Chapter 330: Red and Silver (Part Three)
"As expected of Tiamat's filthy offspring, you've certainly inherited Her silver tongue and skill in distorting truths!"
"In my long life, I've battled countless chromatic dragons, and in the end, I've realized one thing—"
Oszedro glared at the red dragon, his hostility becoming increasingly evident: "For a bloodline of Tiamat like you, any persuasion is a waste of breath."
"Only pure, unrelenting force can make you submit, forcing you to realize your mistakes and return to the path of the North Wind's Lord!"
"Roar—"
Oszedro let out another furious roar.
He suddenly flapped his broad, bright silver wings, intensifying the surrounding gales. An extreme hailstorm surged toward the red dragon.
This was just a small test, but for mortals, it would be an apocalyptic disaster.
Even the Lionheart Knights would be reduced to ice sculptures in such a storm.
"Heh, arrogant old geezer—"
"When the debate fails, you resort to brute force?"
Cassius sneered, roaring loudly as he flapped his wings in midair, summoning a scorching whirlwind.
As the dragon crystal on his chest flickered faintly, the red dragon opened his mouth and unleashed a blazing pillar of fire, piercing through the freezing storm and directly targeting the silver dragon's body.
"Barbaric red dragon! I shall show you the power of arcana!"
Oszedro hovered in place, his body's crack-like magical patterns lighting up instantly. His precious magical equipment also began to shimmer.
One after another, spells were layered onto his shining silver body: Aegis of Erylik, Nethzar's Sapphire Veil, and the Abacari Emerald Shield, among others. These protective spells were cast in succession, causing his smooth scales to reflect dazzling, multicolored magical glows.
The ancient silver dragon practically turned into a giant neon ball, so bright that it blinded many mortals watching. Even the spectators among the players exclaimed about the "light pollution."
But this seemed to be the proper aesthetic for a battle between powerful spellcasters.
Because Cassius was no different.
Although he lacked scrolls engraved on his scales, spells like Cataclysmic Dragon Sight, Dragon's Justice, and Wyrm's Grace were still cast using [Metamagic: Quickened Spell]. His body shimmered with starlike points of light.
Torrential waves of magic surged around him, creating a storm in the Weave.
Though not as extravagantly radiant, the might of the red dragon's enhancements was in no way inferior.
Cassius spread his wings and dove rapidly, spewing a blinding white flame as he neared the silver dragon.
"Boom!"
The red dragon's breath pierced through several layers of magical shields, but before reaching the silver dragon's scales, it was blocked by a transparent ice barrier encircling him.
Under the extreme heat of the flames, the ice sublimated into vapor, and thick white mist continuously rose from the barrier. Yet the breath could not shatter it.
But Oszedro wasn't merely defending; he seized the opportunity to counterattack.
"Diamond Stars!"
With a deep incantation in Draconic, frigid white stars streaked across the sky like meteors, plunging straight toward the fire-breathing red dragon.
However, Cassius had already foreseen the spell's descent through his Cataclysmic Dragon Sight.
Using the extraordinary speed granted by Wyrm's Grace, he became a blur, darting hundreds of meters away with a single wingbeat.
The stars chased him but failed to match the red dragon's terrifying speed. They eventually crashed to the ground, unable to catch their target.
"Boom!"
On the ground, massive, fearsome icebergs erupted. If not for the silver dragon's deliberate restraint, hundreds of coalition soldiers caught unaware would have been frozen.
"Impossible! Such speed!"
Oszedro's eyes locked on the red silhouette, disbelief filling his gaze.
In his memory, red dragons, though mighty in melee, were often clumsy and brutish due to their muscular build, easily toyed with by high-level spellcasters like himself.
Yet this "Dragon Prince" was astoundingly fast, making ordinary spells nearly impossible to land.
But Oszedro didn't lose heart. He raised his mithril staff, encrusted with astral void-like magical stones, and radiated a kaleidoscope of magical auras. Frost, gales, and brilliance cascaded from him as he unleashed waves of spell energy.
Meanwhile, Cassius's body was enveloped in fire and lightning as he resisted the ancient silver dragon's spells. He transformed into a fiery red blur, circling Oszedro at high speed, waiting for an opportunity to engage in close combat.
The midair space filled with dense white mist, blanketing the barren plains and obscuring the view below.
On the ground, people could only glimpse vague shadows within the clouds, hear the roar of the wind, the bellowing of dragons, and the crackling of lightning.
The entire plain trembled.
"What kind of battle is this…"
"How can such beings exist?"
"Too… too terrifying. We need to get out of here!"
This was only a preliminary exchange, yet its destructive power rivaled the earlier battle of tens of thousands. People on the ground stared in horror and disbelief at the towering icebergs, unable to comprehend such overwhelming might.
For the magic-starved Northerners, this was their first encounter with a battle of such monumental scale. Even its beginning had already surpassed their wildest imaginations.
"Is this the spell you're so proud of? Harming your own allies?"
Cassius taunted mercilessly.
He roared skyward, unleashing hundreds of small, searing volcanic rocks and thick plumes of ash that cascaded toward the silver dragon.
"Such spells—dare you flaunt them before me?"
Oszedro roared back, the frost necklace on his chest emanating an endless chill. The surge of cold instantly froze the volcanic rocks and ash mid-air, turning them into hailstones that fell noisily to the ground.
The silver dragon ascended, instinctively opening his maw to unleash his breath in retaliation.
But hidden within the volcanic ash was an inconspicuous energy ray, aiming directly at the silver dragon's back—Cassius's true killing move.
It was Arcane Decay!
Not only that, it was enhanced through metamagic, cast at the ninth-level spell slot as an advanced version.
"Greater Disjunction?"
Oszedro's expression changed dramatically.
Despite triggering several alert spells and protective wards, the ancient silver dragon's massive and cumbersome body couldn't evade in time. He could only endure the spell with his physical resilience.
Upon contact, the ray pierced through multiple shields, creating a vast anti-magic field that enveloped half of his body.
Hundreds of magical runes on his scales dimmed. Even his precious rings and necklaces seemed tarnished, some shattering into fine dust.
Oszedro's face darkened immediately.
For a dragon, even a benevolent metallic one, nothing provoked greater rage than the destruction of their treasures.
And Cassius had ruined his meticulously crafted magical scales.
"No—cunning red dragon!"
But Cassius felt utterly triumphant.
A wave of schadenfreude washed over him. Perhaps now, this old silver dragon might not be wealthier than him.