Bradley clicked his tongue, looking enviously at the Crimson Lizard King's abilities. "The more brains you eat, the smarter you get. If I had that ability, I could totally be an Infinite Dimensions scientist!"
Orson shook his head at Bradley's words. He had a feeling that the Crimson Lizard King wasn't just getting smarter by eating brains, but rather, with each dragon devoured, the ancient memories of the Death God Dragon Clan were slowly awakening.
Thinking of this, Orson looked toward the northwestern direction of Pondenorlin City on the map and furrowed his brows.
Holy Silver Dragon Denoka had just used his space magic abilities to transfer all of the dragons' attacks, and the area where the explosion happened was near the Death God Mountain.
"Could that mountain have been flattened?" Orson muttered to himself, already planning to visit the Death God Mountain instance when he had the time, to investigate whether there were any hidden levels and uncover clues about the mystery of the Crimson Lizard King.
In his previous life, there was very little information on that dungeon. After all, the drop rate of the items in that dungeon was low, and the monsters inside were particularly difficult, making it one of the least farmed dungeons in the game.
If the entire Death God Mountain was flattened, that would certainly be a problem.
In the aerial battlefield, the Crimson Lizard King stood out among the dragon army.
With its size advantage, it charged through the NPC Dragon Knight battle formation. Bynabert, mounted on his Fire Dragon, let out a shrill cry as it was struck by a Blazing Starfall and plummeted to the ground. Before it could even get up, the Crimson Lizard King struck again, finishing it off on the spot!
Another dragon fell!
Bynabert, this old general, was no slouch. Before his Fire Dragon hit the ground, he raised his hand and blew a whistle, summoning another Fire Dragon Knight to come assist.
With a leap, he jumped onto another Fire Dragon, leaving his previous mount and transferring control of it to the new Fire Dragon Knight, who then swiftly jumped onto a Flame Dragon and flew away.
With one dragon beast dead, Bynabert, with his grey hair standing on end, roared, "Darnya Family, entangle this wicked dragon! I'm going to kill every last adventurer!"
Four Water Dragons, shimmering with waves of light, shrieked as they descended from the clouds.
In an instant, a roar like crashing waves filled the air, as several powerful torrents of water surged down.
Dragon Curse · Deep Blue Prison!
Dragon Curse · Deep Blue Prison!
...
Four B-rank Dragon Curse spells hit from all directions.
The Crimson Lizard King, unable to dodge in time, was drenched in the torrents, which seemed harmless at first but actually caused its flight speed to slow drastically.
Four blue chains seemed to come alive as they wrapped around the Crimson Lizard King's entire body.
Soon, the water elements rapidly gathered, forming a massive bubble that engulfed the Crimson Lizard King, trapping it in a watery prison.
The Crimson Lizard King was like a fish in a specially made fish tank, suspended in the air with no way to gain a foothold, trapped in the water prison and unable to move.
Imprisonment!
Imprisonment!
Suffocation - 300,000!
Suffocation - 500,000!
...
The B-rank water magic, Deep Blue Prison, not only provided a long-lasting control effect but also induced physical suffocation.
If a human mage cast it, the effect wouldn't be anywhere near this potent; the magic would barely control small to medium-sized monsters for a few seconds before their mana ran out.
However, when four Water Dragons were in charge, the massive mana pool from the dragons allowed for a long-lasting effect, even capable of controlling a beast the size of the Crimson Lizard King!
Orson furrowed his brows. "Number one isn't good at water combat... it can't even swim."
The Crimson Lizard King was now trapped, but it had only lost about a million health. Using Body Domination Recovery to break free seemed wasteful at this point.
Orson hesitated for a moment but ultimately decided against it.
Using Body Domination Recovery could leave it vulnerable to a counterattack from the four Water Dragons, and that would be troublesome.
Water dragons had thick health compared to lower-tier dragons, but their damage output was lacking.
Nonetheless, their well-rounded nature made them very annoying—these dragons were the type that could wear down an opponent without dying, eventually irritating them to death.
Bynabert, the NPC, was a high-ranking imperial general. His stats weren't very strong, just at the Lord-Class peak, but strategist-type NPCs were not to be judged by their conventional battle strength. In some ways, they could be stronger than battle-type NPCs like Victor.
"Darnya—Attack!"
A Water Dragon Knight, clad in blue battle armor, shouted with veins bulging on his forehead, raising his dragon spear and charging at the Crimson Lizard King.
The Water Dragon Knights were like arrows as they easily pierced the bubble around the Crimson Lizard King and began to attack with their dragon spears.
Critical Strike - 60,000!
Critical Strike - 50,000!
...
"Blessed by the Sea God, the Darnya Family."
Orson's eyes turned cold. This family resided in the coastal city of the Endless Sea, and it was rumored that their members were favored by the Sea God. Everyone in the family was skilled in underwater combat.
The Water Dragon Knights' armor gleamed as they entered the water, and their boots sprouted webbed feet while fish-like gills appeared on the sides of their necks.
These Water Dragon Knights had seen countless battles and were incredibly skilled at capturing large prey, working in perfect unison.
Like four sailfish darting through the water, their dragon spears left a trail of blood wherever they went.
The Crimson Lizard King swung its claws in frustration, but the attacks were easily dodged. It angrily roared in silence underwater.
The Crimson Lizard King's bloodshot eyes widened, trying to unleash a Doom Dragon Breath, but as it opened its jaws, a flood of water elements rushed in, choking it.
It flailed wildly, nearly triggering a magic backlash.
"That dragon is angry..."
Orson couldn't help but chuckle, feeling a bit of sympathy for the Crimson Lizard King. He was about to step in and help, but he felt the resistance coming from the beast.
In front of a dragon so much weaker than himself, the Crimson Lizard King's pride wouldn't allow anyone to interfere.
Not even its own unscrupulous master!
"Stop stalling, help Orgod's beast escape! Otherwise, we have no chance!"
Slaughter Spree shouted in a low voice.
Although Slaughter Spree was often a bit reckless and had his fair share of humiliations, he was always clear-headed when it came to the enemy.
The NPCs were clearly stronger than their side. If the Crimson Lizard King lost its combat power, the one who would be in trouble would be the Dragon Knights.
Whoosh!
With a sudden flash of wind blades surrounding the Storm Dragon, Slaughter Spree tried to break the continuous control cast by the four Water Dragons.
But the Crimson Lizard King turned its head and glared fiercely at the Storm Dragon, causing the wind blades to dissipate as the dragon shuddered.
Slaughter Spree was taken aback and turned to his mount: "WTF!? What are you doing?"
"That black dragon is too proud. If we rush in to help, it might kill us even if we do free it," Drunken Dream observed. He shook his head, clearly seeing the issue.
Slaughter Spree: "So you're saying we can't even tell who's on our side?"
Usually, low-loyalty beasts would do strange things, and there had been cases where they attacked their own masters.
"Guess you'll have to ask Orgod," Drunken Dream said with a bitter smile.
Holy Silver Dragon Denoka led the charge, his dragon spear gleaming with holy light, straight for Fire Dragon Knight Bynabert.
Behind him, the Dragon Knight players rushed into combat with the Imperial Dragon Knights.
"Are you sure you don't want to help?"
Orson couldn't resist asking, watching as the Crimson Lizard King's health continued to drop, now down by 20 million.
But soon, Orson furrowed his brows, sensing something through the Master-Servant Contract—it seemed like his number one employee was grumbling.
"Don't get yourself killed. The real fight hasn't even started yet, and you're losing health too quickly. It's going to get tricky."
Orson sighed, sitting cross-legged, focusing on the distant battlefield, preparing for what was to come.
He needed to get his mind right, refine his control over the Clones, and adjust his strategy.
The opponents were going to be far stronger than anything he had faced before, and even though he still had some tricks up his sleeve, he couldn't afford to be careless.
"Even the strongest dragon's prey can never kill the weakest true dragon!"