The crash was even louder than the Flame Demon’s previous explosion. A large swath of trees was crushed beneath the Azure Fire Dragon’s massive body, and the billowing dust cloud conjured images of Hiroshima in 1945.

Carmen looked at Baron in silence. Baron rubbed his head, his Golden Eye fading. "I didn’t know it was that intimidating."

Carmen said, "The Red Dragon may not be one of the Dragon Kings, but its rank is on par with theirs. As the only Dragon Knight it currently acknowledges, you of all people should understand this."

Carmen glanced in the direction of the Undead Knight, confirming he wasn’t approaching yet. She then had Baron pick up Gawain and climb onto the Azure Fire Dragon’s back.

Baron dragged Gawain over to the Azure Fire Dragon. The Giant Dragon’s enormous Golden Eyes scrutinized Baron, as if trying to get a good look at the Knight acknowledged by the Red Dragon.

Then, the Giant Dragon lowered its head.

’The caste system does have its merits after all,’ Baron mused. He jumped onto the dragon’s back, only to see the Witch still looking up at him in silence from below.

The Undead Knight was charging from behind her, like a black beast that had spotted a pure white lamb.

His heart began to pound violently. Baron knew it was the Blood Covenant between him and Carmen sending a warning.

’What is the Witch doing? Why hasn’t she come up yet?’

The thought had barely crossed Baron’s mind when he saw the Witch gently spread her arms, like a cardinal opening its wings to the wind.

Her gaze was calm as she looked at Baron, holding neither plea nor expectation. Her rose-gold eyes were as ostentatiously beautiful as decorative lanterns on a theater curtain—the most difficult lanterns to comprehend. Those who couldn’t would find themselves trapped in a city of sorrow, desperately awaiting the next chance to solve the puzzle.

’Has her Spiritual Power run out?’

The instant the thought flashed through his mind, he had already scooped the Witch into his arms and leaped onto the dragon’s back.

The Azure Fire Dragon tilted its head back and let out a roar, sending the birds and beasts of the forest scattering in terror.

Its massive wings spread, and a gale gathered beneath them without a single flap.

It wasn’t so much flying by flapping its wings as it was being lifted by the gale. Its altitude climbed rapidly, and soon it was higher than the unbroken trees nearby.

By this time, the Undead Knight had reached the dragon’s head. He spread his hands, conjuring the fangs of a lion.

Then, a great fire engulfed the Knight.

The Azure Fire Dragon had unleashed a torrent of blazing flames. Unlike Baron’s Dragon Flame, its fire was silver-red like its scales—white intermingled with red, like ignited flower petals.

But things were far from over. The burning undead stomped heavily on the ground, and the earth cracked open.

He actually managed to leap onto the dragon’s back, landing in front of Baron.

His silver eyes, reflecting the flames, stared directly at the Dragon Knight.

The Dragon Knight’s gaze was wary. The two Little Flame Demons in front of him roared ferociously at the Undead Knight.

However, because their bodies were so small, they looked rather adorable.

’I’m definitely no match for him in close combat... Should I jump?’

Baron, still holding the Witch, scrambled to think of a plan... but the Undead Knight didn’t attack as he had expected.

Because his body was beginning to melt in the Azure Fire Dragon’s Dragon Flame.

The Witch patted Baron’s shoulder, signaling for the Dragon Knight to put her down.

She supported herself on Baron’s shoulder to stand up, then looked at the Undead Knight and said, "His cause of death was being burned by flames from the Fire Dragon Faction."

"The Fire Dragon Faction?"

Baron looked at the Undead Knight engulfed in flames and was reminded of the other Undead Knight he had met outside Yan Nan.

"All Giant Dragons can use Dragon Flame. Its power and effects simply differ based on their individual bloodline and Tier."

"A Fire Dragon’s Dragon Flame is tyrannical, a Snow Dragon’s is freezing, a Holy Dragon’s is pure, and the Dragon Kings’ flames each have their own unique properties..."

’So that’s how it works.’

"What’s the special property of a Red Dragon’s flame?" Baron asked curiously. ’As a Pure-blood Dragon outside of the Three Great Dragon Kings, it should have some kind of insanely cool, badass, heaven-defying property, right?’

"Absorption."

"Absorption?" Baron raised an eyebrow. "What kind of property is that?"

"I don’t know," the Witch said. "Dragon Flame is the symbol of the Dragon Race. Truly mastering it is not as simple as you might think. You might have to wait until you’ve reached the Silver Tier."

Baron: "..."

’If I’m already at the Silver Tier, do you think I’ll still be hurting for a little ball of fire like that?’

The Witch continued, "The Azure Fire Dragon is a Dragon Descendant that is closest to the Pure-blood Dragon Race. Its Dragon Flame is also the most similar to a Fire Dragon’s. The only kind of damage that can be instantly effective against a High Tier undead like this is an attack that mimics its cause of death."

"He was killed by the Dragon Flame of a Fire Dragon, or a flame similar to it."

The Witch said, "He can no longer maintain his Spiritual Power state. Go kill him."

Baron nodded. Because of the unsettling presence of the Silver Tier individual, the Azure Fire Dragon didn’t fly off rashly. It merely hovered, lifted by the gale, its silver-red body suspended over the rolling forest like a ship on a black sea.

Baron reckoned that in this situation, forget Silver Wizard Fei, even the guards on the walls of Fude City could probably see the Azure Fire Dragon and the monster standing on its back if they had good eyesight.

It was time to end it all.

He raised his gun toward the Undead Knight struggling in the fire. He pulled the trigger, and the bullet pierced the head of the monster the Undead Knight had become.

The Undead Knight suddenly stood still. The twisted Assimilation rapidly reversed, and he changed back to his human form.

He was handsome and dashing. Aside from the deathly stillness of an undead, one could imagine from his power, his good looks, and his identity as a member of the Lion Eye Knight Order that he must have been a remarkable figure in life.

Out of caution, Baron raised his gun again.

But the Undead Knight just looked at him, his face no longer holding the paranoid madness from before, but only peace.

He opened his mouth and spoke a single word. Then, just like the last Undead Knight, his body collapsed in the flames and crumbled into ash.

Baron heard it clearly. He had said a word that seemed to be a name. He said, "Fla."

Amidst the ashes where the knight had stood, Baron found an Alchemy Creation just like the Lucky Goddess Necklace the last Undead Knight had dropped—a long chain imprinted with an engraved lion pattern.

The [Glimpse of the Mysterious Crystal] gave no reaction; it wasn’t a Taboo Item.

Carmen glanced at it and said, "It looks like some kind of keepsake. Alchemy Creations that can be brought to Prole by a spirit are generally very precious."

Baron put the long chain away. At Carmen’s signal, the Azure Fire Dragon beneath them finally circled up into the sky, its roars coming one after another. The beasts of the jungle were terrified, and only a few powerful Magical Beasts dared to answer with low growls.

Baron rubbed his ears. "Can’t you make this Azure Fire Dragon shut up? I feel like our entire route is being broadcasted. That fiancé of yours is not someone to be trifled with."

He planned to hitch a ride on this convenient dragon-back express to Moon Town, while the Witch needed to leave Fude City and head for Steel City.

Apparently, she knew an Alchemist in Steel City and was going there to rest and recover her Spiritual Power.

Carmen said, "Dragons are noble creatures."

’So noble they still fall out of the sky...’

Baron grumbled internally but didn’t say it out loud. Instead, he kicked at the still heavily injured and unconscious Gawain. Seeing this, Carmen explained:

"The Alchemy Array to summon the Azure Fire Dragon requires the presence of something connected to it. I originally came to the forest just to try my luck and see if I could encounter the Azure Fire Dragon... but I didn’t expect..."

’You didn’t expect Gawain, Mr. Self-Discipline himself, to deliver himself to your doorstep, right?’

Then, as if remembering something, Baron asked, "Is it true that the Dragon God, one of the Seven Old Gods, has already fallen?"

Carmen nodded. "In the Third Law War, the Dragon God fell. Its Dragon Body was supposedly devoured and shared between the Holy One and the Mother of Suffering, two of the Seven Old Gods."

’Didn’t they say that as long as a Law doesn’t wither, a God can’t die? ...Or does eating the God prevent them from resurrecting?’

Baron said, "But last time I..."

The Witch interrupted him. "Last time, you used the Dragon God Prayer at the Underground Altar and attracted the Azure Fire Dragon. By my estimation, it was likely the hidden Red Dragon Spirit that responded to you... It used the Dragon Law to draw over the Azure Fire Dragon that was near Fude City..."

At this, the Witch’s expression grew complicated. Her look basically said, ’You’re just an ordinary Bloodless who’s decent-looking but has no other outstanding qualities, so why would you receive the favor of that great being?’

Seeing this, Baron tactfully changed the subject. "So, what about Gawain? What’s to be done with him?"