"Here's how I'll reach Dragon Valley," Marshmallow said. "Our companions will help us one last time on this mission. I'll gather all the dragon fangs I can find. Dragon Goat, you go to Eldrin and convince him to help us. We'll meet up at Ashenwood, and by then I'll have taken care of everything else. That's when we'll start the final preparations."

With those words, Marshmallow leaped onto the Undead Dragon's back. The creature let out a cavernous roar that echoed through the air, making the Dragon Goat shudder. Then, with a powerful beat of its wings, it took off, heading towards Dragon Valley.

The Dragon Goat watched until Marshmallow and his macabre mount disappeared on the horizon. Then, shaking his head, he turned towards Gear Savannah with a mighty flap of his wings.

***

Marshmallow soared over Dragon Valley astride his Undead Dragon. Below him stretched a landscape of jagged mountains and dizzying cliffs, with ancient stone ruins jutting out like broken teeth. The air was thick with sulfur and ash, and the ruins were obscured by dozens of dragon wings flying in every direction.

"So this is Dragon Valley?" Marshmallow said to himself. "Looks like there's gonna be some work to do."

Marshmallow wasted no time. "I'll make them all come to me, so I can take 'em out quickly!" He commanded the Undead Dragon to dive. They blasted through the dragons thanks to the Undead Dragon's insane speed and landed on a rocky outcropping. As soon as they touched down, a group of young dragons launched their attack, unleashing terrifying roars. They were young, but still dragons.

Marshmallow grinned, feeling the adrenaline pumping through his veins. "Let's see how tough you really are."

In an instant, using his Lumokinesis, Marshmallow materialized a light barrier around himself and the Undead Dragon that repelled the dragon's claws and fangs as if they were made of rubber. It wasn't that these dragons were weak—it was Marshmallow who had a terrifying defense. The creatures were agile and fast, with bright green scales that reflected light hypnotically. But to him, they were like little birds.

"Is that all you've got?" Marshmallow said, raising an eyebrow. However, there was one dragon among the attackers that was particularly tenacious. With a swipe given with all its might, it managed to crack the light barrier.

"I see one of you's got some fight. Maybe I underestimated you? Alright then, time to go on the offensive."

Two blinding flashes of light appeared from his hands as Marshmallow readied his Lumokinesis. Various condensed light rays exploded in a barrage of energy darts, piercing the dragons as if they were made of butter. In seconds, dozens of lifeless bodies plummeted to the ground, leaving trails of smoke in the air.

At that point, many of the young dragons realized they had no hope against the enemy they were facing, so many of them retreated. But the battle was just beginning. Larger, more experienced dragons joined the fray, emerging from the dark abysses of the ruins. These were deep red, with curved horns and eyes that gleamed with malice.

"Oh, ready for round two? Come on, bring it all at once."

These dragons were on another level, even able to breathe fire. However...

"Your heat is nothing compared to the flames of Vesuvietna!"

They all began to breathe fire against Marshmallow's barrier. They barely managed to warm it up a bit, but even all together they didn't seem to be a threat to him at all. With a fluid gesture, he summoned his Supernova Titan Hammer. The weapon appeared in his hand, emanating an aura of intense heat that made the surrounding air vibrate.

"You think you know what heat is? I'll teach you! Now you'll see what it really means to burn!" Marshmallow shouted, raising the hammer above his head.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

With a devastating downward strike, a flaming force was generated from the head of the Supernova Titan Hammer and propagated toward the dragons. Their scales were resistant to common fire, but they were no match against the infernal heat of Vesuvietna. In moments, the dragons were reduced to ash.

But the battle was far from over. An ear-splitting roar tore through the sky, and from afar appeared what looked like an ancient dragon, much larger than any dragon that had shown up so far. Its scales were cobalt blue, and its eyes revealed millennia of battle experience.

"Finally, a worthy opponent," Marshmallow muttered, preparing for the clash.

The ancient dragon opened its maw, and a torrent of ice burst forth, heading towards Marshmallow at supersonic speed. This ancient dragon was able to control an ice-related element.

"This is dangerous. Spatiokinesis!" he exclaimed, opening a spatial rift and quickly entering it along with the Undead Dragon. A millisecond later, another rift opened behind the ancient dragon, from which Marshmallow emerged.

The ice blast created a crater as it smashed into the ground with tremendous force. Even Marshmallow would have had difficulty withstanding such power, so dodging was the wisest move.

This one's seriously strong!

Concentrating all his energy, Marshmallow focused, and a beam of pure light, as blinding as a small sun, formed between his hands.

"Farewell, ancient dragon," Marshmallow said, launching the beam like a cannonball. The dragon was pierced clean through, sending it to the afterlife. Where once a millennial creature flew majestically, it now plummeted lifelessly among the crevices of Dragon Valley.

"And that's that."

Marshmallow landed with the Undead Dragon on a rocky ledge, panting slightly. Even for him, facing a horde of dragons wasn't like going mouse hunting. Looking around, he saw that the remaining dragons were fleeing, terrified by his display of power.

"Good," he said to himself, "now I can collect the fangs in peace."

Marshmallow began gathering the fangs of the fallen dragons, filling a large sack he had created in a protrusion of the Undead Dragon.

This is gonna take forever. Let's speed things up.

With an upward stroke of his right hand, an army of skeletons rose from the limbs of the fallen dragons. Their objective? Farming dragon fangs. This would allow him to do the same work in a hundredth of the time. He had extraordinary abilities, so why not use them?

Marshmallow decided to take a break.

Why should I work if the skeletons can do it for me? Might as well chill here.

He had taken out nearly a hundred dragons. Mostly young dragons, about a dozen adult dragons, and the ancient dragon. Who knows what immense power Sage Ezechiel could derive from the ancient dragon's fangs. The draconic satyr that would come out of it would be at least B Rank endgame level, maybe even higher.

Marshmallow would create an invincible army, he could feel it.

Suddenly, a deafening roar tore through the air, even more powerful than that of the ancient dragon. Marshmallow spun around. His attention was so captivated that even the skeletons had to stop to witness the awe-inspiring moment.

It was a colossal creature, at least three times larger than the ancient dragon Marshmallow had just defeated. Its scales were shimmering gold, and its head was adorned with a pair of horns that branched out into razor-sharp blades. Before him, emerging from a cave hidden among the mountains, appeared the most imposing dragon Marshmallow could have ever imagined.

"Who are you, who dares to bring such devastation to my realm?"

The colossal dragon stared at Marshmallow with eyes full of rage, but Marshmallow maintained his composure.

"I'm Marshmallow. I've got nothing against you dragons, but I need your fangs. Who are you, anyway?" Marshmallow was amazed that this dragon could speak. None of the dragons he had fought had been able to do so.

The colossal dragon snorted, raising a column of smoke from its nostrils. "I am the Dragon Emperor. I have ruled over this land for millennia. I am the guardian of this valley and the protector of all dragons that inhabit it." His voice became, at that precise moment, much more filled with hatred. "Or I was before you decimated my people!"

Marshmallow glanced at the corpses scattered throughout the valley. Many had been reduced to a heap of scales and dragon blood to make way for the rise of the skeletons. Marshmallow's army was instead desecrating the unmutilated corpses for fang extraction. Not exactly a pretty sight. For a moment he felt guilty, but it quickly disappeared.

"I'm sorry, but I really need their fangs. And actually, I need yours too, Dragon Emperor. But I can offer you a choice. Either you voluntarily give up your fangs, extract them yourself, hand them over to me and disappear, or I'm afraid there'll be no escape for you."