Dungeon of Pride, Laplace

"Hnn… is that so? If it's not for those six, then it means that you are here for that guy?" Valdris' attempt to converse was just him probing for the intention of the other party. And seeing Aldebaran not deny and simply laugh it off, he was certain that his guess was spot on.

Valdris narrowed his eyes, for Aldebaran to be secretly backing the demon, there was no way the latter was simple.

"You have taken the initiative to appear me, is it because you don't want me to meddle in that?" Valdirs asked, a strange light flashed in his yellow draconic eyes.

"Something like that".

This time, Aldebaran did not deny it and made his stance clear. An ordinary person won't be able to feel it, but Valdris was no ordinary person. He could see the mana around the entire mountain range change their course at this moment and slowly flow towards this person standing beside him.

"Hehh, are you telling me that I should just stay put and ignore the plight of a member of my tribe? Aldebaran, don't you think what you are asking is too much?"

A faint trace of anger leaked out of Valdris. Even if he didn't count the fact that the earth shattering lower dragon belonged to the same pavilion as him, just the fact that both of them were from the dragon clan, made him obligated to help the earth shattering lower dragon until he grows out of his juvenile stage and reaches the mature stage.

Asking him to not help the earth shattering lower dragon went against the rule of their tribe. Even if it's Aldebaran standing against him, he cannot do that.

"Although I doubt a member of the dragon tribe would need protection, what if I say that it's not possible for me to sit back when the time does really come for me to make a move? Are you going to fight me?".

Valdris questioned, his aura was no longer as calm as the sea. Waves after wave started appearing in that sea of energy.

Aldebaran might carry the same title as those seven kings of the forest, but those who know him or heard about him are aware of how powerful he was. This old ghost who refused to die, was a relic from the ancient times.

Even Valdris himself was unaware of some of the information regarding this ruler of the Ancient Treant. What he did know was that he was someone even before the era of the first Apex war. This fact itself put him in the same seniority as those legendary ancient dragon elders from their tribe.

Compared to that, Valdris who had only lived slightly more than three thousand years appeared just like a brat in front of the other party.

"Haha, you don't have to worry, I won't be raising my hands against a junior. But I would like to tell you that perhaps getting subjugated by that little fellow might be the best outcome or even a blessing in disguise for that tribe member of yours".

Contrary to his expectation, Aldebaran wasn't here to start a fight. Not mentioning the disparity in strength between them was too much, it would not bode well with Aldebaran to raise his hands on a junior given his status.

"A blessing in disguise? Haha, what a joke. Aldebaran even if you want to help that demon, you shouldn't spout such nonsense" Valdris spat irked by that remark.

"Nonsense or not, a person of your calibre can easily tell that. there is no way you haven't discovered the aura hidden within his body. If he brings that out, even you won't be able to stay unaffected. Haha… honestly, I'm pleasantly surprised. That little fellow didn't have that aura the last time I met him. He has grown quite a lot since then".

Aldebaran's voice had a trace of approval and appreciation in it. He didn't expect Simon to grow so much in less than a year since he last met him.

Valdris eyes shone with a mysterious yellow light; how could he not be aware of that aura? In fact, he knew more about that aura than Aldebaran himself. It was precisely because he knew so much about the aura inside that demon that he had difficulty believing.

Simon might be unaware of it, but Valdris had been monitoring him for a while. He had witnessed the latter's battle with the Deep Sea Alligator king, seen him subdue the tribe of orcs and scare the ogre tribe away.

His achievements were quite good even in his eyes. However, in the end, the demon was just a viscount, the second lowest rank in the demon hierarchy and not even a genuine demon noble. These two things contrasted so much that he had a hard time believing how the demon got hold of that aura.

"I cannot tell how high the ranking of the dragon was from that aura but it shouldn't be difficult for you right? Well even without that aura, the demon is special. His fate is destined to be a great one".

"Do you know when this old self first met that young fellow, he had just broken through the demon viscount rank and his level was hardly worth mentioning? Yet in less than year, his aura is starting to show signs of being full once again".

Aldebaran's tone was extremely pleased as he watched the fight between a dragon and a demon in the distance. The more he looked, the more satisfying the demon appeared in his eyes.

"Hmph, so what if he has grown quickly? His bloodline is quite impure, and in the end, he would get stuck by that wall unable to break through forever" Valdris had his own perception and thoughts.

"That may not be the case… haha" Aldebaran laughed "Well, I only came here to see how this little fellow was doing and judging from the situation, it doesn't look like he needs my help".

Aldebaran turned around and walked towards the copse of trees. An emerald green light emerged from his body and he quickly turned back into an ordinary tree.

"Not only that old ghost but even Venerable Red thinks highly of him to give a fraction of her dragon aura to him. No matter how I look at him, he seems ordinary to me. Am I missing something?".

Valdris watched as Aldebaran walk away before placing his attention back on the fight that was happening more than a hundred kilometres away.

"It seems like I can only ask him".

Of course, Simon, fighting the earth-shattering lower dragon, wasn't aware of what was ebing discussed over there. He did not even know that he was being observed by two incredibly powerful beings.

All his attention and focus was on the heated battle that he was having with the dragon in front of him. One magic after another was conjured by Simon, it clashed intensely with the attacks of the earth shattering lower dragon who counter attacked with equal ferocity.

The latter had long since stopped looking down on the demon whose power was enough to make him look in an equal light.

Power explosions continuously rocked the surrounding, changing the topography of this part of the land completely. Every single attack in this collision was filled with a berserk amount of mana. It was so powerful that all of the beasts in a hundred-kilometre area ran away from the place in fear for their lives.

Even the power super class beasts that were like the tyrant of a small area, were no exception. Powerful shockwaves travelled through the air shocking anyone that thought of approaching closer.

There were a few adventurers who had entered the northern region of the forest. However, all of them fled when they felt the tremors and the shockwave coming.

"Hehe, this is fun" Simon gave a wide grin and commented. He was already past his limits but the excitement of the battle made him unwilling to give up. Thus even while knowing that he might have to suffer a horrendous backlash later, he kept on fighting.

The earth shattering lower dragon was also not in a good shape. Most of the crystal like rocks on its body were shattered, its skin that was covered with stony scales was scorched black and it body had suffered numerous slash wounds.

If one counted the hundreds of years of life that it lived, this would be the first time it was wounded so severely. Yet the inborn pride of being a member of the dragon clan, stopped it from falling down.

Both of them were obstinate enough to not fall down before the other. Two attacks collided, one was a powerful sword glow while the other was an enormous spike head of the tail of the earth shattering lower dragon.

BANG…

Devastation spread and a deep pit formed on the ground adding to the number of pits that had already formed due to their battle. The energy storm caused by their attacks bent the space and forced the both of them back.

The earth shattering lower dragon took dozens of steps back while Simon flapped his wings to dispel some of the force pushing him back. Nevertheless, he had to still fall back by hundreds of meters.

"Demon I praise you for pushing me to this extent. You should be proud that you were able to fight a member of the dragon clan for this long. However, all of this stops here. This will be my final attack. Prepare yourself, this king will show you the true power of a dragon".

There was some respect in its tone. The two fighters who were engaged in a fierce battle had found a newfound respect for each other.

"Yeah, I accept your challenge" Simon was not among the ones that would back down in front of a challenge.