Constantine was left standing there, alone in the wind, 'Damn it, I don't have wings on this stitched-up body!'
It was Fel who brought him here in the first place.
"I hate the Empire."
Old Con muttered as he ran toward the battlefield over there.
———
A lion formed of thunder and lightning poked its head out from the clouds, baring its fangs and claws as it charged toward the blade trio on the ground.
"B-Big bro! The attack range of this thing is too large, we can't dodge it at all!"
Blade Three had completely skipped over the option of "Big bro, let's join forces and block it."
Because anyone with even a little understanding of magic could tell that, right now on Samel Avenue, there probably wasn't a single carbon-based lifeform that could withstand this lightning lion in the ravine.
"Don't worry, stay steady, someone will step in to help us."
"Help? Help how? We're supposed to count on that useless army to take the blow for us?"
"The army's obviously not reliable. I mean, those things."
Blade Two looked in the direction his big bro was pointing.
A dense swarm of fusion beasts and danger species were charging toward them, even undergoing second-phase fusion along the way.
One-armed Blade Two shivered at the sight, "Even though this isn't the first time I've seen second-phase fusion, it still makes me want to puke."
"Better to puke than get blasted into powder by Leon—"
"Watch out! It's coming!"
The thunder lion formed from Dragon Annihilation finally descended, and the dazzling lightning instantly swallowed the entire block.
Even the ground was trembling constantly from the sheer impact force.
Waves of energy rippled outward in concentric circles, and the land cruiser closest to the battlefield was almost shattered on the spot.
On the land cruiser, King Kant fell flat on his butt, clutching his wildly pounding heart, panicked beyond reason, "Wh-What do we do? Even the blade trio couldn't withstand that move, who else can stop Leon?"
Elizabeth, however, stood firmly in place. She glanced at Kant with disdain and snorted coldly, "Look at you, such a disgrace. If 'Lord Shadow' saw you, he'd definitely regret handing you the throne."
Kant, already on the verge of losing his mind from fear, nearly had a mental shutdown when he heard the name "Lord Shadow," "Lord… Lord Shadow…"
"Relax, we're going to win."
Elizabeth said, "Look, that group of fusion beasts and danger species already took the blow for the trio. And just now, the Royal Mage Corps reported that a move of that magnitude is already Leon's physical limit."
The queen curled her lips, full of confidence, "Which means, next, it's our turn to launch a fierce counterattack!"
———
As the lightning faded, Leon stood quietly in the center of the street.
In front of him lay dozens of large fusion beast corpses, the air filled with the burnt stench of scorched flesh.
Leon squinted slightly, "Blocked, huh."
As the smoke cleared, the blade trio helped each other out from behind the rubble.
Even though the fusion beasts had blocked Dragon Annihilation for them, they still sustained some injuries.
But it was still better than taking a direct hit, just look at the countless second-phase fusion beasts scattered on the ground.
"That was a powerful attack. We brothers have truly witnessed the strength of the strongest dragon slayer."
Blade One stepped forward, "But it's a pity, using that move must've drained all your magic power, right? Don't think we didn't research you. That's your limit, Leon."
Leon stayed silent, quietly listening.
Before long, a silver and a blue figure slowly descended to his side.
Leon looked left and right, 'Huh? A dragon's missing?'
"Where's Constantine?"
"On his way here."
"Oh… I get it. The pain of not having wings."
"So, what's the situation now?"
Rossweise looked at the fusion beast corpses on the ground, "So it really was this group that took the hit for the blade trio?"
"Yeah. And they also think my magic reserves are running low."
Upon hearing that, Claudia gave Leon a once-over, then, judging from his flat tone, asked with some concern, "You're not really out of magic, are you?"
"No, actually I've still got plenty."
The blue-haired beauty rolled her eyes, "Then why did your expression and tone just now make it seem like you were at the end of your rope and about to make a desperate last stand?"
Leon shrugged, "It was to set the stage for my next unexpected burst of magic."
"Huh?", Claudia clearly didn't get what Leon was going for.
"In Rebecca's words, it's so he can pretend in front of the enemy, making them feel the sting of a dramatic slap to the face," Rossweise explained seriously.
"…Childish! How could you marry such a childish man," Even Claudia couldn't help but complain this time.
The queen silently covered her face and sighed softly, "The past is too painful to recall, senior."
Leon took a step forward and slowly raised his right hand, facing the blade trio, "You just said, that was my limit, right?"
Blade One paused, "Don't tell me you—"
Before he finished, the explosive sound of birds chirping rang out across Empire. Energy rippled out, dispersing the remaining smoke entirely.
The blade trio were completely dumbfounded at the sight.
'What the hell? This doesn't match the intel at all!'
'Based on the strength of that last move, Leon should've been at his limit.'
'So how can he now easily use Chidori?'
"Your intel on me probably stopped after I emerged from the spatial rift, so your understanding of my limits stayed there too."
"That's right, at that time, I could only manage that level of attack, even if I had broken Dragon Annihilation into four parts, the total strength remained the same."
"Your deductions were completely correct."
"It's just… people improve, don't they?"
Listening to Leon's explanation, Blade One still couldn't believe it, "But how can a normal human increase their magic reserves so drastically in just a few years? You… you're bluffing, aren't you!"
"A normal human indeed couldn't make such gains in a few years, but some special methods can help."
Special methods: Like tattooing another dragon mark on the arm.
Not long after that "Leon kills six dragons in ten seconds" event, this fated couple etched a second dragon mark on each other.
Just to store more magic power.
And this was intel the Empire had absolutely no way of gathering.
And again, it proved how valuable the dragon mark was.
"As for whether I'm bluffing—", Leon raised his right hand high, and instantly, the sky began to stir again, "Believe me, you hurt my master. Every single attack I make is aimed at taking your lives."
"So… if I use Dragon Annihilation again and you're still alive, then come ask me again if I'm bluffing," Leon's killing intent was so real it felt tangible, enveloping the blade trio.
In that moment, even though they had slain multiple dragon kings, they felt fear from the bottom of their hearts.
———
On the land cruiser, King Kant swallowed hard, "The Mage Corps' guess was wrong, Leon's magic reserves are clearly still full! But we don't have any more fusion beasts to block his next attack!"
This time, even Elizabeth felt a little tense. Her pretty eyebrows knitted together, expression solemn, "Don't panic, didn't 'Lord Shadow' give you a trump card? It's time to use it."
"B-But that would sacrifice the blade trio."
"Hmph! Kant, after being king for so long, you still don't understand this chess game."
Elizabeth spoke slowly, "For final victory, what does sacrificing a few pieces along the way matter? Go ahead, Blade One and his brothers will see it as the greatest honor."
After a brief hesitation, Kant finally pulled out a black dragon scale from his pocket.
"'Lord Shadow'... everything depends on your trump card now."
With that, Kant tossed the black dragon scale off the land cruiser.
The dragon scale silently landed atop the corpses of the fusion beasts.
Leon and the others' attention was also drawn to it.
"What's that?"
Rossweise shook her head, "A black dragon scale? Never seen it before."
Claudia narrowed her eyes slightly, then gasped, "Crap, that's—"
Before Claudia could finish, the corpses of the fusion beasts on the ground began to squirm.
"What's going on? Dragon Annihilation should've killed them completely."
That black dragon scale was like a key that opened the gates of hell.
Now, it was going to unleash the souls trapped behind those gates.
Of course, to release them, a sacrifice was required.
And the offering was, the blade trio.
Still in shock, the three brothers watched the scene in a daze.
Though they knew about second-phase fusion, could these charred fusion beasts really rise again?
Just as they were puzzled, three tendrils shot out from the black corpse mountain.
The tendrils swiftly and tightly bound the unsuspecting trio, leaving them immobilized.
"What's going on? Are these monsters insane?"
"Let go! This is disgusting!"
"Big bro, what the hell is this—"
Blade One looked up at the king and queen on the land cruiser, "Your Majesty, order these monsters to let us go!"
"Blade One, now is the time for you to dedicate yourselves to the Empire. You'll gain unrivaled power and bodies, isn't that your dream come true?"
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