Chapter 542

The dragon's amplified breath seemed to embody the sun in the sky as it shot across the air. Even as a group that could be labeled as humanity's most skilled fighters was in one place, they barely managed to defend themselves while suffering significant damage. Even Zich couldn't think of a clear countermeasure if the dragon continued to shoot out magically amplified breaths from high up. Fortunately, the dragon didn't continue to shoot out a series of special breaths.

'No, it probably can't.'

The dragon was still boiling with bloodlust and was clearly aware that the people it was fighting were dangerous. There was no way it would underestimate humans simply for their small sizes when the Clowon empire's humans had captured and trapped it inside a crystal. Thus, the fact that it didn't continue to shoot out attacks that would render Zich's group almost immobile meant that it didn't have the capabilities to do so.

'There's a high possibility that it will burden it too much.'

If the dragon made another breath attack like that, the party wouldn't have been able to defend themselves; after all, Lubella even gave up on healing herself to heal Zich. Thus, it would've only made sense for the dragon to quickly shoot out another breath attack, but it didn't. Instead, it slowly came down and landed on the ground. It was back in the air now, but after shooting out the amplified breath, Zich saw that its mouth, neck, and chest area were extremely red.

'Maybe even the dragon can't handle the breath's high temperature.' This meant that this amplified breath was basically a double-edged sword for the dragon.

'It can't be used easily and when it is used, the dragon reveals its weakness.' In other words, this attack wasn't only bad news for Zich and his party.

Whooosh! The dragon changed targets. It let out a loud roar and rushed forward. Then, it let out a giant breath from its mouth and made its enemies scatter. Every time its feet landed on the ground, the ground shook like there was an earthquake.

'Is it aiming for Lubella?' The dragon was clearly aiming for Lubella and Chelsea and appeared to be trying to cut off their source of healing.

'It's getting more and more used to battle. Or should I say it's getting its senses together?' If it had been simply moving on its rage and loathing for those holding Clowon's swords before, the dragon seemed to move more efficiently and tactically now—just like how it was trying to cut off their source of healing first which was one of the most fundamental rules of battles. Of course, Weig wasn't going to let the dragon attack Lubella. The others also protected Lubella and Chelsea knowing the importance of their roles.

'Its loathing hasn't disappeared yet.'

Glen attempted to escape again, but sensing what he was planning to do in an instant, the dragon shot out another magic attack at Glen. The fact that it still wanted to keep Glen within its vicinity while knowing that it must aim for Lubella and Chelsea first showcased that its rage for Clowon was still wildly fluctuating. In the end, the dragon's attack at Lubella and Chelsea failed. It sustained more injuries, but Zich's party didn't look happy.

They were also running out of mana. Although they each possessed an immense amount of mana for a human, they still couldn't compare to Zich or the dragon. As the wounds on the dragon increased, their mana pool was also depleted. Since they were not in a situation to save mana, the speed at which they lost their supply was exceedingly fast.

"If those with little mana begin to step away from the fight, we'll be pushed back. There's a limit to Lady Lubella and that girl, Windne's holy magic too," Weig said worriedly. Zich was confident in fighting against the dragon until the end, but he couldn't win against this monster by himself. Instead, he might be done for while trying to protect those who had depleted their mana.

'That all means I should end this battle as fast as possible,' Zich thought. Then he said, "Please tell the others that we should gather in one place like before and attack."

"The dragon might shoot out another one of its special breaths," Weig said. Zich's party didn't fight in one place to avoid an attack like that.

"I am aiming for that."

"There could be big drawbacks to that, but I suppose we will have to undertake the dangers to finish this battle quickly." With his great battle experience, Weig also recognized the dragon's weakness and moved to call the others.

Bam! Bam! The attacks against the dragon intensified, and the dragon noticed that Zich's companions had gathered in one place again. Seeing this, its twisted its head around in a strange manner. It seemed to be wondering if it should deliver another amplified magic attack, but it was curious why Zich and his companions would gather after seeing its previous attack. Was it a trap? Or were they trying to end this battle as fast as possible while taking on the risks? The dragon saw that there was a sense of fatigue on some of its enemies' faces.

The dragon made its decision. When it flew high in the air, the ways that its enemies could attack it were restricted. Shooting out an amplified breath exhausted the dragon and it made flying temporarily impossible, but its opponents would greatly suffer after withstanding an attack like that. At the very least, they would be left immobilized like last time.

Flap! The dragon flapped its wings and flew into the sky. Whoosh!

High-temperature mana was already gathered inside its mouth and magic began to form around it too. After reaching a certain altitude it was satisfied with, the dragon looked below. Its enemies were huddled in one place. They wouldn't be able to escape to a safe place now and would have to do their best to block its attack.

Baaaam! The dragon spewed another breath. It felt the heat from its mouth, neck, and chest, and it didn't take long for those sensations to become painful. Although normal, high-temperature breath didn't affect its body—this magically amplified breath put too much strain on its body. Thus, it couldn't spew it from too far, but it far surpassed an ordinary breath in all other ways. It had failed to kill its enemies with the previous attack, so the dragon strained itself a bit more this time. As a result, it experienced more pain.

Humph! The dragon stopped its breath and closed its mouth. Then, it opened its mouth again. It threw up the heat passing through its throat as much as possible. The intense pain lingered, and it was so painful that it wanted to rip out its own throat. However, the dragon endured the pain and stared at the area where its breath hit. The dragon needed to check its enemies' current condition. At that moment, the dragon sensed multiple presences rushing towards it. The dragon felt two energies moving at an astounding speed; it was all too familiar with both energies and the hostility it felt rose. The energy was from the Clowon's Crown Prince's sword and the general's sword. The person using both of these swords had the strong scent of the Clowon emperor's sword on him. He was also the one who posed the greatest threat to the dragon.

The dragon began to grow nervous. Had this human endured its breath and was jumping this high up? The dragon's mouth, neck, and chest were still letting out smoke. The dragon's hard scales had softened up and its tough muscles were loose and limp. If those two swords pierced its body right now, it would sustain an injury incomparable to the ones before. If the dragon got hurt in the mouth or neck, it could still endure the pain, but getting an injury on its chest was a completely different story. If one of the swords reached the dragon's heart, its life would be over.

The dragon flapped its weak wings and wrapped its arms around its chest. However, the dragon's sense of crisis didn't last very long. The dragon had expected Zich to come up with Estellade and Tornium. However, even though two swords were flying toward it—the dragon couldn't see the human using those two swords. The dragon had been so startled that it hadn't realized this until now, but the Clowon emperor's sword energy was still way below. The human had just thrown his swords toward it.

The dragon soon relaxed. As expected, its enemies couldn't reach the dragon at this altitude. At best, only arrows and magic posed a threat. The dragon could sufficiently defend against those attacks even in its weakened state. How could that human dare to think that he could threaten a dragon by just throwing swords into the sky?

The dragon soon removed its arms from its chest. Then it reached out its hands toward the flying swords. They were detestable swords; if the dragon managed to take them away from the enemy, it would be much easier to fight the humans. No matter how sharp they were, it was not difficult to snatch the two swords. However, what the dragon felt in its hand was not a sharp sword that its scales could feel.

Thud! Zich suddenly appeared and kicked the dragon's hand and flew his body into the air. Before the dragon could grasp the situation, Estellade and Tornium were in his hands. The two swords were full of mana and were ready to burst out at any time. Anyone could see that Zich's target was the dragon's chest, which was still emitting heat and smoke. The necklace hanging from Zich's neck sparkled in the sun. Crunnnnch!

Keuahhhhhhhhhh! A scream incomparable to the previous one came out of the dragon's mouth. The dragon's scales, which had softened from its breath, were unable to block Estellade's light, and its limp muscles were ripped to shreds from Tornium's rough mana. Blood sprouted out of its ripped chest. Even though the dragon didn't even blink an eye at most of the injuries it sustained so far, it couldn't help but squirm frantically at its most recent injury.

Swoosh! The dragon swung its arms. Even though it flapped its arms around randomly due to pain and shock, the dragon's monstrous physique made each move fatal. Moreover, the attacks precisely landed on Zich.

Crunch! Zich's entire arm holding Tornium was torn off. Blood spewed out like a fountain and fell far away with Tornium. However, Zich's eyes were still calm. Instead, he kicked the dragon's claws and ripped off his arm. Then, he quickly moved his body again. Crunnnnnnnnch!

Kuahhhhhhhhhhhh! Estellade's bright light pierced through the dragon's chest. The dragon's wound became even deeper, and its scream became even more terrible. The dragon swung its hand again, and as expected of a dragon, it precisely aimed for Zich once again despite its injuries. Zich had easily sacrificed one of his arms, but he couldn't lose the other one either. If he did, he would miss a golden opportunity to finally kill the dragon that they had worked so hard to obtain.

Claaang! Estellade bounced out of Zich's hand. His hand wasn't able to endure the reaction and turned into a bloody mess. However, Zich used that momentum instead to approach the dragon's wound. Zich moved through the dragon's blood spewing out like a waterfall and squeezed into the dragon's wound. The dragon's movements grew even more frantic. The dragon's hard claws dug into its chest to grab Zich. Even though the dragon received a wound that a human wouldn't be able to survive, a dragon's vitality was strong. If it got sufficient rest, the dragon could easily heal from a wound of this level.

However, Zich also didn't think the dragon would die from such a wound. Zich used his one remaining arm and legs to move deeper into the dragon's body. There was no hesitation in his movements, as his target was already in clear view. Soon, Zich's target, which was soaked in blood, appeared in front of Zich in the darkness.

There were two things that immediately came to mind when people thought of dragons. The first was a dragon's breath and the second was a dragon's heart like the one in front of him. Zich could feel the tremendous amount of mana radiating from the dragon's heart. Then he raised his hand.

According to stories, a dragon's hardness was as tough as a dragon's scale. At a glance, Zich did not seem to have the ability to inflict an effective blow on the dragon's heart as he lost both Estellade and Tornium and could not even properly hold up himself. However, Zich looked at his hand. Several fingers were bent, and the palm and back of his hand were so severely crushed and ripped that he could see his bones. But his index finger was fine. Zich bit his index finger. The front of his finger was ripped off, and a piece of metal could be seen poking out of his blood-flowing flesh. This was the item that he used to give a last 'fuck you' to Glen before his regression—The Key that Distorts Destiny. Zich infused his finger with mana and pierced it into the dragon's heart.