Planet Master

Ever since the Lizardfolk lost sight of the Dragon, they had been looking for it, scouring the entire place. But bad news soon came to them in the form of contact with their supreme figure.

“The Dragon has been slain.”

That announcement was enough to cause the Lizardfolk to be filled with trepidation.

To them, according to their god, Dragons were apex beings that only a few could even contend with, let alone slay.

Thus, they designated the one who slew the dragon as the Eminent Dragon Slayer. They did not know for sure who he was, but they had confirmed that he existed in the enemy’s ranks.

“What do we do now?”

There were twelve elders and a king of Lizardfolk in the building with a dome on top of it. The dome allowed sunlight to enter, brightening the interior. They were all sitting on their chair, with the throne of the king the highest seat in that building.

One of the elders asked after they had received a confirmation and verification of the existence called the Eminent Dragon Slayer.

“We can only contain and suppress some strong transcendents from the enemy. I want to know whether we can contain this one. Is that even possible?” even the king of Lizardfolk asked with doubt being spoken into.

“Although it would be easier to contain the Eminent Dragon Slayer, I am afraid that it won’t be for long.” Another elder spoke.

Then one Lizardfolk slammed his tail into the ground and shouted.

“Then what is the solution for this conundrum!?”

Summoning the Dragon required some blood from their races as well as resources gathered over time, which caused the logistics of the Lizardfolk to face a problem. Fortunately, they could still manage to get through even with that.

But the dragon was their strongest force to face the enemy races. The dragon was able to push the enemy races back to the Rift at its furthest.

“To think that an individual from a race could defeat the dragon…this is as rare as finding an artifact while walking in the beaten road.” An elder sighed helplessly.

“We can only do our best. If you ever meet the Eminent Dragon Slayer, retreat immediately.” The king said decisively.

“But…”

“Or have you considered a better idea?” the king quickly retorted, since he needed one badly.

“I am sorry, Your Majesty.”

The king let out a breath as he looked up at the light that shone from the dome which was made from transparent glass.

‘We are mostly equal to our enemy but with this, the tide of battle starts to change in the enemy’s favor.’

The light also cast a shadow on the king’s face as he thought about the matter of the individual known as the Eminent Dragon Slayer.

“You are just a bit agitated due to the surprising event. Now, we need to talk about our military deployment…”

-

Tatsumi wrote things in the notebook that he owned. It was because he already had a better idea to control his dragon’s blood.

A few days had passed, and it was time for him to go to the frontline once more. Tatsumi spent most of the time contemplating about the method that Dian had given to him, modifying it and wrote the change in his notebook.

‘The 101^st change is the most optimal development for me. It increases the effect of the dragon’s blood and also reduces its side effects by half.’

Tatsumi blinked and during that, he could feel the change in his body. The dragon’s blood circulated throughout his entire body, refining it into the most optimal state, similar to a dragon’s body.

“So this is the essence of body refining. With the dragon’s blood as the primary ingredient for nourishment, my body is thrice as strong as it was before integrating the dragon’s blood. Furthermore, the dragon also left me with the method to form dragon’s bone marrow. It is completed now that some time has passed.”

Tatsumi could feel that since he had gained dragon bone marrow, the amount of his dragon’s blood was steadily increasing.

After finishing diagnosing his own body, Tatsumi stood up from his cross-legged position and grabbed his black coat and put it on. He also carried his blade, sheathed, with him and placed it on his waist.

Then he went out from his temporary residence and was met with Ame who was already there, waiting for him.

When Ame laid her eyes on Tatsumi, she felt a pressure like when she faced Smagenrog. But then the pressure lessened as Tatsumi frowned and controlled the lingering intimidating aura he had released.

“Sorry to startle you.” Tatsumi then looked at her face and apologized.

“No need for that. Congratulations on obtaining the power of a dragon.” Ame said while letting out a smile.

Tatsumi grinned and the two understood each other’s meaning. Then the two went to their transcendent strike group to prepare to enter the Rift.

After the preparation was complete, they were permitted to enter the Rift and accept the mission from the Cerulean Defense Force.

The task was both in physical form and in digital form so that all participants could look for the newest information through both.

“What do we have here? We need to secure the BYD-5 sector. There are Lizardfolk companies there.” Tatsumi said while linking the information from his wristwatch to everyone in the transcendent strike group.

“Let’s go.” Tatsumi and the rest of the group moved immediately.

The location was not far from the Rift, only ten kilometers. It was the last place where the presence of the Lizardfolk was concentrated since it also served as an entrance to the deeper territory.

When they almost arrived, Tatsumi then stopped and let the scouts move first to obtain the latest intelligence. Using the camera on the drones, the scouts could capture pictures of the bases in front of them with precision and good-quality pictures.

“Looks like the activity from the camp is as usual. What should we attack them with?” one scout asked.

“For these large-scale bases, we need more than ourselves. It means it is time to turn to nature for help. Prepare the formation spell!” Tatsumi ordered.

He intended to wreak havoc into the bases. The power of transcendents varied in their utility. That was why Tatsumi preferred to use as many options as he could so that the enemies would be overwhelmed by the numerous attack methods.

But there were weaknesses to this. The forces necessary to pull this off had to be experienced since their troops would be limited by numbers.

Soon, the formation spell was prepared. It was the usual Calling the Wind, Summoning the Rain formation spell.

What Tatsumi wanted to do was to use the cloud to produce as much lightning as possible.

There was such a method in the memories that Smagenrog had given him. It was quite an exquisite spell that combined swordsmanship with the power of lightning.

Using that particular spell could gather clouds in the sky and even cause lightning to appear in large numbers if the clouds were gathered in large numbers.

“Alright, those who are not on the formation spell, attack!” Tatsumi gave his order.

He, Ame and the rest went on attacking the base that was fortified.

The moment the Lizardfolk guards saw the transcendents coming to the base, they alerted the base of the incoming attack.

Gunshots could be heard as the Lizardfolk shot at the incoming enemies. But the transcendents were too strong for low-caliber guns like that to be affected.

Tatsumi went directly to the machine gun’s nest and eliminated the gunner and used the machine gun to mow down the Lizardfolk’s soldiers.

‘This is more effective than wasting transcendent energy.’

He and his transcendent group had practiced this move dozens of times, using the enemies’ weaponry against them. This saved a lot of transcendent energy as well as emptying the enemies’ supplies.

The soldiers were numerous but they were no match for the transcendents who grabbed the fallen’s weapons and started shooting.

One-fifth, one-third, two-thirds and then the whole base had fallen into the hands of the transcendents.

But at the same time, reinforcements came from the surrounding bases.

Tatsumi had already expected it since it was the most obvious thing to do. This time, he wanted to spend some energy eliminating the reinforcements.

“I’ll go to the front while you need to help with assisting.” Tatsumi used mind transmission to the group before he went to the fork in the road.

Ame and the rest then formed an encirclement while Tatsumi went to the reinforcements’ front and showed himself.

Vehicles could be seen with the machine guns on top of them. There were also armored vehicles with cannons ready to shoot the shells. Tatsumi faced them without fear as he felt the sky above him darkened and signs of lightning appearing became obvious even from the ground.

Then slowly but surely, raindrops began to fall. One at a time, then dozens of times before it turned into a downpour.

Tatsumi’s body held a massive amount of energy and then he jumped high into the sky while lightning suddenly hit him.

Tatsumi unsheathed the blade right before he was hit, causing the electricity to flow in the blade. Then Tatsumi used his energy which was stored in the dragon’s blood to erupt, causing the lightning to multiply and he swung the sword downward.

The attack was sudden as the soldiers of the Lizardfolk could not dodge it at all even with some transcendents amongst their ranks.

A large valley then formed as the reinforcements were decimated in seconds. As for the lucky ones, they immediately realized that the chain of command was broken and opted to escape.

But Ame and the others had been waiting and now that the attack had been successful, they acted.

Ame noticed a transcendent escaping and gave chase. She could meld into the shadows as she moved to attack the transcendent Lizardfolk.

The Lizardfolk felt his instinct for years of battle blared an alarm and he ducked his head. A thin line appeared right above him.

He realized that it was a spatial fissure attack and his attacker was formidable.

“I miss.” Ame frowned slightly but used her movement skill, creating afterimages with a similar energy signature to confuse the enemy.

But the enemy was experienced too so the spear clashed with the daggers as the two clashed and released their transcendent energy.

A large shockwave appeared and then the two separated. The shockwave was enough to raze a portion of the forest near the main road.

Then the two started to exchange moves, Ame patiently waiting for the enemy to expose a flaw while the Lizardfolk skillfully used his spear to deflect the attack while also using his tail as an extra limb.

Then just when the exchange would reach dozens of times, the Lizardfolk felt a fear so raw that he faltered, giving Ame the chance that she had been waiting and slashed at the neck of the Lizardfolk.

The Lizardfolk instinctively moved his neck slightly so that the injury he had was not fatal.

But then he realized that a thrust attack came from behind him and he could not dodge it.

Blood sprayed as the Lizardfolk was heavily injured but then another blood spray happened.

This time, the Lizardfolk felt that his head and his torso was bisected and finally, he could see the one who did it.

‘It turned out…that he is the source of fear I felt before.’ The Lizardfolk’s last thought was that before he was sent to the Afterlife.

“Hmph!” Ame pouted but Tatsumi went to her and patted her head.

“Sorry but this is urgent. There are more opportunities to hone your ability.” Tatsumi went to this place immediately since he could feel an unusual sensation coming from the Lizardfolk he had just killed.

Then he quickly looted the body of the Lizardfolk transcendent and found a jade slip.

Ame had to admit that she was too eager to hone her skill that she had almost overlooked the thing the Lizardfolk had carried.

The jade slip was actually something equal to a container of the transcendent energy.

‘If he used it, then Ame would be in danger.’ Tatsumi thought as he felt the raging energy in it. Worse, he felt a familiarity from it.

‘They even stored the dragon’s blood in it.’ Tatsumi could discern it at a glance when closer. He had a feeling of familiarity in the distance, so he came immediately.

“What is it?” Ame wondered the reason why Tatsumi helped her in a quick motion. She knew that the item would be the answer to her question.

“It is something containing the dragon’s blood. Likely to be used as a last resort.” Tatsumi gripped the jade slip tightly.

“That’s why you quickly deal with him.” Ame understood and sighed.

“Come on. There are more of them and use this information to your advantage. Not every Lizardfolk transcendents carried this.” Tatsumi gestured to Ame to continue in their attack.

The lightning above was incessantly flaring up as black clouds covered the sun. Tatsumi used the combination of lightning and his transcendent energy to cause as much casualties to the Lizardfolk as possible, destroying their bases and razing the fortifications along with the other transcendents.

The other transcendents also started to use lightning as they jumped into the sky and brought down the lightning on the Lizardfolk’s soldiers and transcendents.

Ame on the other hand became like a reaper of life, killing Lizardfolk soldiers and weaker transcendents left and right.

Tatsumi helped by using Primal Fear, making most of the enemies he encountered stunned for a moment. For transcendents, a moment could be a matter of life and death.

With the Lizardfolk stunned, the transcendent strike group could decimate the bases and fortifications of the Lizardfolk.

Shooting their weapon when dealing with the soldiers, while using their transcendent energy when dealing with transcendents, that was how the transcendent strike group operated.

The downpour caused the ground to be slightly muddy but the lightning the clouds above provided helped in dealing with the enemies.

Then the Lizardfolk soldiers suddenly moved away from the frontline along with their transcendents.

Tatsumi saw that and knew that the Lizardfolk realized that they could not hold the bases in this place and decided on a sound retreat.

“Let the formation spell dispel and come to our position. We will temporarily rest here before we return to our base.” Tatsumi contacted those who were maintaining the formation spell so that they could come to his position and keep watch.

Ame was tailing the retreating Lizardfolk and confirmed that they truly retreated. When she saw that, she decided to fall back and return to the half-destroyed bases.

Tatsumi then went into deep thought.

‘The use of the Primal Fear is great in battle. It can be used as an offensive move or a delaying move.’

From his practical experience, that was the most obvious use of the Primal Fear. But he thought that he could incorporate Primal Fear along with his attack, granting him the effect of Primal Fear while attacking.

If he could do such a thing, then every attack was imbued with Primal Fear and would cause the enemies’ mistake to be bigger.

But he was still looking for a method to do that. He knew that Primal Fear was etched into his consciousness so he needed to allow the Primal Fear to flow through along with his attack or even transcendent energy.

“Report! The enemy is under full retreat.” Ame suddenly came to him when he was deep in thought.

Tatsumi blinked and shook his head to clear his thoughts, saving it in the back of his head.

“Rest. Then we will return to give a full report as well as solidify our gains.” Tatsumi ordered.

The enemy’s bases were near the Rift so it would be good if they could return to the base right before the Rift to resupply and seek more missions.

After resting, the transcendent strike group returned to Base Zero near the Rift.

They had already reported the destruction of the nearby bases and the Cerulean Defense Force had already known but they needed verification.

“We have carried with us the weapons of the Lizardfolk as well as some burnt-up and some completely preserved papers.” Tatsumi said while letting his group give out every loot they had.

The officer who dealt with them had a respect for the transcendent strike group. He smiled and said, “Thank you for your hard work. We will give you the compensation for the papers and weapons.”

Then the officer saluted which Tatsumi replied with a gesture of his own.

The officer had called some people from logistics to carry the papers and the weapons. The paper would be studied for the strategy that the Lizardfolk used while the weapons would be reverse-engineered and even auctioned if their use no longer mattered.

Of course, Tatsumi and his strike group would get compensation that suited them. For example, they could get transcendent resources or armaments.

“That’s finally taken care of.” Tatsumi said as he returned to his strike group which was waiting for his further instruction.

“Leader! What should we do now?” one of them asked.

“Rest or consolidate your gain. Use the time available to make improvements.” Tatsumi said with a mind transmission to multiple people which surprised everyone. They also realized that everyone in the group got that mind transmission and their surprise expression became obvious.

“Dismissed!” Tatsumi waved his hand and swept, gesturing for them to return to their barrack. It was the temporary residence for them on the other side of the Rift so they returned to their designated barrack.

Tatsumi clenched his hand and he felt that the Primal Fear started to be channeled through his body but it was no easy feat since it was only a small enlightenment and he already practiced with it.

‘Good. I can think of the way to properly channel Primal Fear in my attacks.’