Chapter 800: Fierce Battle
Although somewhat puzzled, since they were in the middle of a battle, Ian didn't think too much about it.
Intense electric light surged forth as Ian extracted iron elements from the ground, melting them into pellets with lightning metallurgy, and with maximum output, fired a railgun directly at Uranus!
The sonic boom had barely faded when a deafening explosion followed. The railgun's attack effect was quite significant. A dragon scale on Uranus's left rib area, hit head-on, couldn't withstand the pellet's immense impact force and exploded directly. The dragon scale shattered into pieces, and the muscle beneath was severely damaged, with blood gushing out in a bloody mess.
Although due to Uranus's enormous size, the blasted area seemed somewhat inconspicuous, Ian's railgun had actually blown a basin-sized hole in Uranus's body. Such a wound on a human would have taken half their body...
The next second, Uranus suddenly let out a massive roar, opening its huge dragon mouth toward Ian's direction and bellowing in fury!
It was feeling intense pain and venting through its roar.
The roar of such a colossal creature was incredibly powerful. The immense sound waves instantly ravaged the entire Amazon Lily, sending countless sand and debris flying outward.
Ace, who was closer, was the first to painfully cover his ears before being sent flying by the sound waves. Doflamingo also couldn't bear it, covering his ears and quickly retreating.
Ian was a bit farther away, but upon hearing the massive roar, his eardrums stung painfully, and he instinctively covered his ears.
The sound waves surged out of Amazon Lily, stirring up waves on the sea that crashed toward the surviving female warriors watching from afar. By the time they reached that distance, the sound waves had lost their destructive power, so there was little impact, but it still made the Kuja warriors' faces turn pale.
This momentum was truly terrifying. The roar of this ancient beast carried a power that shook the soul!
Uranus's howling and roaring lasted for who knows how long. Only when it finally stopped could Ian and the others lower their hands from their ears, but even so, their ears were still ringing with a buzzing echo.
Looking at Uranus, Ian noticed its body beginning to swell again. It charged toward Ian's direction with unparalleled momentum.
Before getting close, Uranus first spewed a stream of flame at Ian. As Ian dodged, it opened its fangs and bit down at him. However, due to Ian's agility, both attacks failed to connect, and Ian evaded them.
But just as Ian was midair, a massive shadow suddenly struck from behind him!
It was... Uranus's tail! When fighting such a beast, one had to guard not only against its fangs and claws but also its thick, powerful tail!
The ancient weapon Uranus, though strictly speaking just a beast, had existed in this world for a thousand years and had participated in the great war eight hundred years ago. One could imagine how rich its combat experience was!
This tail sweep was a carefully planned ambush. Throughout the battle, Uranus had never used this part of its body as a weapon, creating the illusion for Ian and the others that it mainly fought with claws and fangs. But now, facing Ian, who had severely wounded it, Uranus suddenly used it, catching Ian off guard!
Boom! Ian was sent flying, hit with even greater force than when Uranus's head had struck him earlier. He shot through the air like a meteor and crashed into a nearby mountain peak.
This seemed to be the cliff where Boa Hancock had built her palace, but now all buildings on Amazon Lily were nearly destroyed, the palace included. Ian smashed into one side of the cliff and blasted out the other, cracking the mountain's body, which soon collapsed with a rumble.
Even though Ian had covered his entire body with Armament Haki, the impact still made him spit blood. His bones cracked and popped, and a sharp pain surged through his body, causing him to let out a scream!
After crashing through the mountain and flying out, Ian slammed into the ground again. Still enraged, Uranus refused to let up, striding over to Ian's landing spot and opening its massive mouth to bite down on the ground where Ian lay!
"Bastard!!!" Ace, equally furious, launched a Fire Fist from the side, striking Uranus's cheek, but it was useless. Uranus's huge head only tilted slightly before biting into the ground.
It was like an excavator at work. As Uranus's jaw closed, it tore a huge chunk out of the ground, swallowing Ian along with the dirt and rock.
Crunch! Uranus opened its mouth again, then closed it, tossing the bitten ground deeper into its mouth before chewing. As it chewed, large, hard rocks were crushed by its powerful bite force, squeezed out between its teeth, and fell down in a shower.
"Beast! You dare to eat Ian!?"
Ace went mad, flying near Uranus's mouth and firing massive white fireballs at Uranus without restraint.
Uranus feared fire the least, so it paid little attention to Ace's attacks. But at that moment, a massive black thunderbolt suddenly appeared in the sky!
This thunderbolt carried a bone-deep black sheen. As soon as it appeared, it struck Uranus's head directly. Even Ace nearby felt an electric shock coursing through his body and was sent flying by the lightning.
Ace landed on the ground, scrambling up with a dusty face. Though slightly injured, he was overjoyed. He knew that only Ian could unleash such a thunderbolt.
Yes, Ian hadn't been crushed by Uranus. Being small had its advantages. Though trapped in Uranus's mouth, he hid in the gaps between countless shattered rocks and used his own body as a focal point to summon a final thunderbolt!
A voltage exceeding ten billion volts struck Uranus's body directly, causing even its fierce, evil eyes to roll back. Smoke rose from its body, and with a mournful cry, its massive form collapsed, crashing to the ground with a thunderous boom that shook Amazon Lily like an earthquake...
Uranus might not fear high temperatures and flames, but Ian's powerful lightning strike was highly effective against it.
However, Uranus's body was too massive and resilient. Even the final thunderbolt couldn't kill it outright; it only temporarily stunned it due to the sudden surge of powerful current.
Even so, as Uranus's dragon head fell, its mouth remained tightly shut, as if trying to suffocate Ian inside...
Ace rushed over immediately, leaping into the air and grabbing Uranus's upper jaw, trying to pry its mouth open. But even with all his strength, he couldn't budge it.
Fortunately, Ian, trapped inside the dragon's mouth, had his own way out. He fired a Black Cero from within, blasting a hole through Uranus's upper jaw!
The Black Cero's power naturally surpassed the railgun. Uranus's upper jaw wasn't as thick as other parts of its body, so it was blown open with a large hole. Ian staggered out from inside.
Once out, Ian quickly switched cards and used Twin Heaven Return Shield to heal himself...
Honestly, this was the first time he had suffered such severe injuries. His previous enemies were on a completely different level from a giant beast like Uranus.
Ace helped him sit on the ground. Seeing the glow of healing on him, Ace knew Ian was recovering and didn't disturb him, instead observing Uranus's condition.
Dragons had incredible regenerative abilities. The spot where Ian's railgun had blasted Uranus earlier was already beginning to heal. Even the newly torn upper jaw had stopped bleeding. Such powerful vitality left Ace stunned, especially since Uranus was still unconscious!
Looking at the mountain-like Uranus, its body twitching slightly, Ace suddenly wondered where Doflamingo had gone.
Ian didn't think too much. After recovering a bit of mobility with Twin Heaven Return Shield's treatment, he forced himself to stand and walk toward Uranus.
With Uranus immobilized, it was the perfect chance for Ian to strike. If he could cut off its head or use his soul extraction skill to weaken Uranus's life force, he might be able to kill it.
Uranus wasn't invincible; it could be injured. In the war eight hundred years ago, enemies had knocked out a few of its teeth and left many scars on its body. But due to its immense vitality and regenerative power, killing it without inflicting a fatal wound was extremely difficult.
However, just as Ian approached, Uranus's closed eyes suddenly snapped open!
This creature had woken up so quickly!
Upon waking, Uranus opened its mouth and spewed a stream of flame directly at Ian and Ace!
As the two raised their hands to block the flames, Uranus flapped its wings, lifting its body off the ground. It beat its sky-covering wings noisily and began to ascend.
The flame assault had just ended when Ian looked up and saw Uranus's movement. His heart skipped a beat, and he quickly said, "Damn! We can't let it take flight!"
Why was Uranus called the 'Heavenly King'? It meant its true combat power could only be unleashed in the air. Earlier, fighting on the ground might have been due to the arrogance of the Celestial Dragon controlling it. But now, realizing Ian was powerful enough to severely wound Uranus, the controlling Celestial Dragon understood they couldn't continue fighting on the ground.
And once Uranus took to the sky, what awaited Ian and the others would be a nuclear explosion!