novelraw Chapter 145
Chapter 145
I have nothing to say to a dragon who cannot appreciate the beauty of comparative anatomy.
Azure, sensing she was being ignored, turned her head back to her work with a dismissive flick of her ear.
Fine. Ignore me. Your loss.
Aiden withdrew his gaze from his sister and looked up at the dawn sky.
Huu...
He spread his wings, muscles bunching under red scales, and launched himself fifty yards into the air. He hovered there, scanning the forest one last time.
Good. No smoke.
The rats have finally given up on digging. Smart move. If they dug any more, their entire underground city would probably collapse on itself.
His lips curled into a grin, revealing jagged teeth. He looked down at the burning cave mouth.
"Heh heh heh... Alright then. Time to enslave the rabble."
Whoosh!
With a mutter of self-satisfaction, he tucked his wings and entered a steep dive, aiming straight for the heart of the inferno.
He plunged through the fire.
It felt... warm. Like a cozy blanket.
Maybe I should just take a nap here...
The thought flashed through his mind, tempting and sweet, but he shook it off.
No. Work first. Enslave the goblins. Then sleep.
He picked up speed.
Deep below, a goblin sentry squinted into the smoke.
"Grah?"
Is there... something in the fire?
Impossible. Nothing survives that heat.
Whoosh!
A massive red head burst through the wall of flames.
The goblin froze, terror seizing his heart.
Aiden landed heavily on the cavern floor. Before him lay a defensive line—rows of black iron cannons and silver ballistae, all aimed upward at the tunnel entrance.
And next to the cannons...
Aiden’s eyes locked onto the stockpile. Pyramids of basketball-sized iron spheres, etched with glowing gnomish runes. Cannonballs.
Explosives.
Aiden grinned.
He opened his maw.
Whoosh!
A torrent of dragonfire poured directly onto the ammunition dump.
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Boom!
Aiden snapped his wings forward, shielding his face and chest as the world turned white.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
A chain reaction of explosions ripped through the cavern, shaking the very foundations of the earth.
Above ground, the earth bucked violently.
Squelch!
Azure’s claw slipped, turning the goblin brain she was dissecting into greyish-green mush.
She lifted her head, staring at the cave mouth which was now spewing fire like a volcano.
What did he do down there? Has his brain finally devolved into that of a standard Red Dragon? Just 'burn and smash'?
Sting.
Aiden winced.
He looked down at his chest. The white armored scales on his underbelly were cracked, and a few drops of sizzling red blood were oozing out.
Hmph. Gnomish weapons pack a punch.
Rumble...
The ceiling of the cavern began to groan. Rocks fell. The tunnel was collapsing.
Aiden’s right pupil flared. A purple Fiery Sigil ignited deep within the crimson iris.
[Dominion] active.
Control.
The chaotic inferno filling the cavern suddenly obeyed.
The flames stopped their wild dance and began to flow like water, swirling, condensing, compressing.
A massive vortex of fire formed in the center of the chamber. The temperature skyrocketed. Falling boulders didn't just crack—they melted instantly upon touching the swirling heat.
The earth shook again, but this time, it was different. It was a rhythmic thrumming of power.
Above, Azure narrowed her eyes.
The air was getting hot. Dangerously hot. The concentration of fire mana was spiking off the charts.
She looked down. The mana was pooling deep underground.
Aiden?
Whoosh.
She abandoned her specimens and launched herself into the sky, putting distance between her and the epicenter.
Below, Aiden watched the vortex spin.
That should be enough.
"Now... Bloom."
His voice was young, indifferent, and absolute.
As if obeying a divine command, the vortex erupted.
A pillar of concentrated fire, hot enough to vaporize stone, punched straight up through the rock.
The ground above bulged unnaturally for a split second—
Boom!
The earth shattered. A column of red light and plasma roared into the sky, tearing a hole through the world.
It lasted only a few seconds. When the light faded, a clean, circular crater, forty yards wide and perfectly smooth, smoked in the morning light.
Aiden deactivated the Fiery Sigil. The vortex dissipated into harmless sparks.
He looked up at the blue circle of sky he had just created.
Not bad.
Suddenly, a white magical ring materialized directly above his head.
A flawless, petite, humanoid leg extended from the ring.
And stomped him.
Wham!
The force was irresistible. Divine.
Aiden’s head was smashed into the stone floor, creating a crater within a crater.
He pulled his head out of the rock, shaking off the dust.
He glared up at the sky, flames dancing in his eyes again.
Damn First Crown! Bullying me because I'm small!
Just you wait! One day, I'll pay you back for that!
Tramp-tramp-tramp.
The sound of hundreds of feet marching echoed from the connected tunnels.
Aiden lowered his head, the red fire in his eyes cooling to a menacing glow.
An army of goblins poured into the chamber.
They were armed, but they did not attack. Their jaundiced eyes were wide with primal fear.
They stared at the dragon. They stared at the forty-yard hole he had just blown through the solid rock ceiling. The walls were still glowing red from the heat.
This power...
Aiden let the fire in his eyes die down.
I want to kill them. I really do.
But I worked all night. I can't let that effort go to waste.
Dead slaves produce no value.
"Lowly goblins!" his voice boomed, amplified by the acoustics of the cavern.
In the crowd, Snaggle clenched his fists.
Gnomes are not lowly! We are the noble descendants of Sages! Wisdom is our birthright! You are just a beast!
"Your resistance has annoyed me," Aiden declared. "You now have two choices."
"Accept my enslavement."
"Or burn."
"I have lost my patience. You have one hour to decide. After one hour, I will grant you extinction in flames."
He spread his wings and lifted off the ground.
"Oh, and one more thing," he added casually. "No more rat holes. If I see anyone digging, I will burn you all."
Whoosh.
He shot up through the hole he had created, ascending into the light.
Azure watched the red figure emerge from the smoking crater.
He was unharmed.
That blast... the energy output was at least Tier 6(⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐).
He wasn't lying back at the Gryphon nest.
A 1-Star Wyrmling generating 6-Star firepower.
Azure stared at her brother as he flew toward her. Her blue eyes burned with a hunger that had nothing to do with food.
How does he work?
I need to know.