Duel

"Roar—!" "Conquer the Abyss! For the glory of the great red dragon, slaughter these Abyssal bastards!" "For the Empire! Kill them all!" At that moment, the cries of the Abyssal drakes and demons were completely drowned out by the fanatical war cries of the imperial legions. The wyvern knights swung their broadswords and thrust their lances, madly butchering the dazed and terrified demon riders as purplish-black blood splattered across midair. Meanwhile, the wyverns and flame drakes tore savagely at the Abyssal drakes—creatures far larger and fiercer than themselves—even pouncing onto them, clinging to their chests and ripping away chunks of flesh. "Awoo—!" The Abyssal drakes let out reflexive wails of agony. Under the terrifying pressure radiating from hundreds of Cassius's blood kin, however, they could barely keep themselves airborne, much less mount a struggle. *Boom!* *Boom! Boom!* One Abyssal drake after another plummeted from the sky, crashing into the mountainside, smashing rocks, and sending tremors through the peaks amidst bursts of flying debris. The drakes' corpses continued to tumble down the slopes, painting the mountainsides in purplish-black gore. The Empire's wyvern legion continued its downward dive, scattering the Abyssal drake formation to pieces before leveling off at the base of the mountains to absorb their momentum. Immediately after, riding the surging updrafts, they rapidly climbed hundreds of meters back into the sky. "Total victory!" Alger stood atop his giant eagle, raising the Everburning Greatsword high. It unleashed a blinding burst of fire into the heavens once more, as if dotting the eyes of the phantom red dragon above. He looked down disdainfully upon the wailing Abyssal drakes below, his golden vertical pupils—the mark of noble blood—filled with unyielding resolve for absolute triumph. The wyvern knights erupted into rolling waves of fanatical cheers. Lances bristled like a forest, and crimson imperial banners fluttered high in the winds. "Victory! Victory!" "Long live the Empire!" The wyverns and flame drakes gathered once more in the upper skies, beating their wings to form a crimson cloud. Now, the bond of blood showed its full majesty: their movements seemed cast from a single mold, every flap of their wings generating a synchronized resonance. "Roar—!" The wyverns and drakes opened their maws in unison, their rumbling roars merging into an ancient, reverberating draconic cry. Below the imperial dragon host, the Abyssal drakes had suffered catastrophic losses in the previous clash. Nearly forty percent of their numbers had crashed to the ground, the demon cavalry had been wiped out entirely, and their formation had completely disintegrated. The surviving Abyssal drakes looked up. In those pitch-black orbs reflected the image of the red dragon. Their draconic bodies trembled, and they could not stop low whimpers from escaping deep within their throats. *Gurgle...* As twisted creations born of red dragons, wyverns, and fiends, the Abyssal drakes possessed the chaotic power bestowed upon them, but at their core, they were still draconic. Ancient dragon blood flowed through their veins. Even after thousands of years, they could not escape the suppression of draconic bloodline hierarchy. Nearly every Abyssal drake was whimpering and shivering, utterly terrified of the Cinder dragon host preparing for its next dive. Faced with the glaring imperial dragons, the largest Abyssal drake finally had its bloodlust ignited. Letting out a deafening roar, it mounted its defiance. "Roar—!" The Abyssal drake opened its bloody maw, unleashing a discordant, chaotic roar like wind howling through a deep gorge, spraying foul, viscous saliva from its jaws. This drake was the alpha of the Abyssal drake pack, and the one whose fiendish blood ran thickest. For centuries, it had roamed the wastelands of the Abyss, hunting every demon and trespasser that wandered into its territory, even devouring many weaker kin. Abyssal drakes brought terror to other creatures; they never permitted themselves to become prey. Its dark red scaled hide was bristling with venomous barbs, spanning a massive body over twenty meters long. Its powerful, bat-like wings beat heavily, the tattered membranes sounding like a blacksmith's bellows pumping air into flames. The Abyssal drake craned its neck and gave a piercing cry, issuing a challenge to the entire dragon flock above. High in the air, Alger sneered. "Hah. An ignorant beast. I'll make it regret its insolence..." Yet before he could react, an impatient roar laced with ferocious battle lust surged from the ranks of the Cinder Empire's dragons. "Roar—!" A massive silhouette immediately broke from the formation, surging to the front of the gathered wyverns and flame drakes. It was the leader of the wyverns—a creature bestowed with a name directly by the Emperor, holding a status equivalent to an imperial Dragonblood Marquis: Smaug! It spread its wings and widened its stout forelimbs, proudly displaying its majestic, towering frame. Smaug then lowered his head, glaring down at the Abyssal drake with utter disdain. Mockery gleamed in his golden vertical pupils, and he even crooked a claw in provocation. Compared to the Abyssal drake, Smaug was slightly shorter, though he still reached the twenty-meter mark. Yet unlike that somewhat gaunt, skeletal fiendish monster, the wyvern alpha was far more muscular. Whether torso, limbs, or tail, his coiled sinews radiated overwhelming power. Rather than a typical wyvern, he looked more like a prime adult red dragon, shrouded in the pungent stench of sulfur—only his two hind limbs betrayed his true breed. Alger shook his head with an amused laugh. "That fellow... reckless as ever." "Commander, what should we do?" Alger replied with supreme confidence, "Then let us enjoy the show." It was poor form to intrude upon a duel between draconic creatures, and Alger had plenty of faith in the wyvern alpha. "Roar—!" Enraged by Smaug's mockery, the Abyssal drake flew into a fury. With an ear-splitting howl, it beat its tattered wings, whipping up a violent, foul gust as it charged toward the wyvern leader. Smaug threw back his head with a resounding cry, spread his wings, tucked his tail, and dove unstoppably toward this peculiar 'prey.' Scorching gales mingled with the stench of rot. When they were barely a hundred meters apart, both opened their gaping maws almost simultaneously, unleashing the breath weapons they took such pride in. The Abyssal drake spewed a stream of black-red flames laden with chaotic energy. Smaug, however, breathed searing dragonflame comparable to an adult red dragon's, suffused with the supreme might of the Cinder Emperor. *Boom!* The two tremendous torrents of power collided midair, producing a dazzling, violent explosion as dark crimson and bright fiery red clashed into a churning fireball. In the next instant, both drakes tilted their heads aside, directing their breath attacks toward each other's wings. Smaug's dragonflame scorched straight through the Abyssal drake's wing membranes, blasting open massive, charred tears. The Abyssal drake craned its neck as well, aiming its black-red Abyssal fire at Smaug's wings. Yet the wyvern alpha was exceptionally robust, possessing astonishing aerial agility. "Roar!" The muscles along Smaug's wings and chest bunched, veins bulging against his scales. Relying on raw physical strength, he beat a single wing to whip up a scalding gale, forcefully twisting his massive body in midair to evade the blast of Abyssal dragonflame. By contrast, the Abyssal drake's mobility was already compromised. Its massive frame wobbled in midair for several moments before barely regaining balance. The wind howled raucously through the gaping holes torn in its right wing membrane. How could Smaug let such an opportunity slip? The wyvern let out an exhilarated roar, spread his wings, and dove straight down from above once more. "Roar—!" The Abyssal drake spat black-red fireballs repeatedly, attempting to disrupt the wyvern's lethal descent. Yet Smaug showed no fear, banking and spinning gracefully through the air to slip past the Abyssal fireballs, spitting fireballs of his own in return. In just a few breaths, Smaug had closed the distance. "Roar! Roar!" The wyvern alpha bellowed in wild excitement, extending his thick, razor-sharp talons as he accelerated his dive, drawing ever closer to the Abyssal drake. A glint of cunning flashed across the drake's pitch-black eyes. It feigned a retreat, and the moment Smaug reached out to seize it, it lashed its long tail covered in venomous stingers. *Slash—!* The sharp barb pried past scales, driving deep into the wyvern's flesh to pump in potent venom. "Awoo—!" Pained by the blow, the wyvern reared back with an agonizing cry, yet the toxin failed to sap his strength; instead, it only drove him into a greater fury. An Abyssal drake's venom was derived from wyverns in the first place, and both shared natural resistance to it. Flames seemed ready to burst from Smaug's eyes. Digging his razor talons into the Abyssal drake's wings, he used his full body weight to slam the creature toward the nearby mountain peak. *Boom!* With an earth-shattering crash, both leviathans slammed into the cliffside, tangling together in brutal, bloody melee. Though slightly smaller in frame, Smaug was infused with the blood of a red dragon, making him far more muscular and formidable than the Abyssal drake. He pinned the Abyssal drake beneath him with tyrannical force, gripping the enemy's body and tearing into its flesh, using a maw of blade-like teeth to gnaw at the drake's neck. Dark red scales ripped away mercilessly to expose raw swathes of dark flesh, opening hideous wounds across the Abyssal drake's throat. "Awoo—!" Amidst the Abyssal drake's shrill screams of agony, caustic purplish-black blood splashed all over Smaug. The Abyssal drake thrashed frantically, whipping Smaug's hind legs with its barbed tail and raking the wyvern's skull with razor-sharp claws. It opened its jaws wide, preparing to spew Abyssal flame point-blank. Yet against absolute physical dominance, all its struggles were futile. Smaug firmly clamped his right foreclaw onto the Abyssal drake's neck, choking off any sound—let alone breath fire. With his left claw, he widened the wound, tearing down into the chest cavity and reaching inside to ruthlessly churn its internal organs. The Abyssal drake's body convulsed violently, but all strength to resist drained away. Normal wyverns were built slender for lighter flight. Smaug, however, was different. Having received multiple Dragonblood Blessings, he was covered in armor-like muscle, possessing physical power unmatched by ordinary draconic beasts. Finally, Smaug looked down with a savage grin, unhinged his jaw, clamped onto the creature's relatively slender neck, and bit down with all his might. *Crack!* The crisp sound of splintering bone echoed out. The Abyssal drake twitched a few times, then its head slumped to the side, its wings slumping limply against the ground. Light faded from its eyes. Emitting a foul stench, saliva and blood trickling from the corners of its mouth, it went entirely still. The Abyssal drake was dead. An apex predator of the Abyss, a dragon that fed on demons, had met an ignominious end on the Material Plane. Planting his foot atop the dead drake's head, Smaug rose onto his powerful hind legs and proudly spread his wings. "Roar—!" He craned his neck and bellowed toward the heavens, unleashing a roar of supreme triumph, as if proclaiming his absolute might to the entire world. Looking upon their leader's still-warm corpse, the remaining Abyssal drakes in the air plunged into absolute panic, completely leaderless. That had been the strongest among them, an alpha that had devoured countless demons and kin, a beast that seven or eight ordinary drakes combined could scarcely match. Yet now, before their very eyes, an astonishingly powerful wyvern had brutally slaughtered their pack leader in a duel and stood upon its crushed skull to mock them. It was terrifying! Amidst this overwhelming dread, the Abyssal drakes scattered in flight, screeching in blind panic as they beat their wings frantically toward the Abyssal portal. Unfortunately for them, the dragon flock still loomed in the sky above—and they had no intention of showing mercy to monsters from the Abyss. Alger looked down at the fleeing silhouettes, a satisfied smile playing at the corners of his lips. "Do they think they can come and go from the Empire as they please? "Since you ignorantly chose to set foot on imperial soil, you must pay the price for your choice." Alger slowly raised the broadsword in his hand, pointing the blade toward the fleeing Abyssal drakes, and issued a calm order: "Slaughter these crawlers from the Abyss... to the last!" Within the Cinder dragon host, wyverns, flame drakes, and Redscale Conquerors alike looked on with gleaming eyes—especially the players. To the players, these weren't terrifying Abyssal drakes; they were free contribution points and gold coins waiting to be claimed! When facing an enemy that showed its back, cavalry were at their most devastating, capable of mowing down routing foes with effortless ease. And now, even if those foes were Abyssal drakes, the outcome would be no different. "Charge!" "For the Empire!" "Kill every last one of these Abyssal drakes!" "Roar—!" Accompanied by resounding dragon roars, hundreds of wyverns and flame drakes dove with unstoppable momentum, engulfing the fleeing Abyssal drakes like a surging crimson tide. Soon, massive, mangled corpses plummeted from the skies, cratering the desolate wasteland into countless filthy pits of blood. The Abyssal drake legion, hailed by the demons as their secret weapon, was wiped out entirely.