Defeating the World with the Power of One Dragon!

Snow and wind roared across the sky like an enraged beast, endlessly howling and sweeping, flinging shards of snow and biting cold across the boundless land.

Garoth stood amid the ravaged battlefield, his body dusted with a rim of ice crystals and grit.

The challenge had ended; he spared a glance toward the not-far-away, unconscious Gold Dragon Alberto, then his mind flicked and he dispelled his human form.

A burst of intense magical radiance pulsed once.

That majestic, colossal form — the red iron dragon, brimming with ultimate power — descended again into this white-cloaked world.

Heat generated by violent movement leaked out in faint wisps from the seams of his heavy scales, colliding fiercely with the frigid air around him; the faint hissing noises caused the accumulated snow on his body to melt and instantly vaporize.

Thick white steam billowed around his massive torso, making his enormous silhouette waver inside, adding layers of unfathomable mystery and a terrifying sense of oppression.

After a few moments of contemplation, as if deciding something,

the red iron dragon lifted his head and looked toward the dragons still circling high above, their expressions a mixture of reverence and curiosity.

A glint flashed in his eyes, a probing technique silently activated, and his gaze first landed on the two kin.

[Young Iron Dragon, Life Level: 15]

[Young Red Dragon, Life Level: 15]

Both young dragons’ life levels had reached 15 — beyond the average level-14 standard for juvenile Gold Dragons of the same age.

This did not surprise Garoth.

Under his long-term influence, Sorog and Samantha had developed the habit of regular training and self-improvement. Though their training intensity could not match his, they were unquestionably diligent and hard-working.

Moreover, as his core subordinates within the brood, the resources they received far exceeded those available to other dragons; having such life levels was only natural.

Garoth’s gaze then swept over the smaller dragons still in their hatchling or wyrmling stages and landed on a mature White Dragon and several dragons who had just entered adolescence.

[Mature White Dragon, Life Level: 14]

[Adolescent Blue Dragon, Life Level: 11]

[Adolescent Red Dragon, Life Level: 11]

[Adolescent Green Dragon, Life Level: 9]

[Adolescent Black Dragon, Life Level: 9]

Every dragon’s life level, without exception, exceeded the average standard for their age group.

Garoth believed his own influence deserved considerable credit for that.

A leader who was powerful, disciplined, and constantly breaking limits would, by words and deeds, exert a profound influence over every member below. Any dragon with a shred of ambition — unless utterly hopeless — would instinctively emulate Garoth, use him as a model and a target, and strive to improve.

Finished with his inspection, a thought rose in Garoth’s mind:

“All dragons that are adolescent and above!”

The red iron dragon spread his wings and threw his head back, releasing a deep, resonant roar that shook the clouds.

“All of you, come together! Unleash every skill you have, hold nothing back and lay siege to me!”

“Let me see for myself how much you’ve improved through years of growth and hardship.”

This wasn’t to assert dominance after awakening — Garoth’s strength was already well-known. His towering, formidable physique alone intimidated the brood; he didn’t need combat to prove it.

On one hand, his human form had left him feeling constrained; the duel with Alberto had been only a warm-up and had not satisfied the surging power within him that demanded fuller release.

On the other hand, he also wanted to personally test his body’s attributes after awakening, and to further examine the specific changes and synergy between the Dragon Pearl and the Frostburst Scales.

“What a good chance! Should I wake up now and join the beating?”

Elsewhere, the still-perfectly-playing-unconscious Alberto felt a twitch of excitement within and even the tip of his tail lifted a tad.

“Wait... better to calmly observe the situation first. I’ve taken too many hits already.”

Recalling the blood-and-tears history of challenge after challenge ending in humiliating defeat and debt, the Gold Dragon’s tail-tip that had just twitched quietly dropped back to the cold ground; he kept feigning unconsciousness and decided to watch from the sidelines.

High above, after hearing Garoth’s challenging, expectant roar, the circling dragons exchanged a few glances.

They could see the same barely suppressed excitement and eagerness in one another’s eyes.

They all knew that the red iron dragon’s strength was inscrutable, and precisely for that reason they craved the chance to experience the gulf between their own levels and their leader’s peak.

After a brief, intense exchange of looks and silent communication,

two especially deep, powerful roars ripped through the blizzard and broke the temporary stillness.

Iron Dragon Sorog and Red Dragon Samantha — the two largest and highest life-leveled young dragons — did not hesitate. They battered their wings and dove like two heavy shockships falling from the clouds, left and right, drawing razor-thin trajectories aimed directly at the red iron dragon wreathed in steam below.

Close behind were Blue Dragon Heriam and Red Dragon Kahir.

Hisses!

Black Dragon Seraphina let out a sharp sibilant cry; her black wings cut through the wind and snow as she winged tightly behind, gathering necrotic energy around her form.

Green Dragon Ludwig lagged a beat, instinctively trying to hang back and find the safest moment to strike.

Then he felt an inexplicable chill at his back and turned to see Mature White Dragon Trixie staring at him with chilling, emotionless vertical pupils — an unblinking stare full of silent urging and pressure.

Ludwig licked his lips reflexively, forced a smile, then dared not delay and flapped his wings to catch up with the black dragon.

Once the four adolescent dragons had launched,

the oldest and most experienced among them, Mature White Dragon Trixie, nodded with mild satisfaction.

She beat her wings at a leisurely pace and followed at the rear of the attack formation, perfectly positioning herself ahead of the younger dragons, ready to decide when to intervene.

Leading the charge, Sorog and Samantha tore through the biting wind like two drawn blades.

Battle fervor burned in their dragon pupils like tangible flames.

Garoth stood where he was, head slightly raised, calmly watching the approaching pack.

A ripping shriek like cloth torn suddenly sounded; Iron Dragon Sorog dove almost vertically at high speed. His whole body glinted with an inky metallic sheen; his form exuded an unbreakable solidity and his fully spread wing-edges were as sharp as giant blades.

A dense spiritual energy flared violently in his dragon pupils, nearly overflowing.

Almost at the same time, Samantha on the flank gave a low dragon call.

The alchemical runes etched into her red scales flared with stabbing light.

Then a startling sight: many of her scales detached from her body as if alive, swirling rapidly around her like a rotating storm of metal blades, forming an impenetrable, cold, flashing edged vortex.

Her thick dragon forelimb shot forward, and a complex metal gauntlet sprang from her claws.

Its razor tips spun at terrifying speed, whining like drills and warping the surrounding air into twisting ripples.

Before they could reach him,

an invisible, condensed, and dangerous psychic impact struck Garoth’s mental defenses first.

A psychic tear!

Faced with the pincer assault from both sides, Garoth didn’t even flap his wings to dodge.

His pupils narrowed slightly, and the psychic tearing hit an invisible wall like a sigh — failing to deal any effective damage.

At the instant Sorog’s jet-black steel claws were about to rend his chest, Garoth violently twisted his massive body; his broad wings swung like giant axes, tearing the air with a keening roar and precisely slashing at Sorog.

At the same time, his left claw shot up like lightning.

That great, angular talon, leaving a shadow that sliced the air, struck Samantha’s spinning metal gauntlet with pure force and no flourish.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The ear-splitting sounds of metal twisting and snapping — bone-chilling and nerve-rattling — burst in near-continuous succession.

Samantha’s carefully forged alchemical gauntlets could not withstand the white-hot force of the red iron dragon; they shattered and exploded into fragments.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

At the same time, the enhanced scales swirling around Samantha, attempting to slice Garoth, struck his outer armor only to spray dazzling sparks and leave white shallow marks — unable to tear through his impenetrable defenses.

Garoth remained immovable; the force that shattered the metal gauntlets did not lessen.

Over the brief contact, his terrifying power surged into Samantha’s body.

The red dragon felt an irresistible colossal force hit her; her huge body rolled and was flung backward in a humiliating retreat.

Yet Garoth’s wing-slap struck empty air.

As Samantha was knocked back, Sorog used his dive’s inertia to flip and sidestep with hairline precision, narrowly evading the wing’s slashing arc and circling to Garoth’s rear.

Claws coiled, ready to strike the back!

Garoth did not turn.

As his dragon qi extended, a heavy, jagged, spiked helm of hardened scales spread up from his neck and covered his head, leaving only a pair of dark black eyes visible.

Face of the Self provided an omnidirectional vision with no blind spots, rendering Sorog’s actions utterly exposed.

The next moment, his layered armored tail whipped upward in a lethal counterstrike.

The speed of this blow reached its extreme.

Only when Sorog felt unbearable pain burst across his flank did the tail’s sound — the wailing tear through the wind and snow — register in his ears.

His hardened Hardened Scales were torn open in an instant; a long, shocking dent marred his flank.

Scales splintered and flaked.

At almost the same time Sorog was hit, Garoth’s body shuddered as if struck by an invisible whip; a tail-shaped crack pattern appeared on his corresponding area and a clear pain shot through his nerves.

Mind spell: Damage Transfer!

Mind spell: Pain Sharing!

Sorog, at the last moment, shifted and transferred part of the corporeal damage away, preventing his flank from gushing dragon-blood outright.

Even so, his plunging momentum was disrupted and flung upward.

As Garoth prepared to press the advantage,

another flaming red shadow careened in recklessly.

It was Red Dragon Kahir.

Thud!

With a heavy impact, the wild dragon’s body smashed into Garoth’s chest; Garoth took a single step back and a few spiderwebbed cracks appeared across his chestplate.

He then reached out with a massive claw like iron pincers and clamped under Kahir’s shoulder blades.

His strength exploded outward, lifting the adolescent red dragon like a chick and then savagely slamming her into the ground.

A piercing ripping sound — great swathes of shoulder scales and flesh were torn away.

Spear of Thunder!

Blue Dragon Heriam’s roar shattered the wind and snow.

He circled above the battlefield, wings maximally spread, manipulating the sky itself.

Crackle — crackle! Furious azure arcs of lightning sparked into being, like countless enraged electric serpents dancing and converging in the air.

Finally, as the blue dragon’s wings slammed downward,

the electric arcs condensed and coalesced into a gigantic thunder spear, laced with destructive energy — a divine punishment — hurtling toward the motionless Garoth below.

A sky-storm dragon’s full-force output could not be underestimated.

An ordinary young dragon struck by this would be shredded.

For Garoth, even if he tanked it he might be okay physically, but he felt staying still would be arrogant and disrespectful to these dragons.

Without hesitation, he flung the struggling Kahir aside, and at the moment the thunder spear began to take form he had already preemptively sidestepped.

The terror-laced spear brushed past the edge of Garoth’s scales, struck only the empty frozen soil and blasted a charred crater as the electric serpents scattered.

At the same time, Samantha and Sorog — having been repelled — coordinated once more, left and right, bearing down like two vortices.

In front, the battered Kahir, shoulder bleeding and scales shredded, now burned with a crazed fury. She entered a rage state and visibly swelled in size; her aura skyrocketed. Reckless, she charged again to bash into Garoth’s relatively softer flank.

The three formed a brief triangular pincer, grappling fiercely with Garoth at the front.

With a thought, two arms composed entirely of condensed dragon qi shot out from Garoth’s back.

Four arms moved as one; each strike carried overwhelming force and a ripping shriek of wind.

He fought three at once and still held the advantage; the three dragons colliding with him felt like they were pitting themselves against a moving mountain — the sheer oppressive weight nearly suffocated them.

But the other dragons circling on the edges were not idle.

Death’s Grip!

When Garoth had temporarily driven back two red dragons and cleverly avoided Sorog’s sacrificial ram, Black Dragon Seraphina seized the fleeting opportunity.

With a hoarse dragon cry,

thick, adherent gray-black necrotic energy sprouted around Garoth like a living thing, quickly shaping into a massive, illusory hand exuding rot and cold — an inescapable grasp that clamped toward his gargantuan body.

There was no physical contact, but Garoth suddenly felt a cold sweep over him and a weakness as if his life force were being drained away.

But it lasted only a heartbeat.

The cold receded like a tide and the weakness vanished, as if it had never been.

Death’s Grip was a strong, curse-infused control spell — but its potency could not compare to the curses the serpent dragons spat out in their dying breath long ago.

Garoth’s resistance, forged through that ordeal, drastically weakened the spell’s effect; combined with his furnace-like vitality, he was almost completely immune.

Almost the same instant the necrotic hand dissipated,

the snow around Garoth seemed to boil and explode.

Thick, tree-trunk-like green vines studded with sharp barbs burst through the frozen crust and surged up.

Their skins shimmered with a metallic hardness; like enraged, animated giant pythons they wrapped and climbed Garoth’s limbs and body at astonishing speed, coiling tightly.

Their sharp barbs tried to probe the tiny gaps between his scales to siphon blood and inject potent paralysis toxins.

But Garoth’s second, tougher inner scale layer blocked all of their vicious attempts.

“Good opportunity!”

Mature White Dragon Trixie, who had lingered and quietly built up her spell, completed her casting.

She flapped her wings forward and countless razor-edged, ice-cold blades converged into a destructive torrent, sweeping toward the constrained red iron dragon.

At the same time she inhaled deeply, chest swelling, and blasted a conical plume of frosty dragon-breath straight at Garoth.

The storm-blue dragon Heriam above had another area spell ready: a dangerous, brilliant thundercloud, internally crisscrossed by thick electric serpents, rapidly condensed and now shadowing Garoth from the sky.

The two juvenile dragons that had been forced back, and the enraged Kahir, roared and surged again!

In an instant the battle reached white-hot intensity.

A saturation of strikes from all directions threatened to drown Garoth.

“Such momentum... such fierce fighting. Should I join too?”

From afar, the feigning-unconscious Gold Dragon Alberto felt the energy waves and roars and his eyelids trembled as he nearly lost control of his warlike blood.

Meanwhile,

faced with the combined strikes from all sides, the usually still Garoth finally moved.

Sizzle—!

Dazzling golden lightning erupted from his massive body like leaping golden serpents, dancing crazily across his scales.

His already enormous frame seemed to swell further.

Muscles taut, the red iron dragon issued a deep, powerful roar that cut through and easily tore apart the binding vines. Then his huge wings slammed with full power.

Boom!!!

The frozen ground beneath him could not withstand the burst; it collapsed and cracked on a massive scale.

His enormous weight rocketed upward at a speed beyond the eye’s grasp.

The long-brewing thunderclouds, the ice-blade torrent, and the frosty dragon-breath all struck only the afterimage he left behind.

Boom! Shatter!

The ice-blade storm carved the ground into a ravaged mess, trenches crisscrossing into fathomless pits; the electric serpents in the thundercloud leapt wildly and instead engulfed the rage-drunk Kahir — she was shocked and sent a tortured cry; the frost breath crystallized vast swathes into ice.

Two youth dragons, with faster reactions, narrowly avoided and flapped upward to follow the ascending figure.

Yet this was a mistake.

Garoth had already climbed to a high point.

He steadied his upward momentum, lowered his dragon pupils, and looked down at the adolescent dragons blindly chasing him like moths to a flame.

Then his huge wings swept and adjusted direction, locking like a raptor on prey, and he slammed down toward Sorog, who was leading the charge.

Sorog felt a sudden chill in his heart, sensing unprecedented pressure.

Mind Projection!

He squeezed out spiritual energy; his body convulsed as three lifelike spiritual projections — energy echoes almost identical to his true form — were created in an attempt to confuse Garoth.

Alas, under Face of the Self’s keen perception, Garoth’s gaze never swerved.

He fixed on Sorog’s real body; his colossal form ripped the air and plummeted.

Those massive dragon feet carried the terror of a falling god as they stamped toward Sorog’s spine.

Sorog tried with all his might to dodge, but Garoth’s speed was too great.

Boom!

The huge iron dragon was stamped from midair and crushed hard into the frozen ground below!

The earth convulsed, like an earthquake. A clearly defined gigantic dragon-shaped pit formed instantly; frozen mud and loose snow heaved and sprayed outward in waves.

“I... I think I’ll keep lying down.”

Alberto, who had peeked at the scene, tightly shut the one eye he had opened and decisively extinguished any thought of joining the fight.

“The more dragons beaten down, the more it proves Garoth’s invincibility.”

“Even if I had been crushed before and ‘fainted,’ compared to these guys, perhaps others have even less right to scoff at me now.”

Thinking this, Alberto felt a refreshing clarity and his mood brightened.

He even quietly rooted for Garoth to finish the fight as quickly and overwhelmingly as possible.

If he could survive longer under Garoth than these quickly-dispatched foes, then despite past humiliations he could reclaim Gold Dragon pride before them.

Elsewhere, the remaining adolescent dragons and Mature White Dragon Trixie readied a new round of spells.

Ice Chain!

Nature’s Grasp!

Bone Prison!

Lightning Web!

In the deep pit, Sorog coughed up mouthfuls of blood, forced up a weakening mind-lock, then collapsed utterly exhausted; his head lolled and he truly fainted.

Ice chains, animated vines, bleached bones, thunderous nets, and invisible mental bindings — five powerful restraining spells pressed down on Garoth almost simultaneously.

Magical glows interlaced and flashed, temporarily trapping his vast form in place.

Snap!!

At that moment, Red Dragon Samantha seized the fleeting opening, wing-beating like scarlet lightning as she darted in front of Garoth.

Her alchemically enhanced claws, as red-hot as branding irons, tore at his constrained body with terrifying heat.

However,

the searing heat was immediately absorbed and dissipated by an invisible force the instant it touched Garoth’s scales; only the raw physical claw blows — enough to rip the earth — left dents and cracks on his outer scales.

Gore-filled Kahir, bloodshot and ignoring her injuries, roared again and charged like a raging bull from behind!

It seemed Garoth had been successfully restrained.

Other adolescent dragons abandoned distance attacks and spell-bombardment. Summoning courage, they beat their wings and pounced from all directions for a concerted beating.

But as they closed and could clearly see the tiny wounds on the red iron dragon,

they saw Garoth, surrounded by layered magical auras, suddenly curl his huge mouth into a small smile.

Though not strictly necessary, Garoth resolved to test the intensity of the Bloodburst State.

Thud!!!

A dull boom like an ancient drum exploded from Garoth’s chest.

Thud thud thud! Thud thud thud!

The sound continued, louder and more rapid!

Like the ignition of a super-giant engine, like war drums urging a charge, the beats poured from his strong left chest and reverberated in every being’s ears — deep within their souls.

At the same time, centered on his heart, countless crimson energy filaments lit up along the seams of his scales like living veins.

His aura began skyrocketing at a terrifying rate.

Crackle...!

Ice chains vaporized in an instant; animated vines snapped and withered; the thunder net dimmed and dissolved; the bone prison shattered... the five huge restraining spells collapsed like summer ice under the red iron dragon’s sudden eruption.

Garoth freed himself in an instant.

Thud!!!

As his strong heart thudded across the sky once more, every adolescent dragon barreled forward felt as if an invisible giant had seized their hearts, making them jump violently.

A profound panic seized them.

All the dragons’ movements stalled; their scales trembled.

Without any communication, instinct overrode everything.

The adolescent dragons, including Mature White Dragon Trixie, turned and beat their wings in a frantic, faster retreat than before.

Only Kahir the red dragon, eyes aflame, ignored everything and charged on.

In her rage state she swelled to roughly Samantha’s size, a fearsome force that seemed capable of smashing mountains.

Then she was casually lifted by one of Garoth’s claws and struck directly in the skull.

The snap of a broken horn, teeth spraying blood, and the culmination of all prior injuries triggered in a single instant.

The wild dragon didn’t even cry out; she fell like a puppet whose strings had been cut and thudded into the snow, utterly unconscious.

That adolescent dragons could engage Garoth so directly was remarkable; a wild dragon’s offensive power was indeed considerable.

“Number two down. Keep it up, Garoth!”

Alberto counted silently and even felt a flicker of anticipation.

Samantha, closest to Garoth, followed as the third to suffer the same fate; three dragons that had pressed Garoth head-on were felled.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

That oppressive heartbeat — like the footsteps of Death — drew nearer.

Blue Dragon Heriam, fleeing desperately, felt everything go dark, as if he had hit an invisible, unbreakable bronze wall.

No — more accurately, he smashed into a suddenly broad chest.

Before he could react, his massive body was driven uncontrollably to the ground by an immense force.

Boom!!!

The earth groaned as another deep pit was hammered out.

Crunch! Crunch!

Almost without pause, Green Dragon Ludwig and Black Dragon Seraphina suffered the same fate: they wailed and plummeted, consciousness extinguished.

Garoth turned his neck and swept his gaze toward Mature White Dragon Trixie.

Before he could finish the pursuit, Trixie closed her eyes, hardened her resolve, and deliberately folded her wings as if relinquishing the struggle; she plunged straight down to the ground.

Thud!

With a muffled crash, she knocked herself unconscious without Garoth needing to lay a claw on her.

Except for the wind and snow still howling across the world,

the sky and earth fell into an eerie silence.

The very young dragons that had not joined the fight circled above, wide-eyed in awe; their pupils reflected the windy, snowy silhouette of the impossibly powerful, towering dragon.

“Deborah, I’m so glad I listened to you and didn’t jump in just now.”

Faerie Dragon Vira blinked and patted her chest with a small paw, shaken to the core.

“If I’d joined, I’d have ended up just as miserable as the rest of them.”

She had been eager to join at first, but was snatched back by the swift brass-silver dragon beside her and forced to watch from afar.

“Listen to me more next time — I promise you won’t lose out.”

Brass-silver Dragon Deborah raised her chin with poised pride, her tone laced with anticipated smugness.

At the same time, with a slight tremor of the ground, Gold Dragon Alberto seemed to wake from a dream and slowly came around.

He first bared his teeth and stretched his neck, then scratched his still-dazed head with a claw, glancing casually over the fallen dragons strewn across the plain.

“Seven dragons ganged up on one, and even without Garoth using his full strength, they were all knocked down in such a short time.”

“Aside from that anomaly Garoth, it seems I, as a Gold Dragon, am still the mightiest.”

Alberto lifted his slightly swollen dragon face with pride, puffing out his chest as though he were the last victor standing, and began to sneer preemptively at those quickly toppled by Garoth.

“Where did the once insufferably proud Gold Dragon go?”

Garoth shot a glance at Alberto and thought to himself.

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