Translator: AnubisTL
In the next instant, the dragon claw was upon him, each hooked talon as sharp as a blade.
Beyond the golden lightning, wisps of crimson-black qi coiled around Garos's dragon arm—his dragon qi. Where this qi flowed, his frenzy-state body was further enhanced. Empowered by the circulating qi, the claw strike moved with lightning speed.
Crack!
Baal's arm hadn't even begun to rise. The dragon claw slammed into his chest and abdomen, tearing through his iron-hard skin in an instant. His sternum and ribs shattered with a sickening crunch.
He didn't even have time to scream in pain.
Garos executed a whirling wing slash, the dragon wing blade arcing toward Baal's neck.
Sensing imminent death, Baal instinctively ducked.
Clang!
Blinding sparks erupted as the wing blade, at the cost of a chipped edge, severed half of Baal's left horn.
"My horn!"
Horns were both weapons and vital aesthetic features for minotaurs, held in the highest regard.
The demonic bull retaliated furiously, its massive fist slamming toward the dragon's head, only to be met by Garos's lightning-fast counter-strike.
Thud!
The dragon horn pierced Baal's abdomen, drawing a torrent of blood.
A crimson glint flashed in Baal's pitch-black eyes.
With a savage roar, the blood gushing from his wound didn't spill onto the ground; instead, it ignited into flames, causing the lava-like fissures on his body to glow an even more intense red.
If the demonic blood had merely been boiling before, now it was ablaze.
Baal had entered the third stage of his desperate battle, holding nothing back.
Black magic flames and golden lightning clashed violently.
The demonic bull clenched its fist into a hammer and swung it at the red-iron dragon's wide-open nape, the blow carrying terrifying concussive force.
Before the strike landed, the red-iron dragon withdrew its horn and met the attack with its right claw.
Level 1 Dragon Qi Circulation!
Enhanced Claw Strike!
Boom-crack—!!!
A circular shockwave tore through the sky, shredding the clouds.
Baal's finger bones shattered inch by inch, while Garos's claw scales were pulverized into dust. Two crimson streaks arced through the air, evaporating into a red mist amidst the clash of golden lightning and magic flames.
The true battle had only just begun.
Baal's shattered finger bones were enveloped in magic flames, sprouting sharp bone spikes.
He seized Garos's right claw with his other hand, then drove his burning knee toward the dragon's reproductive cavity.
Dragon scales were present in this area, but they were far weaker than those covering the rest of the dragon's body, making it a major vulnerability for dragonkind. Yet the red-iron dragon showed no hesitation. He raised his hind leg and viciously kicked between the Bull Demon's legs.
Both were formidable opponents, their gazes clashing like lightning bolts, neither yielding an inch. Their eyes burned with unwavering resolve.
Thud!
Thud!
Two muffled impacts echoed as the Bull Demon's testicles were instantly crushed into a bloody pulp, his pelvic bones cracking. Even with the pain-dulling effects of burning demonic blood, Baal couldn't suppress a piercing scream of agony.
What tormented him even more was this:
The dragon scales his knee had struck weren't fragile at all. Instead, they were unimaginably hard, merely cracking and denting under the brutal impact without shattering completely.
The red-iron dragon shuddered violently, sucking in a sharp breath.
But that was all.
The relentless training he had subjected his weak points to day and night now bore its fruit.
Overwhelmed by excruciating pain, Baal's body doubled over, his vision blurring.
Garos seized the opportunity.
His left claw lashed out, tearing through the Bull Demon's tough hide beneath his ribs.
The dragon claw dug into the gaps between Baal's ribs, its knuckles tightening like steel pincers.
The demonic bull roared in muffled agony as the brittle snap of breaking ribs mingled with the tearing of flesh. He swung his right fist, wreathed in surging black flames, aiming a devastating blow at his enemy's head.
Garos abruptly flapped his wings and retreated.
Evading the heavy punch, he brutally tore three of Baal's ribs, flesh and skin intact, from the demonic bull's body.
Blood rained down, instantly transforming into raging flames.
Baal's qi surged again, his once-black eyes now completely crimson, burning with savage madness. He seemed oblivious to pain.
With lightning speed, he reached out, his massive hand clamping down on the dragon's tail. Using brute force, he hurled the red-iron dragon toward the ground.
Boom! The dragon's body crashed through the rock strata, unleashing shockwaves of earth that sent Bloodhoof and Ironforged combat units flying or burying them alive.
Baal pursued relentlessly, his hooves converging into a battering ram as he stomped down on the dragon's chest.
Clang!
Garos crossed his dragon arms in defense.
Black-red scales cracked under the demonic bull's crushing stomp, spiderweb fractures spreading across the armor as the ground beneath them caved further.
Finally turning the tide, the demonic bull swung his elbow like a battle-axe, aiming for the dragon's face.
The red-iron dragon twisted his head to dodge, adjusting his angle so his dragon horn collided with the demonic bull's elbow. Sparks erupted like a torrential downpour. A hairline crack appeared on the dragon horn, but Baal's elbow shattered completely, pierced by the horn.
Simultaneously, Garos's right claw lunged for Baal's heart.
Rip!
Baal tore off his own arm. Using the recoil from his hoof slamming into the red-iron dragon's chest, he flapped his demonic wings and soared into the air, narrowly evading the heart-piercing strike.
"Coward, why are you running?"
The red-iron dragon's cold, mocking whisper echoed in Baal's ear.
At this moment, the situation had completely reversed, mirroring their earlier positions.
The difference now was that even in his third-stage transformation, Baal's speed couldn't match Garos's frenzy state.
He barely managed to ascend two hundred meters before a violent gust of wind slammed into his back.
Baal took a deep breath, his demonic blood burning at its peak, and turned to face his attacker.
The red-iron dragon coiled into an iron ball, crackling with golden lightning, and crashed into the demonic bull's chest.
Its thick, sharp dragon horn pierced Baal's abdomen, and the dragon's momentum drove him violently into a nearby hill.
CRASH!
Layers of rock crumbled, sending countless fragments flying as dust billowed into the air.
Garos pinned Baal deep within the mountain's core, his dragon claw pressing down on the demon's head, grinding it further into the rock.
Baal's burning demonic wings snapped shut like guillotines, slashing at Garos's back, only to be torn apart by the dragon's wings. Demonic blood splattered onto the scorching rock, instantly vaporizing into a crimson mist.
ROAR!
The demonic bull roared furiously, its legs coiled around the dragon's body as its sole remaining fist hammered repeatedly against the creature, each blow growing weaker.
Baal had long passed his peak.
His qi was deteriorating rapidly, and the healing of his wounds had slowed to a crawl.
Moments later, two figures burst through the rocks on the other side of the hill.
The red-iron dragon pinned the demonic bull to the ground, soaring low and carving a kilometer-long trench through the battlefield.
When the dragon finally came to a halt, its golden lightning dissipating, Baal's body was a mangled wreck, unrecognizable from its former glory.
His horns were shattered, his demonic wings torn to shreds, leaving only a few bone fragments dangling with tattered flesh. His right leg, severed below the knee, had been reduced to dust, and his chest and abdomen had been ripped open.
He was barely clinging to life.
"In the Borderlands—"
The red-iron dragon rose to its full height, its dragon claw clamping around Baal's neck, lifting the broken body into the air.
"—the Ironforged Clan will reign supreme, and I will be its sole master."
The fierce battle stirred the red-iron dragon's heart, stripping away his long-held facade and suppressed ambitions, revealing a glimpse of his true nature.
He tossed Baal's mangled body to the ground, looming over him with cold indifference. "Insignificant wretch," he sneered, "crawl before me and beg for mercy. I'll grant you the chance to pledge your loyalty."
By this point, Baal had nearly exhausted all his demonic blood.
Yet his innate talent meant that if he could survive this near-death experience, he would eventually recover.
The mangled body stirred. Under the red-iron dragon's icy gaze, Baal slowly lowered himself to the ground, but at the last moment, he suddenly lunged upward.
"Death is merely rebirth! Glory remains with me!"
With a hoarse roar, Baal gathered the last of his strength into his remaining arm, his fist aimed at the red-iron dragon's jaw.
Boom!
The dragon's tail, which had been coiled around its body, shot up and crashed down, slamming Baal into the earth.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
After several consecutive strikes, the ground trembled. The mangled body, which had barely clung to life moments before, was now a radial splatter of flesh, mixed with gravel and dirt, utterly lifeless.
(End of the Chapter)
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