Chapter 60: Supreme Grand True Dragon Emperor of the Nine Heavens Golden Palace

Just as the red dragon Herbert approached Mount Deathdragon, several unknown red objects darted from the mountainside toward him.

Before he could clearly see what they were, the first explosion rang out.

The blinding white light of the blast dazzled his eyes, and the intense heat instantly unleashed by the TNT swept outward in a scorching wave.

Despite his fire resistance and tough dragon scales, Herbert felt a sharp pain in his chest, his outer hide suffering minor injuries, though his overall body remained unharmed.

Presumably, the TNT's fuse time had been too short, causing it to detonate before reaching the optimal explosion distance.

Had it detonated right against the red dragon's body, the damage would have far exceeded its current extent.

However, it was not just a single stick of TNT flying toward the red dragon, but a whole flock of them.

Herbert's years of combat experience came into play at this moment. After taking the initial blow, he instinctively analyzed the weakness of these unknown objects—distance.

Herbert beat his wings and surged sharply upward, then swiftly folded his wings to protect his entire body, continuing upward on his final momentum.

The sequence of movements was smooth and fluid, completed in a mere two seconds.

During this time, apart from three blocks of TNT that inflicted damage on his chest, belly, and tail, the slightly slower ones merely grazed his dragon wings.

As for the subsequent TNT, they appeared somewhat powerless after the red dragon ascended into the high altitude.

Even so, Herbert now looked quite disheveled. His once majestic and intimidating appearance was stained with soot, and dragon blood continuously dripped from his body and wings.

His vibrant red scales were charred and blackened in patches. Anyone unaware of the situation would have mistaken him for a red dragon that had just finished a shift down in a coal mine.

Inside the command tent, Linde watched this scene through his binoculars and clicked his tongue.

He had not expected the anti-air TNT squad to end the battle outright, but the current situation still fell somewhat short of his expectations.

The red dragon looked battered, but those were all superficial wounds; he hadn't been blown limb from limb, meaning the advantage gained wasn't overwhelmingly large.

After all, Victoria was up next.

He still hoped to create a few more opportunities for his little dragon.

"Is it time for my grand entrance?"

Victoria, having switched to her black gemstone form, was somewhat excited.

Having now reached the fourth tier, she had unlocked two additional forms: the black gemstone and the green gemstone.

Believing that her blackened state must be stronger, she decided to transform into a small black dragon to face the red dragon.

Moreover, the duration of her super gemstone form had extended from the initial mere ten seconds to a full ten minutes.

The chasm between low-tier dragons and mid-tier dragons was thus vividly apparent.

Now that she and the red dragon were both mid-tier, under the special amplification state, she stood a fair chance of exchanging blows with him.

However, the gap in size and combat skills could not be bridged by a sudden "boost."

This was why Linde had repeatedly urged her to strike and run, harass the opponent with hit-and-run tactics, and avoid a direct frontal clash.

When the timing felt right, she was to use that special move—and shout it out loud.

Victoria earnestly engraved Linde's words into her heart.

"Go ahead," Linde nodded, "prioritizing your self-preservation above all else. Win or lose, I've got your back."

"Looking cool only counts if you actually pull it off."

Victoria blinked at him and flew out of the tent without looking back.

"Heh."

Linde gazed at her retreating figure and began counting numbers in his mind, while speaking to Cilona beside him:

"Send a telegram to the wyvern chieftain on the mountainside. Tell them to cease launching the TNT squad, retrieve the minecarts and remaining resources, and await further orders."

The butterfly-dragon did not say a word and immediately sprang into action.

Linde also reviewed the shortcomings of the first wave of the offensive.

They had first utilized gravity to accelerate minecarts downward along curved tracks with a height differential, and upon reaching a certain speed, launched them upward along the ascending rails.

The waiting wyverns seized the timing, triggered the TNT they held, and dropped it into the minecarts. The bomb-laden carts would then fly upward for a distance before detonating.

Ignoring air resistance and other external forces, through numerous formulaic calculations, Linde had mapped out the parabolic trajectories of the minecarts under various accelerations and roughly outlined a range for their apexes.

Yet, ideal scenarios ultimately differed from reality.

Despite conducting multiple experiments over the past few days, the red dragon was, after all, not a stationary target, and upon being injured for the first time, he had swiftly increased his altitude, remaining safely out of reach.

Now, everything depended on Victoria's performance.

Linde picked up the simple binoculars once more to observe the ongoing situation, while remaining fully prepared to intervene at any moment.

He certainly didn't genuinely expect Victoria to defeat the opponent.

If by some chance she actually won, that truly would be a miracle.

High in the sky, Herbert, who was continuously beating his wings, watched a tiny black dot fly toward him, growing larger by the second.

He squinted and realized it was actually a black dragon, albeit far too small, resembling the stage of a fledgling.

A nameless fury ignited within his chest.

Why does every stray dragon dare to fly up to my mountain peak?

As a sixth-tier red dragon, do I command no intimidation whatsoever?

Yet, to Herbert's surprise, the fledgling's subsequent words were even more arrogant.

"Listen well! I am the Supreme Grand Emperor Dragon of the Nine Heavens Golden Vault!"

"Surrender to me at once and pledge your allegiance, and I might just spare your life."

With a proud expression, Victoria recited the title Linde had concocted for her.

Though it fell slightly short of her own preference, the Dark Destroyer, shouting it out in front of another dragon somehow felt much more imposing.

Being imposing meant saving face.

She would save the title of Dark Destroyer for when she was alone with Linde; out here, she was the Grand Emperor Dragon.

Just as the fledgling had hoped, upon hearing this title, the red dragon before her was so stunned he actually forgot to flap his wings, pausing for a full second before plummeting downward and hastily resuming his flight.

Hmph, completely intimidated, weren't you?

Victoria thought smugly to herself.

Little did she know, Herbert's mind was indeed somewhat dazed at that moment.

Was there something wrong with his own brain, or was the fledgling before him insane?

Not only was she not afraid of him, but she was telling *him* to surrender?!

And she even spewed out some incoherent, rambling title.

Yet, that voice sounded somewhat familiar...

"It's you! The shameless little dragon who stole my melons and looted my treasury! Did you think changing your skin meant I wouldn't recognize you?"

"Pfft, pfft, pfft! Can a treasure hunter's deeds really be called stealing? Besides, if a fledgling like me can 'borrow' your treasures and escape scot-free, you're the one who should be ashamed of yourself, you big dummy dragon!"

Lies do not hurt dragons; the truth is the sharpest blade.

Regardless of the reason, the red dragon Herbert genuinely had failed to catch this loach-like fledgling.

But now that the opponent had delivered herself to his doorstep, he would never let her leave safely again.

"You have successfully enraged me, and this will be the most regretful thing you ever do in your life."

"Roar!!!"

The red dragon roared.