Initially, the Firebirds had an upper hand to the battle. However, when the remaining Firebirds that were fighting outside heard my declaration, they could not believe their ears. Some tried to dispute my words by examining the head and prove that it wasn't the Patriarch's. But, when they realize that it was in fact the Patriarch's head, they froze in shock. Many began to pick up on their reactions and they too realize that...their leader was dead. Panic rose in their hearts as their morale decreased significantly. Many dropped to their knees and began crying. Soon, every Firebird began to wail. The wails resounded in the air and echoed throughout the mountains.

The echoes of wails booming throughout the mountains had shook even the North Volcano. Every monster within the vicinity raised their heads up, curious at what the sounds were. Somewhere deep in the heart of the North Volcano, a sleeping figure stirred slightly. Its eyes slowly opened and it tilted its head in order to listen to the wails more clearly. Suddenly, as if the figure had thought of something, its eyes opened wide and flashed with a glint of anger. With a deep roar, the figure flew out of the North Volcano and sped through the mountains towards the source of the wails.

"Stop crying!" Krosgund roared with displeasure at the sight of the mourning Firebirds. He even reached forward and killed a few Firebirds but the others did not pay attention to his actions and continued to mourn.

The Firebirds, having lost their will to fight, could only surrender. They hung their heads low with sorrow and defeat. As I surveyed the defeated enemy, I nodded with satisfaction before speaking out once more.

"Krosgund! The Firebirds have surrendered. Although some of the younger generations have escaped, but this should be enough right? Anyways, treat those who have surrendered as prisoners of war. Do what you want with them."

"WHO DARES!?" A voice boomed out suddenly.

I looked up and saw burning red figure shoot towards our direction like a meteor. The figure cratered the ground at the center of the battlefield causing smoke to arise and spread from the crash site. An eminent aura burst forth causing many Wyverns and Firebirds to cower with fright. Two golden glows flashed in the smoke as it moved around. When the smoke cleared away, a magnificent bird-like creature came to view. This creature had reddish gold flames enveloping his entire body. Could this be...the legendary Phoenix, the Firebirds' ancestor? There was a vast difference in appearance between Firebirds and Phoenixes. The Phoenixes were bird-like mythical creatures with flames constantly enveloping their entire bodies while the Firebirds were bird-like creatures of flame colors. Anyways, the Phoenix stood up and scanned the area. As if sensing something, he swiveled around and glanced towards me. When he recognized the head in my hand, his eyes squinted and killing intent spewed out from him.

Ignoring the pressure, I glared back at him coldly. "You must be the ancestor of this Firebird clan."

"Who are you?" The Phoenix growled, ignoring my statement.

Such an imposing arrogant manner. I glanced towards Blackie standing next to me and sent him a mental transmission. Any confidence?

Yes. Blackie nodded in confirmation.

In that case...I stared at the Phoenix and sneered, "I am Khaos the Mask Maker. Remember who it is that kills you."

"Impudent!" The Phoenix roared as he kicked off the ground and...disappeared?

No, this was a movement technique! I quickly channeled some Life Essence and Dragon's Essence in order to increase my defenses as I raised my hands up to guard. BOOM! I spat out some blood as the Phoenix tackled me, sending me high into the air. My arms were numb from the impact and there was little to no strength in them. I grimaced at the strength of this Phoenix. Though he was just a "trash" from a branch family, his strength was still a ways above my own. However, with Blackie...maybe I'll manage. The Phoenix flew up into the air and sharply descended, his leg pointed towards me with talons out ready to pierce. This! Wasn't this Talons of Reigning Supreme? Hmph!

Immediately, I calmed my nerves using Dragon Breath. Then, I activated Scales of Dragons to increase my defense. Bending my legs, I positioned myself below the diving Phoenix and jumped using Dragon Leap. In the air, I too positioned myself so that my leg aimed towards the Phoenix. This was another of my intermediate moves - Flying Dragon Kick. Let's see whose kick was stronger!

The power of my Dragon Leap tripled the effects of Flying Dragon Kick. As soon as we collided, a large explosion of force leaked out to the surroundings. The Phoenix rebounded back and landed on the ground after a few flips. He took a few steps back before coming to a halt, shock emanating from his eyes. I, on the other hand, crashed into the ground, my leg numb and my ankle twisted. I gently rubbed the sore area and checked that nothing was broken. I tried to stand but my leg was still sore and thus I couldn't stabilize myself as I fell to my knees. Seeing my injury, the Phoenix dashed forward fired a plethora of fireballs towards me.

Unable to move, I could only improvise. I smashed my hand onto the ground, using Dragon Palm, and pushed myself up. Though I dodged the majority of the fireballs, there were two that collided with my lower body. The attack flipped me around a few times before I tumbled to the ground once more. I rolled around a few times to extinguish the flames on my legs. I cannot waste any more time. I need to end this quickly or my stamina and energy will give out before I do. Struggling to stand, I barely held myself up. The Phoenix sneered at my stubbornness and charged once more. My eyes flashed once as I thought of a plan. Gritting my teeth, I stomped the lesser of my injured feet on the ground towards the Phoenix. This was one of the beginner moves - Dragon Stomp. The ground shook from my stomp, causing the Phoenix to stumble momentarily. Then, I manipulated the Dragon's Essence in my hands in a series of movements to form a Dragon avatar. I glared at the Phoenix as I completed the secret technique - Dragon Summon. I thrust my hands forward and the Dragon avatar roared towards the Phoenix. The Phoenix, realizing that he had no time to dodge, raised his wings up to guard. The Dragon avatar exploded into the Phoenix, causing him to spurt out a few mouthfuls of blood. He took a few steps back and collapsed on one knee.

The Phoenix sneered at me and wiped his beak. "You are dead! Die!"

The Phoenix flared up his flames until they became blood red and shot towards me like a shooting star. Blackie rushed in front of me and fired a few Fireballs towards the Phoenix. The Fireballs smashed into the Phoenix but did little to no damage. In fact, they did not even slow the enemy down. Blackie squinted his eyes in contemplation before taking a deep breath. With a sharp wail, he used Cry of the Nightingale. The sound attack collided with the charging opponent, poisoning his mind but the Phoenix was unstoppable. Blackie did not want the Phoenix's attack to smash into me and so he decided to sacrifice himself and rushed towards the Phoenix to meet his charge. Naturally, I tried to order him to step down but he ignored my words. If only my legs could move.... Sighing bitterly, I could do nothing but complement him. With a series of hand movements, I summoned Dragon's Tornado and sent the wind-based attack towards the Phoenix in hopes of slowing him down. The tornado collided with the Phoenix and he seemed to pause for a moment. However, the Phoenix burned his flames more brightly and pierced through the tornado. Blackie and the Phoenix crashed into each other and it seemed for a few seconds that Blackie was able to halt the Phoenix's movements. However, Blackie let out a sharp cry all of a sudden before he was sent flying back. The Phoenix had lost a lot of momentum and his speed decreased significantly.

I quickly checked on Blackie and was happy to know that he was still alive though severely injured. I glared at the Phoenix who had completely stopped in his tracks. He was bent over panting as the attack had used a lot of his energy and Fire Essence. Not giving him time to recover, I gathered the Dragon's Essence to my mouth and unleashed the Dragon Roar. With his defenses down, the Phoenix was susceptible to the sound attack and his mind suffered from mental damage. In the Phoenix's confusion, I withdrew some acupuncture needles and threw them at the him, paralyzing him. Then, using Storming of Dragons, I rammed into him and knocked him back. I grabbed his throat with one hand and his left wing with another. With a sickening wrench, I used what remained of my upper strength and tore his wing off. The Phoenix screeched with pain and kicked me away. I tumbled back a couple of times before stabilizing myself in a kneeling position. With out a moment of respite, I raised my skinning knife and jumped into the air. I brought the knife down onto the collapsed Phoenix and pierced his heart. The Phoenix struggled horrendously for a few moments as I clung onto the knife for dear life. I almost let go a couple of times, but I held the knife firmly in place. Finally, the Phoenix's eyes began to fade and slowly...he perished. When the Firebirds saw that their ancestor was killed, they fled for their lives. The Wyverns gave chase and started slaughtering more of the Firebirds.

I had killed a Phoenix! Quickly, I severed the head and placed the severed neck of the head to my mouth, letting the fresh blood drip into my mouth and down my throat. I had heard that by drinking the blood of a Firebird, my healing prowess would increase significantly. Then, if I drank the blood of a Phoenix, wouldn't my wounds heal instantly? After downing a few gulps of the blood, I brought the rest of the blood to Blackie for him to drink as well. It was a miracle! Our wounds completely healed as if we were reborn and I could even feel my stats increase by a good portion.

I gestured for my army to follow the Wyverns and wipe out any surviving Firebirds. They had not chosen to surrender so they can only die. As my army left with the majority of my subordinates, I got up and began to collect the fresh materials on the ground. Firebird corpses everywhere...such treasure! I couldn't collect the Wyvern corpses though...since I was allied with the Wyverns. If I were to do so, it would be disrespectful. Anyways, as I gathered the corpses into my storage ring, Blackie helped out by showing me the treasure vault that the fortress held. All was good until suddenly...a sharp pain erupted in my body. I collapsed in writhing pain as I clutched my stomach. To my right, Blackie also collapsed in pain. What happened?