NOVEL NEXT Chapter 413: Chapter 413: The Dragon That Should Not Appear
Under the watchful eyes of countless people engulfed in despair, a colossal dragon radiating endless golden light rose in the center of the city, resembling a sun. Its brilliance illuminated the black and red night sky, dispelling the mortal fears and unease.
"It's Muria, the Grand Duke!" The little girl pulling at the old man's robe exclaimed with joy and unhidden admiration, looking up at the golden dragon soaring above the city. "The Golden Dragon Duke has come to save us!"
"How can this be?" The old man, who had been preparing to burn his soul, stared in astonishment at the golden dragon circling above. The sudden appearance of the kingdom's highest ruler seemed incredibly strange to him.
He had traveled to many countries and understood the status of the city he resided in. While it was an important city within its province, on a national scale, there were hundreds of similar cities; it was relatively insignificant.
Thus, Muria's arrival was peculiar, but the almost unique appearance of the golden dragon proved everything; facts spoke louder than words—it was indeed the Grand Duke.
"Boom! Boom!" As soon as the golden dragon appeared, it wasted no time. Blinding thunder and flames burst from its body, swirling with violent winds that struck down from above, precisely hitting each demon.
Under the gaze of Muria's golden dragon eyes, every demon screamed and was reduced to ash, including the six-armed serpent demon and its minions that had blocked the old man's path.
"What terrifying power." The hermit watched in awe as the serpent demon, which he might not have been able to defeat even by burning his soul, was bisected by three bolts of lightning and fire from the sky.
The voluptuous upper body with seductive demonic patterns and the grotesque serpentine lower half were severed at the slender yet powerful waist. The cut dripped no blood, for it had already been charred by the lightning and fire, emitting an unpleasant burnt smell.
"Grandpa, this serpent demon is still alive. We can't give her a chance to recover. You need to split her head open quickly; only then will she truly die," the little girl in gray clothing urged anxiously, her eyes fixed on the serpent demon's thick tail struggling on the ground, and she swallowed nervously.
"No need, look at her condition. She's about to die on her own, no need for Grandpa to finish her off," the old man said somewhat helplessly, patting the girl's head. Of all his adopted children, this little one was an anomaly.
She had shown no previous signs, but when city officials disseminated knowledge about demons by the Grand Duke's orders, she was the most enthusiastic and took notes seriously.
When facing demons, she was the only child brave enough to speak, identifying the demon before them and systematically recalling their weaknesses and information like reciting a book. Such tremendous nerve, as if she knew no fear.
"Why not finish her off?" the girl asked, puzzled. "Isn't it said that soul-level demons won't die even if their heads are chopped off? Given time, they can recover to their peak condition, so to kill a soul-level demon, they must be chopped into pieces."
"See the arcs of lightning and flames on her body? That's Muria's power eroding her life force and soul. It's a very domineering force," the old man explained, his eyes filled with deep respect as he watched the serpent demon writhing in agony on the ground.
The stronger one was, the more they could feel the overwhelming and destructive force in Muria's power.
"Let's go home; we're not leaving the city," the old man said, his eyes filled with deep awe and envy, looking up at the golden dragon in the sky spreading thunder, spewing flames, and stirring up hurricanes.
A dragon, a creature at the apex of the world's food chain! Who wouldn't envy them? After all, lineage isn't something that effort can compensate for.
...
Yacheng was struggling equally with the winged demon that blocked his path, preparing to use a secret technique he had earned through his battle achievements to burn his vital energy and unleash his potential to break through the winged demon's blockade.
He noticed that within a kilometer from him, the massive crystal monument lit up with one pattern after another, making the already dazzling Demon Hunting Monument even more spectacular, with brilliant teleportation lights flashing.
Accompanied by a loud dragon's roar, a pale golden dragon's might surged from the monument like a tide, filling his entire field of vision as if he were submerged in golden seawater.
Then, a dragon silhouette familiar to all humans of the Lockman Kingdom rose from the crystal monument, and thunder, flames, and hurricanes fell like torrential rain.
Irresistibly powerful! Not a single demon could withstand the attack from that dragon silhouette, from the highest-level six-armed serpent demon to the lowest-level cowardly demon, they all met the same fate. The only difference was how many strikes from Muria they could withstand before succumbing.
"This dragon's might feels off," Yacheng thought, puzzled as he was enveloped by the tangible dragon's might emanating from the dragon silhouette. "Why does it feel so much weaker? Normally, I shouldn't be able to move, but I definitely recognize this aura as belonging to His Highness Muria!"
"What's going on? Could it be that I've grown stronger recently?" Yacheng wondered, still able to move. He had once experienced the Grand Duke Muria's dragon's might before.
Back then, he felt like an insect stuck in resin, struggling even to twitch a limb, overwhelmed by fear and despair.
"Has Grand Duke Muria's strength decreased? No, maybe he's injured," Yacheng speculated as he moved slowly under the influence of the dragon's might, but after observing the dragon silhouette that was still rampantly slaughtering demons, he dismissed the thought. Such ferocity didn't seem like it came from an injured being.
"What's going on? Why isn't this winged demon in front of me being killed?" Soon, Yacheng noticed something was amiss. The dragon silhouette, suspected to be Grand Duke Muria, had slain all nearby demons, but it had conspicuously spared the winged demon in front of him, which was quite awkward.
"Am I supposed to kill this winged demon in front of me before clearing the city of all other demons? Having been in the Demon Hunting Group for so long, can't I handle a demon of the same rank?" Just as Yacheng was feeling frustrated, a familiar voice rang in his ears, "Don't disappoint me."
"Please rest assured, Your Grace. I guarantee to complete the mission on time," Yacheng responded, energized as if invigorated, ready to face the winged demon with renewed determination.
___________________
(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)
If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters
Read Ahead
Patreon.com/INNIT