With just a few flaps of its wings, the colossal beast drew nearer, unveiling its full form.

It was far more bizarre than imagined. The black dragon’s head was more than a third of its body’s length, with each black scale as large as a major demon. Its rounded belly, long and thick tail, combined to make it appear grotesque, yet there was a gluttonous and cunning undertone to its monstrous form.

On the ground, the half-demons scattered and screamed like ants. The black dragon’s rumbling, thunderous roar echoed as though it were mocking them. It lifted its neck slightly, opened its maw wide, and a tempestuous gust formed a hurricane vortex within, pulling the weak half-demons and the unwary demons into the gaping black hole, their cries swallowed up and silenced.

As the swarm of demons on the ground dwindled, a glint of satisfaction appeared in its cold, golden eyes. Its arrogant voice mingled with the stench and filth of its dragon breath: “Have you prepared your offerings? Do not test Lord Persemeia’s patience…”

The bloated black insect swayed in the sky, churning the thin sulfuric miasma into a boiling cauldron, and the molten iron lake surged with ripples.

The black dragon displayed its might for a while but noticed that among the ants below, a few were different. Alongside their fear and panic, there was a hint of hidden indifference and resentment, which stirred its suspicious mind. It moved deliberately further from the pile of black iron scraps.

Last time, it was these seemingly insignificant scraps that had marred Lord Persemeia’s noble scales, leaving blemishes on its flawless and majestic form. If not for the precious black disaster coins, it would have long since lost its temper and torn them to shreds.

Yet, the ants’ expressions still displeased the great Lord Persemeia. It struck a menacing pose and unleashed another blast of dragon breath toward the ants.

The dragon breath, a noxious mix of strong acid, poison gas, and toxic flames, poured down like black mercury. Two of the ants nimbly evaded it, but one was caught directly.

“Ah!”

The creature’s piercing scream lightened the black dragon’s mood. The leader demon, whose body was dissolving, uttered words that were both pleas and curses.

“L-Lord… save me…”

The black dragon expelled another fierce gust, scattering the demon’s shattered remains and sneered, “It’s too late for mercy… Lord Persemeia is quite displeased. This time, the offering must be doubled…”

Before the black dragon could finish its taunt, it suddenly heard a ripping sound in the air, as if something was rapidly approaching with formidable force.

A flicker of alarm crossed its mind. It swung its massive head around but saw nothing.

The sound grew louder, and the dragon’s agitation increased as it desperately sought the source.

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Finally, it looked up.

Its golden eyes narrowed instantly, reflecting a blazing red “meteor” that was rapidly expanding…

“Boom,” the figure wrapped in red flames crashed heavily onto the black dragon’s back, the immense impact forcing the dragon’s massive body downward.

The black dragon staggered, nearly plummeting from the sky. It flapped its enormous wings desperately to stabilize itself, but a sharp pain shot through its back…

Karlo’s muscular legs were deeply embedded in the dragon’s flesh, his body cloaked in a thin layer of red flames that seared the dragon’s hide, emitting an odd blend of burning and sweet scents.

At this point, his size had grown to more than ten times its usual scale, yet, compared to the black dragon’s mountainous bulk, he was still minuscule—once a mere fly, now barely a sparrow.

But this sparrow was armed with the venomous beak of a vulture.

Karlo gripped the Blade of Envy in his right hand, his face contorted into a cruel grin, and drove it fiercely into the black dragon’s back. The dragon flinched in pain and thrashed, its colossal wings flailing wildly, sending swarms of demons flying.

Karlo clung tenaciously to the blade, barbed spurs sprouting from his calves and ankles, deeply embedding into the dragon’s flesh, holding on like a bloodsucking leech.

The black dragon’s thrashing grew more violent. The agony of having someone clinging to its noble form only fueled its rage.

“Roar…”

The black dragon emitted an enraged roar. Its grotesque dragon head turned, its massive golden eyes fixated on the audacious pest on its back, spewing out toxic dragon breath.

“Giggling…”

Karlo let out an eerie, unsettling laugh from deep within his throat. His fierce face was marred by an ugly grin. He tightened his leg muscles and leaped off the black dragon’s back, tearing out large chunks of flesh.

Karlo seized a large piece of flesh and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing through the blood and foam, but his feet never ceased their relentless pace.

His spiked feet pierced effortlessly through the dragon’s hard, smooth scales, digging deep into the flesh, moving with steady ease as if running on solid ground.

Karlo clamped the Blade of Envy between his teeth, his sharp teeth gripping it firmly. With his hands crossed before his face, he faced the torrent of dragon breath head-on without flinching.

The filthy, poisonous dragon breath splashed onto the lava-covered shore of the molten iron lake, hissing and releasing noxious green smoke. The once-smooth surface quickly became pitted. It also splattered onto Karlo, whose flesh, under the corrosive filth accumulated over millennia by the black dragon Persemeia, was rapidly deteriorating, revealing his white bones.

The intense pain surged through Karlo’s brain like a relentless tide. With the blade clamped in his mouth, he could only emit a muffled groan. His sharp teeth ground the Blade of Envy, and his eyes, filled with seething fury, seemed to blaze with dark gold.

Karlo pressed forward against the onslaught, his robust body standing resolute like a boulder against the current.

Great plumes of flame erupted from him, meeting the dragon breath in a clash that produced a harsh sound. The dragon breath transformed into black mist, settling on the ground. Some demons, accidentally exposed, were swiftly corroded into puddles of pus amidst their screams.

Yet, Karlo’s speed remained unyielding. He charged through the pouring dragon breath, continually running, which only enraged the black dragon further. Its mouth opened wider, as if it wished to expel all its accumulated fury in one breath.

Karlo’s pressure mounted, and finally, he reached the black dragon’s neck, the enormous dragon head above him like a gigantic faucet spewing toxic water.

Right here!

A fierce light flared in Karlo’s eyes as he hunched over.

The black dragon, seeing this, wore a smug expression, believing that the little pest was finally at its end.

But the next moment, a sharp pain erupted from its back as a fire-wrapped black shadow shot up from its back like a cannonball, and before it could react, it shot into its mouth.

Uh…

The black dragon was instantly stunned, even its dragon breath halted, unable to fathom what was happening.