Free Web Novel"You seem eager to fight me."
Garoth said.
Haldurn did not deny it. He grinned, revealing two rows of sharp fangs that didn't match his massive frame.
"Only by defeating an existence like you can I become stronger."
His tone was calm as he spoke:
"Become my stepping stone. I will remember you, and then I'll tread upon your scales and bones to climb to a higher step."
[Victor King, Vanquished Bandit]
This was one of Haldurn's major traits.
A king accumulates prestige through victory. When you defeat a powerful enemy who is also a king, you gain an additional boost to your royal authority, raising the ceiling of your potential.
As for why he didn't care about fighting Cerora...
The reason was simple.
In Haldurn's eyes, a female could never ascend the throne.
He only recognized male sovereigns.
He believed that Cerora lacked the qualifications of a king. Even if she ruled a kingdom like the Greenwild, she was merely a strong female. Her talent was useful to him, but it was only talent—it couldn't trigger his Victor King, Vanquished Bandit.
"Treating me as a stepping stone?"
"Courageous. I like your confidence."
The Red Iron Dragon's gaze darkened as he spoke slowly: "Haldurn, remember my title—Scarlet Emperor Cangxing. When all is over, you will cry out this name in despair and regret, begging for my forgiveness."
"And I will refuse you. I will use your blood to bear witness to my power."
Hearing this, Haldurn shook his head.
"I'm afraid that won't go as you wish. A king can fall in defeat, but will never kneel and beg."
He said.
As his words fell, the Giant King's body began to change.
The magnificent physique he had manifested within the dream domain rapidly contracted. The ostentatious form peeled away layer by layer, revealing the true outline beneath—
The light faded. The form condensed. Like shedding an ill-fitting coat.
In a few breaths, Haldurn had returned to his true form in reality.
Tall. Mighty. Crimson hair like fire. His skin was covered in scale armor, flowing with dark red dragon runes. He stood barefoot in the void, arms hanging naturally at his sides—no flashy posture, yet he naturally radiated an overwhelming aura.
Cerora's pupils constricted.
She could sense that the Giant King in this state was far more dangerous. The size and radiance he had manifested in the dream domain were nothing more than decoration to him.
True power never needed to show off.
Across from him, Garoth also restrained his superfluous movements.
His wings were half-spread, his limbs slightly bent. His tail blade swayed slowly behind him, muscles tensed. His entire body was like a drawn bowstring, every joint brimming with power, ready to unleash a lethal strike at any moment.
The starry sky was silent.
Shattered nebulae drifted slowly. Stars glittered with cold light in the distance.
Cerora had already retreated to the edge of the domain, her silhouette half-hidden in the star mist, her vertical pupils narrowed as she watched the two figures locked in confrontation at the center of the battlefield.
No one shouted "start."
Haldurn moved first.
He took a single step forward. Just that one step caused the void beneath his foot to explode with a visible ring of shockwaves.
His crimson hair whipped wildly behind him. The dragon runes beneath his skin ignited like molten lava. Flames erupted from every pore on his body, condensing into a dense, nearly solid reddish-gold.
The flames stacked upon him layer by layer.
First, greaves. Then tassets. A breastplate. Shoulder guards. Arm guards... The flames solidified into a forge-hot, dark-red substance, its surface flowing with golden veins. The entire suit of armor had not a single gap—as if it had been cast from a single piece of red-hot steel, wrapping the Giant King from head to toe.
Finally, the halberd.
Haldurn clenched his right hand in the air. The surrounding flames surged frantically toward his palm, compressing, stretching, solidifying.
A halberd taller than his own body was born from the flames. The blade was broad, the shaft long and thick, entirely crimson. At the tip, a single point of golden light flickered restlessly, like an imprisoned sun.
Overlord State!
Haldurn's true combat form.
The Giant King held the halberd with one hand, its blade hanging down, the tip pressing against the starry void.
"Come."
He said to the Red Iron Dragon.
Starlight State!
Flame Thunder surged across the Red Iron Dragon's body. His frame swelled, radiating an even more powerful aura, but his overall silhouette remained unchanged—still the slender, razor-sharp form of the Void-ripping State.
Aside from that, he did not manifest the Star Body.
Three heads and six arms were too bulky, unsuitable for the Void-ripping State. His Dragon Qi was now primarily concentrated in his wings, their hundred-meter span like colossal blades.
Without any wind-up, the Red Iron Dragon was frozen in the starry void with his wings half-spread one moment, and the next, his figure had been completely erased from the spot, leaving behind only a spatial rift that was slowly closing.
Haldurn's pupils violently contracted.
He saw a bolt of crimson lightning.
The Red Iron Dragon's speed had surpassed the limits of his perception. In his vision, it stretched into a crimson afterimage, drawing a perfect arc across the starry void as it curved toward his lower left rear.
The Giant King didn't turn his head.
He simply swept his halberd backward.
The blade cut through the starry sky, carrying enough heat to evaporate lakes and seas, painting a crescent-shaped curtain of fire behind him.
It hit nothing.
Because the Red Iron Dragon was no longer there.
Garoth had changed direction a split second before the halberd swept through.
This was something he couldn't do before. Previously, no matter how fast he was, his own tonnage and structure prevented him from fully utilizing that speed. Now, however, he pushed his speed to the absolute limit.
His willow-leaf-shaped scales shifted at a specific angle.
His wings stretched out. His body twisted upward in a way that completely defied inertia, grazing the edge of the halberd's fiery curtain, then dove at an even faster speed.
His wings folded almost flush against his body. His limbs pressed tight against his torso. His tail blade stretched into a straight line behind him.
His entire dragon form turned into a dark red javelin hurled by a celestial god, speed stacking with every meter of the dive.
His dragon claws shot out.
The claws in Void-ripping State were longer, more curved, and sharper than before. They swiped directly at Haldurn's crown.
The Giant King remained unflappable. He sidestepped, avoiding the fatal blow.
*Rip!*
The right shoulder guard was torn open, leaving deep claw marks. Blood seeped out.
Haldurn grunted. In the same instant his right hand was torn, he passed the halberd to his left hand and swung it upward in a reverse arc. The blade carved from below, aiming straight for the Red Iron Dragon's chest and belly.
Garoth was already gone.
The moment he had torn the shoulder guard, he released his claws, gave a single flap of his wings, and shot his entire body backward. The halberd's tip scraped across the raised willow-leaf scales on his chest, tearing through some dragon scales and barely touching a bit of flesh beneath.
Strike true. Never linger.
In his Void-ripping State, his speed was far greater than before, but his defense was far weaker. He couldn't afford to take damage head-on.
Haldurn looked down at his right shoulder.
The cracks in his Overlord Armor were visibly healing. Flames surged from the fissures, filling the damaged areas.
But beneath the armor, the wound on his shoulder had been torn open. Blood seeped from the wound, flowing along the inside of the armor.
Not deep.
But this was only the first strike.
He raised his head, locking onto the dark red figure zipping through the starry sky. He thought to himself: *What speed. The Scarlet Emperor Cangxing lives up to his name.*
Garoth gave the Giant no time to breathe.
His flight path was a series of sharp-angled zigzags. Each turning point was an instantaneous change of direction. Each change caused Haldurn's lock to miss.
Centered on the Giant King, he wove a cage of crimson afterimages, launching attacks from every angle.
Left wing swept horizontally.
The crystalline keratin on the outer edge of his wing bone slashed across Haldurn's left ribs, leaving a gash across the Overlord Armor from armpit to waist.
Before the armor's flames could fill the wound, Garoth had already circled to the other side.
He was too fast.
Right wing reversed.
The blade at the wingtip swept across the Giant King's knee pit, tearing through the weak spot at the upper edge of the greaves.
Haldurn's right leg faltered slightly. His halberd smashed downward. The shaft struck the void, shockwaves spreading in all directions.
Garoth was already high above.
He dove from above, this time targeting the back of the neck. Tail spear first. His entire dragon form was like a lance thrusting down from a height.
The Giant King let out a low roar.
He simply tilted his head backward, meeting the tail blade with his helmet-covered crown. At the same time, his halberd thrust upward from below, the tip aimed directly at the diving dragon's belly.
This was a play of trading wounds.
Garoth was not afraid of injury. Even though he had mutated into Void-ripping State, his foundation remained. His life force was still vast and flourishing. ƒreeωebnovel.ƈom
But he had to fight according to his current state.
He wasn't suited for a damage-soaking style right now.
So, at the last moment, the great dragon twisted his body.
The tail spear veered off, scraping past the side of the helmet. It sent up red-hot sparks and left a deep crack. The halberd tip scraped past his belly scales, shaving off a few willow-leaf scales with its golden light.
The Red Iron Dragon stabilized his body in an extremely short amount of time.
His dragon wings swept upward as part of the motion, tearing a wound in the Giant King's body. Haldurn's halberd smashed downward, landing on the spot where the Red Iron Dragon had just been.
Too late.
Always one step too late.
This was a combat tempo Haldurn had never encountered before.
His power could split mountains and boil seas. His attacks carried destructive traits. Even the Scarlet Emperor Cangxing before him would not fare well if struck.
But all of this had a prerequisite.
He had to be able to hit his opponent.
And Garoth didn't give him that chance.
The Red Iron Dragon was unbelievably fast.
It wasn't just ordinary speed. There was no gap between each of his movements.
Attack, disengage, change direction, attack again—these four steps were a single, seamless flow in his body. His attack motion itself was the start of his disengagement. The end of his disengagement was the start of his next attack.
From beginning to end, no pause.
From beginning to end, no opening.
Haldurn's Overlord Armor now bore dozens of wounds. The rate of injury had surpassed the armor's healing speed.
"Where is your strength?! Face me!"
Haldurn suddenly let out a furious roar.
He abandoned the attempt to lock on.
His halberd no longer chased the Red Iron Dragon's figure. Instead, it smashed directly into the void beneath him.
*BOOM!*
The spot where the halberd shaft landed exploded with a ring-shaped shockwave, blanketing everything around it.
This was a non-discriminate area attack.
Even Garoth couldn't fully evade.
An instant before the shockwave reached him, he crossed his wings in front of him for protection. The shockwave struck his wing surfaces, pushing him backward.
And that was it.
As he was pushed back, he had already adjusted his stance. A single spread of his wings dissipated the remaining impact force. He charged at Haldurn once more.
He closed in in a flash.
His body twisted. His wings swept horizontally in a cross, slashing at the widest gap in the Giant King's chest armor. His tail spear also thrust toward the Giant's arm.
Haldurn's choice was: don't block.
He let the wings cut into his armor, splitting deep cracks. He let his raised left arm be pierced through, blood flowing freely.
But the wounded Haldurn revealed a faint smile.
Unyielding Heart!
*You never admit defeat. As injuries accumulate and reach a certain threshold, your defense and resilience explode in stage-based bursts.*
This trait was triggered in that moment.
His Overlord Armor was a part of him. It had already been full of cracks, flames gushing from every gap as if it were bleeding.
But now, the flames suddenly stopped leaking outward. Instead, they contracted inward.
The surface of the dark red armor took on an even deeper luster, as if cooling from forge-heat into refined steel.
Defense and resilience had skyrocketed in an instant.
Having been attacked by the Red Iron Dragon, he should, logically, have wavered at least a little. That wavering was always Garoth's chance to disengage. But this time, he stood like a mountain, unmoving.
Not only that, another one of his traits was taking effect.
Mandate of Heaven!
*You have absolute faith in your identity as the destined king. You believe you were born to save the giants.*
*This faith is strong enough to subtly twist fate. When you face a powerful enemy, fate will tilt in your favor. Your attacks are more likely to hit weak points. Enemy attacks are easier to block. Favorable coincidences appear on the battlefield.*
The Giant King had been waiting for this moment.
His halberd swung out in advance. The blade traced an arc. A single strike, yet it seemed to seal off the Red Iron Dragon's attack path.
Giant combat skills. The effect of Mandate of Heaven. Unyielding Heart... Numerous traits and skills took effect simultaneously, all for this one strike.
...
The Red Iron Dragon's expression was calm. There was no ripple in his eyes.
In the instant before the halberd struck his body, he twisted his torso, shifting his most vital chest and belly away, taking the blow on his side ribs.
*Rip!*
The halberd blade struck his left ribs.
The willow-leaf scales shattered under this inevitable strike.
The blade cut into the dragon's body. It split the skin. It severed muscle fibers. It even cut through bone. Dragon blood gushed from the wound, turning into burning flames in the void.
The Red Iron Dragon recoiled, wounded. A trail of burning bloodflame dragged behind him in the void.
On the other side, Cerora, at the edge of the domain, snapped her body taut, ready to spring. But as if thinking of something, she relaxed again.
Garoth was not a dragon who would be severely wounded by a single blow.
Haldurn shook the blood from his right arm, temporarily sealing the tears in his body with flames.
He held his halberd in one hand. Unyielding Heart was continuously strengthening his defense and resilience. The cracks in his Overlord Armor healed one by one. After this healing, the armor surface was thicker and more solid than before.
But there was little joy in his heart.
The bloodflame burned silently.
The wound on the Red Iron Dragon's body was not as severe as the Giant King had anticipated, and it was regenerating and healing at an astonishing speed.
"With this speed, you still have this level of defense and recovery?"
Haldurn's eyes blazed with even more intense battle lust.
The stronger this Scarlet Emperor Cangxing was, the more his royal authority would increase after defeating him!
The halberd blade swung downward, carving a reddish-gold arc of light.
It missed.
The Red Iron Dragon dodged it easily.
Even though he was injured, his speed was a hair faster than before.
Born from Death!
The previous attack had caused Garoth's health to drop for the first time. But for him, a drop in health was by no means a weakening.
He avoided injury in Void-ripping State, but he did not fear it.
"You made me bleed a few drops, and that makes you this happy?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, the Red Iron Dragon once again transformed into a crimson bolt of lightning, closing in on the Giant King.
Once more, he wove a vast net around Haldurn, attacking from every angle.
Amidst the storm of attacks, Haldurn swung his halberd, trying to counter.
His Unyielding Heart was still active, his defense and resilience stacking. He even managed to counterattack twice in the gaps between Garoth's assaults. Once, he smashed the halberd shaft into the base of the Red Iron Dragon's tail. Once, he drove his knee into the Red Iron Dragon's flank.
But every time he hit Garoth, the Red Iron Dragon's next attack was faster and heavier.
Even so, Haldurn did not retreat, as if he possessed some kind of confidence.
The Red Iron Dragon's body flickered. He appeared before the Giant in an instant, like teleportation.
In the instant the wing blade was about to strike, Haldurn swung his halberd in a counterattack, the blade aiming for the base of the Red Iron Dragon's tail. But the tail spear was no longer there.
Garoth had changed his posture the moment his attack was complete.
His claws swept upward, scraping a shower of sparks along the halberd's shaft. He bounced himself backward.
In the blink of an eye, the Red Iron Dragon had circled behind him. The tail spear thrust straight forward, piercing the Overlord Armor and leaving a deep, bloody hole in his lower back.
Haldurn stumbled forward a step. His halberd swept backward in a counter-swing.
Garoth had already risen above his head. His wings crossed and slashed downward.
The battle grew fiercer.
Under the relentless assault, more and more blood gushed from the Giant King's wounds.
His Unyielding Heart triggered multiple times. Relying on his enhanced defense and resilience, he launched counterattacks, leaving several wounds on the Red Iron Dragon's body as well. But the moment the Red Iron Dragon was wounded, he immediately became stronger, easily suppressing him again.
"Fighting doesn't work. But fighting him makes him stronger."
"This guy..."
The Giant King's resolve wavered slightly.
This was not the battle he wanted.
He was a king. His way of fighting should be a head-on confrontation, overwhelming his opponent with sheer force, making them crumble before his might. Not this—being slowly torn apart, piece by piece, by a crimson lightning bolt he couldn't even touch.
Something had to change.
A fiercer flame ignited in his eyes.
Burning Sky!
*A king is like the scorching sun. When you feel yourself sliding into the abyss, your dual bloodlines perfectly fuse, unleashing the burning sky flames.*
Haldurn abruptly threw his head back and let out a war cry that shook the starry sky.
Annihilation flames erupted from every pore on his body. The edges were dark red. The center was a blinding pure white.
The color of his Overlord Armor deepened within the flames.
It shifted from forge-dark red to refined steel black. Countless intricate lines surfaced on the armor, each line a river of flowing fire.
Then, the surface of the armor itself caught fire, like a solidified halo of light tightly wrapping around the Giant King's entire body.
At this moment, he had become a burning human torch. His aura surged further.
Haldurn lowered his head, his gaze piercing through the burning flames, locking onto the crimson lightning bolt zipping through the starry sky.
"Come again!"
His voice grew low and hoarse within the flames, like the roar of a furnace.
Garoth didn't make him wait.
The crimson lightning bolt veered in the starry sky. His right wing was in front. The Dragon Wing Blade aimed straight for the Giant King's neck.
Haldurn dodged the attack. The flames on his body lashed out like living creatures, landing on the dragon's wing, burning continuously. They even penetrated his natural fire resistance, dealing persistent damage.
The halberd struck down.
Garoth vanished from his spot. He reappeared on the other side, lashing his dragon tail. The tail spear stabbed toward the Giant King's ribs.
The moment the spear tip pierced the armor, a serpent of fire lashed back, coiling around his dragon tail.
It wasn't just burning.
The flame seemed to have weight. It began to slow his movements. And it was hard to extinguish.
"Interesting."
The Red Iron Dragon's gaze narrowed slightly.
He didn't pause. He attacked again.
Every contact—whether offense or defense, whether he dealt damage or not—the flames would lash back. And under the reforging of these flames, Haldurn's defense increased further.
*Whoosh!*
The Red Iron Dragon retreated, creating distance.
His body was burning in several places. These flames could only be extinguished by tearing off the scale and flesh together. The Red Iron Dragon tried tearing one off, but let the others be, allowing the flames to burn him.
"Not fighting?"
"Don't retreat. Let's continue."
Haldurn said.
Garoth didn't respond to the taunt.
*BOOM!*
Golden qi flames erupted across his body. He began the first stage of Explosive Qi.
The Giant King's heart leaped. He sensed danger. He held his halberd and charged toward the Red Iron Dragon, closing the distance. But how could he match his speed?
Garoth flapped his wings once, easily maintaining the gap.
At the same time, sacrificing some speed, he manifested his six arms, condensed dragonqi bombs, and hurled them at Haldurn.
The first dragonqi bomb was like a sun, dragging a dazzling tail as it flew toward its target.
It didn't deal much damage to Haldurn.
But this was only the beginning.
"Dance."
Garoth said.
His speed in condensing dragonqi bombs was terrifying. His six arms swung, creating a blur of afterimages. One dragonqi bomb after another smashed toward Haldurn, like a sudden meteor shower.
The trait Mandate of Heaven was still in effect.
Some of the dragonqi bombs subtly shifted their trajectories mid-flight, colliding with each other and exploding.
Haldurn took a deep breath. He had no choice but to evade temporarily.
He tried his best to dodge the dragonqi bombs while swinging his halberd.
The blade drew arc after arc in front of him, severing the bombs he couldn't avoid. The dragonqi bombs exploded under the blade. Shockwaves spread in all directions, but before they could dissipate, they were swallowed by the subsequent bombs.
Guarding too long meant failure.
One dragonqi bomb struck the Giant King's body.
His resilience was extremely high, and his movements didn't pause because of it. But ultimately, he was swallowed by the seemingly endless stream of dragonqi bombs.
The dream domain also trembled continuously.
Cerora could barely maintain it.
But she still didn't sever the domain. If the Giant King had any more tricks up his sleeve, being within her domain would allow for a better reaction and response.
*Hoo...*
When the first stage of Explosive Qi was nearly at its limit, Garoth stopped firing.
Haldurn had not yet fallen.
Unyielding Heart was still active. His defense had reached a peak. But his body was already battered, riddled with holes, and his armor was in tatters.
He tightened his grip on the halberd in his hand.
The shaft was covered in cracks. The blade was chipped.
"It's... not over yet..."
"Come again."
He said.
The Red Iron Dragon narrowed his eyes.
The golden qi flames had not yet dissipated. The crimson figure had already pierced the starry sky. His wings folded in. His entire dragon form turned into a straight bolt of lightning, stabbing straight at Haldurn's face.
The Giant King raised his halberd horizontally to block.
The moment the shaft and the dragon claw collided, the burning sky flames predictably lashed back. Serpents of fire climbed Garoth's forearm.
But unlike before, the Red Iron Dragon did not retreat. He withstood the burning. His movements showed no sluggishness. Persistent damage and negative effects like this best stimulated his evolutionary traits. He was now mostly immune.
His left wing swept horizontally, slashing at Haldurn's waist.
The Giant King turned sideways. The remnants of his armor scraped against the wing blade, sending up dazzling sparks.
Flames shot up again.
Garoth's right wing, left claw, and tail spear attacked from three directions in the same breath. Haldurn spun his halberd into a black ring, doing his best to defend.
But his movements were ultimately too slow.
Unyielding Heart was running wild, pushing his defense and resilience to their peak. But this peak was built upon a body that was riddled with holes.
The Red Iron Dragon's figure flickered around him.
His attack frequency grew faster and faster.
Haldurn's counterattacks grew heavier and heavier, slower and slower.
The halberd blade traced an arc, slashing at the Red Iron Dragon's neck.
Too slow.
Garoth's gaze sharpened slightly. He slid under the descending blade, past the halberd's shaft, circled behind the Giant King, and thrust out his dragon claw.
Annihilation flames climbed up his arm.
He ignored all of it. His dragon claw stabbed forward.
The Spell-Extinguishing Claws tore through the already ruined armor, pierced through the charred flesh and skin, slipped precisely between the bones, and seized the heart.
The burning sky flames erupted in a furious backlash at this moment. The fire surged like a collapsing dam toward Garoth's entire right arm. But it could not stop his motion.
Haldurn's body shuddered.
Garoth's right claw tightened violently. The heart burst within his grip.
He pulled his right arm back. His wings spread wide. His body shot backward in a blur, dodging the Giant King's retaliatory halberd swing. At the same time, the burning sky flames spewed from the hole in Haldurn's chest like an out-of-control furnace.
"It's over."
The Red Iron Dragon's figure vanished once more.
He charged from the front, his wings fully spread. The wing blades drew two parallel crimson arcs of light across the starry sky, like a giant pair of shears opening wide.
Haldurn tried to make one last block, but it was useless.
The wing blades crossed.
The two crimson arcs of light sliced into the Giant King's neck from both sides, slanted downward through his chest, and converged at the center of his body.
Then, they separated.
Haldurn's body split along the trajectory of that convergence, from neck to abdomen, torn in two.
Not only that. The Red Iron Dragon's body spun at high speed. His dragon wings, like massive blades, tore through space, sweeping across the Giant's already stiffened body at high frequency.
The flames erupted violently.
Like a miniature star reaching the end of its life, dark red flames expanded outward, engulfing the Giant King's broken remains. The Red Iron Dragon had already avoided the firestorm in advance.
"Haldurn, meeting me means your path as a king ends here."
The Red Iron Dragon lifted his head slightly and spoke.
It was over... No... not over yet?
As if sensing something, the Red Iron Dragon's gaze suddenly sharpened, fixed on the rolling flames.
*HUMMM!*
Countless flames converged inward, shaping Haldurn's body inch by inch.
He appeared almost completely unscathed. His armor and halberd were both reforged within the flames. His aura was high. His expression was calm and indifferent.
Risen from the Ashes!
*You have rebuilt your capital city, which had been reduced to ruins, allowing it to be reborn from the ashes. When you turn to ashes, you too will rise from the ashes like your capital city.*
*During Risen from the Ashes, the effects of your other traits are doubled.*
"Scarlet Emperor Cangxing, our battle has only just begun."
His halberd pointed at the Red Iron Dragon. He spoke calmly.
At the same time, Haldurn's aura exploded once more. His muscles bulged. Dragon scales proliferated. His body grew even more massive. Under the impact of his aura, the entire dream domain swayed precariously.
And this was Haldurn's trump card trait.
Hail Me as King!
*You are the recognized king of all giants in this world. Against non-king beings, you possess the power of sovereign intimidation. The greater the level disparity, the stronger the effect. When you encounter another king, you gain an additional boost. The stronger the other's kingly aura, the higher the boost ratio.*
"This truly surprises me."
Garoth, sensing the Giant King's power, spoke slowly.
To be honest, he had previously thought this Giant King was on the same level as Reinhardt. Perhaps a bit stronger, but certainly by a limited margin.
But now, it seemed he had underestimated him.
The Giant King said: "I will enjoy your shock and rejoice in the coming victory. Even when facing the orc demigod, I was never pushed this far."
Are you already certain of victory?
The Red Iron Dragon suddenly grinned. Golden qi flames reignited on his body.
Across from him, Haldurn leveled his halberd, his expression unchanged.
The dragonqi bomb barrage was terrifying, but he was no longer afraid of it now.
Yet, what happened next exceeded his expectations as well.
The golden qi flames on the Red Iron Dragon's body burned wildly. Then, in the next second, all the flames rolled inward.
They clung to Garoth's scales, plating him with a golden membrane, enveloping his entire body. His entire form was now brilliant with golden scales. At the same time, his dragon horns proliferated and twisted. Some thrust straight toward the sky, others swept backward, as if they had turned into a crown.
*BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!*
Just standing still, rings of shockwaves continuously radiated outward.
The Red Iron Dragon's gaze narrowed. His pupils had turned into solidified gold, fixed on the Giant King across from him.
At the same time.
The dream domain cracked and split.
Under the impact of two auras that surpassed many demigods, Cerora's expression shifted slightly. The domain could no longer bear the strain.
The starry world faded inch by inch.
*BOOM!*
The sky exploded with a visible ring of shockwaves.
Above the Greenwild camp, one figure was crimson, one was gold. Like two colliding stars, they were flung toward the higher heavens.
The dragons, elves, dwarves, and humans in the camp... all looked up at the same time. They only saw two trails piercing the clouds, tearing gashes in the azure sky.
Haldurn was the first to stabilize his form.
After Risen from the Ashes, he was more powerful than ever. The surface of his pitch-black Overlord Armor flowed with blazing white flame patterns. His halberd was held horizontally before him. The golden light on the blade had already expanded into a burning wheel of light.
He looked at the Red Iron Dragon across from him.
Golden scales, dazzling and brilliant.
His originally sharp and ferocious form now seemed to have acquired a sense of the divine.
"You..."
He seemed about to say something, but the dragon in his eyes had already vanished.
A gleaming dragon claw had already landed on his chest.
The Giant King didn't even see an afterimage. He only saw that the spot where the Red Iron Dragon had been was now empty. At the same instant, his own chest armor caved inward.
It was as if he had been hit head-on by a meteor.
The pitch-black armor surface began to crack from the point where the dragon claw landed. Cracks radiated outward in a starburst pattern. Haldurn's massive body flew backward. The impact created a series of sonic boom clouds in the air. From above the Greenwild camp, he was smashed directly toward the northeast.
Garoth's figure vanished again, chasing the Giant King.
He appeared ahead of the Giant King's backward trajectory. His dragon tail swept horizontally.
*CRACK!*
This strike connected with Haldurn's waist.
The Giant King's flight path was forcibly deflected by ninety degrees. He crashed horizontally through a protruding rocky mountain.
The mountain exploded from the middle. Tens of millions of tons of rock turned into a rain of magma in the explosion, splashing in all directions. The forest below caught fire. Flames spread along the mountain ridge on both sides, like a fire serpent crawling across the ground.
Haldurn rose from the rubble and magma.
He looked up.
The golden, dazzling figure was diving from the high heavens.
The Shining Red Iron Dragon's wings were fully folded against his sides. His limbs were pressed tight against his torso. His tail spear was stretched into a straight line behind him. Golden light blazed brilliantly upon him, like a golden star.
His speed was so fast that the air piled up in front of him into a visible white wall.
"COME ON!!"
Haldurn roared. He gripped his halberd with both hands and thrust upward.
The burning sky flames climbed along the halberd's shaft, gathering at the tip. It turned into a pillar of fire shooting into the sky, meeting the diving golden meteor head-on.
The Red Iron Dragon spiraled downward around the fire pillar, closing in on the Giant King. He swiped a claw down.
The Giant King could no longer maintain his previous calm expression. He roared in a low growl, swinging his halberd fiercely to meet the attack.
They collided.
*CRACK!*
The clouds in the sky were swept clean, revealing a massive circular hole.
The shockwave pressed down on the ground simultaneously. The surrounding forest was as if struck by an invisible giant hand. Trees were uprooted, beginning to burn mid-flight, turning into flying ash.
Haldurn's body was blasted into the sky by the dragon's single blow.
Before he could adjust his stance, the next strike followed immediately. It smashed him like a meteor into the main battlefield plain where the elves and orcs were engaged.
The power of the Shining Garoth had completely exceeded the Giant King's understanding.
How could he have such a terrifying combat state?
It wasn't a normal, gradual climb. It wasn't a layer-by-layer accumulation of power. Instead, it was an instantaneous qualitative change. Just as the Giant King thought he was about to claim victory, he was knocked down from the clouds and plunged into the dust.
*BOOM!*
The earth trembled. Countless soldiers engaged in the slaughter were shaken off their feet.
Before the dust could even rise, it was blown away by the blast, revealing a massive crater. The Giant King was embedded on his back at the bottom. His chest armor was completely shattered, fragments scattered around him.
Before he could get up.
The shining light descended from the sky.
Garoth's foot claw smashed onto his chest. The crater instantly expanded and collapsed. The blood spurting from the Giant King's mouth hadn't even hit the ground before the dragon claw was already reaching for his face.
Just then.
Garoth, like a cat whose fur had been ruffled, felt all his dragon scales suddenly flutter open. His gaze flickered rapidly. He abandoned the Giant King and instantly flew away from the spot. His speed was so fast it left only an afterimage in the air.
In the high, distant sky, a pair of cold eyes were fixed on the Red Iron Dragon.
"You?"
An angry voice rang out.
The orc demigod had sniffed out a familiar aura. He instantly realized that this dragon before him was the same one who had hunted the rage beast lord earlier.
Rage surged into his heart. The giant sword in his hand swung downward fiercely.
*SHRIEK!*
A crescent-shaped sword light that pierced heaven and earth slashed toward the ground, toward the Red Iron Dragon. It carried the will and pressure of a demigod, making the Red Iron Dragon almost feel suffocated. His body was suppressed and frozen in place for a moment.
"Got too caught up in the fight and ended up right in front of the orc demigod."
Garoth growled. The golden light on his body flashed brilliantly.
He broke free from the suppression of the demigod's will. His mind focused entirely. He prepared to dodge at extreme speed.
A demigod's attack was powerful. It could definitely severely wound him. But in Garoth's current Shining Void-ripping State, this attack wasn't so easy to land either. As long as it didn't hit, he would be fine.
Speed alone was invincible!
Just then, a streak of white light flew in from the distance. It struck the sword light with pinpoint accuracy.
*Crackle!*
Countless flowers bloomed out of thin air, transforming that lethal strike into a rain of petals.
The danger had vanished.
"Time to avoid the heat for a bit?
