Chapter 753: The Audience's Opportunity
“Roar—!”
With a thunderous roar that split the sky, the Red Dragon and the White Dragon locked in a furious clash. Two massive, powerful dragon bodies collided, their sheer force creating a tremor that shook the very earth—neither side gaining the upper hand.
Drakalith sought to crush Tinia beneath her weight, pinning her down completely. But Tinia, with lightning reflexes, evaded at the last instant, darting across the battlefield with fluid, agile maneuvers, exploiting her superior speed. Whenever Drakalith’s guard dropped—just for a heartbeat—Tinia would unleash a chilling maw, glowing with frost, and lash out with razor-sharp claws, targeting her enemy’s most vulnerable points.
The White Dragon fought like a cold, calculating predator, effortlessly dodging the Red Dragon’s storm of attacks, analyzing each movement, and striking with pinpoint precision at the smallest flaw in her opponent’s form.
The longer the battle raged, the more stunned Drakalith became. She had underestimated this White Dragon—she was far more formidable than she’d imagined.
Though Drakalith held the edge in raw strength, the White Dragon’s power was no less impressive. Her speed was terrifying—every bite, slap, and claw strike was nearly impossible to dodge. But what truly infuriated Drakalith was the icy aura clinging to every strike. The White Dragon’s attacks were laced with a chilling breath, and one misstep, one careless moment, and her body would be locked in freezing agony.
Drakalith pressed forward with relentless fury, a storm of fire and fang, but her own body was already riddled with frostbitten wounds.
“I must end this quickly—this White Dragon is too dangerous!” she gritted her teeth, then slammed into her opponent with full force, sending Tinia flying. With a powerful beat of her wings, she soared into the air.
But Tinia’s thoughts mirrored her own—though her focus was oddly different.
“I must defeat this Red Dragon—now!”
Drakalith was an existential threat. A young, powerful Red Dragon, radiant in the eyes of dragonkind. If she ever met Master… the consequences could be catastrophic.
The thought sent a wave of despair through Tinia.
No! she screamed inwardly. I won’t stand by and watch helplessly! Something had to be done!
With a fierce beat of her wings, Tinia shot upward into the sky, her icy gaze fixed on the Red Dragon far below, her expression cold and unyielding.
“Roar—!”
At the same moment, both dragons roared in unison, unleashing the full force of their inner power.
On Drakalith’s chest, fine cracks of fire pulsed like veins. Her golden eyes flared with twin streams of molten flame. Her massive body was wrapped in a blazing aura, resembling a demon born from the depths of hell.
Her wings snapped open with a thunderous whoosh, flames devouring the sky, the air itself crackling with the sound of burning wind.
Meanwhile, Tinia hovered high above, her wings drawn tightly against her body. Thick layers of ice crystal began to form around her, hardening into a pure-white, gem-like cocoon that radiated bone-chilling cold.
Dragon battles knew no mercy. No quarter. Only relentless assault.
“Die!” Drakalith charged forward, a torrent of blazing fire erupting from her maw, slamming into the ice cocoon with devastating force.
But then—Tinia’s wings snapped open.
A guttural, rasping roar tore from her throat. Her eyes blazed with icy blue light.
A howling gale swept across the battlefield. Snow fell in sheets. Within a hundred meters, the world turned white. The White Dragon was now encased in a thick layer of ice, like a living suit of armor, radiating endless cold. The ground trembled. An ice mountain burst through the soil, rising from beneath the earth.
“Boom!”
The clash of ice and fire erupted in a violent explosion. Ice shards flew like shrapnel. Rivers of molten flame twisted through the air. Thick, rolling smoke filled the sky, obscuring the two dragons as they clashed in the maelstrom, their claws and fangs glimpsed only in flashes.
“You… underestimated me,” Drakalith said, a fierce grin spreading across her face. “I admit it—you’re a worthy opponent.”
She swung her flaming claw with a thunderous crack, aiming to crush the White Dragon.
“Hmph. Who needs your approval?” Tinia spat, whipping her tail to deflect the blow. She twisted her head mid-air, snapping at Drakalith’s throat.
Drakalith lowered her head, her massive maw opening wide. After a brief pause, she unleashed a searing fireball—directly at Tinia’s face.
“Boom!”
Tinia didn’t flinch. Instead, she unleashed a torrent of frost, a cone of freezing energy that erupted from her maw, instantly extinguishing the fireballs.
“But you’re wrong,” she hissed. “The ultimate victor… is me!”
Drakalith inhaled deeply. From her throat, a never-ending torrent of fire surged forth—flames that lit the heavens, matching the White Dragon’s frost breath in a deadly standoff.
Neither side yielded. Neither would back down.
“Now… is the time.”
While maintaining her breath, Tinia studied her opponent. Master once taught her: strike where the enemy is weakest.
Though Drakalith could resist frost through her ancestral bloodline, she still suffered from frostbite. As wounds accumulated, her left side grew sluggish. Worse, her left shoulder bore a deep wound from an ice spike earlier—a flaw that could be exploited.
Opportunity had come. And she wouldn’t miss it.
With a silent resolve, Tinia channeled her Matalotok, gathering frost magic deep within her body. It flowed through her veins, concentrating in her right claw. The gaps between her scales glowed with a brilliant blue ice light.
Far away, Drakalith slowly closed her mouth, panting heavily. Smoke, thick and acrid, poured from her jaws and nostrils. Her head burned, still overheated from the battle.
The Red Dragon was tired.
Now.
Tinia let out a deafening roar.
Her right claw erupted with icy energy, forming a spear of pure ice—over twenty meters long, crystalline and razor-sharp. The spear shimmered with a cold, otherworldly glow, radiating an aura so chilling it seemed to freeze time itself.
“Die!”
With a violent sweep of her wing, Tinia unleashed a hurricane of cold wind, becoming a ghostly white streak in the sky, charging toward Drakalith.
Drakalith’s pupils narrowed—but it was too late. She had no time to react.
Tinia’s power, her speed, had been building for too long.
Zzzzzzz—
The ice spear tore through the air, piercing Drakalith’s shoulder with a sickening crack. The cold spread instantly.
Drakalith roared in agony, her neck arching, wings flaring wide as she screamed in anguish.
The blue ice light spread like wildfire through her body. Her movements slowed. Her blood, once hot, began to freeze. The flames that had wrapped her body sputtered and died. Frost crept across her scales, coating her in a thick, glittering layer.
She tumbled through the sky—unsteady, unbalanced—on the verge of falling.
“Perfect! I can return to Master with the report!” Tinia’s heart leapt with joy. She dove down, slamming her body onto Drakalith’s back, aiming to crush her into the rocky ground—revenge for the earlier blow.
But then—just as the Red Dragon lay frozen solid—her eyes snapped open.
Golden vertical pupils glared with madness.
“Got you.”
Crack—crack—crack—!
The ice layer shattered like glass, splitting into a thousand shards that exploded outward.
Blood seeped from between her scales, outlining her body in crimson. A bloody aura surged from her, thick and oppressive. The scent of blood filled the air.
“This… this feeling…” Tinia’s eyes widened. Recognition struck her like lightning.
She flared her wings, trying to escape—but it was too late.
“Roar—!”
Drakalith lunged forward, her claw seizing Tinia’s wing with brutal force. Her jaws snapped shut, tearing through flesh and membrane with savage ferocity.
Tinia screamed, struggling desperately, but her wing was shredded, her back torn open. Scales flew like shrapnel.
Only then did she realize the truth.
“This… this is a Bloodscaled Fury!”
“Roar!!!”
The Red Dragon roared like a berserker, her mouth dripping with blood, her eyes bloodshot, wild with rage. She was no longer a dragon—she was a beast.
Tinia, battered and bleeding, could barely move. Drakalith dragged her down, both of them crashing into the ground.
“Boom!”
Dust and debris flew. Rocks shattered. The impact cratered the earth.
“Damned madman!” Tinia roared, fury boiling in her veins. She unleashed a torrent of frost, blasting Drakalith with freezing breath.
But the bloodlight shielded her—slowing the freeze, making it ineffective.
And now, Drakalith felt no pain. She didn’t care about wounds. All she wanted was to kill.
“Roar!!”
A monstrous head burst forth from the smoke—fanged, bloody, terrifying.
“You’re a damned lunatic!” Tinia spat, struggling to rise. “I am a follower of the Emperor of the Ashen Flame!”
She flapped her torn wings, trying to escape, but Drakalith seized her legs, dragging her back into the air.
Tinia turned, summoning every ounce of strength, unleashing her full frost breath.
Drakalith opened her maw—filled with blood—and charged forward, her eyes gleaming with hunger, biting down on Tinia’s throat.
At that moment, a voice—deep, commanding, overwhelming—rang from the sky.
The presence that followed was undeniable. The true aura of an Ancestral Dragon.
“Enough. This ends now.”
From the heavens, a colossal phantom emerged—the Red Dragon. Four horns crowned her like a king’s diadem. Her body was mountain-sized, her aura suffocating.
Tinia looked up, desperate. “Master! This madwoman is insane! She’s gone mad!”
The sound cut through Drakalith like a blade.
Her gaze cleared. The bloodlight faded. The frenzy vanished. The berserker beast became a proud, regal Red Dragon once more.
She lowered her head, bowing deeply, her voice trembling with awe.
“Drakalith, daughter of Oswaldo, acknowledges His Majesty, King Kai Xiusu.”
But the phantom didn’t respond. Not a word. Not a glance. It simply faded into the clouds.
“…?”
Drakalith stood frozen, stunned. She had never been ignored—ever.
From birth, she had been the strongest hatchling in the dragon nest. King among her kin, even the Five-Colored Dragon Queen had shown her favor. She had grown up with arrogance—believing all other dragons were mere servants, slaves to her will. Humans, dwarves, elves, ogres—mere ants to be crushed at whim.
And now, this? She had bowed, humbled, and still—nothing.
“This… is unbelievable. No wonder he’s King Kai Xiusu.”
A wave of ecstasy washed over her. Her body trembled with excitement. She had never felt such honor.
No one else has ever been treated like this… not even the Five-Colored Dragon Queen.
She had finally found her true dragon.
She stared at the spot where the phantom had vanished, her golden eyes filled with madness and worship.
“Madwoman,” Tinia growled, glaring at Drakalith, her expression venomous—like a predator about to claim its prey.
Drakalith finally turned, her chin lifting, her eyes scanning Tinia with the same cold, haughty superiority.
“White Dragon,” she said, extending her claw. “You fought well. Not boring. But you lost.”
“Give me what’s mine.”
“What?” Tinia snarled, her gaze dark and hateful. She wanted to etch every detail of this Red Dragon’s face into her memory—every scar, every flaw.
Classic vengeful White Dragon genetics.
“The scroll to the palace.”
“White Dragon. You’re a follower of King Kai Xiusu. You wouldn’t really be so dishonorable, would you?”
“Of course not. I’ll gladly find it… from your corpse.”
“You—” Tinia’s rage boiled over. She wanted to kill this arrogant dragon a thousand times over.
But she obeyed Kai Xiusu’s orders.
With a growl, she pulled out the teleportation scroll and tossed it forward.
Then Drakalith asked the question that made Tinia’s blood boil.
“By the way… what’s your name?”
“Tinia.” The White Dragon spoke coldly, each word like a blade. “I’m Tinia.”
“Good,” Drakalith smirked. “I’ll remember you, Tinia. King Kai Xiusu’s pet.”
To her, lesser beings weren’t worth knowing. Names were meaningless. Only those who were worthy—worthy opponents—deserved to be remembered.
To this proud Red Dragon, being asked, remembered—was a rare honor.
But Tinia didn’t see it that way.
“Damned Red Dragon.” she thought, seething. Next time we meet… I’ll break every bone in your body.
(End of Chapter)
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