Chapter 168: The Freed Flame Demon Lord

Felicia and Willy led the wyverns, hovering on beating wings before Wyvern Peak. Their expressions were grave as they stared at the cave entrance exposed by the avalanche.

A faint red glow emanated from the cave alongside drifting wisps of black mist, suffusing the air with a heavy, ominous presence.

Willy twitched his nose, catching the stench of sulfur. The cave led straight down into subterranean magma, and imprisoned within that magma was a powerful demon.

Recalling the demon's massive body and the oppressive aura it radiated, Willy shuddered.

Suddenly, Wyvern Peak gave a violent shudder, as if the very earth were trembling. Snow and loose rocks cascaded down the mountain slopes.

Cold sweat dripped from Willy and Felicia's foreheads. That demon had broken through another layer of its seal!

A gruff, echoing voice boomed across the sky.

"Hahaha! You two little white lizards out there, you can't escape! If you come back now and undo the rest of the seal, the great Ogresa might mercifully transform you into abyssal demonic dragons! This is your last chance! Hahaha!"

Felicia was furious.

"Demon, you won't be gloating for long! You'll regret everything you've done! Sss..."

Her roar aggravated her injuries, causing her to draw in a sharp breath of cold air.

Willy looked at the fiery whip mark on his sister's back, lingering fear gripping his heart.

The flaming whip the demon wielded packed immense power. A single strike had split Felicia's dragon scales, and the whip's flames had scorched the flesh beneath, leaving a terrifying, ten-meter-long, red-and-black gash across her back.

If they hadn't run so fast...!

Right then, a purple Teleportation Magic Circle appeared in the sky, and the White Dragon Lord's figure materialized within it.

The moment he arrived above Wyvern Peak, Amos sensed terrifying energy fluctuations radiating from the mountain below, like a volcano on the verge of erupting.

The White Dragon Lord was shocked. What is going on?!

Spotting his dragon brother and sister hovering in the air alongside the wyvern flock, Amos immediately flew down toward them.

Before the White Dragon Lord could speak, Willy beat him to it.

"Hurry, Amos! There's a Bano Flame Demon trapped in the cave, and it's about to break its seal!"

Hearing the name Bano Flame Demon, the White Dragon Lord was greatly startled.

A Bano Flame Demon was a high-tier demon. At the absolute minimum, their strength was at the Legendary Rank. They were always high-level commanders or ace enforcers in a demon lord's army.

Catching sight of the fiery whip mark on Felicia's back, the White Dragon Lord burned with anger.

"Felicia, take the wyverns and get far away from the battlefield. Willy, let's go."

Willy quickly followed his older brother, flying toward the cave entrance at the base of Wyvern Peak.

"Brother, while digging up the dragon eggs buried by the avalanche, we accidentally discovered an ancient ruin at the bottom of Wyvern Peak. Felicia and I thought we'd stumbled upon a once-in-a-lifetime fortune. We broke through the outer defenses and went inside, only to find a Bano Flame Demon sealed within."

Willy explained as they flew.

"This Bano Flame Demon was locked away by four seals. We accidentally destroyed one of them, allowing it to gradually break free."

The White Dragon Lord's tone was heavy.

"How strong is this demon?"

An ordinary Bano Flame Demon would merely be at the Legendary Rank. But if it was a powerhouse among Bano Flame Demons, its strength had no ceiling. Down in the Bottomless Abyss, the true body of one particular demon lord was a Bano Flame Demon.

Moreover, there was no shortage of Bano Flame Demons who had carved out their own territories to become regional overlords.

Willy's scalp tingled with dread as he recalled that massive body, which was at least thirty meters tall.

"Very strong! It's definitely not an ordinary Bano Flame Demon!"

Amos's expression darkened. He ducked into the glowing red cave entrance, casting a Magic Shield to isolate the abyssal aura emanating from the demon.

Ten thousand years ago, there were many powerhouses who didn't die by the hands of demons, but instead went mad from the abyssal aura.

Navigating the long, narrow cave, the White Dragon Lord pushed deep into the mountain until he reached the edge of a massive magma pool.

The pool churned like boiling water, bubbling with red magma that heated the four thick chains extending into its depths until they glowed red-hot.

One end of each chain was submerged in the magma, while the other end anchored to one of four magic Altars distributed in the cardinal directions. Two of the Altars remained completely intact, each with a massive magic gemstone hovering above it.

As for the other two: one Altar had shattered, its magic gemstone completely drained of energy; the final Altar was intact, but its gemstone was nowhere to be found.

Needless to say, it must have been taken by his dragon brother and sister.

The White Dragon Lord glared at Willy. They hadn't even bothered to check if it was safe to take; they had just seen the gemstone and snatched it.

Willy offered a sheepish smile and shrank his neck, trying to minimize his presence.

Amos really wanted to knock his siblings on the head, but more pressing matters required his attention.

Two chains were still perfectly intact, but they were being pulled taut by the imprisoned demon in the magma pool, looking as though they might snap at any second.

The energy within the magic gemstones on the Altars was draining rapidly. If they didn't stop the struggling demon in time, it would quickly break the seal.

Down in the magma pool, the Bano Flame Demon sensed the white dragon's arrival.

"Hahaha! Little white lizards, hurry! Undo the seal, and the great Flame Demon Lord—Ogresa—will grant you supreme glory!"

"Otherwise, the moment I break free, I will rip out your souls and roast them over the fires of Hell for ten thousand years! Then I'll twist you into the lowest lesser demons to do my bidding!"

"..."

Turning a deaf ear to the demon's mixture of threats and bribes, the White Dragon Lord unleashed his Dragon Breath, blasting it directly into the magma pool.

The freezing Dragon Breath collided with the scorching magma. The clash of these two extreme energies triggered a violent reaction, but the Dragon Breath proved superior. The magma cooled and blackened at a visible rate.

The Bano Flame Demon let out a furious roar.

"White dragon! How dare you!"

Unmoved, the White Dragon Lord continued to exhale frost.

Unable to sit back any longer, the Bano Flame Demon lashed out. A flaming whip erupted from the magma, snapping toward the White Dragon Lord.

Sensing the terrifying power contained within the whip, the White Dragon Lord cut off his breath. He rapidly chanted an incantation, conjuring an Ice Shield that blocked the fiery lash.

A colossal, terrifying demon rose from the magma. Just the exposed portion of its body from the waist up was fifteen meters tall, and the two massive Demon Horns atop its head pierced upward like spears.

The Bano Flame Demon's eyes were like two pools of burning fire. Its entire body was packed with dense, blocky red muscle, and its crimson skin was covered in fissures that oozed a blood-red fiery glow.

Two thick chains were still wrapped tightly around the demon's body. The golden runes inscribed on the chains glowed, restricting the Bano Flame Demon's movements.

The magma splashed in all directions as the Flame Demon emerged, spattering against the icy Magic Shield.

Sizzle!

As the magma met the ice, several deep craters melted into the Ice Shield, while the magma itself cooled into chunks of black rock that fell to the ground.

The Bano Flame Demon cracked its flaming whip against the rock walls surrounding the pool, sending shattered stone tumbling down.

"White dragon, I am the great Flame Demon Lord—Ogresa! Follow me, and I shall grant you power and glory!"

The White Dragon Lord's tone was disdainful.

"You? A pathetic prisoner! You think you're worthy of granting power to others?!"

"Raaagh! White dragon, you have enraged me! I will snatch you up, crush your pathetic body, and devour your soul!"

The White Dragon Lord said no more. He rapidly chanted another spell, raising a wall of ice to block the incoming fiery whip.

At the same time, the white dragon realized something was wrong with the intensity of the Bano Flame Demon's attacks.

He was stalling for time. He was focusing the vast majority of his energy on breaking the seal.

"Willy, cover me!"

Amos continued his incantation to summon the Winter Guard. His expression solemn, Willy stood guard by his older brother's side.

The Bano Flame Demon's whip attacks were merely a feint. In secret, he was racing against the clock to tear away the seal.

If he managed to break free, an entity of his caliber—an elite even among High-Tier Legends—would easily squash these two hateful white dragons into whatever shape he pleased.

Conversely, if the White Dragon Lord summoned the Winter Guard first, he would have a Legendary Rank meat shield standing on the frontline. The White Dragon Lord would then be free to cast with impunity, showing the Bano Flame Demon the terrifying methods of a Mage.

Now, it was a race to see who was faster.

A dozen seconds passed.

Boom!

With a deafening boom, another Altar shattered. The iron chain snapped. Instantly, the mountain shook and the ground quaked. Boulders plummeted into the magma, sending molten rock flying in all directions.

At the exact same moment, the White Dragon Lord completed his summoning spell.

A massive, ice-blue Portal materialized out of thin air, and an emotionless voice rang out.

"By the ancient contract, the Winter Guard—Gumnar—answers your call!"

A gigantic Ice Elemental stepped through the Portal. It wielded a Spiked Mace in one hand and a round, spiked Ice Shield in the other.

The moment Gumnar stepped through the Portal, it felt a wave of searing heat and immediately became annoyed. Seeing the trapped Flame Demon made it even more annoyed.

The feud between the Winter Legion and the demons ran incredibly deep and ancient. Without hesitation, Gumnar swung its Spiked Mace right at the Flame Demon's head.

The Flame Demon condensed a black longsword out of magma to block the mace. Clenching its other hand into a fist, it punched at the Winter Guard, only to be stopped by the Ice Shield.

Billowing white smoke erupted where their weapons clashed—the ice instantly vaporizing under the blazing heat.

The Flame Demon didn't have it easy either. Despite radiating thousands of degrees of heat, coming into direct contact with the magical ice was no different for him than an ordinary person touching boiling water.

"Willy, get out of here!"

"Be careful."

Willy knew he couldn't offer any real help in a battle of this caliber. He turned and sprinted toward the cave exit.

With Willy safely away, the White Dragon Lord finally set his mind at ease and unleashed his full firepower, spewing out Dragon Breath infused with soul energy.

Sensing the unique energy fluctuations within the breath, the demon—a race renowned for harvesting souls—instantly recognized it as a soul attack.

Knowing exactly how terrifying soul attacks could be, the Flame Demon Lord, Ogresa, immediately abandoned his opponent. Twisted, evil syllables of Abyssal tumbled rapidly from his mouth.

Right before the Dragon Breath arrived, a magma shield sprang up in front of Ogresa.

However, a hastily cast magma shield couldn't possibly compare to the White Dragon Lord's premeditated strike.

The magma shield rapidly lost its energy properties at a visible rate, congealing into solid black rock.

Ogresa tried to reinforce the shield, but the Ice Elemental wasn't just standing around. As a summoned creature, the Winter Guard, Gumnar, fearlessly charged forward to entangle the Flame Demon Lord in close combat.

Under the threat of death, the Flame Demon Lord, Ogresa, hurriedly unleashed his trump card.

The Magma Heart in the Flame Demon Lord's chest erupted with a blinding red light. Terrifying fire elements formed an energy tide that washed out in all directions.

The Ice Elemental was instantly sent flying, slamming into the rock wall and smashing out a massive crater.

The White Dragon Lord's full-powered Dragon Breath collided head-on with the energy tide.

Ice and fire clashed. The two diametrically opposed energies fiercely competed, constantly annihilating each other only to be replenished by succeeding waves of power.

But the Flame Demon Lord's eruption was merely a temporary burst, while the White Dragon Lord's Dragon Breath was a continuous, unending stream.

Only in the initial stage of the clash was the White Dragon Lord's Dragon Breath suppressed.

The frontline of the colliding energies pushed toward the white dragon for a brief moment, but then the boundless Dragon Breath gained the upper hand, gradually forcing the tide back toward the Flame Demon Lord.

The Flame Demon Lord grew frantic. The Magma Heart was similar to an elemental core; it was his source of power. Even as a High-Tier Legend, Ogresa couldn't sustain such a massive outburst for long without damaging his origin.

"White dragon, don't push things too far! Ogresa is willing to share the throne with you..."

Realizing that brute force wasn't working, Ogresa hurriedly backed down and began throwing out a flurry of promises.

But the White Dragon Lord's resolve was like iron; he was dead set on killing the Flame Demon Lord. Believing a demon lord's promises was less reliable than believing a sow could climb a tree.

Seeing that the Dragon Breath was about to strike his body, and with the Ice Elemental charging back into the fray, Ogresa threw his head back and roared furiously.

"You forced my hand! Let's die together!"

The Magma Heart in his chest burst with blinding, searing red light.

This was bad! A Body-Immolation Burst!

Body-Immolation Burst was a mutual destruction technique used by Bano Flame Demons. It could be triggered voluntarily or would detonate automatically upon death.

Its power rivaled that of a Forbidden Spell. Since ancient times, countless powerhouses had defeated a Flame Demon, only to perish in its final Body-Immolation Burst.

The White Dragon Lord hurriedly cast Blink, instantly appearing outside of Wyvern Peak.

However, the White Dragon Lord sensed a fleeting energy fluctuation within the peak.

Damn it!

He had been tricked!

Just as the White Dragon Lord was about to charge back inside, he suddenly sensed a violent surge of magic.

Accompanied by a muffled blast, flames from an explosion surged out of the cave entrance. The White Dragon Lord hurriedly backed further away from Wyvern Peak.

The ground shook, and the mountains trembled!

The pagoda-shaped Wyvern Peak, which stood thousands of meters tall, collapsed!

It looked like the end of the world. Amidst deafening rumbles, massive chunks of fractured rock tumbled down the slopes.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Under the immense kinetic impact, shattered pieces of small stone bounced into the sky, pelting the White Dragon Lord at the speed of bullets.

The White Dragon Lord retreated even further while keeping his eyes fixed on Wyvern Peak, which had now crumbled into a mountain of rubble. He could feel that his summoning connection to the Winter Guard had been severed.

No, that wasn't a Body-Immolation Burst!

A massive figure sent the boulders pinning it down flying. Ogresa clawed his way out of the rubble.

"I... have been imprisoned for ten thousand years!"