Chapter 401: Myriad Bodies? Ignition!

"Boom, boom, boom, boom, boom!"

Endless thunder cascaded madly from the firmament, the crimson lightning unleashing its inherent, ultimate destructive power upon every target it struck. The lethality of these crimson dragon-thunders was absurd; the modified dragons were almost instantly dismantled upon impact, their internal components shattered as they plummeted from the high heavens, wreathed in black smoke.

In truth, these relentless bolts were merely passing through the shells of the modified dragons. The infinite lightning that bathed the earth would pierce through these husks, burning them into riddled ruins before reaching the ground. Upon contact, the lightning would dissipate, only to reconverge, manifesting as the second phase of this world-shattering assault.

Countless serpents of lightning, coalesced from arcs of electricity, began to slither, locking onto everything within the attack radius deemed an enemy. Smaller modified dragons were overtaken at terrifying speeds by these lightning-elemental snakes, which possessed a predatory instinct, and were reduced to ash in the ensuing detonations.

Those of extraordinary size, or those formed by the aggregation of multiple modified dragons, were dealt with by even larger crimson serpents. Masses of lightning snakes converged, forming massive, surging pythons of electric light.

The giant pythons would open their maws—expanded to several times the size of their own cross-sections—and swallow their enemies whole, leaving them to be baptized by the ocean of electricity within their bodies until they were reduced to charred residue.

Finally, the surrounding sky cleared, and the lightning serpents gathered at the smoke-filled heights, reconverging to reform the massive golden dragon body of the Dragon King, Wendel Mix.

"Ten more minutes. I leave Mielos to you and Arelian. The Dragon King’s shell is indeed immensely powerful; its flaws are masked to an extent by this sheer might, but they remain. Leave the clearing of these modified dragons to me."

As the lightning serpents reformed, Wang Yu’s words reached Zig, who was currently besieging Mielos alongside Arelian.

The Lady of Night’s power flickered briefly. Amidst the recoil of a fully charged dragon breath that sent him reeling, Zig threw the relic, the Hourglass of Chronos, from behind him, catching it instantly as he regained his composure.

"Understood."

Zig responded, his body accelerating suddenly, returning to the battlefield at a speed exceeding Mielos’s calculations. His dragon claws, burning with fierce flames, swept down in tandem with Arelian’s giant silver blade.

Wang Yu had a clear sense of his role while piloting this Dragon King shell: to brute-force the cleanup of these Abyss-derived entities that threatened the battlefield and posed a danger to the Sky Mechanical City.

Though he appeared to move with great speed, it was only relative; driving this shell by force was a struggle. The power he could exert was, as Astartes had estimated, roughly one-tenth to one-twentieth of its potential.

The reason he used only dragon-thunder magic was not because it was the most devastating or efficient, but because it was the most tightly integrated with the Dragon King’s mana circuits, allowing Avia to draw out its full capability.

Thus, using the shell’s non-renewable power to deal with the swarms of modified dragons that kept pouring forth was the best choice. At this moment, this "sluggish" Dragon King body lacked the capacity to finish off Mielos.

Vast life force surged from the Flag of Triumph, flowing into the rushing sea of blood and coursing into Wang Yu’s shattered frame. It countered the load generated by the Dragon King’s shell, rebuilding his body. He was adapting to the pressure of driving this behemoth, and the transformation of his new flesh had already begun.

"Boom!"

The Sky Mechanical City’s Skyfire Cannon fired for the first time. Named "Skyfire," this super-magic cannon, utilizing "Giant Staff" technology, actually contained primarily wind elements, with fire elements used only for the final touch.

A pitch-black sphere, far smaller than the cannon’s muzzle, was launched. It shot forward at an astonishing speed toward the gathering point of the modified dragons, located opposite the Dragon King body Wang Yu piloted. The sphere’s darkness stemmed from its nature as a hyper-compressed mana entity. Once it left the environment specifically shaped by the cannon, it began its work.

The surrounding air began to swirl and rotate at an increasingly terrifying velocity. Visible vortices of air pressure converged upon the black sphere. With a howl of wind, the maddened currents dragged everything in the vicinity toward the sphere’s center.

A storm of growing magnitude rushed toward the impact point. From a small whirlwind to a sky-piercing, overloaded tornado, the entire process took less than ten seconds.

"Rumble!"

The runaway currents tore through everything, sucking all nearby matter into the center of the storm vortex. Pressure many times the norm manifested at the point of high-energy mana convergence. Modified dragons already in the projectile’s path were shredded by the sharp currents and ground into pulp by the unbearable weight.

Nearby dragons were captured by the expanding tornado; no matter how they struggled, their physical strength was insufficient to escape.

Attempts at Void shifting proved futile, for besides the dragons, the storm was also dragging along the Reality Stabilization Spears that had been launched across the island earlier.

The storm reached its limit, its horrific suction drawing all surrounding modified dragons into its range. Then, the hyper-compressed mana sphere, having exhausted its power to fuel the storm, reached its final layer. Flames ignited, triggering a super-magic effect.

Super-magic: casting spells while ignoring elemental constraints. Under the central mana eruption, the entire sky-piercing tornado, shaped by an unimaginable quantity of wind elements, was ignited. The erupting flames soared upward along the vortex.

"Boom!"

In the blink of an eye, the storm tornado became a fire tornado. Though the storm ceased, the scorching flames maintained the speed and trajectory of the wind elements, spiraling upward to incinerate everything within before surging into the thick, heavy clouds covering the island.

The fire tornado dissipated as the fire elements reached the high heavens. The sky was ignited, suffused with red, as if the entire firmament were ablaze. Until the fire elements fully dispersed, the heavens would continue to burn with an inextinguishable flame—this was the meaning behind the name of the "Skyfire" cannon.

"Bang!"

Zig’s flaming dragon claw slammed solidly into Mielos’s shell. The combined destruction of dragon strength augmented by battle aura and the explosive alchemy fuel shattered Mielos’s tough exterior. Broken scales flew, and golden dragon blood splattered the sky.

The moment the tissue detached from Mielos’s body, it collapsed into rifts that devoured everything nearby, enveloping Zig. Zig had already tasted the destructive power of these rifts; the shattered armor on his back and several gruesome wounds were proof of that.

A flash of silver light, and Arelian beat her wings, energy surging. The mark she had placed on Zig activated, and Zig vanished from the "minefield" of Mielos’s discarded flesh, reappearing above Arelian.

Mielos moved with startling speed. Void energy and the special power nurtured within its flesh surged, carving two black trails through the air as it reached Arelian. The dragon breath it had been hoarding erupted, covering the entire fan-shaped area in front of it.

Arelian, having used her power to pull Zig from danger, was a beat slower. In her haste, she blocked with her silver-glowing wings, using them as a shield.

"Boom."

Energy collided, shockwaves rippled. Gruesome gaps were blasted into the silver dragon wings, the glow leaking away. Mielos pressed the attack, the sharp, lethal tip of its dragon tail thrusting toward Arelian’s eyes. Arelian, her wings still reeling from the impact, had no time to parry.

However, the Hourglass of Chronos fell, was caught, and the pre-coordinated plan was executed. Spatial transfer, forced at four times the speed, triggered. Arelian and Zig swapped positions, her brother stepping in to face Mielos’s assault.

"Skree!"

Metal-clad claws caught the thrusting tail. Zig’s strength erupted without reservation, squeezing it tight until sparks flew from the friction.

"Roar!"

With a furious bellow, Zig grabbed Mielos’s tail, battle aura surging. The boosters on his wings opened to maximum, transferring the extra thrust through his body to his claws. With a single heave, he swung Mielos’s massive form downward.

"Snap!"

A sharp sound echoed as Mielos’s tail severed. Just as its shattered shell could be used as a weapon, its body could undergo strategic modification at any moment to break free from Zig’s grip.

"Bang!"

Giving it no time to stabilize, Arelian, her body wreathed in high-energy matter, descended at five times the speed, pouring all her strength into Mielos’s shell and driving it toward the ground.

"Click..."

A soft sound in the air as the Hourglass of Chronos was tossed once more to Zig.

"Bang!"

The silver dragon body pinned Mielos to the earth. The rock strata shattered, and the surroundings were engulfed in exploding silver radiance.

"Boom!"

Pinning Mielos beneath her, Arelian unleashed her silver dragon breath, blasting its head relentlessly. The energy torrent, spilling over and hitting the surroundings, obliterated everything nearby.

"Roar!"

A savage cry emerged from the torrent of energy. Mielos, relying on its exaggerated physical durability, forced its neck up against Arelian’s breath. It opened its maw wide, black energy and Void aura swirling, ready to erupt. A clash of dragon breaths was imminent.

However, a claw, fast as lightning, descended from above. The silver energy wrapped around it protected it from the ongoing silver dragon breath, and it slammed onto Mielos’s head. The battle-aura-augmented strength forced the neck it had just raised back into the earth.

"Clang!"

Mechanical latches engaged. This weapon, which Zig had prepared for so long without an opportunity to use, finally unleashed its full power.

A massive pile driver ejected from the weapon bay of Zig’s armor. It was loaded with highly compressed mana entities, "Shining World" alchemy fuel, and a Fire Elemental Lord’s core as propellant. The warhead was forged from an alloy of Orichalcum, Mithril, and fragments of meteorite blade provided by Wang Yu.

Aiming at Mielos’s wide-open maw, Zig jammed the pile driver—capable of piercing all things at point-blank range—against it and pulled the trigger.

"Bang!"

The propellant exploded. A concentrated, blindingly thin beam of fire shot skyward. The terrifying sonic boom shattered all rock within a kilometer in an instant. The super-powered blast erupted at zero distance.

The warhead suppressed the dragon breath accumulating in Mielos’s throat, shattering it, and without a moment’s pause, drove into the interior of the shell. Then, it exploded. The power, already beyond the limit, completely...

Shatter this formidable vessel forged by Maelos.

"As expected... it is not here."

"It is not over yet, sister."

Though they had blasted Maelos’s shell into fragments, neither Sieg nor Aerilian could afford a moment’s respite. The true form of the abyssal entity had not emerged, which was well within their expectations; Maelos did not reside within that husk, for the preparations he had made for himself extended far beyond that singular, powerful frame.

"Dragon King... I know not where you unearthed this wretched prison, nor from where you summoned these necromancers, but if you truly believe that you two, along with that dragon corpse drained of its energy and that city, could bring an end to me, you are sorely mistaken."

"To drive me to such lengths... I had not intended to expend these dragons here. They had days yet to live, meant to serve as sustenance for when I crossed the Endless Sea to reach the continent. Now, thanks to you, they shall be devoured entirely, and you shall share their fate."

Maelos’s voice resonated from beneath the earth, his irritable, furious words echoing across the entire island. As he spoke, the Dragon Isle began to tremble, and the concentration of void energy surged exponentially. The celestial fire burning in the clouds was eclipsed by the pitch-black backdrop of the void as the abyssal creature’s power spiraled into a total frenzy.

Below, the fleshy roots exposed by the shattered surface began to writhe, breaking through the soil layer by layer. It was a colossal mass of gore and sinew, churning as it erupted from the ground—this was the true incubator and cocoon of Maelos; the previous shell had been nothing more than a "warden."

Within those pulsing masses of flesh, one could faintly discern the figures of countless dragons struggling in agony. To Maelos, the dead were mere raw material for crafting shells, but while they lived, he could draw upon their essence through the tether he held over them.

The deceased dragons were reshaped by the void into monstrosities, while the living became his biological nursery, gestating the true form that would stand at the pinnacle of the world. The assault from the Sky Mechanical City, the Hell plane, and Aerilian’s forces had pushed Maelos into a corner he had never anticipated.

It was not quite a desperate situation, or perhaps it was merely one of many possibilities, though the remaining value of the dragons—from whom he could have squeezed more power—was now lost. This waste would have to be compensated for by the wretched intruders present.

"Thump!"

With the roar of a beating heart, the living dragons within the massive fleshy mass thrashed violently. The newborn entity gestating within began to accelerate the consumption of their lives; the heartbeat, audible across the entire island lake, was the harbinger of its birth.

The battle was far from over; it was merely transitioning into its next phase.

"Found you. It ends now. To think so many of our kin still live—how wonderful."

Sieg’s gaze locked onto the center of the colossal mass, where all power was converging. The location of Maelos’s true abyssal form was finally revealed; this battle had to be brought to an end.

A dragon claw pressed against his chest, and the essence within began to boil.

"Noelle, ignite."