Chapter 545: One Thousand and One Tortures

The ancient white dragon, Burke, had never felt that his formidable regenerative abilities were more redundant than at this moment. If he were more ordinary, he might not have to repeatedly endure the agony of being skinned and having his scales plucked.

Those damned cloud giants, every time new dragon skin and scales grew over the exposed muscles on his body, would faithfully carry out the Titan's cruel orders, stripping off his dragon skin and scales to be sent away as materials.

He had little time to feel anger or remorse because the pain of having his heart pierced and his body skinned to bare muscles engulfed him every moment.

"Orsopp, save me! I'll give you a... a twentieth of the treasure I've collected over the past thousand years." Enduring endless pain, Burke finally saw a very familiar white dragon.

This was an ancient white dragon he had always looked down upon. But now, at least it was a legendary white dragon he knew, so Burke struggled to call for help, clutching at this lifeline and offering what he thought was a substantial reward. Initially, he wanted to offer half, but he suddenly thought that was too much.

"Hopeless idiot." Hearing the self-proclaimed "White Dragon King" call his name, Orsopp, who was about to take his dragon descendants to the Ice Palace to meet the Ice Queen Claudia, paused for a moment, cursed, and then continued on his way. He had hoped for half of the treasure, feeling his emotions wasted.

"Orsopp, if you don't save me now, when I get free, you'll regret it." Seeing the older but weaker ancient dragon ignoring him, Burke, who always felt superior to his kin, instinctively threatened.

"Shut up!" Seeing the ancient white dragon nailed to the ice tower still babbling and fantasizing about escaping, the cloud giants guarding it swung their heavy swords, axes, and spears at the dragon, showing no respect or fear for the legendary ancient dragon.

Deprived of his scales' defense and with his power sealed, Burke let out a miserable howl as twelve new wounds appeared on his body, with nearly all his dragon blood almost drained.

"Still threatening me in this state. Burke, you're lucky to have survived this long. You should thank the Goddess of Luck." Orsopp turned back, using a mocking tone as he looked at the self-inflicted ancient white dragon. "Do you think you have a chance to escape? You should focus on surviving first, you foolish creature!"

After cursing, Orsopp nervously flew toward the Ice Palace. Through some bribes and other means, he had discovered the powerful entity behind the Frost Queen. Getting involved with such a figure was dangerous enough; not provoking them was the only way to avoid certain death or worse.

"White dragon Orsopp greets the great Frost Queen!" Bringing his dragon descendants with him, Orsopp immediately performed a grand salute upon entering the Ice Palace, not caring about the dignity of an ancient dragon. Being cautious was one of the reasons he had survived this long. He knew when to yield and when to be humble.

As soon as he entered the Ice Palace, he noticed the Ice Throne on a hundred-meter-high nine-tier pedestal, with Claudia perched atop, gazing down at him. More importantly, he saw the towering figure standing beside the throne. Orsopp felt that this being could kill him with a single punch without any difficulty.

"An interesting white dragon. No wonder you've lived so long." Seeing this, Muria, standing beside the throne, smiled and prepared to leave after making a remark.

"Muria, wait. Take that foolish dragon down. I don't need him to intimidate others. My presence is deterrent enough." Claudia said with regal authority, exuding the demeanor of a monarch.

"Alright!" Muria, who had already devised a thousand and one ways to deal with Burke, nodded in agreement, eager to put his plans into action.

"I'll take this white dragon." Muria tore open the space and appeared by the ice tower, pulling out the spear that had pierced the ancient dragon, grabbing it by the neck, lifting it as effortlessly as a human would a chicken, and then turned to the cloud giants. "Thank you for your hard work. You can return to Synapse now, or stay here for a while, but don't stay too long."

"What do you plan to do with me, Titan?" Seeing Muria, Burke, who had been tortured for nearly half a month and had little energy left, screamed like a lone, fragile girl facing danger. "Let me go. I'll give you all my treasures. Please, I meant no disrespect to your majesty."

Burke's desperate screams and wails were an attempt to elicit even a shred of sympathy from Muria. The memory of the torturous ordeal from ten days ago was still fresh in his mind.

He remembered trying to take control of the white dragon legion, being repeatedly rejected by the Frost Queen. Enraged, he had proposed mating with Claudia upon seeing her, even though he had lost the ability to reproduce.

Unsurprisingly, he was rejected again. But this time, he didn't intend to let it go. He was a chromatic dragon, not a metal dragon bound by mutual consent and ethics. He intended to use his strength to force the issue, a common mating strategy for chromatic dragons.

Just as he released his dragon might to intimidate Claudia, this Titan arrived, tearing open space and appearing beside him. The kick he received felt like it would break his body in half.

Then came the darkest period of his life. Even after he lost his fighting ability, the Titan didn't stop, subjecting him to cruel tortures that stained every corner of the Ice Palace with his blood.

"Haha!" Muria laughed at Burke's pleas. "So naive. Ten days ago, I already had the cloud giants empty your treasure hoard."

With that, Muria tore open the space and dragged Burke back to Synapse. "Mia, notify the alchemists skilled in flesh refinement from the Kingdom of Lockman to come here. I think Synapse needs a third legendary composite beast."

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