The Achievement Junkie

The weaker of the three Magma Dragons was being overrun by nearly a dozen Glacier Wyrms. Such an overwhelming attack was too much for the great beast. However, it still took fatally wounded four Glacier Wyrms before it was frozen over and killed.

Not wasting time, the seven remaining wyrms hurried to aid their leader.

"This one is our prey!" Dradich shouted. "Aid the army, now!"

Hurriedly changing targets, the wyrms bore through the cold sand toward the colliding armies. Thanks to the sand, their speed was incredible and allowed them to hurry into the Maldor forces. But the hidden high-level experts of the army targeted the wyrms and kept them at bay in order to keep the wyrms from tipping the scale of battle.

Dradich and Argyle had split up to tag-team the forty-five-meter tall Magma Dragon. While Dradich drew the dragon's attention, Argyle was rushing to the flank or coming from the side.

The Magma Dragon clawed into Dradich's frost body, getting the wyrm shout in pain. But at the same time, the mighty dragon roared.

Argyle was cutting into the underbelly of the dragon's tail. And though the beast swung its tail in defense against the swordsman, preventing Argyle from severing the tail, Argyle did manage to leave a sizable wound open for later attacks.

Yet, as Argyle readied his next barrage of sword attacks, lava fell over the wound and hardened in order to leave no weak point exposed.

'How annoying… Got any ideas?' Argyle asked telepathically.

Replying, Dradich eyed the Magma Dragon as it backed away from the duo, 'It seems we need to overwhelm it before it can cover its wounds. We need to break its defenses and deliver the killing blow simultaneously.'

'Easier said than done,' added Argyle, 'but you're not wrong. This could take some time…'

The swordsman looked toward the army. As the wyrms were held back from scattering the Maldor soldiers anymore, Argyle sighed in worry for his daughter and his yet to be born grandchild.

'They'll be fine. We'll join them after removing this threat. Or would you rather them face the dragon?'

'Let's do this!'

Argyle rushed the Magma Dragon, switching roles with Dradich. The wyrm took the opportunity to burrow into the ground while the dragon was dealing with Argyle's icy charge and his chilling sword attacks.

At the same time, there was an epic duel taking place not too far from there. A lv. 81 Hell-flame Fox and a lv. 87 Magma Dragon were staring each other down. So far, they had only exchanged a few attacks. They kept a close eye on each other, not underestimating the other.

Bowzer was underleveled and sure to be careful. The Magma Dragon had something else playing through his mind.

Clear as day, that Magma Dragon remembered seeing a similar fox ravage his home town centuries ago and face the greatest of the Magma Dragons to a draw. And it was done while the fox's level was lower than Naparn's. That memory and tale wouldn't allow the Magma Dragon to make a false move or to grow cocky. It understood that underestimating such a fox could mean its life.

Both armies were far from the two towering beasts, leaving them with room to fight freely. In other words, there was no one present to hold them back or assist them. It was a duel of the two strongest fire bloodlines of Kartonia.

The Magma Dragon let loose a guttural roar. Sand shook under its cry, trembling and shifting under Bowzer's feet. Then, pillars of hardened sand shot up at the fox without mercy.

However, the residual heat around Bowzer was beyond comparison. All sand around Bowzer was melting and entering the refining process, which included the pillars.

Finding no advantage with his second magic type, the Magma Dragon roared again. This time, a geyser of bubbling magma rocketed out of its mouth. Determination filled the dragon's eyes as it committed to slaughtering the dreaded fox of his people's nightmares.

In response, Bowzer coughed up a ball of black and white flames. It was much smaller than the plume of lava, yet the heat it gave off was even hotter.

When both attacks collided, a heatwave exploded out toward the neighboring battles. Argyle, Dradich, and the other Magma Dragon felt the residual heat stronger than the army, causing even the Magma Dragon to hesitate. But their fight quickly resumed, just as Bowzer and his opponent repeated their attacks.

Again, a heatwave filled the surrounding battles. But they didn't stop their attacks this time. Lava spewed ceaselessly from the Magma Dragon's throat while Bowzer coughed up a dozen of those expansive fireballs.

The landscape was changing from their attacks, becoming red hot sand while other parts were cooling down from the nearby cold sand to form ponds of glass.

Both beasts were now stepping forward. They got closer and closer as the collision of their attacks grew more aggressive by the second.

Those from both armies were rattled by the sight.

The Aazoon soldiers weren't terrified but they were startled beyond belief. They had gone from losing all hope against dragons of legend to finding a new seed of hope in reinforcements. And now, that small seed was growing proudly with each explosion of Bowzer's fireballs, proving that they too had the aid of a legendary beast.

King Wilheim held strong to the reigns of his soldiers' hearts. Even under those circumstances, he was the first to continue his assault and tune out the spectacular clash of fiery titans in the distance.

Jack's wives and Lina were also among the first as they expected nothing less from Bowzer. Together with their beast companions, they held the front line. To their sides were the Aazoon captains and soldiers, helping them to face the invaders without any disadvantage. And any high-level expert who dared to attack the wives was met by Mooldrat, who was guarding them instead of pushing the line.

Though the battle on the cold sand was getting more and more heated, it couldn't compare to the battle taking place overhead.