The dragonâs amplified breath seemed to embody the sun in the sky as it shot across the air. Even as a group that could be labeled as humanityâs most skilled fighters was in one place, they barely managed to defend themselves while suffering significant damage. Even Zich couldnât think of a clear countermeasure if the dragon continued to shoot out magically amplified breaths from high up. Fortunately, the dragon didnât continue to shoot out a series of special breaths.
âNo, it probably canât.â
The dragon was still boiling with bloodlust and was clearly aware that the people it was fighting were dangerous. There was no way it would underestimate humans simply for their small sizes when the Clowon empireâs humans had captured and trapped it inside a crystal. Thus, the fact that it didnât continue to shoot out attacks that would render Zichâs group almost immobile meant that it didnât have the capabilities to do so.
âThereâs a high possibility that it will burden it too much.â
If the dragon made another breath attack like that, the party wouldnât have been able to defend themselves; after all, Lubella even gave up on healing herself to heal Zich. Thus, it wouldâve only made sense for the dragon to quickly shoot out another breath attack, but it didnât. Instead, it slowly came down and landed on the ground. It was back in the air now, but after shooting out the amplified breath, Zich saw that its mouth, neck, and chest area were extremely red.
âMaybe even the dragon canât handle the breathâs high temperature.â This meant that this amplified breath was basically a double-edged sword for the dragon.
âIt canât be used easily and when it is used, the dragon reveals its weakness.â In other words, this attack wasnât only bad news for Zich and his party.
Whooosh! The dragon changed targets. It let out a loud roar and rushed forward. Then, it let out a giant breath from its mouth and made its enemies scatter. Every time its feet landed on the ground, the ground shook like there was an earthquake.
âIs it aiming for Lubella?â The dragon was clearly aiming for Lubella and Chelsea and appeared to be trying to cut off their source of healing.
âItâs getting more and more used to battle. Or should I say itâs getting its senses together?â If it had been simply moving on its rage and loathing for those holding Clowonâs swords before, the dragon seemed to move more efficiently and tactically nowâjust like how it was trying to cut off their source of healing first which was one of the most fundamental rules of battles. Of course, Weig wasnât going to let the dragon attack Lubella. The others also protected Lubella and Chelsea knowing the importance of their roles.
âIts loathing hasn't disappeared yet.â
Glen attempted to escape again, but sensing what he was planning to do in an instant, the dragon shot out another magic attack at Glen. The fact that it still wanted to keep Glen within its vicinity while knowing that it must aim for Lubella and Chelsea first showcased that its rage for Clowon was still wildly fluctuating. In the end, the dragonâs attack at Lubella and Chelsea failed. It sustained more injuries, but Zichâs party didnât look happy.
They were also running out of mana. Although they each possessed an immense amount of mana for a human, they still couldnât compare to Zich or the dragon. As the wounds on the dragon increased, their mana pool was also depleted. Since they were not in a situation to save mana, the speed at which they lost their supply was exceedingly fast.
âIf those with little mana begin to step away from the fight, weâll be pushed back. Thereâs a limit to Lady Lubella and that girl, Windneâs holy magic too,â Weig said worriedly. Zich was confident in fighting against the dragon until the end, but he couldnât win against this monster by himself. Instead, he might be done for while trying to protect those who had depleted their mana.
âThat all means I should end this battle as fast as possible,â Zich thought. Then he said, âPlease tell the others that we should gather in one place like before and attack.â
âThe dragon might shoot out another one of its special breaths,â Weig said. Zichâs party didnât fight in one place to avoid an attack like that.
âI am aiming for that.â
âThere could be big drawbacks to that, but I suppose we will have to undertake the dangers to finish this battle quickly.â With his great battle experience, Weig also recognized the dragonâs weakness and moved to call the others.
Bam! Bam! The attacks against the dragon intensified, and the dragon noticed that Zichâs companions had gathered in one place again. Seeing this, its twisted its head around in a strange manner. It seemed to be wondering if it should deliver another amplified magic attack, but it was curious why Zich and his companions would gather after seeing its previous attack. Was it a trap? Or were they trying to end this battle as fast as possible while taking on the risks? The dragon saw that there was a sense of fatigue on some of its enemiesâ faces.
The dragon made its decision. When it flew high in the air, the ways that its enemies could attack it were restricted. Shooting out an amplified breath exhausted the dragon and it made flying temporarily impossible, but its opponents would greatly suffer after withstanding an attack like that. At the very least, they would be left immobilized like last time.
Flap! The dragon flapped its wings and flew into the sky. Whoosh!
High-temperature mana was already gathered inside its mouth and magic began to form around it too. After reaching a certain altitude it was satisfied with, the dragon looked below. Its enemies were huddled in one place. They wouldnât be able to escape to a safe place now and would have to do their best to block its attack.
Baaaam! The dragon spewed another breath. It felt the heat from its mouth, neck, and chest, and it didnât take long for those sensations to become painful. Although normal, high-temperature breath didnât affect its bodyâthis magically amplified breath put too much strain on its body. Thus, it couldnât spew it from too far, but it far surpassed an ordinary breath in all other ways. It had failed to kill its enemies with the previous attack, so the dragon strained itself a bit more this time. As a result, it experienced more pain.
Humph! The dragon stopped its breath and closed its mouth. Then, it opened its mouth again. It threw up the heat passing through its throat as much as possible. The intense pain lingered, and it was so painful that it wanted to rip out its own throat. However, the dragon endured the pain and stared at the area where its breath hit. The dragon needed to check its enemiesâ current condition. At that moment, the dragon sensed multiple presences rushing towards it. The dragon felt two energies moving at an astounding speed; it was all too familiar with both energies and the hostility it felt rose. The energy was from the Clowonâs Crown Princeâs sword and the generalâs sword. The person using both of these swords had the strong scent of the Clowon emperorâs sword on him. He was also the one who posed the greatest threat to the dragon.
The dragon began to grow nervous. Had this human endured its breath and was jumping this high up? The dragonâs mouth, neck, and chest were still letting out smoke. The dragonâs hard scales had softened up and its tough muscles were loose and limp. If those two swords pierced its body right now, it would sustain an injury incomparable to the ones before. If the dragon got hurt in the mouth or neck, it could still endure the pain, but getting an injury on its chest was a completely different story. If one of the swords reached the dragonâs heart, its life would be over.
The dragon flapped its weak wings and wrapped its arms around its chest. However, the dragonâs sense of crisis didnât last very long. The dragon had expected Zich to come up with Estellade and Tornium. However, even though two swords were flying toward itâthe dragon couldnât see the human using those two swords. The dragon had been so startled that it hadnât realized this until now, but the Clowon emperorâs sword energy was still way below. The human had just thrown his swords toward it.
The dragon soon relaxed. As expected, its enemies couldnât reach the dragon at this altitude. At best, only arrows and magic posed a threat. The dragon could sufficiently defend against those attacks even in its weakened state. How could that human dare to think that he could threaten a dragon by just throwing swords into the sky?
The dragon soon removed its arms from its chest. Then it reached out its hands toward the flying swords. They were detestable swords; if the dragon managed to take them away from the enemy, it would be much easier to fight the humans. No matter how sharp they were, it was not difficult to snatch the two swords. However, what the dragon felt in its hand was not a sharp sword that its scales could feel.
Thud! Zich suddenly appeared and kicked the dragonâs hand and flew his body into the air. Before the dragon could grasp the situation, Estellade and Tornium were in his hands. The two swords were full of mana and were ready to burst out at any time. Anyone could see that Zichâs target was the dragonâs chest, which was still emitting heat and smoke. The necklace hanging from Zichâs neck sparkled in the sun. Crunnnnch!
Keuahhhhhhhhhh! A scream incomparable to the previous one came out of the dragonâs mouth. The dragonâs scales, which had softened from its breath, were unable to block Estelladeâs light, and its limp muscles were ripped to shreds from Torniumâs rough mana. Blood sprouted out of its ripped chest. Even though the dragon didnât even blink an eye at most of the injuries it sustained so far, it couldnât help but squirm frantically at its most recent injury.
Swoosh! The dragon swung its arms. Even though it flapped its arms around randomly due to pain and shock, the dragonâs monstrous physique made each move fatal. Moreover, the attacks precisely landed on Zich.
Crunch! Zichâs entire arm holding Tornium was torn off. Blood spewed out like a fountain and fell far away with Tornium. However, Zichâs eyes were still calm. Instead, he kicked the dragonâs claws and ripped off his arm. Then, he quickly moved his body again. Crunnnnnnnnch!
Kuahhhhhhhhhhhh! Estelladeâs bright light pierced through the dragonâs chest. The dragonâs wound became even deeper, and its scream became even more terrible. The dragon swung its hand again, and as expected of a dragon, it precisely aimed for Zich once again despite its injuries. Zich had easily sacrificed one of his arms, but he couldnât lose the other one either. If he did, he would miss a golden opportunity to finally kill the dragon that they had worked so hard to obtain.
Claaang! Estellade bounced out of Zichâs hand. His hand wasnât able to endure the reaction and turned into a bloody mess. However, Zich used that momentum instead to approach the dragonâs wound. Zich moved through the dragonâs blood spewing out like a waterfall and squeezed into the dragonâs wound. The dragonâs movements grew even more frantic. The dragonâs hard claws dug into its chest to grab Zich. Even though the dragon received a wound that a human wouldnât be able to survive, a dragonâs vitality was strong. If it got sufficient rest, the dragon could easily heal from a wound of this level.
However, Zich also didnât think the dragon would die from such a wound. Zich used his one remaining arm and legs to move deeper into the dragonâs body. There was no hesitation in his movements, as his target was already in clear view. Soon, Zichâs target, which was soaked in blood, appeared in front of Zich in the darkness.
There were two things that immediately came to mind when people thought of dragons. The first was a dragonâs breath and the second was a dragonâs heart like the one in front of him. Zich could feel the tremendous amount of mana radiating from the dragonâs heart. Then he raised his hand.
According to stories, a dragonâs hardness was as tough as a dragonâs scale. At a glance, Zich did not seem to have the ability to inflict an effective blow on the dragonâs heart as he lost both Estellade and Tornium and could not even properly hold up himself. However, Zich looked at his hand. Several fingers were bent, and the palm and back of his hand were so severely crushed and ripped that he could see his bones. But his index finger was fine. Zich bit his index finger. The front of his finger was ripped off, and a piece of metal could be seen poking out of his blood-flowing flesh. This was the item that he used to give a last âfuck youâ to Glen before his regressionâThe Key that Distorts Destiny. Zich infused his finger with mana and pierced it into the dragonâs heart.