Chapter 131: Twelve Years (Part 3)

With a roar, the red dragon Auston soared through the grim skies, his magical power surging within him. Drawing from the numerous spell models constructed in his mindspace, one fire spell after another formed in mid-air and then bombarded down.

As a third of his magical power depleted, Auston had cleared out most of the mid and low-tier demons, leaving only a small number of elite silver-tier and gold-tier demons alive.

A resonant dragon cry echoed not far away. Auston glanced towards the golden titan dragon that radiated golden brilliance like a divine mountain, his eyes revealing a complex mix of emotions—gratitude, fear, admiration, resentment...

Auston watched in awe as Muria dove down and with three strikes turned a soul-intent demon to ash, his eyes reflecting envy and reverence, tinted with a shade of wariness.

"Muria, what exactly do you want us to do?" Seeing Muria engage in close combat and one dragon after another following suit, diving down to clash with the surviving demons, Auston too descended, picking a target and swooping down.

His target was a grotesque and fearsome gold-tier Hunting Spider demon. As the spider saw the red dragon diving towards it, it opened its monstrous mandibles and spewed a dark green poisonous mist while its swollen abdomen lifted, ejecting a milky fluid that rapidly solidified into a web about thirty meters across, aiming to trap the diving dragon.

Disdain flashed in Auston's eyes as he saw the approaching poison mist and enveloping web. Opening his maw filled with sharp fangs, he unleashed the iconic dragon's breath—a pillar of intense flame that incinerated everything in its path, vaporizing the poison mist and turning the web to ashes.

The Hunting Spider issued an anxious screech as it saw its attack neutralized; the red dragon's flames were excessively fierce, surpassing normal expectations. Yet, the spider did not retreat. Its legs, tipped with a frosty gleam, stabbed towards the approaching red dragon.

Auston roared, and three spider legs pierced through his scales and deep into his flesh, hot like magma, dragon blood sprayed. Yet, Auston didn't care; his robust muscles tightly clamped around the embedded spider legs, preventing them from being withdrawn.

"My turn," Auston said with a grin, revealing his gleaming white teeth, his already fearsome dragon face looking even more menacing.

Seeing the dragon's smile, the Hunting Spider panicked. The remaining legs dug into the ground in a futile attempt to retreat and pull its legs from the dragon's body, but they were stuck too deep.

"Trying to run?" Auston sneered, his powerful front claws one pressing down on the spider's body, the other gripping the legs embedded in his flesh. Then, with a "rip," accompanied by the spider's agonized shrieks, one leg was violently torn off.

"Does it hurt?" Auston tilted his dragon head, looking at the spider that was now missing a leg, with greenish ichor spouting from the severed limb, and mockingly asked.

"Powerful red dragon, please... spare me!"

A voice that Auston had never heard before echoed inside his mind. The red dragon paused briefly, then with a wicked grin, methodically tore off the remaining two legs, ichor splashing everywhere.

"Mental telepathy that allows communication with any creature." Auston watched the spider struggle under his claws, unimpressed. Over the twelve years accompanying Muria to the abyssal training grounds, the number of demons he had killed was vast. Their corpses piled up, not quite mountains, but too many to count.

He was well-acquainted with the typical demons of the abyss, so the pleading voice from within did not surprise him. Moreover, the demon's pleas did not evoke sympathy from Auston but rather intensified his brutality. He methodically tore off each of the spider's legs, each accompanied by corrosive ichor.

"Why aren't you screaming anymore?" Auston looked down at the spider, now limbless, somewhat puzzled as the demon's pleas had been constant. However, the more it begged, the more excited Auston became.

"Boring!" Auston muttered softly, looking at the spider that seemed to have resigned to its fate. Then, with his two sturdy front claws, he split the remaining body of the spider in half amid a mournful cry.

Auston, as a dragon of equal rank to a gold-tier demon, was very aware of their vitality. He watched as the spider's body was torn into pieces, glancing at the wounds the spider had inflicted on him which were already nearly healed.

"This power," he observed, looking down at his strong front claws covered in bright red scales, "is much stronger than a normal adolescent dragon remembered in my lineage memories. Red dragons of my age in the outside world might not match up to me in close combat."

Flexing his youthful dragon body and spreading his wings, Auston took to the sky, aware of the extraordinary growth his already strong red dragon body had undergone. The reason for this unusual development was clear to him: he had consumed something most red dragons would never experience in their lifetime—the flesh of a legendary sea monster. This rare diet had supercharged his growth, and he wasn't the only dragon to have benefited. All the chromatic dragons under Muria's care had partaken in this feast.

Muria had distributed the remains of the legendary sea creature among his dragons, crafting a formidable force far stronger than their counterparts in the outside world. Even the white dragons, the weakest in lineage, had consumed the legendary beast's flesh. After twelve years, these dragons had matured into their adolescent phase and reached gold-tier strength. Although they were still considered the weakest among their kind, they were far more powerful than their brethren struggling for survival in the external world.

Meanwhile, Auston revelled in the use of his magical abilities to decimate the attracted demons from the skies. Upon spotting gold-tier demons, he would dive down, using his robust dragon body to brutally tear them apart. He relished this feeling of power.

However, his role as the most formidable of the chromatic dragons, reveling in the thrill of battle, caught the attention of a soul-intent tier great demon that had been drawn to the scene.

Caught off guard by the soul-intent Barlowe demon, Auston was ambushed. The demon seized him and tore off one of his wings in a swift, brutal attack.

"Muria, there's a soul-intent level demon!" In a moment of life-threatening crisis, Auston didn't hesitate to call for Muria's help. While trapped in the clutches of the Barlowe demon, he fought back desperately with his claws and teeth, knowing he couldn't escape.

At the same time as Auston's call for help, two smaller red dragons, slightly lesser in stature, flew over. They joined the fray, attacking the Barlowe demon and drawing its attention. This diversion provided Auston a crucial moment to strategize his next move under dire circumstances.

With the battlefield now a chaotic maelstrom of draconic fury and demonic malice, the stakes were higher than ever. Auston, amidst his brethren and against the formidable enemy, prepared for what might be the most defining fight of his life.