Ashen Dragon

"Roar——"

With a thunderous roar that shook the heavens and earth, Stieg's figure grew larger and larger in the eyes of the dwarf warrior, almost filling his entire field of vision.

Blistering hot air rushed forward, mingled with the pungent stench of sulfur and acrid gunpowder smoke. Bren's forehead dripped with beaded sweat, a mixture of tension, anticipation, and terror swelling in his chest.

He shut his left eye, steadying the steel crossbow as he aimed at the gap on the bipedal wyvern's left chest. His finger rested on the trigger, prepared to pull at any moment.

At this moment, the bipedal wyvern was less than two hundred meters away from the dwarf. To it, a diving attack would only take an instant.

Bren knew he had but one chance. If he failed to hit the heart and deliver a fatal strike to the Dragon Blood monster, then his fate would almost certainly be—death!

He muttered under his breath, "Father God Moradin, grant me your blessing..."

Staring at the approaching wyvern and feeling the scorching wind rushing toward him, the dwarf's entire body tensed, his hand gripping the steel crossbow trembling slightly. His heart pounded fiercely, as though it would burst from his chest.

It was close.

Just another breath and the bipedal wyvern would be within his effective range, Bren thought to himself.

"Dwarf, I told you long ago—you will pay the price!"

From Stieg's mouth and nostrils, torrents of searing flames and steaming vapors poured forth. His golden eyes erupted with fury as he unfurled his wings, his presence overwhelming as he dove toward the dwarf, roaring mightily, "Roar——"

"Die, vile dragon!"

At that very moment, Bren let out a furious shout, decisively pulling the trigger. With the sharp "clack" sound, the taut bowstring finally released its tension!

In an instant, the dwarf steel crossbow unleashed an incredibly powerful force, sending the pitch-black Dragon Slayer Arrow tearing through the air, producing a piercing sonic boom as it hurtled toward the bipedal wyvern's left chest.

"Swish——"

Watching the black arrow rip through the sky, Bren's face lit with excitement. A strong intuition surged—the kind that only a legendary warrior would possess—telling him that the black arrow was about to hit its mark!

Indeed, as the dwarf had predicted, under his meticulous control, the black arrow seemed almost guided by an unseen eye, speeding directly toward the vulnerable gap on the wyvern's left chest.

Anticipation swelled in Bren's heart as he imagined the black arrow piercing the unprotected skin, burrowing through dense flesh, and ultimately skewering that enormous, fiery heart.

And the mighty beast before him would plummet from the skies with a resounding howl, crashing into the earth with a deafening impact...

But events did not unfold as the dwarf had envisioned.

Stieg, too, keenly sensed the danger. Yet by this point, he was too close, with no time to dodge. He could only let the black arrow fly toward his chest.

Yet upon recognizing the arrow's target, the wyvern's face twisted into a sinister smile.

"Clang——"

A metallic clash rang out through the skies as the black arrow struck the open gap on his left chest. The arrowhead twisted and deformed, while the shaft splintered into dust upon impact!

Instantly, Bren's expression turned pale with shock, his voice trembling, "How is this possible? I hit it dead-on!"

But it was too late. Stieg, engulfed in raging flames, was already closing in on the dwarf, his massive maw opening wide as ferocious fire erupted from his throat.

Bren's face crumbled in despair as he murmured, "This can't be..."

Scorching winds surged like a tsunami, and in the dwarf's final moments, dazzling flames danced in his eyes.

"Boom——"

Following that, Stieg unleashed his full fiery breath at point-blank range. The raging dragonflame surged forth, consuming the dwarf warrior and setting the entire arrow tower ablaze.

Yet the wyvern leader remembered Cassius's teachings, knowing the importance of delivering the final blow. He plunged into the inferno, his clawed forelimbs—webbed with wing membranes—swinging with tremendous force.

Sure enough, Bren was not yet dead.

The dwarf warrior now burned from head to toe, his body popping and crackling as though on the brink of explosion.

"Monster! I'll kill you——"

He let out a heart-wrenching cry as he mustered the last of his strength to lift the great sword above his head and swing it fiercely at the wyvern's skull.

Stieg countered with a sideways swipe of his forepaw, deflecting the descending great sword and sending the weapon flying. The burning dwarf was thrown backward, his body still ablaze.

But Stieg showed no mercy. He whipped his tail through the air, the sharp hooked tip slicing toward the dwarf's chest with deadly precision—

"Shrrrip!"

The sound of flesh tearing echoed grimly as the dwarf's stout, solid frame was transfixed on the spot, blood spurting uncontrollably.

Stieg's movements were seamless and ruthless, adhering strictly to the principle of eliminating threats entirely, leaving no room for resistance.

Even in his final moments, Bren's face was frozen in an expression of disbelief and bewilderment.

—He had hit the target. How had it come to naught?

Meanwhile, Stieg lowered his gaze to the gap on his left chest, a sense of relief washing over him. His admiration and reverence for Cassius surged even higher.

If that black arrow had been aimed elsewhere, it might have truly dealt him a fatal blow. But this unfortunate dwarf had targeted the left chest.

With a face full of reverence, Stieg exclaimed, "Master, your wisdom is unparalleled! You are as brilliant as you are mighty. How fortunate I am to have this fine gold armor you gifted me..."

Indeed, this was a testament to Cassius's dark sense of humor. To recreate the Stieg of his memories, he had deliberately removed a scale from the wyvern's left chest.

As compensation, however, Cassius had ordered the empire's craftsmen to embed a full plate of fine gold armor in the gap, coloring it black to seamlessly blend with the flesh.