Chapter 559 - 549: A Man’s Pride

Chapter 559: Chapter 549: A Man’s Pride

The man—Riser Phenex—spread his wings of flame and hovered mid-air. The intense heat radiating from those fiery wings was extraordinary; even standing at a distance, it felt as though one might be scorched alive.

Facing off against Riser was the dragon-type familiar. In terms of strength, it was undoubtedly Dragon King class.

If my deductions were correct, this creature—along with other high-tier familiars—served as the commander for the lower-ranked ones. In fact, looking around the battlefield, I could see multiple squads of lower-tier familiars operating under the direction of a single high-tier unit. It was highly likely they were giving orders and coordinating tactical maneuvers. Intelligent familiars... We hadn’t encountered anything like this back when dealing with Rosweisse’s rogue familiars, but it certainly seemed within Asem’s realm of capability.

Needless to say, an enemy capable of strategic coordination was far more troublesome than a mere mindless horde. Conversely, taking down the command unit would inevitably cause their forces to crumble, making things much easier for us.

The real question was whether Riser could actually beat that dragon-type familiar... To be frank, the odds were heavily stacked against him. While I was surprised by how much stronger Riser had gotten, his opponent was in a league of its own. It wasn’t something he could beat in a straightforward head-on fight.

Yet, far from showing any fear toward the dragon-type familiar, Riser wore a belligerent smirk.

Did he have a plan... or was he simply failing to grasp the opponent’s true strength?

No, neither. Riser understood full well the gap between them. He didn’t have some grand strategy to defeat this thing, and saving me earlier was likely just a coincidence—pinpointing my location in the middle of this chaotic battlefield would have been nearly impossible.

Taking on that opponent alone was a desperate gamble. But if Riser’s peerage stepped in, they would only end up holding him back. What are you planning to do, Riser?

While those thoughts raced through my mind, Riser took the initiative.

"Nrrrgh!"

Growling through gritted teeth, he formed a massive ball of hellfire between his palms and hurled it straight at the familiar. The fire streaked through the air and scored a direct hit, triggering a detonation of ultra-high-temperature flames.

Yet, as the fiery crimson light enveloped the area, the dragon-type familiar burst straight through the inferno toward Riser! Flapping its two pairs of massive wings, it closed the distance at terrifying speed.

Dodging the familiar’s charge, Riser clicked his tongue.

"Tch! That only scorched the surface? And its speed is no joke either... Still, for my opponent to take the form of a dragon... Is this twist of fate?"

Riser muttered with a bitter expression.

Ever since losing to me in the Rating Game for Rias’s hand in marriage, Riser had developed a severe phobia of dragons. The overwhelming dragon aura I unleashed back then had deeply traumatized him. Though he had overcome it after some time, it really was quite the twist of fate for his opponent here to take the form of a dragon.

Riser let out a soft chuckle.

"Well, fine. I’ve fought a dragon far more terrifying than you. Did you think Riser Phenex would flinch at something of this level?!"

In that instant, the flames surrounding Riser expanded exponentially! His Phenex wings grew even larger, radiating an even higher temperature!

"The Firebird and the Fenghuang! Behold the hellfire of my clan, hailed as the immortal Phenex! Burn to ash as you receive it!"

Those were the exact words he had spoken to me during our Rating Game. Back then, I hadn’t felt threatened by them at all. But now, it was completely different.

This intense pressure, this raw willpower and determination! This was the true power of the Phenex! This was the proud High Demon, Riser Phenex!

Whipping up a furious gale of heat, Riser charged forward. Was he planning to take it head-on?!

Enveloped in flames, Riser drove his fist straight into the familiar! Yet, the blow seemed to do no damage.

"You’re tough! But...!"

Suddenly, Riser’s flames began concentrating into a single point on his fist. The heat previously radiating from his entire body surged into that single location—melting through the familiar’s thick scales and sinking his fist deep into its flesh!

The familiar roared in pain!

Riser declared, "I’ve sparred with dragons countess times! I know better than anyone just how tough dragon scales are. Merely unleashing fire isn’t enough to surpass a dragon. Concentrating the hellfire of the Phenex into a single point to push the thermal intensity to its absolute limit—that is what I gained from my training! Though I haven’t fully mastered it yet!"

Come to think of it, I remembered hearing that even after overcoming his phobia, Riser had asked Old Man Tannin to let him engage in real, full-contact battles against the dragons under his command. The dragons in Tannin’s territory were ridiculously strong; going toe-to-toe with them in raw combat must have been brutal.

Power forged through hellish training, huh? If he kept this up, Riser might actually have one foot in the Ultimate-class Demon tier... Even Old Man Tannin had mentioned seeing potential in him.

Realizing his attacks were working, Riser went on an aggressive offensive. He refrained from firing ranged fireballs, choosing instead to engage in pure hand-to-hand combat to avoid unnecessary exhaustion. Directing ultra-high temperatures through localized melee strikes was far more effective. His tactical judgment proved correct, as his strikes continuously inflicted solid damage.

However, a purely close-quarters strategy carried massive risks. Being within the enemy’s attack range meant he was equally exposed to retaliation. Sharp fangs, razor claws, and scorching breath rained down, inflicting heavy wounds on Riser.

As time wore on, the dragon-type familiar’s attacks grew increasingly fierce and precise. The fiery torrents it spewed scorched numerous surrounding allies, reducing them to nothingness. Pushed back by the sheer volume of attacks despite his high-speed movement, Riser was eventually impaled straight through the body by one of the beast’s sharp strikes.

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