Chapter 557: The Tyrant Dragon

Chapter 557: The Tyrant Dragon

Soon, the Twin Flame Spirits, Og and Otto, rode Firehawk and landed beside the group.

At this moment, Sword Saint Tyrion had already started introducing Rayne to everyone.

"Your Excellency Rayne, these two are the Twin Flame Spirits, Og and Otto."

"Your Excellency Rayne, although this is our first meeting, I have already heard of your glorious deeds from Your Excellency Tyrion." Og bowed respectfully.

"Your Excellency Og, it's a pleasure to meet you", Rayne smiled and nodded slightly.

However, the five other powerful figures from the Federation, apart from Tyrion and Helm, now had a very different attitude compared to before.

Previously, they had all felt some dissatisfaction with the Dragonia Empire sending just a young man to participate in this joint exploration. Some even thought about making things difficult for Rayne to see if he would back down.

But now, not only did the five of them bow respectfully, but there was not a hint of doubt or disrespect in their eyes.

This was the change brought about by strength.

Rayne was well aware of this.

"Looks like I don't need to put on an additional show", Rayne thought to himself.

After all, this was a joint exploration. If the team members were dissatisfied or suspicious of each other, they would clearly be unable to unite and face challenges, especially in the highly risky exploration of the Sky City Ruins.

Of course, while it was too early to say that everyone would work together seamlessly, at least they had a good start.

At this moment, Rayne believed that his words carried much more weight than before.

After the brief introductions and pleasantries, the group headed back to the Cave Camp.

"Your Excellency Tyrion, have you made any further progress in exploring the ruins recently?" Rayne asked casually.

"No, alas... recently..." Sword Saint Tyrion sighed, shook his head, and then explained the situation.

"Oh? You were blocked at Level B2? A massive mechanical dragon appeared at Level B2?" Rayne was genuinely surprised when he heard this.

He had assumed that the Federation team, with seven epic-level warriors, had already explored to Level B3, or even Level B4.

As for the massive mechanical dragon at Level B2, Rayne was certain that he hadn't seen any sign of it when he explored the Prison at Level B2.

After all, based on Tyrion's description, a super-gigantic mechanical dragon larger than Methus would have been impossible to miss.

"Yes, Your Excellency Rayne. Additionally, I am almost certain that the massive mechanical dragon at Level B2 is one of the top combat units from the ancient goblin mechanical legion—the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon", Helm added from the side.

Hearing the name "Tyrant Dragon", Rayne noticed a flicker of fear in the eyes of those around him.

"Mechanical Tyrant Dragon, huh?" Rayne nodded, deep in thought.

He trusted Helm's judgment.

However, why would the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon be at Level B2?

Normally, Level B3 was the location of the goblin barracks, which meant that the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon had moved from Level B3 to Level B2 on its own.

Was it trying to escape?

Suddenly, a flash of insight struck Rayne.

"Have there been any recent developments?" Rayne continued.

"Yes. According to the reports from the soldiers who monitor the area continuously, the frequency and intensity of the sounds coming from the Sky City have been increasing. Although there haven't been any significant changes on the surface", Tyrion replied.

"Which is why we went to check just now", Tyrion added.

Hearing this, Rayne became even more convinced of his earlier suspicion.

It was likely that the Vile Demon was controlling the goblin corpses at various levels, planning to escape from the Sky City Ruins. Otherwise, the mechanical units themselves wouldn't have any reason to move from Level B3 to Level B2.

Clearly, they couldn't let the enemy escape from the ruins.

Otherwise, there would be severe and unpredictable consequences.

It seemed they needed to expedite the exploration.

Since the outer rock walls of the Cave Camp had been further dismantled, the two dragons, Methus and Doric, followed closely behind Rayne, causing shock among the Federation soldiers and researchers.

"Your Excellency Rayne, why don't you rest for a bit, and then—"

"Wait, Your Excellency Tyrion, I see that everyone is in good shape. Why don't we set out now?" Rayne waved his hand, interrupting Tyrion's suggestion for him to rest.

"Now?"

Upon hearing Rayne's words, the Federation's powerful figures, including Helm, looked at him in surprise.

It seemed they were thinking, "Isn't that a bit too rushed?"

After traveling a long distance from the Empire, to start exploring the ruins immediately?

"Yes, I feel that the longer we wait, the more difficult the subsequent exploration will become", Rayne said solemnly.

For a moment, everyone was silent, pondering Rayne's words.

As the strongest among them, every word Rayne spoke was worth careful consideration by the group.

"Alright, Your Excellency Rayne, let's set off now." After a brief moment of thought, Sword Saint Tyrion nodded.

In reality, as the leader of the federation team, he was under immense pressure. After all, their exploration of the ruins so far had yielded little progress or results.

However, this exploration didn't necessarily need to yield significant gains. Simply gaining a better understanding of the changes within the Sky City would lay a solid foundation for their next steps.

"Helm, gather the research team and the logistics team to follow behind us."

Soon, the group, along with the two dragons, set foot on the surface of the Sky City Ruins.

"Tsk, tsk, what a marvelous place." (Dragon language) The steel dragon Doric's eyes gleamed as he stepped onto the metallic surface of Sky City.

Suddenly, he extended a claw and pulled a Mechanical Struthio, which was over three meters tall, from the faint mist. In Doric's grasp, the Mechanical Struthio was no bigger than a chicken.

"Crunch, crunch!"

Doric crushed it with one claw, tossed it into his mouth, and began to chew it like spicy sticks.

"Delicious." (Dragon language)

Seeing this, the group was initially stunned, but then, for some reason, everyone except Rayne broke into smiles, their tension easing.

"Your Excellency Rayne's dragon friend is incredibly strong, ha ha." Otto complimented.

"Boom!!"

Suddenly, a dull thud echoed from beneath the surface.

The sound was like a booming bell, and even the thick metallic surface of Sky City shook slightly.

"Master, there's something big down there", the black dragon Methus said in a deep voice.

"Boom!!"

The thud came again, and the ground shook once more.

This time, everyone noticed that not far ahead, where a building once stood, a large section of the metallic surface began to bulge.

This made Rayne raise an eyebrow.

It seemed the creature below was searching for a weak point, and now it had found one.

"Crack, crack, boom"

The metal deformed and broke with a loud sound, and a massive mechanical tyrant dragon's head, as large as a locomotive, emerged from the surface. Its eyes, like searchlights, began to scan the surroundings.

At the same time, its front claws began to tear through the metal surface, as if trying to emerge completely from below.

"It's the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons!"

"It's him!"

"Prepare for battle!"

Everyone's faces showed signs of tension.

They had encountered this creature before, and even with seven Epic-Level Warriors, they had not been able to defeat it. Of course, one reason was that they had not unleashed their full strength.

To ensure their safety, the seven had immediately retreated after their initial engagement on Tyrion's advice.

However, through that brief battle, they had gauged the strength of the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons. A Level 4 fire spell had only scorched its surface slightly, causing no real damage.

"Indeed, it's the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons."

Comparing it to the blueprint in his mind, Rayne knew Helm's judgment was spot on. This was indeed the top combat unit of the ancient goblin army—the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons.

Rayne had long planned to create a King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons, so he was well aware of its special attack methods.

However, his current focus was on the control room located in the center of the creature's skull.

There, he knew, was a goblin corpse corrupted by a Vile Demon.

Merely defeating the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons was not enough; it was only the first step. Only by eliminating the corrupted goblin operator could they truly destroy the creature.

"I smell the scent of mithril, adamantium, and lumina. Master, leave it to me!" The steel dragon Doric showed no fear, but rather a look of excitement.

"Alright, but be careful of its Death Ray", Rayne warned.

He wanted to see the creature's actual offensive capabilities, and the thick-skinned Doric was the best choice for this.

"Don't worry."

With that, Doric charged toward the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons, which was even taller than he was.

The King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons' eyes flashed red, as if preparing to fire a Death Ray. Doric, having been warned, suddenly emitted a thick, dark golden aura from his body.

"Zap!"

The Death Ray struck Doric's spiky back, but most of its power was absorbed by the dark golden aura, leaving only a couple of charred spots on his skin.

"Boom!"

Before it could fire a second Death Ray, the two massive creatures collided with a deafening crash, the sound reverberating throughout the area.

"Methus, help contain the gears at the end of its tail", Rayne said after a moment's thought, realizing something.

"As you command."

With the addition of the black dragon Methus and his "Wing of Madness", the three massive creatures engaged in a fierce battle on the surface.

Doric grappled with the over a hundred-meter-tall King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons, sparks flying and metal groaning!

Both were incredibly durable, with Doric's steel skin providing Dawnwizardry-level defense, and the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons being made of special alloys far harder than steel.

The mechanical tail of the King of Mechanical Tyrant Dragons, which ended in a diamond-cutting gear, was now firmly held down by Methus, preventing it from delivering fatal cuts.

With a blast of Shadow Breath from Methus, the diamond-cutting gears, though not melted, had their connection points corroded and snapped.

The Mechanical Tyrant Dragon had just lost its trump card.

Otherwise, if the cutting gears had struck the steel dragon, Doric might have suffered severe injuries.

"Your Highness Rayne, we—"

Seeing the two dragons under Rayne's command gaining the upper hand, Otto, Og, and the others, who had been watching from the sidelines, felt somewhat embarrassed.

After all, they had previously doubted Rayne's strength. Moreover, the joint exploration team consisted of seven members, while the Empire was represented by Rayne alone.

But now, the main battle was still being fought by Rayne.

This would likely be difficult to explain to the Federation Council.

After all, they knew that the spoils of war would be distributed based on each party's contributions.

"Lords, the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon will be handled by Methus and Doric. The true enemy we need to deal with is still there", Rayne said, pointing to the large, metallic skull of the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon.

Everyone followed Rayne's gesture with their eyes.

"Your Highness Rayne, is the Vile Demon controlling the goblin located in the head of the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon?" Sword Saint Tyrion asked, his face grave.

"Yes. When the time comes, I will need all of you to combine your fire magic. From my previous experience, fire magic deals significantly more damage to the Vile Demon than other forms of magic."

"Don't worry, Your Highness Rayne. As soon as it appears, we will ensure it suffers a heavy blow", Otto said, patting his chest.

If it weren't for Rayne's display of strength, the others might have had different thoughts, such as questioning the truth of Rayne's claims, doubting the need to follow Rayne's orders, or even suspecting that Rayne was trying to claim more credit.

However, at this moment, no one had such thoughts.

"Crack!"

With Methus's assistance, Doric seized the opportunity and bit down on the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon's neck. As a steel dragon, his fangs and saliva had a natural destructive effect on metal, especially since steel dragons feed on metal.

Meanwhile, Methus unleashed a blast of Shadow Breath at the right rear joint of the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon.

Under the combined efforts of these two Peak Epic dragons, the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon was forcefully toppled to the ground.

Of course, this was also because the controller was not a true goblin tamer but a monster infected by the Vile Demon. Overall, the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon, which was said to be capable of challenging demigods, did not fully unleash its power.

"Whoosh!"

As the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon crashed to the ground, a shadowy figure suddenly shot out from the control room, targeting Helm, the weakest among the group.

Thanks to Rayne's earlier warning and arrangement, Sword Saint Tyrion flashed forward and delivered a swift strike with his sword!

"Clang!!!"

The clash of their weapons produced a burst of sparks, and the figure was momentarily halted, retreating to its original position.

To everyone's surprise, the goblin corpse, which should have been a mere controller of the Mechanical Tyrant Dragon, displayed an unexpectedly formidable combat strength. Tyrion was forced to take several steps back to absorb the impact.

However, Tyrion's strike allowed everyone to see the figure's true form.

The figure was not the small, withered goblin corpse Rayne had encountered before. Although it was still shrouded in black mist, its physique was extremely robust, with its skin exhibiting multiple black cracks from which a large amount of black mist continuously flowed in and out, forming some kind of cycle.

This seemed to be the reason why the figure's skin was not withered but had a strange, full appearance.

Additionally, the density of the black mist surrounding it exceeded that of the ancient minotaur Rayne had encountered in the Prison.

Rayne had a feeling that this was not an ordinary goblin operator but rather a high-ranking goblin warrior.

The most distinctive feature of the figure was the two braids of brown beard tied separately under its chin.

"This seems to be General Enrick, a goblin of some renown in ancient times", Helm said, seemingly recognizing something.

"Hmm?"

"Your Highness Rayne, during my exploration of other goblin ruins, I found some ancient goblin diaries that recorded important figures of the ancient goblin empire. 'Braided-Beard Enrick' was one of the more famous ones", Helm explained quickly.

Just as Helm and Rayne were speaking, a low, raspy voice came from General Enrick:

"Foolish invaders, prepare to meet your deaths."

With that, the figure flashed forward, attacking Rayne and the others once again.

This time, however, it was met by two massive, scorching Blaze tornadoes, each several dozen meters high, converging from both sides.

The casters were none other than the well-prepared brothers, Og and Otto.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end