Within that colossal hundred-meter sphere churning with lightning and flame, a pillar of superheated fire struck like an incomparably sharp spear. Bearing a dazzling radiance that stung the very soul, it instantly pierced through the sphere, bursting past the thunder with the crisp crack of exploding air and tearing out from behind.
"How can this be?!"
A flicker of terror and panic finally showed in Gorazdla's eyes. Channeling the Divine Thunder of Destruction within her horn with all her might, she relentlessly ramped up her output of lightning and thunder.
Under normal circumstances, such Lightning Breath would have been enough to obliterate cities, wipe out armies, and plunge any rebels into utter despair.
But the enemy before her was the Cinder Emperor, the sub-progenitor dragon of the purest bloodline in the Material Plane today.
Moreover, Cassius had brewed this strike for a long time. He had nearly depleted the solar divine power within his body and fully mobilized the Heart of Garyx, infusing the breath with several drops of scalding divine blood.
*Boom—!*
Amidst an earth-shattering detonation, brilliant light from fire and thunder intertwined as Cassius's dragon breath tore through the tide of lightning and slammed directly into Gorazdla's chest.
"Cassius!"
A roar of agony erupted from the depths of Gorazdla's throat, shaking the heavens. Ever since her ascension to quasi-deity, this was the first time she had suffered such devastating trauma.
The scorching pillar of fire, imbued with divine power, shattered her scales and burned her dense flesh to ash, piercing a hideous gaping hole through her chest that nearly tore her torso apart. Vast expanses of charred flesh lay exposed, giving off a burnt stench, with her internal organs and bones clearly visible.
On an ordinary dragon, such an injury would have been fatal enough to send them plummeting from the sky, ending their life. But as an immortal quasi-deity, Gorazdla possessed extraordinarily tenacious vitality; even incinerating her heart to cinders would hardly suffice to kill her.
Amid leaping arcs of lightning, countless minute particles converged upon the great wyrm blue dragon's body. The gushing blood quickly ceased, and the wound piercing straight through her body rapidly closed up.
"You cannot kill me! I will completely break through the shackles of matter—and ascend to godhood!"
Gorazdla raised her claws high and chanted an ancient Draconic incantation. Bolts of lightning descended from the heavens, converging onto her massive horn.
Disregarding the drain on her divinity, she unleashed the full power of Tiamat's Blue Dragon Horn, thoroughly setting loose the might of the Divine Thunder of Destruction.
The great wyrm blue dragon was now like a black hole devouring all things. Thunder rumbled as lightning surged toward her frame like a tidal wave, forming a vortex thousands of meters wide that flooded the entire sky with blinding electrical light.
The lightning coiled around her form, continuously condensing and coalescing to mend her damaged physical body, coating her exterior into churning "flesh" laced with delicate patterns of light.
The great wyrm blue dragon looked hideous and terrifying, with ghastly white bones exposed, yet her form expanded drastically. The lightning spanning the skies became her wings, and boundless thunder became her body—to say she blotted out the sun and sky was no exaggeration.
Gorazdla raised her claws high, clutching a thick bolt of lightning, her eyes wide as she bellowed, "Cassius, to die beneath such magnificent divine power is the honor of your life!"
"An elemental body?"
Cassius lifted his head, brilliant lightning reflected in his pupils, and snorted coldly. "Bluffing fool. Do you think you're the only one with a divine form?"
*Thump. Thump. Thump...*
A dull, rhythmic heartbeat sounded. The Heart of Garyx inside the Red Dragon Emperor revved like an engine, pulsing steadily and releasing boundless divine power.
After obtaining the prestige class "Dragon of Apotheosis" and ascending to demigodhood, Cassius had gained the capability to fully control this heart, no longer driven to madness by it.
With the surging pulses of this divine heart, an endless torrent of blazing flame poured from Cassius's body, instantly blanketing the sky for kilometers around.
Those flames likewise coalesced into an elemental physique, causing the Red Dragon Emperor's figure to swell dramatically until it spanned several hundred meters in length, resembling an erupting volcano.
"Come, Gorazdla!"
Brilliant fire poured from Cassius's eyes, mouth, and nostrils. From deep within his throat came an explosive roar: "Now for round two!"
"Are those your last words, dragon variant?"
Before her voice even faded, Gorazdla flapped her wings of thunder and swung her claws from on high, fiercely hurling the spear of lightning forged from countless bolts.
*Boom!*
Thunder crashed as it hurtled toward the Red Dragon Emperor's head. Cassius inhaled sharply and unleashed a torrential stream of dragonflame, dispersing the lightning midair.
Yet in the next instant, amidst flashing lightning, rumbling thunder, and torrential stormwinds, dark clouds roiled and parted in a rush as the great wyrm blue dragon dived, dragging a flood of thunder behind her with terrifying momentum.
*Roar—!*
The two titans with divine bodies collided once again. Electric sparks burst and flames sprayed outward as powerful shockwaves tore across the sky, raising a terrifying tempest that rapidly plowed through the earth below.
Cassius swung his claws with all his strength, raking fiercely at the wound across the great wyrm blue dragon's chest. His limbs were extraordinarily developed, knots of muscle packed together like iron spheres. His sharp talons tore through the air, piercing her armor of thunder and ripping away massive chunks of flesh.
"Blue dragon, what gave you the courage to engage me in melee combat?!"
*Roar—!*
Gorazdla shrieked in agony, twisting her body and beating her wings violently to break free. Pivoting midair, she used her climbing momentum to whip her thick tail upward from below, lashing forward accompanied by howls of thunder.
Yet Cassius was completely fearless. Catching the incoming tail barehanded midair with his muscular forelegs, he gaped his maw, bared sharp teeth shrouded in dragonflame, and bit down without hesitation.
*Rippp!*
First came a crackling burst as the lightning coating the tail was shattered; then the flesh beneath was torn apart by his fangs. Broken scales scattered everywhere as warm dragon blood gushed forth.
"Damned dragon variant—you seek death! Let go!"
Gorazdla threw back her head, hissing and roaring, her horn thrusting upward as countless bolts of lightning crashed down one after another against the Red Dragon Emperor's body, trying to force him to release his grip.
*Boom!*
*Boom! Boom!*
Bolt after bolt struck Cassius mercilessly, leaving charred streaks across his head, neck, and spine, causing much of the flesh formed from condensed flames to disperse.
Yet Cassius clamped his jaws tightly onto the great wyrm blue dragon's tail, clutching her torso with both claws, refusing to let go no matter how violently Gorazdla struggled.
Consumed by fury, Gorazdla tucked her wings, pressed down upon the Red Dragon Emperor's body, and slammed heavily toward the ground. Entangled together, the two gargantuan beasts crashed violently into a rocky mountain. With an earth-shattering tremor, the mountain nearly a thousand meters high crumbled and abruptly collapsed.
Yet Cassius still did not let go. To a red dragon possessing an immortal body, such physical damage was negligible—at most a matter of a few broken bones and shattered scales that would regenerate in moments.
Right now, only one thing mattered: defeat Gorazdla and win this war!
Thunder roared with deafening explosions. Amidst the mountain reduced to rubble and ruins, the great wyrm blue dragon and the Red Dragon Emperor grappled fiercely. The wound on her tail grew wider and wider, blood gushing incessantly from the tear.
At last, the sound of flesh and bone tearing apart echoed through the sky—the thick tail was ripped clean off!
Gorazdla wailed toward the heavens, piercing electrical light bursting from her slit pupils, her eyes brimming with ultimate fury and madness.
"You dare desecrate a divine body like this! I will kill you!"
Driven out of her mind, she gaped her maw and lunged at the Red Dragon Emperor's thick neck. Her jaws crackled with crisscrossing arcs of electricity, exuding chilling waves of destructive aura.
"Tsk, tsk, daydreaming again. Looks like the vision of godhood has completely scrambled your brains," Cassius sneered, beating his wings and easily dodging the lethal bite.
Yet Gorazdla was exceedingly fast. Snapping her head around, snarling with bared fangs, she lunged forward and clamped her jaws hard around the right wing of the Red Dragon Emperor.
*Crack!*
Lightning flashed and the air popped with a crisp crunch. The fire coating his wing abruptly dispersed, and even the wing bones were crushed by her razor-sharp teeth, causing the entire wing to droop limply.
Violent lightning wrapped around Cassius's draconic form. Powerful currents surged through his body, causing him to tremble slightly and even making his scales burst apart.
Agonizing pain battered Cassius's brain, giving him a splitting headache and dizzying his senses, but he knew—this was also the best chance to defeat this great wyrm blue dragon.
Wrapped in surging electric arcs, Cassius shut his eyes and slumped to one side, seemingly losing consciousness.
"Hahahaha! Dragon variant, how can you contend with me now?!"
"Die—!"
A piercing shriek came from deep in the great wyrm blue dragon's throat. Clamping down on the Red Dragon Emperor, she gathered tens of thousands of lightning bolts onto the massive horn at the tip of her snout.
In the sky, dark clouds roiled and lightning crisscrossed. Under the manipulation of Tiamat's horn, the colossal thunder formed a blue-silver pillar a hundred meters wide that pierced the heavens, poised to crash down and annihilate the Red Dragon Emperor entirely.
Yet right at that moment, Cassius, who had been feigning unconsciousness, snapped his eyes open. Fire flared within his pale gold vertical pupils. Roaring, he lunged at the great wyrm blue dragon, snapping out his claws with blinding speed to seize the massive horn churning with thunderous light.
Through his observations during the battle, Cassius had already discovered Gorazdla's weakness.
The great wyrm blue dragon's horn was part of Tiamat's divine body, transcending the nature of the Material Plane. Like an ethereal phantom existing in a parallel world, it was impossible to destroy or even touch under normal circumstances.
However, when unleashing the Divine Thunder of Destruction at full strength, the horn would briefly materialize in physical form within the Material Plane—and that was his precious opportunity to defeat her once and for all!
Clutching the great wyrm blue dragon's horn, disregarding the crackling lightning sizzling against his palms, Cassius lifted his head, curled his lips at Gorazdla, and revealed a vicious grin.
"Got you."
"What? How could—"
Gorazdla's expression shifted drastically. The arrogant glee in her eyes vanished instantly, replaced by shock and panic. She thrashed her head violently, desperate to wrench free from Cassius's claws.
But Cassius poured every ounce of his strength into holding her, bearing down with almost his entire draconic mass to firmly pin the great wyrm blue dragon, leaving her unable to budge.
"In that case... don't blame me for showing no mercy!"
A vicious glint flashed in Gorazdla's eyes. If the Divine Thunder of Destruction in the sky fell in its entirety, Cassius would surely die, whereas she, with her thunder constitution, was completely confident she would survive.
"Savor this feast of destruction with me, dragon variant!" Gorazdla cried out fanatically.
*Boom!*
Ten thousand thunders pealed as one. The tempest gathered in the heavens, drawn by Tiamat's horn like an inverted ocean, poured down in full, submerging the two entangled dragons and wildly scouring their bodies.
*Roar!*
Within that terrifying Divine Thunder of Destruction, Cassius unleashed a roar of agony. He felt as though he were being torn apart piece by piece, as if ten thousand silver needles were plunging into his flesh. Everything on his body—scales, flesh, and internal organs alike—was breaking down, crumbling, and even melting beneath the horrifying thunder, turning into countless tiny ashes that scattered from his form.
Under such thunder, Gorazdla's body was not spared from suffering either, but as a blue dragon blessed with progenitor bloodline and the renowned "Thunder Tyrant," her resistance to lightning was far greater than Cassius's. She could clearly endure much longer under the impact of the Divine Thunder of Destruction.
Cassius gritted his teeth, his expression horrifyingly fierce, a cruel and resolute light glinting in his narrow slit pupils.
Under the unrelenting bombardment of thunder, not only did his claws refuse to loosen, they tightened their grip further. Even as the horn continuously unleashed terrifying lightning that charred his palms black and mangled his flesh, Cassius refused to let go in the slightest.
He knew all too well that this was the moment to stake everything—it was do or die!
"Snap for me—!"
The Red Dragon Emperor firmly pinned Gorazdla's upper jaw with his left claw while his right claw gripped the massive horn. The muscles in his forelimbs bulged, veins popping, as he gaped his ferocious maw and let out an ear-splitting roar.
Surging tides of electrical light engulfed him, continuously eroding the Red Dragon Emperor's body and illuminating him so brightly that even his blood vessels and bones were visible.
Beneath Cassius's colossal strength, minute cracks spread across Tiamat's horn, and an evil, destructive divine power surged outward from the fissures.
In stark contrast, Gorazdla grew increasingly terrified, descending into panic as she screamed in utter disbelief, "Impossible! This is the divine body of Her Majesty Tiamat! Dragon variant, there is no way you could—"
Cassius exerted his power explosively, hammering his left claw down onto the great wyrm blue dragon's head while his right claw wrenched the horn with the fierce opposing leverage.
*Snap—!*
A crisp crack resonated through the sky. The massive horn was actually snapped clean off by the Red Dragon Emperor! Crystalline shards sprayed into the air as dazzling lightning erupted from within, swirling around Cassius's claws.
With the horn at the tip of her snout broken, Gorazdla was stripped of her former majesty, left looking utterly wretched.
Clawing outward in sheer madness, her chest heaving violently, she poured boundless fury and hatred from her despairing eyes: "No—!"
Chapter 820