"Roar—"
Accompanied by earth-shattering roars, the red dragon and the white dragon grappled together. Their massive, burly frames collided repeatedly, neither yielding an inch or gaining a clear advantage.
Dracarys wanted to bear down upon Tinia and pin her completely, but Tinia always managed to slip away at the critical moment, using her greater agility to dodge and weave across the battlefield.
The instant the red dragon let down her guard, Tinia would part her frost-wreathed maw and swing her razor claws, aiming straight for her vital points.
At this moment, the white dragon fought like a cool-headed assassin, consistently evading the enemy's torrential assault to pinpoint flaws and deliver lethal strikes.
The longer they fought, the more astonished Dracarys became. She realized this white dragon was far more difficult to handle than she had anticipated.
Although Dracarys held a slight advantage in raw physical strength, the white dragon's might was not to be underestimated either. Furthermore, her opponent was blisteringly fast; her bites, tail slaps, and claw swipes were all exceedingly difficult to dodge.
What irritated her most was that divine frost power. Almost every attack from the white dragon was infused with a bitter chill. With the slightest lapse in attention, the cold seeped in, bringing frostbite.
Though Dracarys stayed entirely focused and pressed her attack like a tempest, frostbite had already spread across her body.
*I have to end this quickly. This white dragon poses too great a threat!* the red dragon thought through gritted teeth. Slamming her head forward, she knocked the white dragon away, then snapped her wings and surged into the sky.
Yet Tinia harbored an almost identical thought, albeit with a rather peculiar focus.
*I must defeat this red dragon as quickly as possible!*
Dracarys posed far too great a threat. She was a vigorous, prime red dragon, exceptionally gorgeous by dragon beauty standards. If she were allowed to see Master, who knew what might happen...
At the thought, a wave of profound sorrow and indignant fury washed over Tinia.
No! She could never stand by and let such a thing occur! She had to do something!
Flapping her wings, Tinia also ascended abruptly into the upper air, glaring hostilely at the red dragon across from her.
"Roar—"
Almost simultaneously, both the red and white dragons let out furious roars, each unleashing the terrifying power within her body.
Fine fissures of flame fractured across Dracarys's chest.
Twin streams of fire erupted from her golden pupils, and roaring flames enveloped her burly frame, making her look like a fiendish dragon straight from the hells.
Her broad wings snapped wide with a loud whoosh, blazes blotting out the sky as the sharp crackle of burning air filled the surroundings.
Tinia, meanwhile, tucked her wings close high in the air. Dense ice crystals coalesced around her body, forming a pure white chrysalis that radiated bone-chilling cold.
Combat between dragons never tolerated mercy; each seized every opening to press the attack.
"Die—"
Bearing a tidal wave of fire, Dracarys hurtled aggressively toward the ice chrysalis.
Yet at that very instant, Tinia snapped her wings wide and released a raspy roar, icy-blue light blazing in her eyes.
Howling gales and swirling snow instantly transformed everything within a hundred meters into a world of white. A heavy layer of ice crystals clad the white dragon's scales like a suit of armor, radiating endless frost.
The ground rumbled as an ice mountain broke through the soil, rising from the depths.
*Boom!*
Fire and ice violently collided once more, scattering shards of frost and wild streaks of flame as billowing smoke choked the sky. Shrouded in the haze, the two dragons tore into each other, flashes of claws and scales appearing only intermittently.
"White dragon, I underestimated you. I admit you are an opponent worthy of respect," Dracarys said, a savage grin spreading across her face. She swung a flame-wreathed talon, swiping viciously at the white dragon.
"Heh, who needs your acknowledgment? Arrogant brute!"
Tinia whipped her tail, parrying the oncoming talon, then twisted her head and snapped her jaws toward the red dragon's throat.
Dracarys lowered her head slightly and opened her gaping maw. After brewing it for a heartbeat, she unleashed a scorching fireball, blasting it straight at the white dragon's face.
*Boom!*
Not to be outdone, Tinia expelled an intensely frigid frost breath, projecting a vast cone before her that instantly snuffed out the barrage of fireballs.
"A pity, though. The ultimate victor—will only be me!"
Dracarys inhaled deeply, an endless torrent of surging flame welling from the depths of her throat. The towering fire clashed head-on with the white dragon's frost breath.
Neither yielded an inch, both determined to settle the contest once and for all.
*Damn it...*
While sustaining her breath, Tinia closely observed the red dragon's condition.
Master had once taught her to exploit weaknesses and strike where the enemy was most vulnerable.
Although the red dragon could dissolve some of the frost power through her progenitor dragon bloodline, she still could not entirely escape the effects of frostbite. As her injuries accumulated, a trace of sluggishness had appeared on the left side of her body.
Moreover, an ice spire had previously impaled Dracarys's left shoulder. If she could shatter that wound, it would inflict irreparable damage.
Opportunities like this never came twice.
Her mind made up, Tinia resolved to seize this standoff to end the battle with a single strike.
She quietly channeled Matalotok within her body. Divine frost power surged through her veins, gradually coalescing at her right claw, until icy-blue light gleamed from the seams between her scales.
Not far away, Dracarys slowly closed her jaws, panting heavily. Pungent sulfuric smoke puffed from her teeth and nostrils, and her head was scalding hot, seemingly still in an overheated state.
The red dragon was tired.
Now was the moment!
With a snarling hiss, Tinia unleashed the divine frost power gathered at her right claw, instantly shaping it into a razor-sharp spear over twenty meters long.
Forged entirely of crystalline ice, it was translucent and pristine, its tip gleaming with a cold glint that gave off an indescribable chill, resembling a divine spear meant to bring an end to all things.
"Die!"
Gripping the crystalline ice lance tightly, Tinia beat her wings to whip up a freezing tempest. Transforming into a spectral white blur, she charged straight at Dracarys.
Dracarys's pupils constricted slightly. Unable to dodge, she could only roar and hastily mount a defense.
Tinia had stored her power for too long; her speed was simply too terrifying!
*Whoosh—*
The crystalline ice lance pierced through the air, hurtling forward and instantly driving into Dracarys's existing wound, skewering her left shoulder once more.
"Roar!" Wracked with agony, the red dragon threw her head back, stretched her neck, flared her wings, and released a gut-wrenching howl.
The moment the crystalline ice lance sank in, icy-blue radiance spread rapidly.
Dracarys's movements grew increasingly sluggish. Her boiling blood gradually cooled and froze, the flames over her body abruptly extinguished, and a heavy layer of frost coated her scales.
Stumbling and teetering in midair, the red dragon looked as if she were on the verge of plummeting.
*Wonderful! Now I can return and report back to Master!*
Ecstatic, Tinia rushed forward without hesitation, pinning the red dragon from behind and preparing to slam her violently into the crags to avenge that earlier headbutt.
Yet right at that moment, the "frozen" red dragon suddenly snapped her eyes open, a glint of manic amusement dancing in her golden vertical slits.
"Caught you."
*Crack—*
A dense web of fractures spread across the ice enveloping the red dragon, which then violently shattered into a hail of icy gravel.
Blood seeped from the edges of her scales, outlining their contours and shrouding her form in a crimson glow. A formidable aura expanded alongside the pungent stench of blood.
*This... what a familiar aura!*
Tinia's pupils dilated and her expression shifted drastically. Flapping her wings, she tried desperately to pull away.
It was already too late.
"Roar—"
Amidst the soaring crimson light, Dracarys thrust her talons out, seizing Tinia's wings in an iron grip before tearing and biting with feral madness.
Tinia thrashed and struggled, but she could not break free from the deranged red dragon's grasp. Her wing membranes were shredded to ribbons, large swaths of flesh on her back were torn open, and scales flew in every direction.
Only now did Tinia realize why the presence felt so familiar. She murmured in shock, "This brute is a Bloodscaled Fury!"
"Roar!!"
A crazed roar echoed across the sky.
With blood dripping from her jaws and her eyes bloodshot, Dracarys looked like a rabid beast lost to bloodscaled rage.
Tinia, covered in wounds and powerless to escape, was dragged down by the red dragon as both crashed heavily toward the earth.
*Boom!*
Dust and smoke billowed while pulverized rock scattered, leaving a massive crater in the ground.
"You damned lunatic!" Tinia shrieked in absolute fury. Divine frost power surged from within her, blasting toward the red dragon and washing over her muscular frame.
Yet under the protection of the crimson light, the chill seeped in exceptionally slowly.
What was more, Dracarys could no longer feel pain. Utterly indifferent to her own injuries, her singular focus was slaughtering the enemy before her.
"Roar!!"
With another wild howl, a ferocious dragon head lunged forward.
"You insane wretch! I am a vassal of the Cinder Emperor!" Tinia cursed furiously, fluttering her mangled wings in an attempt to lift off and get away from this mad dragon.
Before she could rise, Dracarys seized her hind legs and forcefully dragged her back down from the air.
Twisting her neck around, Tinia poured every drop of remaining strength into an all-out burst of frost breath.
Dracarys opened her gore-dripping jaws, weathering the terrifying torrent of frost as she greedily snapped toward Tinia's throat.
Right at that moment, a majestic voice descended from the sky, accompanied by an incomparably vast, overbearing pressure—true progenitor dragon fear.
"Enough. Let this end."
An immense phantom of a red dragon materialized in the sky, boasting four crown-like horns and a mountain-sized frame of overwhelming grandeur.
Looking toward the heavens as if grabbing onto a lifesaver, Tinia cried out, "Master, she's gone mad! She's completely insane!"
As if stirred by that voice, Dracarys's eyes cleared, and the crimson glow over her body gradually subsided, reverting her from a frenzied beast back into a haughty red dragon.
She looked up at the phantom in the sky, her eyes filled with yearning.
For the first time, Dracarys bowed her head, dipping it respectfully as she spoke with poorly concealed excitement: "Dracarys, daughter of Oswaldo, greets Your Majesty Cassius."
Yet the red dragon phantom only glanced at her indifferently. Without a single word of response, it gradually faded away.
"This..."
She stood frozen in place, momentarily at a loss.
Ever since her birth, Dracarys had been the strongest hatchling in the dragon's nest. Whether as a young, juvenile, or adult dragon, she was the undisputed sovereign among her peers, held in exceptional regard even by Tiamat.
Consequently, Dracarys had developed an arrogance far exceeding that of ordinary red dragons. In her eyes, standard dragons did not even count as kin—they were merely inferior reptiles.
They were born to be servants, if not outright slaves, to attend to her.
As for humans, gnomes, elves, orcs, and other sapient creatures? They were not even worthy of being slaves, only ants to be crushed underfoot at whim.
Since coming into this world, Dracarys had never once been ignored—yet even when she displayed such humble deference, that sovereign had disregarded her completely.
"This is truly... incredible. As expected of His Majesty Cassius!"
Dracarys's tone brimmed with unprecedented exhilaration and ecstasy, her burly frame trembling with excitement.
Never before had she been treated this way!
He truly was the dragon she had set her sights upon!
She gazed fixatedly at the spot where the phantom had vanished, fanatical worship welling within her golden slit pupils.
"Lunatic..." Tinia glared hostilely at Dracarys, as if something precious were on the verge of being snatched away.
Only after a long while did Dracarys turn back toward Tinia, resuming her haughty posture with her chin tilted up and eyes looking down in disdain.
A faint smirk played on Dracarys's lips. "White dragon, you fought well. You didn't bore me. But... you still lost."
The red dragon extended her claw casually. "Hand it over."
"Hand over what?"
Tinia ground her teeth, her gaze grim, as though intending to etch every detail of this red dragon's appearance into her memory.
Indeed, the classic vengeful streak unique to white dragons.
"The scroll leading to the imperial palace, of course."
"White dragon, as a vassal of His Majesty Cassius, you wouldn't be shameless enough to renege, would you?"
"Of course, I wouldn't mind retrieving it from your corpse either."
"You—"
Fuming with rage, Tinia hated her so intensely that her teeth ached, wishing she could slay this red dragon ten thousand times over in her mind.
Yet bound by Cassius's command, she reluctantly pulled out the teleportation scroll and tossed it over.
At that moment, Dracarys asked a question that infuriated Tinia even further: "By the way, what is your name?"
"Tinia."
The white dragon spat through bared fangs, enunciating every syllable.
"Very well. I will remember you, Tinia—His Majesty Cassius's pet."
To Dracarys, lesser creatures had no right for their names to be known by her, nor did she deign to remember them.
Only beings who could barely pass as opponents were granted the privilege of having their names committed to her memory.
In this supremely arrogant red dragon's eyes, personally inquiring about and remembering someone's name was already an immense honor.
Evidently, the white dragon did not share that sentiment.
*Damn red dragon...*
Tinia swore inwardly that the next time they met, she would beat this insufferable red dragon within an inch of her life.
Chapter 749