At the very beginning, Asterion still had the energy to slurp up the melting ceiling—well, I say "at the beginning," but in reality, the temperature spike took less than two seconds.
It was a scorching heat that not even a Fire-element monster like Asterion could endure. He didn't even dare to burrow deeper underground because, at a speed visible to the naked eye, the surrounding rock was heating up rapidly, turning a faintly glowing dark red, then bright red, then yellow.
It was impossible to calculate exactly how much seawater Teostra's previous Supernova had evaporated, but the amount of rock and ground he was currently melting was clearly visible.
Scrambling out of his hiding hole just before it was completely melted into a magma lake, Asterion stared dumbfounded at the barren surroundings. The entire surface looked as if it had been bulldozed flat by Teostra; there were no longer any small hills or lone rock walls protruding from the ground.
There were no canyons or caves, only magma emitting a dim, orange-red glow.
An area roughly a thousand meters in radius, centered on Teostra, had been transformed into a lake of magma. The closer to the center, the brighter the color. Under the impact of the Supernova explosion, this magma had been pushed layer by layer toward the periphery and was now slowly flowing back, like concentric ripples.
With Asterion's vision, now unobstructed, he could see even farther. Teostra hadn't managed to turn the terrain several kilometers away into a magma lake, but the surface rocks closer by had certainly been burned red-hot.
Needless to say, the already sparse vegetation in the southern part of the Wildspire Waste had suffered another devastating blow. The new shoots that had struggled to grow after the locust plague withered and died in this heat, or were burned to ash.
For ordinary life, trying to survive in this world was simply too difficult.
Spotting two black dots rapidly enlarging in the sky, Asterion scanned the area before refocusing his gaze on Teostra—who was standing in a patch of magma, watching him coldly, having not used the window of opportunity after the Supernova to flee.
Taking a few steps through the magma, Asterion shook his body. From his sides, many charred or warped bladescales and shells clattered down, quickly replaced by regenerating new ones.
Teostra was a dead dragon walking, but that didn't mean the battle ended here. The ensuing scramble would be even more intense than before.
Yes, a scramble.
Risking one's old life and putting in all this effort—wasn't it all for a mouthful of meat?
Just look at Nergigante, flapping those wings furiously, desperate to rush back here, terrified that if he arrived late, all the meat would be eaten by Asterion.
Bazelgeuse was unwilling to be left behind, but his flight speed was truly too slow; he had already been left more than a few body lengths behind by Nergigante.
Boom!
A heavy landing splashed up a sheet of magma. Asterion could practically hear the sizzle of the magma making contact with Nergigante's scales.
After landing, Nergigante shot a glance at Asterion before charging directly at Teostra. Even though Asterion, who was also charging, was within his attack range, Nergigante didn't initiate an attack. The prior agreement seemed to still hold valid: take out Teostra first, discuss other matters later.
Teostra... died.
Even though he wanted to die with as much value and dignity as possible—perhaps taking one of the besieging dragons down with him—he couldn't achieve it. After all, Nergigante was simply too thick-skinned and recovered too quickly, while the coordination between Asterion and Bazelgeuse was flawless, giving him no opening whatsoever.
The moment Teostra fell, before he could even utter a sigh of emotion, Asterion dove straight for Teostra's softest abdominal region and took a bite!
Things being what they were, let's eat first.
Eat!!
Uh, but it's worth noting that this wasn't just mindless gorging. Asterion wanted to be the first to find the Teostra Gem inside the abdominal cavity. A monster that had lived this long, reaching the end of its natural lifespan, would inevitably have a Wyvern Gem or Elder Dragon Gem inside its body; it was just a matter of location.
Fast, fast, fast!
Time is tight, and the task is heavy!
In Asterion's view, letting Nergigante eat the Gem first would be worse than being killed; it was more painful than not eating the Gem at all.
Scalding Elder Dragon blood gushed from Teostra's abdominal cavity, dyeing half of Asterion's head red. Intestines, liver, lungs... Asterion swallowed with the fluidity of drinking water. There was no chewing motion visible at all; it was as if he were stuffing it into his stomach non-stop.
This was the precious result of countless days and nights of diligent cultivation! Those broad roads weren't paved in vain! Those rocks weren't eaten for nothing!!
through long-term mechanical, repetitive labor, Asterion had long since trained his eating motions to a state of perfection! Eating meat like drinking water!!
Nergigante was anxious.
He couldn't not be anxious.
Seeing Asterion tearing into the food ferociously, ignoring the fact that Teostra's corpse was still twitching with reflex nerves, caused Nergigante more heartache than if he couldn't eat at all!
Damn it, how can there be such a gluttonous dragon in this world!!
Especially since Nergigante tried to approach several times only to be stubbornly flipped away by Bazelgeuse, who looked like he hadn't had enough fighting and wanted to continue, making Nergigante's lungs practically explode with rage.
"Roar!!" (Stop eating!)
Hmm, from their first meeting until now, this was the first time hearing Nergigante say something other than "Kill you" or "Eat you." Truly a rare change.
But would Asterion listen to him?
What a joke.
Hah!! When it comes to the path of eating, Asterion was confident he was second to no living being—
"Roar, roar, roar!!" (I told you to stop eating!!)
That's all mine!
Eyes turning red, Nergigante threw himself madly at Asterion. Lacking the cover of Asterion's cooperative combat, Bazelgeuse alone couldn't stop a Nergigante driven mad by hunger.
No joke, the difference in combat power between a Nergigante angry from battle injuries and a Nergigante angry over food felt massive.
When Bazelgeuse exhausted all his strength and still couldn't find the previous rhythm, realizing he was simply being beaten up by Nergigante, he finally turned his head in belated realization—turning back only to see Asterion lying on Teostra's corpse, eating voraciously.
Bazelgeuse was beside himself with fury.
We agreed to a good fight! To battle to our heart's content! What is that blood on your mouth?!
Is that lying-down posture of yours serious?!
Why have you already started eating?!!
Can eating defeat Nergigante?!
Fine! In that case! I'll eat too!!
Skipping the details, Bazelgeuse is also a carnivorous wyvern. Although, looking at his mouth, you can tell his dental situation isn't great; usually, he bombs his prey from the air until their scales and shells are shattered and their flesh torn open before going down to eat.
But it didn't matter. If you want to eat, then eat!
The moment the thought of food arises, the world suddenly feels wider.
And just like that, Bazelgeuse didn't want to keep fighting Nergigante anymore. Instead, he turned and dove onto Teostra's corpse. The intense battle earlier had already smashed Teostra's shell to pieces, so Bazelgeuse actually found it quite easy to dig in.
He even shimmied over to stick close to Asterion's side. The two of them were lined up, chowing down like puppies burying their heads into a mother dog's belly—of course, normal puppies wouldn't tear the mother dog's stomach open like they were doing.
And Asterion had no intention of stopping him. With Nergigante eyeing them greedily, he didn't want to be the one singled out for a siege. So, he deliberately scooted over to make room for Bazelgeuse, positioning himself closer to the area of Teostra's abdomen near the heart, preventing Bazelgeuse from getting the good stuff.
Well, this little scheme wasn't something the simple-minded Bazelgeuse could perceive. He even thanked Asterion for making space for him.
"Roar-ang!" (I thank you!)
Cough, cough! Anyway, leaving aside the strangely harmonious situation on Asterion's end, Nergigante was truly about to lose his mind.
"Roar!!" (Stop your mouths!!)
"Roar, roar!!" (I'll kill you both!!!)
Two short sentences exhausted all feelings of camaraderie. Nergigante wasn't here to join the feast; he was here to wreck it.
Truly worthy of being the naturally evil Nergigante!
In Nergigante's eyes, the moment Teostra fell, this big guy's corpse already belonged in his stomach. It was his food! His nutrition! It belonged to him! It could only belong to him!!
So, seeing Asterion and Bazelgeuse burying their heads in hard work, Nergigante didn't even pounce on Teostra's corpse; he pounced on those two!
I'll stab you to death!!
Meeting the enemy with spikes, Nergigante was practically acting like a sadistic torturer, wishing he could just stab these two food-thieves to death right then and there.
Bang!!
But it was a bit comical; Nergigante retreated just as fast as he had charged in with his spiked wings shielding his body.
Even deep in his feeding frenzy, Asterion gave Nergigante full respect. The moment Nergigante pounced, Asterion and Bazelgeuse turned their heads simultaneously. Bazelgeuse slammed his heavy tail, covered in blasting scales, ruthlessly against the wings Nergigante used to block, the scales exploding in rapid succession.
Asterion, meanwhile, ignited his saw-blade, swinging it in a massive arc and stabbing straight through Nergigante's wing, nearly piercing his forehead.
"Roar!!!"
Pain! Suffering! Nergigante's hatred burned across the Wildspire Waste! The world trembled at his torment; miserable monsters died in his fury!
He was enraged! He was furious!! He—in a fit of rage, he ran straight to the other side of Teostra's corpse and started eating from the spinal area.
If he didn't eat now, the food would get cold!
A dragon reaching middle age, Nergigante gradually learned to bow to reality. Sigh, today's dragons just can't help but lament.
Now, no dragons were roaring back and forth. Without even time to move Teostra's corpse from the magma lake to dry land, the three dragons began aggressively attacking Teostra from three different spots—why does that phrasing sound so weird?
Must be an illusion.
Snort, snort. Snort, snort.
Crunch, crunch. Crunch, crunch.
Smack, smack—there was even a dragon smacking his lips while eating; the manners were simply atrocious.
The dining table is a battlefield. Right now, the competition wasn't about which dragon had stronger combat power, but whose mouth was faster, who chewed faster, and who swallowed faster.
But Asterion ultimately held the initiative... the "first mouth advantage." His head, probing deep inside Teostra's abdominal cavity, suddenly bumped against something hard!
In an instant, Asterion's entire dragon body trembled with excitement!!
Dragon eyes lit up! Even his breathing quickened a few notches!!
With a fierce snap of his jaws, he bit onto that round, hard object. Asterion pulled his head out of Teostra's abdominal cavity, planted his pair of forelimbs firmly on top of the corpse, and raised his head high into the air!!
Shing!!
Even with fresh blood dripping continuously from its surface, nothing could mask its dazzling brilliance!
It is! It is! It really is!
The Teostra Gem!!!
In the atmosphere of three pigs rooting—ah, no, it should be three dragons fighting for food—for one dragon to suddenly stop eating was quite eye-catching. It was like declaring he was giving up his eating rights; if one eats less, the others can eat more—so Nergigante and Bazelgeuse couldn't help but pull their heads out of the carcass to look at Asterion.
That one look lasted an eternity.
Under the sunlight, that fiery red Wyvern Gem, fully the size of a basketball, was so beautiful, so pretty. It seemed as if invisible flames were wrapped around it, refracting magnificent colors.
It flashed whoosh whoosh, sparkling bling bling.
Of course, there was also the thing that attracted dragons the most, the thing they craved above all else—Bioenergy.
The Gem could be said to condense the essence of a dragon's entire body. Especially for an ancient Elder Dragon like Teostra, who had lived for who knows how many ages, the Bioenergy contained within this Gem, if released all at once, would likely blast the three dragons present into powder.
Fortunately, Teostra couldn't use the self-destruct tactic.
Knowing deeply that only what enters the stomach truly belongs to oneself, upon hearing the movements of Nergigante and Bazelgeuse, Asterion didn't hesitate to swallow the Teostra Gem whole in one gulp.
Awesome! Now that is awesome!
As soon as it went down, he could feel that surging Bioenergy and scorching aura. However, a more detailed post-meal review would have to wait until he was safe. The most important thing now was to run.
Yes, without the slightest hesitation, Asterion turned his head and broke into a sprint.
Dead legs! Run!!
He exerted so much force throughout his body that even the decorative little wings on his back were flapping desperately, though who knows how much use that was.
Run, run, run! Survive!!
Before, Nergigante indeed couldn't find a reason to expend stamina and Bioenergy to fight a great battle with Asterion, because the cost was too high and the return too low. But now, things were different.
Asterion had eaten the most precious part of Teostra, the very essence of his Bioenergy. He held at least seventy percent of Teostra's total Bioenergy. Even if he didn't eat a single bite of the remaining meat, he absolutely wouldn't be losing out.
This meant that once Teostra's corpse was eaten clean, Asterion would become the next dragon harboring a massive amount of Bioenergy—but without the terrifying special abilities characteristic of Elder Dragons—essentially, a giant chunk of nutrient-rich meat.
He was worth Nergigante hunting down, worth risking all his accumulated Bioenergy to fight to the death for.
So he couldn't be greedy for even a little bit more.
The greed for food didn't cloud Asterion's mind. His decisive flight created a dilemma—choose to chase him, or choose to stay and finish eating Teostra's still-abundant corpse.
This multiple-choice question only had meaning in this specific moment. After all, if they ate for a while longer, there wouldn't be as much meat left on Teostra, and the appeal would drop significantly.
Nergigante stared blankly at Asterion's retreating back, then looked at Teostra's massive corpse.
And Bazelgeuse... remained completely oblivious, burying his head and eating bitterly.
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