A rage more violent and desperate than any it had felt before instantly exploded within its chest!

Master-Servant Contract!

This damned, despicable, ant-like human actually dared to dream of making it, a noble Black Dragon, his slave!

This was no longer just a humiliation.

This was the ultimate desecration!

The Black King let out a roar filled with endless venom and madness.

Its massive body shot up from the ground!

It recklessly burned its own life and Dragon Power, erupting with a terrifying, death-defying strength that far surpassed anything it had shown before!

’I have to kill this human!’

’I will tear this wretch who dared to desecrate the dignity of a Giant Dragon to shreds!’

’Even if we both perish!’

However, its resistance still seemed so laughable, so pale and powerless before Astra.

"VMMM!"

Astra glanced coldly at the Black King.

The next second, countless dazzling, silvery-white bolts of lightning appeared out of thin air.

These bolts of lightning quickly intertwined and converged in the air, forming a massive, airtight, spherical cage made of pure Thunderbolt, over a hundred meters in diameter!

The moment the cage formed, it completely enveloped the Black King’s massive body, which had just shot into the air.

"TZZZZT!"

The Black King’s desperate charge, fueled by its burning life and Dragon Power, slammed viciously against the seemingly illusory wall of the Thunderbolt cage.

A piercing sound, like water hitting boiling oil, echoed throughout the heavens and the earth.

Plumes of black smoke, thick with the smell of burnt flesh, rose into the air.

The moment the Black King’s tough draconic body touched the Thunderbolt cage, the violent Power of Thunder and Lightning seared it, leaving it charred on the outside and tender on the inside as it convulsed all over.

Its death-defying, resolute charge was effortlessly neutralized by the Thunderbolt cage.

"ROAR!"

The Black King let out a pained shriek, its massive body crashing heavily back to the ground.

But this was only the beginning.

The cage of lightning was not merely a physical prison.

It was also a spiritual Purgatory, constructed from the will of a Catastrophe Level existence!

A vast Spiritual Power crushed down on the Black King from all directions!

In an instant, countless terrifying Illusions flooded the Black King’s mind.

It saw its own body being slowly disintegrated and annihilated amidst the endless Thunderbolt.

It saw its soul being torn to shreds before that tyrannical will, dissipating completely between heaven and earth.

It saw everything it cherished—the Dragon Blood Ancient Tree it had guarded for centuries, the nest where it had hoarded countless riches—all turning to dust in that world-destroying lightning.

It was the most direct, purest threat of death, originating from a Catastrophe Level being.

Under this level of spiritual torment, cracks finally began to appear in the Black King’s cunning and tenacious heart.

Its will to resist was being slowly worn down and shattered.

Its pride, its dignity, its untamable soul belonging to a Black Dragon...

...were all being utterly ground to dust within this endless Thunderbolt Purgatory of destruction and despair.

Slowly, the instinct for survival finally overwhelmed its laughable, so-called dignity.

Raylo watched quietly as the Black King struggled in agony within the lightning cage.

He knew the time was right.

He slowly walked forward.

"Black King."

His voice was like a demonic whisper from the Abyss, full of temptation.

"This is your last chance."

"Submit."

"Or face eternal annihilation."

Inside the lightning cage, the Black King’s consciousness was on the verge of collapse.

Raylo’s voice was the last straw that broke the camel’s back, completely shattering the final line of defense in its heart.

Eternal annihilation.

As relayed by the Sun, the words drilled into its ears like a cold Dagger, viciously stabbing into its already riddled soul.

The fear of death submerged it completely, like a frigid ocean.

The last glint of resistance and struggle in its dark gold vertical pupils finally dimmed completely.

In its place was a dead, empty, ashen gray.

It had given up.

"I... am willing..."

A faint voice drifted out from the cage.

As if its mission was complete, Astra’s lightning cage silently dissipated into the air.

The Black King’s massive, charred body collapsed heavily to the ground.

It gasped for breath, like a dying fish dragged from the depths of the sea onto the shore.

The Black King slowly lifted its huge, scarred head.

Then, under Raylo’s calm gaze, it used all its strength to press its lower jaw firmly against the cold, hard ground.

This was the posture a Giant Dragon adopted to show submission.

Immediately after, it opened its great maw, filled with sharp draconic teeth.

A jet-black Reversed Scale located on its lower jaw, slightly different in color from the others and shimmering with a faint, dark light, slowly detached itself.

At the same time, a drop of Essence Blood, which contained its purest Origin Power and shimmered with a dark gold light, slowly seeped out from between its brows.

The Reversed Scale carried a Giant Dragon’s dignity and pride.

The Essence Blood, in turn, contained its life and origin.

To hand over both of these items at the same time meant that it was unreservedly placing its life, soul, dignity... everything, into the other’s hands.

This was the core ritual of the Master-Servant Contract.

Raylo slowly let out a heavy breath.

He looked at the Black Dragon before him, which had completely lost all will to resist, and felt not a shred of joy in his heart.

’A subordinate subjugated in this manner will never be truly loyal,’ he knew. ’Its heart is filled with resentment. Given the chance, it will absolutely turn on me without hesitation.’

"Very good."

Raylo’s voice was still calm.

He looked at the Black King and issued his first command as its master.

"For now, entrust your Demon Legion to the subordinate you trust most."

The Black King’s massive body trembled slightly.

It did not dare to disobey in the slightest.

It let out a low, complex draconic cry.

On the highlands, among the Demon Legion still prostrated on the ground, a Kobold in a filthy Mage Robe suddenly shuddered.

It lifted its head, revealing a pair of small eyes.

It was the Black King’s only Domain Level subordinate, the Dogman Wizard, Jig.

Raylo’s gaze fell upon the massive Earth Dragons and Griffins mixed in with the Demon Legion.

"Black King, have your Earth Dragons and Griffins follow you to the Black Stone Territory."

Finally, there was the Black King’s treasure as a Giant Dragon.

The Black King’s lair was next to the highlands where the Dragon Blood Ancient Tree stood. A tall Dragon’s Nest had been built here with massive stones.

Compared to other Giant Dragons like Moonlight and Coal Ball, the Black King was a typical example of its kind. Its nest was piled high with Gold Coins, Gemstones, and all sorts of Treasures.

Coal Ball joyfully rolled around on the small mountains of Gold Coins and Gemstones before swallowing all the wealth into its belly.

After all this was done, Raylo swung himself onto Baofeng’s back and gave the order to return.

"We’re heading back."

The army of the Black Stone Territory began to slowly turn around.

The newly subjugated Black Dragon, at Raylo’s command, reluctantly climbed to its feet, dragging its battered, heavy body behind the army.

Every step it took was exceptionally difficult.