Ferrum's heartbeat began to race. That tangled mix of unease, fear, and terror surged up again, and beneath the bloodline oppression of an Archaic Species, every scale on his body trembled uncontrollably.
Ladon launched another attack, in a manner utterly different from before. In an instant, he was before Ferrum, like a mountain shifting sideways, then he bit down and struck.
There was no pattern to his attacks, no techniques to speak of. Every movement was simple to the point of brutality—nothing but clean, decisive bites, claw swipes, and tail lashes.
Yet even if Ferrum exhausted every trick he had, he could no longer contend with Ladon. Every killing technique he had used before had now lost all meaning. He could not block them at all, and even dodging was exceedingly difficult.
"In this world, there has never been any such thing as technique. There is only—"
Ladon's gaze blazed like a torch. Dancing sparks of electricity covered his body, while searing currents burst from between his scales with every gesture.
"Strength!"
His claw swept across. Ferrum had only just landed, and it was already too late to evade. He could only raise his own claw to block, but at the moment of contact, his scales shattered and the bones in his digits groaned as they snapped.
"Speed!"
The tremendous impact forced Ferrum sideways, but Ladon did not pause. His pursuit came immediately after, and a kick containing the strength of his entire body blasted out, sending the Chrome Dragon flying headlong.
"And bodily rigidity."
The Archaic Species rampaged after him, tossing Ferrum into the air before leaping up and spinning into a tail sweep.
The Variant Species Chrome Dragon, firmly ranked first among the dragonkin, was smashed into the rock wall in an instant, then knocked forward by the rebounding impact.
He was not wrong. If Ladon did not restrain his strength, then in his peak state, he could shatter the skull of a Lower Species in a single instant.
That siege by the dragonkin years ago had seemed fervent and impassioned, yet it had instead left him feeling shackled hand and foot.
Dust filled the air, and shattered stones pattered down.
"I have longed so desperately for a true opponent to emerge from among the dragonkin, because only then could you truly feel my strength as though it were your own."
Ladon stepped closer. An unceasing stream of power was being born within his body.
"If you had visited that mountain and seen the claw marks and fissures I left behind, then you should know that while you were still chasing and playing with Rust Rabbits, I was already enduring the lashings of Young Dragons."
He looked at Ferrum as he slowly climbed back up. "I am no Archaic Species. I am stronger than any Archaic Species. Since I broke from my shell, I have not enjoyed a single moment of leisure, nor slacked off for a single day. Valyria likes you, and all the dragonkin say you are diligent and hardworking, but everything you have experienced, I have experienced as well."
"So, Ferrum Solax."
Ladon let out a deep, powerful growl, like a thunderous shout. "What makes you think you can defeat me?"
Ferrum spread his four claws and struggled to rise. All manner of injuries weighed upon him, heavy as a thousand jun, nearly crushing him beneath their burden.
Yet a new kind of power seemed to surge up from deep inside his body, holding him upright and refusing to let him fall.
Five years of Consume Gold, Absorb Iron. Five years of training without rest, day and night. Five years of Bloodline Refinement. Five years of studying his skills. There might have been moments of leisure, but he had never dared to slack off.
To catch up. To grow stronger.
"Precisely because I have experienced everything you have experienced."
Ferrum coughed softly, spitting out broken teeth stained with blood. "That is why I do not think I will lose."
"Stubbornly holding on!"
Ladon sneered and whistled forward once more.
Ferrum could still fight. The instant Ladon arrived, he counterattacked. Every bone spike across his body burst outward like a violent rain of arrows.
But Ladon remained unstoppable. The bone spikes made him bleed, but could not truly injure him. They left wounds, but could not make him retreat.
Ladon pulled out a bone spike with his backhand and drove it deep into Ferrum's shoulder blade. Then, with a savage smash, he sent him flying again.
Blood slowly spread, staining the ground beneath the Chrome Dragon dark red.
"However, I have something you do not."
Ferrum shook his head. His vision blurred, and the world spun around him. He felt as though he was about to lose control. Something was battering against his bones and sinews. He gulped down huge amounts of air, yet it still did not feel like enough.
"I have Moqi. I have Valyria. I have Intas, Kelaili, Afterglow... Their eyes are watching me from behind, and their fighting spirit is shown through me as well."
The Chrome Dragon's breaths grew heavier and heavier. His chest heaved violently, and his entire body shook.
Ferrum heard that thunderous chanting again. The ferocity buried deep in his bloodline had filled his body, screaming wildly through his veins. He felt like a water balloon stretched to its limit, ready to burst at any moment.
"So I have never believed that I would lose."
Ferrum opened his jaws as wide as they would go, stretching them until the corners of his mouth ached. His fangs protruded wildly, like a dying beast.
He felt that he had to spit that thing out, or he would die in the very next second.
"Blood—Frenzy—"
Ferrum released an earthshaking roar, and within that roar, countless blades rang out.
Surging cold flames burst from between his scales, trailing a visible vortex behind him, like gray-white iridescence.
A dragon's bloodline advancement was like rebirth. Boundless vitality descended upon Ferrum, repairing his bones and internal organs, reconnecting severed sinews and muscles, granting him greater strength and a more powerful physique.
Molten-gold light streamed from Ferrum's eyes. Amid the continuous crack-crack-crack of his bones, he rose with calm, unhurried ease and met Ladon's flame-breathing gaze.
"Finally..."
Ladon smiled coldly in satisfaction. The gazes of Archaic Species met, while cold flames and heat waves pressed against each other.
Both sides lowered their bodies in unspoken accord.
Ferrum roared and charged, taking the initiative in a new round of attacks. Sand and stone in the gathering ground shattered beneath his claws as cold flames howled past.
Ladon remained where he stood, looking down with composure. The muscles beneath his scales knotted like iron.
In the blink of an eye, Ferrum had reached Ladon. Amid a thunderous explosion, their claws collided.
The Iron Dragon's mountain-like body was actually forced backward again and again. His joints creaked, and his feet carved a huge trench into the ground.
Ladon's expression did not change as he slammed his claw downward, but all he caught was Ferrum's afterimage. The rocks exploded, flinging shattered stone like a waterfall.
Ferrum swept his wings back and leaped into a diving pounce.
Under the scouring of violent power came an equally enormous burden. The pain seemed to possess a pulse and heartbeat, swelling continuously with Ferrum's breathing. Like red-hot iron nails, it sought to bore out from the depths of his bones, expanding from within.
Agony, burning, fury.
Only at this moment did Ferrum suddenly realize that the terrifying burden of Blood Frenzy felt strangely familiar to him.
Ladon came howling in, stopping sharply with a kick before sweeping out with his claws. As his talons sliced through the air, even the air wailed and whimpered.
Ferrum did not dodge at all. His spirit and strength burned fiercely as his body sank low, the sharpness of his talons fully exposed while he met Ladon's savage strike head-on.
"Wedge Form."
When cold flames and scorching currents collided, they became a blast wave that instantly swept away the dust and rubble thrown up around them.
The uniquely hard keratin claws of the Heavy-Metal Dragons pressed together. Ladon's pupils shifted slightly as he heard the faint hiss of flesh being pierced. Repeated punctures sent violent pain through his talons.
But he paid it no mind. His heartbeat boomed in his chest like war drums. Taking advantage of Ferrum's proximity, he transformed the Myriad Weight strength of his entire body into an utterly unrestrained downward smash.
Ferrum was crushed by the sudden colossal force. His talons rebounded, and he flashed backward as rocks already torn apart were hurled into the air once more.
"Roar!"
Ladon roared forcefully, ignoring the fractures in his bones caused by the downward blow. Like black lightning, he pursued Ferrum, crackling sparks dancing around him as he rushed straight for Ferrum's neck, where bone spikes had already erupted.
At the edge of the gathering ground, the dragonkin suppressed the fear produced by bloodline oppression and stared fixedly at that savage arena.
Jelierion, Hidorivi, Kelaili... Even the powerful among the dragonkin could not help but be deeply moved.
Hatchling Dragon was no longer enough to describe the strength of these combatants. These were two true Seventh-Level Calamities. Whenever they collided, every burst of power struck terror into the other Hatchling Dragons.
The two crossed paths countless times across the gathering ground. Whenever the sound of tearing impacts rang out, gleaming scales would fly and blood would spray, only to be evaporated by heat currents and frozen by cold flames, becoming billowing smoke.
Blood flowed all over Ferrum's body. Under Ladon's terrifying violence, great swathes of his scales had shattered. His bones broke again and again, only to be repaired by his powerful vitality and thrown back into the brutal battle.
Ladon was no longer flawless, either. Several times, he rolled through the sandy ground, so disheveled that he nearly stumbled and fell.
His body was covered in streaming wounds, as though he had been sliced by countless blades. Dark-red dragon blood flowed along his talons, while strands of bloody froth seeped from the corners of his mouth.
The battle had reached its end, and both had pushed their strength to its limits. It was time to determine victory and defeat.
Ferrum took a deep breath. Under the pressure of his cold will, the Chrome Dragon's heavy-metal keratin claws slowly twisted and reassembled. His talons interlocked until they could no longer be separated, transforming his entire forelimb into a savage weapon.
There were no flashy moves. Ferrum stood on three legs, lowered his body, gathered all his power, and then thrust forward.
This was how Chrome Dragons had always fought. It was their way of survival. The Supreme had tailored the sharpest bodies for them and taught them the unrivaled art of piercing.
Gather all the strength of the body at a single point. Whether a giant dragon or a Titan stood ahead, whether demon or god, all a Chrome Dragon needed to do was cut through and pierce through!
Ferrum streaked forward like a whistling spear.
Ladon narrowed his eyes, and the light within his pupils grew even more blazing. He slowly bared his fangs, drew in a deep breath, and prepared to roar.
A wind arrived out of nowhere and extinguished the boiling flames. All light and all strength withdrew in that instant. Valyria appeared in the gathering ground, swinging her tail to push Ladon aside and grasping Ferrum's body.
No matter what Seventh-Level Calamity or Archaic Species they were, before Valyria, they were still only two children.
"Enough."
Valyria looked at them and said softly, "You still cannot control your power. If that strike had landed, one of you would have died."
"So leave the outcome of this battle for the future."