The Extra Villain: I Made a Contract With The Dragon Empress!

Gulp!

Merlin opened two bottles of body-strengthening potions and gulped them down in one go.

He didn't stop there. He opened three more bottles and gulped those down as well.

Then, he took four bottles of luck-enhancing potions and drank those too.

The last potion he would use—the S-Level Temporary Power Enhancement—could increase his power to the Seventh Stage or even the First Core Spirit Stage.

The system said that only luck would determine whether he could reach the First Core Spirit Stage with that potion or not.

And the chances were very slim—only one percent.

Because of that, he needed a lot of luck-enhancing potions. That way, his chances would increase dramatically.

"Ugh…" Merlin groaned in pain.

His body emitted green and red light at the same time.

Humans could only consume one bottle of potion per day. Any more than that, and the body would be damaged—it could even kill instantly.

But Merlin drank many potions at once. His body felt chaotic and messy.

'Don't give up… just one last potion…' he muttered, gritting his teeth.

He took the final potion—the S-Level Temporary Power Enhancement Potion.

This was the decisive moment, whether he could reach the First Core Spirit Stage or not.

Without hesitation, he opened the lid and gulped it down.

It tasted so bitter that Merlin almost vomited, but he held it back while constantly reminding himself of the bright future waiting for him.

Second by second passed, and Merlin's body began to emit white smoke.

"Argh… ugh… it hurts!" Merlin writhed in pain, gritting his teeth as hard as he could.

Whoosh!

A red light appeared beside him, and Lyserra's figure emerged from it.

"What happened to him?!" She exclaimed in shock.

As Merlin's guardian spirit, Lyserra naturally consumed his mana to survive and heal herself.

But just now, she sensed a terrifying surge of mana, forcing her to appear and check.

To her shock, Merlin was now in such a terrible state.

Quickly, Lyserra touched Merlin and channeled her power into his body.

But suddenly—

Boom!

Golden light burst from his body, shooting into the sky and turning the clear sky cloudy.

...

Meanwhile, the battle between the Seven Celestial Generals and Gabriel Solayne had finally ended.

Although the seven generals were extremely powerful, in front of someone who had reached the First Spirit Core, they were completely helpless.

"Ugh…" one of them groaned softly.

Half of his body was destroyed, leaving the other half unable to move. Both of his arms were severed, and blue liquid flowed endlessly from his wounds.

The others were in no better condition. Some had both legs destroyed, stomachs torn open, chests crushed, and so on.

If they were ordinary living beings, they would have died long ago. All their wounds were on vital points.

However, since they were soul puppets, they couldn't die that easily.

"Ahem… Leader, it seems we have truly… lost," said one of the Celestial Generals on the left.

The others nodded heavily. At first, they were confident that their numbers could overwhelm Gabriel Solayne.

But in the end, it was just a pipe dream. Not a single attack had been able to harm the man.

The leader fell silent, then let out a deep sigh.

"It's okay. We lost, and that's a fact," he said sadly.

Their duty was to protect the Kingdom of Avernia, but the enemy was so strong that they were completely helpless.

"Hahaha! You see, Runard? This is the end!" Ignis laughed loudly.

His smile was so wide it looked like he could fit a watermelon inside his mouth.

His happiness was understandable. He had been humiliated by Runard before, and he craved revenge—but he couldn't get it.

Now, the king had intervened and defeated the Seven Celestial Generals with ease.

The fall of the Kingdom of Avernia seemed certain.

"Damn it!" Runard cursed, tears streaming down his face.

Since he was a teenager, he had never cried. To him, crying was for the weak. He was a strong man, and strong men must not cry.

But now, he couldn't hold back the frustration and grief. The kingdom he had protected for so many years finally collapsed.

"Hahaha! Cry! Cry more! This will be the worst day of your life, and even if you die, you still won't rest in peace, Runard!"

Ignis's mockery only deepened Runard's pain. He gritted his teeth and pushed the sword lodged in Ignis's chest even harder.

"Shut up, you bastard! Shut up!" He roared as he pressed down.

Ignis groaned in agony. Tears fell from his eyes, his face twisting from the unbearable pain.

Yet his smile didn't disappear at all, as if he would never stop laughing at Runard despite the torment.

Meanwhile, the morale of the soldiers of the Kingdom of Avernia had completely collapsed.

They knelt in disbelief, their faces filled with fear, horror, and resignation.

"We have truly… lost," one of them whispered weakly.

The others nodded heavily. Their struggle had been completely in vain.

From the very beginning, they had been destined to lose against the forces of the Holy Kingdom of Aldoria.

In contrast, the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom of Aldoria cheered in triumph.

At last, the conquest of the Kingdom of Avernia was complete. Their efforts had brought extraordinary results.

Their names would surely be remembered in history.

"All right, it's time to end this."

Gabriel's majestic voice echoed across the battlefield; even those in the city of Dralmor could hear it.

Gabriel raised his right hand. Instantly, a massive ball of light—tens of meters in size—began to form in the air.

The temperature on the battlefield rose sharply, causing everyone—except the soldiers of the Holy Kingdom of Aldoria—to struggle to breathe from the heat.

"Surrender… or die!" The voice boomed again.

"Ugh…" Runard gasped, collapsing to the ground and panting heavily.

Sweat poured down his neck and across his entire body.

Nereus and Corin couldn't help but smile. Choosing to fight to the death had been the right decision.

Their positions as elemental generals were secured, and the rewards awaiting them would surely be extraordinary.

The Seven Celestial Generals exchanged glances. After everything that had happened, continuing the fight was impossible.

If they forced themselves to continue, there would only be more casualties—and none of them wanted that.

The leader let out a deep sigh, then looked up at Gabriel above.

In that moment, Gabriel no longer looked like a king but like a sun god descending from the heavens.

The leader was about to speak when a terrifying explosion, followed by a devastating shockwave, erupted from two kilometers away.

Everyone was stunned and had no time to react.

Many were thrown backward by the tremendous force, while others managed to stay on their feet.

Those who survived quickly tightened their stance, pressing their feet into the ground while covering their faces with their right arms.

Gabriel was also taken aback. He raised his arm to shield his face and turned toward the source of the explosion.

"What was that?"