Ashen Dragon

Within the hundred-meter-diameter giant sphere mixed with thunder and flame, an extremely hot pillar of fire, like a sharp, unparalleled spear, carrying a blinding glow that pierces the soul, instantly penetrated it. Accompanied by a crisp sound of air bursting, it broke through the thunder and pierced out from the rear.

"How is that possible?"

For the first time, a trace of fear and panic appeared in Goraz Dera's eyes. She was desperately channeling the destructive divine thunder in her horns, continuously increasing the output intensity of the thunder and lightning.

In ordinary times, such a lightning breath was enough to destroy cities, annihilate armies, and render the rebels utterly despairing.

But the opponent she faced was the Ashen Empire's Emperor, now the purist-blooded Subancestor Dragon in the Material Plane.

What's more, Cassius had been preparing for this strike for a long time. He had almost exhausted the solar divine power within him and fully mobilized the Karyx Heart, incorporating several drops of scorching divine blood into this breath.

"Boom——"

With an earth-shattering explosion, the brilliant firelight and thunderlight intertwined, and Cassius's dragon breath tore apart the tide of thunder, blasting towards Goraz Dera's chest.

"Cassius!"

A painful roar howled from deep within Goraz Dera's throat, shaking the sky. It was the first time she had suffered such a grievous injury since ascending to the demigod status.

The blisteringly hot pillar of fire infused with divine power destroyed her scales, incinerated the thick flesh into ashes, and pierced through her chest, creating a hideous hole that almost ripped her torso apart. Large chunks of charred flesh were exposed, emitting a scorched scent, with internal organs and bones clearly visible.

For an ordinary giant dragon, such an injury would have been enough to cause it to plummet from the sky and lose its life, but as an undying demigod, Goraz Dera's vitality was exceptionally tenacious, making it difficult to kill her even if her heart was burned to ashes.

As the lightning crackled, countless tiny particles gathered towards the Ancient Blue Dragon's body, the bleeding quickly stopped, and the wound that pierced through her body also rapidly healed.

"You cannot kill me; I will ultimately break through the constraints of the material realm—ascend to the divine position!"

Goraz Dera raised her dragon claw high, chanting ancient draconic incantations, and bolts of lightning descended from the heavens, converging on her massive horns.

At this moment, she disregarded the loss of divinity, fully exciting the Blue Dragon Horn of Tiamat, completely unleashing the power of the destructive divine thunder.

The current Ancient Blue Dragon resembled a black hole devouring everything, with thunder roaring like a tide towards her body, forming a vortex with a diameter of thousands of meters, making the entire sky filled with dazzling thunderlight.

The lightning coiled around her body, continuously condensing and gathering, filling her broken flesh, covering her body surface, forming a continually flowing "flesh and blood" filled with fine light patterns.

The appearance of the Ancient Blue Dragon was hideous and terrifying, with the morbidly white bones exposed outside, yet her figure expanded drastically, with lightning forming her wings across the sky, and infinite thunder turning into her body, which could be said to be overshadowing the sky without any exaggeration.

Goraz Dera raised her dragon claw, grasping a thick bolt of lightning, and roared with wide-open eyes: "Cassius, to die under such majestic divine power, is the honor of your life!"

"Elementalized body?"

Cassius lifted his head, with the splendid thunderlight reflecting in his pupils, snorted coldly: "A mere bluff, do you think—you're the only one who possesses a divine body?"

"Boom, boom, boom...

The muffled but rhythmic heartbeat sounded, and the Karyx Heart within the Red Dragon Emperor's body began to operate like an engine, pulsating continuously, releasing overwhelming divine power.

After attaining the "God-sealing Dragon" occupation and ascending to the demigod status, Cassius had gained complete control over this heart, no longer driven mad by it.

With the surging pulsation of this God's Heart, Cassius's body released endless surging flames, instantly covering the sky within a radius of thousands of meters.

The flames similarly condensed into an elementalized physique, causing the Red Dragon Emperor's figure to expand drastically, reaching hundreds of meters long, akin to an erupting volcano.

"Come on, Goraz Dera!"

Cassius's eyes, nose, and mouth gushed splendid flames, with a roar rising from the depths of his throat accompanied by the sound of an explosion: "Now it's—round two!"

"Is that your last words, Variant Dragon?"

Before the words fell, Goraz Dera flapped her Thunder Wings, descending from above and wielding her dragon claw, fiercely hurling the Lightning Spear composed of thousands of lightning bolts.

"Boom!"

The thunder roared, targeting the Red Dragon Emperor's head. Cassius took a sharp breath, spewing surging dragonflame, dispersing the lightning in mid-air.

But the next moment, accompanied by lightning flashes and thunderclaps, gale and storm, dark clouds rolled and retreated sharply, and the Ancient Blue Dragon dragged the thunder flow, carrying a sky-rending momentum, diving downward.

"Roar——"

The two gigantic creatures with divine bodies collided once more, with sparks flying, flames bursting forth, and a powerful shockwave sweeping through the sky again, raising a terrifying storm and quickly plowing across the surface.

Cassius swung his dragon claw with force, fiercely grasping at the scar on the Ancient Blue Dragon's chest, piercing through the thunder armor and tearing off large chunks of flesh.

[Ashen Empire's Emperor-Cassius] (Normal State)

Name: Cassius Claudius Norixius

Category: Super Giant Dragon Type, Lawful Evil

Race: Young Ancestral Red Dragon

Ac: 39 (natural armor, gilded scales)