Ashen Dragon-Chapter 142 - 73 Ascension Ritual (7)

"Roar——"

Tiny fragments of magical aura flickered on the Dragon Vein Sorcerer, and his body expanded rapidly.

White smoke instantly spread all around him, the scent of sulfur and niter overpowering the heavy stench of blood, making it feel like being at a volcano’s crater. As the smoke dispersed, an eighteen-meter-long red dragon abruptly appeared in the underground world.

Duke Brad stopped chasing the swashbuckler and looked at the red dragon, his scarlet eyes filled with rage.

"It was you after all."

"Damn reptile..."

"Why, why do you keep getting in my way again and again!"

For the first time, the Vampire Duke set aside his pride and became serious. After all, the enemy before him was a genuine giant dragon!

In the Prime Material Plane, no one dared to take a giant dragon lightly, let alone one that was known as Tiamat’s favorite, the leader of the five-colored evil dragons.

Cassius remained silent and simply spat out a breath of flame.

"Boom!"

Scorching flames surged toward the vampire.

Duke Brad twisted and turned like an agile bat in the air, dodging the attack.

Under his control, Alger rushed toward the red dragon, his eyes lifeless as he roared and swung his everburning greatsword at his master at that moment.

"Domination of Humans?"

Cassius immediately recognized the spell.

"Roar——"

The red dragon let out a low growl, and an invisible aura of majesty emanated from his enormous body, causing even Alger’s body and soul to tremble from the suppression of bloodline.

[Leader’s Aura]

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

Cassius paid no attention to the still somewhat disoriented Alger. Instead, he flapped his wings and charged forward with an unstoppable momentum, letting out a heart-stopping dragon’s roar.

"Damn reptile."

Watching the approaching red dragon, Duke Brad gritted his teeth, uncontrollable fury burning in his scarlet eyes.

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"I will make you understand what death is!"

For centuries, no one had obstructed him like this. He had prepared for this ascension for two centuries.

Duke Brad raised his arms with all his might. Darkness seemed to wail, and countless necrotic shadow tendrils rose from the ground. The sky filled with a scarlet mist, and thousands of bats gathered like roiling black clouds, charging forward one after another, followed by a surging sea of blood.

The vampire’s accumulated strength of a century exploded, turning everything in sight into a blood sea in hell.

At this moment, he was the monarch here!

However, the red dragon’s scales suddenly turned into dazzling gold and red. Energy shards floated around his dragon body like thousands of tiny satellites. Lightning flickered and crackled around his dragon form.

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As the red dragon charged into the tide of blood mist, shadows and bats, blinding light erupted and dispersed the incoming darkness.

Clusters of bats fell from the sky, charred by the leaping lightning. Shadows were effortlessly dispelled by the energy shards, and the blood mist evaporated before it even got close.

"I have never deliberately obstructed you."

"It’s just... you’re in my way, old bat."

The red dragon spat out a sea of flames, burning everything in his path toward the vampire.

"Even a giant dragon will meet its end!"

"But I am the eternal monarch!"

Duke Brad’s pale face twisted even more horribly. Absorbing the power of original sin had also skewed his character.

"You should worship me!"

The overwhelming sea of blood surged like a gigantic crimson curtain, blocking the approaching flames. The blood sea’s wave rolled, rushing toward the red dragon.

"Only tricks to scare mortals."

"What gives you the confidence to use such inferior methods to attack a giant dragon?"

Cassius charged into the blood sea without hesitation.

He slightly opened his jaws, powerful vessels transporting flame energy from his entire body to his lungs. The scorching fire elements accumulated in his lungs and throat, his chest glowing like magma, with the gaps in his scales reflecting the faint light of fire.

The smell of sulfur and niter grew even stronger. His enormous dragon body was like a volcano about to erupt.

[Extremely Effective Flame Breath]

"Boom!"

A blinding white-hot pillar of fire spewed from the red dragon’s mouth, instantly piercing through the blood sea in front of him.

With a sizzling sound, the flames vaporized the thick blood before it even got close. In an instant, the fierce fire burned everything, and the air was filled with the dispersing blood mist.

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

For the first time, a hint of panic flickered in Duke Brad’s scarlet eyes.

Such terrifying flames, if taken head-on, could cause great harm to a vampire, even one possessing an undying essence. It wouldn’t be easy to recover.

But Duke Brad still grinned ferociously, shouting madly, "Useless, reptile."

"I am everywhere. I am the undying existence!"

Suddenly, the vampire turned into a cloud of blood mist, merging himself into the rolling blood sea, making it impossible for Cassius to target his true form.

"Annoying creature."

"Since you’re so good at running, don’t blame me for killing your entire family."

Cassius thought to himself.

He didn’t hesitate to turn his head, starting to attack the naked vampire variants tied helplessly to stone pillars.

In an instant, the vampire variants bound to the stone pillars were engulfed by the white-hot flames. When the flames receded, only the molten rock, exuding dense steam and oozing red magma, was left.

Even the iron chains wrapped around the vampires melted into glowing molten iron, slowly flowing.

Once again, it was proven that the "undying" nature of vampire variants was not as absolute as they boasted; it had clear limitations.

The Duke’s second son, the symbol of wrath, Atley Rackman, perished completely.

He was a powerful berserker meant to provide "strength" for Duke Brad’s ascension, but now he didn’t even have time to scream or struggle before being reduced to ashes in the extreme flames.

"No——"

"My, my child..."

Duke Brad reformed into a human shape in mid-air, letting out a sorrowful wail, nearly losing his sanity.

After years of self-hypnosis, Duke Brad genuinely "loved" these children. This love meant that only by fully absorbing these variants could their lives be completely fulfilled, leaving no regrets.

Atley’s demise.

Also meant his ascension had failed.

Seeing the red dragon turn his head again, about to destroy the symbol of arrogance, his most beloved daughter, Alexia, with flames——

Duke Brad could no longer bear it, his scarlet eyes filled with boundless fury as he commanded the endless blood mist to assault the red dragon from the sky.

"Reptile, I want you dead!"