Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Raylo stood on Lightning’s broad back, his gaze sweeping over the wreckage of a continent floating in the endless darkness.

The vast, silent fragments were like a collection of tombstones, each one a testament to a civilization’s final, tragic song.

"Let’s go."

After what felt like an eternity, Mage Wendel finally spoke, his impatient voice shattering the suffocating silence.

His voice was hoarse and tinged with irritation.

"Staring at it won’t make a flower bloom. Since we’re here, we might as well look around and see if there’s anything valuable left in this loser’s world."

As always, the Legendary Mage’s words were practical, even a bit callous.

But his words were like a pinprick, jolting everyone out of the stunned stupor that had nearly frozen their thoughts.

Mage Delin nodded in agreement.

"Wendel’s right. There’s no point in lamenting the past. We’re here to explore. Understanding why they failed is the best way to avoid failing ourselves."

Raylo took a deep breath, the tightness in his chest easing slightly.

He patted Lightning’s neck.

"Lightning, let’s head to the center of this landmass."

"ROAR."

Lightning beat its wings, transforming into a streak of electricity.

There was no wind.

It was as if even the wind itself had died in this world.

Master Barnaby adjusted his Alchemy Glasses, his face a little pale.

"Here... the Elemental Energy here is pure chaos. All the Elements are decaying and annihilating each other, like a pot of porridge that’s about to boil dry."

As an Alchemist, he was extremely sensitive to the flow of energy.

"In a place like this, unless you’ve reached the Domain Level, I’m afraid you couldn’t even cast the most Low Tier Fireball Technique. The Magic Power would be instantly decomposed by the environment."

Mage Delin explained.

"The world’s origin was stolen, causing the web of Law to collapse. The Elements naturally lost their bindings and returned to a primal, chaotic state. Here, no Magic can be stabilized unless you rely on your own Domain or a powerful source of Magic Power to force the Casting."

Raylo remained silent, quietly taking it all in.

He tried to circulate the Magic Power within his body and, just as described, felt immense pulling and pushing forces from the environment. His Magic Power became sluggish and difficult to control, and the consumption was several times greater than it was on the Prime Material Plane.

Suddenly, a strange sense of dread washed over him without warning.

It wasn’t something he saw or heard.

It was a premonition of danger, born from his Knight’s intuition.

"Watch out!"

As the low shout escaped his lips, Mage Delin and Mage Wendel had already looked up, their gazes fixed on the void to their right.

The danger was already emerging from that very spot.

The space there began to ripple like a calm lake disturbed by a thrown stone.

Then, thirteen pitch-black shadows, each over ten meters long, tore through space and lunged silently from the center of the ripples!

They were thirteen monstrous, savage-looking creatures.

They had the forms of hunting dogs, but their bodies were not covered in fur. Instead, their skin seemed to be made of solidified shadow, shimmering with an eerie luster that was neither metallic nor stone-like.

Their limbs ended in razor-sharp Bone Blades. They had no eyes, only a gaping maw where a head should be, constantly opening and closing to reveal rows upon rows of Sharp Teeth.

Most frightening of all was the aura they radiated.

Every single one of them was at the Domain Level!

"Void Hounds."

Mage Delin said.

"They’re predators that wander the rifts between planes, extremely sensitive to the scent of life and energy. This world’s crystal barrier has shattered, making it an unguarded hunting ground for them."

Thirteen Domain Level Void Hounds!

Their speed was beyond imagination. As they pounced, they made not a single sound, leaving only thirteen pure, light-devouring black trails in their wake as they shot toward the group on Lightning’s back!

"Hmph. A pack of vermin from the void."

Mage Wendel let out a cold snort.

He made his move.

The Elder Mage, whose legendary title was "The Melting Furnace," made no grand gestures. He simply gave a casual wave of his wide, gray Mage Robe’s sleeve.

WHOOSH!

The next moment, a handful of crimson sparks drifted out from his cuff.

The sparks were initially no larger than a fingernail, but the instant they left his robe, they swelled explosively!

In the blink of an eye, that cloud of sparks transformed into a sky-blotting sea of fire. Roiling, crimson Blazing Flames completely engulfed the thousands of meters of space before them.

The thirteen menacing Void Hounds didn’t even have a chance to react before they plunged headfirst into this fiery dominion.

"AWOOOO..."

A series of shrill, twisted howls echoed out.

Within the cloud of fire, as soon as a Void Hound’s body was enveloped by the crimson-gold Flames, its tenacious skin melted away like snow under the midday sun. Its muscles and bones followed, and finally, the very core that held its Domain Power.

The entire process took less than a second.

The screams stopped as abruptly as they had begun.

The cloud of fire appeared and vanished with equal speed.

Mage Wendel seemed to be merely venting his irritation. With a light clench of his fist...

...the sky-spanning sea of fire rolled back on itself as if being inhaled by a great whale, condensing back into a single crimson-gold wisp of flame that vanished into his sleeve.

Once again, the sky returned to its dead silence.

It was as if nothing had ever happened.

The thirteen Domain Level Void Hounds had been completely erased from existence, leaving not even a speck of ash behind.

"Tch. A waste of time."

Master Wendel grumbled in dissatisfaction as he turned his head back.

Master Barnaby’s jaw hung open. He stared blankly, first at Mage Wendel’s sleeve, then at the empty void, and swallowed hard.

’This... is a Legend?’

’This is the Power of the Catastrophe Level?’

Raylo’s own mind was in turmoil.

Mage Wendel’s attack had been so casual, yet it contained the terrifying might to incinerate everything.

"Let’s keep moving."

Mage Delin’s voice pulled Raylo from his reverie.

"It seems this journey won’t be a peaceful one."

Lightning let out a low growl and continued its flight.

The journey that followed proved Mage Delin right.

Every so often, bizarre Void Demons would squirm out from weak points in space, attempting to attack the tantalizing ball of life-scented "food" they presented.

There were swarms of Void Rays that blotted out the void like locusts, and Void Jellyfish the size of small mountains, their bodies covered in energy tendrils.

But without exception...

...no matter what appeared, or in what numbers...

...Mage Wendel would simply give an impatient wave of his sleeve.

A cloud of fire would burst forth.

The cloud of fire would be drawn back in.

And the world would fall silent once more.

Before the Legendary Fire of "The Melting Furnace," these Void Demons—creatures that would trouble any ordinary Domain Level Powerhouse—were as fragile as paper.

This gave Raylo a new, far deeper understanding of the weight behind the word "Legend."

After effortlessly incinerating a Shadow Spider that had tried to sneak up on them, Lightning had carried the group deep into the heart of the continental fragment.

This area must have once been a magnificent mountain range.

Now, all that remained were countless horrifying sheer cliffs where mountains had been snapped in two, and a host of massive peaks left floating in the void.

Just as Raylo focused on a vast ruin that looked like a city carved into the belly of a mountain, a flicker of something unusual caught the corner of his eye.

Deep within the ruins of the city.

A faint pinprick of light.

It flared.

Then died.

Like... a rhythmic breath.

Lightning adjusted its enormous Dragon Wings and began a smooth glide downward.

As they drew closer, the city’s silhouette became clearer.

It was a massive city built into the majestic mountain range. Countless structures, built in tiers upon the mountainside, must have once presented a magnificent sight.

Now, however, nothing but wreckage remained.

The massive city walls were fractured, exposing jagged chasms.

Once-towering spires had been sheared off at the base, leaving behind only their lonely foundations.

Broad avenues were completely choked with fallen rock and architectural debris.

Half of the city was in ruins, and the other half was gone without a trace.

The other half of the city, along with the mountain that supported it, had vanished into the void, leaving behind nothing but a colossal, unnerving cross-section.

Twisted figures lurked and roamed within the shadows of the ruins.

They took various forms. Some resembled giant wolves hunting in the shadows, others looked like great, writhing clumps of black ooze, and the faint shapes of other strange Demons could be seen throughout the city’s remains.

Void Demons.

Like vultures drawn to a carcass, they gnawed at the last vestiges of flesh on this civilization’s corpse.