A scarlet, forked tongue darted in and out, its bowl-sized eyes glinting with a cold light.

Its thick, powerful body was covered in dense Scale Armor, which reflected a disturbing, oily sheen under the sun.

Unlike the evenly matched struggle last time, this battle was completely one-sided.

Raylo noticed that the Black Dragon today was vastly different from the last time he had seen it.

Its massive body was covered in a set of menacing Metal Dragon Armor.

The armor’s design was far from exquisite. It had a crude, savage style, with heavy, dark metal plates connected by enormous rivets. The joints were a mix of chains and leather straps.

Although it looked somewhat ugly to Raylo, it fit perfectly and protected all the Black Dragon’s vital areas, including its neck, chest, abdomen, and back.

The helmet revealed only a pair of savage eyes, and a thick, solitary metal horn glinted with a cold, menacing light.

"CLANG!"

Blood Throat’s Bone Spear struck the Black Dragon’s chest plate with all its might, creating a shower of dazzling sparks, but it only left a shallow white scratch.

The Black Dragon paid it no mind. With a backhanded swipe of its massive claw, its sharp talons sliced through the air, leaving several gashes on Blood Throat’s body that were deep enough to show bone.

"ROAR!"

Blood Throat let out a pained roar. Its three heads spewed violent flames and poisonous mist, forcing back the Black Dragon that was attempting to close in again.

The Black King had clearly taken advantage of the mobilization of the Jade Swamp’s main forces. Seizing this golden opportunity, he launched an attack, attempting to carve out a piece of the Jade Swamp for himself.

This Black Dragon was smart and decisive. Now was the perfect time for it to take a piece of the pie from the massive power that was the Jade Swamp.

’The Black Dragon and the Snake-men fighting to the death is actually a good thing for me.’

’When the snipe and the clam grapple, it’s the fisherman who profits.’

But Raylo had no time to worry about the outcome of this war.

He lay low on Baofeng’s back and patted its neck gently.

Baofeng understood. It let out a clear cry, and with a beat of its wings, it soared over the bloody battlefield without a second glance, continuing to fly north.

As they flew on, the hot, humid, and foul stench of the swamp gradually dissipated. It was replaced by the familiar, dry, and biting mountain wind of the Black Stone Mountain Range.

Finally, at dusk, the Black Stone Territory appeared on the distant horizon.

On that familiar land, countless soldiers were working with great enthusiasm. The sounds of lumberjacks’ chants and the hammering of posts could be heard from afar, filling the air with life and energy.

A Black Stone Territory banner was fluttering and snapping in the wind atop a newly built wooden watchtower.

Seeing that banner, the tension that had gripped Raylo finally began to ease.

He was back.

Baofeng let out a long cry and, with Raylo on its back, was the first to dive toward the camp.

Sun’s massive body followed close behind, casting a huge shadow on the ground below.

The soldiers in the camp all stopped what they were doing and looked up at the sky. When they clearly saw the Golden Dragon and the familiar Griffin, the entire camp erupted in a roar of cheers like a tsunami.

"The Lord is back!"

Baofeng landed smoothly in the clearing in the center of the camp. Raylo dismounted, and Moonlight and Coal Ball leaped nimbly back onto his shoulders.

Personal Guard Captain Ed was already waiting there.

"My Lord, you’ve returned. As per your orders, we have begun expanding the border defense camp. Everything is proceeding smoothly."

Raylo nodded.

"Casualties?"

"The retreat was timely. We have fewer than a hundred casualties."

"Good."

Raylo’s gaze swept over the entire camp.

New arrow towers and cheval-de-frise were being erected, and the trench surrounding the camp was already half-dug. The entire camp was becoming more and more fortified.

"Good work," Raylo said approvingly.

"Have the men rest in shifts, but don’t halt progress on the fortifications. Also, send out more Pegasus Knights. I want to know the latest developments with the Black Dragon and the Snake-men."

"Yes, my Lord!"

Ed puffed out his chest, accepted the order, and departed.

Raylo took a deep breath of the dry air unique to the Black Stone Mountain Range.

’I have the Head of the Demon Serpent, "Ice Wind," but this is far from over.’

The moment after he and Sun crossed the battlefield and left the confines of the Jade Swamp, the core of the swamp, which had been silent for hundreds of years, suddenly erupted with an unprecedented, violent tremor.

The earth shook like a sieve. Countless ancient tree roots buried deep in the mire were forcefully uprooted, and murky pool water shot into the sky, forming hundred-meter-tall waves.

In that instant, every Magical Beast in the Jade Swamp, whether they were fighting or hiding, prostrated themselves on the ground, trembling as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Even the Black King and the Three-headed Snake Monster, Blood Throat, who had been fighting with earth-shattering intensity, simultaneously stopped under this terrifying pressure, staring in horror toward the depths of the swamp.

Immediately after, a roar that defied description exploded from the deepest part of the swamp.

The roar was unlike that of any mortal creature. The fury and Power contained within it seemed capable of tearing apart the heavens and shaking the very Stars.

It was filled with an ancient, barbaric, and primeval majesty, as if the swamp itself had let out an enraged bellow.

The mere aftershock of the sound caused swathes of trees at the edge of the battlefield to collapse, while countless weaker Magical Beasts had their internal organs instantly ruptured, dying with blood streaming from all seven orifices.

The Black King’s massive, metal-armored body trembled involuntarily. For the first time, an emotion called "fear" appeared in its savage draconic eyes.

He recognized this aura. This was the true master of the Jade Swamp—the ancient being that had slumbered for hundreds of years, an existence that even he dared not provoke lightly.

Clearly, something... had infuriated it.

Following that, in the center of the swamp, the water of a vast lake perpetually shrouded in poisonous fog began to spin wildly, forming an enormous, bottomless vortex.

A hundred-meter-tall wall of water rose from the lake’s surface, the surging waves letting out an angry roar.

A pillar of eerie green light shot up from the center of the vortex, tearing through the clouds in the sky. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Beside the lake, on an altar perpetually shrouded in a poisonous miasma.

A slender yet dangerous figure slowly rose from the altar’s Blood Pool.

It was a female Snake-man, completely different from a crude monster like Blood Throat.

Her upper body was that of a near-perfect human female. Her skin was as fair as jade, yet covered in mysterious and demonic cyan Magic Patterns.

Her dark green hair cascaded down like seaweed, hiding her eyes.

Her lower body was a snake’s tail covered in fine black scales, coiled upon the altar.

Her aura was cold and sinister, like the deepest poison pool. Though insignificant compared to the earth-shaking roar, it carried a malice that pierced straight to the soul.

"Our Lord is enraged!"

"Who... stole our Lord’s head?"

Below the altar, several Snake-man Priests prostrated themselves on the ground, their bodies trembling like leaves in the wind.

"Lady Najasha... we... we don’t know..."

The female Snake-man known as Najasha did not ask again.

She raised her hand. A pool of emerald-green water gathered in her palm, eventually forming a Water Mirror.

The image in the mirror flickered before finally settling on the retreating figures of Raylo and his companions, riding a Griffin and a Golden Dragon at high speed.

"The Black Stone Mountain Range... humans..."

Najasha’s voice was bone-chillingly cold.

"Found you."

She let out a sharp hiss. At the sound, a massive Magical Beast lurking in the altar’s shadows began to move.

It was a ferocious Winged Dragon, a hundred meters long and comparable in size to Domain Level Dragons. Its grayish-black, leathery wings were covered in rotting spots, and every flap scattered bands of ghastly green poisonous mist.

Its body was covered in jagged Bone Spikes, and its long, narrow head was filled with blade-like teeth.

This was one of the Jade Swamp’s top aerial predators, the Corrosive Poison Wing Dragon.

And this one was Najasha’s personal mount.

With a flicker of movement, Najasha landed lightly on the Winged Dragon’s back.

"After them," she commanded, her voice cold.

"Bring back... our Lord’s head."

"HISS!"

The Corrosive Poison Wing Dragon let out a piercing roar, beat its wings forcefully, and kicked up a sky-full of poisonous mist. Transforming into a streak of grayish-green lightning, it shot into the air and chased straight in the direction of the Black Stone Territory.