He sneered immediately. "You brat, it seems I've overestimated you. Do you really think that just because you have a mother who ascended to godhood, I wouldn't dare to kill you? Let me give you a piece of advice: before a dragon has fully matured, the first things it should learn are reverence and how to lie low."

And this was the draconic wisdom Christoph had gleaned from his tragic early life.

But to his surprise, David, this young fool, was completely unyielding.

"That's right. You don't dare."

[Arrogance]

"..." Christoph, vexed, scraped his claws against his iron chin, sending sparks flying.

He had only intended to talk big, but after being challenged like this, he realized he couldn't actually just kill this brat in front of him. He didn't know what Pafila thought of this boy. However, he did know that the Chromatic Dragon Queen had once bestowed a special divine power mark upon this young Red Dragon. This kid had even used the mark to offer half of Spider Nest City to the Dragon Queen. At that time, the Dragon Queen's delighted laughter had echoed across the entire Dragon Capital and even into parts of Avernus, leaving a deep impression on all dragons. If he dared to kill David Euthyphro at will, the Chromatic Dragon Queen might be the first to kill him, and then send his soul to Evil Scale Fortress to await reprimand and punishment. Christoph, for his part, wasn't afraid of death; he was a dragon who had already died once. But then, wouldn't his grand plan for revenge simply come to naught!?

Reflecting on how this kid knew his dark history like the back of his own claw, could it be that he had seen through this, and that was why he was so fearless?

Christoph was truly incensed this time, and an angry laugh escaped him. "Damnation! Indeed, I cannot just kill you. But for you, a mere young Red Dragon, to think you can stop me, stop a legendary Red Dragon? Aren't you overestimating yourself?"

"Whether I'm overestimating myself or not, won't we know after we fight?"

Christoph was about to say something in helpless frustration when he saw David, this reckless dragon, raise his claws and wings high as if gripping an ethereal sword, every scale on his body bristling fiercely like blades.

The moment he initiated this stance, while the group of Red Dragonkin felt nothing yet, David himself looked as if he were being flayed alive, as dozens, even hundreds, of bloody mists erupted from his body and spread into the surroundings.

Far away, Green Dragon Nifadora, who was leading the Dragon Whelps that had just evaded the calamity halfway back to their camp, once again witnessed this terrifying scene. Before she could voice a warning—

"Run! The big dragon is about to unleash his ultimate!" White Dragon Mofei was the first to flee.

Alfonse's Black Dragon siblings also fled as if facing a formidable enemy. When the other draconic creatures saw the smartest among the dragons fleeing in the opposite direction, they also scattered like birds and beasts.

Because they had just recently seen this move performed in the sky.

It was a 'Martial Technique' used by Crimson Calamity, the mother of their leader, when she proved her divinity.

That scene was terrifying. Before the move was even fully unleashed, specters of Demons had rained down like a torrential downpour. Then, a 'single strike' nearly shattered the entire Divine Realm to smithereens. How could their juvenile forms possibly compare to Demons?

And at this moment, David using this move couldn't possibly compare to his mother, Pafila, but at least he had mustered the momentum.

A surging mist of blood condensed around him into a dark red fog. Guided by [Arrogance], his raised claws and wings formed what looked like a sword of Authority pointed towards the heavens.

Hmm... although, at this moment, this 'sword' was admittedly rather short and diminutive. In David's dragon claws, it resembled more of a broken crimson dagger.

Yet the wave of Mana Energy it unleashed was still powerful enough to scatter the gathering storm clouds once more, clearing the sky.

It was as if a deity, amidst the clouds, was crowning him with laurel.

David, like his Dragon Mother Pafila before him, let out a savage and arrogant laugh, surveying each of the 'invaders' who dared to lay claim to his mother's legacy.

At the same time, every Dragonkin nearby, including Yolanda, felt a prickling pain on their skin and scales from the radiating Mana Energy.

"This... how is this possible?" Theoretically, bearing the bloodline of Red Dragons, they shouldn't have been harmed by the Mana Energy radiation of a Red Dragon at all.

Yet, at that moment, every Dragonkin present—whether their skin was as delicate as a Drow's or as leathery as a Red Dragon's—felt their hair stand on end and goosebumps rise, or their scales bristle as if facing a dire enemy.

It was as if the blood coursing through their veins had become sluggish, signaling them to flee this 'place of peril'.

Yet not a single Dragonkin dared to retreat before their 'father' gave the order. Having been born in Barathrum Hell, they knew that sometimes, death was merely the beginning of unending horror.

Only Christoph, who had once gazed upon the heavens from within Hell itself, knew. This was a move Pafila used when she ascended to divinity. But could her son, David Euthyphro, use it too? That couldn't be!

But no matter how hard it was to accept logically, his body's instinct for danger couldn't deceive him. The sharp, prickling sensation in his brow told him so. This inexperienced Red Dragon, with just this one move, could indeed pose a threat to him, a legendary dragon. Of course, that was assuming he stood still and took the hit head-on. But to think that he, a legendary Red Dragon, would have to dodge the attack of a young Dragonkin descendant, countless generations his junior?