Supreme Magus

?Chapter 3281 Undefeated (Part 2)

No matter what any future Champion might do, Radoghorn's legend as the Undefeated could be equaled but never surpassed.

Valtak still remembered the smug grin on his father's corpse before he and his siblings entrusted it to the family Forgemaster. Most Wyrms didn't want to be buried or burned after their death.

In their last will, they demanded to be turned into artifacts that would be used to protect their bloodline and perpetuate their legend. Radoghorn was among them, his claws wrapped around Valtak's hand after being enchanted into Balefire.

The Father of Fire was certain that both his parents had no regret or reason to stay behind as wondering souls so his father's return baffled and moved him.

"I'm keeping my promise, son." Radoghorn replied as their Dragon scales touched and the two Wyrms experienced each other's emotions.

The Father of Fire could only catch a glimpse of the place where Radoghorn had spent the past few millennia. Yet he knew for certain that his father was happy and at peace most of the time.

Whenever one of his children struggled or an unfair death approached them, the Champion of Fire turned against the boundary separating the two worlds, using his full might in the attempt to break through and help them.

Even in death, Radoghorn wasn't wise. He was stubborn and prideful, bound to his word just as he had been in life.

"No matter who your enemy is or the danger you face. Just call me and I'll fly to your side." Radoghorn had made that promise to all of his children and even millennia after his demise, he never stopped trying to uphold it.

No matter how many times he had failed in the past, the Champion of Fire still tried. So when Valtak had prayed for help, when the black chain had opened a crack in the usually insurmountable wall, Radoghorn had charged through.

Valtak experienced his father's agony in crossing over the veil. The world of the living rejected Radoghorn's presence as strongly as the world of the dead claimed him back. His very soul was twisted and tortured every moment he spent on Mogar, connecting two worlds that were supposed to be apart. Radoghorn knew that what he was doing was wrong, but he didn't care.

He used the pain to sharpen his mind and strengthen his resolve. No price was too steep if it meant helping his son in his hour of need.

"Thank you,

,Father." Valtak pulled himself up as Radoghorn felt how important the mission was for the Elder Wyrm.

How much Valtak had sacrificed to be there and how much more he was willing to

sacrifice.

"Less chatting and more action, Whelp, or I'll hog all the glory. The Champion of Fire took point, opening a path toward Lith while Valtak trudged on all four.

Radoghorn fought Wood Golems and endured volleys of spells yet he was still faster than the Elder Wyrm, often helping him to get free from the Tree's roots he failed to dodge.

Just a bit farther.' Valtak panted as they caught up with the strike team. 'Just a bit longer.

The Champion of Fire fought like a Demon, demonstrating a prowess that shocked and overwhelmed the Puppets piloting the Golems. They had the World Tree's keen mind and the battle experience of the Chroniclers, yet they weren't enough.

The moment a Golem shifted its weight to perform an attack with any of its four arms, Radoghorn swept them off their feet by redirecting the force behind the blow and adding it to his own.

The wooden constructs weighed several dozens of tons yet the Demon Wyrm tossed them around like rag dolls. If a Puppet started to weave Silvering's Annihilation, Radoghorn would burn the mana tendrils connecting the seven Golems together.

The seven elemental energies were supposed to be shared and held in perfect balance. Without the array component of the anti-Guardian spell and with the Origin Flames compromising the integral stability of the runes, the mana went awry.

The Puppet would lose control of the Annihilation, triggering a chain reaction that would spread back to its mana core and destroy its wooden form. The same would happen to the other six Golems, making their arms slump and opening a hole in the Yggdrasill's defensive line.

None of the Puppets died, but the regeneration process took them seconds. Precious seconds during which Radoghorn could advance unimpeded and without worrying about protecting Valtak.

When that happened, the entire body of the Champion of Fire was set ablaze with Origin Flames. Each of his strikes was followed by an afterimage of mystical fire that doubled the damage and set the Golems ablaze.

The Origin Flames released by Radoghorn didn't spread like the World Tree, like even a Fire Dragon would expect them to. They found the mana circulatory system of the Golems and focused on it, burning through the mana veins like a fever.

Once affected by the Origin Flames, all enchantments of a construct were sealed until the fire was smothered. The Wood Golems couldn't move or weave spells while the Puppets inside became blind and deaf.

It wasn't a bloodline ability but the result of Radoghorn millennia of fighting. He had learned how to feel the mana flow of his opponents and burn it. To make the fire into his shadow and, when necessary, his crutch.

The Champion of Fire was alone against many and with Valtak so weak, Radoghorn took more blows and spells in a few seconds than in most of his life. Even his Yggdrasill body boosted by the Titania's regenerative abilities couldn't keep up with his injuries.

More often than not one of his limbs was missing or his head severed. Every wound Radoghorn suffered exacerbated his agony, reminding him he wasn't welcome among

the living.

Yet he endured and kept shielding his son with his body.

His Fire Shadow still attacked with limbs Radoghorn had yet to regrow fully. It enveloped the Champion of Fire not to let his enemies see how hurt he was and where their hits would be fatal, were the Golems strike at them before Radoghorn's wooden body healed. 'One Wyrm against an entire squadron? Impossible! The Yggdrasill thought. I have all the records of the Champion of Fire of the previous generations. He never had this kind

of power or skill.'

And they were right.

When he was alive, Radoghorn fought for his passion or survival. His goal back then was to discover new ways of using Origin Flames or just not to die.

Here, today, he cared about neither. Radoghorn was fighting for Valtak, for the little whelp who needed his father's help.

'I'm already dead. I don't care about what happens to me. The only person I still care about is standing right behind me. The rest of Mogar can burn! Even as a Demon, Radoghorn had felt through the Dragon scales how little life force Valtak had left.

My boy is dying and I can't do anything to save him.' Pain was Radoghorn's teacher and his spur. 'I won't let him spend his final moments in regret. I won't let my boy fail. I will stand by his side until the last moment and burn his enemies in a funeral pyre to accompany him in death!"