"Heh, my fear? I want to see what I'll be afraid of!"
Kalon pushed off with his hind legs, effortlessly standing upright, and looked down at the large cocoon deep within the mist with some anticipation.
His colossal spiritual body revealed the physical changes Kalon underwent during his slumber; his body proportions were growing and evolving towards the most perfect state, not just in appearance, but also in the adaptive output of his strength.
This made his neck a bit longer than before. To brew a more explosive Dragonfire and make the Dragonfire's impact flow more intense, his throat organs additionally generated a protective layer of tissue, specifically to protect the Red Dragon's frequently used windpipe.
Kalon knew about this nightmare ability, which first originated in the Dream Realm of Living Beings. These nightmares possessed the ability to travel between the spiritual domain of living beings and the spiritual river, moving between the dreams of living beings.
These nightmares fed on the dream fragments of living beings as their food and source of power. The dreams of these living beings also exuded their spirituality, allowing the nightmares to absorb it.
Some exceptionally powerful nightmares even gained the ability to invade the spiritual domain of living beings through dreams after consuming enough spirituality and growing stronger.
However, every living being, within their own spiritual domain, is passively a Creator, and the spiritual domain, governed by the living being's subconscious, will spontaneously retaliate against these invading nightmares.
But these nightmares have a unique ability: they can stir the spirituality of living beings and transform themselves into the most terrifying enemy in the heart of the invading living being.
Within the spiritual domain, a nightmare that transforms into a living being's dreaded enemy will possess the abilities of the person the living being's subconscious has imagined and feared.
And it is precisely by relying on this ability that these nightmares make living beings defeat themselves, thereby seizing their spiritual light.
They devour the spiritual power of living beings, and eventually even usurp the nest, being able to walk in the material world with the physical body of the living being whose spiritual power was devoured.
However, this peculiar monster has no reproductive capability. To have offspring, it must undergo self-differentiation, splitting off its own power and spirituality. Therefore, almost no nightmare would make such a choice, leading to this race being particularly rare.
"You ignorant Red Dragon, you will never truly understand the power of the great Nightmare race,"
The mist was churning, and illusory whispers echoed throughout the space like ghostly sounds. The spiritual light twisted and shifted within the churning mist, gradually taking shape.
Thump, thump, thump.
A figure stepped out from the mist. This was a strange fellow with a human appearance, quite tall for an ordinary person, wearing brown pants, a red shirt, and an ugly, bone-like mask that revealed a pair of eyes and a mouth.
The strange weapon in this person's hand vibrated continuously with a buzzing sound, like a rolling chainsaw.
"Hahahaha, die, Red Dragon! I will deliver the end of fear to you," the human body formed by the nightmare's spirituality raised the continuously buzzing chainsaw in its hand, revealing a cruel smile.
Slap!
Kalon's right limb, with its five Dragon claws straightened and pressed together, slapped the nightmare across the face, sending its mask flying and making the nightmare spin in circles like a rolling top.
"I can give you another chance, your ability is quite interesting," Kalon looked down at the nightmare, whose face was filled with disbelief, and said with a long fangs, a look of interest on his face.
"Something's wrong, something's wrong. Why would you be afraid of such a weak creature? You are a Dragon, you are a Red Dragon,"
The stopped nightmare roared, but its body involuntarily retreated two steps. It couldn't feel any extraordinary or strange power from the monster that its spirituality had conjured from Kalon's inner fear; it was just a slightly peculiar human.
"I feed on your fear, transforming into your nightmare of fear," the nightmare roared loudly, its distorted figure gradually shifting, transforming into another terrifying image.
This was also a human, also wearing a strange white hockey mask, but much taller, standing at two meters two, dressed in black farm clothes.
A pair of numb and bloodthirsty eyes revealed a desire for destroying life, and the blood-stained machete in its hand possessed a strange power: it could not be lost, nor could it be damaged.
"I am immortal, hahahaha," feeling the strange power emanating from within its body, the nightmare laughed wildly, and the machete in its hand whistled as it chopped down.
Clang!
Kalon extended a Dragon claw, gently blocking the machete's chop, then used his left Dragon claw to grasp the nightmare's head, squeezing it with a slight force until it burst open like a watermelon crushed by a heavy hammer.
"Oh, Jason, it's been a long time,"
Kalon smiled as he cleaned the illusory bloodstains from his palm, looking at the continuously twitching body before him with a sigh.
The nightmare's body, with an angry shriek, suddenly dissipated, and the next moment it reappeared from the mist, transforming into the image of a man wearing a black top hat and a red and green striped sweater.
Its face and body, burned by flames, were exceptionally ugly, covered in scars from burns, and its entire body was emaciated. Its right hand was a sharp metal claw.
"Oh, my God," Kalon exclaimed with a look of horror.
"I am the God you speak of, hahahaha!" The ghoul transformed from the nightmare laughed wildly, "You finally caught my weakness, you pathetic fellow, I just love your soul."
The nightmare's body instantly vanished into the surrounding space. Empowered by spirituality, it now possessed various abilities such as invisibility, teleportation, and size alteration, making it even more bizarre and powerful than its previous forms.
The nightmare's body quietly appeared behind Kalon, its sharp iron claw reaching for the Red Dragon's abdomen, but burning flames suddenly erupted, descending around Kalon like a fiery purgatory.
Spiritual flames danced, transforming from the burning fire into a grotesque, long-limbed Fire Elemental that embraced the nightmare's entire body.
The nightmare was actually unable to break free from the spiritual flames' restraint and was burned to ashes by the flames erupting from the Fire Elemental's body.
"Damn it, damn it, how could these weak, pig-like dogs make you feel fear?" An angry voice roared in Kalon's ear. The nightmare's repeated failures filled it with unparalleled fury and incomprehensible emotions.
"Heh heh, what was before is before, and what is now is now. Life is always in flux," Kalonreplied indifferently.
The nightmare now understood that the Red Dragon before it was toying with it, but the nightmare could not rashly commit all its power. Most of its power was still maintaining and nurturing its true body, still absorbing and digesting the remnants of the Supreme Sky Titan.
It could only use the fear that Kalon's spirituality spontaneously generated, transforming into various enemies, solely to reduce the spiritual domain's repulsion and resistance to outsiders.
The nightmare could only tirelessly use its abilities, drawing in Kalon's increasingly scarce aura of fear, hoping to stall for time.
It had no idea that Kalon had mastered the ability to actively enter the spiritual domain, unlike some lucky individuals who, for various reasons, accidentally stepped into the spiritual domain and would immediately disappear from the world of the spiritual domain once the predetermined time arrived.
And Kalon was also actively consuming the nightmare's spiritual power, both sides harboring unspoken intentions.
The nightmare tirelessly transformed into various forms: a female undead with long hair crawling out of a strange square box, a terrifying female corpse born from the water, a ghoul crawling out of a grave, and so on.
When the nightmare had died countless times at Kalon's hands, it finally realized the truth.
"You are a Mind Master, you are actually a high-level existence among psychic spellcasters! This is impossible, you are a Dragon, how can you become a high-level existence in this field?"
"Such a thing is as absurd as a Red Dragon becoming a Paladin!" The nightmare's voice held an incomprehensible anger.
The nightmare, having understood the truth, did not become Kalon's fear; instead, Kalon became the nightmare's object of fear.
Every spiritual domain of a psychic spellcaster, even if controlled by the spellcaster's subconscious, was extremely dangerous for these nightmares.
Because spellcasters who actively master this ability are the best nourishment for creatures like nightmares, but also their greatest bane. Once the spiritual domain of these psychic spellcasters reacts, it can deliver a fatal blow to these nightmares.
"See, another boring and ridiculous prejudice,"
Kalon sneered, stepping for the first time into the constantly churning mist. Deep within the mist, the large cocoon was violently shaking, and countless spiritual powers were trying to sever the entire channel's connection.
The nightmare was attempting to escape this spiritual domain battlefield.
But Kalon's power firmly held the connection between their spiritual domains. He had discovered the nightmare's weakness, and he intended to completely eliminate this nightmare here, giving it no chance to breathe.
The opponent had devoured all the spiritual flesh and blood of the Supreme Sky Titan, and the body it nurtured would certainly not be weak. He could not give the opponent this opportunity.
Allowing a bloodthirsty tiger to return to the mountains is an action a hunter must never choose.
Moreover, the ability for dispersed spirituality to devour real flesh and blood and transform into a real body was not something a nightmare should possess.
The value of this nightmare should be placed in Kalon's laboratory, to be studied as a precious specimen.
The nightmare sensed danger. Its cocoon shook violently, and a massive surge of spiritual power burst forth from the mist, stirring the dense mist into a chaotic churn.
It squeezed out all its power, intending to forcibly guide Kalon's spiritual breath, transforming into the most terrifying enemy to destroy Kalon's spiritual body.
Its spirituality twisted and shifted in the boiling mist, changing from the image of the Young Blue Dragon Akzi to the image of the Carlit sleeping in her Dragon Nest.
Then from the image of the Carlit to the image of the Ogre Tyrant Morgor, but these images struggled to truly form before quickly collapsing.
In the past, the images of people and enemies Kalon had encountered flickered and changed: the human noble Will Clarence, the Saint Realm Great Mage Lapers, Charal Caesar, the former Emperor of the Catha Empire, and so on.
Finally, even the image of the Young Red Dragon Kadilos appeared, then continuously changed, ultimately transforming into an incredibly powerful five-headed giant Dragon, the Chromatic Dragon Queen Tiamat.
"Hahaha, is this the deepest fear hidden within you, Red Dragon? Welcome death's judgment!" The Nightmare felt its body gradually taking shape, and its true confidence swelled.
Unparalleled power, an aura as majestic as a descending divine mountain, and an irresistible divine majesty descended upon the entire spiritual space at this moment.
"Die, die, you loathsome Red Dragon! Your soul will become my cherished toy, and your body will become my puppet! I'll let you live to see all of it, hahaha!"
The cackling Nightmare, transformed into Tiamat, impatiently stretched out its mountain-sized giant claw and slapped it down towards Kalon's body.
"This is my deepest fear?" Kalon frowned, somewhat unable to comprehend, but the next moment, he opened his mouth, revealing his fangs, and a wild laugh burst from his throat.
The body of Tiamat, the Chromatic Dragon Queen, condensed from the Nightmare's spirituality, quietly disintegrated the moment it finally solidified. This was not due to the influence of other forces, but rather Kalon's inner fear, which had nothing to do with Tiamat.
Or rather, Kalon had never truly feared this Dragon God; he merely held reverence for stronger power.
But the Nightmare's consciousness snapped back from its earlier triumph. Its spirituality scattered again, returning to its twisted, amorphous state.
"What are you? What exactly are you? Don't come near me, you monster, you red-scaled monster!"
The constantly shifting, writhing body suddenly vanished into the mist the next moment, and even the cocoon where the Nightmare was gestating its true body disappeared without a trace. This Nightmare had actually fled on its own accord.
"Heh heh, my fear is the weak me," Kalon, as a high-level being in the spiritual domain, had long understood his true inner self.
"But the weak me was already killed by me on that day, personally killed by me, on the day I glimpsed my own destiny,"
Kalon muttered to himself, then he suddenly raised his head, gazing at the increasingly dense and profound mist that enveloped the familiar Fortress, making it impossible to see.
Thump, thump, thump.
Heavy footsteps echoed in the dark, hazy Fortress; it was the sound of a giant Red Dragon's steps.
"Where will you hide, I wonder? Let me guess," Kalon stepped into the spiritual mist, a strange, overlapping Dragon Language sound emanating from his throat.
"Oh, hide, quickly hide, don't let me find you so quickly. It won't be good if I find you!" Kalon, like a demon traversing the spiritual mist, uttered a devilish, terrifying whisper.
His perception spread out with all its might, seeking the emotional fluctuations emanating from the Nightmare's true body. In the spiritual realm, even subtle emotional fluctuations could be easily detected by him.
His deliberately amplified footsteps were also a form of intimidation, echoing throughout the quiet spiritual space, accompanied by Kalon's overlapping whispers.
"Not here, not here either," Kalon patrolled the mist, intending to traverse every corner. The intimidating Dragon Language, accompanied by his footsteps, made this Red Dragon seem particularly evil.
"You truly are a good child at hide-and-seek! Oh, great Nightmare King, you should be called the King of Hide-and-Seek! Hide well, I'm about to find you!"
Kalon laughed loudly, his Dragon Language overlapping and undulating. At this moment, a slight ripple finally appeared in the quiet space, carrying intense emotions of extreme anger and helplessness.
"Oh, so you're here! Gotcha, you worm parasitizing others' spirituality!" Kalon's head snapped around, and his spiritual eyes burst forth with intense light, attempting to penetrate the obstruction of the spiritual mist.
His gaze passed through layers of obstruction, meeting the Nightmare's eye deep within the mist. The gazes of the two monsters collided, and their spiritual connection instantly engaged.
"You are truly forcing me, Red Dragon! I will use all my power to banish you!" The Nightmare in the great cocoon opened its dazzling dream eyes, and immense spiritual power condensed at this moment, forming a repulsive force that enveloped Kalon's body.
The next moment, Kalon's body was swallowed by a tunnel that appeared in the spiritual space, and the aura of the Nightmare, encased in the cocoon of flesh and spirituality, also weakened.
The Nightmare let out a soft sigh, then closed its still illusory eyes. It also entered a state of slumber.
Kalon once again experienced the sensation of passing through a planar teleportation gate for the first time. He was like a traveler crossing time and space, watching the constantly shifting spacetime, which could almost materialize in the spiritual world.
He couldn't determine where he was, how large the surrounding space was, or how much time had passed. His conscious spiritual body could only passively perceive everything.
This was the desolate tunnel in the spiritual world, without the concept of time or space. It looked like a tunnel, but it was infinitely far, infinitely wide, infinitely broad, and infinitely deep.
He didn't know the origin, nor the destination, and he couldn't even sense his own body.
"It seems this Nightmare wasn't boasting. It truly has the qualifications to be a Nightmare King," Kalon looked at his Dragon claws, a faint smile on his face.
This desolate spiritual tunnel was unconsciously absorbing all spiritual entities, including Kalon's spiritual body. Even Kalon could not resist this naturally formed rule.
But Kalon's will, integrated with his solid spiritual body, could greatly slow down this consumption. His spiritual integration was autonomously transforming into a supreme authority representing his will—this was the authority of spiritual integration.
Under these circumstances, he even began to actively resist the immeasurable, vast spiritual desolate tunnel, wanting to find a trace within this resistance, a trace that would allow him to find a way to leave this place.
"This is but a small setback. If I can't get through, it's merely death," Kalon muttered to himself, not allowing the possibility of complete annihilation to infect his mind.
He began to walk in this vast, immeasurable space, actively exploring this area.
Time in this space was immeasurable; a blink of an eye might be decades, but decades in the outside world might only be an instant in this space.
...
The Kings Capital, this bustling city, now accumulated a large amount of supplies. As the largest transit station and command center for troop deployment within the territory, it appeared unusually congested.
After the Blue Dragon Akzi led the Dragon to a shocking victory, all the inhabitants of the territory seemed extraordinarily confident.
Therefore, even if those Orcs went all out and committed more warriors to this battlefield, it still failed to cause any turmoil in the territory.
Now, the war between the two sides had entered a stalemate. Although the Orc Kingdom's military strength surpassed that of the Dragon Clans Territory, the circular defense system established by the Dragon Clans Territory had given the Orc Army a lot of trouble.
The endlessly cut and indestructible forest always managed to block the Orc Army, and the Orcs only futilely consumed their military supplies.
And once the Orcs divided their forces to attack from the forest, attempting to sweep away all connected defense lines in one go, they would be detected by omnipresent birds and beasts. Countless hidden gunmen and warriors would emerge from underground in the forest.
Warriors near each defensive fortress would also be dispatched in succession to eliminate and drive away these Orcs.
Therefore, the Orcs could only re-establish strongholds based on the Golden City along the coast, gradually advancing their army.
Continuous fleets traveled between the Orc Kingdom and the Golden Coast. This war had begun to enter a phase of attrition between the two sides.
Although the Orcs had an entire kingdom as their backing, the Dragon Clans Territory had an entire plane as its supply.
Moreover, the Orcs' gradual advance also promoted the development of the vast western region of the Dragon Clans Territory in another form.
Countless Elf Druids and War Treants drove the forest from the western forests, replenishing the defenses of the front lines, and the clearings left by these forests were the new lands opened up by the Dragon Clans Territory.
Under these circumstances, the Kings Capital gradually became the Dragon Clan Territory's foremost city.
Tap, tap.
The small gate of the courtyard was gently knocked, and the unique rhythmic signal relaxed everyone in the courtyard.
A nimble figure flashed, leaping over the high wall and landing silently on the ground, demonstrating the visitor's exceptional control and agile skill.
This handsome young man with black hair, named Bill, was the Master Assassin of the once famous Dragon Slaying adventure team, Scarlet Rose. He was also one of the rare Saint Realm Assassins, a master of stealth skilled in shadow techniques.
At this moment, the handsome young man, Bill, still had a sunny smile, with a small dimple appearing on his left cheek, making him seem particularly approachable.
It was precisely this approachability that made this Master Assassin particularly popular in the Dragon Clans Territory, charming many foreign women.
Bill looked at the team that had gathered again in the courtyard: the Mage Captain, the Shield Warrior, the Priest, the Logistics Manager, and the Elf Druid.
"Why have you gathered us again, Captain? Didn't our team already disband?" Bill shrugged, found an empty spot, and sat down, completely unconcerned about his appearance.
"Four bounties have already been issued for that Red Dragon, each increasing the price! Enough to make us wealthy, even enough to buy a noble title and build a luxurious castle with plenty to spare!"
The blond Mage spoke after seeing the team reassemble.
"Are you crazy? Hunting a Dragon Emperor? Although the Red Dragon's sleeping place seems loosely guarded, countless people have already been hanged at the foot of the mountain."
The tall warrior was the first to object.
But before others could voice their opinions, the Saint Realm Master Assassin, the young Bill, suddenly whistled with his fingers, and countless heavy footsteps came from the street. Soldiers surrounded the place in an instant.
The young Bill shrugged, chuckled, and said, "My apologies, everyone, I am already the Deputy Director of the Dragon Clan's Territory Unified Front Planning Department. Given your dangerous statements, please come with me!"
Hidden among the team, the young female assassin, known as the Shadow Widow, Sally, suddenly jumped out and shouted loudly, "It's us! It's us! Don't move, don't shoot! I'm the Intelligence Captain under the territory's Intelligence Department!"