The Dragon Kings' decision had always come down to one thing.
Freedom.
They were willing to accept a control seal that could end their lives at a thought, if it meant escaping the abyss.
But if Rowan Mercer could remove the ocean-binding chains without branding their souls?
Why would they kneel?
And if they weren't bound, why would Archsage Solarian ever trust them?
Everyone present understood that.
Rowan wasn't offering a plea.
He was forcing a choice.
A clean, open move.
"You can really break them?" Mara Vale asked, disbelief flickering across her face.
For the first time since her imprisonment, hope was not a performance.
Solarian scoffed.
"A wandering hedge mage thinks he can undo the Iron Front's restraints? Absurd."
The doubt in the other Dragon Kings' eyes wavered.
Rowan didn't argue.
He vanished.
In the next instant, he stood beside Mara Vale.
A pulse of power surged from him, not drawn from the sea or sky, but from somewhere deeper.
"Open."
The spell struck the chains.
They shuddered violently.
The air warped around them as unseen forces strained against the bindings.
Solarian's expression changed.
"Kill him."
His two attendants moved at once.
One dissolved into a screaming cyclone of blades.
The other loosed a storm of golden arrows.
"Stop them!" Mara Vale shouted.
The South and North Sea Dragon Kings reacted instantly, intercepting the attacks.
Solarian himself stepped forward to intervene.
Vexar met him head-on.
Lightning cracked.
The collision lasted only seconds.
Vexar was thrown backward, blood spraying across the battlements.
Solarian was too strong.
Commander Drake and Lady Eleanor rallied the city's defenders. Ballistae fired. Arrows rained. Sea spirits hurled themselves into the fray.
The chaos bought Rowan time.
The unlocking spell alone wasn't enough.
Rowan drew a blade.
It tore space open when it moved.
He struck the trembling chains.
Metal screamed.
One link shattered.
Then another.
Then the final restraint snapped.
The ocean-binding chains fell away.
Mara Vale was free.
For a heartbeat she simply stood there, stunned.
Then she laughed.
A real laugh.
She spun once, shifting into human form mid-motion, and without hesitation grabbed Rowan's face and kissed him.
Not calculated.
Not seductive.
Just relief exploding into motion.
Rowan blinked.
"Well," he said after a second, "that works too."
She pulled back, eyes bright.
"Friend," she said firmly. "You have one now."
"No conditions?" Rowan asked lightly.
She shook her head.
"You gave me freedom without demanding my life. That matters."
"Good," Rowan said. "Then help."
Mara Vale ripped open a seam in space and traded positions with the South Sea Dragon King mid-battle.
"Your turn," she called.
Rowan repeated the process.
Spell.
Blade.
Shattering metal.
The second Dragon King roared as his chains fell away.
He clapped Rowan on the shoulder hard enough to rattle bone.
"You've got guts. I like that. Today, we defend this city."
Rowan smiled thinly.
"One at a time."
Moments later, the final set of chains broke.
Three Dragon Kings stood free.
The battlefield shifted instantly.
Mara Vale pressed the winged attendant back.
The South Sea Dragon King barreled into the archer, absorbing golden shafts against molten-scaled skin.
Vexar, battered but furious, rejoined the fight.
Solarian's avatar found itself surrounded.
He was still the strongest presence on the field.
But no longer unchallenged.
Rowan stepped back from the center.
"I'm not much for close combat," he called out casually. "Mind lending a hand?"
The North Sea Dragon King didn't hesitate. Twin blades flashed as he joined the assault on Solarian.
Even outnumbered, Solarian fought like a storm contained in flesh.
But calculation had replaced aggression in his eyes.
He understood.
This was no longer a quick purge.
And lingering here invited variables he did not control.
He signaled sharply.
The two attendants disengaged.
Solarian withdrew beyond the city's edge, gaze cold.
"This isn't finished."
Then he was gone.
The battlefield fell silent.
Three Dragon Kings stood free.
And Chentang Pass still stood.
Rowan exhaled.
He really preferred thinking to punching.