Ashen Dragon

Without the support of the Divine Body, Goraz Dera's thunderous form started to collapse and disintegrate, with torrents of lightning spreading like waves, surging into the sky and continuously expanding outward.

And when the thunder retreated, her wretched and tragic true form was revealed, her chest pierced by a hideous and horrific wound, skeletal bones exposed, flesh scorched and charred, resembling the remains of a dragon that died in flames.

She desperately flapped her wings, her body wobbling, askew and lopsided, as if about to plummet to the ground, barely hovering in the sky through electromagnetic force.

Goraz Dera fixed her gaze on the broken horn in Cassius's claw, her face twisted, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth, arcs of electricity sparking in her long, vertical pupils, revealing great desire.

"That is mine! Variant Dragon, give it back to me! Give it back!!"

At this moment, the Ancient Blue Dragon was like a thirst-driven traveler in the desert, nearly frantically yearning for her source of strength—the horn of Tiamat.

With this horn, she could, like a deity who commands thunder, freely manipulate lightning and unleash divine thunder capable of destroying everything.

But devoid of this Divine Body, she felt utterly weak and small, even feeling fear and trembling before the Emperor of the Crimson Dragon.

"Give it back to me—"

Finally, Goraz Dera couldn't bear the immense disparity, completely lost her sanity, and roared, charging at the Emperor of the Crimson Dragon, spewing Lightning Breath from her mouth, though now far weaker than before.

"Interesting..."

Cassius's mouth curled into a bloodstained grin, a sinister smile tainted with mockery.

"In your current state—dare to confront me head-on? Have you lost your mind?"

The Emperor of the Crimson Dragon extended his massive and sharp Dragon Claw, directly grabbing the neck of the Ancient Blue Dragon, hoisting it up savagely.

Before the hundreds-of-meters-long dragon body condensing from Flame, the Ancient Blue Dragon seemed like a severely wounded young dragon, powerless to resist, and was flung into the air by Cassius.

"Boom!"

Goraz Dera hit the ground heavily, causing a mountain-crushing collapse, the earth wailing, rocks splintering, making her already battered body even more miserable, bones shattered, flesh bloody.

She struggled desperately, trying to climb from the ground when the enormous scarlet figure descended with a thunderous crash, pinning Goraz Dera down, immobilizing her.

Cassius pressed against the neck of the Ancient Blue Dragon, sneering as he said, "I told you long ago, you're just His Majesty Tiamat's loyal hound, utterly unworthy of comparison with me!"

Goraz Dera fought to open her mouth, speaking intermittently, "Variant Dragon, you'll regret this, Her Majesty the Dragon Queen will banish you to a dark cage for eternal torment..."

Cassius coldly said, "Is this your last words? As I see it, your Dragon Queen has long abandoned you!"

"Boom!"

His forelimbs suddenly exerted force, muscles and veins bulging, pressing the throat of the Ancient Blue Dragon down with immense power, compressing Goraz Dera into the depths of the earth.

She spat out a huge mouthful of blood, painfully wailing from her throat, brilliant thunder erupting from within.

The intense pain made Goraz Dera lose her mind, becoming dazed, left with only primal awareness, howling to the sky, fervently praying:

"His Majesty Tiamat, please save me! You promised to make me the new deity!"

"Boom!"

Lightning shredded the heavens, a blurred five-headed shadow appearing at the horizon, eyes cold, uttering an angrily rebuking curse.

"Useless—"

Before the words fell completely, a five-colored Pillar of Fire exploded, descending from the torn sky, carrying a terrifying force to strike the mountainous body of the Emperor of the Crimson Dragon.

Flames, thunder, frost, venom, acid, each colored beam of Breath possessed intensely evil Divine Power, containing the force to destroy all, to disrupt the Material Plane.

This was Tiamat breaking through the dimensional barrier, releasing Divine Punishment despite consuming Divine Power!

"Boom!"

In an instant, burning Dragon Blood rained over the sky, Cassius's fiery form brutally torn apart by the five-colored Pillar of Light, his back nearly ripped in half, exposing stark white bones and pulsating internal organs, his torso also almost pierced by the pillar.

"Tiamat! You are utterly shameless!"

Cassius threw his head back in the intense pain, issuing an earth-shattering roar, confronting the five-headed dragon shadow in the sky, releasing surging Dragonflame from within.

Seizing the opportunity, Goraz Dera escaped from under the Emperor of the Crimson Dragon, dragging her battered body into the sky, hoarsely laughing: "Variant Dragon, your karma has come! I told you long ago that His Majesty Tiamat will not forsake me!"

Cassius's body visibly regenerating, he clenched the broken horn in his claw, raised his head, parted his blood-filled mouth wide, spewing a dazzling Pillar of Fire from his throat, colliding mid-air with Tiamat's Divine Punishment, mutually negating.

"Unexpected, His Majesty Tiamat, a deity high above, would stoop to such stealth against a mortal."

Tiamat's gaze was particularly somber, filled with murderous intent, spanning endless time and space, crossing from the Divine Realm in Aphernas to the Emperor of the Crimson Dragon, bringing an immense oppressive force.

For a deity, penetrating the dimensional barrier to release Divine Punishment is a dangerous endeavor.