Once they arrived, what welcomed them was a flat ground filled with quite a lot of people. Yasenia frowned, fearing that they were late. However, a scroll unfolded right before her worries could even be internalized.
Yasenia read it with a mutter. "Congratulations, number 146, you've made it!"
Yasenia lifted her eyebrow. "146th? Not bad."
Andrea commented. "Even with so many deviations, we've arrived this early?"
Kali was also surprised. "I thought we would be in the late 900s or something similar if we were to make it. 146 is something I wouldn't have been able to guess."
Cecile commented. "Where do you girls feel other people are getting stuck?"
Yasenia tilted her head as she looked around. "I honestly don't know… The rock, perhaps?"
Andrea nodded. "I think the first trial was also more complicated than it appeared."
Kali added. "Not to mention the fourth floor. We took four days to cross it, and I can guess that we are one of the fastest groups."
Yasenia agreed, and Cecile said. "I think it's more in the last trial."
The dragoness looked at her sweetheart in confusion. "We took just 8 hours, no? At most, slower people will take 12 or 16 hours."
Cecile shook her head. "Cultivations with long lifespans do not aim for quick success."
Yasenia realized where Cecile was going. "Right. Unlike me, who used the country for quick and ruthless attacks, many of them might aim for a war of attrition or something similar."
"How much would the war last if you had aimed for a war of attrition?"
Hearing Andrea's question, Yasenia pondered. "I… don't know. I can't tell you. The other side had quite decent foundations that could be solidified in just a decade. I didn't allow them to, which is what helped me win in 12 years." Andrea smiled. "If you had to say a number?"
Yasenia scratched her cheek and commented. "Between 60 to 300 years?"
Andrea rolled her eyes. "If you are going to answer like that, how about saying between 0 and 1000?"
Andrea, curious, asked. "Do you remember what was the penalty for failing that trial?"
The girls pondered, and seeing that no one knew the answer, it was clear that it wasn't written anywhere else. However, Yasenia commented. "It should be similar to the Obstacle course trial, right? Fail it, and you are eliminated."
While they discussed, she heard a few people calling her from above.
"Yasenia~!"
The dragoness couldn't mistake her baby's soft and cute voice, so she looked upward with a smile. "Haha, we were so focused ahead of us that we missed that we had arrived at the initial place. So, the fifth floor is nothing but the floor we were in before…"
Cecile smirked, her icy blue eyes looking victorious. "Speak for yourself, I already realized."
Yasenia raised her hands, involuntarily causing her large breasts to jiggle. "Okay, sweetheart. It was I who was distracted." Cecile let out a small laugh.
Andrea hugged Yasenia from behind with her armored hands and laughed. "This time, it might only be you. I also realized."
The girls turned toward Kali, curious, and Kali smiled. "Sadly, I'm with Yasenia this time."
Andrea hit her thigh with her palm, creating a clang sound. "Ah. We almost got something to laugh at her for."
Yasenia looked at her darling, amused. Cecile commented as they moved to where Angel called them. "We fought less than I thought."
Kali snorted a laugh. "It's not like we could fight head-on with everyone involved, right?"
Andrea nodded. "The following is a purely combat tournament, so like Yasenia said, we'll have a chance."
Cecile agreed, so she stopped commenting. In the first place, it was just an observation more than a complaint.
While they spoke, they arrived at their own platform, and four bullets almost tackled Yasenia to the ground as they buried themselves in her embrace.
The dragoness laughed softly after recovering her balance with her tail. "Baby, Dear, Kaleina, Flame… How are you doing, loves?"
Yasenia looked at Flame of the four, making a gladly surprised expression. While they have almost adopted Flame completely into their family, Flame was a bit of a shy and introverted child because she didn't feel completely comfortable.
However, this reaction of throwing herself in her own arms was something that made the dragoness's smile widen as her eyes softened. To make her feel loved, she made sure to use her tail as a hug and make her feel her presence.
Meanwhile, Kaleina used her advantage as an eastern dragon and coiled around her, placing her head by her side and rubbing it with hers. "I missed you, Mommy. Hehehe."
Yasenia realized and asked. "Oh? You couldn't see Mommy from here? I thought they would have a way to retransmit what happened during the summits."
Kaleina pouted and looked at Yasenia with her big golden dragon eyes. "Nobody could see. We had to wait until you exited. Even Lady Tengliu and big sister Ebirah's mom said so."
Yasenia patted her body. "I see."
Yasenia looked down and saw Angel and Evelyn looking up at her with glittering eyes. Yasenia almost burst into laughter at their cute expressions. She leaned down to kiss them and also planted another kiss on Flame's forehead. "How have you three been doing?"
Angel giggled. "Other than not having you around, it was quite relaxing."
Yasenia titled her head. "The demons and other races didn't do anything, right?"
Evelyn laughed. "Even if they dared, with your maids around, they would be the ones in trouble."
The dragoness didn't deny it.
Then, she looked around to check how things had moved on and which groups had returned from the top 30. She saw that the Demons, Divines, Otherworlder Beasts, Undead, and Humans were already all out.
Other than them, about 36 of the top 40 groups were also already out. The ones that had yet to make it were the Ocean Swallowing Mermaids, the Nine Shadow Fang Sect, the Nine Earthly Sword Sect, and the Deep-Sea Shark clan.
Yasenia asked, looking around with curiosity. "What about Soluna? Did she come out from that place yet?"
Evelyn answered again. "She didn't. You didn't find her inside?"
Yasenia shook her head as she moved away from them and looked at the sect members.
When the people from her sect saw Yasenia turning to look at them, they all shouted. "Welcome back, sect leader!"
Yasenia nodded and smiled. "Good Job protecting this place."
It was a bit of a formality since the maids probably deterred everyone, but the people from the sect appreciated it, some even puffing out their chests in pride.
Then, the sexy dragoness approached Tatyana to give her a hug as well. Tatyana naturally didn't resist and fell into her arms.
Tatyana looked up from Yasenia's arms and spoke softly. "Good job, Little Treasure. Welcome back."
Yasenia smiled and lowered her head to kiss her. "I'm back, Tatyana." Then, she placed her hand on Tatyana's flat stomach. "How is this little one doing?"
Tatyana laughed softly, her red eyes gaining a soft glow. "He or she will probably take a while."
Yasenia tilted her head. "So, the duration is longer than the usual nine to ten months for human women?"
Tatyana smiled wryly. "Well, the child of a dragon needs time to gestate and develop. I just hope that it doesn't last as long as your pregnancy."
Yasenia's eyebrow twitched. 'If this little one took 90 years…'
Thinking about the crushing feeling of the long wait, Yasenia shook her head. However, she didn't want to rush anything. 'Well, it should take as much as it needs so that it grows healthy…' Yasenia looked down and said in her head. 'But give your mother some slack, eh? I don't want to see Tatyana being split in half just to give birth to you.'
Tatyana asked funnily at Yasenia's mixed expression while looking down at her stomach. "What are you thinking about so deeply?"
Yasenia coughed. "Nothing."
After that, she asked the other. "So, any idea what we can do now? What were you all doing during all this time?"
Evelyn smiled and spoke with glittering eyes. "Yasenia, let's fu-."
The tail did a perfect arc that followed even some basic principles related to tail-slapping and landed on Evelyn's chin with astounding precision and smoothness.
The strike was such that even when Evelyn saw it coming, she could do nothing to prevent it as if some kind of law was locking her in place.
SLAP!
A loud and sonorous slap echoed around, sending the petite woman into a beautiful parabola.
Kali shot a vine, entangling Evelyn before she flew outside the platform they were currently standing on. Then, she pulled and took back the flying person.
Evelyn blinked as her body was smacked flying and then tugged back. She used her agility to land on her feet and smirked.
"Nice catch, Kali!"
Kali bonked her forehead with the side of her hand.
"Ouch."
"Don't act silly."
Angel blinked cutely and answered Yasenia's question while tugging on her free hand; the other was grabbing Flame's hand. "Let's cuddle!"
Yasenia laughed and nodded. "Sure, sure."
While they all moved toward a place set up by Angel and Tatyana and sat around each other, Yasenia spoke. "Well, how about I explain a bit how the trials and such went? I bet you can find it interesting."
Kaleina and Flame sat on her lap while Angel and Evelyn flanked her sides. Meanwhile, her tail sneaked behind Evelyn and gently coiled around Tatyana.
The thickness was just right for Evelyn to recline back and use it as a back cushion. Our dragoness always ensured comfort while hugging her dears!
Moreover, with this position, all the dears who had missed her for almost two weeks managed to feel her presence one way or another.
Andrea teased her. "I wonder how you will do space when you have a bunch of kids running around, love."
Yasenia imagined herself doing acrobatics and shook her head. 'Not practical.'
Setting that problem aside for future Yasenia, the dragoness leisurely began her storytelling, adding a few exaggerated expressions to make Kaleina and Flame feel more excited about it.
Although Flame was in her teens, she still listened with glittering eyes, looking at her with excitement. Kaleina even more so because although she was only three years younger than Flame, she matured much slower as a dragon.
After a while, Kaleina asked with interest. "So, Mommy, how did you find your way through the desert? Wasn't it confusion."
Yasenia lowered her head and kissed her snout. "Well, you see, Mama Cecile is an expert at tracking, so we…"
After another while, Flame asked with a blush of excitement. " Was running so fast during the obstacle course difficult, Aunty Yasenia?"
Yasenia looked at her and gave her a smooch on the forehead, making Flame blush deeper. "It was not difficult for me because I completed the courses you are currently doing and some more."
Flame blinked. "The ones I'm doing?"
Yasenia nodded. "Yes. The ones you are doing now are useful even when you grow up because they train your brain in how to process threats."
Flame nodded and whispered. "I need to put more effort into them…"
Yasenia smiled. She didn't lie, as the truth was that Flame and Kaleina's training prepared them for the future.
Kaleina interjected. "And what happened next, Mommy?"
"Well, after arriving at the fourth floor, we…" Yasenia continued her story for a few hours. Going back and forth to answer their questions.