To avoid alerting the enemy, Yserazor did not revert to his dragon form, choosing instead to follow the group in his human guise.
He even went as far as to set up a thin spatial barrier around himself, suppressing his presence to its absolute minimum.
Noticing the skeptical looks from his companions, the Rift Dragon King immediately straightened his back.
“What are you looking at?!” He glared at them with feigned ferocity, though he instinctively kept his voice low. “This is tactical concealment! If that guy senses my aura, he’ll definitely bolt the moment he sees us.”
Starlight didn't find anything wrong with the Rift Dragon King’s explanation.
While it was true that as a Dragon King, Yserazor wasn't particularly suited for head-on combat, spatial magic was a top-notch tool for ambushes when used correctly.
Following the direction Lian had pointed out, the group flew for over a dozen kilometers before finally spotting You and Yuta still locked in a fierce struggle.
Beneath the canopy of the sky, two figures—one black and one silver—clashed repeatedly like falling stars, each collision erupting in a deafening boom.
Their battle swept from the high heavens down to the earth, the violent shockwaves grinding everything in their path into dust.
As far as the eye could see, the land within a radius of several kilometers was unrecognizable. Hills had collapsed, forests had been annihilated, and the earth was cracked into a crisscrossing network of deep chasms.
The entire region looked as if it had been brutally plowed by a giant rake, leaving behind nothing but a scarred wasteland.
“Looks like we’ve arrived just in time. That elf named You seems to be at a bit of a disadvantage. You guys draw Yuta’s attention from the front, and I’ll look for an opportunity to strike.”
After whispering this into their ears, Yserazor’s figure completely vanished as he submerged himself into parallel space.
“In that case, I’ll take the task of baiting the enemy!” Idra let out a low roar. With a beat of his dragon wings, he dove toward the ground like a meteor.
The moment they neared the ground, Starlight and the other two immediately leaped off.
They looked up to see the Blue Dragon’s massive form tearing through the sky, charging straight into the heart of the battlefield.
Just as Yserazor had said, You was indeed gradually falling into a disadvantage.
Given his physical condition, he wasn't supposed to engage in high-intensity combat to begin with. Facing an evenly matched opponent like Yuta, his chances of winning only decreased as the fight dragged on.
“Hahahaha!” Having completely lost his humanity, Yuta let out a piercing, maniacal laugh. His distorted voice sounded like a death knell, striking against You’s heart with every beat.
“I can feel it... your power is fading, ‘Silver Moon’ of the Dark Tribe! It seems today is destined to be the anniversary of your death!”
Yuta violently swung his right claw, cleanly tearing through You’s protective silver light.
The sharp talons carved a hideous wound across You’s chest. The massive force of the impact sent You flying backward, and he only managed to stop himself after plowing a trench dozens of meters long through the scorched earth.
You propped himself up with one hand and wiped the blood seeping from his chest. He could clearly feel his life force draining away rapidly.
“I didn't expect this guy to be so troublesome. It seems I have no choice but to...”
Just as You was about to go for broke and activate all the power within his body, a resonant dragon’s roar shattered the atmosphere of the battlefield.
“Roar—!”
Before either of them could react, a blast of blue-and-white dragon breath was already upon them, instantly engulfing Yuta’s figure.
But Idra’s satisfaction didn't even last a second. Yuta’s pitch-black silhouette tore through the dragon breath, stepping out into the air completely unscathed.
The dragon's full-power strike had done nothing more than leave a wisp of faint smoke on the enemy; it hadn't even left a scratch.
“Hmph... a minor character like you dares to intrude upon my battlefield!” Yuta snorted coldly. A flash of cruelty crossed his crimson eyes, and his figure instantly vanished from the spot.
When he reappeared, he was already beside Idra. His claws, wreathed in death power, were raised high as he slashed down toward the Blue Dragon’s most vulnerable spot: his belly!
“Watch out—!” Starlight shouted from a distance.
Idra’s pupils shrank. He beat his wings violently, forcing his body upward just enough to barely avoid the fatal blow aimed at his heart.
However, Yuta’s claws still tore through the scales, leaving a massive gash across his abdomen.
Scalding dragon blood erupted like lava, turning into a rain of blood that poured over Yuta, staining his pitch-black body a gruesome dark red.
Yet Yuta had no intention of stopping. He followed through by grabbing one of Idra’s foreclaws that hadn't been retracted in time. Before the dragon could recover from the agony, Yuta slammed him downward with terrifying force.
Crack!
A gut-wrenching sound of bone snapping echoed across the battlefield. To Starlight’s horror, the hundred-meter-long dragon was swung bodily by Yuta and slammed into the ground like a rag doll.
With a deafening boom, another massive crater appeared in the already ravaged earth. Idra’s foreclaw was twisted at a sickeningly unnatural angle.
Just as Yuta grinned and raised his claws to deliver the killing blow, a brilliant white light suddenly exploded before his eyes.
The intense impact and glare from the Light Burst forced Yuta to instinctively raise his hand to shield his eyes, trying to alleviate the discomfort.
But he quickly realized something was wrong. Hidden behind the blinding glare was a terrifying streak of pitch-black energy heading straight for his face.
Yuta immediately shifted his palm into a fist, smashing the Spike of Annihilation that was already inches away at the final moment. The violent collision of energies forced him back several steps, the ground beneath his feet cracking under the counterforce.
“You meddlesome bugs again...”
Yuta shook his slightly numbed arm and narrowed his eyes, staring deathly at Starlight in the distance.
“Reinforcements...”
You stood up while clutching his chest, a look of joy appearing on his face.
If Starlight and the others were here, it meant the situation with Cantia had been resolved.
This way, he could preserve some of his strength to deal with what was to come.
In his prophecy, the Yuta before him was not the black shadow capable of obscuring everything; the true crisis was still far from arriving.
“Don't be careless.” You wiped the blood from his lips and warned in a heavy voice, “This guy’s power is still constantly rising.”
Even as he spoke, the small scratches on Yuta’s arm caused by the Shadow of Annihilation were already beginning to heal at a visible rate.
Possessing the power of life and death, he could recover from his injuries with a single thought. This was the reason he was able to suppress You in a battle of attrition.
The atmosphere on the battlefield suddenly froze as both sides fell into a brief standoff.
Yuta scanned the newly arrived reinforcements, his mouth slowly curling into a hair-raising smile.
“Do you see? In the face of absolute power, all your struggles are futile.”
“However... I do quite enjoy the wails of prey before they die.”
Starlight swallowed hard. Under the terrifying pressure radiating from Yuta, he could clearly hear his own rapid heartbeat.
But he needed to buy more time, as Yserazor had not yet found the right opportunity.
“Is that so?” Starlight suppressed the unease in his heart and said solemnly, “I think the outcome is still undecided.”
“A clumsy stalling tactic.” Yuta laughed disdainfully, revealing a mouthful of forest-white fangs. “The fact that you’re standing here means Cantia has already lost, hasn't she?”
He slowly raised his claws, pointing at the downed Idra. “But with just you ragtag remnants, you won't be enough.”
“That’s hard to say. We won't know until we—"
Starlight’s voice cut off abruptly. Yuta’s figure had vanished like a ghost, and in the next second, claws wreathed in the scent of death were already inches away!
Swish!
The claws whistled as they tore through the air, piercing through Starlight’s chest without resistance and continuing their momentum to plow a trench dozens of meters long behind him.
Yet, strangely, Starlight’s figure merely shimmered like a reflection in the water. Not a single drop of blood was spilled as the claws passed through him.
Long before he had revealed himself to confront Yuta, he had maintained a small parallel space around his body. The fatal blow had naturally fallen on nothing but empty air.
Rate on N.U.
