Giant Dragon Lord: Starting from Daily Intelligence

Chapter 542: Chapter 415: The Battle for the "Sun Crown Stone

At that point, it would likely stop hiding and charge out to tear them to shreds for daring to covet its treasure.

Time was not on their side.

Raylo’s mind raced, searching for a way to break the stalemate.

Night gradually fell.

The blood-red setting sun stained the clouds on the horizon an ominous shade.

The standoff at the volcano continued.

Sun seemed to have vented its fury. It no longer made futile attacks, but hovered silently above the crater, its golden eyes fixed on the dark red magma below.

It refused to leave. It wouldn’t budge an inch.

Raylo sighed and jumped down from Baofeng’s back.

He found a relatively flat rock to sit on and took some water and food from his Spatial Bag.

Baofeng landed beside him, nuzzling its enormous head against Raylo’s shoulder with a low cry.

Raylo patted its neck, letting it know he was all right.

He looked up at the lonely, obstinate golden figure in the sky, a complex mix of emotions welling up inside him.

His relationship with Sun had long since transcended that of a simple Lord and his Knight.

They were comrades-in-arms, partners, friends who could rely on each other and grow stronger together.

Sun’s obsession was his own.

No matter what, he had to help it reclaim the Sun Crown Stone that was rightfully its own.

Just then, a dull thud of footsteps echoed from the distant horizon.

The sound grew louder and clearer as it approached.

The crescent moon and sparse Stars in the sky looked dim, obscured by the volcano’s thick smoke.

Only the dark red glow of the crater cast a strange, oppressive shadow over the silent, dead landscape.

Kado had arrived with the Giant Legion.

"What’s the situation?"

Kado stood up, glanced at Sun hovering over the crater, then at the churning magma below, and asked in a rumbling voice.

Raylo briefly explained what had happened.

When Kado heard that the Blazing Phoenix had stolen the Sun Crown Stone and hidden inside the volcano’s magma, his brow furrowed deeply.

"This... is a real problem."

He scratched his messy hair, a troubled look on his face.

Though the Hill Giants possessed immense strength and astonishing defense, they were helpless against an enemy hiding in magma.

Their Power could not reach into the depths of the magma, either.

"Make camp first. Let the men get some rest," Raylo said.

"Yes, my Lord."

Kado immediately turned and began directing the Giants to settle down in a clearing a few hundred meters from the crater.

They skillfully cleared out a space for the Giant Camp, then sat in a circle and began to replenish their energy with the dried meat and fresh water they carried.

Raylo didn’t go to the camp with the Giants to rest.

He and Sun remained near the volcano, their gazes never leaving the lake of magma.

Time trickled by in silent anticipation.

「At midnight.」

The volcano’s activity suddenly intensified.

RUMBLE...

A dull roar echoed from deep within the earth, louder than ever before.

The entire ground began to tremble violently, as if an ancient Giant Beast was slowly stirring in the planet’s core.

Inside the crater, the once-calm lake of magma began to boil violently.

Countless enormous, crimson bubbles surged up from the lakebed and burst with a POP, flinging viscous magma into the air.

Waves of even hotter, more violent energy billowed madly from the crater.

The air temperature skyrocketed at an alarming rate.

Even at the Giant Camp, hundreds of meters away, they could clearly feel the suffocating heatwave washing over them.

"My Lord, what’s happening?"

Kado, Gordo, and Ug, the three Domain Level Giants, hurried to Raylo’s side, their gazes fixed warily on the boiling lake.

Raylo shook his head, his eyes glued to the crater.

"I’m not sure. The volcano... it looks like it’s about to erupt again."

The words had barely left his mouth.

BOOM!

A deafening roar erupted from the crater.

In that instant, the entire world shook violently.

Countless massive magma bubbles, each over ten meters in diameter, surged madly upward from the lakebed.

GLUG... GLUG...

The bubbles burst on the surface, splattering the sky with scorching magma.

A wave of energy, more than ten times more potent than before and reeking of sulfur and destruction, erupted from the crater.

’This is bad!’

Raylo’s expression changed abruptly.

"Everyone! Fall back! Now!"

He roared with all his might.

Raylo realized that the terrifying energy of the Sun Crown Stone had "boiled" the volcano over again!

Its powerful, violent energy had triggered a full-blown eruption!

Raylo’s order had been given quickly enough.

But in the next second...

Before everyone’s horrified eyes...

The boiling lake of magma erupted violently.

An endless torrent of magma shot toward the sky.

Amidst the spewing magma, a streak of golden light pierced the night sky.

In that instant, the entire dim world became as bright as day.

’It’s the Sun Crown Stone!’

’An opportunity!’

’This is the only chance!’

The Sun Wings whipped up a storm as Sun, radiating a scorching golden Flame, shot into the sky.

Its wings sent magma and ash flying. With utmost determination, Sun’s draconic form surged through the sky full of gushing magma, charging toward the Sun Crown Stone that had been launched high into the air.

And just as the Sun Crown Stone appeared...

From within the erupting, golden magma below, a figure wreathed in a blazing inferno suddenly shot out.

It was the Blazing Phoenix!

It looked utterly battered.

Its magnificent feathers, which once flowed like liquid Flame, were now dull and listless.

Its aura had grown unstable; it had likely been injured by the Sun Crown Stone’s eruption.

The Blazing Phoenix let out a sharp screech. Spreading its wings once more, it lunged with its sharp talons toward the Sun Crown Stone tumbling through the air!

It would not allow this Treasure, which it had already claimed, to slip through its grasp!

The sky was now a chaotic Purgatory of scorching magma interwoven with gray-black volcanic ash.

A destructive energy storm raged across the land and sky.

The Sun Crown Stone, like a brilliant Crystal tossed into the eye of the storm, radiated a deadly allure.

The Blazing Phoenix shrieked, its blood-red eyes burning with a maddened fire.

Ignoring its injuries, it gave a powerful flap of its wings. Its body became a crimson streak of light as it charged with reckless abandon through the rain of magma hot enough to melt steel, once again reaching for the Sun Crown Stone with its sharp, flaming talons.

But as fast as it was, this time, Sun was faster!

ROAR!

A determined draconic roar, like a clap of thunder, echoed across the sky.

Sun!

The moment it saw the Sun Crown Stone reappear, the primal craving in its bloodline and the overwhelming rage at having its Treasure stolen finally exploded!

Its golden eyes instantly turned as crimson as a burning sun.

Sun held nothing back. With no hesitation, its massive body, as if forged from pure Gold, streaked through the air in a straight, golden line.

It paid no mind to the charging Blazing Phoenix. In its eyes, in its entire world, there was only the golden Sun Crown Stone tumbling through the air.

Speed!

Absolute speed!

Sun squeezed every last ounce of Power from its draconic body, pushing itself to the absolute limit.

Like a true sun, it charged forward with an unstoppable, world-destroying momentum.

This time, it would not miss its chance!