NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92
Chapter 92
'What is that?'
Sieg also gazed from the tree, watching the entity emerging from beyond the forest.
Goooonnnnng!
A colossal demonic beast appeared, as if crafted from filthy mud and polluted water.
Chiiiiii!
The trees that the demonic beast's bodily fluids touched sizzled and melted away.
The surroundings of the beast transformed into a bubbling swamp, pulling all living creatures beneath it.
Sieg used his Dragon Eyes to observe the beast.
『A dragonkin completely eroded by demonic energy.』
'An eroded dragonkin?'
Like the Hydra he had discovered in the sanctuary of Kaiser, the ruler of this swamp also seemed to be one of the corrupted dragonkin.
At that moment, the swamp's ruler raised its head and opened its massive maw towards those atop the trees.
Kaaahhh!
Instantly, sticky liquid sprayed from the beast's mouth.
Chwaaaaak!
The special forces, tense and on edge, dodged the liquid spurting from the monster's mouth and leaped to other trees. However, the knights who had climbed the trees relaxed, unable to evade, and were drenched by the liquid.
Chiiiiii!
"Kraaaah!"
The knights, doused in the acidic liquid, screamed as their bodies were dissolved.
Even the attire of Draker's knights, designed to effectively resist physical and magical attacks, served no protection against the beast's acid.
Fortunately dodging the acid, low fled to another tree, sweating profusely.
"Huff. Huff."
But the beast was relentless.
Suddenly, its back squirmed and spewed out tentacles that were coated in the sticky fluid.
Chwaaak!
Dozens of tentacles shot out, wrapping around the special forces and knights perched on the trees.
"Kraaaah!"
With the tentacles coated in acid, the bodies entangled by them began to melt away.
Then, as the beast's back split wide open, the knights and agents wrapped in the tentacles were devoured whole.
Low swung his sword from atop the tree, slicing away the tentacles emerging from the beast.
"Chaat!"
Low, a blue knight, cut through the tentacles with his Aura Blade. However, he couldn't maintain the Aura Blade indefinitely. Soon, a tentacle from his blind spot snatched his arm.
"Krugh!"
Low managed to slice away the tentacle with his sword once more. But the acidic solution on the tentacle melted half of his arm.
He severed the progressively melting arm with his sword.
"Huff. Huff."
With his face white as a sheet, low, who had cut off his own left arm, realized, 'I must escape somehow.'
There was no time to worry about the honor of a knight or anything else. Faced with the swamp's ruler, low felt overwhelming despair, as if confronting an unstoppable force of nature.
"Hahhh!"
Low concentrated his Aura on his legs and leaped between the trees.
The tentacles relentlessly pursued the hastily retreating Low. It was when he was trying to escape from the monster's grasp that it happened.
Chwaaak!
Acidic solution rained down like black rain from the sky.
"Ah! No!"
Caught off guard, low couldn't avoid the solution, and his body melted away.
The tentacles gripped half-dissolved Low and dragged him back.
Low vanished into the beast's body.
Gongooooong!
The beast roared louder, making the entire forest tremble.
Invisible thanks to his invisibility skill, Sieg analyzed the movement and reach of the tentacles.
'This is unbelievable.'
Dozens of tentacles extended in every direction. They moved freely and spewed acidic fluid, making even a touch fatal.
Observing how the acid bore through the Dragonscale Armor and even hindered the Healing Factor from regenerating slowly, Sieg wore a serious expression.
'I see why it's called the master of the swamp.'
It was hard to believe that during the Terakan Draker era, people fought dragons with even greater power than this dragonkin.
But if he retreated here and the beast, pursuing him, captured Carus, all his efforts would be in vain.
He discarded his corroded sword and pulled out Bahamut from his inventory.
Then, he activated Hersion.
Swish!
Hersion enveloped his entire body.
With both the special forces and Crimson Lion Knights eradicated, there was no reason to hide it anymore.
Bahamut, with its indestructible property alongside the divine metal, orichalcon, could withstand even the acidic fluid.
Buzz!
Grasping Bahamut and equipped with Hersion, Sieg summoned Buchephalus.
"Buchephalus! Let's go!"
As Sieg mounted Buchephalus, it leaped into the air.
Chwaaak!
The beast's tentacles tenaciously pursued Sieg and Buchephalus soaring in the sky.
'I can't find an opening with these damned tentacles.'
That's when it happened.
Hiying!
As if reading Sieg's mind, Buchephalus suddenly changed course and charged at the tentacles.
Electricity began sparking from the horn on its head.
Crackle!
A powerful electric discharge burst from Buchephalus's horn.
Spark!
White lightning struck the tentacles.
Sizzle—
The tentacles hit by the lightning burned black and turned to ash.
Kaaaah!
The beast twisted violently in pain.
Sieg was astonished by the powerful lightning that Buchephalus had unleashed.
"Wow, Buchephalus, you really are the Dragon Horse King!"
Buchephalus moved freely through the air, showering the approaching tentacles with lightning.
Crack!
The charred tentacles dropped to the ground.
Sieg grinned broadly.
"Great! Buchephalus, keep those tentacles at bay! I'll launch a big attack!"
Standing on Buchephalus's back, Sieg raised his sword.
"Haahhp!"
As Sieg concentrated energy into his sword, his Aura Blade extended over three meters.
Jumping off Buchephalus's back, he swung his sword towards the beast.
True Dragon Sword Art Secret Technique
2nd Style
Great Dragon Slash
One of the secrets of the True Dragon Sword Art, which involved cleaving the body of a giant dragon. Sieg's Aura Blade cleaved through the beast's back.
Chwaaak!
With Sieg's strike, the beast twisted its body and opened its mouth wide.
Kaaaak!
Simultaneously, it shot black acidic fluid at Sieg in the sky.
Sieg used the Energy of Wind to change direction mid-air.
"Prepare for another big one!"
He then gathered the power of fire into his sword.
Buzz!
The power of fire converged into Sieg's sword, turning its flames blue.
Sieg swung the blazing sword at the beast.
Elemental Sword
Energy of Fire
Azure Flame Frenzy
Dozens of blazing swords unleashed from Sieg's sword pierced the beast's body.
Kaaaah!
As the fiery swords burned its body, black smoke rose, and the beast screamed in agony.
Then, tentacles poured out from its entire body.
Chwaaak!
Hundreds of tentacles, coated in deadly acidic fluid, shot out at Sieg.
Chwaaak!
The tentacles wrapped around Sieg, who was equipped with Hersion.
Multiple messages flashed before his eyes.
『External erosion and attack detected』
『Automatically activating defensive magic within operable magic arrays』
『Mana supplied by the System's connected Dragon Heart』
『6th Circle spell 'Plasma Field' executed』
Buzz!
Plasma in purple and blue hues erupted from Hersion.
Sizzle—
Every tentacle that touched the plasma could not hold its shape and turned to ash.
In an instant, hundreds of tentacles dissipated.
Sieg was taken aback by the plasma emanating from Hersion.
'They said it had a grand magic array; did the 6th Circle magic activate automatically?'
For a battle mage to operate 6th Circle magic silently in combat, one needed to be at least at the 7th Circle.
Considering the current Tower Master was at the 8th Circle, the power of Hersion was truly formidable.
The beast, struck by the Plasma Field, wailed in pain.
Soon, the magical effect ended, and Sieg, suspended in the air, began to fall.
"Buchephalus!"
Buchephalus swooped in, catching Sieg mid-air and letting him mount up.
Gongooooong!
The swamp ruler extended its neck and let out an even louder wail.
The entire forest shook.
The hiding demonic beasts cowered deeper in fear, causing a silent stir in the forest.
Then it happened.
An odd sound emanated from the beast.
『... Cursed... Dragonslayer... Hate...』
The voice seemed to resonate with vibrations.
Sieg realized that it was the language from the Chronos era that Kaiser had mentioned earlier. The system automatically translated the beast's language.
'It knows the Dragonslayer? Could it be a dragonkin that survived from that era?'
Seeing it able to speak suggested it wasn't an ordinary dragonkin. It might even be a true dragon corrupted by evil energy.
'I didn't think a dragon could have survived all this time. If only we could converse, but it doesn't seem possible.'
Then it happened.
Kaaaah!
The beast screamed while lifting its torso.
Suddenly, something began to grow from its back.
Chwaaak!
A pair of wings erupted from its back.
The wings, too, writhed with sticky, mud-like organic material.
The beast flapped its wings.
Whoooom!
The sticky substances splattered in all directions.
Chiiiiii!
The decaying organic material contaminated not only the trees and plants but the very ground as well.
Buchephalus sprinted through the air, deftly avoiding the beast's raining filth. Meanwhile, it struck the beast with continuous bolts of lightning.
Crack!
White lightning struck straight at the beast's body.
The beast opened its mouth wide and spewed dark poisonous smoke at Buchephalus.
Boom-boom-boom!
The poisonous smoke spread, far more threatening than the acid.
Buchephalus flew higher, evading the poisonous fumes.
『Detected lethal poison exhaled by the dragonkin.』
『???'s armor automatically purifies the lethal poison.』
Astonishingly, Hersion had a function that automatically neutralized poison.
'The more I see, the more fascinating it gets.'
If not for Hersion, confronting the swamp ruler would have been much more challenging.
Sieg stroked Buchephalus's mane and spoke.
"Buchephalus! Electrify that thing again!"
Hiying!
As if responding to Sieg's command, electricity surged forth from Buchephalus's horn once more.
Crackle!
Scores of chains of lightning pierced through the rampaging beast's body.
Simultaneously, Sieg raised his sword and assumed the stance for the Dragonslaying Art.
A mighty Aura Blade soared high in a display of grandeur.
"Haaaaaaah!"
Sieg leaped from Buchephalus's back, charging towards the immobilized beast struck by the lightning.
He swung Bahamut encased in the Aura Blade.
Dragonslaying Art - True Dragon Sword Art
7th Chapter, 1st Verse
Dragon Head Severing
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
Sieg's sword cleaved the beast's neck clean.
Thud!
The beast's head fell into the swampy ground.
The head slowly sank into the swamp.
At the same time, the severed area squirmed, trying to regenerate a new head like a Hydra.
It seemed as though the swamp and the beast were connected.
Sieg realized that cutting off the head had no effect.
'Being a dragonkin, I must destroy its Dragon Heart, the core.'
Sieg propelled himself into the air using the Energy of Wind, mounted Buchephalus, and ascended into the air once more.
It was an opportunity as the beast hadn't fully regenerated its head and was still disoriented.
'I'll strike precisely and finish it in one blow.'
He aimed his sword at where the beast's heart was located.
Buzz!
As power concentrated, Bahamut let out a powerful roar.
As Bahamut's heart, residing within Sieg's Ether Hall, activated, a glow emanated from the markings on his chest.
Sieg assumed the Dragonslaying Art's charging posture with his sword.
Aura whirled violently around Bahamut.
Boom-boom-boom-boom!
The Dragonslaying Art Sieg deployed contained the essence of the True Dragon Sword Art handed down by Sword Saint Shaton Draker.
As the Successor of the Sword Saint, Sieg revived the Dragonslaying Art in its original form in this era.
Rumble!
A storm of Aura erupted around Sieg's sword.
"Haaaat!"
Sieg, on Buchephalus's back, flew forward, thrusting his sword towards the beast paralyzed by the lightning.
Then, he thrust Bahamut, charged with the Aura Blade, directly at the beast's heart.
Dragonslaying Art - True Dragon Sword Art
6th Chapter, 2nd Verse
Dragon Heart Piercing
Whoosh!
Like a massive lance piercing the heart of a dragon, Sieg's sword thrust punctured directly into the beast's heart.