Amidst the black dragon’s shriek, the golden giant sword sliced through its chest with unstoppable force. Viscous, pitch-like death energy erupted from the wound, corroding the surrounding rock walls into large craters.
Starlight and the others watched closely as a greyish-white eyeball, as large as a house, spun frantically between the dragon’s ribs.
The surface of the eyeball was covered in bloodshot veins, and its pupil reflected the agonized faces of countless souls. It actually managed to briefly withstand the giant sword’s assault!
However, this resistance lasted only an instant.
As the golden light on the giant sword erupted, the bloodshot veins on the eyeball’s surface snapped inch by inch, finally exploding into a cloud of black ash with a “poof.”
Without any further hindrance, the giant sword completely pierced the dragon’s body and plunged into the mountainside behind it, its momentum undiminished.
Rumble!
Starlight could feel the entire mountain range trembling.
The moment the blade touched the rock layers, countless streaks of golden light spread underground like tree roots, restoring a metallic luster to the corrupted rock wherever they passed.
Under this overwhelming power, the skewered black dragon finally ceased all movement.
Seranox’s chest heaved violently, each breath carrying scorching sparks.
“Haa... haa...”
Golden dragon blood gurgled from the hideous crack on his brow, dripping down the bridge of his nose onto the charred rock surface with a sizzling sound.
Even for him, performing such a technique left him inevitably exhausted.
The shattering of the Crown of Gold Horn had also caused a significant backlash for him as its owner.
Overall, however, things had not yet reached an irreversible state, allowing him to finally breathe a sigh of relief.
“I never expected Cantia to be able to corrupt the ancestor's legacy husk... what a pity for the Crown of Gold Horn. To think the heritage of so many generations of Dragon Kings would end in my hands,” Seranox murmured, his trembling hand reaching up to touch his forehead, only to feel the scorching, jagged remains of the shattered horn.
“Is that so? The Crown of Gold Horn is completely destroyed?”
A cold voice suddenly rang out behind him. Following a ripple in the shadows, the Obsidian Dragon King, Salenzo—who had been missing the entire time—suddenly appeared.
“Yes... send word to the entire clan. Put out a warrant for the traitor Cantia and her accomplice.”
But no one responded. The Obsidian Dragon King, who usually followed his every command, stood as still as a statue.
“Hmm?”
Sensing something was wrong, Seranox slowly turned his head to repeat himself, but what he saw were Salenzo’s cold, glinting black eyes.
Deep within those pupils, there was no white at all; only an endless, viscous darkness swirled slowly, like two tiny black holes.
At that very moment, a chill swept down Starlight’s spine, causing him to shout at the top of his lungs.
“Watch out—!!!”
Hearing Starlight’s desperate warning pierce through the air, Seranox instinctively leaned back, but he was still half a step too slow.
Salenzo’s ink-black right hand had transformed into a sharp claw, plunging deep into his chest. Scalding golden blood immediately sprayed from the wound.
It was only because of Starlight’s shout that he had moved slightly; otherwise, it would have been his heart that was pierced!
“Salenzo! What are you doing?!” Seranox’s pupils contracted to the size of needlepoints from the agonizing pain.
He grabbed the hand impaling his chest, intending to pull it out.
But the pitch-black claw seemed to have taken root, remaining firmly embedded in his body no matter how much force he applied.
More terrifyingly, the blood vessels around his wound were turning black at a visible rate, spreading throughout his entire body.
As the black lines spread, the power within him was almost completely suppressed.
“Are you surprised, my dear King?” Salenzo said softly, his cold voice echoing through the vast space, sounding utterly horrific. “When exactly did you... become so dull?”
The Obsidian Dragon King slowly twisted the claw impaling his chest, savoring the expression of agony on the Gold Flame Dragon King’s face.
“Did you really think Cantia could control the entire Dragon Valley on her own? I have been preparing for this day for far, far too long...”
“To divert your attention from the Dragon Valley, I specifically had her and that elf steal your offspring from the hatching chamber. Coincidentally, you even placed the Dragon Ancestor's Legacy Scale on that egg. Such doting really did us a huge favor!”
“Furthermore, that fellow’s rebellion allowed me to successfully capture a large number of elves. Using the life energy within them, I successfully suppressed the excessive death energy on the ancestor’s legacy husk.”
“Though there was a small accident along the way...” Salenzo suddenly turned his head to look at Starlight and the others in the distance. “But overall, these ants are not enough to affect the entire plan.”
“Without the bloodline suppression from the Crown of Gold Horn and the blessing of the Dragon Valley’s magic formation, your power has been weakened to its lowest point.”
“Do you want to be the King of the Dragon Race that badly? Do you know the consequences of doing this?!” Seranox coughed up a mouthful of blood and stared deathly at Salenzo.
“King of the Dragon Race?” Salenzo shook his head. “So, you’ve never truly understood my thoughts, have you, my dear elder brother?”
“I have no interest in your throne. My goal lies somewhere much higher!”
As he spoke, Salenzo pointed his other hand toward the Dragon God’s legacy husk embedded in the rock wall. Dropping his cold demeanor, he spoke with a near-fanatical tone.
For the first time, a look of fear appeared in Seranox’s eyes. “You’re mad... that is the ancestor’s...”
“No—it will soon be mine!” Salenzo interrupted him, a sinister glint flashing in his eyes.
Just as he was about to strike Seranox’s forehead with his palm, his figure suddenly froze. Without turning his head, he reached back.
With two pitch-black fingers, he precisely caught a stealthily approaching dark spike, only an inch away from his temple.
“Shadow of Annihilation... I almost forgot about you ants,” Salenzo said, slowly turning his head to look into the distance. “Why not just crawl and linger for a little while longer?”
Under Starlight’s shocked gaze, Salenzo simply applied a bit of pressure with his two fingers, crushing the magic Starlight had carefully prepared into fragments.
Starlight had already anticipated that Ultimate Darkness would have limited effects on the dark-attributed Obsidian Dragon King, but he still hadn't expected the man to neutralize such a highly concealed spell without even looking.
“You seem surprised? You might even have me to thank for being able to learn it. I didn't expect a human to integrate Ultimate Power in just a few months. Truly terrifying talent!”
Salenzo seemed to be in a very good mood, speaking more in this short time than he ever had before.
He lightly rubbed the residual shadow energy between his fingertips, and the look he gave Starlight was now filled with mockery.
However, his leisurely words set off a tidal wave in Starlight’s mind.
Whether it was the battle with Taros in the Violet Tomb or that distant glance at the Spiritual Arts Academy, all the pieces of information seemed to connect at this moment.
“Taros's resurrection was orchestrated by you?! No wonder the magic formation back then was so similar to the one in the Dragon Valley!”
Having realized everything, a deep sense of wariness immediately flooded Starlight’s eyes.
“Indeed, I personally set up that formation,” Salenzo chuckled and nodded. “Otherwise, did you think that foolish ancient god and those incompetent ants could have completed a magic of that level?”
“But to my surprise, even with a damaged soul, that failure should have had Saint Rank strength. I didn't expect him to be defeated by a few juniors like you.”
“Though he lacked strength, he was quite qualified as a test subject.”
Salenzo spoke slowly, each word like a heavy hammer striking Starlight’s chest.
In the next second, he suddenly withdrew his smile and slowly raised his hand. The shadows around him began to twist and writhe, eventually condensing into a pitch-black spear in his palm.
Rate on N.U.
