Ember Dragon

The environment inside the doomsday restricted area is extremely harsh, with extremely high temperatures, like a steamer, filled with scalding steam and highly toxic fumes. If an ordinary person stayed here, they would lose their life in just a few minutes.

However, the Dragon Scale cultivators are covered with a layer of hard scales that can insulate against high temperatures. Their skin also has regulatory functions, effectively protecting their internal organs. Their pores constantly emit scorching steam, which helps to dissipate heat.

After undergoing biological modification by the Cult of Mechanism, these dragon-scaled cultivators possess a "third lung" that can filter toxins from harmful environments, thus enabling them to breathe normally.

Moreover, these lungs are similar to those of dragons, capable of continuously drawing elemental energy from the air and transporting it to the basal vessels to provide an additional energy source.

Its two hearts are like powerful engines, which can not only accelerate blood supply, but also pump in large amounts of steroids and adrenaline, making the dragon scale cultivator extremely excited during battle and providing extremely strong power.

Their tactical goggles can penetrate smoke screens, detect life signals hundreds of meters away, and also detect various enemy data.

These dragon-scale cultivators are artificially created war machines, the ultimate product of the Empire's biotechnology. They can fly and burrow underground with ease. Moreover, with their red dragon bloodline, they are well adapted to volcanic environments. The environment of the Doomsday Forbidden Zone is like home to them.

After all, their bodies were cultivated in high-temperature petri dishes at the Imperial Biological Research Institute after undergoing dozens of modification processes.

These dragon-scale cultivators breathed in the forbidden zone of the apocalypse, greedily absorbing the frenzied heat in the air, and in a moment their bodies were filled with boundless energy.

"call--"

Steel Frenzy exhaled a breath of air thick with gunpowder smoke, his expression one of surprise and delight: "They all say the environment here is harsh, but I feel like I've become stronger here!"

"That's strange. I have a familiar feeling of returning to my hometown. It's like my energy has become much more abundant."

"Me too."

"Could this be a private instance for us Dragon Scale cultivators?"

"That's good news." Steel Frenzy chuckled and said, "Tsk tsk, it seems the rewards for this mission will be all taken by our Mechanicus."

He raised the blood-stained chainsaw sword once more, and declared with unwavering confidence, "Heading towards the Forbidden Zone of Doomsday!"

"charge!"

In this energy-rich, smoke-filled environment, the group of four-meter-tall burly men began to run, breaking through the smoke like a heavy tank army.

After undergoing muscle and bone modifications, the Dragon Scale cultivators are extremely fast, reaching speeds of up to sixty kilometers per hour at full speed.

With two hearts, three iron lungs, and an extremely sophisticated cooling system, their endurance is also extraordinary, allowing them to maintain full speed for more than three hours, making them practically a car that doesn't need to burn fuel.

Without any restrictions, the Dragon Scale cultivators could clear this [Doomsday Forbidden Zone] in less than half a day.

That's the charm of numerical monsters. After all, each Vitagis Dragonscale Monk costs tens of thousands of gold coins, enough to support a small legion of several hundred people.

However, this is still not the end.

It is said that in the near future, the Cult of Machines will further modify and upgrade them.

The Biological Cultists will use advanced genetic engineering technology, based on the DNA of the Burning Emperor Caesus, and using the bodies of their most outstanding members as carriers, to cultivate twenty-one "Gene Primarchs," thereby developing a unique Dragonscale Cultist Legion.

In a way, this can be considered a restoration of history.

Back on the battlefield, the dragon-scale cultivators acted with extraordinary arrogance, making no attempt to conceal their presence. Their footsteps caused the ground to tremble, clearly announcing their arrival to all creatures on this land.

Soon, fire elemental creatures, who craved flesh and blood and hated beings from the material plane, arrived and launched an attack on them.

"Roar!"

A raging fire elemental behemoth rose from the ground, its eyes blazing with intense flames, its roar like the rumble of a volcanic eruption, and fine sword marks could be seen on the rocks covering its body, with even a few charred arrows embedded in them.

—This is the same fire elemental behemoth that nearly wiped out the [Mortal] guild.

This fire elemental behemoth has now killed hundreds of players, making it a "hero" in this doomsday forbidden zone.

"As expected of the Forbidden Zone of Doomsday, a level 15 boss has appeared so quickly."

Undeterred, the Steel Frenzy, its face blazing with battle lust, licked its lips with excitement and roared, "Dragon Scale Cultivator Legion, kill him!"

"Take this shot first!"

Before the words were even finished, Steel Tide picked up his bolter, aimed the dark muzzle at the towering lava monster, and pulled the trigger abruptly—

"boom!"

Gunfire roared, shaking the heavens and the earth.

The gun barrel spewed out a rapid storm of metal, instantly drilling holes in the rocky body of the opponent. But the lava flowed and solidified like blood, and the huge and hard body quickly returned to its original state.

Although the fire elemental giant was unharmed, it was furious that this tiny—no, slightly larger, lowly flesh and blood creature dared to rebel!
That's incredibly foolish! It's a powerful fire creature!
"Can't it cause any damage?"

Steel Frenzy frowned, casually pulled out an energy bullet, loaded it into the magazine of his bolter, aimed again, and prepared to fire.

The fire elemental behemoth assumed this was the same attack method as before and did not dodge. Instead, it roared angrily and charged directly towards the steel tide.

"boom!"

A sound much louder than before, mixed with the hiss of lightning, rang out, and lightning bolts carrying metal fragments shot out, instantly striking the huge monster.

"Sizzle—Boom!"

Arcs of electricity crackled and crisscrossed, coiling around its body. The fire elemental behemoth let out a terrible howl, and countless holes crackling with electricity appeared on its body.

"It's now!"

He drew his chainsaw sword from his back, took a step forward, and moved like the wind, rushing towards the monster along with several dragon-scale cultivators.

Iron Frenzy leaped up from a protruding rock, landing on the head of the fire elemental behemoth, and raised its chainsaw sword high with a ferocious expression.

"Shh-"

The serrated blade spun wildly at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye, tearing through the air with a sharp, explosive sound as it cleaved directly at the fire elemental behemoth's head.

The monster stretched out an arm made of rock, but the chainsaw sword slashed down diagonally, shattering the rock and causing the arm to fall from mid-air.

The fire elemental behemoth let out a roar similar to rising steam, and a scorching wind strong enough to melt steel rushed towards it. Crimson waves of molten metal spewed from its open mouth, splashing directly at the steel horde in front of it.

Steel Tide quickly dodged, but was still struck in the left chest by the lava. Large patches of flesh were charred black, and even the scales were melted. "Tide, get out of my way!"

Just then, another dragon-scale cultivator stepped forward, blocking the steel raging tide. He held a power spear, his body covered in blood, exuding an aura of death.

His name is "Vodka Riverbank," and he is recognized as the bravest in the Dragonscale Cultivator Legion, having also undergone three iterations of transformation.

"Roar!"

The fire elemental behemoth roared at the "human" in front of it, then swung its huge, hard fist toward the dragon-scaled cultivator's chest, as if to rip open his chest and pull out his strong heart.

The dragon-scale cultivator remained motionless, but the muscles beneath his thick armor suddenly bulged and tightened like a dormant volcano, accumulating power enough to split mountains and shatter rocks.

Just as the scorching heat of the lava monster was about to pierce his chest with its terrifying fist—

He moved.

The dragon-scale cultivator's heavy combat boots shattered the scorching rock beneath his feet, producing a thunderous roar.

The powered spear, which had been stationary in his hand, spun and tore through the scorching air, emitting a piercing shriek.

The spear tip didn't thrust out; instead, it carried the weight of the warrior's entire body and the power of a landslide and tsunami, transforming into a bolt of lightning that tore through hell. It collided violently with the thickest and most ferocious lava carapace on the monster's chest and abdomen, releasing a destructive energy field.

Time seemed to freeze for a moment, then erupted with a piercing, teeth-grinding shattering sound!

Without hesitation, the spear pierced through the monster's molten, scorching body, until the hilt was completely gone!
The fire elemental behemoth's massive, mountain-like body suddenly stiffened, and molten, boiling blood gushed from its wounds, hissing and spewing foul-smelling smoke as it landed on the scorching rocks.

Its remaining fist swung wildly at the dragon-scaled cultivator, the force enough to smash the steel fortress into dust.

However, another dragon-scaled cultivator wielding a giant shield stepped forward, as steady as a mountain, letting the giant fist slam heavily onto his shield, producing a heavy, thunderous sound that shook the sky.

"Thorn-"

With a sudden twist of his wrist, the spear deeply embedded in the monster's body began to churn cruelly within it, the highly destructive energy field twisting and destroying the monster's elemental core.

The enormous monster let out a deafening scream, filled with unbelievable pain and the despair of impending doom.

But then, three more dragon-scale cultivators charged in from the left, right, and rear, their highly destructive chainsaw swords, power axes, and power swords crisscrossing and wildly slashing and hacking at the fire elemental behemoth's body, almost dismembering it.

Even Steel Tide scrambled to his feet, grabbed his chainsaw sword, and, filled with resentment, plunged it into the monster's body, muttering through gritted teeth, "Damn it, serves you right for spitting all over me!"

With increasingly faint growls and whimpers, the lava monster's lava-like light in its eyes dimmed rapidly, and its massive body began to convulse and shake violently.

Finally, the last bit of power that sustained its existence completely dissipated, and this giant fire elemental, which had existed for many years, devoured countless lives, and caused countless disasters, collapsed like a mountain, turning into rubble, charcoal, and lava scattered all over the ground.

"It's quite impressive."

Steel Frenzy casually kicked the wreckage on the ground, then looked up at the towering cliff: "Let's go check that out!"

However, as soon as he took a step, the ground beneath his feet suddenly cracked and collapsed, revealing a pool of scalding lava. The lava monsters in the pool had gathered their strength and were about to leap out.

However, the dragon-scale cultivators' reflexes and combat awareness far surpassed those of ordinary people. Steel Tide merely kicked the rock wall casually, using the recoil to return to the ground, regaining his footing, and muttering, "Why is this place full of pits?"

"boom!"

With a dull thud, the lava monster leaped out of the lava pool, its hard skull shattering the ground. But instead of biting its prey, it saw a strong, burly human figure leaping high into the air.

What greeted the monster was a chainsaw sword with its serrated teeth spinning at high speed and slashing down from the air.

"Shh-"

The sound of flesh and bones being torn apart echoed through the sky. The monster was cleaved in two from head to toe and fell helplessly into the lava pool.

Steel Frenzy spat fiercely at the lava pool: "You even treated your grandpa like prey, damn it, who gave you the guts?"

The other dragon-scale cultivators traveling with them didn't even glance at it, completely unconcerned, treating it as a trivial incident. After all, monsters of this level were nothing more than easy prey to them.

Something's not right.

He adjusted his tactical goggles by the vodka riverbank and carefully observed the cliff through the smoke, discovering that it was covered in cracks, as if it had been forcibly shattered by something.

"There's probably something strange in there, and it's probably a really big one."

"Since that's the case," Steel Tide grinned, pointing at the shattered cliff, "then let's bomb it down. I want to see what kind of tricks they have up their sleeves!"

A dragon-scale cultivator shouldered a rocket launcher, aimed at the cliff, and pulled the trigger.

"Whoosh-"

With a piercing whistle, rockets streaked across the sky, trailing brilliant flashes of fire and billowing smoke, before crashing down toward the precipice.

"boom!"

The deafening roar finally broke the earth, and the cracked cliff collapsed with a crash, sending up clouds of dust and debris.

Amidst the rubble, a colossal creature with a slender body was writhing and struggling as it emerged from the ruins of the cliff—it was the giant lava worm.

For a moment, even the dragon-scale cultivators were amazed by the giant worm that coiled its body like a moving hill, and then became extremely excited.

"A truly rare and extraordinary creature!"

This creature is nearly thirty meters long, and its huge mouth can reach a diameter of three meters when it opens. It exudes an extremely strong life force, and its wriggling and twisting alone can make the earth tremble. It is truly a legendary creature.

No wonder the chaotic world of the past mistook it for a cave; such a thing doesn't seem like a life form naturally born.

The giant lava worm roared to the sky, spewing out burning rocks that rained down from the heavens, creating huge craters on the ground.

"kill!"

Undeterred, the dragon-scale cultivators weaved through the lava rain, constantly closing in on the giant lava worm. They raised their bolters and fired at its long, thick body, countless bullets whistling through the air like a storm, sending stone chips flying everywhere.

They were using so-called "mountain-piercing shells," after all, this thing's scales were extremely thick, made of hard rock, truly no different from a small mountain. (End of this chapter)