Titan King: Ascension of the Giant

The flames burned, their sound shifting from an initial whooshing to a fierce crackling roar.

This change in sound signified that the temperature of the flames was continuously rising.

The blood mist that had been pervading the area, upon encountering this extreme heat, instantly vanished like smoke into thin air.

The demons and ghosts, baring their fangs and claws as they leaped from the blood mist, also seemed to have met their bane, being incinerated to ashes within the flames.

Orion stood upon the dragon's back, trident in hand, vigilantly guarding against any potential attacks.

Unfortunately, even by the time Leonidas's flame formation had fully taken shape, there was still no sign of the two Arch Lords.

"Bro, watch closely! Behold the might of my [Fire Dragon Formation]! Hahaha!"

Leonidas roared continuously, the fire elements around his body fluctuating violently; he was in the process of activating a magical formation.

This was no spur-of-the-moment creation by Leonidas, but rather the culmination of the groundwork laid during his flight path moments earlier.

Leonidas's trajectory through this void had been anything but random.

Orion looked back. In his field of vision, the flames Leonidas had left in his wake had not dissipated but had instead formed a continuous path of fire.

These individual flame paths pieced together to form a colossal magical formation blueprint.

At this moment, the demons and ghosts within the blood mist were rushing forward one after another, attempting to extinguish the flame paths.

Evidently, the two hidden Arch Lords had discerned the significance of this magical formation blueprint.

Regrettably for them, Leonidas had employed some unknown secret art, and the flame paths did not extinguish under the assault of the blood mist monsters.

On the contrary, the pouncing and biting of the blood mist monsters seemed to be adding fuel to the fire, causing it to burn even more fiercely.

The blood mist monsters that charged forward became naught but fuel, making the flame paths burn brighter and more intensely.

"Those flame paths can't be extinguished. Give it up!"

"The real key point should be that fire dragon."

"Only by killing him can this magical formation be interrupted."

With the blood mist monsters' attempt to extinguish the flames having failed, Arch Lord Kian gazed at Leonidas in the distance and offered this advice to Lestat.

Lestat replied, "Too late. The magical formation has already taken shape. In that case, let us see what tricks he's up to."

Lestat controlled the Dark Sacred Chalice in his hand, releasing even more blood mist.

After a moment's thought, Lestat extended a slender, pointed finger and activated a magic circle upon the chalice.

Pop!

An invisible, colorless barrier was released. If Kian hadn't been standing right beside Lestat, he would not have been able to perceive the almost imperceptible energy fluctuation.

"What's that?" Kian asked.

Lestat smirked. "Just a Dreamscape Barrier!"

"Dreamscape? Is such power effective against Over-tier powerhouses?"

"Not very effective," Lestat admitted, "but it can make them consume a bit more of their power, making it more convenient for us to strike them down later."

Lestat's face was suffused with a kind of confidence, a smug and sinister certainty that everything was under his control.

Roar!

One dragon roar followed another, and eight enormous fire dragons ascended from the Fire Dragon Formation.

The fire dragons spread their wings, appearing like eight colossal fireballs rising within this blood-mist-filled space.

Seeing the fire dragons successfully summoned, Leonidas became exceedingly excited. "Hahaha… Explode! Burn everything!"

The appearance of the eight giant fire dragons incinerated all the surrounding blood mist.

Amidst Leonidas's roars, the eight fire dragons flapped their wings and, with Leonidas at their center, began to fly in a counter-clockwise direction.

The fire dragons were incredibly fast. Wherever they passed, the void would be seared with paths of flame.

In the blink of an eye, the eight fire dragons had completed their spiraling pattern.

This blood mist space, as if it had completed a cosmic cycle, or experienced a universe-birthing big bang, saw countless torrents of flame energy erupt from an origin point.

In the distance, the Dark Sacred Chalice in Lestat's hand began to tremble violently and was dyed a fiery red.

"What a terrifying flame magical formation!" Lestat's turbid eyes revealed a hint of shock.

"This kind of power, even if our true bodies had descended, we would be unable to replicate it."

If he had known Leonidas's magical formation was so terrifying, he would have done anything to disrupt its formation earlier.

"Can your Dark Sacred Chalice withstand it?" Kian asked, looking at the now-reddened Dark Sacred Chalice, a thought of direct, forceful confrontation rising in his heart.

"Should we make our move preemptively?"

"Now is not the time!" Lestat shook his head. They had currently only forced Leonidas to reveal one of his trump cards; their opponents still retained many methods and a great deal of strength. It was not the moment for a head-on clash.

Lestat had lived for a very long time. Given his personality and style of operation, he did not fight battles he wasn't sure of winning.

In his view, the best time to strike was when the prey had been exhausted to the point of being unable to resist.

"My Dark Sacred Chalice is not as fragile as you imagine!"

After saying this, Lestat retrieved an exquisite black porcelain vial from his storage ring.

Around the mouth of the black porcelain vial was a circle of golden runes; if one didn't look closely, they might mistake it for an ordinary pattern.

The golden runes were a type of sealing method. Lestat undid the seal and poured a single drop of black blood stored within the vial into the sacred chalice.

The next moment, the crimson-red Dark Sacred Chalice was dyed black, reverting to its original appearance, and its aura became even more ancient and mysterious.

"This is…" Kian, standing beside him, stared at the drop of black blood, his eyes wide with disbelief.

Lestat confirmed, "Correct. It is God Blood, bestowed by that important figure!"

God Blood was not necessarily always golden.

If the god in question was a Reaper, then black God Blood was perfectly normal.

Kian exclaimed, "With God Blood present, perhaps we can actually kill them!"

"Killing them isn't certain," Lestat said, his expectations for the God Blood not as high as Kian's. "But at the very least, it can significantly drain their foundational power."

"If we successfully kill them, this campaign is ours," Kian mused.

"When that important figure descends, perhaps we'll even have some unexpected gains."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk…" Lestat's laughter was ancient and very sinister, carrying an unsettling, chilling quality.

Far away, within the dreamscape, within the blood mist.

The entire space around them suddenly plunged into utter darkness.

It was a pure, unadulterated darkness, so profound that even the flames upon the eight fire dragons seemed to dim noticeably.

The layer of blood mist that had constantly pervaded the surroundings also vanished without a trace.

"Be careful!" Orion was the first to notice this change and immediately warned Leonidas.

Leonidas responded, "A familiar, yet suffocating, scent!"

"Bro, we might be in trouble!"

The change in the surrounding environment needed no reminder from Orion; an old fox like Leonidas had already sensed it.

In fact, ever since the eight fire dragons had appeared, Leonidas had been constantly anticipating the enemy's countermeasure.

He just hadn't expected the enemy to be so ruthless as to use God Blood right from the outset.