Chapter 582: Perceive
He had heard of geniuses who could fight above their realm, and bloodline heirs who possessed absurd physical strength.
But this...
A High Mage casually forcing a Greater Dragon to lose an arm!?
That was beyond anything he had heard before.
One of the guards swallowed nervously and repeated the same question they had asked before.
"My Lord... should we intervene!?" After giving it some thought, Jammud decided to approach.
He didn’t really have any intention of supporting either party, but if he could help it, he would rather avoid any more damage to his city.
The battle was bound to escalate from this point onward, and he had no desire to watch half the district get reduced to rubble.
One would have thought he would feel obligated to side with Vel’dranor since he was also a dragon.
But that was never the case in such a situation. Most dragons lacked any sort of familial love, much less any great sense of camaraderie.
Oftentimes, any Greater Dragon in Vel’dranor’s situation would absolutely loathe the idea of receiving help from another in a one-on-one battle.
Besides...
’The succubi pay a generous amount of taxes as well.’
Losing the Crimson House would already be a considerable blow to the city’s economy. Losing the succubi themselves would be even worse.
Jammud sighed inwardly.
’I really wish these powerful people would learn to fight somewhere else.’
"Let’s approach."
He gestured for his men to follow, and the group began moving forward.
However, before they could get very far, their path was suddenly blocked. An extraordinarily beautiful woman with long black hair stood before them.
She had appeared so silently that neither Jammud nor his guards had even noticed her approach.
Jammud’s eyes narrowed suspiciously.
The woman smiled pleasantly.
"You shall not go any further." She said calmly, yet there was an unmistakable warning hidden beneath those words.
Jammud stopped as his guards immediately drew their weapons.
Zenith didn’t even glance at them. Instead, she calmly looked toward Jammud.
"No one is allowed to disturb hubby. After all...." Her smile widened slightly. "He is not very happy right now."
Her beautiful black-red eyes gleamed faintly.
"And when he’s angry..." A faint pressure began radiating from her body. "...so am I."
The guards’ expressions darkened as several of them instinctively took a step backward.
Jammud’s eyes narrowed.
He could sense that this woman was powerful simply from the manner in which she had appeared before them, but the fact that he couldn’t gauge her strength at all meant one thing.
She was stronger than him.
The question was, by how much?
’This woman...’
His gaze flickered toward Elion.
’She’s protecting him. After all, a young human talent such as him would obviously come from nobility, or a great powerhouse.’
The Dragon Kingdom was a dangerous place for a young human to wander around unless they had the appropriate protection, of course.
’And this woman is the boy’s protection. And the fact that she called him hubby... What does that mean...?’
’Husband?’
’So it’s like that?’
A young lord who had been handed a powerful woman as his companion, and now seemed to have been enthralled by the succubi while on his little adventure, so much so that he was willing to fight in their stead against someone much more powerful than himself simply to gain their favour...
’Ahhh... Youth.’
Jammud looked past Zenith and toward Elion.
"Do you truly intend for the young lord to defeat Lord Vel’dranor? Or are you hoping to achieve something else?" he asked.
He paused before continuing.
"I’m sorry to say... I know the young dragon, Lord Vel’dranor. He comes from the direct royal line, and he has not even used a fraction of his true strength. I suggest that we stop them before it’s too late."
His expression became solemn.
"I’m sure that with me as a mediator, we can prevent a truly grave disaster from taking place."
Zenith stared at him for a moment, and then she smiled.
"You are quite considerate."
Jammud couldn’t tell whether she was genuinely complimenting him or subtly mocking him.
"But you don’t need to worry." Zenith’s gaze moved back toward the sky. "Hubby knows what he’s doing."
...
"Very well, then!"
Vel’dranor suddenly roared.
He hadn’t transformed back into his draconic form. He was still in his human form, yet the roar that erupted from his throat carried enough power to make the surrounding air tremble.
BOOOOOOM!
A pulsating shockwave exploded outward.
Elion’s body was violently pushed backward, his clothes whipping in the turbulent air as he struggled to maintain his position.
Fortunately, he wasn’t actually holding himself up entirely on his own.
Zenith was, and, honestly, she was doing wonders for him. Her control was on an entirely different level.
It was almost as though their minds had become one.
Through their mental link via the Harem Seal, Zenith could understand his intentions whenever he wasn’t actively attacking.
If Elion intended to move left, right, upward, downward, or diagonally, she would know almost instantly.
There was no need for words.
The moment his intent became clear, his body moved. It was almost like having an invisible hand guiding him through the air.
’She’s incredible...’
Elion barely had time to appreciate it. He had more important things to worry about.
’I have to end this quickly.’
As he finally escaped the range of the shockwave, Elion’s eyes suddenly widened.
His entire vision had been eclipsed by a massive pillar of roaring flames that was coming straight toward him.
The enormous column rotated violently as it tore through the air, its flames spiraling around one another like a gigantic drill.
The heat alone was enough to make the surrounding air distort.
"Well, shit!"
Elion immediately activated [Enhanced Cognition] and [Temporary Stat Conversion] at the same time.
BOOM!
A massive portion of his available stats shifted toward his agility and speed.
His perception accelerated as the world seemed to slow. The rotating pillar of flames became almost sluggish in his eyes.
Elion twisted his body sideways, and the flames passed within inches of him.
Fwoooosh!
The heat washed across his face, singeing several strands of hair as he narrowly escaped the attack.
But he didn’t stop.
His eyes sharpened.
[Void-Touched Edge]
Kurogoroshi’s black-red blade immediately changed. A thin layer of distorted darkness crawled across its edge, swallowing the light around it.
The same ability that had allowed him to bypass Vel’dranor’s terrifying natural defenses and sever his arm.
Elion wasn’t going to waste time testing another attack. If something was not broken, there was no need to try and fix it.
This time, he was going straight for the kill. He gathered fire and wind mana beneath his feet.
The two affinities collided, fuelling each other.
BOOOOOOM!
An explosive burst of elemental force propelled Elion forward, and his body became a black-red streak cutting through the sky.
Vel’dranor was still roaring.
His mouth had stretched unnaturally wide as a continuous torrent of scorching flames poured from his throat.
He hadn’t realized that Elion had already escaped the previous attack.
And now, Elion appeared directly beside him.
Vel’dranor’s eyes widened in shock, with his flames still pouring from his grotesquely extended mouth.
His body was completely exposed.
’Got you!’
With a triumphant, silent roar, Elion swung Kurogoroshi with his right hand, his target - Vel’dranor’s vulnerable neck.
With his sword mere inches from the dragon’s thick neck, time seemed to stretch infinitely.
The shock on the dragon’s face would have fooled anyone into believing that it was an admission of defeat, but a close look at his eyes would have been an easy indication that this time, unlike the first, he had managed to not only perceive but also track Elion’s attack.
"Heee..."
Vel’dranor grinned.
BOOM!