Ashen Dragon

Sure enough, Gush wiped the golden divine blood from the corner of his mouth, grinning viciously as he stared at Cassius, his single eye radiating an intense excitement: "Red Dragon, for a lowly mortal, you're not bad.

Too bad you've encountered a mighty, invincible deity!"

Gush advanced step by step, a frenzied, blood-colored divine light erupting from his body. The overwhelming pressure swept across the land, making all creation tremble.

He slowly raised his hands, the battle axe he wielded exuding an aura of terrifying destruction. Its sound resembled thunder: "I will make you fully understand—what true strength means!"

Cassius spread his wings, struggling against the oppressive divine might. His sharp eyes stayed fixed on Gush's incarnation not far away, observing every movement. Every muscle in his body was tightly drawn, not daring to show a moment of relaxation or carelessness.

The Orc deity's combat skills were excessively refined and masterful, able to easily predict the Red Dragon's every action. As a result, Cassius could only choose to defend passively, waiting for an opportunity to observe his opponent's weaknesses during Gush's attacks and striking decisively with a lethal blow.

Watching the Red Dragon's cautious movements, Gush's face revealed a confident smile: "Soon, you will understand that in the face of a true god, all resistance is but… futile struggle!"

Before the words finished, the Orc's feet stomped heavily against the ground, causing the earth to rupture and dust and gravel to fly, while his black plate-armored body transformed into a blur, its horrifying speed making it impossible to track with the naked eye as he appeared directly overhead of the Red Dragon.

"Swish—"

The battle axe swung downward, and a blood-colored blade of light materialized midair, slashing mercilessly toward the Red Dragon's head.

Luckily, Cassius was prepared. His spring-like muscles exploded into motion, his limbs propelling him forward as he cracked the ground beneath him.

At the same time, the Red Dragon spewed out an exceptionally thick, searing pillar of fire, pushing his body forward like a rocket engine.

"Boom!"

With the assistance of the intense reactive force and the powerful flapping of his wings, the massive body of the Red Dragon soared into the sky, ascending dozens of meters in an instant.

The battle axe missed its mark, but the blood-colored blade of light flew with horrifying speed, slicing through the Red Dragon's scales and carving a gruesome wound on his chest, stretching several meters long and cutting deep into the flesh.

Had it been slightly later, Cassius's chest might have been split open, and even his beating Dragon Heart could have been cleaved in two.

The ground, on the other hand, was struck solidly, splitting into two with a massive fissure stretching tens of meters, reverberating with booming sounds as if it were crying out in agony.

Cassius's fire pillar, however, fiercely blasted against Gush's chest, but was intercepted by his thick chest armor, only able to erupt in bursts of high-temperature flowing flames and sparks.

The scars on Gush's battle armor covered its surface, leaving it dull and devoid of luster. It looked like an ordinary plate armor weathered by countless battles, but in truth, it was an extremely formidable divine object, enabling the Beastman God to slaughter without restraint.

Ordinary flame breath couldn't even hope to harm Gush, much less penetrate the blood-colored divine shield surrounding his armor.

Cassius gritted his teeth and threw everything into harnessing his inner strength. His Dragon Crystal erupted with light and heat akin to the sun, countless dazzling flecks of light colliding, entwining within.

"Boom—"

From within, his Solar God Power and Order Fire burst forth, transforming the fire pillar into an extraordinarily brilliant silver-white beam, incessantly eroding and breaking down the protective divine light covering Gush's chest.

"In the end, you're still just a mortal! I'll make you understand—the gulf between us is unimaginably vast!"

Gush neither evaded nor guarded, instead laughing arrogantly as he forcefully threw the battle axe in his hand.

"Swish—"

The battle axe spun rapidly in midair, conjuring gusts of wind that tore and distorted the surrounding space, flying toward the Red Dragon's flank with terrifying speed.

Each moment, the battle axe shredded dozens of meters of space, releasing innumerable blood-colored blades of light. Every blade could sever legendary warriors into two, while a storm of them could annihilate an entire army of powerful transcendents.

Perceiving the incoming danger from below to his side, Cassius made a split-second decision: instead of dodging, he dived headfirst toward the unarmed Orc with blazing determination, the fire in his mouth intensifying to an unprecedented brilliance.

The rapidly spinning battle axe grazed him, but Cassius managed to evade the weapon itself. Nonetheless, the blood-colored blades of light it conjured struck the Red Dragon's massive form.

Golden wingskin was torn apart by the flurry of light, leaving behind countless fissures saturated with blood-colored radiance, rendering it tattered and worn.

Cassius remained unrelenting, letting out a furious roar as he continued plunging toward Gush's incarnation with unstoppable momentum.

"Roar—"

"Come, Red Dragon, show me what you're capable of!"

Gush raised his head, letting out a cold laugh. Divine light gathered in his left hand, instantly condensing into a thick, ancient shield, which he held in front.

The next moment, the Red Dragon descended with surging flames, crashing into the ground. His sixty-meter-long form, akin to a mountain, slammed down, the sheer force of the impact causing the entire world to shudder.

"Boom—"

In an instant, heaven and earth seemed to collapse, the world wailing in despair!

The collision struck like a meteor falling, causing the ground to cave in while rocks and dust were sent scattering into the sky. The shockwave swept across the land, stirring scorching gusts of wind.

On the ground, a massive crater nearly a hundred meters in diameter and several meters deep emerged. Amidst the enveloping smoke and dust, Gush stood at the crater's center, his feet sunk into the rock, his shield shattered to pieces.