But far from the battlefield, a few figures watched the battle from a distance.
The emerald-scaled dragon, the one with the wind affinity, who had now shifted into humanoid form, narrowed his eyes as he looked at Arthur who was fighting with the lion monster. He leaned slightly toward his leader, the light dragon, and asked, "Leader, should we intervene?" His tone sounded a bit eager and impatient.
The leader's gaze never wavered from Arthur. His silver irises reflected the flickering flames as he spoke in a calm but cold tone. "No. Not yet, we will have to wait a little longer."
The earth dragon frowned. "Why?"
The light dragon folded his arms, the glow radiating from his body dimming slightly as he returned to his human form fully. "Because I want to see what else that human is capable of."
The wind dragon's brow furrowed. "He's… just a Master rank martial artist, is he not? Even if he wields a divine artifact, he shouldn't be capable of this much destruction."
The leader didn't respond immediately. Instead, his eyes traced the battlefield where Arthur clashed with the lion, sparks of lightning and bursts of golden light clashed against torrents of flame.
Finally, his lips thinned. "And yet he is. A Master rank should have been turned to ash by now, but look at him fighting equally with the monster…" His voice lowered, just enough for the other dragons to hear. "It would be foolish to underestimate him. Better to learn everything about his power before we strike."
Seeing someone who was just a Master rank martial artist fighting equally against an S-Rank monster even rattled him a bit. He thought it would be better to watch him first then attack.
The earth dragon shifted uneasily. "So we let him wear himself down?"
A faint smirk curved the leader's lips. "That was the plan." He then looked at the demon in the distance and said in a grim tone, "But we need to be careful of the demon, we cannot let the artifact fall in his hands."
His gaze then flicked briefly to the treeline. Even through the haze of heat and smoke, he could sense the faint mana signatures of the people hiding and watching the fight at the edges of this apocalyptic battlefield.
The leader's smirk hardened into a sneer. He thought he should take care of them, as he doesn't know if Arthur had a strong background in the outside world, he couldn't let any news spread about him killing Arthur.
…
Meanwhile, in the battlefield, Arthur tightened his grip on the sword. Steam rose from his arms, and sweat evaporated before it could even drip.
His eyes had turned golden due to the amount of Chi he was using, this was the first time he was using so much Chi at one time. The beast's figure was distorted due to the heat that warped the environment around it, and its mane had turned completely red hot.
Arthur stretched his limbs and got ready for the final clash with the monster. "…Alright. Let's finish this."
The sword spirit chuckled in his head, the old voice was raspy but sounded a bit amused. "Careful, boy. The beast isn't the only thing that wants your head."
Arthur's jaw tightened, but he didn't answer. His thoughts weren't only on the lion. 'I can't waste too much time here. There are more pillars, and more artifacts scattered in this realm.'
He didn't want to waste time here and lose opportunities to gain more artifacts. Even if he didn't get something as good as the sword, something inferior would also be good for the forces he would be creating for his island.
The lion roared, shaking the ground beneath them. Its claws slammed into the earth, sending lava splashing upward like a geyser.
Arthur smirked. "Guess we're going all in, huh?"
Lightning erupted across his frame, arcs dancing violently along his arms and legs. His body was saturated with Chi, and his skin and hair appeared golden due to it. His sword thrummed with power, eager, and hungry for blood.
The lion lunged at him and Arthur met it head-on.
BOOOOOOM!
Their clash detonated like a nuclear bomb. Lava and shockwaves ripped across the field, vaporizing stone into shards of glass. The lion swiped with claws wreathed in plasma, trails of superheated flame cutting through the air like blades. Arthur parried, the sword absorbing half the force and heat, but the other half still clashed against his body. He retaliated with a slash of golden energy, carving into the lion's flank, tearing its flesh apart.
The lion didn't flinch. It reared back, and fire condensed in its maw into a dense energy sphere, vibrating with destructive energy.
Arthur's eyes narrowed. "That's new."
The sword spirit barked, "Don't block that head-on, boy! Unless you want to die."
Arthur bent his knees, lightning exploding from his soles. As the lion fired, and the fireball streaked towards him like a comet, the ground beneath it vapourising instantly.
Arthur telekinetically hurled himself sideways, sensing his speed wasn't enough. He skimmed across the battlefield, but the fireball still grazed his shoulder. Even that brief touch left his left side charred black, exposing his bone. The wound began to heal, yet from the damage he realized that if he had taken the blast head-on, he would have been reduced to ash.
"Tch… that almost took me out."
He retaliated, lightning condensing along his blade. And with a shout, he swung. The sword released a crescent slash of lightning and Chi, slicing through the distorted air.
The attack smashed into the lion's shoulder, tearing flesh open and blasting the beast sideways. Lava exploded where its body skidded. The lion roared in agony and fury, but its eyes burned with rage.
Arthur spat blood, grinning despite the damage. "…Still standing, huh? Figures."
The lion crouched low, its flames condensing into blades along its claws.
Arthur raised his sword, muttering to himself. "One last attack then. Let's see how you fare against this."
The sword spirit's laughter rumbled in his skull. "That's the spirit, boy! Now show me if you're truly worthy."
Arthur concentrated all the attacks the sword had absorbed till now and his energy into its blade. The sword started to vibrate due the intense heat and energy, the amount of energy now contained inside the sword is multiple times the strongest attack of the lion.
The lion sensing danger became cautious, Arthur didn't want the lion to dodge the attack as it would have been a waste then. He used telekinesis at its fullest output to restrict the lion's movement.
The lion froze mid-step as it was trying to dodge, its flaming mane whipping violently as its massive body strained against Arthur's invisible grip.
Its eyes widened, a guttural roar choking in its throat.
Arthur's jaw clenched, veins bulging at his temples. His telekinesis strained against the sheer strength of the beast. "You're not running from this one."
The lion's maw cracked open, fire condensing into another sphere of destruction, but it was too late.
He raised his trembling sword above his head and with all his strength slashed down.
SHHHHHRRRRRAAAAAAAANG!
The slash of golden light carved straight through the fireball and into the lion's body. For the briefest moment, everything appeared frozen.
Then…
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
The attack detonated. The lion's sphere ignited in tandem with Arthur's attack, and the combined explosion ripped across the land like the wrath of gods.
A blinding dome of light and flame swallowed everything.
Mountains in the distance cracked. The rivers of lava surged outward in tidal waves. The air itself howled as it was ripped apart due to the shockwave.
…
Even the dragons and the demon, watching from afar, cursed and leapt backward.
"Cover yourselves!" the wind dragon shouted, throwing up a storm barrier as the blast raced toward them.
The earth dragon slammed his palms into the ground, raising titanic walls of stone around their group. The light dragon shielded himself with radiant wings.
The demon snarled, cloaking himself in a dome of crimson flame. "Tch… that human really went and blew the whole damn battlefield apart!"
The wave slammed into their defenses. The dragons staggered, while the demon grit his teeth as fissures spread across his shield.
…
Closer to the battlefield, the four surviving monsters were blasted like toys in a storm.
The wolf yelped as its body slammed into a cliff, half its fur scorched off. The serpent, already wounded, writhed in agony as its skin bubbled and peeled. The centipede's shell cracked, spewing green venom across the charred earth. The gorilla staggered, arms bleeding, and its chest heaving with ragged breaths.
They were alive, but were barely clinging to their life.
…
At the very edge of the battlefield,the people who were observing the fight screamed as the blast rolled toward them.
A dwarf dove behind a boulder, throwing up his battle shield, and injected mana into it as the runes on it lit up. "Gaaahh! Ancestors save us!"
An archer snapped his bowstring and a barrier appeared around him, his body trembled due to the strain. "I…It's too strong!"
The forest was consumed in an instant, trees incinerated into black stumps, the ground split apart. The group remaining there coughed blood and screamed as heat seared their skin, but because they were at the very edge of the battlefield, their frantic defenses barely held on.
When the blast finally subsided, the once-lush forest was reduced to a smoking wasteland.
The battlefield, once chaotic with roars and clash of power, was now nothing more than a colossal crater. Black smoke curled upward, and the air was distorted with lingering heat.
And of Arthur and the lion monster, there were no traces of them.
…
The dragons were the first to move. Their wings snapped open, and in a blur, they appeared above the massive crater.
The light dragon narrowed his silver eyes, scanning the molten pit. His jaw tightened. "There's nothing left here."
The earth dragon growled low. "Impossible. That attack should have obliterated them both. At the very least, the artifact should remain."
The demon appeared a moment later, materializing from a burst of crimson flame. His yellow eyes darted across the crater, his face twisted in fury. "Dammit! Where the hell is that ant?!" His voice echoed with rage.
The wind dragon looked around, his expression unsettled. "I can't sense him."
The light dragon's face darkened. He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm. "No… he's not dead. I don't believe it."
The others glanced at him, but his gaze remained locked on the emptiness before them.
"If he had died, the artifact would remain here," he continued, voice icy. "And yet… there's nothing. Which means…"
A heavy silence fell.
The demon's lips curled into a snarl, veins bulging at his temples. "That damned insect played us. He used the chaos to flee from here."
The light dragon exhaled slowly, though his expression said he was suppressing his rage. "We underestimated him. That was our mistake."
His gaze flicked outward, toward the ruined forest. He could still sense faint life signatures, the survivors who had witnessed everything.
From another side, the wounded monsters stirred weakly, but none dared approach the dragons or the demon. Their gazes were locked on the smoking crater, fear and confusion mingling in their beastly eyes.
The light dragon finally turned away, his silver eyes narrowing into slits. "Find him. Whether he's alive or dead, I want his corpse, or what remains of it. And the artifact."
The demon spat to the side. "Hmph. You think you'll get to him first? Don't make me laugh."
Their auras clashed, silver radiance colliding with crimson flame, the ground groaning under their pressure.
A few moments later, both of them retracted their aura and left the place with their group.
***
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