Ashen Dragon

And in the Divine Realm, Tiamat suddenly called out the name of the ancient Red Dragon.

"Kaleimas."

"Great Majesty..." The ancient Red Dragon raised its head and stepped forward.

"Today you come to serve me, remember to transform into four horns, I have a use for them."

"Yes, Majesty."

Kaleimas involuntarily shrank back, its voice somewhat trembling, with a faint pain lurking in its lower body.

The other ancient dragons showed expressions of schadenfreude. They longed for Tiamat's blessing but did not wish for this Mother Goddess's favor.

After all, with the body of the Dragon God, even in an avatar, it is not something ordinary dragons can endure.

Tiamat, however, was overjoyed, her mood bright, as if she could already envision the five-colored dragons ruling the earth in a beautiful future.

Shortly after, hoarse and low roars of the Red Dragon echoed from the Dragon Queen's sleeping chamber, the sound seemingly infused with profound agony.

....

Ashen Empire, Anzeta Great Wilderness, at the peak of Dragon Blood Mountain.

After many days, Cassius returned to the most familiar nest, tallying the gains from this journey to Hell.

"Koschech's Divine Artifact..."

The Red Dragon opened its mouth, and spat out an ancient warhammer, none other than the "Father of Frost," Matalotok.

Moreover, after Koschech's "charging," the warhammer was shrouded in a thin white mist, exuding a bone-chilling cold. If its divine power were unleashed, it could freeze a hundred-mile radius.

[Father of Frost - Matalotok]

Weapon, Warhammer

Quality: Mythical

Domain: Frost Giants, Cold, Ice, Evil, Storms

Description: Tens of thousands of years ago, Soleim, the god of Frost Giants, crafted this warhammer from one of his leg bones. During the war between dragons and giants, Matalotok froze countless powerful giant dragons.

After Soleim fell asleep, it was obtained by the Demon Lord Koschech and used as an anchor point for ascension.

"Crawl! Fall into eternal slumber in the frost—"

Equipped Effects:

Fear Not the Blizzard: When you wield Matalotok, all freezing damage is nullified, and you will not suffer from frost's harm.

Master of Ice: You can control the cold currents, summon blizzards, turning the climate to icy conditions, and even freeze time and space within a small area.

Hammer of Freezing: When you use this hammer to deal damage to an enemy, they will be affected by frost divine power, falling into states such as rigidity or freezing.

King of Giants: You can suppress the minds of Frost Giants, with those of weaker will unconditionally following your commands.

...

Browsing through the listing of effects, Cassius couldn't help but marvel: "Divine power immunity, elemental control, additional damage, mind enslavement..."

"It's truly a powerful and comprehensive artifact, but its compatibility with me is still too poor; it's such a pity."

After all, Cassius is a Red Dragon that controls flame and magma.

Ice and fire do not mix, and most of this artifact's effects are of no use to him, and might even have opposite effects.

If he could obtain an artifact left by a Fire Giant, Cassius would definitely be ecstatic.

Cassius stroked his chin: "However, this frost divine power... within the empire, there is someone, no, a dragon who could use it."

He glanced at his data panel.

[You killed the "Gesh Demon," gaining 0.3xp]

[You killed the "Berserker Demon," gaining 1.2xp]

[You killed the "Ice Demon," gaining 1.5xp]

...

Tens of thousands of messages refreshed, and these were just demons who died from the aftermath of the battle between Cassius and Koschech.

Unfortunately, for Cassius, now at nearly Demigod Level of life, the experience gained from ordinary demons was pitiful.

While the experience required to level up was astronomical.

He scrolled all the way to the bottom.

[You defeated "King of Frost Giants - Koschech (Challenge Level: 39)," gaining 300000xp]

Defeat, not kill.

It seems that Koschech's immortal essence has not been completely destroyed. His soul has returned to the Abyss and will be reborn in some dark corner of it.

"As expected of a demigod-level abyssal lord, truly hard to kill," Cassius sighed.

If not for the boost from Hell's authority, he would have been unable to defeat Koschech no matter what, considering the difference in life essence between them.

Challenge Level 39, this King of the Frost Giants is the strongest enemy Cassius has ever defeated. The divine power that froze everything still leaves him with lingering fear.

[Your total occupational level has increased to: 28]

[Your current professions are: True Dragon Sorcerer 20/Bloodscaled Fury 3/Elemental Master 4/Carved Skin Dragon 1]

Cassius fell into contemplation: "From the previous battle, it's clear that my destructive power is more than sufficient, capable of harming demigod-level foes, but my defensive abilities are truly lacking, almost turning into a glass cannon."

"Given this, I should focus on enhancing my defensive capacity and increasing my means of self-preservation."

[You choose to increase [Carved Skin Dragon] to Level 2]

Mind as Calm as Still Water: As a practitioner among the dragonkin, your mind is calm as still water, making it difficult to be disturbed by external factors. Carved Skin Dragons gain advantages against spells and effects from the School of Enchantment and the School of Illusion Magic.

Innate Armor: Through bitter cultivation, your scales have become more resilient, increasing the innate armor bonus of Carved Skin Dragons by +4.

Protective Light: Carved Skin Dragons, detached from the world, always maintain neutrality. This confidence stems from their formidable defensive strength. The carvings on their scales emit a mysterious aurora that can shield against all damage.

Invisible forces distort reality.

Cassius emits a light whistle. The golden carvings on his body begin to extend and grow more intricate and complex, exuding a bright and steady light that envelops the enormous body of the Red Dragon.

After the light fades, the surface of Cassius's body acquires a more metallic sheen, with runes gleaming brightly, as if draped in a luxurious armor.

"It seems the legacy of those Gold Dragons from the Eternal Order Realm is somewhat useful," Cassius glanced down at his own body and then looked back at the panel.

What Koschech brought him was not just an abundance of experience.

But also the ascension of achievements.

After all, Koschech held the dual identities of the King of the Frost Giants and an Abyssal Lord.

Thus, both achievements [Destroyer of Frost Giants] and [Demon Slayer] received upgrades.

The trophy for [Destroyer of Frost Giants] became the black gold color symbolizing legendary achievements, and its derivative trait [Frost Giant Slayer] also got further enhanced.

Unfortunately, unless Soleim awakens, Cassius can't find any Frost Giants that pose a threat to him, and this achievement has become somewhat trivial.

The trophy for [Demon Slayer] gradually brightened into a platinum color, with the decorations becoming more elaborate and luxurious—a symbol of mythical achievement.

Cassius could feel a tremendous force of order pouring into his chest, filling him, with silver light flickering in his vertical pupils.

Now, he can unleash an Order Returning Breath far stronger than before, easily purifying the tainted soil polluted by the Abyss.

"This trip to Hell was worthwhile, not only did I establish preliminary colonization of Aphernas, but I also enhanced my individual strength."

"But as for the Five-Colored Dragon Queen..." Cassius's expression grew serious.

The scene of Tiamat scorching Hell with dragonflame remains unforgettable for him, and time is running short—he must prevent the Dragon Queen from descending to the Material Plane.

Just then, the magic mirror inside the cave flickered continuously, and Ramp's ugly face appeared on the mirror's surface, his expression somewhat anxious.

"Master, there's an emergency. A large number of five-colored dragons are trying to forcibly invade the imperial territory. The empire's air force is intercepting them, but hasn't resorted to lethal measures."

"How many?"

"So far, there are one hundred and thirty-nine in total, mainly young and adult dragons. Most are five-colored evil dragons, but there are also rarer chromatic dragon subspecies like Purple Dragons, Brown Dragons, and Yellow Dragons."

"That many?"

Cassius couldn't help but frown.

Over a hundred True Dragons moving at once could create a large-scale dragon catastrophe like in the Dragon Berserk Period.

Even for the current Ashen Empire, dealing with such a number of True Dragons is no easy task and would certainly require mobilizing a large army.

Moreover, Cassius is reluctant to completely sever ties with the Five-Colored Dragon Clan, and even more unwilling to become an enemy that draws Tiamat's focused attention.

And besides..." Ramp paused in his speech.

"Besides what?"

Cassius was somewhat puzzled.

Ramp lowered his head and cautiously said, "Master, almost all these chromatic dragons are females, and they claim to have been ordered to come lay eggs with you."

This familiar modus operandi.

Cassius' heart sank, his mouth twitching slightly, instantly guessing the instigator of this "dragon catastrophe."

This troublesome Mother Goddess, indeed, is extremely difficult to deal with!