A roar like a dragon’s thundered out, rolling across the landscape.

Below, Baofeng seemed to sense its master’s mood and let out a piercing cry in answer.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Raylo gently caressed the cold blade of "Broken Flow," unable to tear his hands away.

Once the excitement passed, his reason quickly returned.

He looked down at the two giant beasts still locked in a deadly struggle in Amber Lake, his brow furrowing slightly.

The trouble was just beginning.

In order to get "Broken Flow," he had awakened a terrifying Domain Level Magical Beast: the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon.

Tier Five Magical Beasts were also called Destruction Level, meaning a beast of this level could easily destroy a castle and obliterate a human settlement.

If it was allowed to remain in Amber Lake, it would be a complete and utter disaster for his sister Lillian’s Amber Territory.

No one would appreciate having such a temperamental, Domain Level neighbor.

He had to solve this problem.

’A direct assault?’

Raylo immediately dismissed the idea.

He only had to look at the Eternal Giant Turtle below to know how troublesome a Domain Level Magical Beast in its prime would be if it fought to the death.

Even if Sun and the Eternal Giant Turtle joined forces, they might win, but the price would be absolutely devastating.

Sun might be injured, and the Eternal Giant Turtle would probably be gravely wounded.

It was not a worthwhile trade.

’Then I’ll have to drive it away.’

’But where to?’

Amber Lake connected to the Black Water River. Downstream, the river passed through the most fertile plains of the Thunder Dragon Duchy before finally emptying into the Endless Sea.

There was no telling how much chaos it would cause along the way.

Raylo’s gaze traced the Black Water River’s path upstream in his mind.

The upper reaches of the Black Water River...

Past a treacherous gorge lay the territory of another Domain Level Magical Beast.

A brilliant, perhaps even devious, idea began to form in his mind.

The Water Elemental Lord!

The equally ill-tempered neighbor who occupied the source of the Black Water River upstream.

’If I had the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon "keep it company," wouldn’t that be a perfect case of turning one disaster against another?’

’Let the two hotheads fight each other over territory like dogs, while I reap the rewards.’

At this thought, the corners of Raylo’s mouth curved into an increasingly wide grin.

"Sun!"

He shouted loudly.

The Golden Dragon’s massive head turned toward him, its golden eyes inquisitive.

"Attack that long-necked monster from the air! Don’t engage it directly. Harass it with your Dragon Breath and drive it toward the mouth of the Black Water River!"

Sun let out a low roar, indicating it understood.

With a beat of its wings, its massive body carved an arc through the sky. A torrent of golden Dragon Breath, like a flame of heavenly punishment, rained down, striking precisely at the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon’s head.

His instructions given, Raylo patted Baofeng’s neck. Rider and mount shot downward like an arrow loosed from a bow, aimed squarely at the other key player.

The Eternal Giant Turtle.

"Your Excellency."

Raylo, riding Baofeng, hovered above the Eternal Giant Turtle’s enormous head.

The Eternal Giant Turtle’s movements paused. Its eyes, like deep pools, slowly lifted to look at Raylo in the sky.

"Work with Sun and drive it out of Amber Lake! Force it up the Black Water River, upstream!"

The Eternal Giant Turtle was an intelligent creature that had lived for who knows how many years. It understood Raylo’s intentions almost instantly.

Its murky eyes shifted, as if weighing the pros and cons.

"ROAR!"

The Eternal Giant Turtle let out a deep roar, signifying its agreement with Raylo’s proposal.

The next moment, the lake water beneath it suddenly exploded!

The Eternal Giant Turtle, which had been primarily on the defensive before, now completely erupted.

No longer content with passive defense, its earthy-yellow Domain Power surged madly. Three colossal Water Tornadoes shot up from the lake, cutting off the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon’s escape from three directions.

Simultaneously, it took heavy strides, like a moving mountain, and charged forward!

"BOOM!"

Facing the pincer attack from above and below by the Eternal Giant Turtle and Golden Dragon Sun, the already exhausted Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon was suddenly in dire straits.

Sun’s Dragon Breath kept it off-balance, while the Eternal Giant Turtle’s heavy blows forced it into a steady retreat.

The Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon was completely enraged.

It let out a piercing shriek, its massive body churning up towering waves as it attempted one last act of defiance.

’Now!’

Raylo squeezed his legs together. Baofeng instantly understood, letting out a sharp cry. It folded its wings and plunged from hundreds of meters in the air like a meteorite!

The wind howled past his ears as the scenery below rushed up to meet him.

The Fighting Spirit within Raylo’s body churned at an unprecedented speed, surging down his arm and flooding into the Divine Weapon "Broken Flow."

HUMMM!

The blade of "Broken Flow" let out a soft ring. Its wave-like patterns seemed to come to life as an invisible Domain spread out silently from the sword.

The Broken Flow Domain!

Within this Domain, it seemed that even the flowing wind was severed, becoming sluggish and heavy.

Baofeng’s speed was pushed to its absolute limit. Diving from above, it skimmed just over the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon’s massive spine.

In the instant the two passed each other, Raylo moved.

He used no flashy Sword Skills. Relying solely on the unstoppable momentum of his dive, he swung his sword in a simple, unremarkable arc.

He unleashed "Broken Flow."

A semi-transparent Sword Qi, almost invisible to the naked eye, left the blade.

This Sword Qi was unremarkable. It had no brilliant radiance, no earth-shattering presence.

But wherever it passed, space itself seemed to subtly tear.

The boiling waters of Amber Lake were like meek lambs before this Sword Qi.

The Sword Qi silently cut open the surface of the water without stirring a single ripple, as if an invisible fissure had always existed there.

Before this Sword Qi, the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon’s Domain Shield was as flimsy as a cicada’s wing.

"SCHLICK!"

The muffled sound of a blade sinking into flesh reached Raylo’s ears clearly.

The Sword Qi flashed across the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon’s back, leaving behind a terrifying wound ten meters long and deep enough to see bone!

Dark green blood gushed out like a fountain.

This was the most severe wound it had received in over an hour of fighting with the Eternal Giant Turtle!

"ROAR!"

The intense pain made the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon let out a roar mixed with anger and agony.

It twisted its body frantically, trying to counter-attack the tiny human who had heavily wounded it.

But Raylo, riding Baofeng, had already soared back into the sky, leaving only a retreating figure behind.

He glanced down at "Broken Flow" in his hand, a trace of shock flashing in his eyes.

’The power of a Divine Weapon... it’s truly terrifying!’

Immediately after, a strong sense of weakness washed over him.

He could feel that the single strike had drained more than half of his vast reserves of Fighting Spirit.

Even for an Earth Knight like him, the cost of that single strike was horrifying.

"Sure enough, the greater the power, the greater the cost."

Raylo muttered to himself, unable to hide the excitement in his eyes.

This one strike completely shattered the Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon’s will to fight.

It finally realized it was facing three opponents who refused to play fair.

One was too tough to injure. One was endlessly harassing it from the sky. And the last was a hidden assassin whose every strike was lethal.

If it kept fighting, it would likely die here today.

The instinct for survival overwhelmed the dignity of a Tier Five Magical Beast.

The Abyssal Snake-necked Dragon’s four giant fins churned up countless columns of water, forcing the Eternal Giant Turtle back. With a sudden swing of its massive body, it gave up the fight and fled ignominiously toward the mouth of the Black Water River.