Galen couldn't recall whether the Twilight Dragons had attacked the main encampment of the Five-Colored Dragonflights in the original timeline. Yet, no one had anticipated such a massive assault, especially with Sinestra trapped in Deeprock and supposedly leaderless.
Galen's new vantage point came from Vaelastrasz, the Red Dragon Prince. The Prince burst from his lair at the first sign of trouble, and looking up, he beheld a swarm of dragons blotting out the sky! The scales on these enemies reflected a deep purple under the sunlight, and in the next moment, they seemed to absorb the very essence of the red sun!
"Roar! Engage the enemy!" Vaelastrasz roared skyward, then flapped his wings and surged towards the Twilight Dragonflight! With their leader charging, the remaining adult dragons soared into the air, plunging into the fray. They would protect their sacred land from any harm.
Two waves of dragons, one crimson and one violet, collided fiercely. In the instant of impact, blood rained from the sky, and dozens of colossal dragons plummeted to the ground, grievously wounded.
Vaelastrasz shook his right claw, which was coated in corrosive purple dragon blood. He had no time to dwell on the burning pain. He immediately locked onto another Twilight Dragon that appeared to be a leader and darted towards it! He weaved through the aerial battle, dodging deadly Twilight Dragon breaths and launching a fatal sneak attack!
Thwack!
The sound of flesh being pierced reached the Red Dragon Prince's ears as he plunged his massive front claws into the long neck of the violet dragon. The Purple Twilight Dragon did not die instantly. Instead, it shrieked, its dark purple wings flapping desperately, trying to tear free from the Red Dragon Prince's grasp. Its black and purple claws relentlessly raked Vaelastrasz's abdomen.
"Hmph!" The Red Dragon Prince felt a searing pain erupt from his belly. Gritting his teeth, he tightened his grip, crushing the Twilight Dragon's neck with his front paws. His own pain soon subsided as the Twilight Dragon went limp. Vaelastrasz released his hold, letting the lifeless body tumble to the ground.
The Red Dragon Prince had no time to spare a second glance at the corpse. He locked onto another target, attempting the same trick, a swift, lethal sneak attack. But this time, he failed. Just as his right claw was about to crush the Twilight Dragon's head, the colossal purple dragon shimmered, transforming into an ethereal form just in time, successfully evading the fatal blow!
"This is impossible!" The Red Dragon Prince's eyes widened in disbelief. He had felt no arcane fluctuations, no hint of how the purple dragon had managed to dodge!
The Twilight Dragon that had escaped the fatal blow solidified back into its physical form. It turned, its gaze fixed on Vaelastrasz: "Weak red dragon, it is glorious that I have found your holy place. I shall capture you all in one fell swoop."
"Who are you?" The Red Dragon Prince's voice was laced with fury. "How dare you attack the Ruby Sanctum? I will ensure you never return!"
"Hahaha!" The Purple Twilight Dragon let out a mocking laugh. "Who am I?"
"I am the beginning of the end... the shadow that blots out the sun... the knell of destruction... I am the great Twilight Dragon King Ultraxion!"
"The meaning of my existence is for this moment. Witness your death and despair, red dragon!"
As Ultraxion finished speaking, two striking red dragons appeared in the air above the Ruby Sanctum.
"Insanity!"
"What nonsense are you spouting!"
Red Dragon Queen Alexstrasza and Red Dragon Prince Palthiastrasz appeared simultaneously, a flicker of pride crossing Ultraxion's eyes. Galen keenly observed the cunning in the former Storm Dragon King's gaze. This sight triggered forgotten memories for Galen.
In the past, the Twilight Dragons had attacked the Dragonblight Temple with the aim of corrupting the eggs of the four-colored dragonflights, twisting them into Chromatic Dragons. A Chromatic Dragon could then be easily trained into a Twilight Dragon. Galen remembered this incident vividly because Alexstrasza's consort, Krasus, had died in that battle. To prevent the newborn dragons from being enslaved by the Twilight Dragon, Krasus had unleashed a self-destructive burst of power, obliterating both the dragon eggs and the Dragon Sanctuary.
Recalling these events, Galen immediately warned Palthiastrasz and Vaelastrasz, father and son. The Red Dragon Princes were shocked. They exchanged glances and immediately turned to the Red Dragon Queen: "Your Majesty, their target is the dragon eggs! Please return immediately to protect the children!"
Upon hearing this, the Red Dragon Queen turned and flew towards the underground area where the dragon eggs were kept!
"Don't even think about it! Halion! Sintharia! Stop her!" Ultraxion was stunned by this turn of events and immediately ordered the two Twilight Dragons behind him to intercept Alexstrasza!
Two amethyst dragons lunged towards the Red Dragon Queen. Just as they were about to reach Alexstrasza, the Red Dragon Prince (Vaelastrasz) launched a fierce, flanking attack. Vaelastrasz and the Twilight Dragons named Halion and Sintharia clashed in mid-air, claws raking and jaws snapping. Though the young Red Dragon Prince fought with desperate ferocity, in a one-on-two situation, sparks occasionally flew from his scales, a testament to the brutal intensity of the battle.
After a while, Vaelastrasz's dragon scales were broken and blood gushed forth, but this only fueled his fighting spirit. His resolve intensified, and his fear of pain diminished. Vaelastrasz licked the dragon blood from the corner of his mouth, then laughed wildly: "You two, keep coming!... Let me fight to my heart's content..."
The two Twilight Dragons roared in fury and charged again. This provided the Red Dragon Prince an opening. He seized Halion and hurled the Twilight Dragon into its companion. The female dragon failed to dodge in time, and the two Twilight Dragons collided fiercely, producing a thunderous crash. Vaelastrasz wasted no time, seizing the opportunity to swing his long tail, striking the two entangled dragons with immense force.
Bang!
When the bony tail-hammer struck Halion's body, the impact point instantly caved in, sending large pieces of broken scales flying! Unfortunately, as his tail was about to strike the other dragon, the second Twilight Dragon instantly dissolved into nothingness, and the Red Dragon Prince's tail struck only empty air!
On the other side of the sky, Palthiastrasz and the Twilight Dragon King Ultraxion confronted each other, their immense power steadily escalating! The Red Dragon Prince was increasingly surprised. He knew of the Overlord's plan and understood that the Twilight Dragons would be formidable. However, he had not anticipated that the Twilight Dragon King, though recently born, would already possess demigod-level power! One must remember that Palthiastrasz himself was an ancient dragon; despite his long life, he had only achieved demigod status with the aid of the Red Dragon Queen! It seemed this Twilight Dragon merely needed to continuously absorb energy to ascend! This was truly terrifying!
The brutal aerial battle raged on, waves of roars and screams assaulting Palthiastrasz's eardrums. Giant dragons fell one after another in the fierce combat. The Red Dragon Prince watched as half of a red dragon's wings were incinerated by a Twilight Dragon's breath, leaving only a skeletal frame. Yet, the dragon still struggled to flap its remaining intact wing, desperately trying to stabilize itself in mid-air. But then it was attacked again and finally closed its eyes in unwilling defeat.
"Damn it!" Palthiastrasz finally lost his composure and made the first move. He roared and spewed raging fire at the Twilight Dragon that had slain his kin. In response, the Twilight Dragon immediately turned incorporeal, escaping the fiery onslaught.
At this moment, Ultraxion finally reached the peak of his power, letting out a harsh, triumphant laugh: "Prince of the Red Dragonflight? You are merely a foolish, weak reptile. Just watch, you will be crushed into powder by my power. It will certainly be a most interesting spectacle."
"Hmph! Then try it!" Although Palthiastrasz appeared to be confronting the Twilight Dragon King head-on, he was actually biding his time, waiting for an opportunity. The moment the Twilight Dragon solidified from its incorporeal form, Palthiastrasz unleashed an even more intense torrent of red flames, instantly engulfing the Twilight Dragon's entire body.
The long-accumulated flames were so fierce that the Twilight Dragon's blue-purple scales curled and burned, almost completely melting away. The flesh beneath the scales rapidly turned to ash, and soon, even the dragon's skeleton was exposed. One side of its body was burnt beyond recognition. Severely injured, the Twilight Dragon lost the ability to move and plummeted to the ground.
"Invaders, you have angered the Red Dragonflight! There is only death, no escape!" Palthiastrasz's dragon eyes blazed with fighting spirit as he flapped his wings and surged towards Ultraxion! The Red Dragon Prince typically treated his fellow dragons with gentleness and courtesy, a true gentleman dragon, but his fierce fighting style was no less intense than his son's.
Two demigod-level dragons engaged in a savage hand-to-hand fight in the sky, clawing and biting each other, locked in a battle to the death. Suddenly, Palthiastrasz opened his mouth and spewed a torrent of Red Dragon Life-fire towards the Twilight Dragon King. The flame enveloped the Twilight Dragon and erupted into crimson inferno around him.
Ultraxion opened his maw wide and immediately absorbed all the Life Breath released by Palthiastrasz. After devouring the Life-fire, the Twilight Dragon's entire body flickered, and its strength seemed to increase even further! At the same time, it swung a massive wing, striking Palthiastrasz hard on the side.
Caught off guard, the Red Dragon Prince plummeted rapidly towards the ground, and Ultraxion seized the advantage, pouncing without mercy!
"I'm going to eat you!" the Twilight Dragon King roared. "If I eat you, I will become stronger!"
Palthiastrasz was attempting to steady himself mid-fall when he heard the Grand Lord's voice in his mind: "Keep spitting fire, let him eat it!"
The Red Dragon Prince's heart trembled, but his body immediately obeyed Galen's command, spewing massive gulps of Life-fire towards the Twilight Dragon.
How to describe that scene? Galen could only think of it as "stuck, wow, new phone."
"Everything you do is in vain!" Ultraxion absorbed all the fireballs and roared with joy after swallowing them. A continuous influx of energy caused his body to expand, becoming even larger and more grotesquely deformed.
Ten consecutive fireballs left Palthiastrasz's red dragon face pale. Just as his energy and strength were nearing exhaustion, he felt a warm surge from deep within his soul!
"Continue!" Galen commanded Palthiastrasz again.
"Roar!" Palthiastrasz felt an endless supply of power surging from his soul, causing his dragon body to visibly swell! He felt as if he was about to burst!
Breathing dragon breath became the only way for the Red Dragon Prince to vent the immense energy in his body. His dragon maw was like a Gatling gun, unleashing a rapid-fire series of colossal fireballs!
On the other side of the sky, Ultraxion swallowed more and more of the red dragon's breath. His body was already more than twice the size of Palthiastrasz...
"Great!" Ultraxion roared with glee. "Hahaha, fall before me! The twilight hour has arrived, and there is no hope for you!"
Palthiastrasz paid no mind to Ultraxion's arrogant declaration. He truly felt as if he was about to explode. Simply put, the rate of energy intake was far greater than the rate of expenditure. The Red Dragon Prince's body was a container on the verge of rupturing!
"Damn it, those three siblings must be playing a trick on me!" Palthiastrasz felt his throat singed by his own dragon breath, and his jaw ached from the prolonged exertion. But the Overlord had not ceased his command, so he could only force himself to continue venting the energy!
This continued for another half an hour, and Ultraxion's body suddenly began to twist, tremble, and show signs of temporary disintegration. At that moment, a flame briefly burst forth from Ultraxion's body, followed by another, and then a third!
Bang!
Those flames erupted and burned the Twilight Dragon's body, causing him to howl in agony! The Twilight Dragon glared at Palthiastrasz, his eyes filled with resentment.
"It's you!... I will slowly devour you and savor your pain..."
As he spoke, a series of flames burst forth from Ultraxion's body again, scorching him! Palthiastrasz's dragon breath had provided him with immense energy, but Ultraxion seemed to have overestimated his own devouring capacity, absorbing too much energy in a short period, exceeding his digestive limit. This triggered a chain reaction, dramatically increasing the instability in Ultraxion's body structure. The Twilight Dragonflight, this new species of dragon, did not seem as perfect as the Black Dragon Queen had imagined; there was still inherent instability within them!
"I am... Ultraxion, I am... the Lord of Twilight! I will drag you into the flames and darkness with me!" The Twilight Dragon was consumed by unwillingness. He flapped his wings and flew towards Palthiastrasz with flames engulfing his body, attempting to perish alongside the Red Dragon Prince!
BOOM!
A colossal roar echoed as the arrogant Twilight Dragon's body could no longer bear the strain, transforming into a ball of spectacular fireworks mid-flight...
The energy transmission to Palthiastrasz's soul was interrupted at the precise moment. He turned his dragon head, assessed the battle, and looked towards the giant tree at the center of the Ruby Sanctum.
"Do not engage in melee! Break away from the enemy formation!" the Red Dragon Prince shouted, his voice clear and powerful, indicating that the recent energy transfer had indeed benefited him. "Lead them away from the sacred tree and destroy them one by one!"
Upon hearing the order, the dragons guarding the sacred tree immediately scattered in all directions. Although the remaining Twilight Dragons became somewhat disoriented by Ultraxion's death, they did not collapse, still maintaining a tight formation above the sacred tree.
Palthiastrasz looked towards his son's position. He realized that to truly defeat the enemy, he first needed to deal with the two Twilight Dragon leaders, Halion and Sintharia! Just as the Red Dragon Prince was about to rejoin the battle, a violent explosion erupted in the center of the holy land!