She calmly recounted her past schemes, her golden eyes gazing toward the thickening dark red Demonic Qi on the distant horizon.
It was the scent of the Blood Clan Border, a sign that the flames of war were about to ignite.
Her tone carried the calmness, rationality, and shrewdness unique to the Dragon Queen, offered without the slightest concealment.
“I exhausted every effort to capture the previous Hero alive, yet I did not slay him. Instead, I imprisoned him within the deepest Dungeon of the Dragon Palace. You should understand that as long as the Hero does not die, the World Law will not give rise to a new one, and the Demon Race will never face the threat of total annihilation. With the Hero firmly under my control, his whereabouts, status, and life or death are all in my hands. No matter how the Human Empire and the Vampires fight, and no matter how the flames of war burn, they cannot harm the Dragon Race in the slightest. I can sit securely in the Dragon Palace and reap the benefits.”
“Moreover, I can keep you by my side forever, never letting you be tainted by the smoke of war or witness a drop of blood. I can pamper you into a Little Princess who belongs only to me. I want you to stay forever in the warm cage I have built for you, where you never have to face any danger or shoulder any pressure. You only need to stay happily by my side.”
As she spoke the last sentence, her voice lowered slightly.
A hint of sickly tenderness quietly mingled with the sweetness, seeping into the air like poison.
It was a faint undercurrent of obsessive possessiveness that even Bai Li failed to notice, hidden silently beneath her gentleness.
Bai Li did not hear anything unusual and simply assumed she was explaining her reasons.
“But I did not expect—”
Longjiu’s tone suddenly grew several shades heavier, carrying a trace of tension and hostility she could not hide.
It was the anger of a chess game being disrupted and the frustration of a meticulously crafted plan being destroyed.
However, the moment she felt Bai Li’s presence, she forcibly suppressed it, turning it back into a deeper tenderness.
“The Hero, who had been imprisoned for so long and had long since lost his will to fight, was actually rescued without a sound.”
“His whereabouts are unknown, and his life or death is a mystery.”
“The stable situation I spent ten years cultivating collapsed entirely in a single night.”
Bai Li’s heart sank slightly.
He understood how much panic and unease the Hero’s disappearance had brought to this normally calm and powerful Dragon Queen.
Anyone would find it difficult to accept the collapse of a ten-year plan, especially someone as accustomed to controlling everything as she was.
But what he did not know was that the root of Longjiu’s panic had never been the safety of the Dragon Race, the balance of the Continent, or the future of the Demon Race.
There was only ever one thing she truly feared—
With the Hero missing and the situation out of control, she could no longer keep him locked by her side with peace of mind.
She feared he would leave amidst the chaos, feared he would step into danger alone, and feared he would never return to her side.
She feared that the person she held in the palm of her hand and valued as much as her own life would vanish silently on this war-torn continent.
That was far more terrifying to her than the destruction of the Dragon Race or the collapse of the Continent.
“I know you want to go. I know you want to mediate, and I know you cannot bear to part with Baining, Ziya, and everyone else you care about on this continent.”
Longjiu’s voice became gentle again, yet it hid a terrifyingly deep obsession.
Every word was entwined with possessiveness.
“Therefore—I have changed my mind.”
“I am willing to deploy my troops and accompany you to the Vampires.”
“I am willing to set aside all my defenses and calculations.”
“But you must remember—”
Her voice paused briefly.
With an unquestionable dominance, her words coiled around Bai Li’s ear, branding themselves into his heart.
“I am not doing this for the sake of the big picture, nor for the Demon Race, Baining, or even that missing Hero.”
“I am doing this only for you.”
“In this entire world, only I can truly keep you safe.”
“Only I can keep you firmly within my sight, never leaving your side.”
“Only I will not let anyone or anything take you away from me.”
She spoke the final sentence extremely softly and tenderly, like the sweetest confession between lovers.
Yet, it quietly buried a fine, dangerous thread in the air.
It was a gentle lock and an invisible cage.
Bai Li felt a warmth in his heart, and his eyes grew slightly hot.
He gently hugged the soft scales on Longjiu’s neck and pressed his cheek against them, showing complete reliance and gratitude.
“Longjiu, thank you for being willing to do this for me…”
That defenseless reliance was like the sweetest poison, seeping bit by bit into the depths of Longjiu’s heart.
It caused the hidden, sickly obsession to grow even richer and more deep-rooted, spreading like manic vines that tightly entwined everything.
Longjiu let out a low laugh, her expression filled with gentle satisfaction.
Her Dragon Wings subconsciously pulled in a few inches, protecting Bai Li even more tightly and securely beneath her body.
It was as if she wanted to fully incorporate him into her domain, preventing anyone else from touching him, as if she wanted to merge him into her very blood and bone.
“That is certainly the case,” she said softly, but with a dominance that brooked no refusal.
“In this whole world, only I love you the most. Only I cannot bear to see you suffer even a single grievance, and only I can give you true stability.”
“Once this is over, we will return to the Dragon Palace.”
“We will go back to the place that belongs only to the two of us.”
“We will never be apart again.”
“Understood?”
The final word was gentle enough to melt anything, yet it carried an underlying tone that allowed for no rejection, like a gentle shackle being quietly slipped into place.
Bai Li did not sense the undercurrent hidden beneath her tenderness.
He simply nodded gently, his eyes filled with trust and reliance.
He had no idea what consequences this agreement would bring in the future.
He leaned lightly against Longjiu’s warm and steady back, gazing at the vast horizon in the distance.
Clouds churned beneath them, and the sunlight fell upon them, warm and bright.
He suddenly thought of Ziya, who was still gathering reinforcements in the Dream Demon Kingdom.
A trace of concern rose in his heart as he murmured softly, ‘I wonder where Ziya is now… After she finishes gathering the Illusionists, she should be able to rendezvous with us soon.’
When Longjiu had first stopped them, Ziya had to return to the kingdom immediately to gather elite Illusionists because of fluctuations in the Illusion Art barriers within the Dream Demon Kingdom.
They had agreed to meet at the Blood Clan Border.
At this moment, Ziya should be doing her best to assemble her team and rush toward them.
Longjiu’s golden eyes darkened imperceptibly, a shadow flickering deep within them.
However, her tone remained so gentle that not even a hint of anything unusual could be heard, like a spring breeze brushing against one’s face.
“Don’t worry, she won’t be late. Succubus Illusionists excel at concealment and interference. They will be a significant help to us on the battlefield.”
After a pause, she added in a voice only she could hear, low and obsessive, ‘However… no matter who comes to your side, they shouldn’t dream of snatching you away from me.’
Bai Li did not hear her whisper and continued to lean peacefully against the dragon’s back, looking at the vast, bright sky with eyes full of calm and tranquility.
He did not know that the tenderness he relied on with his whole heart currently hid an invisible shackle tailored specifically for him—an obsessive love capable of trapping him entirely.
Longjiu stared ahead with her golden pupils.
While she appeared gentle and affectionate on the surface, a dark and satisfied smile flitted through the depths of her eyes.
It did not matter. Whether the Hero was missing, or whether it was Baining, Ziya, or even the war—none of it was important.
What mattered was that her person was finally staying by her side, safe and sound.
This time, she would not give anyone the chance to take him away.
Not Baining, not Ziya, not fate, and not even the entire world.
She would lock him away firmly.
“Forever.”
Her Dragon Wings swept open suddenly, breaking through layers of clouds.
Carrying her most precious and indispensable treasure, she flew resolutely toward the smoke-filled Blood Clan Border where reunions were soon to occur.
Behind her, thousands of elite members of the Dragon Race followed closely.
Above the horizon, a crimson torrent spread out with world-shaking momentum, and the Dragon Might shook the fields in all directions.
And that trace of sickly obsession hidden beneath her tenderness, like vines growing wildly in the dark, had already quietly coiled around him again and again, firmly locking her beloved away.
She only waited for the right moment to arrive, when she would trap him completely within a cage that belonged to her alone—a gentle and eternal prison.