Son of Madness, Flame of the Azure Prison

They had fought other juvenile dragons before, even young dragons, but they had never encountered one with hide this absurdly tough! It was like chopping at a Dwarf's iron ingot!

Only one Gnoll wielding an iron ball flail landed a blow. He leaped straight up during his charge, dodging the deadly tail sweep, then swung his iron ball flail directly into Li Wei's knee! A dull, crisp crack rang out.

The two scales finally warped under the impact, but his flail became wedged in the gap between them.

A thread of dragon blood, scorching like lava, splashed into the Gnoll's mouth. His pupils abruptly contracted as though a fire had exploded in his stomach. Every muscle in his body bulged, and he let out a roar of pain tinged with excitement.

According to those human dragon-slaying legends, if this Gnoll survived the dragon blood's corrosion by sheer luck, he might become a Dragonkin Gnoll—one who had participated in a dragon-slaying battle and lived, a heroic figure spoken of among Gnoll tribes.

Unfortunately, that wolf-stirring cry came to an abrupt stop in the next instant.

Stung by pain, Li Wei turned and swatted this future Gnoll hero into two halves with a single claw strike, sending them flying.

Just as he prepared to finish off the weaponless Gnolls trying to flee, his raised right claw halted in midair.

Li Wei narrowed his eyes. At some point, several chains fitted with iron hooks had wrapped around his arms. Following the chains, he saw groups of Gnolls sticking out their tongues and baring their teeth as they desperately hauled on the far ends.

Just as he was about to drag those Gnolls over along with their Chains, even more hooked claw-chains shot toward him, embedding themselves in the gaps between his scales and winding around his foreclaws, hind legs, and even his neck.

These Chains, woven from iron rings and Creature Tendon, were exceptionally tough. Li Wei could not break free for the moment. Even when he bit through several, more Chains immediately wound around him.

"Got him! Quick! Pull the chains, you idiots!"

The Gnoll Warlord, who had also been stunned by Li Wei's brutal killing power, was overjoyed to see the tactic succeed. He immediately roared at the equally frenzied Ogres.

The Ogres, already reduced by nearly half, had a rare moment of clarity. They knew that if the evil dragon broke free even now, it would mean the annihilation of their entire force. Roaring, they grabbed whatever Chains were nearest, while those unable to find a place simply rushed over to hug Li Wei's two thick legs.

"The glory of dragon slaying is right before us! Master is watching us! Charge! Awoo!"

The remaining Gnolls pounced upon the immobilized evil dragon once more like a swarm of ants. Holding their blades by the hilts, they drove the long swords into the gaps between his scales like chisels.

But their weapons were far too poor in quality, and the results were underwhelming. Within only a few breaths, the blades were covered in chips, while some snapped apart on the spot.

Some Gnolls, driven mad by the glory of dragon slaying, simply tossed aside their broken blades and bit with their teeth and clawed with their hands. Before long, their teeth had shattered and their Claws had broken, blood filling their mouths and coating their hands, yet they still did everything they could to inflict more harm on the evil dragon.

At that moment, Li Wei was like an African Elephant surrounded and torn at by a pack of wolves. The Gnolls charged forward one after another, stepping on their companions' shoulders to climb his enormous body. From afar, they resembled a constantly writhing ball of black flesh.

Though they could not inflict a fatal wound upon him anytime soon, he could not move either. Bound layer upon layer by the Ogres and surrounded by the wolf pack, he endured the pain of his scales being pried apart, drew a deep breath, and slowly closed his eyes.

For a moment, everything on the bloody battlefield seemed to slow down. He could even hear his own heavy yet surging heartbeat—thump, thump—like a high-energy furnace slowly coming to life.

He estimated the Dilo Dwarf warband's arrival time in his mind and silently counted down.

It should be about time for him to show himself, Li Wei thought.

"Roar!!!"

As if confirming his thoughts, a dragon roar rang out overhead—but it had not come from Li Wei.

Every force lying in wait nearby looked up toward the vault. They saw a Black Dragon over thirty feet long, its heavy wings beating as it slowly descended toward the battlefield. Though it tried its best to imitate the bearing of a dark emperor arriving in person, the Black Dragon's excessively gaunt frame only made it look somewhat ugly.

Yet at that moment, everyone instinctively ignored that discordant detail.

He had set up such an immense operation and even captured such a powerful Red Dragon. It was as though this far-from-majestic Black Dragon had been draped in an aura of intimidation.

"Mighty Red Dragon! You have proven your worth with your strength! You are qualified to become the servant of I, the great Schemer, Lord of Screaming Valley, Kangerweian! Submit, or die! Choose, unknown Red Dragon."

Black Dragon Kangerweian took a deep breath. His stomach began to churn as he prepared his Acid Breath. If the other dragon refused, he would not mind using a blast of breath to teach him how to be a dragon before properly disciplining him.

After today, his title could be changed to the great Schemer, Lord of Screaming Valley, Enslaver of Red Dragons, Kangerweian.

For a Black Dragon to enslave a Red Dragon—even one that had not officially entered its young stage yet—was enough to take pride in. His mother would surely see him in a new light.

Through the gaps between the layers of Gnolls, Li Wei watched the Black Dragon prepare to land. He slowly opened his blood-filled maw, exposing a mouthful of fangs. Sparks gathered in his mouth as his cold, deep voice spread across the entire Vault Wasteland.

"You cowardly thing, you finally dared to show yourself. A Black Dragon, of all things. What a surprise. Still, this works out nicely. A Black Dragon, huh? Not a bad slave or specimen."

"You!" Hearing that contemptuous mockery, Kangerweian, who had expected to hear pleading and submission, flew into a rage. He nearly spat out the acid in his mouth, but in the next instant, his eyes nearly bulged from their sockets as an aura that chilled him to the bone enveloped his entire body.

Within the gaps of that ball of flesh formed by overlapping Ogres and Gnolls, a spark slowly lit up, like a lamp igniting in the darkness.

Then, threads of scorching light seeped through the gaps in the flesh ball, as if the visibly rising heat were about to reach its critical point.

"Has he gone mad?? He dares use his breath in this situation!!!" Kangerweian felt as if the worldview he had built over decades of dragon life was about to collapse!

In the next moment, the massive ball of flesh abruptly swelled and exploded amid blinding red light. Countless fragmented limbs charred, smoked, and scattered through the air before turning to ash. A ring-shaped shockwave swept across the entire Vault Wasteland, while the center of the explosion shone as brilliantly as a rising morning sun.

"Boom!"

Only after a long while did the terrifying, muffled Rumbling Sound, mixed with the screams of Gnolls and Ogres, echo across the empty Vault Wasteland. Last came the scorching gale, as if it would ignite every hair on one's body.

At the very center of the explosion, everything was now covered in dazzling firelight, and the ground within a radius of over thirty feet had become scorched earth.

As the flames gradually faded, the rock and soil at the center of the blast had melted into dark-red lava glass. That crimson, demon-like figure slowly parted the flames and stepped out. Rising heat and curling white mist twisted the figure into something grotesque and menacing, while that deep voice slowly carried over.

"Oh? A Black Dragon's Acid Breath? Interesting. Then let Tibilus have a taste of it. Roar!!!"

The dragon's roar echoed across the wilderness.

"Hellfire that destroys all things, the Son of Madness of absolute supreme power, the Flame of the Azure Prison... Is this why our ancestors were so obsessed with and worshipped them? Truly domineering."

At the edge of the cliff, Salong stared blankly at the crimson figure with flames in its mouth. A fire called fanaticism flickered in his eyes as well.

But when he thought of a certain moment three years ago, the fire in his eyes gradually went out. A dragon had once stood before them too, but because of his limited wisdom, it had been lost forever.

Beside him, Doug had already been dumbstruck.

That single breath attack had also destroyed the dreams of one ambitious Kobold youth.

Thanks to [Random Wanderer] for the Hundred Rewards~ The character setup feature is now open too. Characters will gradually be added as the story unfolds, so come upload your favorite fan art for the characters you like~ One last question: are there any big shots who still have investment slots? Even Freebie ones are fine. Hop aboard!