Raging Tide

"Red dragon—" "You make a fine sacrifice! I shall present your head to the Grand Sultan!" "I shall offer your flesh to the supreme Lord of Flames!" The efreeti bellowed into the heavens. His titanic body plunged amidst billowing plumes of smoke, brilliant flames erupting from his eyes. A crimson giant nearly thirty meters tall hurtled down with unstoppable momentum, brandishing his brass scimitar in a leaping cleave. *Whoosh—* The very fabric of the Elemental Plane of Fire was torn by this terrifying force, fracturing into fissures resembling dancing tongues of flame. Cassius looked up at the descending efreeti, the Cataclysmic Dragon Eye beside him pulsing with light. The next instant, an ear-splitting howl pierced the air. With speed imperceptible to the naked eye, Cassius snapped his wings. His massive form dissolved into a crimson blur, leaving behind only a conical vapor cone. In a flash, the red dragon vanished from his original position. "What?" "How can this be?" The leaping efreeti cleaved only empty air. His features contorted in sheer fury and shock. As the Prince of Evil Fire, Imix commanded no shortage of red dragon worshippers, and these dragons often allied with the efreet realms backed by Imix. As an efreeti pasha, Ismail had fought alongside these terrible war machines on occasion. While he conceded that the red dragons rivaled him in sheer strength, in terms of agility, Ismail had always considered himself far superior. Yet now, something incomprehensible had occurred— *Slash.* The sound of flesh tearing. Ismail felt a blast of scalding air behind him, instantly followed by agonizing pain. In that mere fraction of a second, Cassius had appeared behind him, raking sharp talons across the nape of his neck. Blood hot as magma splattered through the air. "Die!" Relying on his warrior instincts, the efreeti whirled around, putting everything he had into swinging his brass scimitar toward the dragon's chest. *Whoosh—* The blade cleaved through space once more, tracing an elegant crescent across the sky. Just as the edge was about to bite into dragon scales, Cassius beat his wings again, whipping up a hurricane as he glided backward nearly a hundred meters like a phantom. *Boom!* The brass scimitar unleashed a terrifying crescent shockwave that expanded outward, destabilizing the surrounding space until web-like cracks spread across the air. Yet bolstered by his array of enchantments, Cassius's speed had reached an absurd degree. Forget the blade itself—even the shockwave failed to graze him. Cassius ascended, hovering a hundred meters up in the sky. Looking down upon the colossal efreeti, he bared his teeth in a sneer. "If this is all you've got—" "Your Grand Sultan's blessing isn't much to brag about!" "Coward!" "Do you think running away will change your fate?" "Red dragon! Face me in close quarters! Stop hiding behind your spellcraft and treacherous words!" *He insults my faith!* Floating in midair, the efreeti threw his head back and roared, his eyes burning with venom and hatred. Ismail had been the strongest among his kind since youth. At fifty, he had carved a bloody path across battlefields and personally cleaved off the head of a djinni emir. By eighty, he was an acclaimed champion among his people. Even so, it was only through ruthless, grueling combat that he had distinguished himself from the finest champions of every efreet tribe. In the end, kneeling bloodstained before the Grand Sultan, he had attained the supreme honor of pasha. With that thought, he raised his brass scimitar once more, aiming its edge squarely at the red dragon—a brazen provocation and a display of defiance. He would prove his might to this formidable enemy! Wild tongues of fire wrapped around his colossal frame, fierce light blazing from his eyes as thick smoke trailed behind him. At this moment, Ismail looked like the very avatar of the Elemental Plane of Fire! "Come, red dragon! Do not run! Face me head-on!" He knew these red dragons well. Belligerent, wrathful, arrogant, and conceited. Whenever any creature dared issue a direct challenge to a red dragon, they took it as a personal insult, sparing nothing to obliterate the insolent insect who didn't know its place. Yet the red dragon showed no sign of anger. He merely tilted his head in mild amusement. "Shouldn't you reflect on why your own spellcasting is so pathetic?" "You simply haven't worked hard enough!" Cassius grinned provocatively, snorting plumes of sulfurous white smoke from his nostrils. "Then again—" "Crushing a fool like you doesn't require cunning anyway. A head-on pulverizing will do just fine!" "Come! Show me the strength you're so proud of!" Flames surged skyward as smoke and ash rolled across the field. Cassius snapped his wings, whipping up a searing gale, and swooped down with unstoppable force—charging straight toward the efreeti pasha. Bracing himself, Ismail lunged forward without a shred of fear, the planar power churning around his body in violent waves. *Boom!* First came a blinding flash of light. Then followed collision after collision, violent fissures and explosions echoing without end. Fire entwined with thick smoke; steam danced with swirling ash. Across the orange-red sky of the Elemental Plane of Fire, burning-rimmed spatial rifts opened one after another. The red dragon and the efreeti grappled together, vanishing into the roiling clouds of steam and smoke, revealing only a menacing claw or scaled flank from time to time. Every clash unleashed a titanic blast wave of scorching heat, making it impossible for nearby creatures to keep their footing—some were even crushed to death by the shockwaves where they stood. The sky was riddled with scars. The earth groaned and trembled. "Lord of Flames above..." "They... they are sent by the gods to punish his people! They are harbingers of ruin!" "O Lord..." "What... what is that?" "I've lived for eighty-seven years, and I've never seen a battle like this!" The slaves who had once looked on with mild curiosity now trembled violently, not even daring to raise their heads to watch. It was simply too terrifying. They had watched with their own eyes as stray fire from the clash between dragon and efreet rained from the heavens, instantly incinerating dozens of unlucky salamanders to ash. "He will win. His Majesty Cassius will definitely win!" Serkan looked up, his expression resolute to the point of religious devotion. Even the ordinary imperial soldiers looked skyward, watching the battle above with tense anticipation. Yet there was not the slightest fear in their eyes that Cassius might lose—such a thing was impossible. His Majesty never lost. It had always been so. Whether against nobles, fiends, silver dragons, or efreet, His Majesty Cassius would crush them all beneath his feet and lead his people toward a glorious future. This was not merely confidence built upon endless victories; it was the product of years of imperial propaganda. The faith many soldiers held in their Emperor rivaled that of church zealots, bordering on fanaticism. "The Great Red Dragon will never fall!" "Ten thousand victories to His Majesty Cassius!" "Rejoice, everyone! His Majesty Cassius has stepped onto the field—this will soon be over!" The soldiers' cheers were swallowed by the thunderous explosions, yet the shouts rose unbroken, rolling across the battlefield like a relentless tide.