Chapter 123: Ice and Fire

Garon lifted his head, his platinum dragon eyes reflecting the approaching figure of the red dragon.

It was twenty-two meters in length, with blood-red pupils and a pair of formidable horns above its faceplate.

The red dragon carried an aura of scorching heat, and faint sparks seemed to burst from the air with each vigorous flap of its wings.

Its scales, metallic and crimson, adorned its robust body, making it appear like a surging ball of fire, as if a meteor of flame were descending from the sky with imposing force.

With thick limbs and a powerful tail, the muscle beneath the red dragon's scales was highly developed, making it one of the most robust creatures Garon had ever encountered.

"As expected of the most powerful among the chromatic dragons, the red dragon, barely of age, already possesses such a super-large body."

Among ordinary true dragons, red dragons have the largest size.

Garon could tell the age of creatures; he knew the red dragon before him was still half a year away from adulthood, a short time indeed. It could already be considered an adult red dragon.

Compared to white dragons, which only reach super-large size during their robust two-hundreds, red dragons can grow to super-large size as young dragons at fifty years of age. A red dragon of the same age could fight a white dragon like an adult fighting a child—the difference was substantial.

Midair, after closing some distance to Garon, the red dragon took a deep breath and, without a word, opened its maw wide.

Bright flames tumbled and rose among its intertwined sharp fangs.

Whoosh!

The dragon's fiery breath pushed forward with an overwhelming temperature, rushing headlong towards Garon.

Garon's eyes narrowed slightly as he too opened his mouth.

A burst of icy blue, cold frost dragon breath shot out defiantly, clashing heavily with the fiery breath.

Boom!

The surrounding space turned into a mix of fiery red and icy blue.

The colliding dragon breaths created rising steam and fierce explosions at the point of contact, sending ring-shaped shockwaves throughout the area, causing the red dragon's kin to panic and quickly retreat.

The troll wizard, watching the clashing red dragon and silver dragon, raised his staff towards Garon.

However, before he could cast a spell, a whooshing wind sound suddenly filled his ears.

His vision was instantly filled with silver light.

Thump!

The troll wizard was swept away by Garon's tail, struck with tremendous force, thrown hundreds of meters without a chance to resist, rolling across the ground, his skin torn and bones exposed in places.

The troll's potent regenerative abilities visibly healed his wounds rapidly, but he was too weak to pick up his staff again for the time being.

"Trying to cast a spell so close to me."

Garon shook his head slightly, then focused back on spewing his breath.

He noticed his frost breath was no weaker than the red dragon's fire breath.

It was supposed to be weaker.

The white dragon's lineage seemed to be enhanced unknowingly by the constitution of the time dragon.

The red dragon, holding its breath, forcefully spewed more flames, trying to overwhelm Garon's breath with fire and submerge him.

But it couldn't succeed.

However, the frost breath also couldn't suppress the fire breath, and the stalemate continued until both Garon and the red dragon felt a sourness in their throats and ceased their blasting.

Since Garon was mistaken for a silver dragon, the red dragon wasn't surprised by the parity in their breath powers, as the breath forces of red and silver dragons were closely matched.

"You despicable silver dragon, invading my territory while I was away."

"I'll show you the might of the great Wing of Ashes!"

The red dragon roared a couple of harsh threats and then, with a sudden tremor of its wings, increased its speed dramatically, whipping up a gust as it lunged towards Garon.

The strength of red dragons surpasses most other true dragons, and their melee combat abilities are significantly stronger than those of a silver dragon of the same age.

However, it was facing Garon, a time dragon fledgling, not an adult silver dragon.

Garon's platinum eyes focused, and instantly, a slow spell hit the red dragon.

As the flow of time around the red dragon slowed, it moved sluggishly, unaware of its own stiffened condition.

It roared and lashed out with its claws, aiming a fierce swipe at Garon's head.

Garon, unaffected by the acceleration state and hit by the slow spell, clearly saw the trajectory of the red dragon's movements, making it unnecessary to waste any more time power.

With a slight tilt of his head, the red dragon's claw, covered in red scales, missed Garon's faceplate by mere millimeters, narrowly brushing past.

Sss!

Garon counterattacked with a swipe of his claw, tearing through the air, and in an instant landed on the red dragon's formidable faceplate.

Crack! The hard-as-iron scales were broken by the sharp claw, shedding a few drops of scalding hot blood that sizzled like fire.

As the blood of the red dragon hit the ground, it emitted wisps of smoke, scorching the earth where it landed.

Stung by the pain, the red dragon's eyes flashed fiercely. Its broad wings, carrying enough force to cleave mountains, swept horizontally towards Garon.

Garon effortlessly stepped back a few paces.

Feeling the hot wind rush towards him, he nimbly dodged the red dragon's wing strike.

At the same time, he twisted his waist, his body turning sharply.

His tail, like a thick whip, lashed out at the red dragon's head.

Thump!

Struck directly by the tail, the red dragon's head jerked violently to the side, its body wobbling a few times before crashing down, flattening several withered trees beneath it and kicking up a cloud of dust.

But just as it fell, the red dragon shook its head vigorously, as if nothing had happened, quickly regaining clarity in its eyes and scrambling back to its feet.

The brief close-quarters battle made the red dragon realize something was amiss.

The silver dragon always seemed to dodge its attacks just right, then counterattack swiftly and ferociously, leaving the normally dominant red dragon feeling a sense of defeat in melee combat.

Meanwhile, Garon stretched his muscles, feeling much more relaxed.

He had not held back in his attacks.

The robust physique of the red dragon was like the perfect punching bag, sturdy enough to withstand Garon's blows, allowing him to fight without any reservations.

A typical creature, like the giant deep-red tyrannosaurus, would have been immobilized by a full-force strike from Garon's tail, unable to stand up again.

Garon looked at the red dragon and said calmly, "Do you still want to fight? I don't mind getting more exercise."

The red dragon, sensing the condescension in Garon's words, burst into rage.

It glanced around, baring its fangs at its kin and roared angrily, "What are you standing around for! Attack with me!"

Ordinary kin couldn't interfere in a fight between true dragons, but upon receiving the red dragon's command, they bravely surrounded Garon from all directions.

Garon remained unfazed, his draconic might once again sweeping out.

The red dragon's kin, just beginning to muster their courage, were overwhelmed by Garon's draconic might, collapsing again, their limbs weak, eyes vacant.

The deep-red tyrannosaurus, the red dragon's most prized kin, lowered its head, shivering, its massive body rooted to the spot in fear.

Seeing this, the red dragon was momentarily stunned, then snorted flames from its nostrils and cursed bitterly, "A bunch of useless creatures! Good for nothing but food!"

___________________

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT