Dragon scales, dragon blood, dragon sinew, dragon souls—each worth fortunes beyond counting, each glimmering in the invaders’ eyes.
“Draconians, submit to our sect and live! Refuse, and this day becomes the day your race is erased!” some even declared. Jared stroked the tiny tower hidden in his palm, the gesture almost casual. A razor-thin smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, colder than the steel skies overhead.
Before Jared could speak, Coall could hold back no longer. His roar ripped across the valley, shaking dust from distant cliffs. “Stuff your rotten threats! Mr. Chance won that tower with his own power, nothing to do with you trash! You want the tower? Start by asking my fists for consent!”
Cyanna said nothing. Azure Dragon aura coiled around her slender frame, her cool gaze declaring her stance more loudly than words.
Hundreds more Draconians, long shackled by centuries of oppression, found a vent for their smoldering rage. Their combined dragon’s power thundered forward like a living tsunami. The gorge reverberated with a primal, world-splitting roar.
“Dream on if you think we’ll be chained again!”
“Follow Mr. Chance! Wipe these greed-soaked scavengers from the earth!”
The Draconian surge smashed through the enemy’s gathered aura, then pressed on, forcing them three steps back.
Jared lifted a hand and pressed down gently. The Draconians fell silent at once; the gorge fell into a reverent hush.
That instantaneous obedience sent an icy jolt through every rival faction.
*How could one young man tame creatures this fiercely untamed?*
Jared looked across the sea of foes, his voice soft yet carried by power through every mind.
“The tower is mine. The Draconians are my companions. If you want either, step forward and take them yourself.”
The plain words pulsed with absolute, unyielding dominance.
“Arrogant wretch!”
“He’s only Human Immortal Realm Level Five; luck and a herd of useless beasts are all he has!”
“Kill him! Seize the treasure!”
“All together! No matter his skill, he’s still just one man, plus a few dragons!”
Greed strangled the last threads of caution. Someone fired a green flame, hissing toward Jared like ghost-fire torn from a grave.
The shot was the signal; the hillside erupted as every opportunist charged, weapons and spells igniting the dusk.
A savage roar ripped across the battlefield. “Kill!”
“Claim the spoils!”
“Slay them!”
Spellfire, glittering artifacts, and blades of condensed force crashed down like a monsoon, sweeping toward Jared and the Draconian ranks behind him.
Rival sects that had feuded for centuries forgot every grudge. United for a single, murderous heartbeat, they meant to butcher Jared, seize the Beast-Subduing Tower, and shackle the Draconians.
“Form up, meet them head-on!” Jared’s command thundered from the tower heart into every Draconian mind, urgent as war drums.
At once, the Draconian camp ignited, a sunrise of scales and sigils cleaving the gloom.
Led by Cyanna, the Azure Dragon bloodline unfurled the Greenwood Rebirth Array. Verdant light spiraled upward, weaving a colossal shield of living wood that drank the enemy’s fury until it withered.
Coall roared at the vanguard, flanked by Black Dragons and Coiled Dragons, whose bodies seemed forged from iron. Claws shredded spells, dragonbreath met raw energy, and armored flesh endured what could not be turned—a living breakwater against the first murderous wave.
Behind them, elemental clans took position. Superheated breath, spears of lightning, and blizzards of razor snow erupted like fireworks inside the enemy swarms.
Jared would not hide behind the wall he had raised. Grip tightening on the Dragonslayer Sword, he shot forward like living lightning, plunging straight into the densest knot of opponents.
“Five-Element Sword Domain, open!”
A harmonic buzz rang out. Color-woven blades flooded a hundred-meter circle around him, weaving a lethal tapestry of intersecting fury.
Within that radiant cage, every avenue of escape became a cut waiting to happen.
