightly, clearly worn from the strain of her spell.

“This one’s strong…” Aino thought as she calmly observed the three elves.

The silver-haired elf was undoubtedly the most powerful individual Aino had encountered so far, a highly skilled mage, far above the level of the other elves.

Yet the truth was that after months of training and with the full power of a pure-blooded black dragon’s body, Aino was incredibly strong.

Even this silver-haired elf wasn’t her equal.

The lead male elf quickly pushed the silver-haired elf and the young elf beside her back, shouting, “ᚠᛁᛖᚱ ᚨᚾ ᚠᛖᛚᚨᚱᛁᚾ ᚦᚨ ᚠᚢᛖᛚᚢᚨ! (You two, hurry up and go!)”

The silver-haired elf looked conflicted, wanting to say something, but the younger elf grabbed her hand and led her away.

Once all the other elves had evacuated, the lead elf finally exhaled in relief and stepped boldly toward the dragon.

The elf was tall, with striking blonde hair that highlighted his fierce and heroic demeanor, though standing before Aino in her true form, he seemed minuscule.

The elf and the dragon stared silently at each other, neither moving, their eyes locked.

The once-bustling village was now empty, enveloped in an eerie silence.