When the pitch-black dragon appeared before them, every person present instinctively refused to believe it.
What was a dragon?
It was the very embodiment of destruction — capable of leveling a kingdom at will, or even annihilating an entire empire. Anywhere a dragon appeared was considered forbidden ground, and that held true even for these demon players, because if a dragon ever caught sight of you, death was all but guaranteed.
How could a player possibly summon a dragon?
But the overwhelming pressure radiating from the pitch-black dragon, and the crushing sense of dread that came from the vast gap in their very tiers of existence, could not possibly be faked.
At that moment, not only were the demon players shaken to the core, but even Qing Shuang and the others standing behind Shi Feng gaped in disbelief — they had never imagined their guild master possessed such power.
"Hold on! Look — that dragon only seems to be Tier 3! It's not an adult dragon at Tier 4 or 5!" a Tier 3 demon ranger who had activated an observation skill suddenly shouted.
Thanks to that ranger's warning, everyone present finally came to their senses.
"It really is just a Tier 3 dragon!"
"I knew it — no way a player could summon an adult dragon!"
"Still, that Black Flame is something else. Even with just a Tier 3 dragon, even the Thunder Vice Commander probably couldn't do anything about it."
The members of Heart of Demons let out a collective sigh of relief when they realized the dragon was merely a Tier 3 wyrmling, barely level 111.
In most people's understanding, any dragon that appeared was an adult — the weakest among them being Tier 4 Legendary, far beyond anything a player could hope to fight.
But a Tier 3 wyrmling was a different matter entirely.
The reason dragons were dragons — the reason they possessed terrifying power that put them at the very pinnacle of the Divine Realm's races — ultimately came down to their extraordinarily high tier of existence and unmatched growth potential. Every level they gained granted them far more stats than any other race, and each jump in tier brought a qualitative leap in power. That was why adult dragons wielded the force to level entire continents.
A wyrmling, on the other hand, was still invincible within its own tier, but it was leagues behind an adult dragon at Tier 4 or above.
"No wonder he dared to challenge Heart of Demons — he really does have a few tricks up his sleeve." Defiant Thunder stared at the pitch-black dragon before him, feeling a considerable amount of pressure. Yet compared to the overwhelming aura the dragon exuded, the fighting spirit in Defiant Thunder's heart only burned higher. He leaped into the air and charged toward the pitch-black dragon. "But if you think a single Tier 3 dragon is enough to make Heart of Demons back down, you're dreaming!"
Dragons were invincible within their tier, but having ascended to the rank of Demon Baron, Defiant Thunder possessed that same invincibility within his own tier. Moreover, he wielded one of the sixteen great Magic Artifacts of the demon race — the Dark Remnant Blade. Even against a Tier 3 dragon, he could hold his own.
In the next instant, Defiant Thunder raised the Dark Remnant Blade and brought it crashing down upon the pitch-black dragon in a devastating overhead strike.
A pitch-black blade of energy, forged from the power of darkness, tore through the air toward the dragon. Wherever it passed, space itself seemed to split apart like paper, as if the entire world had been cleaved in two.
Tier 3 Demon Skill — Blazing Light Slash!
"What a devastating blow. A normal Tier 4 Legendary monster would probably be sent flying by that." Shi Feng watched the descending blade of dark light and couldn't help but feel a flicker of admiration. "Unfortunately, you've been mistaken about one thing from the very start. The one you're dealing with isn't just a Tier 3 dragon — it's me, in the form of a Tier 3 dragon!"
With those words, Shi Feng's dragon-form clone sprang into action, swinging a massive claw directly at the descending blade of darkness.
Secret Art — Thunder Flash!
In an instant, the colossal claw transformed into a barrage of lightning that collided head-on with the dark blade.
BOOM— A deafening explosion rocked the sky, and the pitch-black blade of energy was obliterated on impact. The terrifying shockwave sent Defiant Thunder hurtling backward like a cannonball, slamming into the city wall of Demon City in the blink of an eye. His health plummeted by over three hundred thousand points in a single hit…
The entire battlefield fell silent.
"How is this possible? How can a summoned creature use combat techniques?!"
Every pair of eyes in the crowd was fixed on the pitch-black dragon standing proud and unyielding. Incomprehension and shock filled their hearts — if anything, this was even more unbelievable than summoning a Tier 4 or even Tier 5 dragon.