"Roar—!"
Fine motes of magical aura flickered across the draconic bloodline sorcerer's body as his form swelled dramatically.
White smoke immediately billowed out in every direction, thick with the stench of sulfur and saltpeter that completely overpowered even the heavy stench of blood, making the subterranean cavern feel like the crater of an active volcano. As the smoke cleared, an eighteen-meter-long red dragon suddenly manifested within the underground world.
Duke Brad halted his pursuit of Langlibaitiao and glared at the red dragon, his scarlet eyes blazing with fury.
"It really is you."
"Damned reptile..."
"Why? Why must you obstruct me time and time again?!"
For the first time, the vampire duke set aside his arrogance and turned grave. After all, the foe before him was a genuine, full-fledged dragon!
Across the Material Plane, no one dared underestimate a dragon—let alone a red dragon, renowned as Tiamat's favored darling and the foremost of the chromatic dragons.
Cassius offered no reply, answering only with a breath of fire.
*Boom!*
Scorching flames hurtled toward the vampire.
Like an agile bat, Duke Brad dodged and darted through the air, evading the blast.
Under his control, Alger charged toward the red dragon. His eyes hollow and blank, he roared as he swung the Everburning Greatsword at his master.
"Dominate Person?"
Cassius recognized the spell at a single glance.
"Roar—"
The red dragon released a low roar. An invisible majesty radiated from his colossal frame, and the crushing weight of bloodline superiority sent tremors through Alger's body and soul alike.
Leader's Aura.
In an instant, clarity returned to Alger's eyes.
Paying no heed to the momentarily bewildered Alger, Cassius beat his wings and unleashed a soul-shaking dragon roar, surging forward with unstoppable momentum.
"Damned reptile."
Watching the closing red dragon, Duke Brad gritted his teeth, the rage in his scarlet eyes boiling over.
"I will make you understand the meaning of death!"
For centuries, no one had dared obstruct him like this. And for this ascension, he had prepared for two whole centuries.
Duke Brad raised both arms with all his might. The darkness seemed to let out wails of agony as countless necrotic shadow tendrils surged up from the ground. Scarlet blood mist filled the air, and tens of thousands of bats gathered like rolling storm clouds, swarming relentlessly forward alongside a roiling sea of blood.
The vampire's centuries of accumulated power erupted completely, virtually transforming everything in sight into a hellscape of blood.
In this moment, he was the sovereign of this domain!
Yet the red dragon's scales suddenly shifted to a brilliant golden-red. Shards of energy drifted around his draconic form like tens of thousands of tiny satellites, while crackling, leaping lightning coiled about his body, hissing and popping continuously.
The instant the red dragon plunged into the converging tide of blood mist, shadows, and bats, a blinding glare erupted, dispelling the encroaching darkness.
Bats fell from the air in droves, charred to cinders by the leaping lightning. Shadows were effortlessly dissolved by the energy shards, while the blood mist evaporated before it could even draw near.
"I never intentionally sought to obstruct you."
"It's just that... you are standing in my way, old bat."
The red dragon breathed a sea of blazing flames, incinerating everything in his path as the fire surged toward the vampire.
"Even a dragon must meet its end!"
"Whereas I am the eternal sovereign!"
Duke Brad's pale face grew increasingly hideous. Having absorbed the powers of original sin, his mind had twisted even further.
"You should be on your knees, groveling before me!"
The monstrous sea of blood rose like a colossal crimson curtain before the vampire, blocking the incoming flames, and its surging tide roiled across the expanse, cresting toward the red dragon.
"Tricks that can only frighten mortals."
"Who gave you the confidence to attack a dragon with such pathetic parlor tricks?"
Without hesitation, Cassius charged headlong, crashing straight into the sea of blood.
Parting his jaws slightly, his powerful fundus vessels channeled fiery energy from across his body into his lungs. The searing fire elements built up within his lungs and throat, making his chest glow faintly like molten lava, light glimmering through the seams between his scales.
The scent of sulfur and saltpeter grew even heavier. His massive draconic frame was like an active volcano on the brink of eruption.
Maximized Flame Breath.
*Boom!*
An incandescent pillar of blistering fire erupted from the red dragon's maw, instantly piercing through the sea of blood before him.
Accompanied by sizzling hisses, wherever the flames reached, the viscous blood water was boiled to nothingness before it could even get close. In an instant, the blaze consumed everything, leaving a haze of bloody steam hanging in the air.
Cassius angled his head slightly, sweeping the pillar of fire toward the vampire.
For the first time, a flicker of panic crossed Duke Brad's scarlet eyes.
Faced with such terrifying fire, even with a vampire's undead nature making him difficult to destroy, taking a direct hit would make recovery nearly impossible.
Even so, Duke Brad sneered ferociously, howling in frenzy, "It's useless, reptile!"
"I am everywhere! I am immortal!"
At once, the vampire dissolved into a vast blood mist, blending himself into the roiling sea of blood so that Cassius could not strike his true form.
*Annoying pest.*
*Since you're so good at running away, don't blame me for butchering your entire family,* Cassius thought to himself.
Without hesitation, he turned his head and unleashed his attacks upon the helpless vampire spawn tied naked to the stone pillars.
In an instant, the vampire spawn bound helplessly to the pillar was engulfed by incandescent flames. When the fire swept past, nothing remained but rock melted by the searing heat, giving off dense steam as red magma flowed.
Even the iron chains wrapped around the vampire had melted into glowing red molten iron, oozing slowly downward.
Reality proved once more that the "immortality" of vampire spawn was hardly as absolute as they boasted; it had clear limits.
The duke's second son, the embodiment of Wrath—Aitri Lakeman—perished completely.
He was a powerful berserker who was supposed to provide "strength" for Duke Brad's ascension, but now, before he could even utter a wail or make a struggle, he was reduced to ashes in the consummate flames.
"No—!"
"M-My children..."
Duke Brad coalesced back into human form in midair, letting out a grief-stricken wail, pushed to the brink of madness.
Through years of self-hypnosis, Duke Brad truly, deeply "loved" these children. To him, this love meant that only by having these spawn thoroughly absorbed into himself could their lives achieve true perfection, leaving no regrets.
Aitri's destruction.
It also meant the failure of his ascension.
Seeing the red dragon turn his head once more, poised to incinerate the embodiment of Pride—his most beloved daughter, Alexia—
Duke Brad could endure no longer. His scarlet eyes burning with monstrous fury, he rode the endless blood mist and swooped down from the sky toward the red dragon.
"Reptile, I will have your life!"
Chapter 139