Chapter 447: No Matter How Big the Frame, It Still Lacks Real Substance

Compared to the Filaments, the dragons possessed a wide variety of abilities, which meant they all tasted different when consumed.

The Filaments were indeed weaker individually, but their sheer numbers and numerous passive abilities more than compensated, truly a case of an ant colony overwhelming an elephant.

Furthermore, the Filaments were similar to species like the Undead or the Insect Race, which excelled at rapidly spawning units and could quickly replicate themselves to reproduce.

When the Filaments consumed a member of the Dragon Race, they could convert at least ninety-nine percent of its energy into self-replication.

While this didn’t mean their numbers grew with every fight, it was enough to maintain their population at a stable level.

As a result, their overall numbers appeared unchanged, while the Dragon Race, in stark contrast, suffered devastating losses.

Additionally, despite their vast numbers, individual Filaments were minuscule unless they aggregated.

They were also fast and agile, possessing numerous damage-reduction effects. Consequently, unless one used an area-of-effect attack, killing them was extremely difficult.

After all, the Filaments were fundamentally a virus and had evolved a series of traits like heat, cold, and radiation resistance, making them incredibly difficult to deal with.

’The returns are quite good,’ Qi Suian estimated privately as he watched the data update. ’Factoring out the cost, this should earn me at least three new module slots.’

The Blood Race had been annihilated too quickly due to their own inherent flaws, so Qi Suian had barely gotten anything out of them.

The Dragon Race, however, was now being slaughtered by Qi Suian right at their doorstep. Any dragon that dared to emerge was nothing more than fuel.

’I have to admit, that Lilith is really something else. To think she birthed so many members of the Dragon Race all by herself.’

Qi Suian truly couldn’t imagine how a single person could create an entire race.

And a populous one at that.

"Human, your time has come!"

Another dragon’s roar echoed from within the crimson vortex.

Then, a pair of enormous draconic claws pressed against the top and bottom edges of the crimson vortex.

The claws strained, prying the vortex open with immense force, just enough for a draconic head to squeeze through.

This dragon was nearly ten times larger than the first one that had come out to test the waters.

"I am Albert, the Dragon of Destruction, you insects!!!" the self-proclaimed dragon bellowed, opening its great maw as a furious torrent of Flame spewed forth.

Its sheer size was such that the intense heat from its Flame breath distorted the very air, warping the sky and the crimson vortex.

The other dragons, unable to retreat in time, were also engulfed in the inferno.

It clearly didn’t care about its brethren.

But its breath attack was undeniably powerful. Vast numbers of Filaments were incinerated, reduced to ash in the inferno.

The Filaments did possess fire resistance, but it wasn’t high enough. After all, they only inherited a portion of Qi Suian’s attributes, not the entirety.

Thus, they stood no chance of surviving the Flame breath.

Qi Suian felt the wave of heat wash over him; it was undeniably powerful.

’This must be one of Lilith’s ace sons,’ Qi Suian mused, but he didn’t act immediately.

Instead, he waited for the Dragon of Destruction to emerge completely from the Red Sea into the real world.

He was concerned it might be a trap, with most of its body still inside the Red Sea.

As for the dead Filaments, it didn’t matter. He could just use this Dragon of Destruction as nourishment.

With a body that large, restoring the Filaments’ numbers would be no problem at all.

After its fiery salvo, the Dragon of Destruction seemed quite pleased with itself for having annihilated so many tiny insects.

Then, its gaze fell upon Qi Suian.

The rage in its eyes flared anew.

It was this tiny insect that had dared to humiliate its mother.

"Insect, I will tear you..." The Dragon of Destruction opened its mouth to spout threats.

Qi Suian had no interest in listening. The moment its mouth opened, he hit it with a charge, followed by a collision and a stomp for good measure.

The colossal dragon head slammed into the ground. A swath of its teeth shattered, and its eyeballs were crushed, bursting from the pressure.

"Bigger is only better if it comes with quality, not just an empty frame," Qi Suian stated calmly.

With that, Qi Suian grabbed the Dragon of Destruction’s head. Unleashing his brute strength, he began to drag the dazed creature out of the portal.

Its body was too large to pass through the crimson vortex.

But that didn’t matter; Qi Suian had both strength and means in abundance.

He focused all his power, and with a single, mighty heave, he yanked the Dragon of Destruction clean out of the portal.

His action forcibly ripped a gap in the crimson vortex, large enough to accommodate the Dragon of Destruction’s passage.

The Dragon of Destruction suffered for it, too. A massive amount of its flesh was scraped away in the process, leaving the dragon about a third leaner than before.

Force is reciprocal. If the crimson vortex endured the strain, the Dragon of Destruction had to as well.

"Impossible... How can you be so strong? I am the..." The Dragon of Destruction’s voice was filled with utter disbelief.

But before it could finish, Qi Suian grabbed its tongue and ripped it right out.

He had no time to listen to the Dragon of Destruction’s useless drivel.

’I know exactly what it was going to say. Just another pointless boast about its status.’

’It would have declared its noble status, something a "tiny insect" like me could never compare to.’

Qi Suian had no faith in the theory of bloodlines. He himself had risen from the ranks of the Abyssal Humans—a branch of humanity with very little potential or high ceilings.

If he had ever believed in that nonsense, he never would have survived.

Now tongueless, the Dragon of Destruction fell silent.

"Time’s up," Qi Suian announced. "Time to dine."

Confusion flickered in the Dragon of Destruction’s eyes, but in the next moment, it understood exactly what Qi Suian meant.

It watched as its own tongue, torn out by Qi Suian, began to disappear bit by bit, the process accelerating with each passing second.

With its immense power came excellent eyesight.

It could see the tongue was vanishing because countless insects were devouring it.

And as they fed, the insects began to multiply—one splitting into two, two into four—continuously replicating into an ever-growing swarm.

Once the entire tongue was consumed, the insects it had so disdained turned their attention to its own body.

It finally understood. It was the meal.

It began to struggle frantically, trying to escape the terrifying, approaching swarm.

However, Qi Suian’s hand remained pressed firmly on its head, holding it completely still.

Even though this being was no bigger than one of its own scales, his immense power held it fast.

Despair and terror spread through it. It cried out that classic, desperate plea: "Mother, save me!!!"

But this time, Lilith did not emerge. After taking a couple of hard slaps and two punches from Qi Suian during their last encounter, she was all too aware of his strength.

An agonizing pain began to spread throughout the Dragon of Destruction’s body.

It could feel its own flesh, bones, and organs being torn and devoured, piece by piece.

Fortunately, the Filaments were incredibly efficient eaters. Despite the Dragon of Destruction’s massive size, they consumed more than half of it in short order.

’I doubt another dragon on par with the Dragon of Destruction will be coming out now,’ Qi Suian thought, his gaze fixed on the crimson vortex.

After Qi Suian had dragged out the Dragon of Destruction and fed it to the Filaments, the stream of dragons pouring from the crimson vortex ceased.

They were clearly terrified. The Dragon Race’s morale had been utterly crushed; not a single dragon dared to emerge.

’In the end, they’re just bullies on their own turf who have never seen the real world.’

’Aside from their strength and size, they’re completely inferior to humans and the Blood Race.’

’Nothing but overgrown infants,’ Qi Suian remarked, assessing the so-called Dragon Race.

He had expected them to be formidable, but they were just a bunch of weaklings. If they had switched places with the Blood Race, he suspected they would have been beaten to a pulp by the Church, despite all their advantages.

But it was to be expected. The Dragon Race was confined to the Red Sea, spending all their days with their mother, the Red Sea Witch. Their worldly knowledge and experience were practically non-existent.

As for things like combat skills, they had never needed them, relying instead on their high attributes and powerful abilities.

Then they encountered the even more absurd Qi Suian and were subjected to a complete curb-stomping from a higher plane of existence.

Once the Dragon of Destruction was completely devoured, the Filaments’ numbers were finally restored to their previous level before the Flame attack.

"Cerebrum, prepare the intercontinental missile." Qi Suian had no intention of charging in recklessly just because the Dragon Race was turtling in the Red Sea.

He planned to hit them with something devastating first.

Lilith watched as the insects devoured the Dragon of Destruction, Albert, down to the bone. The fury in her eyes burned hotter and hotter.

Yet she didn’t dare step out of the Red Sea to save her son.

"Mother, I will deal with this human." Beside her, one of the Dragon People stepped forward.

He was Lilith’s eldest son, the very first dragon. But because he was born so early, he more closely resembled the Red Sea Witch Lilith, possessing the form of the Dragon People: a draconic head atop a humanoid body.

He was also the most powerful of all the dragons in the Red Sea.

Even the Dragon of Destruction was no match for him.

As Qi Suian had said, bigger is only better if it comes with quality.

And his quality was the highest among all the Dragon Race.

"No," Lilith refused without a moment’s hesitation. "You are no match for him."

"The moment he steps into the Red Sea will be the day he dies."

Lilith understood that even her eldest son could not hope to match that inhuman creature.

Only by relying on her own power and that of the Red Sea could she kill this terrifying monster.

She had just finished speaking when she suddenly noticed a metal object hurtling into the Red Sea at incredible speed.

It didn’t seem threatening at first glance, but in the next instant, a blazing mushroom cloud erupted, an inferno of light, heat, terrifying elemental forces, and radiation.

Its power was terrifying. The explosion of the metal object threw the entire Red Sea into turmoil.

Countless members of the Dragon Race were engulfed by the mushroom cloud, their lives extinguished in an instant.

"No!!!" Lilith shrieked, her eyes looking ready to split from their sockets. A moment too late, she used the power of the Red Sea to forcibly extinguish the mushroom cloud.

But the damage was already done.