Chapter 190: The Sovereign of Flames!

"Whoosh!"

What reached his ears was one fierce gust of wind after another, caused by the violent air pressure from the giant beast's excessive flying speed.

But Zhang Rang completely ignored these howling winds that resembled blades of gang wind.

He stood there on the back of a giant beast transformed from an Ancient Dragon Human soldier, watching his side's formation fly over the lava, drawing ever closer to the deepest part of Tiandu.

Closer, ever closer.

At this moment, Zhang Rang, aided by the vast view from high above, could already faintly make out the very center of the lava below!

Yet at this moment, his brows furrowed.

Because at the center of the lava sea of fire, there was no true dragon in sight at all—only a round, jet-black platform.

At the very center of that platform, a long, slender resting-mark could faintly be seen—undoubtedly the trace left by a true dragon coiled up here year after year.

But where was the true dragon?

In that instant, a sliver of doubt rose in Zhang Rang's heart—had the true dragon already sensed their coming in advance, and avoided them because its own condition was too weak?

"Wait, what's that?!"

"Looks like something's moving?"

"Could it be the true dragon?"

……

Yet just as this thought surfaced in his mind, a burst of exclamations from the soldiers suddenly reached his ears.

And this too made him come back to himself and lower his gaze to look intently.

At that very moment, a strange omen suddenly arose within the boundless lava sea of fire below!

"Gurgle~"

Accompanied by peculiar sounds like flowing water rolling, quietly emerging.

In the previously calm lava sea, where only an occasional bubble or two rose, at some unknown moment a slender figure had appeared, swimming.

That slender figure, hidden behind the crimson lava, was faintly visible; now and then a scale or half a plate of armor emerged from the parted lava, revealing scales that were incomparably hard and emitted a strange metallic sheen.

"Roar——!!!"

The next instant, before Zhang Rang and the others could react, an earth-shattering dragon's roar suddenly rang out, transforming into terrifying sound waves that surged out in all directions.

In an instant, before Zhang Rang could react, he suddenly felt a violent dizziness assail him, and his entire field of vision seemed to begin spinning wildly.

Even Zhang Rang, who possessed the power of the Scarlet Scale Dragon—the king among giant beasts—was still like this; let alone those other Ancient Dragon Human soldiers who were merely Banzhu-level giant beasts.

For a time, countless giant beasts in the air seemed to lose their balance, one after another plummeting from midair toward the lava like dumplings dropping into a pot.

"Boom!!!"

At this moment, an explosive sound suddenly rang out.

A majestic dragon head simply "burst from the sea" out of the lava, sending countless splashes of lava shooting in all directions, while that fierce yet handsome dragon head suddenly opened its maw wide and lunged to bite at Zhang Rang and the others from within the lava.

"Wake up!"

At this critical moment, Zhou Qingqing beside Zhang Rang hardened her gaze, suddenly seized the dizzy Zhang Rang, then parted her red lips, and a crisp sound rang out that transformed into that bizarre dragon's roar.

At the same time, the Dragon Wing on her back spread wide, directly carrying the still-dizzy Zhang Rang and sweeping sideways as if by teleportation.

And at this moment, Wang Weiqin, who had been keeping watch behind them, also reacted immediately.

In an instant, along with the golden eyes of the Dragon Machine Soldier lighting up.

That massive Dragon Machine Soldier suddenly flapped the broad wings from the Sky Banzhu Green Feather Flying Dragon, rapidly closing in.

Then he suddenly raised high the right hand that represented the Flame King Scarlet Scale Dragon, and smashed down with a punch.

Clearly intending to meet the dragon maw of the true dragon that had suddenly ambushed from the lava head-on.

However, although he wanted to try a head-on clash, this "true dragon" that had suddenly attacked did not want to simply clash head-on; since the ambush had failed, it was time to withdraw first.

It still remembered to this day the teachings its Father God had given it:

When facing any unknown attack, never use one's own body—especially the most vulnerable parts—to try and test it.

Because that means entrusting one's own safety to fate; whenever a long-range attack can be used to probe, one must absolutely not engage in close combat!

If close combat truly is necessary, one must remember: even an ancient dragon needs to exert its full strength when fighting a rabbit!

Under any circumstances, one must never underestimate the enemy; when an ambush is possible, one must absolutely use one's own hardest and most terrifying part to launch a sudden, unexpected attack!

If the ambush fails, after weighing the gains and losses, choose the optimal plan to expand one's advantage.

Thus, its crimson dragon eyes swept around, and the lunging dragon body suddenly twisted, nimbly dodging that heavy fist.

Then, as the ancient dragon's massive body used up its upward momentum and began to fall, it suddenly lashed its tail, producing a terrifying sonic boom as it smashed toward the Dragon Machine Soldier's huge body.

"Boom!!!"

A muffled impact sound suddenly rang out from where the two met; in an instant, sparks flew in all directions and rolling waves of sound surged outward.

And after this, that massive Dragon Machine Soldier, caught off guard, was smashed by the ancient dragon's heavy tail and sent flying into the distance.

At this moment, everyone knew that in this brief probe between the Dragon Machine Soldier and the "true dragon," the Dragon Machine Soldier had fallen slightly into a disadvantage.

And after doing all this, the ancient dragon's slender body also nimbly and lightly fell back toward the lava sea of fire below.

But unlike before, at this moment it did not dive back under the lava; instead, it stood remarkably on all four limbs atop the lava, coldly watching the people in the sky above.

Even as the words were spoken, it was already done.

The whole process sounded very long when described, but in actual Time, only an instant had passed.

At this moment, Zhang Rang and those Ancient Dragon Human soldiers who had been made dizzy by the bizarre dragon's roar and fallen were only just now being gently held up and awakened by Zhou Qingqing using power from another world.

At this, Zhang Rang's face also became extremely ugly for a time; no one had expected the true dragon—renowned for its grandeur and magnanimity—to so rarely use an ambush to strike them first.

If Zhou Qingqing beside him had not already gained new power and reacted in time, this ambush would probably have cost them quite a few personnel in an instant.

And while he was lost in thought, the Dragon Machine Soldier that had been smashed away was finally controlled by General Wang and flown back.

For a time, whistling gusts of wind rang out one after another—the terrifying momentum the Dragon Machine Soldier unconsciously stirred up.

Only now did the crowd finally get a chance to clearly see the appearance of the "true dragon" that had just attacked them.

Its four limbs stood firmly upon the magma that radiated twisting waves of heat, its entire body presenting a streamlined, powerfully built form; its slender neck was slightly raised, and atop it the dragon's head, thickly covered in vivid, bristling mane, looked incomparably majestic from afar.

At this moment, its pair of dragon eyes, like blazing flames, stared coldly at them through the distorted air.

For an instant, even though the other party said nothing and made no move whatsoever.

Yet for some unknown reason, a chill ran through everyone's hearts; a vast, invisible pressure crept over them, and they felt the strength throughout their bodies quietly begin to stagnate.

As if they had encountered a natural enemy — or the most exalted, noble existence in the entire ecosystem.

This was the might of the Catastrophe Ancient Dragon, which stood above the very pinnacle of the entire ecosystem!

……

(End of this chapter)