"Okay."
Steve made a prompt decision and nodded in agreement.
"Then let's try it. If you succeed, it will have a subversive impact on our future strategic deployment."
Muriel happily took Steve's hand.
"Come, let's go get Alex."
The two walked out of the bedroom and into the living room.
They saw Alex curled up on the sofa, a bag of potato chips in her hand, watching cartoons on TV with great interest.
"Alex."
Steve called out.
Hearing the call, Alex immediately put down the potato chips, jumped off the sofa, and ran over with a grin.
"Brother Steve, what's up?"
"Come, I'm taking you to slay a dragon."
Steve said with a smile.
"Slay a dragon? Yay!"
The little girl's eyes instantly lit up; her desire for battle and destruction made her incredibly excited.
"I'm going to tear off that big lizard's wings and roast them to eat."
"..."
Steve helplessly rubbed her head; this child's tastes were getting heavier and heavier.
"Mom, we're going out."
Steve shouted toward the kitchen.
Nicole poked her head out.
"Eh? Steve, Murie, aren't you going to eat?"
"No thanks, Mom, we have urgent business."
"Then be careful."
Nicole urged.
"Especially Steve, take good care of Murie and Alex, don't let them get bumped or bruised."
"Don't worry, Mom, we won't die, it's very safe."
Steve waved his hand and led the two beauties, one big and one small, out of the house.
Command Center.
The three of them had an unobstructed path all the way, arriving directly at the core area.
Walking into the command hall, Steve looked around but didn't see Randy.
"Has Randy not returned yet?"
Steve casually stopped a Staff Officer and asked.
"Yes, Director."
The Staff Officer stood at attention and saluted.
"The Chief just came down from the warship and is on his way back to the base."
"Good."
Steve nodded and led the two women to the very center.
"Murie, let's try it first."
Steve looked at Muriel with a serious expression.
"I will guide your soul into the body prepared for you in that world. Remember, do not resist the pulling force, just follow it."
"Mm-hmm, I'm ready."
Muriel lay inside somewhat excitedly, took a deep breath, and closed her eyes.
Steve didn't waste words and immediately began guiding Muriel's soul through himself.
Fantasy World, deep within the Malbik Sea.
In the pitch-black, icy seabed, three terrifying shadows as massive as mountains were quietly lurking.
Their countless tentacles drifted slowly in the seawater, emitting a suffocatingly evil aura.
Buzz!
Two soul fluctuations descended instantly.
Steve and Alex skillfully took over the bodies of two Abyssal Condensers.
Giant compound eyes opened, flickering with a ghostly blue light.
"Brother, I'm in."
Alex's voice came through the mental link.
Steve controlled his body to move a bit, then turned his gaze toward the Abyssal Condenser in the middle that hadn't moved at all.
"What's going on? Not awake yet?"
Steve felt a slight worry in his heart.
"Is it because the soul attribute of an angel conflicts too much with this kind of abyssal monster, causing the fusion to fail?"
Just as he was about to forcibly cut the connection to check the situation—
Boom!
A sudden change occurred!
The Abyssal Condenser in the middle, which was originally pitch-black, slimy, and full of Cthulhu-esque style, suddenly trembled violently.
Following that, a burst of golden light, brilliant to the extreme, actually shot out from beneath its ugly skin.
It was as if a blazing sun was awakening inside, forcibly tearing apart the dark outer shell.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle!
The originally pitch-black tentacles began to lose their color, turning into translucent, divine tentacles flowing with golden holy radiance.
And what shocked Steve the most was—
Puchi! Puchi!
Accompanied by the sound of space tearing, four pairs of giant feathered wings actually grew out of the Abyssal Condenser's massive, bloated back.
The four wings on the left were as black as ink, while the four wings on the right were as white as snow.
The eight wings spread out together, blotting out the sun.
The originally nauseating image of an Chaos God became holy and majestic at this moment, filled with a bizarre contradiction that was perfectly fused.
"Holy crap..."
Steve's giant compound eyes nearly popped out, and he couldn't help but swear.
"What's the situation?"
"Wow!"
Beside him, Alex was even more excited, her tentacles dancing wildly.
"Sister Mi is so amazing, the big squid actually grew wings, and it even glows."
At this time, the mutated Abyssal Condenser slowly opened its eyes.
They were no longer compound eyes, but a pair of giant, heterochromatic pupils: the left eye was the Abyss, and the right eye was Heaven.
An aura several times more terrifying than the sixth rank instantly swept through the entire sea area, even pressing the seawater down by several hundred meters.
Steve stared blankly at this massive entity before him, which was filled with ominousness and eeriness yet bore holy, purifying wings; only one absurd thought remained in his mind.
"What is this? Angel Cthulhu? Or... Holy Light Old One?"
"Just what kind of monster has been created?"
As the light withdrew, Muriel's massive body floated quietly between the sea and the sky.
She slowly raised her more than one thousand tentacles flowing with golden holy radiance, feeling the vast power within her body.
"So strong."
Muriel's voice rang directly in the minds of Steve and Alex through the mental link, carrying an undisguised shock.
"The structure of this body is simply a miracle. I feel my heart of the angel reacting wonderfully with this body's Abyssal Core."
"Abyssal Gaze."
With a thought from Muriel, light flowed within those giant heterochromatic pupils.
"With the enhancement of angelic power, it has mutated into Holy Light Scrutiny and Fallen Judgment. The former can pull an enemy's soul into an endless purgatory of light to be scorched, while the latter can directly detonate the sin and fear within an enemy's heart, causing soul-level collapse."
"Good grief."
Listening to Muriel's description, Steve couldn't help but marvel in his heart.
"Is this the benefit of cultivating both light and darkness? One skill directly splits into two even more insane advanced skills."
"Since we've adapted well enough, let's not keep that big lizard waiting."
Steve controlled his Abyssal Condenser, waving a giant tentacle and pointing north.
"Let's go and slay that seventh-rank Flame Dragon."
"Okay!"
"Charge!"
Alex and Muriel responded simultaneously.
Boom!
The three massive entities exerted their power at the same time; the sea surface instantly exploded into three giant craters, and millions of tons of seawater were thrown into the sky, turning into a rainstorm.
Three terrifying figures that blotted out the sun, carrying the momentum of wind and thunder, broke the sound barrier and sped straight toward the direction of Dragon Island.
Dragon Island, outer sea area.
This was originally a vibrant sea area, but ever since the Flame Dragon occupied this place, the surrounding seawater had been boiling year-round.
But at this moment, the place was unusually quiet.
In the sky, dense black dots covered the entire island like dark clouds; it was the Zombie army.
They had long since surrounded Dragon Island so tightly that not even a drop of water could trickle through.
On the ground, statuesque obsidian Iron Golems, strengthened by source crystals, stood tall, blocking all ground escape routes.
"They're here."
Randy, controlling a Fifth-Order Zombie, watched the three terrifying storms rapidly approaching on the distant horizon, a flash of excitement in his eyes.
"All forces on alert! Prevent the dragons from breaking out. Leave the stage to them."
As soon as he finished speaking—
Buzz!
Three Abyssal Condensers, each over a thousand meters tall, descended upon Dragon Island with a suffocating pressure!
"Is this the might of the Seventh-Order?"
Steve stood high above, looking down at the massive volcano below that was belching thick black smoke.
Even from such a distance, he could feel the scorching heat inside the crater—a terrifying vitality that seemed capable of incinerating the heavens.
"Let's go, we're up."
Without the slightest hesitation, Steve took the lead, maneuvering his Abyssal Condenser to press downward.
Alex and Muriel followed close behind.
As the three of them descended above the crater, Steve suddenly spoke through the mental link.
"Alex, don't be in a hurry to attack. Use your Twin Dread Domain to replicate us as well."
If they were going to fight, they would do it thoroughly. While three-on-one was stable, six-on-one would bring true despair.
"Okay!"
Alex responded excitedly.
Buzz!
A wave of ink-black Ghost Domain energy instantly centered on Alex and rippled outward frantically, enveloping Steve and Muriel in the blink of an eye.
Sizzle!
Space began to warp as black mist condensed and restructured wildly beside the three of them.
Within a few breaths, three black figures—identical to the originals and radiating the same terrifying aura—slowly emerged from the void.
These were the Abyssal Condensers replicated by Alex's Twin Dread Domain.
Although they lacked true intelligence, could only follow Alex's commands, and lacked special enhancements like the heart of the angel, they still possessed genuine peak Sixth-Order physical strength and abyssal instincts.
For a moment, six terrifying demon gods that blotted out the sun occupied the skies over Dragon Island.
Their thousand-meter-long tentacles intertwined in the air, completely swallowing the light over the entire island.
Deep within the crater of Dragon Island.
Magma churned and heat waves billowed.
A dragon over five hundred meters long, its body covered in crimson crystalline scales, lay curled in sleep within the magma pool.
Every breath it took caused violent tides in the magma.
This was the top of the world's food chain: the Seventh-Order Flame Dragon.
Suddenly.
Its tightly closed eyes snapped open.
They were golden vertical pupils, now filled with shock, suspicion, and rage.
"Roar?"
It felt it.
Six—a full six—unconcealed, terrifying auras full of malice and greed had descended over its head, and every single one made it feel threatened.
"What are these things? How dare you trespass into my domain?"
Boom!
The volcano erupted completely.
A pillar of magma hundreds of meters wide shot into the sky. Within that pillar, the massive form of the Flame Dragon, carrying a world-ending draconic pressure, broke through the mountain and soared into the clouds.
"Roar!"
An earth-shaking dragon roar echoed through the world, the sound waves turning into a physical shockwave that instantly shattered the surrounding clouds.
However.
When the Flame Dragon reached the high altitude and saw the scene before it, its peerless roar came to a screeching halt.
It was stunned.
In every direction, six bizarre-looking, thousand-meter-class monsters covered in tentacles and radiating a thick abyssal aura were staring at it fixedly with countless compound eyes.
That look was like a pack of hungry wolves staring at a piece of fat meat.
"What kind of monsters are you?"
The Flame Dragon spoke in human tongue, its voice rolling out with a hint of irrepressible astonishment.
"Abyssal species? How could six Abyssal Lords appear on this continent at the same time?"
Dragon flame gathered at its mouth, ready to be spewed at any moment, and its scales stood on end.
Steve had no interest in answering the Flame Dragon's question.
On the other hand, Muriel, even in a different body, still possessed that bone-deep, short-tempered nature of an exorcist.
"Why so much nonsense?"
Muriel's voice transmitted through that massive body, sounding exceptionally grand and cold.
"Die!"
Boom!
Muriel had already charged out.
The eight wings on the back of the special Abyssal Condenser she controlled snapped open.
The four wings on the left, originally ink-black, remained as they were, radiating a fallen aura.
But the four wings on the right were instantly ignited by brilliant holy light, transforming into pure wings of light.
Sanctity and depravity coexisted perfectly in this moment.
"Those wings..."
A flash of bewilderment crossed the Flame Dragon's massive eyes.
"This aura... you're from the Angel Clan?"
As an ancient creature that had lived for thousands of years, it naturally recognized those iconic wing energy fluctuations.
"But your appearance..."
The Flame Dragon looked at the giant squid before it, covered in tentacles and dripping with slime; it couldn't possibly associate it with those pure, holy, beautiful-faced bird-people.
"When did the Angel Clan develop such heavy tastes? Or are you conducting some forbidden fusion experiment?"
Alarm bells rang in the Flame Dragon's heart. An abyssal monster with angelic power was definitely harder to deal with than a simple Abyssal Lord.
"Accept your judgment, beast."
Muriel couldn't be bothered to explain.
Buzz!
Upon her massive body, countless compound eyes simultaneously lit up with a piercing golden light.
Holy Light Scrutiny.
In an instant, it was as if only this one color remained in the world.
Beams of materialized golden light shot out from every eye on Muriel's body, converging in the air into a magnificent, solemn golden cage radiating endless pressure. Moving faster than the speed of light, it directly enveloped the soul and body of the Flame Dragon.
"Is this... a mental attack?"
The Flame Dragon felt its vision blur, and the surrounding scene underwent a world-shaking change.
Mental Domain: Judgment Space.
The sky vanished, the sea vanished, and even the familiar fire elements around its body vanished.
The Flame Dragon discovered to its horror that it was bound upon a colossal Dragon Execution Platform made entirely of white jade.
The platform felt as heavy as billions of tons, inscribed with countless holy runes specifically targeting the dragon race.
Clang-clang-clang!
Four thick chains of holy light appeared out of thin air, tightly locking its limbs and wings, pinning its proud, massive body to the platform like livestock waiting for slaughter.
"Roar! Let me go! What kind of illusion is this?"
The Flame Dragon struggled frantically. Dragon flames gushed from its mouth, yet they were completely unable to burn through those materialized chains of holy light.
And right in front of it...
Countless blurred phantoms of angels dressed in white robes stood quietly in the void. Their hands were clasped in prayer, and they chanted a solemn holy hymn of judgment.
Above the group of angels, a ten-thousand-foot-tall phantom of a six-winged angel slowly emerged.
She held a golden holy sword several kilometers long and stared expressionlessly at the dragon below.
"You are guilty."
A grand voice echoed throughout the entire mental space.
"Today, in the name of light, I sentence you to death."
Buzz!
The golden holy sword was slowly raised, its tip pointing directly at the Flame Dragon's neck.
The shadow of death was so real it was suffocating.
"No! I am the Flame Dragon! I am the sovereign of flames! No one can judge me!"
The Flame Dragon felt an unprecedented crisis.
It knew that if it were slain in the mental world, its real self would also die instantly.
"Roar!!"
At the critical moment of life and death, the Flame Dragon completely erupted.
Its terrifying seventh-tier dragon soul burned to the extreme at this moment.
"Dragon Language Magic: Soul Roar!"
A crimson soul storm, centered on the Flame Dragon's consciousness, exploded within this pure white mental space.
Crack! Crack!
Cracks began to appear on the indestructible chains of holy light.
"Shatter for me!"
The Flame Dragon roared, unleashing thousands of years of accumulated dragon pressure and mental power without reservation, clashing head-on with the descending holy sword.
Rumble!
The mental world collapsed instantly.
Fantasy World.
Muriel's massive body, suspended in the air, jolted violently. Several of her compound eyes actually burst open, spilling golden blood.
But her arm was instantly restored by the potion's effect.
Steve watched from the side. It didn't even trigger the Totem of Undying? It seemed the opponent wasn't that strong.
Now Steve judged an opponent's strength based on two things: their performance and whether they could destroy a Totem of Undying in one hit.
"Such a strong mental backlash..."
Muriel thought to herself.
"As expected of a seventh-tier dragon, it actually forced its way through the Holy Light Gaze."
On the other side...
The Flame Dragon wasn't faring well either.
Although it had broken free from the mental control, its entire body swayed violently in the air. It bled from its seven orifices, and its once majestic golden pupils were now bloodshot and looked exceptionally hideous.
"Damn monster..."
The Flame Dragon gasped for breath, its head throbbing as if it were about to split open.
"Since you're looking for death, then none of you shall live."
"Purgatory."
Boom!
Centered on the Flame Dragon, the sea for a hundred miles around boiled instantly.
Endless pillars of lava and fire gushed from the seabed, and the clouds in the sky were burned crimson.
Countless massive lava meteors formed out of thin air, carrying an aura of world destruction as they smashed indiscriminately toward the six surrounding Abyssal Condensers.
"Do it, don't give it a chance to breathe."
Seeing this, Steve stopped watching the show.
"Alex, you go too. Use your tentacles to lock it down; don't let it escape."
"Received."
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The remaining five Abyssal Condensers moved simultaneously.
Steve controlled the main body. Thousands of tentacles hardened instantly, turning into a sky full of black spears. Braving the rain of fire from the Purgatory, they stabbed fiercely at the dragon.
In the next second, the main body and three clones controlled by Alex—a total of four massive Abyssal Condensers—moved at the same time!
Whoosh!
Thousands of thick, pitch-black, viscous tentacles rose into the sky from four base points, rapidly weaving and interlacing in the air.
Within just a few breaths, an airtight sky-net of tentacles covering dozens of square kilometers was formed.
This net enveloped the Flame Dragon's massive body, as well as Steve and Muriel, forming an isolated coliseum that belonged only to them.
"Roar? What the hell is this?"
The Flame Dragon's massive body slammed into the net woven from countless tentacles, but it felt like hitting an extremely elastic wall of flesh.
The terrifying impact was absorbed instantly, failing to budge it in the slightest.
"Is this... am I trapped?"
In the moment it was stunned, Alex's second wave of attacks arrived.
Abyssal Gaze.
Buzz!
The thousands of compound eyes of the four Abyssal Condensers lit up simultaneously with an eerie light that made the soul tremble!
Four distinct yet kindred terrifying mental shocks slammed fiercely from four directions into the Flame Dragon's soul barrier without any blind spots.
"Aow!"
The Flame Dragon let out a shrill scream.
The intense pain caused its consciousness to go blank for a short moment. Its massive dragon head thrashed wildly in the air, trying to escape this soul-level torture.
"Now's the time."
Steve seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
He controlled the Abyssal Condenser, and over a thousand tentacles were instantly covered in a layer of crystal-clear frost. The originally slimy surfaces of the tentacles even formed countless sharp ice crystal barbs.
Whistle!
Over a thousand frost whips, carrying temperatures low enough to freeze the air, lashed down fiercely from above onto the Flame Dragon's massive body.
Sizzle!
The collision of ice and fire erupted into a sky full of steam.
The Dragon Flame on the surface of the dragon's body, which was hot enough to melt everything, actually extinguished at a visible speed under these absolute-zero lashes.
The ice crystal barbs mercilessly tore through its hard dragon scales, injecting extreme cold energy into its flesh and slowing its self-healing ability.
"It's my turn."
A cold killing intent flashed in Muriel's eyes.
She controlled that eight-winged Angel Cthulhu, and thousands of tentacles were instantly wrapped in a thick layer of dark power.
It was no longer simple blackness, but a corruptive power that seemed capable of eroding everything.
Fallen Judgment.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Over a thousand black tentacles tainted with the power of corruption drilled precisely into the wounds Steve had just torn open.
"Roar!"
The Flame Dragon once again let out a roar even more miserable than before.
If Steve's attack was a dual strike of physical and magical force, then Muriel's attack was a poison that struck directly at the origin of the soul.
The dark power seeped frantically into its body through the wounds, corroding its vitality, polluting its dragon soul, and even making it feel like its power was being assimilated and absorbed.
"Damn it, this is dark power!"
The Flame Dragon's huge eyes were filled with horror.
"Are you... a Fallen Angel? Why? Why would an angel's power appear on such an abyssal monster? What on earth are you angels doing?"
An intense sense of crisis drove it completely mad.
No longer caring about its injuries, it desperately twisted its body and violently slammed against the weakest point of the tentacle cage, attempting to break free from this prison.
However, Alex had already anticipated its move.
BOOM!!!
The Flame Dragon's head slammed heavily into the fleshy wall woven from hundreds of tentacles. The entire cage shook violently but ultimately stubbornly withstood the impact.
"Trying to run? No way."
Alex's voice echoed across the battlefield.
Immediately after, the four Abyssal Condensers that formed the prison extended their remaining thousands of arms.
"Brothers and sisters, let's get it!"
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
Faced with the thousands of tentacles stabbing in from all directions, leaving no blind spots, the already grievously wounded Flame Dragon could no longer mount any effective resistance.
Its dragon scales were easily pierced, its flesh mercilessly torn, its draconic flames utterly suppressed... It was like prey entangled by countless giant pythons, forced to watch helplessly as its life force drained away madly, slowly falling amidst endless pain and despair.
A few minutes later.
KABOOM!
With an earth-shattering roar, the Flame Dragon's massive body crashed heavily onto the rim of Dragon Island's volcanic crater, stirring up a sky full of volcanic ash.
Its wounds were deep enough to reveal bone, and golden dragon blood flowed out.
Those once-majestic golden eyes now brimmed with weakness and resentment.
Three Abyssal Condensers slowly descended before it, their immense shadows completely enveloping it.
"If you're going to kill me, then kill me..."
The Flame Dragon gasped for breath, its voice hoarse.
As a proud seventh-order dragon, it was prepared for death.
Muriel's voice was icy cold. A tentacle entwined with dark power rose high, aimed at the dragon's head.
"Enough nonsense. I'll send you on your way right now."
"Murie, wait."
Just as the tentacle was about to strike, Steve suddenly spoke up to stop her.
"Steve, what's wrong?"
Muriel turned her enormous head in confusion, asking with puzzlement.
"Shouldn't we kill this evil dragon?"
"It should indeed be killed."
Steve nodded, but then his tone shifted, becoming somewhat meaningful.
"But killing it outright would be too wasteful."
He patiently explained, guiding her.
"Murie, think about it. This dragon is a seventh-order existence. The energy contained within its dragon blood is immense. If we could keep it alive and continuously extract its blood to strengthen ourselves, wouldn't we gain greater power to end more, and even stronger, darkness in this world?"
Steve clearly understood that Muriel had been raised on the principle of eradicating evil and defending righteousness; she had zero tolerance for wicked creatures.
To persuade her, he had to approach it from the angle of serving a greater good.
"This..."
Muriel was stunned.
She thought about it. That seemed to make sense?
Killing a seventh-order dragon only yielded a corpse.
But if they kept it penned, treating it as a renewable resource, they could obtain seventh-order level energy continuously.
"Anyway, this evil dragon is completely subdued now and can't cause any more trouble."
"Hmm... Okay!"
Muriel retracted the tentacle and nodded seriously.
"We'll listen to Steve. For the sake of a greater justice, we'll let it live a while longer."
Upon hearing this, the Flame Dragon was immediately stunned. It didn't know what awaited it if kept alive, but it certainly wouldn't be good. So it immediately said,
"Just kill me already! Don't you angels just kill directly? Why keep me alive?"
Muriel immediately controlled one tentacle to lash out, striking it directly on the head.
"None of your business."
The massive Abyssal Condenser, with its thousands of thick tentacles, tightly bound the Flame Dragon's five-hundred-meter-long body.
Despite the dragon's desperate struggles, the previous beating combined with the current Abyssal restraints made it impossible to break free.
"Let's go."
With a thought from Steve, the massive form, carrying the Flame Dragon, headed straight for the enormous Portal leading to Zombie World.
Hum!
Time and space shifted, light and shadow interwove.
When the scene before them cleared again, the sights of a modern cityscape emerged.
Zombie World, Biological Research Institute square.
The Abyssal Condenser released its tentacles, slamming the Flame Dragon heavily onto the square's ground, shaking the entire base three times over.
The Flame Dragon raised its head in disarray. Its weak golden pupils scanned the surroundings.
In its field of vision were towering skyscrapers, countless busy, oddly-shaped green creatures, and strange beings riding white ghosts occasionally flying through the sky.
The rules and aura here were completely different from the world it knew.
"This place... isn't the original world..."
The Flame Dragon's voice was raspy, tinged with a trace of terror.
"The elemental power here is so thin... You aren't from that world at all. Who exactly are you?"
As a seventh-order being that had lived for thousands of years, it instantly realized the severity of the situation.
These guys actually possessed the ability to cross planes.
However, faced with its interrogation, no one present had the spare energy to humor the ravings of a prisoner.
"Hold it down."
Steve controlled the Abyssal Condenser. Thousands of tentacles once again firmly pressed down on the Flame Dragon's limbs and wings, pinning it spread-eagled on the ground.
Then, Steve's mental power connected to the interior of the Research Institute.
"Old Yun, the goods have arrived. You can start drawing blood."
"Coming, coming!"
George Cooper, controlling a Villager, rushed out with a large group of researchers, his face filled with fervor.
Looking at the massive red dragon as large as a mountain before him, George Cooper was extremely excited.
"So this is a seventh-order dragon? A perfect biological structure. These scales, these muscle lines... it's truly a gift from heaven."
George Cooper marveled while gesturing to give orders.
"Quickly, Blood Collection Team One, get in position. Bring out the drilling rig. We must extract the most active heart-blood."
"Yes!"
As the order was given, over a dozen massive blood collection devices, built from high-strength alloy like cranes, rumbled over.
The thick needles, as wide as an adult's arm, glinted coldly, aimed at the position of the Flame Dragon's neck artery.
"You want to draw my blood?"
Though suppressed, the dignity of the dragon race made the Flame Dragon let out a scornful, maniacal laugh.
"Hahaha, dream on! My dragon scales are an absolute defense tempered by the heart of the earth's magma. Even a seventh-order being cannot easily pierce them. With your pile of scrap metal?"
Zzzzt!
As soon as it finished speaking, the drill's high-speed bit slammed hard into its dragon scales.
Sparks flew everywhere.
However, just as the Flame Dragon had said, those crimson crystalline scales were indeed tough.
The bit, capable of drilling through diamond, spun wildly against them but couldn't even leave a white scratch. Instead, after a few seconds, the bit overheated and snapped directly.
"Snap!"
The broken bit flew out and smashed into a nearby wall.
"Hahaha, a bunch of ants! Without psychic power, what are you? I'll stand here and let you hit me, and you still can't break my defense."
The Flame Dragon mocked arrogantly.
George Cooper's face darkened.
"This dragon's hide is too hard. Physical methods won't work?"
"I'll do it."
Muriel, who had been hovering nearby, spoke coldly.
She controlled the terrifying figure with eight wings of light and darkness on its back, instantly teleporting to the Blood Extraction Machine.
"Hard shell?"
There was no fluctuation in Muriel's heterochromatic pupils as a tentacle slowly rose.
Hum!
On that tentacle, the original holy golden light instantly faded, replaced by an extremely dense dark power.
It was a method from the Fallen Angel lineage, specifically used to corrode holiness and sturdiness.
"Slap!"
The tentacle whipped out like a lash, striking hard against the Flame Dragon's neck scales.
A sizzling corrosion sound rang out.
Where the tentacle made contact, the originally indestructible crimson dragon scales, which even the drill couldn't penetrate, began to visibly blacken, soften, and finally melt into a pool of black liquid that dripped down.
"Awoo!"
The Flame Dragon, which had been so arrogant just moments before, instantly let out a pig-slaughter-like scream.
That dark power didn't just corrode the scales; it directly eroded its flesh and nerves, causing pain a hundred times more intense than being cut by a blade.
"Break!"
Expressionless, Muriel exerted force with the tentacle again, completely tearing open the already corroded and softened area, revealing the pulsating large blood vessel inside.
"It can be inserted now."
She said to the nearby researchers.
"Good."
George Cooper and the others snapped back to reality and quickly directed a new Blood Extraction Machine forward.
Squelch!
This time, the specially made alloy needle pierced smoothly into the dragon's neck blood vessel.
Gurgle!
The tube instantly filled with scalding golden dragon blood, continuously drawn into the giant storage tank beside it.
"Ahhh, you... you devils."
The Flame Dragon no longer had any of its previous arrogance. As a large amount of its essence blood was lost, it felt an unprecedented weakness sweep through its entire body.
The feeling of having its power slowly drained from its body was more terrifying than death.
"That's about enough. Don't drain it to death."
Steve, seeing the Flame Dragon's aura rapidly weakening and even its eyes becoming unfocused, called a timely stop.
"Stop."
George Cooper immediately pressed the stop button.
By now, several huge glass tanks nearby were filled with still-boiling, bubbling golden dragon blood, emitting astonishing energy fluctuations.
"Feed it medicine."
Steve ordered.
Several Endermen immediately teleported over carrying crates of healing potions and regeneration potions, roughly pried open the Flame Dragon's mouth, and poured them in bottle by bottle like water.
Gurgle gurgle... As the potions went down, the Flame Dragon's originally depleted vitality miraculously began to recover.
Wounds healed, blood production functions were forcibly stimulated. Although its spirit remained listless, its life was preserved.
Flame Dragon: "..."
It was completely dumbfounded.
What was this?
Beat it half to death, drain its blood, and then heal it?
Were they going to treat it like a milk cow, repeating this endlessly, squeezing it dry forever?
A fear deeper than death enveloped this proud giant dragon.
At the same time.
Seeing the dragon blood extraction was complete, Steve didn't linger.
Steve's consciousness instantly withdrew from the Abyssal Condenser's body, traversed space, and directly descended onto the Ender Dragon, which was currently parked on the rooftop helipad of the Research Institute.
"Roar!"
The black dragon suddenly opened its eyes, purple dragonfire churning deep in its throat.
Steve controlled the Ender Dragon, flapped its wings, leaped down from the rooftop, and landed steadily in the center of the square, in front of the tanks filled with dragon blood.
At this moment, Muriel also controlled the Abyssal Condenser to step aside, curiously observing this black dragon whose size, though not as large as the Flame Dragon's, had an extremely eerie aura.
"Is that the monster Steve mentioned that needs strengthening?"
Muriel thought to herself.
"The soul fluctuations are completely Steve's. It must be this one."
Meanwhile, the Flame Dragon, pretending to be dead on the ground, opened a slit of an eye.
When it saw that black dragon, only about a hundred meters long with an aura at most at the fifth rank, its originally ashen heart suddenly ignited with an inexplicable fury.
"Bastard..."
It cursed inwardly.
"So that's why you drained my blood! You're raising a low-rank trash dragon yourselves and want to use my noble seventh-rank true dragon blood to feed this hybrid?"
This was the greatest insult to the dragon race.
"Hey, that little black lizard."
The Flame Dragon couldn't help but mock.
"You think you can absorb my true blood? Be careful you can't handle it and explode on the spot. A low-grade bloodline like yours isn't worthy..."
Slap!
Before it could finish, a pitch-black tentacle whipped over like lightning, striking hard on its dragon mouth.
"Oof!"
The Flame Dragon's head was knocked sideways, two dragon teeth sent flying.
Steve slowly turned his head, those purple dragon eyes coldly staring at it, his voice transmitted through psychic power.
"Draining your blood isn't taking your life. Why so worked up?"
"If you keep talking nonsense, I'll have Alex pull out your other half of teeth too."
Beside them, Alex cooperatively waved a tentacle, her clear laughter ringing out psychically.
"Yes, yes! I want to pull teeth."
The Flame Dragon trembled all over, immediately shut its mouth, and buried its head in its wings, pretending to be dead.
These people are too inhumane.
Strengthening begins.
Steve controlled the Ender Dragon, walking up to those huge blood tanks.
The golden dragon blood emitted scorching high temperatures. Even through the glass, one could feel the violent fire elements and dragon essence contained within.
"Old Yun, how do we handle this dragon blood? Inject it directly?"
Steve inquired.
George Cooper shook his head, his expression serious.
"No, the Flame Dragon is a fire-attribute physical creature, while your Ender Dragon is a void-attribute special creature. Their life forms are too different. Direct injection could easily cause rejection reactions, even lead to genetic collapse."
"My suggestion is to devour and absorb it."
George Cooper pointed at the dragon blood.
"Let the Ender Dragon use its special void attribute to decompose and purify this dragon blood through consumption, absorbing only the life essence and dragon origin, while expelling impurities with conflicting attributes. Although the utilization rate will be lower, it's safer."
"Good."
Steve nodded.
Under the operation of the mechanical arm, several large jars of golden dragon blood were poured into a specially made giant feeding trough.
Steve lowered his dragon head, looked at the churning golden blood, and took a deep breath.
"Come on, let me see how nourishing seventh-tier dragon blood really is."
Gulp! Gulp!
The Ender Dragon swallowed mouthfuls of the scalding dragon blood.
As the dragon blood entered its stomach, an extremely domineering heat flow instantly exploded within the Ender Dragon's body.
"Roar..."
Steve felt as if all the scales on his body were about to melt, the pain akin to being in purgatory.
But he gritted his teeth and held on, controlling the void power within the Ender Dragon's body, frantically decomposing and suppressing this violent external energy.
White smoke began to rise from the Ender Dragon's pitch-black surface—the expelled impurities.
At the same time, a newly born, powerful force began to flow through its bones and muscles.
Dark golden patterns actually started to appear on the originally pitch-black scales.
Its aura was steadily rising.
"Not enough, more."
A flash of ruthlessness appeared in Steve's eyes as he accelerated the speed of consumption.
At that moment, Alex, who had been watching from the side, worriedly tugged on Muriel's tentacle.
"Sister, do you think Brother can successfully absorb it? That blood looks so hot, will Brother be okay?"
Although Muriel controlled the massive Abyssal Condenser, her voice remained gentle and firm.
"Of course he can."
"You must believe in your Brother Steve."
Muriel gazed at the black dragon undergoing transformation.
She wasn't very worried.
On one hand, because this body wasn't Steve's true form—even if it exploded, Steve's soul could withdraw at any time without truly dying.
On the other hand... her gaze penetrated the Ender Dragon's appearance, seeing a dazzling golden light protecting its core within the black body.
That light didn't come from the dragon blood but from the depths of Steve's soul.
"That is..."
Muriel's heart stirred.
"That is the power of the heart of faith."
"I can feel that the heart of faith is helping him sort out that violent energy, forcibly suppressing and fusing those conflicting attributes."
"Since my heart of the angel can function in these controlled bodies, then the heart of faith, also a nascent divinity, naturally can too."
"With the protection of the heart of faith, this evolution... will surely succeed."
A terrifying pressure filled the air.
In front of the massive specially made container, the Ender Dragon controlled by Steve was undergoing an unprecedented transformation.
The originally pitch-black dragon body was now trembling violently.
The domineering blood of the seventh-tier Flame Dragon rampaged within its body, trying to completely incinerate this low-dimensional vessel.
"Roar"
A pained low roar squeezed out from the depths of the Ender Dragon's throat.
At this critical moment, the heart of faith deep within Steve's soul suddenly beat once.
Thump!
A sacred, majestic, all-encompassing golden ripple instantly poured into the Ender Dragon's body through the soul link without any hindrance.
The golden power of faith, like a pair of gentle hands, instantly soothed those violent dragon blood.
Not only did it not reject this external force, but it used its own high-level nature to forcibly strip the trace of Fire Law from the Flame Dragon's blood, then bit by bit integrated it into the Ender Dragon's Void Origin.
A strange warmth replaced the previous burning sensation.
Immediately after, astonishing changes began.
"Crack! Crack!"
The Ender Dragon's originally pitch-black, smooth scales began to thicken, with sharp, red-crystal-like barbs growing at the edges.
Dark red magma-like patterns spread across its spine, wings, and limbs.
Its body size didn't expand limitlessly as before but instead slightly shrank from around a hundred meters, becoming more compact.
Boom!
The pair of huge dragon wings on its back suddenly spread open; the wing membranes were no longer pure black but showed a translucent dark red hue.
Its aura broke through the critical point at this moment.
Fifth-tier peak... sixth-tier... until sixth-tier, the rising momentum slowly ceased.
"Huff."
The newly born Ender Dragon slowly lowered its head, exhaling two streams of purple smoke from its nostrils.
Everyone was stunned.
It possessed both the eeriness and mystery of a void creature and the ferocity and heat of the Flame Dragon.
Two completely different forces achieved perfect symbiosis under the mediation of the heart of faith.
"Test its power."
Steve thought to himself.
"Roar!!!"
The Crimson Lotus Ender Dragon opened its fang-filled maw, with light blazing deep in its throat.
Boom!
A thick dragon breath surged out.
It was no longer pure purple particles but a purple void torrent entwined with dark red flames.
The dragon breath struck the distant testing ground; the specially made alloy floor, capable of withstanding a nuclear explosion, was instantly corroded into a hole dozens of meters in diameter.
Even more terrifying, the edges of the hole didn't cool but instead burned with an inextinguishable purple flame.
"Good, excellent."
Steve looked at this terrifying destructive power, extremely satisfied.
The power of this casual strike was already no less than a full-force attack from an ordinary sixth-tier.
He turned his huge dragon head to look at George Cooper beside him.
"Old Yun, let me handle the Ender Dragon's enhancement absorption from now on. My heart of faith can perfectly sort out the heterogeneous energy within the body—not only efficient but also without side effects."
"No problem."
George Cooper excitedly recorded the data.
"This is practically a perfect evolution template. With enough high-tier blood, we could even push it to that mythical legendary realm."
Beside them, the Flame Dragon, bound on the ground, was completely dumbfounded.
Its huge golden pupils were filled with the words 'this doesn't make sense.'
"Impossible, absolutely impossible..."
The Flame Dragon muttered to itself, its voice full of self-doubt.
"How could you absorb my blood? That's noble seventh-tier true dragon blood. A lowly creature like you should have exploded directly—how could you perfectly fuse it and even evolve Crimson Lotus Flames?"
It couldn't accept it.
This was as absurd as an ant swallowing an elephant, not only not bursting but growing elephant tusks.
"No, this must be an illusion."
The Flame Dragon frantically twisted its body.
"Despicable creature, spit my blood out now."
Whack!
Before it could go berserk, a thick tentacle shimmering with sacred golden light struck its head hard.
"Enough with the nonsense."
Muriel's voice was cold and authoritative.
"Did I give you permission to speak? Shut up."
After that blow, the Flame Dragon became much more subdued, but the resentment in its eyes remained undiminished.
At that moment, Muriel seemed to suddenly think of something and turned to look at Steve, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"Steve, it seems there have always been more than just this one dragon on this continent. They've been relying on their strength to wreak havoc everywhere, plundering treasures. If we capture them all, drain their blood, and feed it to your dragon, wouldn't your body become even stronger?"
"By then, you might even break through to the Seventh Tier, or even higher."
The more Muriel spoke, the more feasible it seemed. Her heterochromatic eyes were filled with eager, murderous intent.
Immediately, she manipulated the tentacle again, tightening it around the Flame Dragon's neck, and demanded.
"Hey! Stop playing dead! Tell me the whereabouts of the other dragons. I know you dragons must have connections among yourselves."
"Cough... cough..."
The Flame Dragon was choked until its eyes rolled back, but it still roared defiantly.
"Dream on, you greedy ants! You want to drain the blood of our noble dragon race? Never! I'd rather die than betray my kin."
"Hah."
Just then, Steve, controlling the majestic and domineering Ender Dragon, slowly stepped forward.
Those dragon eyes burning with dual flames of purple and red looked down disdainfully and mockingly at the Flame Dragon on the ground.
"Dragon race?"
Steve let out an ear-splitting sneer.
"You winged lizards dare call yourselves the dragon race?"
"You... what did you say?"
The Flame Dragon was furious.
"Calling you lizards is already giving you too much credit."
Steve's tone was leisurely, carrying an air of profound wisdom that had seen it all.
"The true dragon race I know of are beings born from chaos and nurtured in primordial chaos."
"Their bodies span billions of feet, coiled among the stars. They are supreme rulers that traverse the cosmos, feeding on stars. A single roar from them can shatter galaxies, and a single drop of their blood can transform into vast oceans."
"And you?"
Steve glanced at the Flame Dragon.
"You're just ants huddled on a tiny planet, living off plundering gold coins from mortals. You can barely even leave the planet, yet you dare call yourselves the dragon race? What a joke."
These words left not only the Flame Dragon but also George Cooper and the other researchers dumbfounded.
"Traversing the stars, feeding on stars?"
The Flame Dragon was completely stunned.
It had lived for thousands of years and thought itself well-traveled, but the scene Steve described was beyond its cognitive limits, even beyond the imagination of this world.
What a majestic, terrifying existence that would be.
If anyone else had said this, it would have scoffed at them.
But these people possessed means to cross dimensions, with all sorts of unimaginable technology and magic... "Could it be they've truly seen that legendary divine dragon?"
The Flame Dragon's pride was instantly shattered, replaced by deep self-doubt and awe.
Looking at the strangely shaped but terrifyingly potential Ender Dragon before it, it asked in a trembling voice.
"You... you've seen the true dragon race?"
"Indeed."
Steve nodded solemnly and pointed at his own dragon body.
"To tell you the truth, this body of mine is a descendant of the faint, diluted bloodline left behind by that supreme dragon race in this realm."
Beside him, George Cooper twitched at the corner of his mouth and quickly lowered his head, pretending to record data.
Wow, Director Steve's ability to bluff is getting more and more refined. Even I almost believed it.
"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, this body's bloodline degraded and fell to its lowest point."
Steve continued spinning his tale.
"Now, after absorbing the blood of you sub-dragons, the ancient bloodline within me has slowly begun to awaken."
"Think about it carefully."
Steve coaxed persuasively.
"If I were just a low-tier dragon, absorbing your Seventh Tier superior dragon blood, no matter how strong the assistance, I'd explode from being unable to withstand that high-level energy."
"But not only did I not die, I perfectly fused with it, even devouring your Flame Laws. What does that mean?"
"It means my life level is far above yours, even crushing you."
"Think about it the other way: if you were to absorb a drop of that Star Dragon's blood now, would you dare? Do you think you'd survive?"
Boom!
This series of soul-searching questions struck the Flame Dragon's heart hard.
It was stunned.
It looked at the Ender Dragon before it, sensing that aura—though only at the Sixth Tier, it was as profound as an abyss in essence.
Exactly!
Too perfect!
It had absorbed its essence blood without any rejection, as naturally as a monarch reclaiming tribute from a subject.
In the dragon race's inherited memories, there was only one explanation for this: bloodline suppression.
Only a true superior dragon could so domineeringly plunder the power of an inferior dragon.
"So... we're just mongrels tainted with a trace of true dragon bloodline..."
The Flame Dragon's worldview collapsed. The noble bloodline it had always prided itself on had become a joke in this moment.
"So, do you understand now?"
Steve said calmly.
"Your blood is nothing but nourishment for the true dragon race to restore their bloodline. It's an honor for you to become the fuel for my power's recovery."
"Now, tell me the whereabouts of the other dragons."
Steve's voice turned icy.
"I will absorb their blood to rebuild the true dragon body."
"Of course, it doesn't matter if you don't tell me."
"Soon, we will wage war across the entire world, purging all darkness and evil. By then, the whole world will be engulfed in flames of war, and your dragon race won't be able to hide."
"I will hunt them down one by one and capture them all."
The Flame Dragon stared blankly at Steve.
A fierce internal struggle raged in its mind.
Betray its kin? That was a disgrace.
But... if it didn't speak, these terrifying beings would find them sooner or later anyway.
And judging by their demeanor, they truly intended to conquer the world.
"If I tell him..."
A dark thought suddenly surfaced in the Flame Dragon's mind.
"The Clan Leader and the others are genuine Eighth Tier powerhouses..."
"These guys might be strange, but this black dragon is only at the Sixth Tier. If they attack Dragon Island, even if he really is some ancient bloodline, his current strength isn't enough."
"Yes, using others to do the dirty work."
A glint of cunning flashed in the Flame Dragon's eyes.
"Let them clash head-on with the clan leader. If they get killed, I'll be saved. If the clan leader loses, I'll have done my best. After all, this is the suppression of a true dragon, and since I'm the informant, maybe the dragon race will have a way out in the future without needing to absorb dragon blood."
Thinking this, the Flame Dragon no longer hesitated.
"Alright, I'll tell you."
It lowered its head, putting on a submissive appearance.
"Our dragon race's main base is in the Ten Thousand Dragon Archipelago at the southernmost part of the continent. There are hundreds of adult dragons there, along with our clan leader, an Eighth-tier Saint Realm Dragon."
"Additionally, scattered in the deep mountains and vast marshes across the continent are over a dozen solitary Ancient Dragons..."
It rattled off a series of coordinates and names in one breath.
"Very good."
Steve memorized all the locations, a glint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.
"It seems the gains from this Fantasy trip will be even greater than imagined."
Having obtained the desired information, Steve no longer wasted time.
"Alex, let's go."
Steve waved to Alex beside him.
"Murie, come with me to see your mother. Since the target is clear, it's time to prepare to mobilize the army and thoroughly purge all the evil in this world."
"Great!"
Muriel controlled the Abyssal Condenser to let out a happy cheer.
"Finally, we can sweep all of that away."
"Let's go!"
The three of them no longer hesitated, their consciousness instantly leaving the monster's body.
A few minutes later, at the Church of Light.
On the teleportation square, space twisted.
Hum!
Steve and Muriel's figures appeared out of thin air.
At this moment, Steve had the infinite vitality provided by the heart of faith within him, along with teleportation items like the ender pearl. In this world, no one could keep him, so coming in person was fine.
Moreover, this was the Church of Light, the territory of his future mother-in-law, with maximum safety.
"Your Highness the Saint! Your Highness the Saintess!"
The angel guards on the square, though surprised to see the two appear out of thin air, immediately bowed respectfully.
"Hmm."
Steve nodded slightly, holding Muriel's hand, and calmly walked through the square.
Along the way, countless angels cast gazes of awe and envy.
"Is that the Saint Son?"
"So handsome, a perfect match for Her Highness the Saint Daughter."
"I heard even His Holiness the Pope speaks highly of him."
Hearing the whispers around, a blush spread across Muriel's face, but she tightened her grip on Steve's hand.
The two proceeded unimpeded, heading straight for the Pope's Hall.
The doors slowly opened.
Deep in the hall, Mikaela sat upright on the Divine Throne, watching the two approach hand in hand, a trademark smile of satisfaction, like a mother-in-law looking at her son-in-law, appearing on her face.
"Here?"
"It seems you're ready to give this world a new sky."
Mikaela said softly, a hint of anticipation in her tone.
Steve let go of Muriel's hand, stepped forward, bowed slightly, and said with a serious expression.
"Yes, Your Holiness the Pope, the plan has been finalized. We only need the Church's cooperation to begin the final battle."
"Your Holiness the Pope?"
Hearing this, Mikaela raised an eyebrow, pretending to be displeased as she interrupted.
"Steve, since you and Murie are already betrothed, though the ceremony hasn't been held, the status is set. Calling me 'Your Holiness the Pope' seems too distant, doesn't it?"
She looked at Steve, a hint of mischief and encouragement in her eyes.
"Call me Mom."
Steve smiled casually and changed his address accordingly.
"Alright, Mom."
"Yes!"
The smile on Mikaela's face instantly bloomed. The lofty papal majesty vanished in that moment, replaced by the warmth of a mother-in-law who finds her son-in-law more pleasing the more she looks at him.
Mikaela nodded, and the atmosphere in the hall instantly became warm and intimate.
She waved for the attendants to leave, leaving only the three of them, then said seriously.
"Since we're family now, I won't stand on ceremony in this position. Tell me, how should we cooperate? Although the Church of Light still has its foundations, facing such a full-scale war, without complete preparation, casualties are likely to be heavy."
"Mom, don't worry."
Steve said confidently.
"Regarding casualties, you don't need to worry at all. Although America currently lacks many high-tier combatants, what we're least short of is resources and life-saving methods."
As he spoke, Steve flipped his wrist, and a golden Totem of Undying appeared in his palm.
"What is this?"
Mikaela's gaze sharpened; she could feel the powerful life rules contained within.
"This is called the Totem of Undying."
Steve explained.
"As long as it's carried on the person or integrated into the body, it automatically triggers the moment the holder suffers a fatal injury. Not only does it completely negate that death attack, but it also restores the holder's injuries and condition, granting additional resistance and life recovery bonuses."
"Negate fatal injuries?"
As a seventh-tier powerhouse, Mikaela naturally knew the value of such rule-based items.
"This is practically a divine artifact. Even in the Church's treasury, such high-level death-substitution items don't exceed a handful. Steve, how many do you have?"
In her view, such heaven-defying items, even a few dozen would be enough as a strategic trump card.
Steve held up one finger.
"A thousand?"
Mikaela guessed.
Steve shook his head and said calmly.
"I'll equip every angel from the Church who participates in the battle, regardless of tier, with one hundred thousand each."
"..."
The entire Pope's Hall fell into a deathly silence.
On Mikaela's stunning face, her expression shifted from confusion to stupefaction, and finally to deep shock.
She even doubted if her ears had heard correctly.
"One... one hundred thousand each?"
Mikaela's voice changed pitch.
"And for every angel? Steve, are you serious? How is that possible? Are such divine items like cabbages?"
After all, although the Angel Legion of the Church of Light is elite, its numbers are in the millions.
One hundred thousand each would mean trillions of Totems of Undying.
This wasn't war; it was drowning the enemy in resurrection.
"Mom, it's true."
Steve nodded affirmatively, his tone relaxed.
"For us, such items can be mass-produced, even considered infinite. Consider this part of my dowry to the Church."
In Minecraft, as long as the Raid Event Mechanism exists and the Mob Farm keeps running, items like the Totem of Undying are renewable resources, available in unlimited quantities.
Receiving Steve's confirmation again, Mikaela took a deep breath, trying to calm her turbulent emotions.
"Indeed, the ancestors' prophecy wasn't wrong."
She looked at Steve, her eyes full of amazement.
"With such heaven-defying possessions and these infinite fatal-injury-negating items, how desperate must the enemy be?"