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"Roar—"

Faint magical glimmers flickered around the Draconic Sorcerer’s body as it swelled rapidly.

White smoke billowed outwards, its sulfur and niter scent overpowering even the thick stench of blood. It felt like standing at the edge of a volcano. As the smoke cleared, an 18-meter-long red dragon emerged in the underground cavern.

Duke Brad ceased his pursuit of Langli Baitiao, glaring at the red dragon with fury in his crimson eyes.

"It’s you, after all."

"Damn lizard."

"Why? Why do you keep obstructing me!"

For the first time, the vampire duke set aside his arrogance, taking his opponent seriously. After all, standing before him was a genuine dragon.

In the Material Plane, no one dared underestimate a dragon, especially not a red dragon—the notorious favorite of Tiamat and leader of chromatic dragons.

Cassius said nothing, unleashing a fiery breath.

"Boom!"

Scorching flames shot toward the vampire.

Duke Brad moved like an agile bat, twisting and turning in midair to dodge.

Under his control, Alger charged the red dragon, his eyes vacant as he swung the Ever-Burning Greatsword at his current master.

"Dominate Human?"

Cassius instantly recognized the spell.

"Roar—"

The red dragon let out a low growl, emanating invisible authority from its massive frame. The sheer pressure of its bloodline made Alger’s body and soul tremble.

【Leader’s Aura】

In an instant, clarity returned to Alger’s eyes.

Cassius ignored the momentarily disoriented Alger, flapping his wings and charging forward with an intimidating roar, carrying an unstoppable momentum.

"Damn lizard."

Watching the approaching red dragon, Duke Brad clenched his teeth, fury burning in his crimson eyes.

"I’ll show you what death means!"

For centuries, no one had dared defy him like this. He had spent two hundred years preparing for this ascension.

Duke Brad raised his arms with all his might. The darkness seemed to wail as countless shadowy tendrils erupted from the ground, crimson blood mist filled the sky, and thousands of bats swarmed like rolling clouds. Blood surged like a tidal wave.

The vampire’s power, accumulated over a century, erupted in full force, transforming the surroundings into a bloody hellscape.

At this moment, he was the king of this realm!

However, the red dragon’s scales suddenly turned a dazzling gold-red. Shards of energy floated around its body like countless tiny satellites, and lightning crackled around its form, emitting a continuous sizzling sound.

As the red dragon charged into the torrent of blood mist, shadows, and bats, a blinding light erupted, dispelling the encroaching darkness.

Bats fell from the sky in droves, turned to charred remains by the crackling lightning. Shadows dissolved effortlessly upon contact with the energy fragments, and the blood mist evaporated before it could even approach.

"I never deliberately obstructed you."

"You just happened to be in my way, old bat."

The red dragon spewed a sea of flames, incinerating everything in its path and sending the firestorm hurtling toward the vampire.

"Even dragons meet their end!"

"And I will be the eternal sovereign!"

Duke Brad’s pale face twisted into a more grotesque expression. The power of the original sins he had absorbed made his nature even more warped.

"You should bow before me!"

A vast sea of blood, like a massive crimson curtain, shielded the vampire from the incoming flames. The blood sea surged wildly, crashing toward the red dragon.

"Frightening only mortals with such tricks."

"Who gave you the audacity to use such crude methods against a dragon?"

Cassius charged into the blood sea without hesitation.

He slightly opened his jaws, channeling the fiery energy from his bloodstream into his lungs. The fire elements gathered in his lungs and throat, making his chest glow like molten lava. Even the gaps in his scales glimmered faintly with fiery light.

The sulfur and niter scent intensified. His massive dragon form was like an imminent volcanic eruption.

【Empowered Flame Breath】

"Boom!"

A blazing white-hot column of fire shot from the red dragon’s mouth, piercing through the blood sea instantly.

The flames sizzled as they moved, evaporating the viscous blood water long before it could approach. Flames consumed everything, filling the air with dense blood mist.

Cassius tilted his head slightly, directing the fire column toward the vampire.

For the first time, fear flickered in Duke Brad’s crimson eyes.

Such devastating flames—if they struck directly, even with his undying nature, it would be nearly impossible to recover.

Yet, Duke Brad still grinned maniacally, shouting wildly, "It’s useless, lizard."

"I am everywhere! I am an immortal being!"

He dissolved into blood mist, merging with the rolling blood sea to evade Cassius’s direct attack.

"Annoying creature."

"If you’re so good at escaping, don’t blame me for killing your family."

Cassius thought to himself.

Without hesitation, he turned his attention to the progenies bound helplessly to the stone pillars.

Instantly, the vampiric progenies, unable to move, were engulfed in the incandescent flames. When the fire subsided, only molten rock remained, releasing dense steam and dripping with red-hot magma.

Even the chains binding the progenies melted into glowing molten metal, flowing slowly.

Once again, it was proven that the so-called "undying" nature of the vampire progenies had clear limits.

Duke Brad’s second son, Etiri Lackman, the symbol of wrath, was utterly destroyed.

A formidable berserker, he was meant to provide "strength" for Duke Brad’s ascension. Yet, he didn’t even have time to scream or struggle, reduced to ashes in the extreme flames.

"No—"

"My children…"

Duke Brad reformed into his humanoid form in the air, letting out a heart-wrenching wail, teetering on the edge of insanity.

Over years of self-hypnosis, Duke Brad had come to "love" these children from the bottom of his heart. To him, absorbing them completely was the ultimate expression of love, fulfilling their lives to perfection.

Etiri’s destruction.

Meant the failure of his ascension.

Seeing the red dragon turn toward the next progeny, the symbol of arrogance—his most cherished daughter, Alexia—Duke Brad could endure no more.

His crimson eyes burned with boundless fury as he controlled the endless blood mist, surging from the sky toward the red dragon.

"Lizard, I will kill you!"

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