Before them, the three Saint Lord-ranked dragons were all at least level 95, each with over 500 million HP and a base attack power surpassing 60,000. On top of that, they were dual-element Archmage-class spellcasters.
Fight them? With what? Their bare hands?
Kimchi Blade’s mouth twitched. RagingTiger wanted to defend his pride and respond to Orson, but the thought of what this man had done in US Infinite Dimensions made him swallow the words instead.
"Can you stop running your mouth? It’s not too late to turn back now," Hana Snow snapped coldly, unable to hold back.
Orson turned to glance at the woman in the blue mage robe. He paused. "You look kind of familiar. But honestly, I can’t remember from where."
"You arrogant bastard! Stop pretending! You were a loser—"
The moment she heard that, Hana Snow visibly cracked. Kimchi Blade quickly stepped in to restrain her, worried she might ruin things for everyone.
Orson, unfazed, simply shrugged. "As you can see—yeah, I’m showing off."
Hana Snow turned, flustered and confused, looking at her teammates as if asking, Is this guy for real?
"Don’t waste your breath on him. Watching him get roasted will be satisfying enough."
RagingTiger whispered in the party channel, trying to calm her down.
Hana Snow’s chest rose and fell rapidly. She cast one last venomous glare at Orson and fell silent.
"I need an audience with the Dragon King."
RagingTiger looked up at the three dragons hovering above.
Flare Dragon, Lord of Flames: "Granted. But under our contract, you know the price. Five million gold coins—or treasure of equal value."
RagingTiger turned to the team. Kimchi Blade sighed, then nodded.
"What are they doing? Rehearsing a play?"
Wild Gale raised an eyebrow at Orson.
"From the looks of it... they’re scraping together the cash."
RagingTiger pulled out his spatial pouch and went around to the others. Kimchi Blade, his face pained, threw in his top-tier legendary weapon.
He followed that with 400,000 gold in pooled party earnings.
"Your turn, Hana Snow."
RagingTiger looked to her expectantly.
Her jaw clenched tight. Her face flushed red with humiliation as the others awkwardly looked away.
With trembling hands, she took off her priceless mage robe. Her pale skin was suddenly exposed to the open air.
"We’re still short..."
RagingTiger muttered, eyes averted.
The woman who had just threatened to duel Orson to the death scoffed coldly... and kept stripping.
Arms crossed in front of her chest, ears burning crimson, she was soon down to just her enchanted boots and a few accessories.
"What are you staring at?"
Hana Snow snapped at Wild Gale, face bright red.
"Well, gotta say—if I’d known you looked , I wouldn’t have gone so hard on you earlier."
Wild Gale chuckled, then gave her a thumbs up.
"But come on, it’s just five mil. Did you really have to pawn your whole wardrobe?"
That was the last straw. The Kimchi Age team looked ready to explode.
"We had a good fight. If you’re short on cash, why not borrow from me?"
Wild Gale stood, casually flicked his spatial pouch, and dumped a pile of legendary gear on the ground—forty or fifty pieces in total.
A few pieces even shimmered with a black glow. Forbidden-tier accessories.
"You’re a B-rank warrior! Why do you have all this stuff?"
Hana Snow was stunned, eyes fixed on the gear.
"People just kept forcing them on me. Not like I have much use for any of it."
Wild Gale frowned, then turned to Orson.
"They wouldn’t take no for an answer. I was planning to toss it all into the guild vault."
"What the hell... how many people tried bribing their way in?"
Orson was dumbfounded.
Then again, it made sense. Anyone hoping to join Godslayer had to go through Wild Gale. A lot of mega whales from other guilds probably hoped he’d cut them some slack.
But Orson knew him well—Wild Gale didn’t care about money or status. He trained Bradley like a drill sergeant trains a rookie.
Still, when people shoved gear at you just for peace of mind... eventually, you’d have a treasure trove whether you liked it or not.
After all, Godslayer had looted NPC strongholds more times than anyone could count. Top-tier gear? That guild had more than it could use.
It just hadn’t hit the open market.
Most members were still low-level, so many of the best items sat unused, waiting for them to hit the level 80 threshold—when their power would skyrocket again.
By contrast, the Kimchi Age team had backing from the NSK Enterprises Group. But even the richest corporation had dozens of guilds to fund—resources were tight.
Five million gold coins? To Orson, that was pocket change. To them, it was everything they had.
Orson stared down at the nearly naked Hana Snow. She instinctively took a step back, panic flashing in her eyes.
"What... what are you trying to do?"
She was burning with shame and anger, trying to look him in the eye—but his gaze felt like it was peeling away her soul. Like standing before a predator.
Orson’s brows drew together. "Hmm? You’re reading too much into this. You’re an ant. Do you really think I’d be interested in an ant?"
He knelt down, rummaged through the pile, and casually tossed her a level 60 legendary mage robe.
"An adventurer can die—but not in disgrace. At least be properly dressed when you do."
Hana Snow stood frozen, holding the robe with trembling hands. She looked to her teammates, utterly at a loss.
She should’ve been furious. Instead, the words that followed hit her like a truck.
"I remember you. I killed you instantly back then because I saw you as a threat."
"I... I was a threat to him?"
Hana Snow muttered in disbelief.
Her shattered confidence began to pull itself back together.
Her eyes welled up with tears.
He understands me...?
Wild Gale rolled his eyes.
Classic Orson. The guy could sell ice to a frost dragon. Can’t believe she’s actually buying it.
"It’s here! It’s coming!"
RagingTiger’s voice trembled as he finished the payment.
"You have my attention."
A deep, commanding voice echoed across the lava sea.
Flare Dragon, Lord of Flames:
"Adventurer RagingTiger, who do you wish me to kill?"
A massive shadow surged beneath the magma.
The group instinctively turned to Orson—he held the contract-bound right to issue one command.
Orson gave a calm nod. Time to proceed.
"You’ve got guts. I’ll admit... I never took you seriously before."
"But now, you’ve got my respect. So I’ll give you the death you deserve—at the fangs of a War Supreme dragon god!"
RagingTiger’s face twisted.
It was the same thing gnawing at every one of them.
How could someone they once looked down on now be standing above them?
"I’ve achieved my goal."
A whisper and a flick—Supreme Arcane Blade materialized in Orson’s hand.
He turned to Kimchi Blade and the others, smiling.
"I’ve always admired the fighting spirit of old rivals. The era of NUK’s three great corporations is over. You’ll be the ones to usher in the next age."
"Orgod... what are you saying? Sorry, but we have no intention of pledging loyalty to any faction."
Kimchi Blade stood tall, defying the immense pressure of Orson’s presence with quiet pride.
"No, you misunderstand. You only need to be loyal to your family. Your friends. Protect them with everything you’ve got."
Orson’s smile grew faint.
"I, Orgod, will give you a world with no overlords."
They stared at him in shock.
Then he chuckled and added,
"But if there must be one... that person will be me."
The air around them froze.
In the next instant, ice began crawling up Orson’s body. An otherworldly suit of frost armor encased him.
He exhaled slowly. Glimmering crystals began to form in the air before him.
He took a step forward—an icy staircase materialized beneath his feet.
"Absolute Zero Prison."
With each step, the lava around them froze in midair. The temperature plummeted.
"That’s... an S-rank Ice Aura Spell. He’s already awakened it!"
Hana Snow gasped, clutching the robe tight. The massive mana bar glowing above Orson’s head made even quasi-God dragons pale in comparison.
The crimson sky lost its color, replaced by a breathtaking deep blue.
Frostburn: -2% HP per second!
The Flare Dragon King and the three other Windflame Dragons trembled violently. Their bodies froze, locked in place. HP plummeting like falling stars.