Draco was hammered into the ground by the Golem’s kick, its left arm and one wing broken. It let out screams of pain, trying to kick the Golem away, but its strikes passed through the Golem’s body without leaving any effect. Draco had long ceased to be an intelligent human mage; it was now a powerful but foolish and dull monster. Perhaps that was the price it had to pay for craving the power of a legendary creature.

  A Golem was an artificial magical being, and no matter what element it was formed from, their weakness was always the core. The core was like the Golem’s heart; destroying it would cause the Golem to stop functioning.

  Standing in the distance, Drake tried to observe the Golem’s movements in order to find the location of its core. The Golem’s core was always fixed, but the summoner always hid it in an extremely secret place.

  “You’re searching for its core? Ha ha ha, I’ve hidden it well, and even if you found it, you wouldn’t be able to destroy it anyway!”

  Richer stood beside Drake, wanting the chieftain to fall into despair, to witness his "trump card" die, making it easier to manipulate his mind. After all, Richer still needed subordinates especially powerful ones like Drake, to whom he always showed a certain degree of clemency.

  “The reason you’re still standing here is because I’m giving you a chance, Drake! I want you and your entire tribe to submit to me! Only then will you be able to survive. Follow me! Your tribe will grow beyond measure, before long, you may even surpass the ancestors or even the dragons.” Richer tempted him; he truly had the ability. By extracting the energy of nightmares, Richer could make Drake immensely stronger perhaps even help him break through to the Emperor level.

  Drake refused without hesitation. Unlike Net, Drake was a great warrior, a worthy heir of DragonScale. He possessed the pride and spirit of a leader. Above all, Drake was still very young, given time, he believed he could reach the Emperor level without anyone’s help.

  “Stop spouting nonsense! Who do you think I am? Besides, as I’ve said before! You really think you’re going to win?”

  “Will I lose?” Richer said loudly in a mocking voice. He laughed, raising his hand toward the sky as if the heavens were nothing more than a small well.

  “Who can defeat me now? The ‘Alliance’? They won’t intervene in this matter, and what’s more, you’re the ones who attacked this place, slaughtering innocent people and destroying everything beneath the sands.”

  “It is us.” A gentle voice rose behind Richer. Mys appeared beside all of the Ossa chieftains, though one was missing, replaced by Exitus. Drake quickly flew over to join them, and from his mouth came a solemn line spoken by his late father.

  “No matter what, the tribes of Ossa once stood as brothers during the Dark Era. A time will come when unity is needed once more.”

  That moment was now. Ossa’s unity manifested in the shared resolve of all the chieftains. They pulled from their garments their gleaming badges, each radiating a soft glow.

  Nash drew forth a blood-red badge, the chieftain’s badge of BloodClaw, representing ferocious power that shattered all shackles.

  Heria took out a bright blue badge that shone like an emerald, the badge of VenomSerpent, representing flexibility and grace that overcoming strength with agility.

  Hush revealed the earth-brown badge of RinoHorn, representing steadfast protection and unwavering defense, the shield of Ossa.

  Mys took from within her chest a pitch-black badge, radiating a stream of darkness; the chieftain badge of NightWing, representing hidden wisdom, mysterious yet dangerous.

  Drake took from his chest a golden emblem, shining with brilliant rainbow hues; the chieftain emblem of Dragon Scale, representing nobility, indomitable will, and arrogance.

  Finally, from someone no one expected, Exitus took out a gleaming silver emblem; the badge of SilverFang, representing speed and agility. The badege of an old friend, a mentor, and now he would stand in that man’s place to fulfill his wish.

  The six badges flew from the hands of their owners and circled around Drake; he was the one chosen by all to wield the ultimate weapon of Ossa. The badges merged into a dazzling, multicolored sphere of light, and when the radiance faded, everyone finally saw what lay within.

  The Badge of Unity - the legendary weapon of Reddan.

  “Boom.”

  The emblem shimmered with seven-colored light, releasing an immense surge of power. It fused with Drake, making his body grow larger, his form enveloped in radiant, prismatic brilliance.

  “This is the power of the Badge of Unity. It can bring its wielder into the state of ‘Ascension’, a state that only beings of divine rank can achieve. Thanks to this emblem, Reddan was able to stand alongside mighty entities in the battle against DarkGod, even though he was only at the Emperor level.”

  Mys gently explained, her face long concealed beneath the wide black cloak. Although Drake had not yet reached the Emperor level, ‘Ascension’ could make him far stronger than a normal Emperor. A flash of light burst forth and faded. Drake now appeared as an immense warrior (ten meters tall), his draconic wings spread wide and radiant, golden scales covering his body like a tight-fitting suit of armor. In his hand he held a long sword etched with the symbols of the various tribes.

  Richer fell silent. He had heard the legends of these emblems, but regrettably, when he massacred the entire SilverFang tribe, even after searching Nashor, he still could not find it. It seemed someone had taken it long beforehand. Richer suspected that only Mys could have foreseen such things. But a strange boy’s sudden appearance intrigued him even more. From the boy, he sensed something familiar, the same feeling as when he saw Draco’s egg.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Nightmare energy is overflowing in that boy’s body,” Richer said in surprise.

  He did not even spare Drake a glance, focusing only on Exitus and the way the boy was looking at him. Richer let out a soft laugh; he had already realized the boy’s identity. As the fusion process ended, Drake felt power surging violently through his body; his muscles screamed for battle, and his blood roared with excitement and frenzy. Drake dashed forward and struck Richer with a heavy blow; his fist pierced straight through the Emperor’s body. Strangely, Richer did not counterattack. Drake’s strikes felt as though they hit empty air, Richer’s form dissolved into sand and reassembled instantly, just like the Golem had done.

  “This is ‘Forbidden Spell’, a powerful ability of Emperor-level sorcerers. Unless we destroy that Golem, we will not be able to kill him. He has already linked himself to the giant Golem.” Mys explained to Drake. Without hesitation, Drake immediately leapt into the battle alongside Draco. His impact broke the Golem’s control, freeing the dragon. Upon being released, the dragon unleashed a furious beam of destructive light at the Golem, melting it into lava.

  From within the pool of molten rock, a crystal core flashed with blinding radiance.

  “That’s it! The Golem’s core. Destroy it.” Mys’ voice echoed in Drake’s mind. Instinctively, he lunged toward it, aiming to crush the crystal. Draco too sensed something; a beam of destruction began forming within its mouth once more.

  “Boom”

  Drake was stopped by a wall of Will that suddenly appeared in mid-air, and right after that, a massive hand formed from Will hurled him away, buying time for the gem to once again gather the surrounding sand and soil and reshape itself into a Golem. As for Draco, to prevent it from performing another destructive light beam, Richer created a large mound of earth beneath its feet. The mound exploded, making the dragon lose its balance; the newly condensed beam was fired off to the side, missing the gem’s position.

  “Hmph” Richer let out a cold laugh, as if it would ever be that easy for them. But perhaps he should not be careless anymore and would need to show his true power. Casting a glance at Exitus, Richer summoned an evil energy that wrapped around his arm. The nightmare energy, like liquid, gradually thickened and took shape as a golden glove gleaming with long, sharp claws.

  “The Gauntlet of Madenes.”

  A pure gold glove with the symbol of a black swirl at the center of the palm, surrounded by protruding veins. Within Richer’s body, the fourth magic core containing the seal of forbidden magic was no longer activated by mana; instead, it was activated by the dense nightmare energy from the gauntlet. The Golem began to distort, its body no longer formed from sand and earth but gradually transforming into solid gold. Before long, a gigantic golden Golem appeared, radiating overwhelming power; a single stomp cracked the ground, unleashing a shockwave that devastated everything around. Even Draco was flung into the air. Drake and the other leaders were blasted away and buried deep beneath the sand.

  The golden Golem now possessed a terrifying power that would make even an Emperor tremble. Strength, defense, every attribute was vastly enhanced. The Golem grabbed the tail of the struggling dragon and repeatedly slammed it into the ground. Each impact shattered another part of Draco’s bones and internal organs. The dragon’s frenzy quickly turned into fear; it frantically blasted the Golem’s body with its destructive light beam, but the beam that once melted the sand Golem had no effect whatsoever on the golden one. The Golem raised its hand to block the beam and stepped closer and closer to the dragon desperately thrashing about. Once it was close enough, the Golem gripped the dragon’s neck and pulled hard. Draco’s flesh tore open, blood gushing like a stream, and just a little more force would rip the dragon’s head clean off.

  “Thud!”

  Drake burst out from the pile of sand, launching himself and ramming hard into the Golem’s body, denting a small section of it. The impact knocked the Golem away, saving Draco’s life. With the dragon race’s regenerative power, the wound on its neck began to close, but it was no longer the proud, mighty beast it had been. Now, its eyes flickered with hesitation and fear. The dragon turned away, intending to flee the battlefield, abandoning everything as long as it could preserve its own life.

  In a place not far away, a lizard hidden beneath the sand quietly watched the wounded dragon escaping. A glimmer of greed flashed in its eyes perhaps this battle wasn’t meant for it, but surely it had to gain something out of this, didn’t it?

  Richer stood facing Exitus; now that all the outsiders had moved far away, they could finally speak comfortably.

  “You are the one who possesses the final wish?”

  Exitus nodded. Even after witnessing the power Richer displayed, the boy remained strangely calm.

  “We don’t necessarily have to be enemies. After all, we are both inheritors of Madenes. We are the 'Lone Walkers’. I’m sure they will be thrilled to hear news of you.” Richer said with a faint smile.

  “They will never know. Even you will not tell them anyway.” Exitus finally opened his mouth to respond, his voice cold and filled with killing intent.

  “Oh! So that’s how it is.” Richer was not unfamiliar with Exitus’s expression, because in the past he himself had worn the same expression. The expression of someone seeking revenge. Richer did not try to dissuade him; instead, he found the boy quite interesting.

  “When you choose this path, you become the enemy of the ‘Lone Walkers’. You know that, don’t you? Some among them have touched the door of divinity, far stronger than I am.”

  “I know that! But it could be me, or it could be you.” Exitus replied calmly.

  Richer was taken aback. Yes. No matter what happened, once the two wishes were fused into one, there was only one path to walk. No matter who won, they would have only one destination to gather all the remaining wishes, a task that meant becoming the enemy of the entire ‘Lone Walkers’.

  Richer finally understood Exitus’s earlier words; what a cunning boy.

  “If that’s the case, then we fight.” Richer growled. He did not mind possessing all the wishes. After all, he was the embodiment of greed. If this was the path he had to walk, then Richer would walk it with delight.

  Exitus looked toward Drake, who was madly fighting the golden Golem. Though he was being beaten to a pulp like a sack of sand, Drake did not stop. On the contrary, the boy could clearly see the joy on the man’s face. One man and one Golem fought fiercely and violently, causing the surroundings to shake with tremors. Exitus nodded, Drake truly lived up to his title as the strongest Ossa leader of the era; he could actually hold that Golem down. Exitus summoned Vorshade, who stepped out from within the pages of the book. Vorshade stood tall, like an emperor of darkness. Its sword lightly touched the ground, and a cold aura spread everywhere like ripples created when a drop of water falls onto a lake.

  “Oh! A ‘Domain’. Your summoned creature is an Emperor. Is this what makes you think you can defeat me?”

  Richer laughed loudly and arrogantly. He was now linked to the Golem with its immortal body, armed with the Madenes Gauntlet that turned everything into gold with a single touch. To defeat him, one would have to completely destroy the Golem; otherwise, he could simply restore it by turning sand and earth into gold. Richer was confident that even if a demigod appeared right now, he would not be afraid.