Even Thor stepped forward, as if he wanted to drag his commander back by force, but it was already too late. The battlefield had become a nightmare of torn flesh and scattered blood, and more and more warriors were still being pulled into that expanding machine of death.

"Flee! Retreat!" Thor roared, and whoever still had enough strength to move threw themselves toward the sky. But with the mana in the air thinned out to almost nothing, their flight was slow and unsteady. Even so, terror forced strength out of them that they did not know they still had.

Hundreds were still swallowed by Max’s attack, their deaths becoming a silent reminder of who truly ruled this battlefield.

"Sigurd, take the others and retreat back to the capital!" Thor hurled himself forward toward Max, his spear trembling in his grip. He had to stop him now, or more of his men would vanish into that black force without even leaving a corpse behind.

"Emperor, we can’t—"

"I said go!" Thor roared once more. In the next instant, he appeared before Max, his spear blazing with blue lightning. The energy twisted into the shape of a dragon’s head, growing larger and larger until it was more than five meters tall. Then Thor drove the attack straight into Max’s tornado of death.

Respecting their leader’s order, even the nine commanders retreated, though their faces burned with shame and displeasure. Their hatred for Max deepened to the point where only one side could be allowed to live in this world.

Blue and black crashed together in a monstrous explosion that ripped through the mountain range like a world-breaking shockwave. Even the Thunder Dragons already fleeing could feel their bodies being hurled forward by the force of it.

On the ground, the Ice Dragons could barely keep standing, their faces pale with fear. The earth shook so violently that the newly laid stone pavement cracked apart beneath their feet. Rocks tore free from the mountain and came hurtling downward, forcing the warriors to rush out and intercept them, saving the houses from being smashed apart.

"Father! We have to help him!" Rosalia’s eyes were already burning purple. She was on the verge of transforming and charging after Max herself. Her heart could not endure this uncertainty any longer. The sheer scale of that battle was enough to make her fear that Max would never come back alive.

"No. Stay here and wait. We cannot risk more of our people dying in battle." Even Henry’s face had gone pale. He could already tell that Max had likely clashed with the Emperor of the Thunder Dragon Empire.

Once, his own father had stood as that man’s equal, but after the incident hundreds of years ago, no one had ever been able to match him again. The fact that Max could force that old monster into battle at all meant one terrifying thing. Max had become a powerhouse beyond anything this region should have produced.

"So that means Max can die? And all we can do is stand here and hope he saves us? Since when did we become so cowardly? Since when did we start depending on others to save us?" Rosalia’s furious gaze locked onto her father as though he were a stranger wearing his face.

She could not understand where that man had gone, the one who once led the clan through its hardest days with a smile, unafraid of anything. But the moment a greater force came knocking, he cowered under the broom like a mouse.

William stepped forward and grabbed Rosalia’s wrist. "Do not do anything stupid. Follow the Chief’s decision!" he snapped, but the only answer he received was a loud, biting slap across the face.

"How dare you touch me?" Rosalia’s eyes widened, blazing with purple light as her body twisted into a draconic hybrid form. William staggered a step backward, staring at her in disbelief.

"All this for that human? You love him, don’t you?" he shouted, one hand pressed to his cheek. Every eye fell upon Rosalia. For a moment, she did not know where to put her face. It felt as though her heart had been exposed before the entire clan, but this was not the time to be embarrassed.

"It is none of your business who I love or do not love, William. If you will not accompany me into battle, then so be it. Cower here with Father. As for me, I will never be afraid to fight for my people, for my friends, and for those I hold dear..."

Hearing Rosalia’s words and understanding both her feelings and the situation, several of the village women transformed as well. Even some of the children stepped forward, and Light’s eyes shone with fierce battle intent. He would not allow his friend to fight alone.

Several warriors moved to Rosalia’s side, purple ice-flames roaring free from their bodies. As they passed Henry, they patted his shoulder before taking their place beside her. Even the ancestral beast stirred, its gaze turning toward the sky above the mountain range. It rose to its feet with a movement that shook the ground and made its way toward Rosalia, lowering its head as though offering her a seat.

Meanwhile, Max was being driven back step by step, blood running from his eyes and ears while his mouth kept filling with fresh blood he could only spit back out. Thor’s strikes were wild, ruthless, and crushing, each one forcing Max closer to the point where his body would finally give in.

With no other choice left, Max canceled his ability, but the moment he did, he forced all of its power to detonate forward.

Thor suddenly felt as if the world itself had slipped out from beneath him. His muscles tensed desperately against the violent surge of energy, but the strain was too much, making them tear under the pressure. Sharp, cutting force crashed into his body and sent him tumbling backward through broken stone.

He coughed out blood, his long golden hair thrown into chaos. Never in his life had he known such humiliation. Never had he been pushed back by a human. And now, in the twilight of his years, he had finally found a match worthy of standing before him.

"Just like that old fool Dravik... shit... this kid is just as strong..." The memory of the former leader of the Ice Dragon Clan flashed through his mind, and to his own surprise, it pulled a crooked smile from him.

Max could barely remain standing. His vision was blurred, his muscles were so numb he could not even feel them anymore, yet he still refused to fall. He could not let Thor reach the Ice Dragon Clan. No matter what, he had to protect them. He had to protect Rosalia.

The moment Thor noticed Max’s condition, relief slipped into him like a breath he had been holding too long. He would kill the little freak here and now, then wipe out the Ice Dragon Clan after he recovered. He dragged himself back to his feet, his body nearly buckling beneath him as blue lightning crackled around his form. He prepared to deliver the final blow, but in that very moment, a dragon’s roar tore up from below the mountain range.