While the dragons united, the world's other races grew fearful. The human, elf, dwarf, and vampire factions formed an alliance: The Coalition of Light, determined to strike first before Erlan's power became insurmountable.
Armed with magical weapons and advanced dwarven war machines, the Coalition launched an invasion into Solaria. Yet Erlan, anticipating their move, rallied his united dragon army to meet them at the Azure Highlands.
The battle was epic and devastating. The Coalition utilized diverse strategies—elves rained enchanted arrows, dwarves deployed colossal war engines, vampires unleashed shadow sorcery, and humans bombarded with artillery. Erlan's forces responded in kind:
Wind dragons created hurricanes, scattering enemy ranks.
Magma dragons melted dwarven engines with eruptions of lava.
Ice dragons froze entire artillery units.
Just as victory seemed assured, a suffocating darkness descended. The Betrayer emerged, a massive obsidian-scaled dragon radiating corruption. Flanked by twisted, shadow-tainted dragons, the Betrayer turned the tide of battle.
Erlan challenged the Betrayer in a climactic aerial duel. The Betrayer's attacks exuded pure malice, countering Erlan's elemental might. Even Cosmic Inferno barely left a mark.
A system notification appeared:
[Critical Information]
Betrayer's Weakness: Combine The Heart of Eternity with ∞ energy to purify the corruption.
Despite managing to repel the Betrayer temporarily, Erlan knew this war had just begun. Steeling