"Go! Crimson Lizard King, the red-skinned, black-furred giant lizard!" ShatteredCrown yelled, wishing he could be riding on the Crimson Lizard King and charging right alongside it.
BlackStockings froze, feeling her cheeks burn with embarrassment. "Damn it, I forgot he has a war beast!"
Boom! Boom!
The Crimson Lizard King unleashed its destructive breath, blasting through the air like a series of laser beams, striking The Flame Dragon Greedy Hoarder's wings.
Bloodlust filled the air. The Crimson Lizard King extended its claws, grabbing the much larger head of The Flame Dragon, trying to crush it in its grip.
But the Flame Dragon Greedy Hoarder wasn't just any ordinary creature.
Once it regained its senses, it tilted its head back, sinking its teeth into Crimson Lizard King's thigh.
The two beasts erupted into a fierce battle in the air, blood spraying everywhere as they clawed and bit at each other. Their ferocity had reached a boiling point.
The Flame Dragon's throat bubbled with hot, explosive flames. It roared, releasing a fiery breath that hit the Crimson Lizard King's abdomen.
The sky seemed to rain fire, and the flames scorched the earth below, leaving blackened holes in the ground.
Burn damage -20,000!
Critical hit -50,000!
...
The Crimson Lizard King was drenched in blood, half of its body nearly burned through. One blast of dragon fire, combined with a continuous [Deadly Bite], stripped away nearly 800,000 HP.
"I get the feeling... your war beast isn't going to make it, even though The Flame Dragon is almost dead," Empress said nervously.
After an intense aerial battle, The Flame Dragon's HP had dropped by almost 2 million, but Crimson Lizard King's HP was even worse, dropping by nearly 4.5 million.
Orson's eyes darkened. In a battle between giant beasts, size and strength were the ultimate rules.
Even though Crimson Lizard King had devoured Dragon Grand and the others, boosting its HP to 15 million and its attack power to 6,000, The Flame Dragon, with its size and power advantage, kept pinning it down, using its claws to tear at the Crimson Lizard King's wings while constantly spewing dragon fire.
It was clear that Crimson Lizard King wasn't going to be able to flip the tables on its own.
As Crimson Lizard King plummeted from the sky, about to crash into the ground, its merciless master finally intervened.
Orson's eyes gleamed with a cold light. He spoke quietly, "Wind God's Sigh."
"What the hell? You're attacking your own beast?" ShatteredCrown gasped in shock as Orson's large-scale spell hit Crimson Lizard King.
"Look closely, this is to help it escape," Empress said, her eyes lighting up with realization.
ShatteredCrown was taken aback. Although Wild Gale had indeed hit Crimson Lizard King and dealt decent damage, the spell had slowed its descent drastically.
Crimson Lizard King was able to land more gently, preventing The Flame Dragon from causing a deadly impact on it.
Filled with rage, Crimson Lizard King roared several times, ignoring The Flame Dragon's claws as they tore at its wings.
Snap!
The wings were ripped apart by The Flame Dragon's claws.
However, the murderous rage in Crimson Lizard King's eyes didn't lessen. With the help of Wind God's Sigh, it managed to flip over.
It quickly leaped and slammed back down, pressing The Flame Dragon into the ground, grinding it.
"Wow... this guy is savage! Just going all-out with a 'hurt for hurt' strategy... What kind of grudge do these two have?" ShatteredCrown marveled.
Crimson Lizard King bit down hard, shaking its head violently and spraying red dragon blood everywhere.
Then, its claws slashed down like a death scythe, piercing The Flame Dragon's chest.
Everyone's skin crawled as an even more gruesome scene unfolded.
Crimson Lizard King was devious. While engaging in this brutal exchange of blows, it activated its Body of the Beast ability to regenerate, ignoring The Flame Dragon's dying struggles. It burrowed straight into The Flame Dragon's abdomen...
Crack! Crack!
Bones shattered.
It began to devour.
The Flame Dragon fought desperately, trying to release a fiery breath to push Crimson Lizard King away.
But Crimson Lizard King seemed to have been waiting for this opportunity. Its limbs were constantly melting and regenerating, being consumed by fire, yet it didn't stop its insatiable eating.
Dragon heart, liver, lungs—it didn't care. It just kept eating.
Devour Growth All Attributes +10%
Devour Growth All Attributes +10%
...
"Wasn't it said that... war beasts usually become timid when they're injured?" Empress nervously asked.
"Your war beast is like a bloodthirsty Madman," Empress continued, unable to hide her shock.
"Even if the contract isn't equal, and it's a master-servant contract, war beasts should still try to run when they're hurt," BlackStockings frowned. She had seen many high-ranking beast tamers and summoners back at The King Family estate, but she had never encountered such a brutal, bloodthirsty creature.
"Are you saying its loyalty is low? But my war beast has no loyalty, so..." Orson grinned.
"It is absolutely loyal to me," he added with a slight smile.
"What the hell... no loyalty means loyalty?" BlackStockings didn't buy it.
Orson wasn't concerned. After Crimson Lizard King was resurrected using Berenice's blood, its loyalty setting turned gray, which meant it couldn't increase or decrease.
However, after Crimson Lizard King returned to its dragon-like roots, it became a natural enemy of dragons. Even without Orson's control, it would still continue to fight to the death.
"Dragon language? The Flame Dragon is calling for help," ShatteredCrown said, puzzled.
The deep, incomprehensible sounds of Dragon language echoed.
"Is it calling for other dragons to help?" ShatteredCrown and the others were confused. Even though they didn't know what The Flame Dragon, with only a few hundred thousand HP left, was mumbling, they clearly heard the word "help" in the system notification.
"Omnipotent Gluttonous Devourer, I'm your little brother..." Orson could understand the gist of the message and sneered.
"You little brat still want to run after borrowing money? Dream on."
Orson wasn't about to make the same mistake as last time. Using his Mirror of Folding, he crossed space and appeared right in front of The Flame Dragon.
With a flick of his staff, the chaotic six-pointed star lit up.
"The Flame Dragon!"
Orson forced the dragon magic into the creature's mouth, interrupting its spellcasting.
Immediately after, the Flame Dragon was devoured by Crimson Lizard King, which tore through most of the dragon's body.
The crimson beast's insatiable hunger, combined with its rapid healing, made it unstoppable.
"Crimson Lizard King, devour!" Orson commanded.
"Devour Growth" pushed its attributes up by 50%, but Orson had anticipated this. While it was nowhere near as effective as the Frost Dragon Varag's devouring, it still pushed Crimson Lizard King's growth to over 200%, with attack power reaching 8,000 and HP at 20 million.
It was just a matter of devouring two more spicy strips before it reached Domain-level status.
"You've slain The Flame Dragon Greedy Hoarder!"
"Experience +1,000,000!"
ShatteredCrown: "Damn! This is too satisfying! I leveled up twice!"
In a team, the experience was split, so most of the group leveled up by 1-2 levels except Orson, whose level was too high to gain much.
Boom!
Gold splashed everywhere, forming a mountain of treasure.
The scene was so spectacular that it even startled Orson.
"Dragon slayer! Loot!"
"Let's go! Grab the loot!"
ShatteredCrown and Empress exchanged excited glances, immediately rushing into the loot portal.
"You have received high-grade materials: Dragon Horn x2"
"You have received high-grade materials: Dragon Scales x10"
...
"You have received the Holy Relic: Dragon Crystal x1!"
In addition to a 40-level Legendary Armor, a staff, five pieces of 35-level Hero gear, a Dragon Crystal, and numerous dragon bones/scales, there was also a massive pile of 800,000 gold coins.
But when it came to speed, no one was faster than Orson. He had already finished looting the battlefield.
All that was left was a mountain of gold.
"Take these damn gold coins. I don't want to see them again," Orson smirked, taking his 200,000 gold coins before the others could react.
Empress: "What about the equipment... didn't you say there would be returns on the investment? Are you some kind of major shareholder?"
ShatteredCrown, seeing this, threw himself at Orson's legs. "I don't care! I want the equipment! The super-premium kind, or I'll stick to you for the rest of my life!"
BlackStockings: "Young master, you are the future leader of The King Family!"
ShatteredCrown shot her a glare. "You don't get it. It's perfectly natural for an apprentice to cling to their master!"
"Take these
damn items. I don't want to see them again," Orson said, tossing a 40-level Legendary Armor, the Imperial Seal Robe, to ShatteredCrown.
"Three-set effect [Imperial Majesty]: B-level or higher magic crit rate, crit damage doubles... this is insane! I love it!" ShatteredCrown was overjoyed.
"Jealousy, envy, hatred... Sigh, I didn't do much, you guys divide it up." Empress shook her head. If her character wasn't so stiff, she'd want to act cute at this moment.
Orson casually tossed her three Hero-tier pieces. "This is for you, a set for a land hero. It's not much worse than a 30-level legendary set."
"Ah?! Thank you so much! It's so nice not having to pay! So generous!" Empress beamed, afraid that Orson might change his mind.
BlackStockings stood empty-handed, looking on in silence, pretending to be indifferent.
"You talk too much. I could've ignored you." Orson smiled.
"Since you're a priest, I hope you can protect this fool," he said, handing her a 40-level Purple Gold Staff.
BlackStockings swallowed her saliva, about to take it.
Her hand paused.
Face flushed, she was about to snap.
Orson grinned. "Appropriate gear for priests, mages, or land heroes is available to you, but I get to keep all the materials in this dungeon. That okay?"