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Chapter 451: Hamid's Escape
"Quick, move!"
"Don't block me!"
"Damn it, the dragon is catching up!"
"By the Great Flame Lord!"
"He dares to devour the Great Spirit! Is he not afraid of the Grand Sultan's wrath?"
The fire genies crowded as they surged out of the brass palace gates, howling and shoving, desperately fleeing this land of death.
Due to their flight, thick smoke and embers trailed behind them.
"Quick! Close the gates and trap the red dragon inside. Don't let him get out!"
Hamid commanded loudly as he flew.
Fire lizard slaves, wrapped in heavy iron chains and stationed at the gates, strained with all their might to turn the wheels.
"Creak—"
Amidst the harsh screeching of metal, the brass gates slowly closed.
The fire genies cast successive spells, using arcane locks to seal the gates, intending to temporarily trap the fearsome dragon within.
"Bang—"
A metallic boom echoed as the brass gates buckled sharply, claw marks imprinted upon them, but the gates did not break.
The fire genies breathed a sigh of relief.
"We're... safe for now."
"He won't get out immediately. We can use this opportunity—"
"Boom!"
The next moment, the colossal red dragon crashed directly through the thick wall, bursting out of the palace amid swirling smoke and embers.
The building behind him collapsed with a deafening roar.
Cassius flapped his wings and lunged at the panicked fire genies, roaring, "Since you've chosen to be my enemies—"
"You'll pay the price—with your lives!"
"He's out!"
"Run!"
"No—"
"What kind of flames are these?"
The red dragon spewed raging flames, turning the surroundings into a sea of fire, its reach nearly encompassing all the elementals.
Perhaps it was karma at play.
The fire genies, who loved raiding the material and elemental planes and cleansing homes with fire, finally experienced the agony of "being burned."
Dragonfire coiled around the fire genies' bodies, disintegrating them in moments and devouring their flame essences.
This was the dragonfire of an ancestral dragon, possessing all the characteristics of fire but imbued with a higher magical nature.
Hamid continued flying, smoke trailing behind him.
His fellow fire genie nobles had bought him considerable time, allowing him to cover several hundred meters.
Hamid frequently glanced back, shaking his head in disbelief and mumbling to himself.
"Impossible."
"What kind of flame is this...?"
Even at a distance of hundreds of meters, he could still feel the terrifying intensity of the flames.
As the fire drew closer, the magic within him seemed to evaporate, slipping from his control.
Hamid could vividly feel the overwhelming power, a fire so destructive it filled him with fear.
He had only seen such unreachable flames from the Great Sultan of the City of Brass or the elemental prince at the Temple of Terminal Combustion.
"I... must leave this place."
"I need to return to the City of Brass and report to the Grand Sultan!"
The trembling fire genie noble waved his scimitar, and a portal gradually formed before him.
"Ember Nest—"
Cassius rampaged through the City of Iron, his colossal dragon body easily crushing building after building, leaving ruins in his wake.
The red dragon flapped his wings, and wherever he passed, flames engulfed everything, consuming the panicked fire genies.
Before the thirty-meter-long ancestral red dragon, these fire genies, usually so arrogant, were no different from their former victims.
They were like lambs awaiting slaughter, powerless to resist, praying desperately for divine intervention.
In just a few breaths, dozens of fire genies had returned to their flame essence forms, absorbed by the red dragon.
As Cassius feasted, he activated the [Supreme True Dragon Crown]—more specifically, Bahamut's Wind.
He encircled his ferocious head with divine power from Order, ensuring he did not lose himself to madness or rage.
"Heh..."
"A portal?"
Cassius sensed the spatial fluctuations in the distance, narrowing his eyes and curling his lips into a smirk.
He extended a claw and pointed, sending a beam of dark green magical light shooting forward.
[Spell Dampening]
"Hurry up!"
"By the Great Flame Lord, as long as I reach the City of Brass, the Grand Sultan will protect me. He'll kill this dragon for sure."
Hamid anxiously stared at the forming portal, chanting incessantly.
"Whoosh—"
The dark green light struck, instantly dismantling the portal and returning the space to calm.
"No, no, no!"
"There's still a chance."
The fire genie noble shook his head repeatedly, his rugged face twisting with fear.
Seeing his spell fail, he didn't look back and kept flying forward, trailing thick ash behind him.
"Trying to run?"
"You've already chosen your fate!"
Cassius's thunderous roar echoed.
"Whoosh—"
The red dragon flapped his wings forcefully, creating a scorching gust strong enough to collapse buildings. In an instant, his massive form shot forward a hundred meters.
Hamid dared not look back, flying desperately. But he could already feel the sulfur-laden breath and the howling winds closing in.
Finally, he reached the city gate.
"Lord Hamid?"
"That's—"
"By the Great Flame Lord!"
The fire genie guards at the gate first stared in shock at the fleeing Hamid, then were petrified by the dragon chasing behind him.
"Get out of the way!"
"Release the multi-headed fire serpent lizard! Stop him!"
Hamid bellowed his orders.
Amid the fire genies' frantic movements, the giant gate creaked open, and a monstrous beast emerged.
It was a multi-headed fire serpent lizard with a massive body over ten meters long and five snake-like necks, each bearing a head.
Legend had it that these creatures were born from the blood of the slain dragon god Lenaire by the evil dragon queen Tiamat—forever cursed to hunger.
Released, the multi-headed fire serpent lizard roared, all five heads lifting skyward.
It was ready for a feast.
"Awoo—"
But soon, it sensed a terrifying presence rapidly approaching, accompanied by a deafening roar in the air.
Its five pairs of eyes filled with confusion.
"Boom—"
In the next instant, Cassius skimmed low over the ground, his enormous body trampling the creature mercilessly.
Flesh and blood splattered as the place where the serpent lizard once stood was reduced to a mess of scattered limbs, its body smashed to pieces.
What mortals saw as a fearsome beast was no more than a paper doll before the red dragon.
One of its heads rolled to the ground, its eyes still full of confusion.
"By the Great Flame Lord."
"I hope that fool can buy me a little more time."
The fire genie noble prayed silently as he continued flying for his life.
But fate wasn't on his side. The gusts of wind clung to him like a shadow, and the massive shadow of the dragon loomed over the ground ahead.
Darkness enveloped Hamid, and he felt his entire body seized by an overwhelming force.
He slowly lifted his head, trembling, the flame on his crown flickering as his fear contorted his face.
"M-my lord, I believe there's been some kind of misunderstanding."
The red dragon had firmly grasped the fire genie noble in his claw, his fearsome face contorted into a grin.
"Esteemed 'Fingerless' Hamid, give me one reason not to kill you."