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nThe golden projection that enveloped Max’s scales flared, signaling to him that his final charge of Invincible Golden Body had been used up.

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nWithout the assistance of this ability, Max would be incapable of withstanding Catherine’s attack.

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nAlthough the 3 seconds of invulnerability that the ability had bestowed him had saved him many times in the past, against the several layers of increased gravity that Catherine had unleashed upon him, there was nothing much that it could do.

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n3 seconds had passed in the blink of an eye!

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nThe golden glow layering his scales flickered, and the Invincible Golden Body’s protection had vanished without a trace!

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nMax was instantly bombarded with a 20x Gravity Layers!

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nA crimson stream of blood began leaking out of the corner of Max’s mouth. The droplets that had made contact with the ground had bloomed into scarlet blossoms, and had Max not been in a life-and-death situation, he might have marveled at the sight.

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nContained within these scarlet blossoms were several chunks of objects. It seemed to Max that his internal organs had ruptured as a result of the increased gravity.

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nAlthough Max’s limbs were still holding strong, he could feel his strength wavering.

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nWith his blood circulation being halted, Max was certain that he would not last for long.

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nHis vision was already turning black, and waves of pain were threatening to make him pass out.

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nHe could clearly sense that he would fall within a minute.

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nFor a Dragon Hatchling like Max, the Ancient Dragon Catherine was way too much for him to handle.

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n“O’ Great Mother Tiamat, please witness…”

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nMax’s chest was heaving up and down, and as a result of the 20x Gravity Layers being exerted on him, it was extremely difficult for him to breathe.

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nAs such, he had found it difficult to get the words out.

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n“The enemy I’m facing is the mortal enemy of Red Dragons, a Silver Dragon. It is an Ancient Dragon who is several times more powerful than me…”

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n“This is not an entity that I could possibly go up against. I beseech you, Mother Tiamat, please bear witness to my ordeal!”

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n“I, Max Agatha Hill Alexander, propose a Battle of Existence to my opponent. I will stake everything I have, be it in the past, present, or future!”

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nMax roared furiously. He had finally used up the last cinders of strength within his body. Following this, Max’s stance crumpled. He had finally relented to the crushing gravity that was unleashed upon him.

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nHe was unable to budge a single inch.

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nUpon watching the wild and unruly Dragon Hatchling, Max, prostrate himself before her like a meek cub, Catherine sneered with delight.

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nShe had heard Max’s words clearly.

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nShe was vaguely aware of the Battle of Existence. From what she could recall, it was a forbidden technique of the Chromatic Dragons. It was a technique that would stake the participants past, current, and future achievements in a single, all-out battle!

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nThe party that lost would have their existence completely consumed by the winning party!

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nNot even their dregs would remain!

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nUpon realizing this, Catherine’s figure blurred.

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nShe wanted to stop Max from using the Battle of Existence!

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nHad the Battle of Existence only involved one’s strength in the present and past, Catherine would gladly let Max finish his incantation.

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nHowever, that was not the case, as it had also included one’s strength from the future.

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nMax was in no way weak.

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nBe it in terms of raw strength, magical abilities, or even speed, he had far surpassed any of his brethren at the same rank. As far as Catherine was concerned, Max was an entity on par with a Prime Dragon!

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nThis was in spite of him being only a mere Dragon Hatchling! Worse still, he possessed the talent to ascend into an Ancient Dragon, and the only thing that held him back at this moment was time.

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n‘Given enough time, I’m sure he’ll surpass me as well! Can I truly go against his future self and come up ahead?’

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nCatherine asked herself and decided that the answer was, ‘Absolutely not.’

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nWith the talent that he possessed, Catherine was certain that he could become an Ancient Dragon within just a couple hundred years. Following his ascension to an Ancient Dragon, it was only a matter of time, perhaps another hundred or so years before he would surpass herself!

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nCatherine dared not gamble her strength against Max’s!

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nShe would strike him down swiftly and prevent him from enacting his potentially catastrophic plan!

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nOne had to know that once a Battle of Existence was initiated, it would not end until a victor was decided, that is, until one side had had their existence completely devoured.

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nCatherine wanted to kill Max before he could initiate the Battle of Existence.

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nAs long as Max had died before the Battle of Existence’s had fully triggered, the words he uttered would be completely meaningless.

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nAfter all, a dead person could not possibly have a future, right?!

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nCatherine acted swiftly. A mere instant later, she had already condensed a powerful orb of frost energy.

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nAs an Ancient Dragon, Catherine’s control over the ice element was not something that ordinary dragons could compare to. Another instant later, she had morphed the orb of frost energy into another frost spear that was over 10 meters long!

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nIt was a massive spear that exceeded even Max’s body in size!

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nDespite looking as if he were on his last breath, Catherine was still extremely cautious of Max.

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nAlthough her frost spear did not possess a massive blast radius, its lethality was something that not even the Black Dragons could go against!

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nCatherine was confident that even if Max were to use the strange golden projection from earlier, she could still easily pierce through his defenses!

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nThis time around, Catherine was targeting Max’s head directly.

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nLogically speaking, it was much easier to strike an immobile target’s heart than one’s head.

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nHowever, destroying his heart would not guarantee his instant death. So long as he was of sound mind, he would still be capable of entering the Battle of Existence.

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nIn order to avoid such a situation from occurring, Catherine had chosen to strike Max’s head instead!

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nA biting cold wind blew past the duo as the frost spear that was over 10 meters long blasted forward towards Max’s head!

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nMax raised his wings and claws to shield himself, but the spear was incomparably sharp, and it had pierced through him effortlessly!

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nRegardless of how fast or powerful the spear was, however, it still needed time to reach Max, and right before it was about to make contact with Max’s head, a strange buzzing sound reverberated across the frozen soil.

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