Paragon of Destruction

"Absolutely not." Crassus's voice was firm and his words plain.

Arran nodded silently. Though his heart sank at the response, he understood that asking for even more help was too much — Crassus had already helped them more than could reasonably be expected.

That he had still dared to ask for help was because he saw few other options, and Crassus's answer was neither unexpected nor unreasonable.

Yet when Crassus saw Arran's dejected face, his expression softened and he sighed deeply.

"It's not that I don't want to help, but I don't dare get entangled with Shadowflame mages." He smiled wryly, then added, "They have some real monsters within their ranks."

Arran blinked in surprise. "They're stronger than you?"

He knew the Shadowflame Society held powerful mages, but he had not expected that they would be as strong as Crassus. From what little Arran had seen, he seemed like a force of nature, capable of shattering mountains with ease.

Crassus responded with a gloomy nod. "There are many who can match me, and more than a few can defeat me outright."

With a shocked expression, Arran turned to Snowcloud. "Is that true? Are they really that strong?"

She hesitated in answering, though she as stunned as Arran felt. "I don't know," she finally said. "The Elders don't exactly show off their power when they're in the Valley. I knew they were strong, but…"

Although she didn't finish the sentence, her expression told Arran that she was every bit as surprised as he was.

This puzzled Arran for a moment — she had grown up in the Sixth Valley, after all — but then he realized it made sense. If mages who were more powerful than Crassus regularly used their full powers in the Sixth Valley, he doubted there would be much of a valley left.

"So…" An ugly expression came over his face as he considered the implications. "The people who will come after us won't be weak, either."

Snowcloud nodded weakly. "If they're the same people who moved against Grandfather, then they must be strong — otherwise they wouldn't have dared to do such a thing."

Arran did not reply. Instead, he pondered their situation, and the more he thought about it, the gloomier he grew.

They had been extremely lucky in getting as far as they had, only narrowly avoiding disaster on several occasions. Yet now, it seemed that the real dangers still lay ahead of them. And if their enemies could match Crassus in power, they would be utterly terrifying.

For a time, they sat in silence, both Arran and Snowcloud looking gloomy as they thought about the return journey.

Then, unexpectedly, Crassus spoke up.

"I can take you to the border of the old Eidaran Empire, but no further." He sighed. "That's as far as I can fly in a single night, but it should be enough to get you past any enemies who are lying in wait."

Arran's eyes instantly lit up, and he found himself speechless with joy. If Crassus brought them to the edge of the Eidaran Empire, not only would it save them months of travel, it would also allow them to skip the most dangerous part of the journey — because their enemies definitely would not expect them to cover months of travel in a single night.

Crassus grinned when he saw their reactions. "I take it you'll accept my offer, then," he said with an amused chuckle. "In that case, you should get ready. We leave at dusk."

Arran wasted no time. Immediately, he set to work transferring the dead dragon that still lay in the valley to his void bags. He only had a few hours, and there was an entire hill of dragon flesh he had to store.

Obviously, he had no intention of leaving any of it behind. The dragon's body had already been a priceless treasure to him before he acquired the devouring force from Crassus's blood, and now, he was certain it would benefit him even more.

It would take him months if not years to eat every last bit of it, but he knew his body would be strengthened tremendously in the process. And if he safely made it back to the Sixth Valley, he should have plenty of time to eat it all while working on his Destruction Realm.

As Arran packed the dragon's remains into his void bag, Crassus observed him with some interest, narrowing his eyes as if he was studying Arran's movements.

After a while, the fat man finally said, "There's something we need to discuss."

"What is it?" Arran asked, although he suspected it would have something to do with the force that Crassus's blood had imparted on him.

Crassus shook his head. "Not now. We'll talk about it in the morning. For the moment, focus on getting all that meat inside your bags. There's only a few hours left, and if you leave anything… I'm eating it."

He said the last part with a grin, but Arran knew it wasn't a joke. He had already seen Crassus devour a giant dragon in a few bites, and he had little doubt that the man would not hesitate to eat his treasure as well.

With the threat fresh in his ears, Arran worked even harder than before, blindly stowing the large chunks of dragon meat in his bags as fast as he could.

When dusk finally approached and the sun disappeared behind the mountains, Arran had managed to store most of the dragon meat in his bags. There were tons of it, but with his strengthened body, he barely tired, and finished most of the task in time.

He briefly considered putting in a last short spurt of effort, but then, he thought better of it. Even if Crassus might not exactly need it, the man would probably enjoy a small snack before his flight.

As he stepped back, he saw that both Crassus and Snowcloud were already waiting for him.

"All done?" Crassus asked, casting a short but hungry glance at the portion of meat that remained on the valley floor.

"All done," Arran confirmed.

"Then let's get ready," Crassus said. "When we fly… just remember to hold on tightly."

With those words, the man walked toward the center of the valley, then began to transform once more, his figure slowly taking on its old titanic size and shape.

Although Arran had seen the spectacle several times already, the sight still filled him with awe. And when he realized he would be flying on the giant dragon's back, he could not stop a broad smile from appearing on his face.

When Crassus finished his transformation, he devoured the remaining dragon meat in a single bite. Then, he turned his giant head toward Arran and Snowcloud, and motioned at them.

"I guess we'll have to climb on his back," Snowcloud said, and when Arran glanced at her, he saw that she had visibly paled.

Arran, on the other hand, felt his heart beating in excitement.