Starting from Ainz Ooal Gown, simultaneously traveling through time

Meanwhile, on the other side...

On a land ruled by heat and thick smoke.

A massive active volcano stands between heaven and earth, like the earth's angry breathing hole.

It doesn't roar all the time, but ominous gray-black smoke columns are always swirling around the mountaintop, and muffled thunderous roars can often be heard from underground.

Every so often, it will truly awaken, and the violent power beneath the surface will find an outlet, with scorching magma gushing out.

The scorching lava flowed slowly down the mountain gullies, turning everything in its path into scorched earth, which, after cooling, formed new, menacing black rock crusts.

The air was always filled with the pungent smell of sulfur and scorching dust.

Near the foot of this raging volcano lives a powerful clan of fire dragons.

Most of them are large magical beasts known as "two-legged fire dragons".

With powerful hind limbs and large membranous wings, it can spew high-temperature flames and is a common predator and guardian in this area.

However, the true core and rulers of the tribe are those few who dwell in the caves higher up near the crater, the real dragons, the red dragons among the five-colored dragons.

The red dragon is the embodiment of fire and tyranny.

They were much larger than bipedal fire dragons, and their bodies were covered with crimson scales that looked like burning charcoal.

Its sturdy crimson scales can bathe in lava, its breath is a high-temperature flame that can melt metal and stone, and its intelligence is far superior.

These red dragons, especially the strongest and oldest one, are the undisputed rulers of this volcanic region.

Its majesty radiated outwards, making even the capricious volcano seem like mere background decoration behind its throne.

This ruler was known as "Fire Dragon King" Suborfranmo Ucano.

It has entered an awe-inspiring stage in the life of dragons—the ancient dragon.

The growth of a dragon is long and clear: young dragon, teenage dragon, adult dragon, old dragon, elder dragon, and finally, ancient dragon.

Dragons that have lived to the "ancient" stage are all monsters that have undergone countless years of trials and tribulations and whose strength is unfathomable.

Dragons that reach this level have accumulated power, magic, and lifespan to a level unimaginable to ordinary creatures.

Their scales, imbued with magic, become indestructible; their breath is powerful enough to alter the terrain; and their dragon might can terrify weak creatures.

In the eyes of countless creatures, they are synonymous with "Dragon King," walking natural disasters, possessing the terrifying power to easily destroy cities and even overthrow a small country.

Of course, in the more secretive understanding of the Dragon Clan's own lineage, this "Dragon King" is simply a "Dragon King" who has been tempered and refined over the years.

There is still a world of difference between them and the "True Dragon Kings" who have touched the origin of the world, connected with the river of souls, and obtained ultimate authority such as the "World Connector".

Even so, the power represented by the word "ancient" is enough to make most intelligent races tremble with fear and dare not easily set foot in this burning territory.

For this reason, this volcanic region, along with the vast surrounding scorching land, has long been a forbidden zone for living beings.

Whether it's the armies of powerful nations or other powerful monster tribes, they all tacitly acknowledge that this is the territory and hunting ground of the Red Dragon family, and no one dares to easily stroke its whiskers.

The two-legged fire dragons depend on the red dragon family for survival, and also enjoy a peaceful life where no one dares to offend them, thanks to their prestige.

But this "peace" has been shattered today.

A figure was slowly stepping into this scorching forbidden zone.

He was exceptionally tall, estimated to be over 2.5 meters.

His entire body was shrouded in an inconspicuous gray robe, and his face was covered by a pure white mask without any patterns.

Only a pair of cold pupils, gleaming with a dark golden light, were visible.

This attire isolates one from all other characteristics, exuding only an inhuman, mechanical sense of silence.

His arrival immediately attracted the attention of the two-legged fire dragons on the perimeter.

A fire dragon let out a menacing growl, and seeing that the newcomer did not stop, it launched an attack without hesitation.

It swooped down, flames igniting deep in its throat, and then spewed out a scorching line of fire, enough to instantly ignite trees and melt metal and stone.

The man in the gray robe stopped, but not to avoid it.

He simply raised his head calmly and looked at the flames rushing towards him.

Then he stretched out a hand—a hand with astonishing proportions, large knuckles, and a portion of it exposed from the cuff covered with dense, bronze-colored scales.

Those hands didn't look like human hands; they looked more like the ferocious claws of some kind of dragon or lizard!

He clenched his fist, neither dodging nor avoiding, and threw a punch straight at the flames!

"boom!"

With a strange, muffled thud, the blazing fire was actually "shattered" by this punch!

The sparks that flew off danced and died on his scaled fists and arms, leaving no scorch marks.

The two-legged fire dragon, its attack thwarted, was clearly taken aback for a moment.

At that very moment, the gray-robed man moved.

He bent his knees slightly, the ground beneath his feet cracked with a "crack", and he shot into the sky like a cannonball, reaching the same height as the low-flying fire dragon!

Before the fire dragon could react, the scaled fist, carrying terrifying wind pressure, slammed heavily onto its side of the head.

"Bang!"

The dull thud made my teeth ache.

Before the two-legged fire dragon could even let out a mournful cry, everything went black, and its massive body lost control, crashing heavily to the ground from the air, kicking up a cloud of dust, and it had already passed out.

This devastating scene stunned the other bipedal fire dragons around them.

After a brief silence came an angry roar!

More than ten bipedal fire dragons took off together. Realizing that they were no match for one, they immediately adopted the tactic that the dragon swarm was best at—encirclement and attack!

They hovered above the gray-robed figures, spewing out even denser and more intense flames from different angles.

In an instant, a torrent of fire rained down, turning the area where the gray-robed man stood into a sea of ​​flames. The rocks on the ground were scorched red and cracked, and the heat distorted the air.

However, the gray-robed figure in the center of the flames remained calm.

He didn't even make a big dodging movement; he simply bent down and grabbed the body of the unconscious, fallen two-legged fire dragon with one hand.

Then, as the rain of fire fell from the sky, he effortlessly lifted the several-ton fire dragon like a shield and held it above his head!

"roar--!!"

The flames continued to scorch the unconscious fire dragon's body.

Although dragon skin is naturally highly resistant to fire, under such intense heat from the same kind of intense flames, its scales quickly charred, curled, and emitted a burnt smell.

If it hadn't been unconscious, the pain would have been enough to make it struggle wildly.

The two-legged fire dragons that spewed flames in the air quickly realized the problem.

Most of their attacks were blocked by the massive bodies of their companions, while the creature below... seemed completely unharmed!

So this is how it was solved?