Ashen Dragon

"Red Dragon—"

"You are an excellent sacrifice! I will present your head to the Great Sultan!"

"I will offer your body to the Supreme Lord of Flames!"

The Fire Giant roared in the sky, its enormous body descending with rolling smoke, its eyes blazing with brilliant flames.

The nearly thirty-meter-tall scarlet giant, descending with unstoppable force, swung the brass curved sword in a slashing motion.

"Swish—"

The space in the Fire Elemental Plane was torn apart by this terrifying force, creating fire-tongue-like cracks.

Cassius looked up at the Fire Giant in the sky, his Heavenly Calamity Dragon's Eye beside him glinting with light.

The next moment, a piercing whistling sound rang out.

Cassius flapped his wings at an imperceptible speed, his body turning into a scarlet shadow, leaving only a cone-shaped cloud mass in his original spot.

With a swish, the Red Dragon's massive body suddenly vanished from its position.

"What?"

"How could this be?"

The Fire Giant, slashing down, pounced on empty air, his face twisted with extreme anger and shock.

As the evil Lord of Fire Elementals, Imister had many Red Dragon followers who often collaborated with the Kingdom of the Fire Giants supported by him.

As a Fire Giant Pasha, Ishmael sometimes even fought alongside these terrifying war machines—the Red Dragons.

Though he admitted that these scarlet giant dragons matched his strength, he prided himself on being far superior in agility.

But now, something unbelievable had happened—

"Thud."

The sound of flesh being cut.

Ishmael felt a gust of hot wind behind him, followed by intense pain.

In that moment, Cassius had flown behind him, cutting his neck with sharp claws.

Scalding, magma-like blood spilled.

"Die!"

The Fire Giant, relying on a warrior's intuition, turned around and, with all his might, swung the brass curved sword at the Red Dragon's chest.

"Swish—"

The blade slashed through space again, carving a beautiful crescent arc in the air.

Just as the blade was about to slice through scales, the Red Dragon flapped its wings, stirring up a gust and retreating nearly a hundred meters like a ghost.

"Boom!"

The brass curved sword generated a terrifying half-moon shockwave, rapidly spreading far away, making the surrounding space extremely unstable, creating spiderweb-like cracks.

But with various enhancements, Cassius's speed had reached a terrifying level.

Not just the blade, even the slash couldn't touch him.

Cassius soared into the sky again, a hundred meters high above, looking down at the enormous Fire Giant, grinning coldly.

"If that's all you've got—"

"The grace of your Great Sultan is merely so!"

"Coward!"

"Do you think evading will change your fate?"

"Red Dragon! Come fight me up close! Don't use your spell tricks or sweet talk!"

He was insulting his faith!

The Fire Giant wailed towards the sky, filled with resentment and hatred as he stared at the Red Dragon.

Ishmael had been the strongest in his tribe since childhood. At fifty years old, he carved a bloody path on the battlefield and personally decapitated a Wind Colossus Emir.

By the time he was eighty, he was already a famed warrior within his tribe.

Even so, Ishmael had to survive cruel battles to stand out among the warriors from various Fire Giant tribes.

Eventually, stained with blood, he knelt before the Great Sultan, becoming the Pasha with supreme glory.

Thinking of this, he raised his brass curved sword, pointing the blade at the Red Dragon—it was a provocation, a display of might.

He wanted to prove his strength to this formidable enemy!

Raging flames surrounded his enormous body. His eyes emitted intense firelight, followed by billowing smoke.

At that moment, Ishmael seemed like the incarnation of the Fire Elemental Plane!

"Come, Red Dragon! Don't evade! Fight me head-on!"

He understood these Red Dragons well.

Warlike, irascible, arrogant, and proud.

Whenever any creature issued a direct challenge to a Red Dragon, they believed it to be an insult and would use everything to destroy the "ignorant insect."

But the Red Dragon wasn't angry, merely tilting its head curiously.

"Shouldn't you reflect on why your spellcasting ability is so weak?"

"Or is it that you aren't trying hard enough!"

Cassius grinned provocatively, sulfurous white smoke spurting from his nostrils.

"However—"

"Dealing with an idiot like you doesn't require any schemes! A straightforward crush is enough!"

"Come! Show me the strength you are so proud of!"

Flames surged into the sky, smoke and ash billowing.

Cassius suddenly flapped his wings, stirring up a scorching gale, then dived down with unstoppable force—striking towards the Fire Giant Pasha.

Ishmael braced himself, fearlessly charging forward, the Plane Power around him surging continuously.

"Boom!"

First, a blinding flash.

Then, a series of mighty collisions, fissions, and explosions.

Flames and smoke intertwined, steam and ash danced, the orange-red sky of the Fire Elemental Plane revealing burning-edged spatial holes.

The Red Dragon and the Giant's towering bodies wrestled, concealed in the smoke and steam clouds, occasionally exposing a sinister scale or claw.

With each collision, they stirred up a colossal, searing gust, incapacitating all nearby beings, even killing some instantly.

The sky was riddled with holes.

The ground quaked and groaned.

"By the Lord of Flames..."

"They, they are divine messengers punishing His people, they are harbingers of destruction!"

"O Lord..."

"What, what is that?"

"I have lived for eighty-seven years and never seen such a battle!"

The slaves, initially curious, now trembled, afraid to lift their heads and watch the fight.

It was too terrifying.

They witnessed firsthand the blazing fallout from the Red Dragon and Giant's battle, incinerating dozens of unfortunate Fire Lizards in an instant.

"He will win, His Majesty Cassius will surely win!"

Selcan looked up, his expression unwavering, nearly pious.

Even the most ordinary Imperial Soldiers raised their heads, watching the sky battle with anticipation and tension.

But their eyes held no doubt of Cassius's defeat—that was simply impossible.

His Majesty never failed.

It was always like this.

Whether the opponent was a noble, a demon, a Silver Dragon, or a Fire Giant, His Majesty Cassius would always crush them and then lead them to a glorious future.

This was not just the confidence built from long-term victories but also the result of the Empire's long-standing brainwashing propaganda.

Many Imperial Soldiers' devotion to His Imperial Majesty was akin to the zealots of the Church, almost reaching a fanatical level.

"The Great Red Dragon never falls!!"

"Victory to His Majesty Cassius!"

"Everyone, cheer up! His Majesty Cassius has taken action, everything is about to end!"

The soldiers' cheers were drowned in the explosive blasts but continued unabated, surging like waves.