Chapter 5654

Jared’s gaze locked on the Serpent King.

In that instant, he remembered the blood that burned in his veins the Golden Dragon bloodline, sovereign of beasts, born to command anything that slithered or crawled.

Without hesitation, he tore a line across his fingertip. Crimson drops struck the stone. A silent detonation of dragon’s power unfurled from him, rippling outward in concentric waves that rattled pebbles and bent cold air to his will.

The smaller snakes recoiled at once, hissing in primal terror, scales rasping as they scrambled over one another. Even the arrogant Serpent King faltered, eyes wide, before it wheeled and vanished into the darkness, its following horde slithering after like a retreating storm.

Relief crashed over Jared and Sylvia. They collapsed hard onto the rock, lungs clawing for breath, every limb trembling with spent adrenaline until even raising a finger felt impossible.

“That was far too close,” Sylvia whispered, voice still quavering. “Without your dragon blood, we’d be bones by now.”

Jared managed a weary nod. “The bloodline earns its keep when it matters. We need shelter, and we need to patch these bites before venom thinks otherwise.”