Before my eyes, a hint of blood and vigor greeted me. Marutian's body was clearly in a state of ruin, but he insisted on breaking the seal. At this moment, only the final layer of the seal remained, while others continued to attack Marutian himself. Stepping back, I said, "Keep attacking! I will go destroy his skull!"

Destroying the skull was extremely difficult; initially, it was only sealed because it couldn't be destroyed. But I had to use all my abilities to inflict as much damage as possible.

My entire body transformed into that of a dragon, and the power of the dragon soul quickly flowed to the gigantic dragon bone sword. Although I couldn't see the dragon head, I could sense it right in front of me.

The ground suddenly experienced violent tremors, cracks appeared, and widened continuously, forming an infinite gorge extending all the way to the distant city, which was also affected. A chaotic pile of things fell into the magma in the gorge, and even some people.

As the energy on the sword clashed with the dragon head, causing widespread destruction on the ground, the citizens of our country suffered greatly. The sounds of cries kept ringing in my ears, but there was nothing I could do.

Three dark energy balls gathered around me, and if Marutian didn't release the seal in time, I could blow off a piece of the dragon skull.

The mechanical dragon suddenly transformed its left arm into a cannon and bombarded Marutian relentlessly. Meanwhile, three cloud bombs exploded on the magma, causing intense movements in the magma layer. We had to strive to defend against the high-temperature magma on top of the magma.

"Ah!" A dark explosion ensued, and the magma rained down like a shower, rocks flew in the sky, and pyramids within a hundred kilometers were also affected. The giant and square stones scattered all over, erasing centuries-old relics in an instant.

"You managed to leave scars on my bones." Marutian's voice resonated amidst the aftermath of the explosion, revealing a body fully transformed into a dragon, covered in wounds and flowing with blood. This meant that he had just given up defense, absorbing all the damage from the mechanical dragon team to break the seal with all his might. In his hands lay half of a dragon core, marked with a scar.

The magma around us was quickly cooled by Forst Lord, but the magma below continued to gush unceasingly.

"The damage is not negligible, Marutian. Do you really intend to manipulate the dragon core?"

With both Marutian and the dragon core injured, this situation was disadvantageous for him.

"If I don't do this, do you think I can leave here alive today?"

Glancing at our forces, I said, "Naturally, you won't, but even if you manage to fight with half a dragon core, it doesn't guarantee your escape. After all, half a dragon core cannot trigger a dragon transformation, as you know."

"Yes, I understand, but there is another way in this world." Marutian summoned his other dragon core, casually cut it in half, and merged the damaged half with the remaining part to create a new dragon core—a half-transparent, half-white dragon core.

"This guy is truly insane. My mechanical dragon has never seen anything like it."

"I, Coyalu, am a half-dragon sorcerer without a dragon core, but to abuse his own dragon core in such a way, he is the first."

For the dragon race, the dragon core was essential, but in Marutian's hands, it seemed like something to be trifled with.

"Because in his eyes, that half-transparent dragon core is what he truly needs, the white side is just for temporary use."

"Father, your dragon core seemed to have shattered last time. Can it gather once again?"

"The method is very risky. Let's attack Marutian's head! The vulnerabilities lie in the scars on his head."

Coyalu shook his head, feeling uncertain about the outcome of the battle.

In an instant, a powerful dragon aura approached us menacingly, shrouded in thick fog. Marutian emitted flickering light within the mist, the mechanical dragon leaped into the air at once, its mechanical steel arm morphing into a massive iron fist. Both Marutian and his companion infused Magic into the iron fist simultaneously. The crimson iron fist pierced through the dense fog, causing a discomforting sensation as the storm of impacts tore through the Shattered Cloud mist, only to be caught single-handedly by Marutian.

"Long time no see, gatekeeper!" Marutian clearly remembered the mechanical dragon, recalling how he had served as a guard under Elena.

I lifted a massive sword and swung it wildly, extending the sword aura hundreds of meters away, cutting through with each swing.

An eerie sight emerged from the fog - a headless dragon crushed the sword aura, leaving the mechanical dragon severely wounded on the ground. Forst Lord evaded skillfully, while the other dragons defended in time, realizing that the mechanical dragon was at a disadvantage, and my sword aura failed to reach Marutian.

Dragons in the sky, headless but flying, not truly without a head but simply unseen. The image was eerie no matter how one looked at it.

"Stay here and surround him!"

I soared into the sky, facing the headless dragon. I could sense the presence of its head, its magical power obviously stronger than its body's, showcasing this mismatched form. Was it truly inconsequential?

"You're too reckless, Marutian!"

Marutian and I clashed power in the sky, all dragons reverting to their true forms, encircling us. Marutian, unable to see it, was attacked purely by sensing the unseen head, the strange feature of his body intriguing.

Within the clouds, it was difficult to pinpoint the location of Marutian's skull injury.

With a dragon roar, Marutian revealed the position of his dragon head to me. In an instant, two drastically different "timelines" emerged outside the axis, halting the scenic beauty beyond.

"So this is the 'rusty copper' timeline, the 'dead' timeline is this appearance." My radiant "timeline" contrasted sharply with Marutian's worn and rusted version.

"You, with your blinding brilliance, how do you still grasp the unsightly?" Marutian could see the dragon body but not its head. The "timelines" stretched endlessly, looping around his form thrice, indicating the extensive timeline of dragons across various realms, far longer than that of humans. However, traces of dragons had long faded in this land, leaving a substantial void period. He had inscribed the time in Dragon language atop his head, marking the moment of cessation.

"Fair enough, three seconds each!"

"As you wish."

With just a glance, we agreed to retreat three seconds each, tapping into the world's power and engaging each other in a decisive move, which was already the first time.

Marutian's shifting "timeline" scattered into dust, decrepit and dilapidated.

Returning to three seconds prior, though brief, the released energy could already devastate a city or destroy a battleship.

After three seconds, we harnessed the world's power. My world power exuded a vibrant life force, contrasting with his grim and deathly aura, darker than the underworld, an eerie emptiness devoid of even a shred of soul, terrifying and nauseating. Nevertheless, despite the foul nature of his world power, it outshone mine, perhaps owing to the actions of the dragon body. The clash of these forces triggered the world's defenses, prompting the emergence of a black hole, yet unable to subdue the dragons.

"Three seconds, though we share the same time, we are different!" Marutian broke through the power of our confrontation, his dragon body was tough, and his dragon claws slashed past me. The sword, driven by the power of the world, instinctively aimed at the spot where the dragon's head should have been, leaving a trace.

"Huh?" Suddenly, I realized this was a trap to lure the enemy. I seized an opening but was heavily struck on the back by the dragon's tail. Dragon attacks cannot be easily defended against with protective magic. Even my half-dragon form was almost insufficient. When Marutian exhaled dragon breath, I braced myself, only to be overwhelmed by a sense of deathly silence. I felt dizzy, and when I came to, I was lying in the desert.

"Qin Yang!"

I saw Wenping healing me in the storm, with Sirou guarding by my side.

"Ice?"

"It's Frost Lord defending against Marutian's sandstorm dragon breath!" Sirou glanced back, where Coyalu was also holding the line.

"No, he won't last long." Frost Lord controlled the ice magic in the desert, creating a defensive barrier in front of us, but unable to guard his back.

Damn it, I was taken advantage of by Marutian's power of the world just now, feeling extremely unwell now, and the pain in my back is unbearable. But Marutian didn't kill me, this guy is really unpredictable.

Marutian's power of the world seems not depleted yet, which means my dizziness won't last long.

"Father, isn't he trying to escape? Why doesn't he leave even when winning?"

"He... he probably sees the situation is in his favor and wants to force my full dragon transformation!"

Suddenly, Coyalu's defensive ice barrier shattered, unable to hold on any longer.

In the storm, we heard Marutian's cold laughter. The ice barrier collapsed, and under the sandstorm's assault, the giant tortoise shell rotated in the sandstorm, absorbing the dragon breath and releasing some residual power.

"I'm on time, Master!" The eighteen-winged Angel Nofice summoned the 'Geomancy Xuanwu', a giant Xuanwu that naturally thrived in desert areas, with exceptional defense, able to withstand two dragon breath attacks.

"Nofice, help me!" I slowly stood up, asking Nofice to assist me. The gap between me and Marutian is bridged by countless dragon spirit contracts.

Simultaneously, Nofice and I extended our hands, and the Magic framework cannon appeared. With the blessing of the Angel and the support of the dragon spirit contract, this attack was bound to be devastating. The Magic framework has formed twenty layers, and the target I'm aiming for is the injury on Marutian's head. With him being distracted, seizing the opportunity wasn't difficult.

Buzz! The sound of the Magic framework cannon was piercing. If the magic were insufficient, the ear would immediately become useless. Meanwhile, the mechanical dragons transformed into dragon bodies, using dragon magic to seal off the surroundings, preventing Marutian from easily escaping, with the sound of a dragon roaring, echoing in the sandstorm.

"This dragon roar is unbearable!" Wenping couldn't bear the jarring sound, as if her head was hit hard.

"Don't worry, he's already gone!"

The successful hit on Marutian's injury was achieved, but ultimately he managed to escape.

"Father, both sides are injured. Let me help you chase him!"

"Go ahead, I'll be waiting for you at the 'Divine Demon Gate'!"

In the end, Marutian could only head to the gate, but not now. At this rate, his body would fail before mine, making things easier. But he wouldn't let that happen. It's a good opportunity to find him before he recovers from his injuries.