Everyone’s gaze was fixed on the same spot.

The mountain-like Giant Dragon.

And beneath its colossal form, pinned helplessly to the ground, was the once-invincible Black Dragon, the "Black King."

A Domain Level Giant Dragon, in the presence of a Catastrophe Level Giant Dragon, was not even worthy of raising its head.

The visual impact of this absolute crushing difference in power levels was far more stunning than any flashy Magic or brutal battle.

"SCREEE!"

An eagle’s cry broke the suffocating silence.

Raylo, riding Baofeng, slowly ascended from below the highlands.

He passed through his own army’s formation, crossed the invisible line clearly drawn by the overwhelming pressure, and finally landed before the pinned Black Dragon, the "Black King."

Sun walked to Raylo’s side, its golden eyes glancing at the wretched-looking member of its own kind on the ground.

Raylo vaulted off Baofeng’s back and strode forward until he stood before the Black King.

The Black King’s enormous head was still pressed firmly to the ground by Astra’s intangible pressure.

It could only glare out of the corner of its eye, with both venom and terror, at the human who had walked up to it.

It was this human, the one who had clashed with it several times, who had led this Catastrophe Level Giant Dragon here!

"Black King."

Raylo’s voice was calm.

"I’m giving you two choices."

"First, submit to me."

"Second, die here."

He wasted no words, getting straight to the point.

Sun translated Raylo’s words into the language of dragons for the Black King on the ground.

"ROAR!"

The answer that came back to Raylo was a roar filled with endless humiliation and towering fury.

Even pinned down, even without the strength to move a single claw, the Black Dragon’s untamable nature still drove it to resist instinctively.

’Submit to a puny human? Me, a noble Black Dragon King?’

Raylo’s expression showed no surprise.

Behind him.

The next second.

"BOOM!"

A thick bolt of Lightning erupted without warning!

The Lightning was blindingly fast.

Like a Thunderbolt Whip, it carved a brilliant, heart-stopping arc through the air and lashed viciously against the Black King’s enormous body!

"CRACK!"

A crisp sound, like shattering colored glass, rang out.

The Dragon Armor on the Black King—the one it had traded from the Necromancer Modi Caesar, forged from countless precious metals, inscribed with powerful Defense Runes, and capable of withstanding most Domain Level attacks—

was like a fragile piece of parchment beneath this seemingly casual Thunder Whip.

In an instant, it was whipped to pieces!

Countless metal fragments, mixed with dazzling sparks of electricity, flew wildly in all directions.

And the Thunder Whip, after shattering the Dragon Armor, lost none of its Power.

It struck squarely against the Black King’s hard, Obsidian-like Dragon Scales.

"SQUELCH!"

A sickening sound of skin splitting and flesh bursting open echoed.

The indestructible Dragon Scales were torn apart in an instant.

"ROAR!"

A shrill, agonized howl erupted from the Black King’s mouth.

The intense, heart-rending pain caused its massive body to convulse violently.

Raylo watched the Black King gasping in agony on the ground, his expression still calm.

He waited until the Black King’s screams had subsided slightly before speaking again, slowly.

"I’ll say it again."

"Submit, or die."

Sun translated his words once more.

This time.

The Black King was silent.

Its Dark Gold vertical pupils stared fixedly at Raylo, filled with venom and resentment, but even more so with an unconcealable fear.

It could feel it.

This human before it wasn’t joking.

If it dared to say "no" again...

The next Thunder Whip would shatter more than just its Dragon Scales.

Time seemed to stretch on infinitely.

The Black King’s huge body was still twitching slightly.

The intense pain, like maggots gnawing at its bones, relentlessly ate away at its nerves.

But even harder to bear than the physical pain was the humiliation and powerlessness that came from being utterly crushed, a feeling that originated from the depths of its soul.

It remained silent.

Its cunning mind, full of schemes and tricks, raced, trying to find a sliver of a chance—any chance at all—to turn the tables in this desperate situation.

’Escape?’

Before a Catastrophe Level existence, the thought flashed through its mind for only an instant before it was immediately extinguished.

After a long while.

As if using every last ounce of its strength, the Black King forced out a syllable full of humiliation from the depths of its throat.

"...I... agree."

It had chosen a temporary compromise.

It raised its proud head and said to Raylo with great difficulty, "Human, I am willing to sign an equal Companion Contr—"

It hadn’t finished its sentence.

"No."

Raylo’s voice, cold and firm, cut it off.

"You are in no position to bargain with me."

Raylo gazed calmly into the Black King’s astounded, Dark Gold vertical pupils.

"What I want is not an equal Companion Contract."

He said, word by word.

"It is... a Master-Servant Contract."

"BOOM!"

These words, like two invisible, red-hot branding irons, were seared deep into the Black King’s soul.