Cassius, who had just picked up a glass of water to take a sip, instantly choked, spitting the water straight out and coughing violently."What?! What do you mean my uncle?! Since when do I have a dragon for an uncle?!"
He stared at them in total disbelief. "Are you telling me I’m related to a giant lizard?!"
"Step-uncle, technically." Julie clarified, her eyes dancing with amusement. "The one who raided the mines back then was the brother of your father’s second wife—the princess of the Dragon race. Your stepmother."
Understanding dawned on Cassius’s face, though his expression remained bewildered.
"So this was..."
"Her brother." Julie confirmed. "A dragon who thought far too highly of himself."
"He couldn’t accept that everyone considered Big Sis Ragnora to be stronger than him. His pride simply wouldn’t allow it."
"So he decided to ’prove himself’ by causing problems in our territory."
Skadi let out an evil little giggle.
"But the moment Big Sis Ragnora heard about it?" She sprang to her feet, her entire body practically vibrating. "She jumped! One leap, Master! One leap—and she shot all the way into the clouds!"
Skadi demonstrated, launching herself upward with a small hop that made her ears flop endearingly.
"And just as your uncle was diving toward her, jaws wide open, ready to swallow her whole..."
She raised her arm high above her head, her eyes blazing with barely contained excitement.
"She slammed her fist right onto his forehead!"
She brought her fist down in a mighty swing—directly onto Cassius’s desk.
CRACK!
A fist-sized hole splintered through the wood.
Cassius jumped up out of his chair in pure fright, staring at the shattered antique in utter horror.
"Skadi! What the hell! That my private blowjob desk! It cost a cost a fortune to make! Do you want me to deduct that from your allowance?!"
Skadi’s ears instantly flattened against her head. She tucked her tail between her legs, whimpering pitifully as she shrank back.
"I-I’m sorry, Master! I’m so sorry! I just got way too excited picturing the story!"
Cassius pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh before slumping back into his seat.
Aisha couldn’t contain her laughter, though she tried to defend the wolf-girl.
"To be fair to Skadi, anyone hearing that story gets hyped up! The dragon race considers themselves the absolute supreme apex predators of the world! They act arrogant toward everyone!"
"So hearing that an Ogre knocked a dragon prince clear out of the sky with a single punch—while holding back so she wouldn’t kill him was celebrated across every kingdom!"
"It was the ultimate humiliation for the dragons, and ever since then, they’ve treated Ragnora with absolute terror."
Skadi, still feeling guilty about breaking the desk, quickly moved to make amends. She turned around and presented her bare, beautiful bottom to Cassius.
But more importantly, she used her tail to brush along Cassius’s face, the soft fur tickling his cheeks in a way that was meant to appease him.
It was her way of showing apology.
And it worked perfectly.
Grinning, Cassius reached out, caught Skadi by her waist, and pulled her right back into his lap.
Skadi let out a loud squeak of relief, melting into his embrace, happy that her master wasn’t truly mad at her.
"Back in the capital." Julie continued, pretending not to notice the display. "Aqua’s master is considered the strongest human mage alive. He’s quite proud of that title—and rightfully so."
"But whenever someone brings up Big Sis Ragnora and the topic turns to who would win in a fight between them?"
She shook her head with a wry smile. "He goes completely silent. Changes the subject immediately. He won’t even entertain the question."
"Meaning, even he isn’t confident he could defeat her." He asked.
"Not in the slightest."
Cassius leaned back, genuinely intrigued now. His fingers absently toying with Skadi’s nipples through her clothes as she squirmed and let out soft whimpers.
"So how powerful is she compared to the rest of the world? If there were some kind of ranking system, where exactly would she place?"
Aisha considered this carefully. "There isn’t any official ranking, Cassius. The most powerful figures in the world are too varied—different races, different types of abilities, different regions. It’s nearly impossible to compare them directly."
"Aqua’s mother, for instance—who is also your stepmother, given her relationship to Aqua."
She glanced at Cassius with a slightly careful expression.
"She’s the queen of the fairy race. Her affinity with mana is essentially without ceiling. She’s regarded as one of the most powerful magical presences in the world and also a Supreme Mage herself."
Aisha’s eyes glowed like she was also a figure that she greatly admired.
"She’s also the one who aided the Empress during the rebellion that put her on the throne."
She smirked. "You don’t do that without being genuinely terrifying."
Cassius absorbed this without much visible reaction, though internally he was recalibrating his sense of the Holyfield family’s extended connections at speed.
"And your other stepmother." Julie added. "The Dragon Queen? She’s just as terrifying."
"A prodigy even among the dragons whose flames can supposedly melt even the strongest enchanted metals. In her dragon form, even other dragons tremble before her."
Cassius found his thoughts drifting from one step-mother to another one. He’d heard fragments of stories from his wives, whispers that she had genuinely cared for him in the past.
The last she heard of her was that she was dealing with some problem in her clan.
"And then there’s your older brother’s mother-in-law, Master." Skadi added shyly, despite the continued attention to her chest. "She’s one of the most powerful spirit users in the Elven race."
Cassius’s train of thought derailed completely.
"Huh? Which mother-in-law?"
"Your second brother." Aisha clarified. "He married the princess of the Elven race, which makes his mother-in-law the queen of the Elven race. She commands the wind elemental spirit with absolute mastery. She’s basically a living fortress, the supreme shield protecting the Elven kingdom."
Cassius’s mind spun with this new information. His brother had married an Elven princess? And gained a queen as his mother-in-law? The lucky bastard.
He couldn’t help imagining her—probably a mature, voluptuous elf queen who doted endlessly on her precious son-in-law.
A flicker of jealousy sparked in his chest. Then that spark caught fire, and a rather evil thought crept into his mind.
’What if I just...took them?’
The idea unfurled like a dark flower. He still had the Goddess’s mission to complete, after all.
Stealing his brother’s wife and his mother-in-law would be perfectly in line with those objectives.
And given that the original Cassius had never gotten along with his brothers...
A small smile crossed his lips.
But neither of the women noticed the dark gleam in Cassius’s eyes as Aisha continued,
"And then there’s your other step-sister from your dragon mother’s side who is currently traveling alongside the prophesied Hero."
"Both of them are rapidly climbing into the top realm of power despite their young age."
Julie looked at Cassius, her eyes narrowing with a light smirk.
"Notice a pattern, Cassius? Almost every single global-tier powerhouse on this continent is somehow tied to your family."
"Your father didn’t just build the richest house in the world...he built the most terrifyingly connected bloodline in history."
But Cassius only let out a dismissive snort.
"Please. Don’t give that bastard father of mine too much credit. He didn’t do it out of love—he did it out of cold, calculated paranoia."
His tone turned cold and condescending.
"He wanted to make sure the Holyfield position was unshakeable, so he systematically tethered every major political and military power to his estate through political marriages and strategic fosterings."
"A calculated move by a pathetic man who spends his days weeping at my late mother’s grave."
Julie quickly cleared her throat, realizing she had hit a sensitive nerve regarding Cassius’s deep hatred for his father. She smoothly steered the conversation back on track.
"Anyway! Ranking them is impossible." Julie said smoothly. "But if I had to place Big Sis Ragnora on that list? She is easily in the Top Five strongest beings alive on this entire continent!"
Cassius was genuinely intrigued despite himself. He looked directly at Julie. "Be honest with me then, Julie. Between me...and her...who’s stronger?"
To his surprise, Julie didn’t hesitate or tease him.
A strange, slightly awkward expression crossed her face.
"I’ve seen Big Sis Ragnora fight in full combat." Julie said slowly. "She is terrifyingly, unfathomably strong. Against her, I wouldn’t last a single second."
"But...I’ve also seen you fight, Cassius. And I know for a fact that you haven’t shown even half of your true power to anyone yet."
She looked him dead in the eye. "So if you’re asking my honest opinion? I still think you’re the most terrifyingly powerful person I’ve ever met in my life."
Cassius felt a surge of pride swell in his chest. Hearing such absolute confidence from a skilled warrior like Julie was immensely satisfying.
Grinning softly, he rewarded himself by squeezing Skadi’s breasts tighter, causing the poor doggy to let out a sweet, helpless squeak against his neck.
"But it’s not just her raw power that makes everyone love her, Cassius." Aisha said softly, her eyes filled with genuine affection.
"It’s her selfless heart. She genuinely cares about every living soul. That’s why she’s my idol."
Skadi nodded vigorously. "She’s always looking out for others! Not just her own people—anyone. If there’s danger, she puts herself in harm’s way without a moment’s hesitation!"
"There was this one village far from the Holyfield estate"
Julie continued, her voice taking on a somber weight.
"Somehow, a poisonous miasma had descended upon it. A corruption so potent it was killing even high-ranking mages who ventured too close."
"No one wanted to go near that place. The villagers inside were doomed to be slowly consumed, and everyone knew it."
"But when Big Sis Ragnora heard about it..."
Julie’s eyes grew distant with reverence.
"She went immediately! And the miasma was so deadly that it affected even her! Her own body was burning from the exposure."
Skadi sniffled softly, clearly moved by the memory even secondhand.
"But she pushed through." Julie said, her voice thick with emotion. "She saved every single person in that village. Every. Single. One."
"And there was the cave collapse." Aisha added. "One of the mining shafts gave way. Big Sis Ragnora happened to be nearby, and she—"
Aisha shook her head in disbelief.
"She held up the entire shaft. The weight of a mountain pressing down on her back, and she held it for hours so everyone could escape."
A shadow crossed her face.
"But just as the last miner came out, the cave collapsed completely. Right on top of her."
The room fell silent. Even Cassius felt a chill.
"Others had to dig through the rubble to find her." Julie said quietly. "She was...badly injured, Cassius. Bones shattered. Her back torn open."
"Even she couldn’t completely withstand an entire mountain falling on her."
"But she survived!" Aisha said, her voice brightening. "Her Ogre regeneration kicked in, and within a few weeks she was completely healed up, laughing like nothing happened. Not even a mountain could keep her down for long!"
"But that only made everyone admire her even more." Julie said, her voice filled with awe. "Despite knowing she could lose her own life, she was willing to forsake it entirely for the sake of her comrades who were stuck underneath."
"There are so many stories like that, where she sacrifices herself." Aisha let out a deep sigh, thinking that she could even write a book about her mentor.
"Stories where she puts herself in harm’s way to save others. And just because of that, even people who are normally cold and disheartened by everything else can’t help but respect and admire her."
"Even the Royal Empress." Julie noted. "Who looks down on every noble in the realm and refuses to let anyone look her in the eye, speaks to Big Sis Ragnora with absolute warmth and respect. Everyone loves her."
"Race doesn’t matter. Age doesn’t matter. Status doesn’t matter." Skadi voice rang with conviction. "Everyone adores our Big Sis!"
Julie looked at Cassius with a smirk.
"So when you casually threw her full name around earlier—Ragnora Vindictus Titanborn—there was no way we were going to let you sully it!"
"It’s a name that demands absolute, unyielding respect!"
Hearing this, Cassius had nothing to say. Even he, despite only hearing the rumors and stories, felt immense respect for that person.
She wasn’t just a military weapon; she was a true, living legend who bore the burdens of the world on her shoulders without a single complaint.
Then, a specific detail clicked in Cassius’s mind. His brows knit together.
"Wait a second..." Cassius muttered, tapping his chin. "Julie...what did you just say her full name was?"
"Ragnora Vindictus Titanborn." Julie repeated casually.
"Vindictus...?" Cassius blinked, his crimson eyes widening. "As in...my mother’s maiden name? Florence Vindictus Holyfield?"
Julie looked at him as if this should have been obvious.
"Of course. It was your mother who gave her that name, after all."
Chapter 941: Powerhouse-Filled Family
11 min read