Chapter 526: The Dragon Battle (Part 3)

Returning to the present, Duke took on the stance of a casual spectator just as the four great Dragon Aspects began their renewed clash.

"Hmm, if only there were some skewers or hotpot to snack on right now," Duke mused.

Duke casually asked Gavinrad, "Do you think, given that Deathwing suddenly finds his old rivals restored to full power, he feels, well... screwed?"

The paladin, unfamiliar with the phrase 'screwed,' wore an expression of confusion, as if he were deeply constipated by the term.

"Ah! If dragons and dogs mated... would we get a new species called 'Dragon Dog'?" Ronin pondered deeply.

"Pff!" Over there, Vereesa burst into laughter.

This Dragon Dog notion was clearly just Duke poking fun at Deathwing.

Duke, with a sly grin, glanced at the Aspect now being battered in the sky, reveling in schadenfreude. The predicament Deathwing was in was beyond words, even 'screwed' didn't do it justice.

Deathwing was in a tough spot. It felt as if he'd tried to play with a few puppies, thinking they were mere huskies. He soon realized these weren't huskies, nor wolves. They were like the three-headed dogs of hell.

Deathwing found himself under attack by elemental forces he was barely familiar with. In past skirmishes, his adversaries' attacks felt like shadows, all show and no substance. But this was different; he was now up against the full might of the four Dragon Aspects, each nearly matching his power. One hit hurt, two would wound, three could cripple, and four simultaneous hits might bring him down!

Deathwing was alarmed to find he couldn't defend against the combined might of the four Aspects.

Previously, Malygos's frost and fire spells were mere nuisances, failing to make a dent. But now, the attacks from the Aspect of Magic became brutally direct, matching Deathwing blow for blow, especially since Malygos's mate had been killed by Deathwing. The Aspect of Magic's rage was palpable.

Deathwing, who had previously easily shrugged off the whispers of the Old God N'Zoth and Nozdormu's time-worn torments, now felt his vitality being sapped by Nozdormu's sands of time. Even though he could previously harness the chaos within him to dispel these effects, he now felt weakened and sluggish.

But of all his adversaries, the most cunning and dangerous was Ysera.

Previously, the whispers of N'Zoth had trained Deathwing to resist Ysera's dream incursions. But now, with his attention divided, his mental defenses faltered. Drawing inspiration from Duke, Ysera crafted bizarre nightmares that distracted him. In one dream, he was shopping online on "Taobao" during a big sale, lamenting his solitude. In another, he became a dog named Black Dog Egg, mourning a lost love and eating expired dog food from his master N'Zoth.

When he snapped back to reality, a large piece of his plated armor had been torn off by Alexstrasza.

The pain of the injury was bearable, but the terror arose from seeing new cracks forming on his body.

It was then that Alexstrasza rose before him, a vengeful goddess with a hint of pity in her eyes.

"You'll pay for your schemes and betrayals! You'll experience all the pain I've endured, black dragon. Let's see if you fare any better than I did."