Chapter 1177

Chapter 1177
Chapter 1177

“Unbelievable…”

Red Dragon Valasiur stood frozen in sheer astonishment.

“Dominating the Lord? How is that even plausible?”

His lips quivered as he observed Raon drive his blade straight through the Dragon Lord’s midsection.

“I can hardly grasp it either.”

Blue Dragon Sirtiren let out a lifeless chuckle.

“I recognized that Raon Zieghart possessed immense power, but I never imagined he would overpower the Lord in such a manner.”

She shook her head in total shock while inspecting the Dragon Lord’s back, which had turned solid white with frost.

“That monster is completely insane…”

Black Dragon Dariauran squeezed his fist so tightly that thick veins bulged across his skin.

“He’s overpowering the Lord through pure, unadulterated force! Not merely a clan leader, but the Lord himself!”

He shouted nearly frantically, overwhelmed with excitement at Raon’s terrifying combat ability.

“What mind-boggling strength.”

White Dragon Bursiarabi swallowed with great difficulty.

“I had no idea he was capable of this. Has he been masking his true potential all along?”

He narrowed his eyes, wondering if Raon had kept even greater power concealed from everyone’s view.

“Haaa…”

Bartius wiped away the moisture from his forehead and released a heavy sigh.

“It seems our judgment was correct from the start.”

In truth, their initial intention was to seek out Glenn Zieghart, the formidably strongest warrior on the land, rather than Raon Zieghart. That would have represented the safest route for subduing the Lord.

‘Yet after discovering the path Raon Zieghart has walked, our decision shifted.’

Raon Zieghart was a human who shattered the boundaries established by the dominant factions and carved out his own distinct destiny. In a way, he mirrored their own situation—attempting to tear down the barriers built by Ancient Dragons and revive the true responsibilities of the mediator. That shared connection heavily swayed their choice toward Raon Zieghart.

Even though they had witnessed Raon’s capabilities firsthand, numerous doubts had still plagued them.

While they could manage to overcome clan leaders by pooling their strength, the Lord was a entity existing on a fundamentally superior level.

‘I genuinely feared it was too dangerous.’

When Raon declared he would engage the Lord in single combat, they hadn’t placed absolute faith in him. Their plan was to intervene immediately and fight beside the other dragons the instant Raon showed signs of struggling.

‘Never could I have envisioned this outcome…’

Initially, Raon appeared to be slightly pushed back, but at a certain point, he completely took control over the Dragon Lord. The spectacle of a small human thoroughly crushing the colossal Dragon Lord with raw martial force sent shivers down their spine, even as creatures of the exact same species.

“Bring this to a definitive end, Raon Zieghart.”

Bartius lowered the hands he had been using to gather energy, placing his complete trust in Raon.

“I was certain it would turn out like this!”

Martha dusted off her hands and crossed her arms over her chest.

“I told all of you that stressing over him just makes us look ridiculous!”

She nodded with conviction, as though she had foreseen Raon utterly dominating the Dragon Lord from the start.

“I maintained faith in his abilities, but…”

Burren uttered a dry laugh, his palm remaining resting on his hilt.

“I didn’t expect him to force the Lord into total retreat like that.”

He lightly hit his own cheek while watching Raon slice through every single piece of the Lord’s magic.

“Urrrgh…”

Dorian let out a groan, holding his head each time Raon’s sword slammed against the Dragon Lord’s spells.

“Um, the Master will emerge victorious, won’t he?”

He asked softly, barely raising his eyes to look.

“Without a doubt!”

Evelyn gave a firm, composed nod, acting as though there was zero reason for concern.

“Raon never fails the trust we place in him.”

She offered a subtle smile, looking like someone who understood this reality better than anyone.

“Though a certain detail does bother me.”

Evelyn bit down gently on her lower lip, troubled by a lingering thought.

“That Dragon Tongue, though…”

Martha twisted her face into a scowl as she watched the Dragon Lord utilize dragon tongue in an effort to push Raon back.

“Doesn’t something seem off about it?”

She scratched her cheek, feeling perplexed no matter how much she pondered it.

“What strikes you as strange?”

Burren shifted his gaze over to Martha.

“He keeps relying on minor commands like ‘leave,’ ‘be driven back,’ or ‘fly away.'”

Martha repeated the exact dragon language phrases the Dragon Lord had been uttering.

“Why doesn’t he simply command ‘die!’ right from the start and settle it?”

She tilted her head to the side, feeling both uneasy and bewildered.

“Because that is extremely difficult. In fact, virtually impossible.”

Bartius clicked his tongue softly.

“Impossible?”

Martha’s eyes expanded in astonishment, taken aback that Bartius had offered a response.

“Dragon tongue does not grant absolute control. It merely enables dragons to rapidly unleash and amplify magic within the boundaries of their personal reserve.”

Bartius shook his head, clarifying that dragon language wasn’t quite as effortless an power as it appeared.

“It distorts the fundamental order of the living world, which prevents continuous usage, and should it fail, a severe backfire occurs. It is solely due to his status as the Dragon Lord that he can manage even that degree of dragon tongue.”

He shook his head further, noting that other Ancient Dragons couldn’t even manage to deploy dragon language of that level against Raon.

“The Raon Zieghart standing before us possesses enough power to directly endanger the Lord’s life. Were the Lord to issue the command ‘die’ and fail to execute it, the resulting backfire would strike him directly.”

Bartius wrinkled the bridge of his nose, detailing how a failed command of “die” targeted at Raon could easily cause the Dragon Lord’s own death as a consequence.

“Ah, now I understand.”

Martha nodded along, finally grasping the logic.

“Phew! That means we really have nothing to be anxious about!”

Dorian released a lengthy breath, visibly letting his tension melt away.

“However, it appears we ought to direct our worry toward our own situation now.”

Bartius let out a quiet sigh and cast his view behind them. Accompanied by a booming reverberation, multiple clusters of light were surging through the previously peaceful sky at rapid speed.

“Those figures are…”

Burren narrowed his vision slightly to examine the approaching points of light.

“Dragons. It seems the Lord dispatched a call for assistance the second he regained his senses.”

Bartius gave a nod, verifying that all those dragons were rushing over to rescue the Lord.

“Because we disrupted spatial movement magic, they are forced to travel by flight directly.”

He let his lips curl into a faint smile, remarking that they had managed to gain a small window of time at least.

“I truly hope this marks the final occasion we must clash with our own bloodline.”

Blue Dragon Sirtiren exhaled a heavy breath as she shifted back into her true shape.

“I actually welcome the opportunity to battle our kin.”

Red Dragon Valasiur slammed his fists together, sporting a fierce, bloodthirsty grin.

“Always such an aggressive clan.”

Black Dragon Dariauran took form in his true body, radiating intense hostility despite his spoken words.

“Those who wish to battle shall battle, and those who prefer not to won’t. At present, our focus must remain on the destiny of all dragons.”

White Dragon Bursiarabi spread his immense wings, his breath creating thick white clouds in the air.

“Fantastic! I was hoping for another chance to fight!”

Martha unsheathed her blade, expressing that she hadn’t expected the chance to battle dragons again to present itself so quickly.

“Keep your composure. Raon cannot offer us support at this moment.”

Burren lowered his arm, instructing her to reign in her enthusiasm.

“Even if I lose control, you’ll have my back, won’t you?”

Martha curled the edge of her mouth upward, demonstrating her unshakeable faith in him.

“That goes without saying.”

Burren gave a confident nod.

“W-why does my fate always end up like this…”

Dorian raised his weapon, looking thoroughly miserable as he monitored the incoming dragons.

“So if the Dragon Lord decides to use the order ‘die’ against Raon…”

Evelyn narrowed her eyes slightly while watching Raon instead of focusing on the approaching dragons.

“It would indicate he is absolute in his conviction that he can kill him.”

—

With a devastating strike, Raon severed the Dragon Lord’s magical assault using the Ten Thousand Flames Cultivation’s Revolving Sky form before driving straight into his stomach. With a echoing explosion, the Dragon Lord barely managed to protect his skin from being sliced open by raising a protective shield of energy, but the powerful force sent him plummeting down to the base of the dark realm.

Blood spurted out from fractures across his gigantic frame, as though he had suffered another catastrophic blow.

“You’re enduring this surprisingly well.”

Raon circled toward the rear of the Dragon Lord who was struggling to spread his wings, a cold grin visible on his face.

[You wretched pest!]

The Dragon Lord created dozens of barriers made of pure light. He appeared intent on trapping Raon by stacking the light layers and crushing him underneath. With a piercing shrieking sound, Raon executed the Thirty-Six Crimson Flash Techniques using his Divine Sword, demolishing the closing light barriers before driving his Demonic Sword forward in a Single Crimson Point thrust.

The blue blade, condensed into a sharp crimson focus, drove directly into the center of the Dragon Lord’s chest.

With a sickening tearing sound, the Dragon Lord’s chest ruptured, spraying bright crimson blood into the air. The open flesh immediately froze under a layer of white frost, blocking any potential for rapid healing.

[Graaaah!]

Driven mad by this new injury, the Dragon Lord swung his energy-infused tail downward aimed directly at Raon’s head.

“Now you’ve resorted to fighting like a wild animal.”

Raon curled his lips into a smile and brought both his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword upward at the same instant. The techniques of the Fangs of Insanity and Blizzard Sword Art surged violently, almost competing with one another as they slammed into the Dragon Lord’s tail. With a thunderous boom, the Divine Sword burning with flame and the Demonic Sword channeling deep frost repelled the massive tail through raw strength, driving him violently against the wall.

-Brilliant!

Wrath shouted out in total amazement as he witnessed the Dragon Lord get slammed against the earth.

-It resembles watching an individual collapse a building’s support column using two tiny toothpicks!

He nodded repeatedly, remarking that Raon was demonstrating performance far beyond what he had anticipated.

“Is that really so…”

Raon exhaled a puff of white vapor, his hands grasping the Divine and Demonic Swords shivering slightly.

-Hmm…

Wrath rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

-You have undoubtedly grown far more powerful than before, yet your stamina remains lacking.

He clicked his tongue, appearing to instantly evaluate Raon’s true physical state.

‘As expected from the Lord of Wrath. Spot on.’

Raon let out a self-deprecating smile while staring down at his shuddering hands.

‘I am rapidly approaching my absolute boundary.’

The Wrath Release technique enabled him to display unbelievable martial prowess by wrapping his whole body in wrath, but it rapidly drained his bodily and mental reserves. Although he had developed far greater stamina and mental fortitude than in the past, he had also drawn out even greater amounts of wrath, leaving his stamina just as inadequate as before.

-You must grow even stronger.

Wrath huffed, implying that Raon still had a long path ahead.

‘True enough. I remain far from where I need to be. Still…’

Raon tightened his hold on both his Divine Sword and Demonic Sword once more.

‘I must eliminate that lizard using my own strength.’

Even though he had virtually consumed his power by deploying both the Sword Domain and Wrath Release, he retained the ability to move. The Dragon Lord had been driven to the precipice of death, making this the ideal moment to eliminate him permanently.

‘I must kill him rapidly and manage the aftermath.’

All the dragons were hastening to this location to rescue the Dragon Lord. He had to handle the Dragon Lord as swiftly as possible and then assist the rest of his companions.

“Haaaa…”

Raon accessed the inner realm of the soul once more to restore his dwindling supply of wrath. With a roaring explosion of energy, he summoned the power of other demon kings buried even deeper than wrath, enveloping his entire frame. A heavy, powerful resonance echoed through the environment.

Time slowed down once more. In fact, it appeared to halt entirely. A sensation of complete dominance, as though he held power over the world itself, saturated his mind.

‘I cannot sustain this state for long.’

He had placed immense extra stress on a body and mind already pushed past their normal boundaries. He had to execute the Dragon Lord right here and right now.

“With this strike…”

Raon launched himself off the air and rushed straight toward the Dragon Lord. Moving at a velocity that bypassed even light and sound, he brought down both the Divine and Demonic Swords in tandem.

“It is finished.”

—

With a sharp gasp of air, the Dragon Lord perceived Raon’s presence drawing near without producing a single sound or trace of energy, swallowing heavily. He could physically feel the pair of razor-sharp edges digging into the skin of his neck.

‘This is fatal!’

His survival instincts, refined over nearly ten thousand years, screamed at him that the moment those blades cut through completely, his physical form would be utterly destroyed.

‘I lack the ability to block it.’

He required at least a single moment to channel magic capable of stopping those swords, but Raon Zieghart was moving far too quickly to permit him that grace period. All he could picture now was the unavoidable outcome—those swords driving deep through his flesh.

‘The sole remaining method is…’

Just one. A single option remained for him to preserve his life. Yet even that option carried immense danger. A single misstep could result in complete self-destruction.

‘What action should I take…’

[…]

‘Ah!’

As the Dragon Lord felt the icy edge beginning to slice into his flesh, he recalled a detail he had completely overlooked. No, a “warm voice” echoed in his mind, bringing back something he had forgotten.

‘The ultimate magic…!’

The supreme magic he had been constructing to annihilate all of humanity still lingered within this realm.

‘It proves difficult to manage, but I have no alternate choice!’

The Dragon Lord stared directly into Raon’s crimson eyes as he shattered the seal binding the ultimate magic he had crafted over endless centuries.

[Raon Zieghart!]

Saturating the ultimate magic directly into his dragon tongue, he roared the most lethal words in existence.

[Die!]